SEA DOGS POST-GAME NOTEBOOK

SEA DOGS –FOREURS GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: Val-d’Or 0, Saint John 11
Saint John Goals: Danick Gauthier (13), Mike Hoffman (33), Tomas Jurco (18), Jonathan Huberdeau (10, 11, 12), Stanislav Galiev (13), Nicholas Pard (12), Zach Phillips (9), Michael Kirkpatrick (21), and Gabriel Bourret (3)
Val-d’Or Goals: None
Winning Goaltender: SNB – Marco Cousineau (17-15-0)
Losing Goaltender: VDO - Jacob Chouinard (4-3-0)
News 88.9 Top Dog: Jonathan Huberdeau

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Foreurs 0/4, Sea Dogs 2/6
Shots on Goal: Foreurs: 7+9+10=26, Sea Dogs: 13+16+13=42
Attendance: 4,175

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Steven Anthony missed the game with what the Sea Dogs are calling an upper body injury. He suffered the injury in the second period of Friday night’s 6-3 win. Christian Morin missed his fourth straight game with an upper body injury.

Gabriel Bourret and Aiden Kelly filled their voids in the lineup.

DOMINATION
Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant couldn’t have asked for much more than he got on Saturday night. Saint John’s offense exploded for 11 goals a night after playing one of their worst games all season.

“That was a good indication of what we're capable of when all twenty guys put in a full sixty minute effort,” said Danick Gauthier after the game to the Sea Dogs' Twitter page.

The Sea Dogs took it to the Foreurs from start to finish last night. They scored 40 seconds into the first period and in the last minute of the third period. It was also a balance attack as the Dogs scored four goals in the first and second periods and three in the final 20 minutes.

The dominating performance comes six days after blowing out the Gatineau Olympiques 8-0.

HISTORY
The 2009-2010 edition of the Saint John Sea Dogs is the best team in franchise history.

With their 42nd win last night, the Sea Dogs eclipsed their previous high of 41 set in the 2007-2008 season. With 17 games left, Saint John will likely have their first 50 win season.

HELLO HUBERDEAU
With Steven Anthony out of the lineup, 16-year old Jonathan Huberdeau jumped to the second with Michael Kirkpatrick. He never looked back.

Huberdeau lit up the Foreurs for three goals and also got two assists on the evening. His five point game is a personal best and tied a Sea Dogs rookie record for points in a game. The other rookie to record five points was Simon Despres. "Joe" scored on all three of his shots and was an amazing +5.

Huberdeau picked up his second straight first star performance. He was excellent on Friday night as well with a goal and an assist.

The St. Gerome, Quebec native also showed a physical side to his game last night, getting into a small scrap after being high sticked in the face.

ROOKIE RAGE
The future of the Sea Dogs is in good hands.

Along with Huberdeau’s five points, Danick Gauthier, Gabriel Bourret, Zach Phillips, and Stanislav Galiev all had a goal and an assist each. Tomas Jurco also had a goal.

The big guns in Mike Hoffman and Nicholas Petersen combined to registered one goal and four assists.

Only three players failed to record a point and two were defensemen. Kevin Gagne and Pierre Durepos didn’t get a point but were both a +3.

Poor Aiden Kelly, he has yet to get a point in seven games this season and didn’t have a shot on goal last night.

Four Saint John first year players are now in the top 20 for QMJHL rookie scoring.

CANADIAN PRESS RECAP
Jonathan Huberdeau had the biggest game of his junior career Saturday night.

The 16-year-old forward scored three goals and set up two as the Saint John Sea Dogs crushed the Val-d'Or Foreurs 11-0 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.

It was the first hat trick of Huberdeau's junior career. He now has 12 goals and 28 points in his rookie season with Saint John.

Marco Cousineau made 26 saves for his third shutout of the 2009-10 season. He was acquired by the Sea Dogs in a trade with the P.E.I. Rocket on Dec. 30.

The win was the largest margin of victory in the league this season, with nine different players scoring for Saint John.

At Saint John, N.B., Danick Gauthier, Mike Hoffman, Tomas Jurco, Stanislav Galiev, Nicholas Pard, Zack Phillips, Michael Kirkpatrick and Gabriel Bourret were the other scorers for the Sea Dogs (42-8-1).

Jacob Gervais-Chouinard made 31 saves for Val-d'Or (18-29-5).

SEADOGSTV HIGHLIGHTS
Not available yet. See http://www.youtube.com/user/seadogstv later today or tomorrow.

OUT OF TOWN
Elsewhere in the QMJHL it was: Shawinigan 3 Halifax 2; P.E.I. 4 Acadie-Bathurst 2; and Cape Breton 4 Victoriaville 2.

QUICK HITS
Nine different players scored for Saint John… Marco Cousineau got his third shutout of the season and second as a Sea Dog. He is 4-0 since changing his sweater number to 79… Mike Thomas left the game in the third period after being high sticked. The officials missed two obvious high sticks last night… Val-d’Or defenseman Mathieu Leduc was a -6 on the night… this is the most goals the Sea Dogs have scored in a game this season and the widest margin of victory. The record for goals in a game is 12… Saint John has now won three games in a row and have outscored their opponents 25-3 in that span… it was “Salute the Navy” night at Harbour Station with a pre-game ceremony taking place at center ice… very disappointing crowd of only 4,175 on a Saturday night... Foreurs head coach Marc-Andre Dumont will be questioned for his move to leave goaltender Jacob Chouinard in for the entire game.

NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs travel to Halifax to take on the Mooseheads Friday at 7:00 pm.

BLOWOUT AT THE STATION

STATION NATION REWIND
FINAL: Foreurs 0, Sea Dogs 11

SAINT JOHN – It was the game that came one night to late.

