KIRKPATRICK NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY

The Telegraph-Journal is reporting that there is expected to be a big hole in the Saint John Sea Dogs’ lineup tonight in Victoriaville.

Meanwhile, Michael Kirkpatrick, who sustained an upper-body injury in Game 1, is not expected to play tonight.

Kirkpatrick missed Game Two of the series on Saturday with a rumored concussion. The Sea Dogs are, not surprisingly, labeling it an ‘upper body’ injury.

The Sea Dogs and Tigres meet this evening at 8:00 pm for Game Three of their quarter-final series.

The 20-year old brings a little bit of everything to the Sea Dogs and is a big loss. He has two goals and seven assists in five playoff games this year and finished the regular season with 31 markers and 51 assists, good for third in team scoring.

There has been no word on Simon Despres who looked to be in some serious pain on Saturday after appearing to twist his knee/leg. He left the game but would return a short time later.

NINE DOGS MAKE FINAL RANKINGS

An incredible nine Saint John Sea Dogs appeared in Central Scouting’s final North American skater rankings for the 2011 National Hockey League Entry Draft. A total of 33 players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League made the cut for the 212 positions available.

Sea Dogs leading scorer Jonathan Huberdeau was the highest ranked, jumping into the No. 3 spot behind Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at No. 1 and Gabriel Landeskog at No. 2. It has been quite a climb for Huberdeau who was considered a late first round pick by many agencies at the start of the season.

Also on the rise is defenseman Nathan Beaulieu. The third-year Sea Dog jumped into the No. 5 slot, making him the second highest defenseman ranked behind Niagara IceDog Dougie Hamilton.

Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Sean Couturier, who played with Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships and was considered the top player available by most a year ago, slipped all the way down to No. 6.

Two other Saint John forwards made the top-30 in Zack Phillips at No. 15 and Tomas Jurco at No. 20.

Also included in the rankings: forwards Scott Oke (No. 44), Ryan Tesink (No. 47), Aidan Kelly (No. 94), and Jason Cameron (No. 124), and defenseman Gabriel Bourret (No. 92).

Former Sea Dogs defenseman and current Chicoutimi Sagueneen Guillaume Cloutier was ranked at No. 137. Cloutier was involved in the Eric Gelinas trade that went down in January.

The NHL Entry Draft will be held this June in Minnesota. Of note, the NHL Draft Lottery, which will determine who selects first overall, will be held tomorrow night and can be seen on TSN.

Also of note, Victoriaville Tigres goaltender David Honzik, who has been beast-like in the playoffs so far, was ranked 13th amongst North American playing netminders.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

CATARACTES FINED FOR COMMENTS

The drama surrounding the selection of the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup host site refuses to go away.

Today, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League fined the Shawinigan Cataractes hockey club $2,000 for “inappropriate comments made on April 7th 2011 by the team’s General Manager, Martin Mondou, in regards to the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup selection process as well as towards the Saint John Sea Dogs.”

QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau had this to say in a press release:

“The accusatory comments made by the Cataractes’ General Manager were inappropriate and unacceptable,” said the Commissioner. “The selection process for the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup was conducted by an independent committee that worked hard to analyse all the possible candidates. Comments that cast a doubt on the credibility of a member club or committee do not have their place. It is of the utmost importance that clubs operate within an environment of respect.”

The Shawinigan newspaper L’Hebdo du St. Maurice reports that Mondou’s comments came in an interview with RDS’ Stephane Leroux on CKAC Radio Thursday. Much like the Shawinigan media has been discussing for months, Mondou criticized the Sea Dogs for the way they built their team, a.k.a. the controversial 2009 QMJHL Entry Draft.

You can read the transcribed version of his comments here en francais or listen to it here.

Mondou can’t be too surprised he was fined. It’s probably not the best idea in the world to make accusations like this on the radio.

Sea Dogs fans have already voiced their displeasure of the selection by cheering against the Cataractes during the out-of-town scoreboard at Harbour Station and by posting comments on the league’s Facebook page. After the selection announcement, The QMJHL had a poll up on their Facebook page asking who should have been awarded the Memorial Cup but it was taken down a few hours later. At last check, Saint John had almost 50 votes. Shawinigan had none.

All of this hate will make for an interesting little rivalry next season.

