Monday Notes: Imama, Gauthier had similar breakout seasons

Bokondji Imama could become just the fifth Saint John Sea Dog to score 40 goals in a regular season.

With three games remaining on the schedule, Imama has 38 goals. You'd have to think he has a decent shot at reaching the 40-goal mark with two of the team's remaining three matches against the struggling Moncton Wildcats and Halifax Mooseheads.

The last player to score 40 or more goals for the Sea Dogs was Danick Gauthier in 2011-12. His 47 goals that year remains a team record.

Gauthier and Imama have a lot in common. After spending most of their junior careers as grinders and energy line type guys, both had breakout offensive seasons in their overage year.

Here's Gauthier's career numbers:

And Imama's:

Gauthier entered his 20-year-old season with 29 career QMJHL goals. Imama had 30.

Oddly, Imama is a Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick while Gauthier was signed by the Lightning as a free agent during the 2011-12 campaign.

DOGS DAILY: Joseph Named First Star

Sunday’s overtime hero has been named the QMJHL’s first star of the week.

With three goals and four assists in three games this week, Joseph helped the Sea Dogs win all three matches and extend their lead atop the Maritimes Division. From the QMJHL news release:

In three home games this week, the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect scored three goals, added four assists and maintained a +6 rating. Saturday, against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, he scored a shorthanded goal and added an assist in a 5-1 win. His shorthanded goal was his 6th of the season, which tied a team record held by Félix Schutz. In a high scoring game on Sunday against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, Joseph assisted on the game-tying goal late in the third period and then came back and scored the game winner in overtime for a 6-5 victory. He currently leads the Sea Dogs with 63 points.

Joseph now has points in nine straight games and goals in four straight. In fact, the Lightning prospect has failed to score just one time over his past nine contests. He also has goals in six straight home games.

Gatineau’s Yakov Trenin and Shawinigan’s Philippe Cadorette were named the second and third stars of the week, respectively.

In other news…

• With Marc-Antoine Turcotte healthy, the Sea Dogs have sent goaltender Alex D’Orio back to midget AAA.
• As Sportsnet points out in their latest QMJHL blog, Sam Povorozniouk is having by far the most productive season of his junior career. In 249 career OHL games, Povorozniouk had 47 goals. This season he has 30 goals in 53 games with Saint John.
• The Sea Dogs (74 points) kick off quite possibly the toughest road trip in team history on Wednesday night in Shawinigan (74 points). They then travel to Rouyn-Noranda (85 points) for a Friday night game and visit Val-d’Or (85 points) on Saturday.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

DOGS DAILY: Highmore Named Third Star

Matthew Highmore has been rewarded for his impressive production of late.

The QMJHL named Highmore the third star of the week after registering three goals and four assists during Saint John’s three-in-three. Sherbrooke goaltender Evan Fitzpatrick and Gatineau forward Vitalii Abramov were named the first and second stars of the week, respectively.

Highmore has been unbelievable in the month of January, recording eight goals and eight assists in eight games. He has points in seven straight games and has been held goalless just three times this month.

After a disappointing offensive season last year, Highmore has already tied his career high in points with 50, set in the 2013-14 season. With 17 goals, he is also nearing his career high of 19 set during 2013-14.

Highmore is Saint John’s leading scoring, sitting one point ahead of Mathieu Joseph.

DOGS DAILY: Remembering The Streak

On Saturday, Dec. 12 the Golden State Warriors’ 28-game winning streak came to an end. It was six years ago Sunday, Dec. 13 that the Saint John Sea Dogs’ 22-game winning streak came to a close.

Six years later, the streak that got the glory days of the Sea Dogs franchise rolling is often forgotten about thanks to all the championships that followed. It’s too bad, really – because the streak was a whole lot of fun.

From a QMJHL press release in 2009:

During their streak, which extended from October 17th until December 12th, Saint John scored 107 goals while allowing a mere 44. The offence was led mainly by Mike Hoffman (36 points and 8 game-winning goals), Nicholas Petersen (31), Michael Kirkpatrick (30) and rookie Stanislav Galiev (25 points). The strong defensive brigade saw its veteran, Yann Sauvé, register a solid +24 differential in addition to gathering 16 points. In nets, veteran Marc-Antoine Gélinas won 15 games, allowing a meagre 1.83 goals per game along with a .933 save percentage. Karel St-Laurent posted the other seven wins.

