Habs Ink Beaulieu To Three-Year Deal

The Montreal Canadiens announced today that they have signed Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Beaulieu to a three-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Beaulieu was selected in the first round, 17^th overall by the Canadiens at last year’s National Hockey League Entry Draft.

In 53 regular season games with the Sea Dogs this past season, Beaulieu, 19, recorded 11 goals and 41 assists. In 17 playoff games he added four goals and 11 helpers. At the Memorial Cup, Beaulieu registered four assists in as many games.

According to the Canadiens’ website, Beaulieu “recorded 152 points (37 goals and 115 assists) in 233 games since his junior debut with Saint John.”

It’s been an eventful year for Beaulieu having captured the Memorial Cup last May, getting drafted in the first round, playing in some Canadiens pre-season games, rejoining the Sea Dogs for the season, won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the world juniors, and then helped the Dogs win their second straight President’s Cup.

Hockey’s Future has called Beaulieu Montreal’s No. 1 prospect.

The Strathroy, Ont. native will likely turn pro next season and play for the American Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs. 

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

The Curious Career of Kirill Kabanov

When Anton Zlobin’s one-timer beat Michael Houser to lift the Shawinigan Cataractes to the title of Memorial Cup Champions, it likely marked the end of one of the most bizarre, ridiculous, and intriguing junior hockey careers of all time; that of Zlobin’s countryman, Kirill Kabanov.

Let’s recap. 

Back in 2009, Kirill Kabanov was one of the most highly regarded prospects for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. The forward’s offensive upside was determined by some to be in the same range as Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin, the two players who were eventually drafted 1-2. He was a sure-fire 1^st round selection when the Moncton Wildcats picked him 7^th overall in the 2009 CHL Import Draft. Certainly, coming to play in the CHL for his draft year could only boost his stock, especially given the fear (real or perceived) of Russian prospects staying in the motherland.

Kabanov’s CHL career got off to a bumpy start. A battle over a transfer agreement between Moncton and the player’s Russian club kept him from joining the Wildcats at the beginning of the season, and once it was sorted out, he only suited up for a handful of games before a wrist injury knocked him out for much of the season. Playing only 22 games in your draft year certainly isn’t ideal, even if you put up 23 points. Then came the playoffs.

One Year Ago

Whatever you are doing tonight, it probably isn’t as enjoyable as what you were doing a year ago.

Simon Despres, Zack Phillips, and Jonathan Huberdeau scored for Saint John. Jacob DeSerres played the game of his life, making 34 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs defeated the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors 3-1 to become the first Maritime team to ever win the Memorial Cup.

Some videos after the jump.

Gravel Will Report To Oceanic

Defenseman Maxime Gravel will report to the Rimouski Oceanic for the upcoming 2012-13 season.

Gravel was selected in the third round of last year’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft by the Saint John Sea Dogs. He never reported to Sea Dogs training camp in the fall and had his rights traded to Rimouski in December.

Sea Dogs associate coach and director of hockey operations Mike Kelly said Gravel was a “a right-shot defenseman with a real good shot."

Gravel was part of the deal that saw Scott Oke and a 2012 third round pick (Chicoutimi’s) go to the Oceanic in exchange for a first (Moncton) and seventh (Bathurst) round pick in this year’s draft.

The 17-year old was the best defenseman in the Quebec AAA ranks this past season. He was considering the NCAA route.

Despite Gravel not reporting to Saint John, the 2011 draft is looking decent for the Sea Dogs. They picked up Oliver Cooper, Mackenzie Brown, Stephen Anderson, and Ryan Kelly, all of whom spent some time with the club this past season. 

Sea Dogs Notebook

MOVING OUT

The Sea Dogs cleaned out their lockers yesterday, said their goodbyes, and headed home for the summer. News 88.9 has an article on it.

CTV Atlantic has an article as well and some video.

"It's been a great three years and I'm really happy I came over and had a great time in Saint John," said Tomas Jurco. "We played three years in the finals. It had been a great experience for me and I think it is going to help me a lot."

Photo above was tweeted by Mathieu Corbeil.

PAINT THE TOWN BLUE

The Sea Dogs announced the winners of the Advocate Printing Paint the Town Blue contest today.

PANTHERS

Several Florida Panthers prospects had solid years. Among them was Jonathan Huberdeau as Hockey’s Future notes.

“Jonathan Huberdeau's offensive ourput in the playoffs may not be quite up to his usual standards, but his 21 points in 15 playoff games has helped drive his team to a QMJHL championship and into the Memorial Cup semi-finals,” writes Ken McKenna. “Huberdeau has also dished out a few questionable hits in the playoffs, received a two-game suspension, and caused a stir with an elbow that could arguably have drawn a second suspension.”

ORGANIZATIONAL RANKINGS

Also at Hockey’s Future, they are ranking each NHL club by their prospect depth. They released the 21-30 teams today. The Montreal Canadiens were ranked 21^st.

“The organization has a deep and varied group of defensive prospects,” writes Ken McKenna. “Nathan Beaulieu, Jarred Tinordi, Morgan Ellis, and Greg Pateryn will all be playing in the AHL next season, with Darren Dietz, Mac Bennett, and Josiah Didier coming in the near future.”

Beaulieu is the top ranked Habs prospect at Hockey’s Future.

Former Sea Dog Eric Gelinas is ranked 4^th in the New Jersey Devils system. The Devils are ranked 22^nd.

Stanislav Galiev is ranked 5^th in the Washington Capitals system. Their organization is ranked 27^th.

Final Awards Handed Out

With the season now over, the Saint John Sea Dogs handed out their final team awards of the season.

Forward Zack Phillips won the Bell Aliant Most Valuable Player trophy. The Fredericton native recorded 30 goals and 50 assists in 60 regular season games, guiding the Sea Dogs through some of the low points of their season when several key players were out injured. In the post-season, Phillips had nine goals and 23 assists in 17 contests. He played well at the Memorial Cup, registering three goals and an assist.