With the Saint John Sea Dogs giving out tons of cowboy hats on Friday night, how awesome would it have been for a Sea Dog to score a hat trick. That came tonight.

16-year old Jonathan Huberdeau is slowly become a legend in Saint John. The rookie put up a hat trick to go along with an assist as the Dogs went on to destroy the Val-d’Or Foreurs 11-0 in QMJHL action Saturday night at Harbour Station.

Huberdeau almost/sort of had a Gordie Howe hat trick when he nearly dropped the gloves in the third period. He picked up his second straight first star performance.

Saint John completely destroyed the Foreurs from start to finish, scoring in the first minute of the first period and the in the final minute of the third period. The blowout comes six days after shuting out the Gatineau Olympiques 8-0 last Sunday.

Marco Cousineau was solid in the Saint John crease and was much more active than the game against Gatineau. He bailed out his team a few times and got his second shutout as a Sea Dog. He is now 4-0 with his new jersey number, 79.

With the win, the 2009-2010 edition of the Saint John Sea Dogs is the best team in franchise history, picking up their 42nd win of the season.

Saint John owned Val-d’Or in the first period.

Danick Gauthier opened the scoring just 14 seconds into the game. Gauthier roofed a backhand shot over the shoulder of rookie net minder Jacob Chouinard to give the Sea Dogs the early 1-0 lead.

Just over a minute later at 1:28, Mike Hoffman lowered the boom on a slap shot that beat Chouinard to make it 2-0 Saint John. The goal gave Hoffman 33 on the season to extend his league lead in goals scored.

Stanislav Galiev was called for a very questionable goaltender interference call at 5:40. Galiev was pushed into Chouinard by a Val-d’Or defenseman but was still called for interference. It didn’t matter however, as Saint John had a solid penalty kill and even had a few shorthanded opportunities. Val-d'Or went 0/4 on the man advantage while Saint John went 2/6.

At 8:18 the Sea Dogs extended their lead to 3-0 thanks to Tomas Jurco. Vancouver Canucks prospect Yann Sauve let a wrist shot go from just inside the blue line. Jurco, parked in front, tipped the puck over the glove of Chouinard to give him his 18th marker of the season.

Jonathan Huberdeau and Nicholas Petersen were taken down at 12:01 and 12:59, giving the Sea Dogs a two man advantage. At 14:53, the Dogs struck again off some hard work by Gauthier. The Quebec native skated into the slot with the puck and let a shot go on Chouinard. The Foreurs goaltender lost the rebound at the side of the goal where Huberdeau slipped the puck home to make it 4-0 Saint John.

On the power play again late in the period, the Gauthier and Mike Thomas line were rewarded with some ice time and had some good chances but could not score.

Shots after one period were 13-7 for the home side.

With such dominance in the first period, why not do it all over again.

The Sea Dogs opened the period on the power play thanks to Shawn Mourtin-Boutin’s double minor for high sticking. 40 second into the middle session, a tic-tac-toe play was finished off by Galiev to make it 5-0 Saint John early on in the second.

Michael Kirkpatrick went to the box at 1:04 to make it four-on-four hockey for a short time. The Sea Dogs proved they can score then to, as Huberdeau fed Nicholas Pard. Pard came streaking down the wing and cut through the crease, unleashing a backhand that beat Chouinard to make it a six goal game.

Saint John did have a goalie in this game. Marco Cousineau started his third straight and stoned Alexandre Quesnel with a cross crease pad save.

With Cedrick Hendley in the box for high sticking at 5:00, Galiev was stopped by the pad of Chouinard in front off a nice pass from one of his line mates. That would be all on the power play as the Foreurs managed to kill it off.

Galiev missed a wide open later on and sent his shot trickling though the blue paint.

Zach Phillips was called for roughing at 15:11. Phillips was sprung out the box with a nice pass from inside the Saint John line. The Fredericton native made no mistake on the breakaway as he beat the Foreurs goaltender up high on a backhander to make it a 7-0 game.

The Dogs didn’t stop there. Huberdeau finished off a cross crease pass from a falling Petersen at 19:02. The talented 16-year old went five hole with the backhand to make it 8-0 Saint John, tying the largest goal lead they have had this season.

Saint John outshot the Foreurs 16-9 in the second period.

Chouinard showed up early in the third period after he made a nice stop on Gauthier with the pad. Then Nathan Beaulieu hit the post.

You could say it was a slow start for Saint John in the final frame as they failed to score in the first minute. But at 1:55 Kirkpatrick connected to make it 9-0 Saint John. The play started off a clean faceoff win by Huberdeau. The puck went to Kirkpatrick at the top of the circle who sent a shot through mild traffic that beat Chouinard.

At the barely touched other end, Samuel Morneau was robbed by the leather of Cousineau. He made 26 saves on the night with only six being dangerous.

Then chaos broke out between the two teams. It started after a missed call on a high stick on Huberdeau. He took his frustration out on a Foreurs player, allowing the rough stuff to begin. Everybody grabbed a partner with the tassel taking place between the two team’s benches. Out of all of that, Kirkpatrick and Huberdeau went to the box.

Out of the penalty box at 13:56, it was redemption time for Huberdeau. He went glove side corner on Chouinard to make the score 10-0 and give the rookie his first career hat trick.

With under a minute to go at 19:13, Gabriel Bourret got on the score board after he beat the Val-d’Or goaltender blocker side in the slot to make it an 11-0 final.

Saint John outshot the Foreurs 42-26 in the game.

After the buzzer, Karel St. Laurent looked like he was going to start beating on a linesman Jonathan Roy style for some reason. He left with a smile on his face.

NOTES: Lots of notes, stats, and records came out of this game. We will recap it all up tomorrow in Sea Dogs Post-Game Notebook.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs hit the road to take on Pascal Amyot and the Mooseheads in Halifax on Friday night at 7:00 pm.

