SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

OUELLET IS OUT
Not surprisingly, Mikaël Lalancette of Metro Montreal is reporting that the Olympiques will be without Christian Ouellet for tonight’s game.

Ouellet was hurt in the first period of Friday’s game at Harbour Station and hobbled off. He would return, eventually scoring a goal, but had limited ice time the rest of the way.

It’s a tough loss for Gatineau. He is tied for third in playoff goal scoring with 11 markers in 23 games.

SAINT JOHN DRAFT PICKS
The QMJHL released the list of draft picks that each team will have for the upcoming entry draft. The draft will be held next month in Victoriaville.

Saint John is without a first round pick and will make their first selection at 36th overall. Click HERE for the full draft listings.

A GOOD THREE YEARS
A really interesting read from Matthew Weust’s Metro Halifax blog, ‘The Q Files,’ earlier this week. The post compares total stats of teams from around the Canadian Hockey League over the past three seasons.

Here is where the Sea Dogs rank in several categories:

Total Points – 4th best with 300
Best Winning Percentage – 3rd best at .710
Wins – 4th best with 145
Goals Per Game – 3rd best with 4.19
Goals Against Average – 10th best at 2.86
Least Penalty Minutes Per Game – 6th best with 14.23

Safe to say Saint John fans have been pretty spoiled over the past three seasons.

CLERMONT THE INCREDIBLE
Our friends at In Lou We Trust, a New Jersey Devils blog, had a solid write-up on the incredible playoff performance of Gatineau goaltender Maxime Clermont.

Breaking it down game-by-game, Clermont hasn't slowed down as the playoffs went on. If anything, he has rose to the occasion. Until their Game 5 loss, Saint John has placed at least 33 shots on Clermont per game. The Sea Dogs absolutely shelled him in Game 2 with 40 shots, where Clermont stopped 38. In a double-overtime epic, Saint John piled even more rubber on the Devils prospect, forcing Clermont to make 60 saves - which was necessary since, you know, the game went to double overtime. Clermont is backstopping the biggest challenge the Sea Dogs have faced all season in the Q. That's not just big, it's enormous. It's simply incredible.

Clermont, who has been named the CHL Goaltender of the Week for two straight weeks, will probably be dialed in once again this evening.

SCORING CHAMP
Interesting note from Le Journal de Quebec last week regarding Remparts forward Jonathan Audy-Marchessault and his 33 playoff points. According to the newspaper, Marchessault could become the first player in league history to win the post-season scoring title without participating in the President’s Cup final.

The Remparts striker recorded 33 points in just 18 games for Quebec. Jonathan Huberdeau is second with 28 points in 18 contests and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also has 28 points in five more games played.

LEARNING FROM MISTAKES
Patrick King of Rogers Sportsnet had a piece on the Sea Dogs this week, discussing how last year’s President’s Cup final loss against Moncton has helped the team this year.

The examples in sports are endless: the Edmonton Oilers were an emerging power in the early 1980s, but lost to the more experienced New York Islanders in the 1983 Stanley Cup finals. The two teams met again for the 1984 championship, this time with the Oilers emerging victorious.

Even Peyton Manning - who is considered by many as the greatest quarterback to have ever played football - had to lose to the New England Patriots twice before exorcising his demon en route to a Super Bowl in 2006.

The Sea Dogs may not be going up against their tormentors, as the Wildcats were eliminated in round one by Lewiston, but the empty, disappointing feeling from a year ago drives them, just as it did the Oilers and Manning's Indianapolis Colts.

DANCING TIMES
A short video of Dancin’ Brendan and friend that was posted on YouTube last week:



Photo Credits: Cyberpresse, Marc Henwood/Station Nation