The Minnesota Wild prospect wore the captain’s ‘C’ for a span during the season when the club was without Jonathan Huberdeau. Phillips was also named the Memorial Cup’s Most Sportsmanlike Player.

The other award handed out was the Sun Life Global Investments Top Defenceman award and that went to Kevin Gagne. The fourth-year defender was solid all season long while also contributing offensively. He registered a career high nine goals and tied his career high in assists with 26 in 68 games. In the post-season, he added two goals and 13 assists. He was named one of the Sam Cosentino’s legendary “Steady Eddies” prior to the Memorial Cup, a tournament Gagne recorded two assists in.

The other team awards were handed out at a banquet in March.

Here’s SeaDogsTV’s recapping locker cleaning day and speaking with Phillips and Gagne about their awards.

Wayne Long on Information Morning

CBC Saint John’s Information Morning interviewed Sea Dogs president Wayne Long this morning. Long discusses:

• The Memorial Cup tournament and Shawinigan. Long said he was surprised by the dislike that Cataractes fans showed for the Sea Dogs.
• The Sea Dogs will talk about their officiating concerns with the league.
• Next season and the team’s rebuild.
• The status of Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly.
• Comparing the Sea Dogs and the Flames.
• His favourite memories from the season.

Listen to the interview by clicking here.

Looking Ahead To 2012-13

By Andrew McGilligan

SN Staff

What will be considered as one of the best three-year runs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has come to an end for the Saint John Sea Dogs. Three Jean Rougeau trophies, two President's Cups and one Memorial Cup championships is a feat not likely repeated anytime soon.

With the 2011-12 season behind us, let's take a look at some story lines for next season.

ASSETS: After a successful three-year run, it’s unlikely the Sea Dogs will be as dominant in the 2012-13 season, but its won’t be a complete rebuild either. Players such as Stanislav Galiev, Tomas Jurco, Charlie Coyle, Zack Phillips and Jonathan Huberdeau will most likely be gone, but the cupboards aren’t bare.

Oliver Cooper gained a lot of experience playing on the veteran laden team and should be able to assume a bigger role next season. On defence, Pierre Durepos and Kevin Gagne will be back as 20-year-olds and extremely intriguing players for potential trades depending on the situation at the trade deadline and at the draft.

Mackenzie Brown had a strong campaign with the Woodstock Slammers which should benefit him greatly as he tries to make the jump to full-time Sea Dog. Sebastien Auger is looking like the guy who will be between the pipes, but count on the coaching staff to bring in some talent to challenge the incumbent. News 889 play-by-play man Tim Roszell name-checked Stephen Anderson and Benjamin Hade as two guys to watch for when training camp begins.

The Dogs could also have Stephen MacAulay and Ryan Tesink return. The duo, along with Durepos and Gagne should form the leadership core of the team. Those two forwards would also be much sought after by any team looking to make a run at the President’s Cup.

EUROPEANS: The past three seasons have seen two of the top European junior players skating in Sea Dogs sweaters in Jurco and Galiev.

Those two likely won’t be returning, but the Sea Dogs have the 52 and 112th picks in the CHL Import Draft. While the picks aren’t high, order doesn’t matter as much as convincing your picks to leave home and come to North America to pursue an NHL career. Mike Kelly has proven adept at being able to do this and with Saint John making its name the past three years as an exemplary CHL franchise with loads of NHL drafted players, more Europeans might be inclined to call the Port City home.

Phillips Named Most Sportsmanlike Player

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Zack Phillips was announced as the winner of the George Parsons Trophy last night which is awarded to the most sportsmanlike player at the Memorial Cup.

“Zack Phillips of the Saint John Sea Dogs scored three goals and one assist for four points in four games of the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup,” states the Memorial Cup website. “Accumulating just four penalty minutes in the tournament, the 19-year-old from Fredericton, New Brunswick, is a Minnesota Wild prospect selected in the first round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.”

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League swept the Memorial Cup awards. Here are the other winners:

Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player) – Michaal Chaput (Shawinigan Cataractes)

Ed Chynoweth Trophy (Top Scorer) – Michael Chaput (Shawinigan Cataractes)

Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (Outstanding Goaltender) – Gabriel Girard (Shawinigan Cataractes)

The Memorial Cup All-Star Team was also announced but no Sea Dogs were named to the list. Here are the All-Stars:

Goaltender – Michael Houser (London Knights)

Defence – Jarred Tinordi (London Knights)

Defence – Brandon Gormley (Shawinigan Cataractes)

Forward – Austin Watson (London Knights)

Forward – Michael Chaput (Shawinigan Cataractes)

Forward – Henrik Samuelsson (Edmonton Oil Kings)

The top individual award winners and tournament All-Stars for the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup as selected by NHL Central Scouting.

The Day After

Here’s what the front page of the Shawinigan newspaper Le Nouvelliste looks like this morning.

Le Nouvelliste has a solid photo gallery posted here.

The London Knight have little to hang heads over. [Buzzing The Net]

Anton Zlobin was almost too tired to take his final shift. [Sportsnet.ca]

How about Gabriel Girard? [Sportsnet.ca]

It’s the first time since 2001 that the Memorial Cup was won in overtime. [London Free Press]

Shawinigan Wins Memorial Cup; Wikipedia Page Is Then Trolled

The Memorial Cup is staying in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Anton Zlobin scored at 17:51 of overtime to give the Shawinigan Cataractes a 2-1 victory over the London Knights in the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup Championship Final. It is the Cataractes first national title in franchise history.

Zlobin had the other Cataractes goal as well, meaning he is now a legend in Shawinigan. Ryan Rupert had the lone goal for the Ontario Hockey League champions, a team that has a good chance of playing in the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

Goaltender Gabriel Girard made 35 saves for the win while Michael Houser made the same amount in the loss.