The streak began on Oct. 17, 2009 with a 3-2 overtime victory over Kirill Kabanov and the Moncton Wildcats at Harbour Station. It ended on Dec. 13 with a 7-3 loss to the Wildcats at the Moncton Coliseum.

Auger Named Week's First Star

SAINT JOHN – Sebastien Auger has been named the QMJHL’s first star of the week.

From the league website:

He won both games he started this past week, had a goals against average of 1.00 and a save percentage of .969. Friday against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, he stopped 25 of the 26 shots against him for a 5-1 victory. Saturday, against the Halifax Mooseheads, he made 37 saves, 19 of them in the third period alone for a 3-1 win. He currently has the best goals against average in the League (2.50) and is tied for the best save percentage (.919).

Not only does Auger have the best GAA, he has it by a wide margin. The Armada’s Samuel Montembeault is second with a GAA of 2.62.

Auger, fourth in the league in minutes played, is second in wins with 16.

Drummondville forward Joey Ratelle and Victoriaville defenseman Tristan Pomerleau were named the second and third stars, respectively.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Auger Named QMJHL's First Star

Sebastien Auger has been named the QMJHL’s first star of the week.

Auger led the Saint John Sea Dogs to two wins over the weekend, defeating the Halifax Mooseheads 5-2 on Saturday and Charlottetown Islanders 4-1 on Sunday. The 20-year old netminder made 30 saves on Saturday and 35 stops on Sunday.

The veteran goaltender is now 7-3 on the season to go along with a 2.73 goals against average and .912 save percentage.

Baie-Comeau’s Valentin Zykov and Blainville-Boisbriand’s Daniel Walcott were named the second and third stars of the week.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Auger Named QMJHL's Second Star

Sea Dogs goaltender Sebastien Auger has been named the QMJHL’s second star of the week.

On Saturday, in a 7-0 Saint John victory over the Halifax Mooseheads, Auger made 30 saves to earn his first shutout of the season. Yesterday, the 20-year old netminder made 50 stops in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

Auger has played every second of the Sea Dogs’ season so far. He has posted a 3-3 record to go along with a 2.76 GAA and .909 SV% in six games.

Rimouski Oceanic forward Christopher Clapperton was named the first star of the week. The third star went to Chicoutimi forward Gabryel Paquin-Boudreau. The Sags star had three assists against Saint John yesterday.

Saint John’s next game is this Wednesday at Harbour Station when the Sea Dogs host the Charlottetown Islanders at 7 p.m.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Tuesday News & Notes

Adam Marsh was the named the QMJHL’s third star of the week on Monday.

The 17-year old forward recorded six points this past weekend. On Friday night against Bathurst, Marsh recorded two assists in Saint John’s 5-1 victory. On Saturday in Halifax, the Chicago native was named the game’s first star with two goals and two assists.

The QMJHL rookie is tied with Nathan Noel for the Sea Dogs’ scoring lead with six points.

Shawinigan goaltender Marvin Cupper and Victoriaville forward Angelo Miceli were named the week’s first and second stars, respectively.

In other news…

• Former Sea Dogs forward Oliver Cooper has been sent back to the Charlottetown Islanders by the Colorado Avalanche. Cooper was a free agent invite to Avs rookie camp.
• The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy has Jakub Zboril ranked 24^th for the 2015 NHL Draft.
• The Sun Sentinel has an article on Jonathan Huberdeau.
• The Sea Dogs had a record of 145-109-4-8 under David Alward’s government. You’re welcome for that info.
• Saint John plays two home games this weekend, hosting the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday night and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Sunday afternoon.
• It sounds like Sunday’s Sea Dogs game will be on Rogers TV. No official announcement has been made yet.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Auger Named First Star Of The Week

An unreal weekend performance has earned Sea Dogs goaltender Sebastien Auger this week’s QMJHL Telus first star award.

