FINAL: Saint John 7, PEI 3
CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI – Despite missing three of their top forwards,
the Saint John Sea Dogs didn’t have any trouble creating offense on Friday
night in Charlottetown.
Six different players scored in the Sea Dogs’ 7-3 Quebec
Major Junior Hockey League victory over the Prince Edward Island Rocket at the
Charlottetown Civic Centre. Shots were 41-22 in favour of Saint John.
Tomas Jurco scored twice while single markers came from
Spencer MacDonald, Stephen MacAulay, Scott Oke, Danick Gauthier and
Charles-Olivier Roussel. Aidan Kelly and Zack Phillips both added two assists
each. Roussel had three helpers.
Mathieu Corbeil made 19 stops to earn the win.
The Sea Dogs were without three of their top forwards in
Jonathan Huberdeau, Stanislav Galiev and Ryan Tesink due injuries but the Dogs
didn’t need them on Friday night to pick up their 17th win of the
year. The Rocket stayed in the game until midway through the second but it always felt like
the Sea Dogs were in control.
Saint John improved to 3-0 against PEI this season.
The Rocket had goals from Ben Duffy, Josh Currie and
Victor Provencher. Maxime Lagace allowed seven goals on 41 shots.
The Sea Dogs made it 1-0 just 1:48 in. Danick Gauthier centred the puck for Scott Oke who was streaking in. Oke snapped the disc past
Rocket netminder Maxime Lagace to give Saint John a 1-0 lead.
The Dogs doubled their lead at 5:44. Spencer MacDonald
wired the puck from inside the line and beat Lagace to give the visitors an
early 2-0 advantage.
Oliver Cooper then had control of the puck on a
two-on-one. He kept the disc but couldn’t get a great shot off. Just a few
moments later, Grant West and Denis Creighton had a two-on-one. West kept and
shot but nailed the outside of the post.
The Sea Dogs were getting unlimited chances as the period
went on. Zack Phillips took a Creighton pass but was stopped in close by
Lagace. Then, Stephen MacAulay went in on one-on-one against a Rocket
defenseman but sent the disc wide.
Tomas Jurco had a couple of good opportunities later on
in the period at the side of cage but couldn’t beat Lagace. Then, a Saint John
shot hit something in front, forcing the Rocket goaltender to make a quick
glove stop.
The Rocket made it a one-goal game at 19:21. Jimmy Oligny
fired a point shot that was deflected by Ben Duffy to make it a 2-1 contest.
The goal was reviewed but it would stand.
Shots were 13-8 Saint John in the first.
SECOND PERIOD
The Rocket tied the game just 47 seconds into the second
period as Josh Currue went to backhand and beat Sea Dogs goaltender Mathieu
Corbeil upstairs.
Saint John retook the lead at 1:26. Oke threw the puck in
front for Gauthier who had an open net to score his 20th of the season
and make it a 3-2 contest.
Oke continued his strong game a few minutes later as he
stood along the boards and sent a pass to Aidan Kelly at the side of the net
but he couldn’t get a shot off. Then, Alex Noel had a good chance for PEI but
he tipped it wide.
Saint John made it a 4-2 game at 6:56. Charles-Olivier
Roussel let a point shot go and Lagace produced a rebound. Stephen MacAulay
collected the puck and went up high to extend the Sea Dogs’ lead.
Oke kept the pressure on a few moments later as he came
down the wing but had his shot stopped by Lagace. Olivier Croteau then had a
great chance in close but Corbeil made the stop with his legs.
Soon after, Cooper let a wrist shot go from just inside
the line but was stopped. Then, Tomas Jurco performed a wraparound but was
denied as well.
Some four-on-four play was created after some rough stuff
behind the PEI goal involving Roussel and Alex Gallant. During the four-on-four
action at 15:17, Jurco beat Lagace five-hole to make it a 5-2 Sea Dogs lead.
Back at even strength, Gauthier had an open cage with
Lagace out of position but missed the net.
Phillips was called for tripping at 17:07. On the man
advantage at 17:56, Duffy threw the puck in front where Victor Provencher
banged it in to get the Rocket back within two.
But on a power play of their own at 19:06, Jurco got the
Sea Dogs’ three-goal lead back by scoring his second of the contest. It stayed
6-3 until the horn sounded, signalling the end of an eventful period.
Shots were 17-6 Saint John in the middle stanza.
THIRD PERIOD
After a wraparound attempt got Corbeil out of position,
Currie had an open net but somehow couldn’t get it past a diving Saint John
goaltender.
The Sea Dogs headed to the power play at 2:47. On the
ensuing man advantage, Jurco fed Roussel who was all alone and beat Lagace to
make it a 7-3 contest.
Later on in the period, Seed let a point shot go that
produced a big rebound but nobody was there to collect it. Then Oke let a shot
go from the dot but was stopped.
Some four-on-four action took place at 12:11 as Gallant
and Ian Saab headed off. Nothing would happen during the span.
Late in the game, Roussel had another decent scoring
chance but was it was gloved by Lagace.
Shots were 11-8 Saint John in the third.
Saint John went 2-for-2 on the power play while PEI went
1-for-1.
MISSING IN ACTION: Forwards Jonathan Huberdeau (broken
foot), Stanislav Galiev (broken wrist), Devon Oliver-Dares (personal reasons)
and Ryan Tesink (concussion) along with defenseman Tyrone Sock (healthy) all
missed the game.
Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant told News 88.9 before
the game that Huberdeau is out four-to-five games. Tesink took the morning
skate but did not dress.
LINES: With so many forwards missing, this is what the
Sea Dogs’ offensive lines looked like on the lineup card. Some different combos
were used throughout the game.
Scott Oke – Zack Phillips – Tomas Jurco
Stephen MacAulay – Danick Gauthier – Aidan Kelly
Oliver Cooper – Jason Cameron – Grant West
Denis Creighton
PRE-GAME STUFF: There was a brief ceremony prior to the
game to commemorate Remembrance Day.
CAPTAIN: With captain Jonathan Huberdeau out of the
lineup, Zack Phillips wore the ‘C’ for Saint John. Stephen MacAulay, Kevin
Gagne, and Nathan Beaulieu each wore an ‘A’ on their sweater.
20 GOALS: Danick Gauthier became just the second player
in the QMJHL this season to reach the 20-goal mark. He netted his 20th
of the season in the second period. Shawinigan’s Antone Zlobin was the first to
reach the 20 mark.
NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Halifax Mooseheads
tomorrow night at 7pm at Harbour Station.
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