Shawinigan’s win will probably be debated about forever. This is a team that lost in the second round of the playoffs and had a month off before getting in as hosts. But you do have to give them some respect for winning it all after taking the long route through the tie-breaker.

For Sea Dogs fans, it’s tough to see Shawinigan win. This is a team and a franchise we’ve all come to hate over the past year. But at the end of the day, it’s great to see a QMJHL team win the Memorial Cup. It’s great see a team from the Q beat a team from the Centre of the Universe. This is a league that doesn’t get much respect nationally, back now with back-to-back championships maybe that will start to change.

If you’re a Sea Dogs fan and are still upset you can check out the photo after the jump. The Cataractes Wikipedia page got trolled in a big way.

Memorial Cup Final Tonight

A new MasterCard Memorial Cup champion will be crowned tonight in Shawinigan. The host Cataractes will take on the Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights at 8pm.

London took the easy way to get here, receiving a bye straight through to the final following the round-robin portion of the tournament. Meanwhile, Shawinigan took the hard way here having to beat Edmonton in the tie-breaker and Saint John in the semi-final.

If you’re a Sea Dogs fan, who do you even cheer for tonight? It’s incredibly difficult to support Shawinigan after all that has gone down between them and Saint John over the past year. But at the same time, it’s always nice to see someone from your league win at all. 

A London win would mean that Shawinigan lost. But at the same time, it’s incredibly difficult to support a team from the Centre of the Universe.

Some links:

• Shawinigan has an awesome mascot and nobody is complaining.
• Sportsnet.ca has a full preview.
• If you are looking for something to do while watching the game, check out Buzzing The Net’s live chat.
• Open Ice Hockey’s video preview.

There will also be a “Net a Million” contest tonight. After the game David Branch will make some big time speech about the winning team. Should be a blast.

No CHL Awards For Dogs

Not surprisingly, the Saint John Sea Dogs came away empty handed at yesterday’s Canadian Hockey League Awards in Shawinigan.

The only player nominated was Mathieu Corbeil who was up for the Vaughn Goaltender of the Year Award. That went to the London Knights’ Michael Houser who was also nominated for CCM Player of the Year.

Only three players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League won awards. Quebec’s Vincent Barnard was named the Home Hardware Humanitarian Player of the Year, Cape Breton’s Jonathan Brunelle was named the Subway Scholastic Player of the Year, and Quebec’s Mikhail Grigorenko was named the BMO Rookie of the Year.

Bathurst’s Zach O’Brien, who hasn’t recorded a single penalty minute in his entire career, was not named FRAM Sportsman of the Year. That award went to Brandon’s Mark Stone.

Here are the full list of award winners.

Jack Link’s Top Prospect of the Year – Nail Yakupov (Sarnia Sting)

FRAM Sportsman of the Year – Mark Stone (Brandon Wheat Kings)

Dodge Top Scorer of the Year – Brendan Shinnimin (Tri-City Americans)

Home Hardware Humanitarian Player of the Year – Vincent Barnard (Quebec Remparts)

Subway Scholastic Player of the Year – Jonathan Brunelle (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles)

Old Dutch Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year – Jim Hiller (Tri-City Americans)

BMO Rookie of the Year – Mikhail Grigorenko (Quebec Remparts)

Vaughn Goaltender of the Year – Michael Houser (London Knights)

Post Foods Canada Defenceman of the Year – Dougie Hamilton (Niagara IceDogs)

CCM Player of the Year – Brendan Shinnimin (Tri-City Americans)

Tri-City’s Brendan Shinnimin earned both the Chrysler Top Scorer and CCM Player of the Year Award.  He is the first player since Alexander Radulov in 2005-06 and Sidney Crosby in 2004-05 to win both major awards in the same season.

In other news, Shreddies is now the official cereal ofthe CHL.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

VIDEO: Sea Dogs Come Home

The Sea Dogs arrived back in Saint John this afternoon less than 24 hours removed from being eliminated at the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

Via CHSJ News, here’s some video of the Sea Dogs arriving at the airport.

POSTSCRIPT: Cataractes 7, Sea Dogs 4

A collection of recaps from last night’s 7-4 Saint John Sea Dogs loss to the Shawinigan Cataractes…

Our recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs’ season came to a crashing end on Friday night at Centre Bionest as the rival Shawinigan Cataractes won the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup semi-final game 7-4.

News 88.9’s recap. Featuring Tim Roszell’s goal calls.

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. The back-to-back President’s Cup champions came back from deficits of 2-1 and 4-2 before eventually falling to the host Cataractes, who were eliminated in the second round of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs.

Buzzing The Net’s recap. "When we tied it up, I thought we had a real good chance of winning, but Girard made a real good glove save [on Tomas Jurco]," Sea Dogs coach Gerard Gallant said. "We didn't play well all night. Shawinigan played very well, they competed harder than us and that's why they won the game. Give full credit to them."

Sportsnet.ca’s recap. The Cataractes battled hard from start to finish and faced plenty of adversity along the way. When push came to shove after the Sea Dogs tied the game 4-4 midway through the third period, Shawinigan head coach Eric Veilleux had nothing more to do than look at this bench to realize everything would work out.

The Canadian Press’ recap. They’ve also ensured there will be a new Memorial Cup champion. The Sea Dogs, a powerhouse team that has won more than 200 games over the last three seasons, were looking to repeat after winning the Cup last year in Mississauga, Ont.

SN Live Blog Replay. See you in August.

MISSING IN ACTION: The Sea Dogs dressed the same lineup as they did on Wednesday. Scratches were forwards Devon Oliver-Dares, Oliver Cooper, Dylan McGuigan, and defensemen Spencer MacDonald and Jordan Moore and goaltender Richard Tingley.

Today's Front Page

Tough loss for the Sea Dogs last night. One of the biggest wins in franchise history for the Cataractes. Here's what the front page of the Shawinigan Le Nouvelliste looks like this morning.