NEW CLOCK COULD BROADCAST ROAD GAMES

More details have been released on the score clock renovations at Harbour Station.

Unlike Station Nation first predicted, the new clock will not at all look like the one at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH. Instead, it will much better with a wide screen high definition video board with the score placed below it.

The Sea Dogs and Harbour Station created the picture that can be seen above of what the new clock will look like. The score board part will likely be different because there is no room for shots on goal.

Of course, the talk about the new clock quickly turned into more rumblings about hosting the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

"It's an absolute must for the Saint John Sea Dogs because I know they are working hard to move forward to host the Memorial Cup in 2012," Energy Minister Jack Keir, representing the provincial government, said Friday to the Telegraph-Journal.

Keir was pumped about the announcement on News 88.9, sayng he would buy season tickets if the Sea Dogs host the Memorial Cup in 2012.

Harbour Station general manager Mike Caddell gave away some of the things fans can expect out of the new clock in today’s newspaper.

"It gives us an opportunity to compete with some of the bigger markets," he said. "When we have a full video board, we can do more wrestling, boxing and things like that. It's the equivalent of having your HD TV at home.”

Saint John mayor, Ivan Court, had some confusing words about the announcement.

"We have the number one team in the country in this building and people are going to have an opportunity to see them up close," said the mayor. Who knew watching the clock gets you closer to the action than sitting by the glass.

Possible uses would be to broadcast the Super Bowl at Harbour Station or show an important Sea Dogs games from out of town, at the arena on a large high definition screen, said Caddell. The larger screens will use the same technology recently unveiled at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

The clock will be retrofitted this spring and will take two weeks to complete, meaning it will be ready for Sea Dogs training camp come August.

Other than hockey, the clock will used at trade shows, conventions, and attract more wrestling and boxing events.

PRE-GAME: Val-d'Or Foreurs vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Game Day
Val-d’Or Foreurs vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Tonight, January 30, 2010 @ 7:00 pm
Harbour Station

Visiting Team: Val-d’Or Foreurs
Record: 18-27-4-1 (4th in Telus East Division)
Last Game: 6-3 loss at Saint John last night
Leading Scorer: Alexandre Quesnel: 48 GP-22-33 A-55 PTS
NHL Draft Picks: Marco Scandella (Minnesota), Samuel Morneau (Carolina), and Maxime Sauve (Boston)
Notes: Val-d’Or was quite active on the trade front this season. They sent Alex Noel, former Sea Dog Kevin Charland, former Sea Dog Benjamin Lecomte, and Dylan C. Capstick out of town in post Christmas deals. Coming to the Foreurs were Vincent Couture, Alexandre Touchette, Alexandre Quesnell, Nicolas Boyer, Mathieu Leduc, and Kabbaj Yousseff… coming off a 6-3 loss to Saint John last night. The Foreurs matched the Dogs goal for goal until they collapsed in the third period. Marco Scandella played well over half the game was named second star… Scandella helped team Canada win silver at the recent World Junior Hockey Championships in Saskatchewan. He scored a shorthanded goal in the semi-final against Switzerland that proved to be the game winner to send Canada to the final… Val-d’Or was without injured QMJHL standouts Jonathan Hazen, Alexandre Quesnel and Maxime Sauvé in last night’s loss in Saint John… 3-6-1-0 in their last 10 games and have lost two straight… have scored 10 shorthanded goals this season which puts them third overall in the league behind Drummondville and Moncton… have allowed the third most goal against in the league with 211… have allowed the most road goals against in the league with 127… 1-7-1-1 in their last 10 road games and have lost two straight games… this is the third game of a four game Atlantic road swing. They lost 4-1 in PEI Wednesday, 6-3 in Saint John last night, play the Dogs again tonight, and travel to Bathurst for a match tomorrow afternoon.

Home Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 41-8-1-0 (1st in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 6-3 Win vs Val-d’Or last night
Leading Scorer: Michael Kirkpatrick: 49 GP-20 G-44 A-64 Pts
NHL Draft Picks: Yann Sauve (Vancouver), Marco Cousineau (Anaheim), Simon Despres (Pittsburgh), Steven Anthony (Vancouver), Mike Hoffman (Ottawa), and Nicholas Petersen (Pittsburgh).
Notes: Saint John was named the number one team in the country for the second straight week. They are first in the Atlantic division and first overall in the QMJHL… the Sea Dogs acquired defenseman Christian Morin from the Foreurs at the trade deadline for Benjamin Lecomte. Lecomte was later traded to Gatineau. In 25 games with Val-d’Or this season, Morin had five goals and four assists with 44 penalty minutes. Morin missed his third straight game last night with an upper body injury. Tim Roszell of News 88.9 said that he didn’t play because he is still resting… Steven Anthony missed the last half of the game last night. He left in the second period and did not return… 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games and have won two straight… have scored the most goals of any team in the league with 225… owners of the best home record in the QMJHL at 21-4-0-0. 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 home games and have won five straight at Harbour Station… Stanislav Galiev leads all rookies in scoring with 12 goals and 36 assists in 49 games played this season. He also leads rookies with a +35 rating… Mike Hoffman leads the league in goals with 32 goals in 39 games. Nicolas Deschamps is second with 31 but has played seven more games than the Sea Dogs sniper… since switching numbers from 31 to 79, Marco Cousineau has a record of 3-0 with a G.A.A of 2.27.

