SEA DOGS POST-GAME NOTEBOOK

SEA DOGS – OLYMPIQUES GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: Gatineau 4, Saint John 7
Saint John Goals: Tomas Jurco (3), Stanislav Galiev (3, 4), Michael Kirkpatrick (2, 3), Nicholas Pard (2), and Mike Hoffman (4)
Gatineau Goals: Adam Janosik (4), Mitchell Porowski (2), Benjamin Laliberte (1), and Hubert Labrie (3)
Winning Goaltender: SNB – Marco Cousineau (5-1-0)
Losing Goaltender: GAT – Maxime Clermont (4-3-0)
News 88.9 Top Dog: Sea Dogs Fans (Honorable Mention to Nicholas Pard and Christian Morin)

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Olympiques: 2/7, Sea Dogs: 3/9
Shots on Goal: Olympiques: 3+10+6=19, Sea Dogs: 9+9+15=33
Attendance: 4,628

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Steven Anthony missed the game because of a groin injury and Kevin Gagne missed the tilt with a bad knee. Chuckie Schembri, Will Johnston, and Tyrone Sock were also scratched.

IT WAS OKAY
Just like in many games prior, penalties took the Saint John Sea Dogs off their game plan.

After jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, penalties hurt the Sea Dogs in the second. The Olympiques scored two straight power play goals and one at even strength to tie the game. But Saint John battled back with Stanislav Galiev giving the Dogs back their lead.

"We played a good first period and we took a lot of penalties in the second period,'' said Galiev to the Telegraph-Journal, who tallied two goals and three assists. "In the third period, we played (well) again.''

Saint John, who have destroyed the ‘Piques this season, are now 4-0 against them and have outscored them 25-9. But the perfect record may have lead to overconfidence.

"We were too confident in the dressing room (after the first period), said center Michael Kirkpatrick. “They came out in the second and showed us they're not going to be pushed around.”

Saint John took back control in the third period, outshooting Gatineau 15-6.

With the victory, Saint John leads the series 1-0.

GAINING CONFIDENCE
Even if the second period events were due to penalties, the Olympiques finally showed that they can play against Saint John.

The ‘Piques were 0-3 against the Dogs entering the game and were shutout twice. But that was before the John Chabot coaching era.

"I think both teams would like to be able to dictate the game a little bit more and not have someone else take it out of our hands,'' Chabot said. "I'm looking forward to a better second game.

But Chabot’s defense made some fancy plays that almost proved costly. There were far too many passes between the defenseman under pressure around the goal. Chabot said that his team just can’t give an offensive driven horse like Saint John any more room to work with.

BIG NIGHT FOR THE BIG RUSSIAN
Stanislav Galiev did just as the fan made sign says: “Staz, just do it. Make it happen.”

Galiev scored twice and added three assists, setting a Sea Dogs team record for points in a playoff game by one player. In addition to the five point night, he took no penalties and was a +2.
LOVE THE LAPORTE
At 19:00 of the first period, Mike Thomas was thrown out after he received a five minute major penalty and game misconduct for kneeing. The play happened as Gatineau defenseman Hugo Laporte entered the Saint John zone, where he collided with the Sea Dogs captain.

Most fans were in disbelief as the play looked like an accident. Whether it was intentional or not, the New Maryland native took to his familiar possession has a pedestrian on the concourse.

Laporte sat on the ice for several minutes while clutching his knee before being helped off. He returned in the second period.

LAPORTE > ESPO
When Hugo Laporte returned he was booed every time he touched the puck, making many Sea Dogs fans have a flashback to another player who wore number seven.

The hated Angelo Esposito was booed every time he came to the Port City over his four years of QMJHL hockey. But it never really seemed to bother the Atlanta Thrashers prospect, unlike Laporte.

The Olympiques’ alternate captain was given a 10-minue misconduct after shoving an official. Harbour Station gave a standing ovation to the confused and stunned defenseman.

TIME FOR ACTION
We were just joking about the possibility of an Economic Action Plan sign going up at Harbour Station. But just beside Tim Horton’s on the concourse, what do we see other than an overly huge sign.