RECAP: Closing Time. Dogs Lose 7-4.

FINAL: Shawinigan 7, Saint John 4

SHAWINIGAN, Que. – It wasn’t meant to be.

The Saint John Sea Dogs’ season came to a crashing end on Friday night at Centre Bionest as the rival Shawinigan Cataractes won the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup semi-final game 7-4.

You could say plenty about this game but the bottom line is this – the Cataractes were the better team tonight and deserved to win. It’s these win-or-go-home games that make the Memorial Cup so awesome and so heartbreaking.

They Cats will now play the London Knights in Sunday’s Championship Final. There will be a new Memorial Cup champion.

The Sea Dogs opened the scoring early in the first but they would never lead again. When Brandon Gormley scored to make it 2-1 Cataractes, you just got the feeling that this could be a rough night. And it was just that as Shawinigan scored three times in the final half of the third to win 7-4.

Shawinigan had a pair of goals from Michael Chaput and singles from Yannick Veilleux, Brandon Gormley, Pier-Olivier Morin, Loik Poudrier, and Michael Bournival. Anton Zlobin had three assists while Gormley added two. Gabriel Girard made 24 saves in the win.

Saint John had two goals from Tomas Jurco and a marker each from Zack Phillips and Jonathan Huberdeau. Mathieu Corbeil allowed six goals on 36 shots in the loss.

From a Saint John standpoint, this is no doubt disappointing. This team was consider favourites to win the Memorial Cup by many and were ranked No. 1 in the Canadian Hockey League for much of the season. This was the last year for this core of players. But at the Memorial Cup, anything can happen. 

But at the same time, there are only two teams in the entire CHL who can say they made it further than Saint John. Even though it didn’t end with a national title, this has to be considered one of the best three-year runs in CHL history. It's some kind of ride and fans should be proud of what this team has accomplished. 

We could reminisce further, but we’ve got all summer to do that. On to the final recap of the year.

LIVE BLOG: Cataractes vs Sea Dogs

SHAWINIGAN, Que. - Huge game at the Memorial Cup tonight as the Sea Dogs battle the Cataractes. Winner plays in the Championship Final. Follow along for updates.

Sea Dogs Notebook

PREVIEW

Open Ice Hockey has a preview of tonight’s Sea Dogs-Cataractes semi-final tilt.

“It’s always hard to play three-games-in-three-nights, but I think the boys have a lot of energy,” Michael Chaput said. “That’s what we worked on for a month. We worked hard on the ice and in the gym and I think that will be a good thing for us.”

Game time is 8pm tonight. The game can be seen on Sportsnet or heard on News 88.9

McCAIN

Scott McCain appeared on Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown last night. He talked about Wednesday’s nasty game but also talks about the 2012 Memorial Cup selection process. He basically says the same stuff he has said in the past about the selection but it is worth a listen. Conversation begins at 33:30.

DEFENDING

The Canadian Press had an article yesterday about Saint John’s underrated defensive play which could be seen in Wednesday’s 4-1 victory.

"Don't get me wrong, we practice the trap a little bit," Gallant said. "But when it's 3-1, I want our guys to keep going, but to make sure our defencemen aren't pinching and to make sure we have a high forward (one staying back in the attacking zone). I don't want to sit back.

"We're never scared. We're responsible. You see our defencemen, it's 3-1 and they're still in the rush, they still play the game. We just keep giving them reminders that we don't want odd-man rushes. Play the game smart."

The winner of tonight’s game will have the pleasure of playing against the Hunter/boring style London Knights in Sunday’s Championship Game.

HUBERDEAU

The London Free Press has an article on Jonathan Huberdeau’s play at the Memorial Cup.

“I don’t think about that,” he said about whether he is playing better in this year’s tournament than last. “I feel like I have my confidence back, more than I had in the playoffs (21 points in 15 games and suspended for the first two games of the Quebec league final), and I’m more comfortable out there every game.”

Huberdeau has four goals and two assists in this year’s Memorial Cup. His six points place him second in tournament scoring.

MEMORIAL CUP GAMEDAY: vs Shawinigan

GAMEDAY

Shawinigan Cataractes vs Saint John Sea Dogs

2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup – Round-Robin

Tonight at 8:00pm

Radio: News 88.9 | TV: Sportsnet/TVA Sports | Live Blog: SN

Centre Bionest – Shawinigan, Que.

PREVIEW

SHAWINIGAN, Que. – Here we go again.

Two days ago the Saint John Sea Dogs and Shawinigan Cataractes went to war at Centre Bionest. There was nastiness, fights, cheap shots, garbage thrown on the ice, and a war of words between coaches. Now, with both team’s seasons on the line, they meet again.

After losing 4-1to the Sea Dogs  in the final round-robin game of the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup on Wednesday, the Cataractes were forced to play the Western Hockey League champion Edmonton Oil Kings in a tie-breaker game yesterday. Shawinigan sure did deliver, pounding the Oil Kings 6-1 and earning a rematch with Saint John in tonight’s semi-final game.

The winner of tonight’s game will face the Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights in Sunday’s Championship Game. The Sea Dogs lost 5-3 to the Knights in the round-robin while the Cataractes beat them 6-2.

Shawinigan will be playing their third game in three nights tonight. They’ll be in tough, but given that this team had a month off before the tournament should benefit them in this situation. Plus, last night’s game wasn’t as grueling as it could have been since the Cats had basically won the game before the halfway mark. 

The Cats are 2-2 at the Memorial Cup with wins over London and Edmonton and loses to Edmonton and Saint John. They’ve outscored opponents 16-11 over the four games. Their 16 goals are the most by any team in the tournament.

The Sea Dogs are 2-1 with wins over Shawinigan and Edmonton and a loss to London. They’ve outscored opponents 12-8 over their three games. Their +6 goal differential is the best in the tournament.

