2011 President’s Cup Final
Gatineau Olympiques vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Tonight, May 7, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Harbour Station
SERIES STATUS
The Saint John Sea Dogs currently lead the best-of-seven Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship series 1-0 over the Gatineau Olympiques.
SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs are looking to take a 2-0 lead in the President’s Cup final tonight at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.
The Sea Dogs took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series on Thursday night thanks to a 2-1 victory over the Gatineau Olympiques. Danick Gauthier and Simon Despres scored for the winners who had a 37-23 shots advantage. Gatineau’s lone goal came from Hubert Labrie.
Goaltender Jacob DeSerres made 22 saves in net for Saint John while Maxime Clermont was tested a bit more, making 35 saves in the loss.
Saint John played well enough to win but looked rusty at times and just didn’t have the jump they usually do. It wasn’t much of a surprise though as the club had an eight day layoff following their semifinal sweep over the Lewiston Maineiacs.
Gatineau couldn’t match the fire power of Saint John in Game One. They were likely a bit tired after their semifinal series against the Quebec Remparts went the distance and just wrapped up on Tuesday.
With the Olympiques expected to be a bit sharper and the Sea Dogs showing less rust, today’s contest should feature a better showing from both clubs.
A Saint John win would give them a commanding lead as the series shifts to Gatineau for Games Three and Four on Monday and Wednesday. An Olympiques victory will even the series up at 1-1 heading home.
REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS
| Gatineau | Saint John | |
| Record | 43-17-3-5 (3rd West) | 58-7-1-2 (1st Maritimes) |
| Home Record | - - - | 32-0-1-1 |
| Road Record | 20-8-2-4 | - - - |
| Streak | 9-0-0-0 | 2-0-0-0 |
| Last 10 | 9-1-0-0 | 8-2-0-0 |
| Goals For | 243 | 324 |
| Goals Against | 193 | 165 |
| Goals/Game | 3.57 (9th) | 4.76 (1st) |
| Goals Against/Game | 2.84 (5th) | 2.43 (1st) |
| Shots/Game | 28.03 (13th) | 36.81 (1st) |
| Shots Against/Game | 24.78 (1st) | 26.96 (5th) |
| Overall PP | 22.3% (10th) | 25.1% (6th) |
| Home PP | - - - | 24.4% (8th) |
| Road PP | 23.3% (8th) | - - - |
| Overall PK | 79.2% (10th) | 83.7% (1st) |
| Home PK | - - - | 86.1% (1st) |
| Road PK | 79.8% (9th) | - - - |
| PIM/GAME | 12.5 (16th) | 13.1 (13th) |
SERIES SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Game 1 - Thu May 5 | 7:00 PM | Gatineau 1 @ Saint John 2
Game 2 - Sat May 7 | 7:00 PM | Gatineau @ Saint John
Game 3 - Mon May 9 | 8:30 PM | Saint John @ Gatineau
Game 4 - Wed May 11 | 8:30 PM | Saint John @ Gatineau
Game 5 - Fri May 13 | 7:30 PM | * Gatineau @ Saint John
Game 6 - Sun May 15 | 8:00 PM | * Saint John @ Gatineau
Game 7 - Mon May 16 | 7:00 PM | * Gatineau @ Saint John
*If necessary
EXPECTED GOALTENDERS
Maxime Clermont is expected to start in net for Gatineau this evening. The News Jersey Devils prospect has a playoff record of 9-7-0-0, a 2.08 goals against average, and a 0.927 save percentage. He leads the QMJHL in both save percentage and GAA.
Jacob DeSerres is expected to start in goal for Saint John. The 20-year old has a record of 9-1-0-0, a goals against average 2.12, and a save percentage of 0.914.
Michael Kirkpatrick has been ‘day-to-day’ for a few days now with an ‘upper body injury’ that is believed to be shoulder related. Obviously, he is questionable for tonight’s game as well.
Kirkpatrick was hurt in Game Four of the semifinals in Lewiston and has not played since.
In 10 post-season games, Kirkpatrick has three goals and 10 assists.
Aidan Kelly was inserted into the Sea Dogs lineup with the 20-year forward out of action. Danick Gauthier moved up to the second line to take his place.
ANTHONY HURT
Steven Anthony was injured at some point during the Thursday’s game and did not return. His status is unknown for today’s match.
Anthony hasn’t been getting the most attention this post-season but has been producing. He has five goals and seven assists in 14 games.
McGINN HURT
While the Sea Dogs are missing a big piece of their offense in Michael Kirkpatrick, the Olympiques are missing a big piece of theirs in Tye McGinn.
McGinn is out with an undisclosed injury and did not play in Thursday’s game. His status is unknown as well.
McGinn has four goals and seven assists in 10 playoff games. He had 64 points in the regular season, finishing third in team scoring.
SPECIAL TEAMS
A look at the special teams of each team so far in the playoffs:
Saint John
PP: 30.4% (3rd)
PK: 94.2% (1st)
Gatineau
PP: 24.3% (5th)
PK: 83.3% (3rd)
ONE LAST TIME?
If the Sea Dogs win tonight, be sure to give them an extra salute after the game.
A Saint John win will be put them up 2-0 in the series with the next two on the road, making tonight’s game possibly the last home contest of the year.
PACKED HOUSE
All the seats for this game were sold as of yesterday afternoon. 200 standing room tickets were released, and according to the Harbour Station Facebook page, they are all sold out as well.
GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS
THE RINK
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 4,478
Playoff Average Attendance: 4,921
QMJHL Arena Guide
MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Telegraph-Journal, Le Droit
Live Coverage: Follow Station Nation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/station_nation) or follow the Live Blog on this site for live coverage of tonight’s game.
AFTER THE BUZZER
Game Three of the President’s Cup final is Monday at 8:30 pm in Gatineau.
Photo Credits: Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Marc Henwood/Station Nation, La Nouvelle Union
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