The sign is up because the Plan is paying for part of the score clock renovations. The same kind of sign was put up outside of a police station after they got new door knobs.

JURCO SCORES. WAIT, NO…
At 8:24 of the third period, Tomas Jurco should have had a goal but the officials got excited and blew the whistle way too quickly.

Jurco was furious over the call, and looked like he was going to pull a Jim Playfair on the ice.

SAME NEW LINE COMBO’S
Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant kept his line combinations the same as he did in game five of the first round. Nicholas Petersen stayed down on the second line while Tomas Jurco played wing on the top line with Stanislav Galiev and Mike Hoffman.

WELCOME BACK
Aiden Kelly returned from his concussion to play in his first career playoff game. Nicholas Pard also returned from his shoulder injury.

Kelly had a stat line of zero, while Pard a goal and was a +1.

POST-GAME HIGHLIGHTS


QUICK HITS
Bell Aliant FibreOp Playoff wrist bands were given out at the door again. One young fan was so upset over the Olympiques’ fourth goal he chucked his into the lower bowl… Saint John native Ben Miller was scratched for Gatineau… Christian Morin was paired up with Simon Despres on the backend… the French public address announcer (whose name we always forget) was pumped… former Sea Dog Philip Richer was in the house. “Who,” screamed one fan… the wave has been popular at Harbour Station this post-season, and fans had it going good again last night… Saint John finally broke the 4,300 attendance barrier. According to the Telegraph-Journal Friday, 3,400 tickets were sold as of Thursday, meaning over 1,200 tickets were sold on game day... Scott Briggs' game story appeared in today's Ottawa Citizen newspaper.

PRE-GAME: Game Two vs Gatineau

GAME DAY
2010 Presidents Cup Playoffs – Round Two
Game Two: Gatineau Olympiques vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Friday, April 3, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Harbour Station

SERIES STATUS
Saint John leads the best-of-seven quarter-final series 1-0.

PRE-GAME PREVIEW
It wasn’t a perfect game one for the Saint John Sea Dogs – but it got the job done.

The Sea Dogs took the series opener by score of 7-4 over the Gatineau Olympiques last night at Harbour Station. It was a penalty filled affair that saw 11 extra man advantages take place and five power play goals.

Saint John jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead, but penalties allowed the number two team in the country to break loose of their game plan. Despite a Gatineau comeback, the Dogs would hang on for the win.

Both teams will look to stay out of the box tonight in game two. This is a huge game for Gatineau as the series shifts back to the Ottawa region on Tuesday.

PREDICTIONS
Most predictions have Saint John winning the series in four or five games.

GET TO KNOW THE OLYMPIQUES
Visiting Team: Gatineau Olympiques

Playoff Record: 4-4
Record at Home: 1-2
Record on Road: 3-2
Power Play: 32.5%
Penalty Kill: 76.7%
Playoff Leading Scorer: Alex Noel (8GP-0G-8A-8Pts)
All-Time Playoff Record: 214-161

Reg. Season Record: 30-33-1-4 (3rd Telus East, 12th QMJHL)
Record vs Saint John: 0-3-0-0
Record at Home: 18-12-1-3 (10th)
Record on the Road: 12-21-0-1 (13th)
Power Play: 18.2%
Penalty Kill: 82.1%

Reg. Season Leading Scorer: Tye McGinn (50GP-27G-35A-62P)

NHL Draft Picks: Hubert Labrie (Dallas)

GET TO KNOW THE SEA DOGS
Home Team: Saint John Sea Dogs

Playoff Record: 5-1
Record at Home: 3-1
Record on Road: 2-0
Power Play: 30.3%
Penalty Kill: 80%
Playoff Leading Scorer: Stanislav Galiev (6GP-4G-6A-10Pts) and Michael Kirkpatrick (6GP-3G-7A-10Pts)
All-Time Playoff Record: 13-11-0

Reg. Season Record: 53-12-1-2 (1st Atlantic, 1st QMJHL)
Record vs Gatineau: 3-0-0-0
Record at Home: 26-7-0-1 (3rd)
Record on Road: 27-5-1-1 (1st)
Power Play: 24.3% (5th)
Penalty Kill: 78.8% (10th)

Reg. Season Leading Scorer: Mike Hoffman (56GP-46G-39A-85P)

NHL Draft Picks: Yann Sauve (Vancouver), Marco Cousineau (Anaheim), Simon Despres (Pittsburgh), Steven Anthony (Vancouver), Mike Hoffman (Ottawa), and Nicholas Petersen (Pittsburgh).