After what went down on Wednesday and what has gone down all year between these franchises, it seems only fitting that they meet in an elimination game the Memorial Cup. Winner plays for a national title while the loser heads for the off-season.

Watch Tonight's Game At The qplex

Tonight’s Cataractes-Sea Dogs semi-final game will be shown at the qplex in Qusipamsis. This release was posted on the qplex website yesterday. 

Hockey fans can watch the Saint John Sea Dogs vie for their second straight appearance in the Memorial Cup Final Friday night at the qplex.  

The game will be shown on the three large projection screens in a family-friendly environment in the qplex’s Moosehead Breweries Conference Centre.

The Sea Dogs secured their place in the national semifinal with a 4-1 win over the host Shawinigan Cataractes last night. Saint John will meet the winner of tonight’s tiebreaker between the Cataractes and Edmonton Oil Kings tomorrow night at 8 o’clock (ADT). 

Doors open at 7:30 p.m.  Bar and canteen services from George Cousins Catering will be available. 

There is no admission fee. 

If the Sea Dogs win Friday, they will meet the London Knights in Sunday’s title game, which would also be shown at the qplex at 8 p.m. 

“More than 225 people joined us for last year’s exciting victory over Mississauga in the Memorial Cup Final,” said Mayor Murray Driscoll.  “We hope to see a big crowd on Friday night and then again on Sunday for the championship. 

“Go Sea Dogs go!”

Tonight’s game can be seen on Sportsnet beginning at 8pm.

Ready To Rumble... Again

The Shawinigan Cataractes will get another crack at the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The two Quebec Major Junior Hockey League rivals will meet in tomorrow’s MasterCard Memorial Cup semi-final game. The winner moves on to Sunday’s Championship Game against the London Knights while the loser goes home (or, in Shawinigan’s case, stays home).

The Cataractes advanced to the semi-final with a solid 6-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings in the tie-breaker game. Yannick Veilleux, Morgan Ellis, Anton Zlobin, Kirill Kabanov, Michael Bournival, and Pier-Olivier Morin all scored for Shawinigan. Gabriel Girard made 29 saves for the win.

With the loss, the Western Hockey League champion Oil Kings are the first team eliminated from this year’s Memorial Cup. They finish with a 1-3 record and just couldn’t quite find their game in Shawinigan. Their lone goal on Thursday came from Henrik Samuelsson while Laurent Brossoit allowed six goals on 31 shots.

Shawinigan will have a tough test tomorrow night. Not only will the Cats be playing the defending Memorial Cup champs but they will also be playing their third game in three days. Three-in-threes aren’t uncommon in the QMJHL, but it’s rare to play elite teams like these ones on a back-to-back-to-back basis.

The Dogs and Cats met on Wednesday in round-robin action and it was a wild one. Cheap shots, fights, and two coaches getting into it were the memorable moments in the 4-1 Saint John victory. Both teams were fined $2,500 for their shenanigans.

POSTSCRIPT: Cataractes 1, Sea Dogs 4

A collection of recaps from last night’s 4-1 Saint John Sea Dogs win over the Shawinigan Cataractes…

Our recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs edged their Quebec Major Junior Hockey League rival Shawinigan Cataractes 4-1 on Wednesday night at a packed Centre Bionest. It was nasty, nasty game with several ugly looking hits, some late game fights and even some yelling between coaching staffs.

News 88.9’s recap. Featuring Tim Roszell’s goal calls.

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. Jonathan Huberdeau had three points as the Saint John Sea Dogs beat the Shawinigan Cataractes 4-1 Wednesday to advance to the MasterCard Memorial Cup semifinal.

Sportsnet.ca’s recap. The defending MasterCard Memorial Cup champions are awake, and not a moment too soon.

The Canadian Press’ recap. Anton Zlobin scored for Shawinigan (1-2), which will face the Western Hockey League champion Edmonton Oil Kings (1-2) in a tiebreaker game tonight. Edmonton beat Shawinigan 4-3 in the tournament’s opening game.

SN Live Blog replay. Wild game.

MISSING IN ACTION: The Sea Dogs were without forwards Devon Oliver-Dares, Oliver Cooper, Dylan McGuigan, and defensemen Spencer MacDonald and Jordan Moore and goaltender Richard Tingley. Cooper and Oliver-Dares both played on Monday but were replaced by Jason Cameron and Grant West.

Dogs, Cats Fined $2,500

The Saint John Sea Dogs are making quite a financial impact at the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

The Sea Dogs and Shawinigan Cataractes were both fined $2,500 today by the Memorial Cup Hockey Operations Disciplinary Committee today for “conduct prejudicial to the welfare of the game and the tournament.”

Last night’s nasty 4-1 Sea Dogs victory has been making headlines thanks to some questionable hits, fights late in the third, and the two coaching staffs yelling at each other after the game. It was quite the contest that may have concluded a feisty Sea Dogs-Cataractes rivalry that has been taking place over the past year.

Things got started in warm up when Ian Saab and Dillon Donnelly had to be kept apart by a linesman. During the game, there were plenty of plays that could have resulted in major penalties but were just called minors. Stephen MacAulay and Morgan Ellis both made cross checks to opposing player’s necks, Jonathan Racine put a nasty elbow on Tomas Jurco, and Michael Chaput hit Ryan Tesink from behind just to name a few.

After Jonathan Huberdeau scored into an empty net with 1:32 left to make it 4-1 Saint John, things really got heated. Grant West and Vincent Arseneau dropped the gloves at 19:18. The Cataractes then put Donnelly on the ice for the ensuing faceoff who was given a 10-minute misconduct. Buzzing The Net has a great article on that situation with quotes from Cats coach Eric Veilleux.

There was a lot more rough stuff in the final minute. After the final buzzer went, the Sea Dogs’ Mike Kelly and Veilleux climbed the glass separating the team benches to get in a yelling match.

