FINAL: Foreurs 2, Sea Dogs 3
SAINT JOHN – For the second straight year, the Saint John Sea Dogs are division champions.
The Sea Dogs clinched the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Maritime Division title with a 3-2 victory over the Val-d’Or Foreurs Friday night at Harbour Station. This is the second division title in franchise history.
Gabriel Bourret, Stanislav Galiev, and Pierre Durepos each scored for Saint John who won their 12th straight contest. Mathieu Corbeil only needed to make 13 saves for the win.
The Sea Dogs dominated most of the game but something just didn’t click right. The offense looked good but it just wasn’t able to produce in the same way it has in the past this season. It was weird.
The top-ranked team in Canadian junior hockey also allowed the Foreurs to get back in the game a bit in the third period. Saint John has been struggling to put together full 60-minute games of late and it is something they will surely want to improve.
The Foreurs played a decent game but just couldn’t get much offense generated. Nicolas Marcoux and Anthony Taylor each scored for Val-d’Or in the loss. Goaltender Jacob Chouinard made 34 stops in the loss.
FIRST PERIOD
Stanislav Galiev came down the wing early in the first frame and fired a shot on goal that was stopped by Val-d’Or goaltender Jacob Chouinard. Then, following a fumble at the blue line by a Foreurs defenseman, Steven Anthony and Tomas Jurco broke in on a two-on-one. Anthony held on and centered the disc for Jurco but he failed to get a shot off.
Nathan Beaulieu kept the pressure on as he blew the puck past Chouinard’s blocker but hit the iron. A few moments later, Zack Phillips sent a pass to Jonathan Huberdeau in front who sent the puck wide.
Val-d’Or then came back the other way as Adam Jones sent a slap shot past Saint John goaltender Mathieu Corbeil but off the post and out.
The Sea Dogs started to pick things up again after the minor scare, skating hard and applying some good pressure. Phillips had a good chance later on as he spun around and let a shot go that was stopped by an alert Chouinard. Then, Eric Gelinas sent a pass down low that was tipped by Ryan Tesink who was denied.
Tesink went to the box at 16:14 after running into the Foreurs goaltender on a decent scoring opportunity. Val-d’Or had some good pressure on the man advantage but couldn’t get any good shots on goal.
The period ended with some four-on-four action after matching penalties were handed out for some rough stuff at 19:03.
It was a fast paced first period that saw the Sea Dogs outshoot the Foreurs 11-3.
SECOND PERIOD
Phillips had the first good chance of the frame and he fired a shot from the bottom of the circle but it was blocked beautifully by Shawn Mortin-Boutin.
The Sea Dogs went to the power play at 3:18 as Mike Thomas was held up. On the man advantage, Gelinas sent a point shot on goal that caused a rebound. Galiev was standing at the side of the crease and had an open cage but it was kept out by a Val-d’Or player. Saint John had some great pressure but could not score.
Alexandre Beauregard and Adam Jones dropped the gloves at 7:25. Beauregard got the best of Jones, getting three big blows in as the fight came to a close.
The Foreurs had one of their limited scoring chances following the fight as a small scrum was created in the Saint John crease but it was kept out.
The Dogs went back to the power play at 8:05 as Jonathan Hazen was called for tripping. On the man advantage, the Dogs turned it up a notch. Beaulieu walked in from the line and cut in front but couldn’t get a shot off. Then Gelinas went into beast mode, firing a slap pass to Galiev who just tipped the puck wide. Finally, Steven Anthony let a point blast go but nailed the post.
The Foreurs went to the power play at 12:04. After a point shot caused a small scramble in the Saint John crease, it would be the Sea Dogs cashing in. Gabriel Bourret managed to pick the puck up at the red line and broke free. The defenseman wristed a shot five-hole past Chouinard at 13:35 to give the Dogs a 1-0 lead.
Shortly after at 14:14, Gelinas centered the puck for Galiev who deflected it home to give the home side a 2-0 lead.
Val-d’Or started to collapse after that as Jones took a penalty at 15:04. Jonathan Huberdeau tried to create some room down the wing on the man advantage but couldn’t cut in front. Anthony had the final chance, wristing the puck wide through a screen.
Hazen had the final scoring opportunity of the frame, cutting through the Sea Dogs crease but firing a shot off the side of the net.
Shots in the middle stanza were 12-5 Saint John.
THIRD PERIOD
The Foreurs got on the board at 1:41 of the third period as former Sea Dog Nicolas Marcoux beat Corbeil from a bad angle to make it a 2-1 game.
After a few minutes of nothing happening, an odd man rush for Val-d’Or gave Olivier Archambault a good chance. The puck came loose to Archambault as he streaked into the zone, ripping the disc wide through a clean shooting lane.
Saint John started to pick things up again following that opportunity. Stephen MacAulay let a shot go off the outside of the post followed by Danick Gauthier tipping the puck into the glove of Chouinard. A few minutes later, Beaulieu let a huge blast go from the top of the circle that was kept out nicely by Chouinard. The Sea Dogs came very close to scoring at one point as the puck sat on the line but, after a short review, was ruled no goal.
The Sea Dogs got a very important insurance marker at 13:42 by Pierre Durepos. Phillips came across the line and dropped the puck back for Durepos who wound up and slapped one past Chouinard to give Saint John a 3-1 lead.
Jones and Simon Despres decided to settle their differences with a round of fisticuffs at 16:16. Both players got some decent shots in before being separated.
In the dying seconds of the frame, Hazen sent the puck in front for Anthony Taylor who beat Corbeil to cut the Sea Dogs’ lead to one. But with less than a second on the clock, it was too late for any kind of comeback attempt.
Shots in the third period were 14-7 Saint John.
Val-d’Or went 0-for-2 on the power play while Saint John went 0-for-3.
SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Forwards Jason Cameron and Aidan Kelly along with defenseman Jason Seed were all healthy scratches for the Sea Dogs.
In other lineup news, defenseman Kevin Gagne returned to the team’s lineup after missing Sunday’s game. Also, forward Alexandre Beauregard returned after a four-game absence due to a lower body injury.
QUICK HITS
The Sea Dogs have not lost in regulation over their past 19 games. They are 18-0-1-0 over that span… Saint John still has not lost a game in regulation at home this season… the Dogs go 3-0-0-0 against the Foreurs this season… per News 88.9, the Sea Dogs have scored three shorthanded goals against Val-d’Or this season… this was the second game of a four-game Maritime road swing for the Foreurs… defenseman Guillaume Gelinas led the Foreurs in shots with three… Nathan Beaulieu had a team high six shots for Saint John… Adam Jones fought twice in this match. He was given a game misconduct following his second tilt... before the game, Irving Oil donated $25,000 to Hockey for Everyone, a program that provides an opportunity for local children to experience first-hand Canada’s most loved sport.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
- Eric Gelinas. What else can you say.
- The new sound quality on News 88.9 is unbelievable.
- Good to see two deserving defensemen in Gabriel Bourret and Pierre Durepos each score.
- Happy Birthday Yann Sauve.
NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs host the Shawinigan Cataractes tomorrow night at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.
Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation
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