Auger, who did not play opening weekend due to injury, was brilliant as usual in net on Saturday and Sunday at Harbour Station. He helped Saint John earn three of a possible four points with a win over Bathurst and a shootout loss to Charlottetown.

From the QMJHL website:

The first star of the week is awarded to Sebastien Auger, the Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender. Auger faced an average of 41 shots per game during the weekend, giving his team the opportunity to collect three points out of a possible four. Saturday, he was chosen the first star of the game with a 2-1 home win against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan making 44 saves, including 18 in a perfect 3rd period. He was also named the first star of the game against the Charlottetown Islanders, still undefeated in the 2013-14 season. Sunday, in a 3-2 loss, he forced a shootout, with 38 saves in the first 65 minutes of play. Moreover, he has been very effective in shootouts, stopping six out of nine shots against him.

As we pointed out in today’s Postscript, Auger faced nine shootout attempts all of last season.

Auger is probably going to keep the Sea Dogs in a lot of games this year. He’s one of the best in the league.

Baie-Comeau Drakkar defenseman Alex Vanier and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles forward Cameron Darcy were named the second and third stars of the week, respectively. 

Auger Named 2nd Star Of The Week

Not surprisingly, Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender Sebastien Auger has been named the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s second star of the week.

Acadie-Bathurst Titan forward Zach O’Brien and Chicoutimi Sagueneens goaltender Christopher Gibson were named the first and third stars of the week, respectively.

From the QMJHL release:

He took part in three games where he was bombarded by an average of 43 shots. He won two of his three starts while maintaining a goal-against-average of 1.66 and a save percentage of .961. In a 3-1 win over the Moncton Wildcats on New Year’s Eve, he was chosen the first star of the game with a brilliant performance of 48 saves. He repeated the achievement in the next game with a 3-2 victory in front of strong Halifax Mooseheads crowd. His 43 saves allowed him to earn another first star in the game. The Sea Dogs became the first team since September to beat the Mooseheads in Halifax. Auger excelled once again with 33 saves in a 2-1 loss in a tough battle against the Prince Edward Island Rocket.

Auger is near the top of nearly every statistical category despite playing for a below .500 team. His numbers:

• Seventh best goals against average at 2.98
• Fourth best save percentage at 0.912
• Fifth in wins with 18. He has been in net for every Sea Dogs win this season.
• Leads the league in minutes played with 2035:41
• Leads the league in saves with 1,042

Saint John is giving up an average of 34.10 shots per game, third most in the league.

This weekend should be another busy one for Auger as the Dogs hit the road for a three-in-three in Quebec.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Gagne Named 3rd Star Of The Week

Kevin Gagne has been a solid contributor to the Saint John Sea Dogs defense for the past few years. But not often in his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League career has he been recognized for his play. The 20-year is getting some recognition this week as the league named him the third star of the week.

From the QMJHL release:

Kevin Gagné, the 20-year-old veteran defenseman of the Saint John Sea Dogs, is the third star of the week. He collected 8 points in 3 games to climb to second in scoring among defensemen with 28 points. He played 2 of his best games when the Sea Dogs visited the Abitibi region. Tuesday, in a 5-1 win against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, he was named the 1st star of the game and established a personal best with 4 points in one game (2+2). Wednesday, against the Val-d’Or Foreurs, he notched 2 goals and added 1 assist.

Gagne is currently on a six-game point streak that has seen him collect five goals and seven assists. He has eight goals and 20 assists in 24 games with the Sea Dogs this season and is just three points back of Mathieu Brisebois for the league lead in scoring by defensemen.

The Edmundston native is already closing in on his career high for goals (9), assists (26), and points (35) in a season.

PEI Rocket forward Josh Currie and Rimouski Oceanic goaltender Philippe Desrosiers were named the first and second stars of the week, respectively.

Gagne and the Sea Dogs are back in action Saturday night at Harbour Station against the Quebec Remparts.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Auger Named 3rd Star Of The Week

Sebastien Auger has been recognized for his solid play so far this season.

Auger improved to 4-1-0 with a 1.78 goals against average and a 0.944 save percentage following a 42-save performance over the Moncton Wildcats on Sunday afternoon. Today, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League named the Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender the third star of the week.