"I wasn't climbing the glass,” said Veilleux. “I was just asking Gerard why he had to spend so much time talking to the maritime referee."

This after Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant was fined $500 earlier this week for comments he made about his team always being on the short end of the stick with the officiating.

These two teams combined for 72 minutes in penalties last night. There is a chance the Dogs and Cats could meet tomorrow in the semi-final which would be wild.

Photo from Sportsnet via @arbz28

Awesome and Infuriating

By Andrew McGilligan
SN Staff

Sportsnet’s coverage of Major Junior Hockey has produced one of the best extras in broadcasting while at the same time becoming one of the most infuriating.

The network gives fans a chance to listen in when the referees “go upstairs” on a questionable goal call. Instead of the replay being shown on an endless loop and broadcasters speculating – which can be tough air time to fill depending on the length of the call – fans get to hear exactly what’s being discussed.

This is the best addition to hockey broadcasting since the colour commentator between the benches. While it gives fans an added bonus watching the games, it’s produced two of the most infuriating moments of the MasterCard Memorial Cup.

When a referee goes upstairs, it’s to make sure the right call is made. Unfortunately, that’s not happening every time. Errors are still creeping into the equation far too much and at pivotal times in the game.

Take for instance the final round robin game between the Saint John Sea Dogs and the Shawinigan Cataractes, a 4-1 win for the Sea Dogs. Up 2-0, it appeared the Sea Dogs scored a third goal on a scramble in front of the Shawinigan goal. The referee decided to go upstairs. It was the right call because bodies were piling up in the scoring area, Cataractes goalie Gabriel Girard was down and referee’s view was obstructed.

This was a pivotal moment.

Going up 3-0 would have firmly placed the Sea Dogs boot on Shawinigan’s neck. The guys in the replay booth determined the puck crossed the line and told that to the referee. The only thing left to determine was when the official blew the whistle. Referee Nicolas Dutil said he had blown the play dead, so despite the puck crossing the line, it was no goal.

RECAP: Moving On Up. Dogs Win 4-1.

FINAL: Shawinigan 1, Saint John 4

SHAWINIGAN, Que. – The final game of round-robin action of the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup proved to be the nastiest.

The Saint John Sea Dogs edged their Quebec Major Junior Hockey League rival Shawinigan Cataractes 4-1 on Wednesday night at a packed Centre Bionest. It was nasty, nasty game with several ugly looking hits, some late game fights and even some yelling between coaching staffs.

Behind all that though, the Sea Dogs played their best game of the tournament so far. They were the better team throughout and were in control for most of the match. They led 2-0 after one and 3-1 after two.

Jonathan Huberdeau led the way with two goals while Ryan Tesink and Stanislav Galiev also had markers. Nathan Beaulieu registered two assists. Goaltender Mathieu Corbeil played well despite being nailed over the back of the head with stick. He made 30 saves in the win.

Shawinigan’s lone goal came from Anton Zlobin late in the second. Goaltender Gabriel Girard made 34 stops in the loss.

The Saint John wins mean they advance to semi-final and the London Knights advance to the final. Shawinigan will take on the Edmonton Oil Kings in tomorrow’s tie-breaker game.

There is a chance Saint John and Shawinigan will meet again if the Cataractes win tomorrow. That would mean Shawinigan would have to play a three-in-three. After tonight’s game, who knows what they have left in the tank.

LIVE BLOG: Cataractes vs Sea Dogs

SHAWINIGAN, Que. - It's the game we've all been waiting for. The Sea Dogs battle the Cataractes tonight at 8pm. Follow along for updates.

Cataractes-Sea Dogs Previews

Via the Montreal Canadiens website, here’s Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Beaulieu speaking to the media about tonight’s game.

On the Memorial Cup website, Sportsnet’s RJ Broadhead and Sam Cosentino setup tonight’s Shawinigan-Saint John showdown.

Game time this evening is 8pm. The game can be seen on Sportsnet, heard on News 88.9, and/or followed on our live blog.

MEMORIAL CUP GAMEDAY: vs Shawinigan

GAMEDAY

Shawinigan Cataractes vs Saint John Sea Dogs

2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup – Round-Robin

Tonight at 8:00pm

Radio: News 88.9 | TV: Sportsnet/TVA Sports | Live Blog: SN

Centre Bionest – Shawinigan, Que.

PREVIEW

SHAWINIGAN, Que. – Just like on Monday, tonight’s game is not an elimination game for the Saint John Sea Dogs. But it might as well be treated like one.

The loser of tonight’s MasterCard Memorial Cup game between the Sea Dogs and Shawinigan Cataractes will have the toughest road of any team to win the Memorial Cup. A loss tonight would mean they would have to win three games in four nights beginning tomorrow to become champions. It’s not an impossible task but a very, very difficult one.

If the Sea Dogs win this evening, they will advance to Friday’s semi-final game where they would play the winner of tomorrow’s Shawinigan-Edmonton tie-breaker. If the Cataractes win tonight, they would advance straight to Sunday’s final and London would face the winner of the Edmonton-Saint John tie-breaker.

This is the game that everyone has been waiting for. With both teams sitting at 1-1, it just makes tonight’s contest that much more important.

These are two teams that showed they don’t like each other during the regular season. There were six fights over the four-game season series. There were also two players suspended multiple games for illegal hits. All four games were highly intense and two were decided by one-goal.

Despite all that has gone down between these two franchises since Shawinigan was awarded hosting rights for this year’s tournament, the Sea Dogs are downplaying any kind of rivalry.

"Last year we were disappointed when we didn't get to host the Memorial Cup, there's no doubt," Sea Dogs coach Gerard Gallant told Buzzing The Net. "But that's long in the past. There's no big rivalry, us and Shawinigan. I think us and Shawinigan are the two best teams in our league supposedly, so that's the rivalry. We play other [Maritimes] teams, Moncton and Halifax [Mooseheads], our rivalry is as big with them as it is with Shawinigan. It's not like there's going to big six fights.”

Shawinigan and Saint John battled for first overall in the league standings all year. The Cataractes stumbled a bit down the stretch and the Dogs beat them by six points. The Cataractes finished the regular season with a record of 45-16-3-4 for 97 points.

The Cats swept Rouyn-Noranda in the first round of the playoffs before falling in seven games to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the second round. Saint John and Shawinigan never got to meet in the playoffs but, tonight, they’ll face each other in the most important game of the year.

Sea Dogs And Cataractes Meet Again

It’s a game two teams and two cities have been waiting over a year for.

Tonight in Shawinigan, the host Cataractes will battle the Saint John Sea Dogs in the final round-robin game of the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup. A Saint John win propels them into the semi-final on Friday. A Shawinigan win puts them into Sunday’s Championship Final. The loser of this evening’s contest will be forced to play in tomorrow’s tie-breaker game and will have the toughest road to the Cup.

Ever since Shawinigan was awarded the Memorial Cup over Saint John in April of 2011, these two teams have been linked. Ever since that decision there has been a war of words off the ice and wars on the ice.

Saint John and Shawinigan met four times in the regular season with each game being highly anticipated and highly intense. They battled all year for first overall in the standings. It appeared these two were destined to meet in the President’s Cup Final until the Cataractes were suddenly eliminated in the second round. As a result the Sea Dogs, although given a tough test by Chicoutimi in the third round, cruised to their second straight league title.

Now, for the first time since March 11, they meet for the most important game of the season for both teams. There will be a packed house at Centre Bionest and there will be a national television audience watching as well. The winner gets the express pass and the loser gets the tough road.

The regular season series was split between the two clubs with each team picking up a home and road win. Both of Saint John’s wins were of the one-goal variety. Here’s a look back at all four meetings.

Dogs Won't Be Heading Directly To Final

FINAL: London 4, Edmonton 1

The Saint John Sea Dogs will have to take a longer road if they want to repeat as Memorial Cup champions.

With the London Knights’ 4-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings on Tuesday night, the Saint John Sea Dogs can longer advance directly to Sunday’s Championship Final.

Here are the two scenarios that could still happen:

• If Saint John wins: London would play in the Championship Final on Sunday and Saint John would earn a spot in the Semi-Finals on Friday.  Edmonton and Shawinigan would play a Tie-Breaker game on Thursday where Edmonton would be the home team.
• If Shawinigan wins: Shawinigan would play in the Championship Final on Sunday and London would earn a spot in the Semi-Finals on Friday.  Edmonton and Saint John would play a Tie-Breaker game on Thursday where Saint John would be the home team.

As we said earlier, the loser of tomorrow’s game will have the toughest route to winning it all because they would have to win three games in four days. They also wouldn’t have a day off between their final round-robin game and the Tie-Breaker game which Edmonton does have.

On Tuesday night at Centre Bionest, Greg McKegg, Bo Horvat, Ryan Rupert, and Austin Watson all scored as the Knights played their typical Hunter/boring style of hockey. Keegan Lowe had Edmonton’s lone goal. Michael Houser made 20 saves in the win while Laurent Brossoit made 24 in the loss.

Now, it's up to the Sea Dogs and Cataractes to determine who plays who and when. Centre Bionest is going to be rocking like never before tomorrow night.

The Scenarios

The Saint John Sea Dogs could advance to the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup Championship Final tomorrow night. They could also be forced to play in Thursday’s Tie-Breaker game. That’s how wild this year’s tournament has become.

With each team sitting at 1-1 entering the final two days of round-robin action, it makes tonight’s and tomorrow’s game all that more important. Tonight, the London Knights take on the Edmonton Oil Kings and tomorrow the Sea Dogs face the Shawinigan Cataractes.

The losers of tonight's game will face the loser of tomorrow's game on Thursday in the Tie-Breaker game. The winner of the Tie-Breaker game would then play in the Semi-Finals on Friday. The Semi-Final winner would then play in Sunday's Championship Game.

Here are the four scenarios that could happen:

• If Edmonton and Saint John win: Saint John would play in the Championship Final on Sunday and Edmonton would earn a spot in the Semi-Finals on Friday.  Shawinigan and London would play a Tie-Breaker game on Thursday where Shawinigan would be the home team.
• If Edmonton and Shawinigan win: Edmonton would play in the Championship Final on Sunday and Shawinigan would earn a spot in the Semi-Finals on Friday.  London and Saint John would play a Tie-Breaker game on Thursday where London would be the home team.
• If London and Saint John win: London would play in the Championship Final on Sunday and Saint John would earn a spot in the Semi-Finals on Friday.  Edmonton and Shawinigan would play a Tie-Breaker game on Thursday where Edmonton would be the home team.
• If London and Shawinigan win: Shawinigan would play in the Championship Final on Sunday and London would earn a spot in the Semi-Finals on Friday.  Edmonton and Saint John would play a Tie-Breaker game on Thursday where Saint John would be the home team.

The loser of tomorrow’s game will have the hardest road to winning it all. They would have to win three games in four days which would be a very tough task. So, no matter what happens tonight, winning tomorrow is a must.

If tomorrow’s game is anything like the regular season games between the Sea Dogs and Cataractes, it should be a wild one. The two teams split the four-game series with both of Saint John’s wins being decided by one-goal.

Jackets Unsure If They'll Sign Corbeil

The Columbus Blue Jackets still haven’t made a decision on whether or not they’ll sign Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender Mathieu Corebil.

"We'll evaluate him in the Memorial Cup and make a decision," Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson told the Columbus Dispatch. "Not sure right now."