HEAD-TO-HEAD THIS SEASON
Saint John won the season series 3-0.

December 5, 2009: Gatineau Olympiques 0 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 2
January 24, 2010: Saint John Sea Dogs 8 @ Gatineau Olympiques 0
February 24, 2010: Saint John Sea Dogs 7 @ Gatineau Olympiques 5

Olympiques leading scorer vs Saint John: Christian Ouellet (3GP-1G-2A-3Pts)
Sea Dogs leading scoring against Gatineau: Tomas Jurco (3GP-3G-2A-5Pts), Zach Phillips (3GP-2G-3A-5Pts) and Michael Kirkpatrick (3GP-1G-4A-5Pts)

SERIES RESULTS
Saint John leads the series 1-0.

April 2, 2010: Game One – Gatineau Olympiques 4 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 7 (First Star: Stanislav Galiev)

TALE OF THE TAPE
No fights between the two during the regular season.

CRAZY FACT
Last night was first 2010 playoff home game for Saint John that featured more than 4,300 fans. All three home games in the first round saw between 4,200 and 4,300 enter the building.

SAINT JOHN LINEUP NOTES
Steven Anthony is questionable with a groin injury and has not played so far in the playoffs… Kevin Gagne will not play tonight due to a knee injury.

Saint John still has call-ups Chuckie Schembri, Tyrone Sock, and Will Johnston on their roster. They were all scratched last night.

Johnston is not eligible to play due to a MJAHL suspension.

COACHES CORNER
Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant on the Sea Dogs’ Twitter page:

“We're happy with the result but not our overall performance. We'll definitely be better tomorrow."

Gatineau head coach John Chabot in the Telegraph-Journal:

"I think both teams would like to be able to dictate the game a little bit more and not have someone else take it out of our hands. I'm looking forward to a better second game.”

WHO TO WATCH
Gatineau – Hugo Laporte
Was booed every time he touched the puck last night following his acting performance on a knee-on-knee hit with Mike Thomas. Thomas was tossed from the game.

Saint John – Mike Hoffman
Although he had a goal last night, the QMJHL game sheet stated that Hoffman didn’t have a shot on goal until the third period. That will not happen two consecutive times.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Stanislav Galiev set a playoff team record for points in one game last night with five.
• Alex Noel told L’Acadie Nouvelle that he thought his team was nervous going into the game. The PEI Rocket said the same thing following game one of the first round. The Rocket won game two at Harbour Station.
• All-time, Saint John is 1-0 in round two, game two games.
• It is possible that Mike Thomas will be suspended for his kneeing major last night on Hugo Laporte. Laporte could also face a penalty, however, following a third period shoving match with an official.
• Marco Cousineau allowed four goals on only 19 shots. The News 88.9 post-game show said that he must be better.

THE RINK
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297
Playoff Average Attendance: 4,333
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 4,140

MEDIA RELATIONS
Newspapers: Saint John- Telegraph-Journal; Gatineau- Le Droit, Ottawa Citizen
Radio: Saint John- News 88.9; Gatineau- Tag Radio X
Video: Telus Webcast
Post-Game Highlights: SeaDogsTV

TWITTER
Follow Station Nation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/station_nation for in game updates from tonight’s game.

AFTER THE BUZZER
Gordon Lightfoot performs at Harbour Station tomorrow.

Game three goes Tuesday night at 8:30 pm in Gatineau.

DOGS HOLD OFF OLYMPIQUES IN SERIES OPENER

STATION NATION RECAP
FINAL: Olympiques 4, Sea Dogs 7

SAINT JOHN – Even though the Gatineau Olympiques took the loss on Friday night, they finally proved they can play with the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Olympiques came back from a three goal deficient but fell 7-4 to the Sea Dogs – who a took a 1-0 lead the best-of-seven quarterfinal series.

“We're happy with the result but not our overall performance,” said Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant to the team’s official Twitter page. “We'll definitely be better tomorrow."

Michael Kirkpatrick and Stanislav Galiev scored twice for Saint John while singles came from Nicholas Pard, Mike Hoffman, and Tomas Jurco. Galiev also had three assists on the night.

Adam Janosik, Mitchell Porowski, Benjamin Laliberte, and Hubert Labrie scored for Gatineau.

The two teams combined for 16 penalties on the night, with five of the 11 goals coming on the power play.

Galiev tells CHSJ News, penalties and not sticking to the game plan can lead to trouble.

Marco Cousineau faced 19 shots on the night, while Maxime Clermont was peppered with 33 in the Olympiques' crease.

It was a physical and back-and-forth first five minutes of the first period. Olivier Croteau had the best chance for Gatineau early on, sending a shot just over the corner of the cage. Yann Sauve had the best opportunity for the Dogs, being robbed by a quick pad save by Clermont.

Tomas Jurco made it 1-0 Saint John at 8:21 after he found a loose puck in front. With a considerable amount of bodies in front of Clermont, the Sea Dogs rookie released a backhander that found the back of the net to open the scoring.

Stanislav Galiev quickly made it 2-0 after he picked the puck off a defenders stick in close. Galiev kept the puck and let a weak wrist shot go that trickled through Clermont’s five hole to put the Dogs up a duce.

After the two teams exchange high sticking penalties, Saint John went to a two man advantage at 16:17. With one player remaining in the box at 17:37, Galiev fed a streaking Michael Kirkpatrick who slid one home to extend the lead to 3-0.

But with Jonathan Huberdeau in the box, Gatineau was awarded a lengthy two man advantage after Mike Thomas was given a five minute major and game misconduct for kneeing at 19:00. The victim of the hit was Hugo Laporte, who held his knee like a train had just run over it for several minutes. “Miraculously,” he returned in the second period.

Shots in the first were 9-3 Saint John.

Saint John managed to kill off both penalties to open the second, with Gatineau never having any real good chances.

At 7:20, Simon Despres headed to the box for a cross check. On the power play, Adam Janosik found a loose puck at the side of the crease and beat an-out-of-position Marco Cousineau to make it a 3-1 game.

With Zach Phillips in the box for roughing, Cousineau was hit on the mask with a shot but recovered beautifully to rob a ‘Pique with a huge pad stop. But at 13:55, Mitchell Porowski scored on a one timer from the faceoff dot to make it 3-2.

The comeback was completed at 16:12 when Benjamin Laliberte was left all alone in front and made a deke with his stick. The move fooled Cousineau, as the Gatineau right winger went backhand, five-hole to tie the tilt.

At 16:59, Alexander Beaten took a tripping penalty. On the ensuing man advantage, Nicholas Petersen set up Galiev beautifully from the behind the goal. His pass was one timed by the rookie Russian, getting his second goal of the game to make it 4-3 Saint John.

Shots in the middle stanza were 10-9 for the visitors.

Following a missed high sticking call on Petersen, Nicholas Pard ater threw a pass in front that went off the skate of Laporte in the crease and in at 2:42.

With Tye McGinn already in the sin bin, Laporte went the box at 6:40, making Harbour Station erupt in cheers. On the power play, Hoffman sent a shot off the cross bar before Petersen was denied twice at the side of the net on a great play.

With the extra man opportunity expired, Kirkpatrick scored his second of the game at 11:23. Kirkpatrick let a wrist shot go from the circle that went over the blocker of Clermont to make it a three goal game again.

While shorthanded at 14:18, Hoffman almost set-up Pard on a shorthanded chance but was stoned by a pad stack from the Olympiques goalie.

Gatineau captain Hubert Labrie tried to get his team back in the game at 14:18. With Cousineau down and out of the play, Labrie roofed a shot in the slot to make it 6-4 Sea Dogs.

