The Port City junior squad travels to Quebec for an
always tough three-in-three road trip. The trip begins tomorrow night with a
meeting against the Oceanic in Rimouski, continues on Saturday in
Victoriaville, and ends on Sunday in Sherbrooke against the expansion Phoenix.
It’ll be a tough challenge for the Sea Dogs who will have
a few new and a few returning faces in the lineup this weekend. They’ll also be
seeing some old faces.
Tomorrow’s game will be the first time Saint John has
played Rimouski since 20-year old defenseman Kevin Gagne was traded to the
Oceanic. The Dogs got a few draft picks in return, including a first-round
selection in this year’s draft. Gagne, who had played with the Sea Dogs since
the 2008-09 season, has two goals and four assists in five games with the Oceanic since
joining them.
The Oceanic also feature former Sea Dogs forward Scott
Oke who has 18 goals and 26 assists in 33 games this season. However, Oke has
not played since December 12 due to injury and is not expected to play tomorrow.
Rimouski lost to Saint John in the President's Cup final
last year but have a good chance of returning. They sit fourth overall in the QMJHL
with a 26-11-1-4 record. They are just two points back of the second-place
Baie-Comeau Drakkar.
The Dogs will also face a former teammate on Sunday in
Sherbrooke. Saint John traded defenseman Benjamin Hade to the Phoenix earlier
this week in exchange for a draft pick. Hade made his Sherbrooke debut
yesterday and recorded two hits in a 4-3 loss to Baie-Comeau.
Despite getting off to a terrible start, Sherbrooke would
be in the playoffs if they started today. They sit 16th overall in
the league with an 11-24-2-4 record and are three points up on 17th-place
Cape Breton with a game in hand.
The Tigres don’t have any ex-Dogs but it could prove to
be an interesting matchup. Victoriaville is just three points ahead of Saint John in
the standings but have played three more games. They have a record of
16-19-2-5.
Victoriaville traded star player and captain Phillip
Danault to the Moncton Wildcats on Tuesday in a blockbuster deal.
Saint John is .500 on the road this season with a 9-9-0-0 record. Let's see how they do this weekend.
Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation
Saint John is .500 on the road this season with a 9-9-0-0 record. Let's see how they do this weekend.
Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation
No comments:
Post a Comment