Sunday, October 9, 2011

Sea Dogs Claw Tigres

FINAL: Victoriaville 2, Saint John 6


SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs got their revenge on the Victoriaville Tigres.

The Sea Dogs defeated the Tigres 6-2 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action at Harbour Station on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. The game featured some pretty goals, some big hits and more signs of the growing rivalry between these two strong squads.

The victory helped erase the memories of Victoriaville’s 7-0 thumping of Saint John last weekend.

Ryan Tesink scored twice for the Sea Dogs while Jonathan Huberdeau, Zack Phillips, Nathan Beaulieu and Charles-Olivier Roussel also scored. Stephen MacAulay had two assists.

Mathieu Corbeil played well in the Saint John net yet again, making 25 stops in the win.

It was a good effort by the Sea Dogs who outshot the Tigres 33-27. Saint John stepped it up physically, dropping some big hits and not shying away from fights and scrums.

The win improved the Sea Dogs’ record to 7-4-0-0 and now sit atop the Maritime Division standings.

Victoriaville had goals from Stefan Fournier and Pierre-Luc Pelletier. Goaltender David Honzik proved that he is human, allowing six goals on 33 shots.

The Sea Dogs headed to the power play at 4:48 of the opening frame. On the man advantage, Charles-Olivier Roussel wired a shot from inside the line that hit the corner post. Huberdeau was at the side of the goal and banged in the rebound to make it 1-0 Saint John at 5:39.

The Sea Dogs doubled their lead at 7:32. A hard shot was stopped by Honzik but the rebound went to Beaulieu who scored to make it 2-0.

After Roussel laid a huge hit, the Tigres got some pressure on. At the 12-minute mark, Danick Gauthier and Phillip Danault had a lengthy but mild scrap. Following the fight, it was penalties galore as things got nasty.

While shorthanded, Ryan Tensink setup Jonathan Huberdeau  beautifully but he couldn’t get a shot off.

On a man advantage at 17:54, Stefan Fourner skated around Corbeil and beat him with a backhander to make it a 2-1 contest.

At 18:30, Beaulieu and Yanni Gourde dropped the gloves at the Telus ad. It was a short tilt as Beaulieu fell backwards, ending the scrap.

Shots were 10 each in the first.

Early in the frame on a power play that carried over into the second period, Phillips nailed the post.

At 4:15, Phillips redeemed himself. Standing just above the goal line, Phillips went top corner on Honzik to give the Dogs a 3-1 lead.

A little later on, Pierre Durepos joined the party by hitting the bottom of the post but not scoring.

At 5:47, Ian Saab picked up a bunch of penalties after boarding and fighting Simon Darveau. That resulted in a seven-minute power play for the Tigres.

While shorthanded 7:31, Huberdeau and Tesink went in on two-on-one. Huberdeau passed over to Tesink who made a deke on Honzik to make it a 4-1 contest. The Dogs would go on to kill off Saab’s penalty.

The Tigres headed to the man advantage at 17:54. On the power play, Danault nailed the post on what would prove to be the Tigres’ most dangerous chance during the time frame.

Victoriaville made it a two-goal game again at 17:54. Corbeil couldn’t cover the puck in the crease, allowing Pelletier to poke the disc in and make it 4-2.

Shots were 10-7 in favour of the visitors in the in the middle stanza.

At 3:47 of the third, Beaulieu fired a shot from the point into some traffic. Tesink got a stick on it, deflecting it past Honzik to make it a 5-2 game.

A few moments later, the Dogs broke in on a three-on-one but couldn’t get a shot off.

The Sea Dogs went to the power play at 10:17 but couldn’t generate much offense.

With three minutes remaining, Phillips had a wide open net with Honzik down but sailed it high and over the goal.

Saint John made it a 6-2 game as Roussel blasted a shot from the point that sailed through some traffic and past Honzik at 18:02.

Shots were 16-7 Sea Dogs in the final frame.

Saint John went 0-for-5 on the power play while Victoriaville went 1-for-6.

NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow on SN.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs travel to Gatineau to face the Olympiques on Wednesday at 8:30pm.

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