Saint John vs Val-d’Or:
This Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
1-1-0-0-0-2
Home: 1-1-0-0-0-2
Road: 0-0-0-0-0-0
Goals For: 6
Goals Against: 3

Last Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
2-2-0-0-0-4
Home: 1-1-0-0-0-2
Road: 1-1-0-0-0-2
Goals For: 10
Goals Against: 3

All-Time- Not Including This Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
8-4-3-0-1-9
Home: 4-2-1-0-1-5
Road: 4-2-2-0-0-4
Goals For: 27
Goals Against: 26

Station Nation Facts:

• The Sea Dogs will pay tribute to the Canadian Naval Centennial on Salute to the Navy Night. A special pre-game ceremony will honour the 100th anniversary of Canada’s Navy. Throughout the evening, fans will also be able to visit a display booth on the arena concourse which will highlight Canada rich naval history, to which Saint John has contributed greatly.
• With a win tonight, the Sea Dogs can set a franchise record for wins in a season with 42.
• Val-d’Or’s notables over the years include: Jean-Pierre Dumont, Steve Bégin, Gaston Therrien, Roberto Luongo, Simon Gamache and Kristopher Letang.
• After the buzzer, the Sea Dogs travel to Halifax on Friday and then to Moncton on Saturday.

Important Info:
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297

Saint John Media: Radio- News 88.9 FM (www.news889.com)
Live Video Streaming: www.qmjhl.mytelus.com
Post-Game Coverage: www.stationnation.blogspot.com
Post-Game Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/user/seadogstv

TWITTER
Station Nation will be tweeting during today’s game at Harbour Station. You can follow us or follow along at www.twitter.com/station_nation.

SEA DOGS POST-GAME NOTEBOOK

SEA DOGS –FOREURS GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: Val-d’Or 3, Saint John 6
Saint John Goals: Nicholas Pard (11), Jonathan Huberdeau (9), Michael Kirkpatrick (20), Mike Thomas (8), Stanislav Galiev (12), and Nicholas Petersen (30)
Val-d'Or Goals: Anthony Taylor (7), Samuel Morneau (25), and Cedrick Henley (4)
Winning Goaltender: SNB – Marco Cousineau (16-15-0)
Losing Goaltender: VDO - Raffaele D’Orso (11-20-0)
News 88.9 Top Dog: Nathan Beaulieu

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Foreurs 0/4 , Sea Dogs 3/5
Shots on Goal: Foreurs: 2+15+10=27, Sea Dogs: 9+13+17=39
Attendance: 3,840

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Aiden Kelly was a healthy scratch and Christian Morin missed his third straight game with an upper body injury.

CANADIAN PRESS RECAP
Sea Dogs 6 Foreurs 3

At Saint John, N.B., Jonathan Huberdeau and Stanislav Galiev both had a goal and an assist as the Sea Dogs doubled Val-d'Or.

Nicholas Pard opened scoring for Saint John (41-8-1), while Michael Kirkpatrick, Mike Thomas and Nicholas Petersen also tallied.

Anthony Taylor, Samuel Morneau and Cedrick Henley had markers for the Foreurs (18-27-5).

OUT OF TOWN
Elsewhere in the QMJHL it was Quebec 3 Halifax 1; Shawinigan 5 Baie-Comeau 4 (OT); Gatineau 3 Chicoutimi 1; Lewiston 7 Rimouski 5; Rouyn-Noranda 3 Montreal 2 (OT) and Acadie-Bathurst 3 Moncton 6.

SEADOGSTV HIGHLIGHTS


QUICK HITS
There were hundreds of cowboy hats given out throughout the game on country night… a disappointing crowd for a Friday night but the weather was nasty outside… there was a loud applause when the announcement over the new clock was given over the P.A. system… there appeared to be some miscommunication in the pre-game ceremonies as the lights were not turned off and there was no music during the player introductions.

FOREURS FUMBLE IN THIRD

STATION NATION REWIND
FINAL: Foreurs 3, Sea Dogs 6

SAINT JOHN – Marco Scandella is a beast.

The Canadian junior team member played well over 30 minutes for the Val-d’Or Foreurs on Friday night at Harbour Station. Scandella proved to be the Mike Hoffman of QMJHL defenseman as he showed he was a man playing amongst boys.

Despite Scandella’s brave performance against the number one team in Canada, his Foreurs fell to the Saint John Sea Dogs 6-3 on country night at the Station.

It wasn’t the Sea Dogs’ best effort of the season, and were even down by score of 2-1 at 6:50 of the second period.

"We didn't play our best game tonight but we'll definitely take the two points,” said Saint John captain Mike Thomas after the game on the Dogs’ Twitter page. Thomas scored what proved to be the game winner at 11:59 of the third period.

“ I expect a better effort tomorrow," said Thomas about tomorrow’s rematch against the Foreurs at Harbour Station.

The first five minutes of the game showed that neither team wanted to score first with the two team’s failing to record a shot. Slowly, Saint John began to gain some momentum and had several solid chances but were stopped by a steady Raffaele D’Orso.

At 14:23, Nathan Beaulieu ripped a shot from the point that was tipped by D’Orso by Nicholas Pard to open the scoring. The goal came on the power play, one of three extra man goals on the night in five chances.

Nearing the end of the period with Yann Sauve in the box, Danick Gauthier was stopped by D’Orso on a shorthanded breakaway with the pads.

Shots in the first period were 9-2 Sea Dogs.

Just 2:15 into the second, Mathieu Leduc sent a point shot on goal that lay among a heavy amount of traffic in front of Marco Cousineau. Anthony Taylor found the puck and walked around a screened Cousineau to tie the game 1-1.

Val-d’Or took a 2-1 lead at 6:50 when scramble in front was finished off by Samuel Morneau, his 25th of the season.

Less than a minute later Saint John tied the game again. A wrist shot on goal was rebounded to the stick of Jonathan Huberdeau who scooped the disc into the empty cage to make it a 2-2.

After some nice work to get the puck into the offensive zone, Michael Kirkpatrick carried the puck down the wing and beat D’Orso five-hole on a backhand to give the Dogs the lead.

Shots in the middle frame were 15-13 Val-d’Or.

Marco Scandella slapped a point shot on goal at 4:24 of the third and was deflected up and over Cousineau by Cedrick Henlley to tie the match yet again.

Then Val-d’Or collapsed.

At 11:59 a freakish bounce off the backboards led to a Saint John goal. D’Orso was caught reading board signage on the other side of the ice while the puck lay in his crease. Thomas scored the garbage goal in front to give Saint John back the lead.

After the Foreurs were caught with too many men on the ice, Saint John extended their lead to two goals. Simon Despres fired a point shot that was tipped beautifully by Stanislav Galiev at 13:32 of the stanza. Despres appeared to hurt his wrist on the play but was okay.

Despres then started a rush up through center and found Nicholas Petersen behind the defense. Petersen went alone and shot the puck against D’Orso’s leg. The Val-d’Or net minder looked like a Toyota gas pedal as he slid – along with the puck – across the line to give the Dogs their 6-3 victory.

Shots in the third were 17-10 Saint John.

Cousineau was solid when called upon in the Saint John crease and is now 3-0 since switching his jersey number to 79 last week. The 20-year old stopped 24 shots and improved to 16-15-0 on the year.

D’Orso fell to 11-20-0 on the season.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Val-d’Or Foreurs again on Saturday night at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.

CLOCK TO BE "RETROFITTED"

Harbour Station is getting a new score clock – sort of.

The city of Saint John, along with the feds from the Provincial and Federal governments, announced today that the score clock at the facility will be “retrofitted.”

“Harbour Station is central to Saint John’s reputation as a great venue for major events, and this upgrade will help the city attract more entertainment and sport,” said Ivan Court, Mayor of Saint John in a release.

As far we can tell from the release, the clock will not be replaced but updated with 21st century technology. The end result will likely be a mere image of the clock at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.

“The project will retrofit the facility’s original clock and scoreboard system into a new, state-of-the-art computer and video system,” said the release.

$700,000 will be put into the project to update Harbour Station’s video system. The federal government is contributing $352,592 through the Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) Program, a key economic stimulus initiative under Canada’s Economic Action Plan. The Province of New Brunswick and the City of Saint John are each investing $350,592, to complete the project.

It’s good news for hockey fans in Saint John as they will not have a sore neck when they leave a game anymore. Video replays are currently projected on a screen in the West end of Harbour Station.

The big, rectangular, piece of junk that currently sits over center ice is an eye sore and is really the only noticeable aspect of Harbour Station that was left in the 90’s. The clock has been there since the building opened way back in 1993. Oh, the stories it could tell if it could talk.

The technology on the clock right now would likely give Steve Jobs of Apple a panic attack.

But for such an old device, it is used well and there are rarely any problems with the actual clock part. (The only problem being the fact that fans can hardly read the score at times because the light bulbs are out.)

The time of this announcement wasn’t much of a surprise with a Memorial Cup bid reportedly on the way soon. The Sea Dogs organization has said numerous that the clock would need to be updated in order to host the tournament in 2012.

Today’s announcement is part Canada's Economic Action Plan which is providing $500 million over two years for the RInC program to support the upgrading and renewal of recreational facilities in communities across the country.

Hopefully, Harbour Station will not have to hang one of those “economic action plans” signs in the rafters.

To read the official release click HERE.

PRE-GAME: Val-d'Or Foreurs vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Game Day
Val-d’Or Foreurs vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Tonight, January 29, 2010 @ 7:30 pm
Harbour Station

Visiting Team: Val-d'Or Foreurs
Record: 18-26-4-1 (4th in Telus East Division)
Last Game: 4-1 loss at PEI on Wednesday
Leading Scorer: Alexandre Quesnel: 48 GP-22 G-33 A-55 PTS
NHL Draft Picks: Marco Scandella (Minnesota), Samuel Morneau (Carolina), and Maxime Sauve (Boston)
Notes: Just when you think all France natives play for Chicoutimi, Maxime Sauve (a Bruins prospect), is a native of Tour, France… other than Sauve, Simon Lacroix is the only other player not from Quebec on the Foreurs' QMJHL listed roster… Val-d’Or has massively underachieved this season ostly due to injuries. They were projected by The Hockey News to finish fourth overall in the QMJHL this season. They currently sit in the number 14 spot in the 18 team loop… Val-d’Or was quite active on the trade front this season. They sent Alex Noel, former Sea Dog Kevin Charland, former Sea Dog Benjamin Lecomte, and Dylan C. Capstick out of town in post Christmas deals. Coming to the Foreurs were Vincent Couture, Alexandre Touchette, Alexandre Quesnell, Nicolas Boyer, Mathieu Leduc, and Kabbaj Yousseff… official team colours are green, gold, white, and black… 3-6-1-0 in their last 10 games and are coming off a loss in PEI on Wednesday… 7-17-1-1 on the road this season. They are 2-6-1-1 in their last 10 games away from home and lost their last game… they have allowed the most goals of any team in the league on the road with 121 goals against in 26 games. That is an average of 4.6 goals against per game… Marco Scandella helped team Canada win silver at the recent World Junior Hockey Championships in Saskatchewan. He scored a shorthanded goal in the semi-final against Switzerland that proved to be the game winner to send Canada to the final… Val-d’Or was without injured QMJHL standouts Jonathan Hazen, Alexandre Quesnel and Maxime Sauvé in Wednesday’s loss in Charlottetown.