Photo Credit: La Nouvelliste

KIRKPATRICK 'DAY-TO-DAY'

SAINT JOHN – There was a noticeable absence in the Saint John Sea Dogs' line-up on Saturday night at Harbour Station.

20-year old Michael Kirkpatrick missed Game Two of the Sea Dogs’ quarter-final series against the Victoriaville Tigres with what the team is calling an “upper body” injury. According to News 88.9, he is listed as day-to-day.

The Victoriaville newspaper La Nouvelle Union is speculating that Kirkpatrick suffered a concussion in Game One. The veteran forward was the victim of a huge Francois Godin hit in open ice in front of the player benches. Kirkpatrick didn’t look too out of place following the play and remained in the game.

The hit can be seen at 3:10 of this highlight package:



Kirkpatrick is Mr. Everything for Saint John and would have been a big help in Game Two as the Sea Dogs fell 3-2 to the Tigres. Hopefully he isn’t out too long.

In five playoff games this year, the North Sydney native has two goals and seven assists. In 63 regular season contests, Kirkpatrick has 31 markers and 51 helpers.

As pointed out during the Sea Dogs’ radio broadcast, Kirkpatrick had played in every single playoff game in franchise history before missing last night’s.

TIGRES CLAW BACK

SN POST-GAME
FINAL: Tigres 3, Sea Dogs 2

SAINT JOHN – Most fans were not prepared for what they witnessed on Saturday night at Harbour Station. For the first time in almost a year, the Saint John Sea Dogs lost a home game in regulation time.

The Victoriaville Tigres, who beat Saint John in regulation time on the road during the regular season, were the winners by score of 3-2. But much more importantly than ending Saint John’s streak, the Tigres evened the best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series at 1-1.

Given the Sea Dogs’ home dominance this season and Victoriaville being the 11th-seeded team, it is a surprise to see this series knotted at 1-1. But the Tigres seem to enjoy surprising people after sweeping away the sixth-seeded Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the first round.

Victoriaville used their traditional trap game thing and the Dogs couldn’t break through it. Even when they did, the sensational goaltending of David Honzik kept the Dogs from lighting the lamp very much. From a Saint John perspective, it was a frustrating game.

The Tigres got off to a good start, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. At 17:34 on a power play, Brandon Hynes scored followed by Phillip Danault at even strength at 19:30 to put the visitors up a couple going into the second frame.

The two-goal deficit sparked the Sea Dogs as they dominated the second period. Although they only outshot Victoriaville 18-6, they carried the play for the majority of the stanza. At 12:42 on a man advantage, Jonathan Huberdeau tapped the puck past the pad of Honzik to make it a one-goal affair.

The Sea Dogs continue to buzz as the third period started. At 3:01, Steven Anthony blasted a shot that bounced off the crossbar but appeared to somehow stay out. Play carried on for a short amount of time before a whistle went, allowing the play to be reviewed. The goal review lasted long enough to eat an entire tray of nachos, but finally, after a solid 10 minutes, the phone was put and was ruled a goal.

But just when it looked like the game may be destined for overtime, Eric Gelinas was called for slashing at 15:33. On the man advantage, Danault lifted the puck over a falling Jacob DeSerres to give the Tigres a 3-2 lead with just a few minutes remaining.

Pier-Luc Pelletier took an elbowing penalty at 19:02 which, with DeSerres on the bench, would allow Saint John to finish regulation with a 6-on-4 advantage. The Sea Dogs had control of the puck in the Victoriaville zone but couldn’t break through the Tigres to tie it.

Shots in the match were 43-29 in favour of Saint John.

The Tigres went 2-for-3 on the power play and have now scored three of their four goals in this series on the man advantage. Saint John did not allow a power play goal in the opening round.

The Sea Dogs scored both of their markers in the man advantage, going 2-for-6.

The series is a whole lot more interesting know and will shift to Victoriaville for Games Three, Four and Five on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.

NEXT GAME: Game Three of the series is Tuesday night at Colisee Desjardins at 8:00 pm.

LIVE BLOG: Game 2 - Tigres vs Sea Dogs

There will no live Twitter coverage from SN for tonight's game. But, you can follow the SN Live Blog for the streaming of Even Strength’s Jeremy Fraser’s tweets.