From the league website:

Sébastien Auger, the Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender, had an exceptional 3 starts this week, yielding only 4 times on 101 shots, enabling him to secure a 1.33 goals-against-average and .960 save percentage. His exceptional play helped Saint John post 3 wins. On Wednesday, September 26, he made 21 saves in a 4-2 victory over the rival Moncton Wildcats. Friday, he was named the 1st star in a 3-1 win over the pesky Gatineau Olympiques, making 34 saves. Finally, on Sunday, in a match where no goals were scored during the first 2 periods of play, Auger blocked 43 shots allowing but one to the Wildcats as the Sea Dogs came away with their fourth win in five games to take over 1st place in the Telus Maritimes division.

The netminder has been a major factor in Saint John getting off to a hot start, especially over the past two games where the team has been without defensemen Pierre Durepos, David Weckworth, and Kevin Gagne.

There were plenty of question marks heading into the season about the Sea Dogs’ goaltending - something that is becoming a yearly event. But after five games, Auger has certainly silenced most critics.

Auger and the Dogs take on Zach Fucale and the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday night at Harbour Station.

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies forward Jean-Sebastien Dea was named the first star of the week while Victoriaville Tigres forward Philippe Halley was named the second star, respectively. 

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Huberdeau Named Second Star Again

For the second straight week, Saint John Sea Dogs captain Jonathan Huberdeau has been named the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s second star. The Telus three stars for the week were announced this morning.

Huberdeau recorded an unreal seven points – two goals and five assists – in two games this past week. On Wednesday in Prince Edward Island, the Florida Panthers prospect registered two goals and two helpers. Then on Friday against the Quebec Remparts, he notched three more assists in a nationally televised game.

The captain is currently on a five-game point scoring streak, recording seven goals and seven assists over that span. He has 19 goals and 52 points in just 26 games this year.

Saint John, 41-14-0-2 for 84 points, is on an 11-game winning streak and has lost just once since Huberdeau returned from the world juniors.

Remparts winger Frederick Roy was named the league’s first star this week while Moncton Wildcats goaltender Roman Will was named the third star, respectively. 

Photo Credit: Jonathan Huberdeau's Twitter

Huberdeau Named 2nd Star

SAINT JOHN – Sea Dogs captain Jonathan Huberdeau had an impressive weekend, earning him Quebec Major Junior Hockey League second star honours. The Telus three stars for the week were announced this afternoon.

Huberdeau netted a hat trick in Saint John’s 5-0 win over the PEI Rocket in Charlottetown on Saturday afternoon. He also added an assist. On Sunday at Harbour Station, the Florida Panthers prospect scored again and added another helper in the Sea Dogs’ 7-2 victory over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

As the QMJHL’s website notes, nine of Huberdeau’s 10 shots this weekend were considered legitimate scoring chances.

The Sea Dogs are 10-1 since Huberdeau’s return from the World Junior Hockey Championship. They are currently on a nine-game winning streak heading into Wednesday’s game in PEI.

Halifax Mooseheads goaltender Zachary Fucale was named the first star while Cape Breton’s Jonathan Brunelle picked up third star honours, respectively.

Although he didn’t win a star this week, the play of Tomas Jurco should be noted. He had four assists on Saturday and registered another helper yesterday, completing a beautiful give-and-go with Stanislav Galiev. Since returning from the world juniors, Jurco has four goals and 10 assists in 10 games. 

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Gauthier Named Second Star

Danick Gauthier has been recognized for his solid week of play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The QMJHL named the Saint John Sea Dogs’ 20-year old forward the second star of the week earlier today. Moncton Wildcats netminder Roman Will was named the first star while Shawinigan Cataractes forward Pierre-Olivier Morin picked up third star honours.

Friday, in a 7-3 victory over the PEI Rocket, Gauthier recorded a goal and added an assist on top of being named the game’s third star. Saturday, in a 4-3 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads, he was named the first star of the game after scoring two goals, including the game-winner, and adding a pair of assists. Finally, Sunday against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, he registered an assist as the Sea Dogs captured their third win of the week. He finished the seven-day span with three goals, four assists and a plus/minus rating of +4.