Home Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 40-8-1-0 (1st in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 8-0 Win at Gatineau on Sunday
Leading Scorer: Michael Kirkpatrick: 48 GP-19 G-44 A-63 Pts
NHL Draft Picks: Yann Sauve (Vancouver), Marco Cousineau (Anaheim), Simon Despres (Pittsburgh), Steven Anthony (Vancouver), Mike Hoffman (Ottawa), and Nicholas Petersen (Pittsburgh).
Notes: There is no nice way of putting it – Saint John absolutely destroyed Gatineau on Sunday. It was the last game of a three-in-three Quebec road swing for the Dogs, a trip that saw them go 2-1-0-0… Saint John was named the number one team in the country for the second straight week. They are first in the Atlantic division and first overall in the QMJHL… the Dogs have scored the most goals of any team in the QMJHL with 222. They are second in fewest goals allowed with 131… the Sea Dogs acquired defenseman Christian Morin from the Foreurs during the trading period for Benjamin Lecomte. Lecomte was later traded to Gatineau. In 25 games with Val-d’Or this season, Morin had five goals and four assists with 44 penalty minutes. He missed the last two games of the Sea Dogs’ road trip after suffering an upper body injury in their 5-4 shootout win in Quebec City… after being in the basement for much of the first half of the season, the Sea Dogs have really improved their special teams. Their power play is running at 22.6% and is good enough for seventh in the league. Their penalty kill has been solid of late and is running at 76.8%... have the most wins in the QMJHL and CHL with 40… 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games and are coming off a victory… have the best home record in the league at 20-4-0-0. They are 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games at Harbour Station and have won four straight… Stanislav Galiev is first in rookie scoring with 46 points in 48 games… Mike Hoffman leads the league in goals scored with 32 in 38 games played… Nicholas Petersen leads the league with a +43 rating… 7-0-0-0 in games against opponents from the Telus East division.

Saint John vs Val-d’Or:
This Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
0-0-0-0-0-0
Home: 0-0-0-0-0-0
Road: 0-0-0-0-0-0
Goals For: 0
Goals Against: 0

Last Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
2-2-0-0-0-4
Home: 1-1-0-0-0-2
Road: 1-1-0-0-0-2
Goals For: 10
Goals Against: 3

All-Time- Not Including This Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
8-4-3-0-1-9
Home: 4-2-1-0-1-5
Road: 4-2-2-0-0-4
Goals For: 27
Goals Against: 26

Station Nation Facts:

• Tonight’s match has been designated CHSJ Country Night, with fans being encouraged to dress in their best cowboy/cowgirl outfits. Popular country music will also be played all evening long, while several hundred cowboy hats will be distributed to arena patrons throughout the night. One lucky fan will also win a trip to see singing sensation Taylor Swift in concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts (courtesy of Country 94.1 FM) during a second intermission event dubbed the 'Ten Gallon Toss'. Fans interested in competing for the trip-for-two to the sold-out June 5 concert (approximate value: $1,000) should sign up at the Country 94 booth next to Sea Dogs Central (Section S, arena concourse) by the end of the first intermission. Four names will be drawn midway through the second period, with the chosen contestants set to square off in a unique, western-themed challenge at centre ice during the second intermission. All four finalists will receive a copy of Taylor's latest album, Fearless, with the winning contestant taking home the Grand Prize.
• This is the first game of a doubleheader between the two teams at Harbour Station. Saint John travels to northern Quebec to face the Foreurs in February.
• Crazy stat time: Anaheim Ducks prospect Marco Cousineau is coming off of his first shutout as a Sea Dog, having blanked the Gatineau Olympiques (8-0 final) this past Sunday afternoon at the Robert Guertin Arena. The 20-year old net minder is 2-0 with a 1.92 G.A.A. since switching his uniform number from 31 to 79 late last week.
• “I think we worked hard. A few penalties cost us the game,” said Marco Scandella to the Guardian following Wednesday’s loss.“In the third period we started to rally, but it was a little too late.”

Important Info:
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297

Saint John Media: Radio- News 88.9 FM (www.news889.com)
Live Video Streaming: www.qmjhl.mytelus.com
Post-Game Coverage: www.stationnation.blogspot.com, Telegraph-Journal
Post-Game Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/user/seadogstv

TWITTER
Station Nation will be tweeting during today’s game at Harbour Station. You can follow us or follow along at www.twitter.com/station_nation. They’ll be limited tonight however.

SEA DOGS WEEKEND

The number one team in the Canadian Hockey League is back home after playing three straight in Quebec last weekend. The Saint John Sea Dogs host the Val-d’Or Foreurs in a doubleheader this weekend that begins Friday. The Dogs are coming off an 8-0 blowout win in Gatineau while the Foreurs lost 4-1 in Charlottetown last night to the Rocket.

Friday, January 29, 2010 at 7:30 pm

Who: Val-d’Or Foreurs vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Where: Harbour Station
Promotion: It’s CHSJ Country Night (pictured), with fans being encouraged to dress in their best cowboy/cowgirl outfits. Popular country music will also be played all evening long, with several hundred cowboy hats set to be distributed to arena patrons throughout the night. One lucky fan will also win a trip to see Taylor Swift in concert (courtesy of Country 94.1 FM) during a second intermission event dubbed the ‘Ten Gallon Toss’.
Player to Watch: Marco Cousineau - The 20-year old net minder is 2-0 with a 1.92 G.A.A. since switching his uniform number from 31 to 79 late last week.

Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 7:00 pm

Who: Val-d’Or Foreurs vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Where: Harbour Station
Promotion: The Sea Dogs will pay tribute to the Canadian Naval Centennial on Salute to the Navy Night. A special pre-game ceremony will honour the 100th anniversary of Canada’s Navy. Throughout the evening, fans will also be able to visit a display booth on the arena concourse which will highlight Canada rich naval history, to which Saint John has contributed greatly.
Player to Watch: Marco Scandella – In 27 games, the Minnesota Wild prospect has eight goals and 18 assists. He recently helped team Canada capture silver at the world juniors.

