RECAP: Sea Dogs Win 5-3

FINAL: Val-d’Or 3, Saint John 5

By Lorne Webster | SN Staff

SAINT JOHN - It was Halloween at the Station on Saturday night in Saint John. The home town Sea Dogs had more tricks than treats for their visitors from Val-d'Or and came away with a solid 5-3 win over the Foreurs. The win snapped a three-game losing streak and allowed Saint John to jump back into second place in the Maritimes Division, three points behind the Moncton Wildcats - who lost 7-3 in Bathurst - with one game in hand. 

Adam Marsh, Thomas Chabot, Dan Del Paggio, Matthew Highmore and Jakub Zboril each had a goal for Saint John. Nathan Tremblay had two goals and Shawn Ouellette-St-Amant one for Val-d'Or.   

1st Period

Former Sea Dog Jack vanBoekel was penalized during his first shift back on Harbour Station ice. The Sea Dogs power play was buzzing but a few close misses and several big saves by Foreurs' rookie goaltender Dereck Baribeau kept the game scoreless until close to the nine-minute mark. At that point, Marsh one-timed a rebound off a Mathieu Joseph shot to open the scoring. The Sea Dogs' power play did click at 14:46, when Chabot's blast from the point made it 2-0. However, Val-d'Or responded with a power play goal of their own when a point shot banked off Tremblay past a screened Marc-Antoine Turcotte at 17:18.

2nd Period

The Sea Dogs got off to a great start in the second period and, before the one-minute mark, Del Paggio completed a multi-pass two-on-one with Nathan Noel by chipping the puck just over Baribeau from near the goal line to restore a two goal lead. Saint John's power play would cash in again at 15:29, when Highmore dug the puck out of a scramble and slid it past a fallen Baribeau to extend the Sea Dogs' lead to 4-1. Just past the 17-minute mark, Ouellette-St-Amant snuck in behind Saint John's defence and finished with a nifty deke to the backhand. The period ended with the hosts up 4-2.

   

3rd Period

After a hard fought first half of the third period, the Foreurs drew within one, when Tremblay converted off a scramble by flipping the puck just over Turcottte at 10:21.  Roughly a minute later, Turcotte absolutely robbed Val-d'Or star Julien Gauthier with an acrobatic save to keep Saint John in front. Then, at 12:12, a heavy shot from the point by Zboril found its way through a crowd and past Baribeau to set the final score at 5-3.

GAME DAY 18: vs Foreurs

A preview of tonight’s game between the Val-d’Or Foreurs and Saint John Sea Dogs…

When and where: Tonight at 7 p.m., Harbour Station

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Foreurs are second in the West Division and fourth overall in the QMJHL with a 10-6-2-1 record for 23 points. The Sea Dogs are third in the Maritimes Division and 11^th overall with a 9-7-1-0 record for 19 points.

Last games: The Foreurs are coming off a 6-2 loss to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in Sydney last night. Julien Gauthier and Alexis Pepin had goals for Val-d’Or while Etienne Montpetit made 39 saves in the loss. The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies last night at Harbour Station. Mathieu Joseph and Jakub Zboril scored for Saint John while Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 30 stops in the loss.

2014-15 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 1-1-0-0 against the Foreurs last season while Val-d’Or went 1-0-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Dec. 13, 2014 at the Air Creebec Centre where the Foreurs downed the Sea Dogs 4-2. Julien Gauthier, Anthony Beauregard, Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Anthony Richard all scored for Val-d’Or while Saint John goals came from Thomas Chabot and Justice Dundas. Etienne Montpetit made 26 saves in the win while Sebastien Auger made 30 in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Foreurs: Jack vanBoekel

Random stat/fact: Mathieu Joseph has five goals and six assists in 11 October games.

RECAP: Sea Dogs Lose 5-2

FINAL: Rouyn-Noranda 5, Saint John 2

By Lorne Webster | SN Staff

SAINT JOHN - The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies rode into Harbour Station as the QMJHL's first place team and proved they are a serious contender for the Presidents Cup, earning a convincing 5-2 victory over the Sea Dogs Friday evening. The Huskies - an extremely solid team top to bottom - generally out worked and out hit the talented Sea Dogs to hand the hosts their third straight loss.

Antoine Waked led the charge for Rouyn-Noranda with a two goal performance.  Gabriel Fontaine, J-C Beaudin and Martins Dzierkals added singles for the Huskies, while Mathieu Joseph and Jakub Zboril replied for Saint John. 

1st Period

Before the game was a minute old, Waked bounced on a loose puck in the slot and ripped a shot into the top corner to open the scoring. Just before the 12-minute mark, the Sea Dogs’ power play finally broke through to tie the game. Spencer Smallman bolted into the high slot and wired a low wrist shot that rattled off both goal posts to a streaking Joseph, who buried the rebound past Chase Marchand. Marc-Antoine Turcotte made a number of big saves to allow Saint John to finish the period tied 1-1. 

2nd Period

Just prior to the three-minute mark, Marchand absolutely robbed Nathan Noel in close to preserve the tie. Then, a little over a minute later, the Huskies victimized Saint John's four-forward power play, when Waked received a lovely two-on-one feed from Francis Perron and chipped the puck just over Turcotte's shoulder to give Rouyn-Noranda a 2-1 lead. At 11:51, Fontaine's laser from the right face-off circle banked off the post and made it 3-1 for the visitors. The lead was extended to 4-1, when Beaudin corralled a turnover and rifled a shot over Turcotte's glove at 14:40. The Sea Dogs drew within two, when Zboril unloaded a bullet from the point past a screened Marchand to end the period 4-2 in favour of Rouyn-Noranda.    

   

3rd Period

The Sea Dogs ran into some penalty trouble, which led to a five-on-three power play for the Huskies early in the third period. Toronto Maple Leafs' prospect Dzierkals’ one-timer from the right circle found the back of the net at 1:50 to restore Rouyn-Noranda's three-goal lead. Things turned ugly near the midpoint of the third, when Anthony Wojcik's vicious check from behind leveled Julien Tessier. Despite Tessier being down for several minutes - and requiring the help of a pair of team mates to get off the ice - referees Jonathan Langille and Todd Thomander felt that Wojcik's action only warranted a double minor. In light of a few recent suspensions following league reviews, it will be interesting to see if the QMJHL sees it differently. 

GAME DAY 17: vs Huskies

A preview of tonight’s game between the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Saint John Sea Dogs…

When and where: Tonight at 7:30 p.m., Harbour Station

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Huskies are first in the West Division and first overall in the QMJHL standings with a 13-1-3-1 record for 30 points. The Sea Dogs are second in the Maritimes Division and 10^th overall with a record of 9-6-1-0 for 19 points.

Last games: The Huskies are coming off a 4-1 win over the Islanders in Charlottetown last night. Jean-Christophe Beaudin, Gabriel Fontaine, Francis Perron and Antoine Waked all scored for Rouyn-Noranda while Chase Marchand made 25 saves in the victory. The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss in Moncton on Sunday. Sam Povorozniouk, Spencer Smallman and Nathan Noel all scored for Saint John while Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 37 saves in the loss.

2014-15 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 1-1-0-0 against the Huskies last season while Rouyn-Noranda went 1-1-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Dec. 12, 2014 at Iamgold Arena where the Huskies defeated the Sea Dogs 5-1. Jeremy Lauzon, Francis Perron, Mathieu Lemay, Mathieu Boucher, and Jean-Christophe Beaudin scored for Rouyn-Noranda while Saint John’s lone goal came from Samuel Dove-McFalls. Alexandre Belanger made 30 saves in the win while Alex Bishop made 23 in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Huskies: None

Random fact/stat: Jean-Christophe Beaudin had one goal and three assists in two games against Saint John last season.

Under-17 Challenge Begins This Weekend

Pre-tournament action for the 2015 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge begins tomorrow in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, BC.

Canada has split their roster into three teams – black, red and white. The two Sea Dogs who are taking part in the event – forward Joe Veleno and goaltending prospect Alex D’Orio – will both play for Canada Black.

Veleno, who the Sea Dogs drafted first overall in this year’s QMJHL Entry Draft, has two goals and eight assists in 15 QMJHL games this year. Obviously, the Dogs will be without Veleno for the tournament, which ends on Nov. 7.

According to Elite Prospects, D’Orio, the ninth overall pick in this year’s draft, has a 2.59 goals against average and a .909 save percentage in six games with the Quebec midget AAA Magog Cantonniers this season.

There are a few other QMJHL players on the Canada Black roster. Also, Shane Bowers, the highly touted Halifax native who didn’t report to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, is on the squad. Bowers has three goals and two assists in eight games with the United States Hockey League’s Waterloo Black Hawks.

Here is Team Black’s schedule:

Friday, Oct. 30 at 6:30 p.m. AST – vs Sweden (pre-tournament)

Sunday, Nov. 1 at 5:30 p.m. AST – vs Canada White

Monday, Nov. 2 at 10 p.m. AST – vs Czech Republic

Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 10 p.m. ADT – vs United States

The Hockey Canada website has broadcast and webcast information.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

#OnceASeaDogAlwaysASeaDog: Where Are They Now - Part 2

By Lorne Webster | SN Staff

In our first alumni report, we listed the former Sea Dogs currently playing professionally in the NHL, AHL or ECHL along with those in the CIS. However, per EliteProspects.com, there are many currently playing professionally in Europe, as well as in junior and senior leagues throughout eastern Canada.  

Czech Republic (3)

David Stich - HC Vitkovice (D1)

Jurij Repe - HC Kladno (D2)

Jakub Izacky - HC Novy Jicin (D3)

France (3)

Francis Charland - Bordeaux

Jonathan Laberge - Lyon

Maxime Dubuc - Neuilly-sur-Marne

Germany (2)

Nick Peterson - Iserlohn

Russia (3)

Alexei Dostoinov - Avtomobilist Yekaterinbourg

Felix Schutz - Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod

Nikita Li (Lee) - Spartak Moskva

Slovakia (1)

Mathieu Corbeil - HC Banska Bystrica

Sweden (1)

Martin Bartos - Vanersborgs (D2)

Switzerland (1)

Chris DiDomenico - Langnau SCL Tigers
Robert Mayer - Geneve-Servette