Corbeil was excellent in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League post-season, going 16-0-1 with a 2.18 goals against average and a 0.917 save percentage. He went 37-10-1 in the regular season with a 2.38 GAA and a 0.911 SV%. Despite the solid numbers, the Jackets, like many, wonder if he is legitimately as good as those numbers show or if he is benefiting from playing with an all-star team.

“Two weeks ago, the Blue Jackets seemed to be leaning away from signing Corbeil,” writes the Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline. “These days it seems to be leaning back the other direction, though no decision has been made.”

The Jackets recently announced that they would not be signing Rimouski Oceanic forward Petr Straka.

Remember, this is the Columbus Blue Jackets we're talking about here, so anything could happen.

POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 5, Oil Kings 2

A collection of recaps from last night’s 5-2 Saint John Sea Dogs victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings…

Our recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs are very much alive at the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

News 88.9’s recap. Featuring Tim Roszell’s goal calls.

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. Zack Phillips opened the scoring and added a late third-period marker as the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Sea Dogs evened their record at 1-1.

The Edmonton Journal’s recap. "We just couldn't get'er done tonight," Lazar told reporters. "There are a couple of guys on the team that need to pick up the effort and I'm calling myself out on that one because I need to play better."

Sportsnet.ca’s recap. "I guess the only positive about tonight, it didn’t go into overtime so we can get back to the hotel, we can rest, relax and try to reenergize for tomorrow night," Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal said.

Buzzing The Net’s recap. "The first period, I would say, was about a five out of 10," said Sea Dogs centre Stephen MacAulay, whose work on the nominal third line with birthday-boy goal scorer Ryan Tesink and Maxime Villemaire helped wear down Edmonton. "The second period we started to play well. That was about an eight. The third period was a nine. It wasn't as good as we can go, but we'll take it."

The Canadian Press’ recap. It is the first time all four teams have been tied with 1-1 records since the current format was adopted in 1983.

SN Live Blog replay. That’s more like it.

MISSING IN ACTION: The Sea Dogs were without forwards Grant West, Jason Cameron, Dylan McGuigan, and defensemen Spencer MacDonald and Jordan Moore and goaltender Richard Tingley. Cameron and MacDonald both played on Saturday but were replaced by forwards Devon Oliver-Dares and Oliver Cooper.

RECAP: Alive and Well. Dogs Win 5-2.

FINAL: Saint John 5, Edmonton 2

SHAWINIGAN, Que. – The Saint John Sea Dogs are very much alive at the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions were the final team at this year’s tournament to collect a victory, beating the Western Hockey League champion Edmonton Oil Kings 5-2 on Monday night at Centre Bionest in Shawinigan. The Sea Dogs win means every team is 1-1 for the first time in Memorial Cup history (under the current tournament format).

It wasn’t a perfect game by the Sea Dogs but it was much better than their game on Saturday night against the London Knights. Saint John did a lot of things well on Monday in what was basically a must-win game.

The game was tied 1-1 after one but the Sea Dogs led 3-2 after two. They added two more – with one being an empty net goal – in the third period.

Zack Phillips had a pair of goals while singles came from Jonathan Huberdeau, Danick Gauthier, and Ryan Tesink. Charlie Coyle had two assists. It’s safe to say the big boys came to play on this night after struggling in their tournament opener.

Despite being criticized by Sportsnet analyst John Garrett all night long, Mathieu Corbeil made several key saves. He stopped 25 shots for his first career Memorial Cup win.

Edmonton’s goals came from Kristians Pelss and Stephane Legault. Goaltender Laurent Brossoit made 29 stops in the loss.

With the Sea Dogs winning tonight, it makes things a whole lot more interesting. Saint John can earn an automatic berth in the final if Edmonton wins tomorrow and the Sea Dogs win on Wednesday. No matter what happens tomorrow, with a tie-breaker game now required, a win on Wednesday is vital.

LIVE BLOG: Sea Dogs vs Oil Kings

SHAWINIGAN, Que. - Biggest game of the year for the Saint John Sea Dogs tonight. They are playing the Edmonton Oil Kings. Follow along for updates.

Sea Dogs Notebook

PREVIEW

The QMJHL website has a video featuring RJ Broadhead and Sam Cosentino previewing tonight’s Saint John Sea Dogs – Edmonton Oil Kings game. Game time is 8pm on Sportsnet.

News 88.9 also has a brief preview on their website. In it, Stanislav Galiev is quoted as saying, "we're going to play our best game. Everyone is hungry for a win so it's going to be a good game for us.”

SEED

Buzzing The Net has an article on Sea Dogs defenseman Jason Seed. What do the Dogs need to do tonight against Edmonton?

"We need to play our game in our next contest against the Edmonton Oil Kings [on Monday],” he said. “We were not very good against London, took some costly penalties and did not compete hard enough. We will be better. "

Seed played in all 17 of Saint John’s playoff games, recording a goal and three assists.

HUBERDEAU

Open Ice Hockey has an article on Sea Dogs captain Jonathan Huberdeau. He admits he must be more disciplined than on Saturday when he collected six minutes in penalties.

“You don’t want to take penalties like that one,” he said about his third period roughing penalties. “I have to be more disciplined and play my game more. Shy away a bit from the rough stuff.”

Huberdeau had 18 penalty minutes in 15 playoff games and 50 in 37 regular season contests.

COYLE

Prince Charles was in Saint John today while Sir Charles – the nickname many Saint John fans have given Charlie Coyle on Twitter – gets ready for another Memorial Cup game. He talked about the nickname with Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports.

"I think this is the first one, Sir Charles," said Coyle about the nickname. "I guess we'll stick with that one... some of the guys call me Chuck here, so that's a little easier to get used to, but that's my dad's name. People call my dad Chuck, so that was weird to me at first."

Coyle also talks about his decision to leave Boston University and join the Sea Dogs.

STYLES

Sea Dogs Styles finally has an online store. They are even selling 2012 President’s Cup championship stuff on it. Check the store out here.