Statistical Comparisons
Record
Saint John: 40-8-1-0 (1st in Atlantic Division)
Val-d’Or: 18-26-4-1 (4th in Telus Western Division)

Last 10 Games
Saint John: 8-2-0-0
Val-d’Or: 3-6-1-0

Goals For/Goals Against
Saint John: 222/131
Val-d’Or: 161/205

Power Play
Saint John: 22.6%
Val-d’Or: 18.7%

Penalty Kill
Saint John: 76.8%
Val-d’Or: 76.3%

Radio: News 88.9 FM
Television: None
Webcast: Telus

Tickets: Tickets to both contests are available by calling the Harbour Station box office at (506) 657-1234 or by visiting http://www.tickets.harbourstation.ca/.

SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

TSN PROJECTS GALIEV AS FIRST ROUNDER
Stanislav Galiev has been projected by TSN’s Bob McKenzie as a first round draft pick in the upcoming National Hockey League entry draft.

“Has good size and speed,” said International Scouting Services. “Very good puck control at full speed. See’s team mates. Has good wrist shot and is aware of his man in all zones. Has that extra gear to get away from peers. Very good hockey sense and quick stick.”

The rookie was picked to go 27th among the top 30 picks. Unfortunately, they spelt Saint John wrong.

STILL NO WORD
The Sea Dogs have not yet released any information in regards to Christian Morin. The 19-year defenseman suffered an upper body injury in Friday night’s 5-4 shootout win in Quebec City.

Morin was hit hard well after the puck left his feet by Dominic Savoie of the Remparts. No interference was called on the play but Morin lay face down on the ice for several minutes before leaving under his power.

"DIDO" GETTING READY FOR RETURN
As we reported last week on our Twitter page, RDS and L’Express both reported that former Sea Dog superstar Chris DiDomenico is almost set to make his return to action.

The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect is practicing with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League while the Leafs continue to watch his rehabilitation. “Dido” is expected to return in mid-February with the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

DiDomenico has not played since the league finals in April last year where he broke his femur crashing feet first in to the end boards at Centre Bionest in Shawinigan.


THE LEGEND?
I thought we’d be the only ones to mention Gatineau mascot “Hully” turning 12-years old on Sunday. Both Gatineau area newspapers mentioned the panda bear celebrating his birthday and the fact that he got an 8-0 blowout as a present.

E-MAIL US YOUR JUNK
We have contact information.

Station Nation has set an e-mail account so you can send us your complaints, viruses, and job application's straight to us. Send us one at stationnation@yahoo.ca.

NO LOVE FOR PETERSEN
Our latest poll results are in. The question was: which currently drafted Sea Dog will play in the NHL first?

Here are the results:
Yann Sauve – 1
Marco Cousineau – 2
Mike Hoffman – 21
Nicholas Petersen – 0
Simon Despres – 12
Steven Anthony – 1

HERE IS THE LOVE PETERSEN
Nicholas Petersen is once again on top of TSN QMJHL Player Rankings listed weekly.

The overager comes in at number one with a rating of 94.43 while Michael Kirkpatrick is seventh with a score of 84.11. Also listed in the 10 spot is former Sea Dog goaltender Marc-Antoine Gelinas.

Click HERE to view the full rankings.

DESIGN THE NEW JERSEY
The Saint John Sea Dogs are asking fans to design the team’s new third jersey for the 2011-12 season. Please note that that is NOT next season but the year after.

“This will be our first-ever third jersey and we really want our fans to be a part of the creative process as we develop a unique and captivating design that our franchise and city can be proud of,” said team president Wayne Long in a release. “We’re looking forward to seeing what our fans come up with.”

Fans may use whatever artistic tools (crayons, paint, etc.) they see fit in designing their jerseys. All entries should be sent to: DESIGN-A-JERSEY CONTEST c/o Saint John Sea Dogs / 99 Station St., Suite 200 / Saint John, NB / E2L 4X4 or delivered in person to the team office at Harbour Station. Entries will also be accepted at Sea Dogs Central (Section S, Harbour Station concourse) at all upcoming home games.

All entries will be evaluated by Sea Dogs front office personnel, who may submit one of the designs to Reebok and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for approval. The deadline to submit an entry is Monday, March 1 at 4pm. The fan whose design is chosen as the winning entry will receive a Sea Dogs Prize Pack.

Deadlines for Reebok jersey designs are ridiculously early so that is likely the reason for the hold off. The New York Islanders have to wait until next season to show off their designs after missing the deadline.

If you are looking for an easy design, just rip off the Pittsburgh Penguins baby blue sweaters like the Florida Panthers did.

COURTEAU WAS IN TOWN TUESDAY
QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau was in Saint John on Tuesday to visit the Sea Dogs organization at 99 Station St.

Courteau met with Sea Dogs management and interviewed players and staff during his stop. He also had an interview with the Telegraph-Journal and sat down with CTV News at 6:30 live from Saint John to discuss the Patrice Cormier suspension.

The Telegraph-Journal reported that the commissioner is on a six team tour which includes a stop in Bathurst and Moncton. His stop with the Titan organization – who had fewer than 900 fans at a game last week - is sure to interesting.

DOGS TOP LIST AGAIN

For the second straight week, the Saint John Sea Dogs are the number one junior hockey team in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings.

This is only the second time in franchise history that the team has ranked first. In Station Nation’s rankings this week, they come in at number two.

The Sea Dogs faired okay on a three-on-three Quebec road trip this weekend. On Friday night they squeaked by the Quebec Remparts 5-4 in a shootout but lost 6-4 the following afternoon to the Montreal Junior. Then on Sunday, they absolutely killed the Gatineau Olympiques 8-0.

