SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

HOT, HOT, HOT, AND HOT AGAIN
For the fourth consecutive week, Rogers Sportsnet’s “Who’s Hot, Who’s Not” has named Saint John the hottest team in the QMJHL. The honor comes as the Sea Dogs defeated Baie-Comeau 4-2 and Bathurst 8-2 this past week. Here’s what Sportsnet’s Patrick King had to say on the Dogs:

"Saint John kept their impressive winning streak alive with another two wins over Baie-Comeau and Acadie-Bathurst. Questions whether the Sea Dogs are capable of contending this season appear to have been answered as the team holds a 21-4-1-0 record and 13-game winning streak. They now have an 11-point lead in the Atlantic Division."

To view the article click HERE.

Canada’s second most viewed sports station also called this coming Friday’s match-up between Saint John and Drummondville the “game of the week.”

"The tests won't get much bigger than this for the Sea Dogs as they hope to build on their franchise best winning streak," said King. "The defending league champion Voltigeurs will be looking for a better performance after blowing a two-goal lead against Québec in the third period in last week's highlighted game. A win for Saint John could help further prove their legitimacy as league contender in this match-up between the top two teams."

PHILLIPS’ PERFORMANCE
Zach Phillips’ hat trick on Saturday was certainly one of the highlights of the young 2009-10 campaign. The goal tied a Sea Dogs record for most goals scored by a player in one game.

There have now been three hat tricks this season with Mike Hoffman’s, Steven Anthony’s, and Phillips'. There has now been 13 times in which a Sea Dog has scored three goals. Chris DiDomenico has a team leading three in his career.

TSN PLAYER RANKINGS
Marc-Antoine Gelinas and Nicholas Petersen have found there way into the TSN Player Rankings again this week. Gelinas, who is near the top of every goaltending stat in the lead, is ranked second for the second week in a row. Petersen is ranked 14th of the 15 positions available.

To view the rankings click HERE.

MULTICULTURAL DAY ANNOUNCED
The Sea Dogs announced yesterday that the October 29th contest between the Dogs and Quebec Remparts will be “Multicultural Day.” The team has partnered with Saint John Multicultural and Newcomers Resource Centre Inc. (SJMNRC)

“We’re very excited about this promotion,” said Sea Dogs President Wayne Long on saintjohnseadogs.com. “The city of Saint John has a wonderful tradition of embracing and celebrating our cultural diversity and we’re looking forward to honouring that tradition next Sunday.”

Tickets for the next Sunday’s game are available at a discounted rate at the Saint John Multicultural & Newcomers Resource Centre (3rd floor, City Market Building, 47 Charlotte Street / Saint John, NB / E2L 2H8). Tickets are also available through the Saint John YM-YWCA (130 Broadview Avenue), Fortune Market (73 King Street), Great Wall Supermarket (229 Churchill Boulevard) and at the Taco Pica stand in the City Market.

CBC PLAYER ROFILES
CBC Radio One in the Saint John area will air “Sea Dogs Player Profiles” every Monday at around 8:20 am. The in depth profiles air on CBC’s “Information Morning” show on 91.3 FM.

FOUR DOGS LISTED IN RANKINGS
The National Hockey League released their first rankings of the 2009-10 season yesterday. There were some surprises in the rankings that included top prospect Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires falling to to second in the OHL.

There were four Sea Dogs listed in the rankings of draft eligible players from the QMJHL. Stanislav Galiev is ranked 7th, a ranking that we here at Station Nation believe is far to low. Danick Gauthier, who was featured in the “Red Line Report” earlier this season is ranked 8th. Stephen MacAulay is ranked 18th while Kevin Gagne was placed in 25th spot.

To view the rankings from the OHL, QMJHL, WHL, and USHL click HERE.

THE NEW OCHO
The Sea Dogs’ official Twitter page said yesterday that equipment manager David Kelly has announced Nicholas Petersen has changed his number to number eight. He had been wearing number 26 this season but wore number eight last year in Shawinigan.

Petersen becomes the fourth player in team history to wear the number. Mike Neil, David MacDonald, and Alexandre “Ocho” Leduc have worn eight in the past.

MAYER SENT BACK DOWN
Montreal Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey announced today that goaltender Robert Mayer has been reassigned from the Hamilton Bulldogs to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

Mayer, 20, has played in three games with the Cyclones this year earning two wins and one loss with a 3.33 goals-against-average and a 0.867 save percentage. Last season, the native of Hairov, Czech Republic played in 65 games with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL posting a record of 26-25-4 with a 3.25 goals-against-average and a 0.900 save percentage as well as registering two shutouts. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound goaltender was signed as a free agent by the Canadiens on September 25th, 2008.