Thursday, April 6, 2023

Notebook: Game 5 goes Friday

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
The Saint John Sea Dogs' season will be on the line Friday night at TD Station.

The Sea Dogs trail the Gatineau Olympiques 3-1 in their first round best-of-seven playoff series heading into Friday evening's Game 5. Saint John edged Gatineau 3-2 in Tuesday's Game 3 before the heavily favoured Olympiques rebounded with a 6-0 win in Game 4 on Wednesday.

Both games featured some of the smallest crowds in Sea Dogs franchise history. The team is offering $7 tickets for Friday's contest.Game time for Game 5 is 7 p.m.

SERIES LEADERS
With 11 points in four games, Gatineau forward Zach Dean leads the entire QMJHL in playoff scoring. Alexis Gendron, meanwhile, has a league high eight goals. Gendron has record two hat tricks already.

Riley Kidney of the Olympiques leads the league in assists with eight.

Gatineau has outscored Saint John 24-4 in the series. Francesco Lapenna is the only netminder to record two shutouts so far.

On the Saint John side, Peter Reynolds has carried his strong end to the regular season into the playoffs, registering three assists. Brady Burns and Noah Reinhart, meanwhile, each have a goal and an assist.

SHINGAROV'S NIGHT
It was another eventful night for Ventsislav Shingarov on Wednesday.

Shingarov faced 37 shots in just 40 minutes of action. That included a 20-save performance in the first period where he allowed just one goal, keeping the Sea Dogs in the game.

That first period also included this ridiculous glove save off Alexis Gendron.
And this Gatineau goal that was called off after a review for goaltender interference.
PLAYOFF SWEEPS
Three teams have already advanced to the second round of the QMJHL playoffs.

Quebec, Halifax and Sherbrooke all completed first round sweeps on Wednesday, eliminating Charlottetown, Cape Breton and Blainville-Boisbriand, respectively.

A few series could end on Friday. Rimouski, Gatineau, Drummondville and Rouyn-Noranda all have 3-1 series leads over Chicoutimi, Saint John, Victoriaville and Shawinigan.

The only series that's tied through four games is the extremely tight Moncton and Baie-Comeau matchup. The Drakkar host the Wildcats for a pivotal Game 5 on Friday - the final game of the series that will be played in Baie-Comeau.

PICARD'S JUNIOR DAYS DONE
Olivier Picard's junior career has come to a close.

The former Sea Dogs forward spent this season with the BCHL's Victoria Grizzlies where he led the team in scoring with 29 goals and 58 points in 53 regular season games. In added a goal and an assist in four playoff games as the Grizzlies were swept by the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.

Picard, who turned 21 in February, spent all of last season with the Sea Dogs, helping the club win the Memorial Cup on home ice.

OTHER THINGS
  • Goaltender Olivier Brideau is Saint John's nominee for the Marcel-Robert Trophy, awarded annually to the player who best combines on-ice performance with academic success. Payton Liske of the Sea Dogs won the award in 2009.
  • In a radio interview with John Moore during the first period of Wednesday's game, Sea Dogs general manager Anthony Stella says he expects his team to have at least three second round picks at June's QMJHL Entry Draft.
  • Stella also noted that he expects forward Caleb Desnoyers, the younger brother of Elliot Desnoyers, to be the top prospect for this year's draft. The QMJHL has not held its draft lottery yet.
  • X-Women forward Maggy Burbidge, the sister of Sea Dogs forward Cole Burbidge, was named the StFX Female Student Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.
  • Baie-Comeau Drakkar rookie forward Justin Poirier, the younger brother of former Sea Dogs defenseman Jeremie Poirier, has two goals and two assists so far this post-season.
  • Jeremie Poirier, Yan Kuznetsov and the Calgary Wranglers recently reached the 100-point mark with a 48-15-3-1 record. They sit first overall in the AHL standings.
  • The independently owned Chicago Wolves of the AHL, who have a reputation of being a challenging organization for NHL teams to work with, want to play without an NHL affiliation next season. Former Sea Dogs captain Spencer Smallman won a Calder Cup championship with the Wolves last year.
  • Keeping with the sibling theme here: Wendell Young, the Wolves' general manager, is the brother of former Sea Dogs general manager Darrell Young.
  • The Quispamsis qplex will host the 2023 Para Hockey Cup from Dec. 3-9. According to a news release, "Canada’s National Para Hockey Team will compete for gold with three other countries at the Quispamsis qplex. Each team will play three preliminary-round games, with the semifinals taking place on Dec. 8 and the bronze medal and gold medal games set for Dec. 9."
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