Luckily, Moncton is in the Top 10 this week so Wildcat fans have nothing to complain about. Barrie comes in at second again this week and Windsor is third.

The full BMO CHL MasterCard Top Ten Rankings can be found below:
1 – Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL (40-8-1-0)
2 – Barrie Colts, OHL (38-7-0-1)
3 – Windsor Spitfires, OHL (37-7-0-5)
4 – Tri-City Americans, WHL (36-12-0-1)
5 – London Knights, OHL (35-11-0-2)
6 – Saskatoon Blades, WHL (32-11-2-3)
7 – Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, OHL (32-10-4-1)
8 – Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL (33-14-1-1)
9 – Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL (33-11-1-3)
10 - Brandon Wheat Kings (33-16-0-3)

Honourable Mention:
Drummondville Voltigeurs (33-14-0-2)
Everett Silvertips (31-16-2-1)
Kitchener Rangers (31-14-2-2)

STATION NATION CHL RANKINGS

It turns out Neil Hodge is right – the Moncton Wildcats are being ripped off in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings.

The Wildcats - coming off a three-in-three road sweep over Victoriaville, Drummondville, and Quebec – are the hottest team in the QMJHL and one of the hottest in the country. That hasn't changed the fact in which they have been an "honorable mention" in the Top 10 for three straight weeks.

"I don't even know if anybody on our team looks at the rankings," said Wildcats captain Scott Brannon to the Times & Transcript. "We've still got our own division to focus on and we're just trying to win as many games as we can."

Moncton sits 11 points back of Saint John in the Atlantic division with a game in hand. The Sea Dogs rank second in our rankings but were placed first in the CHL Top 10.

Saint John was called "supposedly" the best team in the country by the Moncton area newspaper.

No matter where the two teams are ranked in the Top 10, our rankings show how they really standup against the nation's elite. Here are this week's Station Nation CHL Rankings. (The teams are ranked on winning percentage. Percentage is calculated by wins divided by games played.)

Rank	Team	GP	Wins	Loses	OTL	SOL	Actual WIN%
1	Barrie Colts	46	38	7	0	1	0.826
2	Saint John	49	40	8	1	0	0.816
3	Windsor Spitfires	49	37	7	0	5	0.755
4	Tri-City Americans	49	36	12	0	1	0.735
5	London Knights	47	34	11	0	2	0.723
6	Moncton	48	33	11	1	3	0.688
7	Mississauga St. Michael's Majors	47	32	10	4	1	0.681
8	Victoriaville	49	33	14	1	1	0.673
9	Drummondville	49	33	14	0	2	0.673
10	Saskatoon Blades	48	32	11	2	3	0.667
11	Calgary Hitmen	49	32	15	1	1	0.653
12	Kitchener Rangers	48	31	13	2	2	0.646
13	Brandon Wheat Kings	51	32	16	0	3	0.627
14	Everett Silvertips	50	31	16	2	1	0.620
15	Kootenay Ice	49	30	16	1	2	0.612
16	Portland Winterhawks	51	30	19	1	1	0.588
17	Québec	49	28	14	3	4	0.571
18	Plymouth Whalers	49	28	20	0	1	0.571
19	Vancouver Giants	51	29	19	1	2	0.569
20	Spokane Chiefs	48	27	17	3	1	0.563
21	Rouyn-Noranda	50	28	18	2	2	0.560
22	Medicine Hat Tigers	52	29	15	3	5	0.558
23	Cape Breton	51	28	18	2	3	0.549
24	Moose Jaw Warriors	47	25	17	2	3	0.532
25	P.E.I.	51	27	18	2	4	0.529
26	Red Deer Rebels	48	25	19	0	4	0.521
27	Montréal	47	24	20	0	3	0.511
28	Prince Albert Raiders	51	26	22	1	2	0.510
29	Rimouski	48	24	18	4	2	0.500
30	Ottawa 67's	48	24	17	4	3	0.500
31	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	48	24	20	1	3	0.500
32	Swift Current Broncos	50	24	23	0	3	0.480
33	Gatineau	48	23	20	1	4	0.479
34	Peterborough Petes	49	23	23	1	2	0.469
35	Saginaw Spirit	47	22	20	4	1	0.468
36	Shawinigan	50	23	20	3	4	0.460
37	Kamloops Blazers	51	23	23	2	3	0.451
38	Owen Sound Attack	49	22	21	4	2	0.449
39	Chilliwack Bruins	52	23	23	1	5	0.442
40	Regina Pats	50	22	24	3	1	0.440
41	Kingston Frontenacs	48	21	23	1	3	0.438
42	Erie Otters	48	21	20	5	2	0.438
43	Guelph Storm	46	20	23	2	1	0.435
44	Oshawa Generals	47	20	22	3	2	0.426
45	Kelowna Rockets	50	21	25	2	2	0.420
46	Sudbury Wolves	48	20	23	2	3	0.417
47	Chicoutimi	48	18	22	4	4	0.375
48	Val-d'Or	48	18	25	4	1	0.375
49	Acadie-Bathurst	50	18	27	3	2	0.360
50	Lewiston	48	17	29	0	2	0.354
51	Brampton Battalion	47	16	21	6	4	0.340
52	Niagara IceDogs	48	16	27	2	3	0.333
53	Lethbridge Hurricanes	48	16	27	3	2	0.333
54	Baie-Comeau	48	15	30	2	1	0.313
55	Belleville Bulls	48	15	26	1	6	0.313
56	Seattle Thunderbirds	48	14	26	4	4	0.292
57	Sarnia Sting	49	14	32	2	1	0.286
58	Halifax	49	10	35	1	3	0.204
59	Edmonton Oil Kings	51	10	30	4	7	0.196
60	Prince George Cougars	48	9	37	1	1	0.188