SEA DOGS – OCEANIC GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: Rimouski 3, Saint John 5
Saint John Goals: Michael Kirkpatrick (3,4), Aidan Kelly (2), Stanislav Galiev (2), and Nathan Beaulieu (2)
Rimouski Goals: Petr Straka (3), Jerome Gauthier-Leduc (2), and Jakub Culek (4)
Winning Goaltender: SNB – Frederic Piche
Losing Goaltender: RIM – Philippe Tremblay
New 88.9 Top Dog: Steven Anthony
THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Oceanic: 2/7, Sea Dogs: 2/7
Shots on Goal: Oceanic: 8+12+8=28, Sea Dogs: 16+11+17=44
Length: N/A
Attendance: 3,024
DOGS DOWN OCEANIC
The Saint John Sea Dogs played another solid game, defeating the Rimouski Oceanic 5-3 on Tuesday night at Harbour Station in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.
Aidan Kelly opened up the scoring at 7:01 of the first after a Rimouski turnover in the Oceanic zone. The Saint John native went to the backhand following a small breakaway to make it a 1-0 game.
After Petr Straka came out of the penalty box, he and Jarrad Struthers broke in on a two-on-one and beat Frederic Piche with a wrist shot to tie the affair at one apiece.
With Jonathan Huberdeau in the box for hooking, Rimouski took the lead at 15:00 when Jerome Gauthier-Leduc scored after the puck landed on his stick following Struthers' shot that had hit the post. Despite leading after 20 minutes, Rimouski was struggling to contain Saint John’s offense.
"Our first period was one of the best periods we've played (this season),'' said Sea Dogs center Michael Kirkpatrick to the Telegraph-Journal. "We just kept on getting our chances and we knew one would go in eventually.''
In the second, Saint John tied the game at 5:20 on a five-on-three power play. A Nathan Beaulieu point shot rebounded to Kirkpatrick who beat Oceanic goaltender Philippe Tremblay up high.
With just over a minute to go in the frame, Stanislav Galiev snuck in behind the defense and beat Tremblay with a beautiful deke to give the Sea Dogs a one goal lead after two.
Just nine seconds into the third, a Kirkpatrick wrist shot from just inside the blue line blew past the Rimouski net minder to extend the Sea Dogs’ lead to two.
The lead became three for Saint John at 5:31 on a man advantage as Nathan Beaulieu riffled a slap shot over the blocker of Tremblay to make it a 5-2 game.
But Rimouski would not go away just yet. On the power play at 8:57, Jakub Culek beat Piche in close following a rebound to put the Oceanic within two. Then with 2:10 to go in the game, Zach Phillips was called for a questionable goaltending interference call as it appeared Tremblay may have embellished the interaction. Struthers was already in the box for Rimouski, so there was lots of room on the ice to work with.
But despite a late power play and pulling their goaltender, the Oceanic could not overcome the two goal deficit and gave Saint John a 5-3 win.
Oceanic head coach Clement Jodoin was not happy with his team’s performance on Tuesday night. Just liked Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant preached a year ago following a road game in PEI, Jodoin told the Rimouski newspaper L’Advantage that his team was not ready.
The former Lewiston Maineiacs coach also said that turnovers cost his team – which they did. Even though Saint John didn’t score on them every time, there were plenty of opportunities given up by the Oceanic defense. This for a team that features the likes of Jerome Gauthier-Leduc, Gleason Fournier, and Ryan Kavanagh on the backend.
“Early morning run for Oceanic after loss in Saint John last night,” tweeted Halifax Mooseheads radio voice John Moore earlier today. “Coach Jodoin not impressed with effort and expects a better one tonight.”
HOME SWEET HOME
With the win, Saint John improved to 6-0-0-0 at Harbour Station this season. The Sea Dogs join the Quebec Remparts as the only two teams in the QMJHL without a loss at home this year.
"We want this to be a tough barn to play in for other teams,'' Michael Kirkpatrick said to the T-J. "We want teams to know they aren't going to have an easy game when they come here.''
It’s a bit of a different philosophy for the Dogs who were more of a road team last year and finished with the best road record in the QMJHL. Saint John is 2-2-0-1 away from Harbour Station this year.
The Dogs have now outscored their opponents 34-15 at home.
THE FIRST OF A JOURNEY
Last night’s game was the first match of a six day, four game road trip through Atlantic Canada for the Oceanic. They play the Halifax Mooseheads this evening, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Friday, and finish things up in Bathurst against the Titan on Sunday afternoon.
DE SERRES IS A BEAST
Judging by Jacob De Serres’ game last night, he is a standup goaltender.
Although the newly acquired net minder did not play last night, he stood for almost the entirety of the game at the end of the Sea Dogs bench. It was cool – yet kind of strange as players had to look around the goaltender to watch parts of the game.
De Serres has been practicing with the club and should get the start on Saturday versus Rouyn-Noranda.
Not that it had any effect on the game, but there was a fairly massive collision inside the Oceanic zone in the third period. Stanislav Galiev crossed the blue line at top speed but ran into the wall that is Gleason Fournier’s leg. The Sea Dogs forward literally flew a few meters after the collision.
It was a bit of a weird play and there was no penalty called. Referee Jeff Hopkins’ Twitter page has some pretty good thoughts on the play. Check it out.
LOOK OUT
According to Andrew McGilligan, who did the color commentating on News 88.9 last night, Atlanta Thrashers prospect Patrice Cormier was at the game watching his former team. The former QMJHL star and Canadian world junior standout is currently nursing a broken foot.
The Cap-Pele, New Brunswick native is best known for his head shot on Quebec Rempart Mikael Tam last season. Cormier pleaded not guilty to assault charges on September 20. Not sure if this is still accurate or not, but a CBC article says that the case resumes next week on October 18.
OUT OF TOWN
Only one other game last night in the Q as the Victoriaville Tigres dumped the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 7-1 in Victoriaville.
In other league news, the Moncton Wildcats have had a tough schedule to start the year even without the help of RV and boat shows at the Coliseum.
"When I looked at the schedule I said that's like picking between the firing squad, the guillotine and the electric chair," said Moncton head coach Danny Flynn.
HIGHLIGHTS
Courtesy of SeaDogsTV:
"AUDIO ISSUE HAS YET TO BE SOLVED, SORRY AGAIN FOR THE AUDIO LOST AS OF LATE THESE ISSUES WILL BE LOOKED INTO," writes SeaDogsTV.
Next SeaDogsTV episode will be their 100th.
QUICK HITS
Jacob De Serres wore number one on his jersey. Current UNB Varsity Reds net minder Travis Fullerton is the only other player to ever wear the digit for the Sea Dogs… both teams entered play last night looking for win eight on the season… Rimouski net minder Philippe Tremblay played well – especially in the first period… Stanislav Galiev had an excellent game and could have very easily scored more than his one goal… defenseman Gabriel Bourret was a team high +3… it was the first Toonie Tuesday game of the season. Saint John plays a total of six Tuesday games with four of them being at home… this was the first game this season that a Sea Dog goaltender had started in two straight games… it was the third game of a five game homestand for Saint John… the Sea Dogs website finally discovered how to embed YouTube videos and may be perhaps one of the few advantages to the new CHL Online Network… for bonus coverage of last night’s game, check out the SN Live Blog Replay.
NEXT GAME
From the Sea Dogs website:
Up next for Saint John is a Saturday night showdown with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at Harbour Station. The puck drops at 7pm as the Sea Dogs look to improve to 7-0-0-0 at home on Pink in the Rink Night. A special game-worn jersey auction will be held at this match, with proceeds going towards the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.Photo Credits: Saint John Sea Dogs website, Cyberpresse, Saint John Sea Dogs website
No comments:
Post a Comment