Gauthier has now registered an incredible 22 goals and 11 assists in just 23 games. He has already set career highs in goals and points.

Will is the first star of the week. Saturda,y against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, he registered a 4-0 shutout victory and was also named the third star of the game after stopping 29 shots. Sunday, versus the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, he pushed away 28 pucks in a 5-1 victory.

Morin is the third star after tallying five points in two games. Friday, against the Rimouski Océanic, he scored two goals and assisted on another in an 8-7 win. The following day, against the Drummondville Voltigeurs, he had a goal and an assist as the Cataractes won 6-1. In total, he collected three goals and two assists and recorded a plus/minus rating of +4.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Huberdeau Named First Star

Jonathan Huberdeau has picked up first star honours.

Today, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced the Telus three stars for week spanning from October 24^th to 31^st. The Saint John Sea Dogs’ captain was named first star while Gatineau’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Halifax’s Cameron Critchlow were named second and third stars, respectively.

Huberdeau had a pair of goals in Saint John’s 6-3 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Friday night at Harbour Station. On Saturday, he added another goal and three assists in the Sea Dogs’ 6-0 win over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens to give him six points on the weekend.

The Florida Panthers prospect has now recorded seven goals and 15 assists in just 10 games since returning from National Hockey League training camp.

The Sea Dogs are 9-1 since Huberdeau’s return and have won seven straight games since he was named captain on October 13th.

Huberdeau was named the league’s third star last week.

Pageau registered four goals and an assist in two games this past week to earn second star honours. In three games, Critchlow had two goals and four assists to help the Mooseheads sweep their Quebec road trip. 


Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Gauthier, Huberdeau Earn Weekly Honours

Danick Gauthier and Jonathan Huberdeau have both been recognized for their solid play this past week.

Gauthier was named the Telus first star of the week while Huberdeau was named the third star. Rimouski Oceanic defenseman Jerome Gauthier-Leduc was named the week’s second star.

Gauthier scored six of his Sea Dogs’ 21 goals in their three wins this past weekend. The 20-year old scored one goal in Saint John’s 5-0 win on Friday in Halifax, three goals in a 10-3 win over the PEI Rocket and two in Sunday’s 6-0 win over the Quebec Remparts.

The rugged centre is off to a sensational start this season having compiled 16 goals and four assists in just 15 games. He is currently tied with Bathurst’s Zach O’Brien for the league goal-scoring lead.

Huberdeau was in a sharing mood this week, racking up six assists and one goal in three games. He scored on Friday night in Halifax and added three assists on both Saturday and Sunday. The Sea Dogs’ captain has four goals and 12 assists in eight games since returning from Florida Panthers training camp.

Gauthier-Leduc added points in each of his team’s three victories. Wednesday, he registered two points in a 4-3 win and scored a goal which allowed him to add his name to the record book among defensemen with one goal in seven consecutive games. It was his 10th of the season. Friday, against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, he beat the 32 year-old record held by former Remparts Gaston Therrien, by scoring his 8th consecutive goal. That same evening, he became the 46th defenseman in QMJHL history to reach 50 career goals. Gauthier-Leduc got two goals, three assists for a total of five points and a +/- of +6 this week.

Photo Credit: QMJHL

Tesink Named Third Star

Ryan Tesink’s solid play this weekend has earned him third star honours in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this week.

Tesink recorded four assists in the Saint John Sea Dogs’ 8-2 victory over the Rimouski Oceanic on Saturday at Harbour Station. He continued to put up points on Sunday against the Victoriaville Tigres, scoring a pair of goals in Saint John’s 6-2 win. He finished the weekend with a plus-four rating.

His six point weekend gives him a total of three goals and four assists in five games since returning from St. Louis Blues training camp.

In his rookie season last year, the Saint John native registered eight goals and 27 assists in 59 regular season contests.

Tesink becomes the first Sea Dog to earn a weekly star award this season.

Val-d’Or Foreurs netminder Francois Tremblay was named this week’s first star. He finished the week with a 1.30 goals-against-average and .956 save percentage.

Halifax Mooseheads defenseman Konrad Abeltshauser picked up second star honours after recording two goals and five assists in three games.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation