FULL RECAP
SEA DOGS SWEEP
SYDNEY, NS – The Saint John Sea Dogs put this painful first round playoff series to bed last night in Cape Breton with a 4-0 victory over the Screaming Eagles.
Watching the Sea Dogs win is nice, but watching the Dogs dominate to the extent of outscoring their opponent 26-2 in four games can only get so fun. This wasn’t much of a playoff series, but it will only get more entertaining from here.
On Wednesday at Centre 200, Stanislav Galiev, Jonathan Huberdeau, Michael Kirkpatrick, and Nathan Beaulieu all scored for Saint John. Mathieu Corbeil recorded the shutout in goal.
Andrew Hayes made 32 saves in the Eagles crease in the loss.
It was the first time all series that Cape Breton got out of the first period not down at least a goal. But things opened up in the second period as the Dogs scored two goals and added two more in the third.
The Eagles gave it their all in this series but it just wasn’t enough against a powerhouse Sea Dogs team.
SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Forwards Jason Cameron and Aidan Kelly along with defenseman Jason Seed were all healthy scratches for Saint John.
SWEEP
The series sweep marked the third time in Sea Dogs that they have defeated their opponents in four consecutive playoff contests.
Saint John swept the Prince Edward Island Rocket in four games in 2008 and the Gatineau Olympiques last year. The Rocket series sweep was also in the opening round.
The Sea Dogs also got a little bit of revenge on Cape Breton who took out the Dogs in four games during the first round of the 2009 playoffs.
All-time in round one games, Saint John is 12-5.
THE LAST GAME
For North Sydney native Michael Kirkpatrick, it was his last game against his hometown team. The Sea Dogs’ overage forward tweeted this after the game:
Just finished my last game in cape breton.. Grew up watching them..now just eliminated them..Kirkpatrick finished the series with two goals and six assists.
DUROCHER LEAVES EARLY
As reported by several folks on the Twitter machine, it appears Eagles head coach Mario Durocher left the match early and did not shake the hands of any Saint John personnel. From Even Strength:
Eagles head coach Mario Durocher goes right to the dressing room after the game and does not shake the hands of the Sea Dogs players/staff.The webcast clearly shows the ‘mullet man’ walking down the runway to the Eagles room soon after the buzzer sounded. Photographic evidence:
Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant did the opposite of Durocher, shaking hands with all the players as well as giving some words to each. Durocher, of course, was the man tossed from Game One after refusing to close the bench door and then called two Saint John players ‘clowns’ earlier this week.
It takes a clown to know a clown, Mario.
NICE SEND OFF
The Sea Dogs swept the official three stars, but the unofficial three stars went to a trio of Eagles overage players in Spencer Metcalfe, Andrew Hayes, and Taylor MacDougall. It was the last game of junior hockey for Metcalfe and Hayes while MacDougall saw his last game action some time ago and has been out ever since following shoulder surgery.
Metcalfe will apparently jump to the university ranks and play for the UPEI Panthers. No clue where Hayes is going. As for MacDougall, you have to think that he will be heading to UNB in the fall to play under his father, Varsity Reds head coach Gardiner MacDougall.
CORBEIL GETS HIS SHUTOUT
The Sea Dogs made a change in net and went with Mathieu Corbeil rather than Jacob DeSerres. DeSerres, who appears to be the netminder that will get the majority of the playing time in the playoffs, had started all three previous games of the series.
Corbeil didn’t miss a beat, making 15 saves to earn the shutout victory. He made a couple of good stops, but other than that, wasn’t tested too much in this contest.
It was the former Halifax Mooseheads first ever QMJHL playoff start. He took advantage of the opportunity, too, recording his first career ‘Q’ shutout.
HIGHLIGHTS
QUICK HITS
There was a short delay to start the contest as the Centre 200 lights wouldn’t come back on… Wes Herret, who ran into an open bench door in Game Three, did not play… Stephen Woodworth was also hurt in Game Three as he broke his foot blocking a Simon Despres point shot… another light crowd of 2,104 on hand for this one… Michael Kirkpatrick and Despres had a team high four shots for Saint John… Brad Cuzner had four of the Eagles’ 15 shots… to relive the match, check out the SN Live Blog Replay.
NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs will open the second round next Friday, April 8 at Harbour Station at 7:30 pm. Tickets for Games One and Two of the series go on-sale tomorrow morning.
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