The building exploded in cheers when Laporte and his Oscar award went to the box for cross checking at 14:42. But Laporte was also given a 10-minute misconduct after he ripped his arm out of the referee’s hand in somewhat violent fashion.

After failing to score on that power play, Gatineau's Christian Ouellet went to the box at 17:56. Hoffman picked up a rebound at the side of the net and dished the disc into an empty net to ice the game for Saint John, with the final score being 7-4.

Shots in the third frame were 15-6 for the home side.

STATION NATION ROUND TWO PREDICTIONS

With round two of the 2010 Presidents Cup Playoffs set to begin this evening, Station Nation presents a preview of the quarterfinals with our predictions.

All stats are courtesy of the Bell Alaint FibreOp Playoff Report. (They are paying us a fortune to say that)

Stats listed are from the regular season.

SAINT JOHN (1) vs. GATINEAU (12)
Regular Season Series: Won By Sea Dogs 3-0
Round One: Sea Dogs Defeated Rocket 4-1; Olympiques Defeated Juniors 4-3
Records: Sea Dogs: 53-12-1-2 (1st Atlantic, 1st QMJHL); Olympiques: 30-33-1-4 (3rd Telus East, 12th QMJHL)
Special Teams: Sea Dogs: PP - 24.3% (5th); PK - 78.8% (10th); Olympiques: PP - 18.2% (11th); PK - 82.1% (6th)
Leading Scorers: Sea Dogs: Mike Hoffman, 85 points (56GP-46G-39A); Olympiques: Tye McGinn, 62 points (50GP-27G-35A)
Goaltenders: Sea Dogs: Marco Cousineau (25-19 record, 2.82 G.A.A., 0.919 SV%); Olympiques: Maxime Clermont (24-31 record, 2.81 G.A.A., 0.897 SV%)
What you need to know: Gatineau had a regular season road record of 12-21-0-1. But their playoff road record is 3-1 after four games.
Prediction: Gatineau mascot Hully gets way to much attention and will have his tongue ripped out by Gerard Gallant. Sea Dogs win in four games.

DRUMMONDVILLE (2) vs. RIMOUSKI (9)
Regular Season Series: Won by Voltigeurs 3-0
Round One: Voltigeurs Defeated MAINEiacs 4-0; Océanic Defeated Saguenéens 4-3

Records: Voltigeurs: 51-15-0-2 (1st Telus Central, 2nd QMJHL); Océanic: 34-27-5-2 (2nd Telus East, 9th QMJHL)
Special Teams: Voltigeurs: PP - 22.6% (7th); PK - 80.4% (8th); Océanic: PP - 25.2% (3rd); PK - 76.5% (14th)
Leading Scorers: Voltigeurs: Sean Couturier, 96 points (68GP-41G-55A); Océanic: Félix Lefrançois, 83 points (66GP-39G-44A)
Goaltenders: Voltigeurs: Jake Allen (29-14 record, 2.20 G.A.A., 0.922 SV%); Océanic: Matthew Dopud (22-18 record, 3.59 G.A.A., 0.885 SV%)
What you need to Know: A Drummondville sweep would make it 24 straight wins for the Volts.
Prediction: Santa Clause comes to Drummondville when Sean Couturier lights up former Sea Dog goaltending prospect Matthew Dopud like a Christmas tree. Volts take it in a sweep.

QUEBEC (3) vs. VICTORIAVILLE (6)
Regular Season Series: Won By Tigres 3-1
Round One: Remparts Defeated Titan 4-1; Tigres Defeated Cataractes 4-2
Records: Remparts: 41-20-3-4 (1st Telus East, 5th QMJHL); Tigres: 46-19-1-2 (2nd Telus Central, 4th QMJHL)
Special Teams: Remparts: PP - 25.1% (4th); PK - 79.2% (9th); Tigres: PP - 25.6% (2nd); PK - 85.8% (1st)
Leading Scorers: Remparts: Dmitri Kugryshev, 87 points (66GP-29G-58A); Tigres: Philip-Michaël Devos, 93 points (68GP-35G-48A)
Goaltenders: Remparts: Louis Domingue (20-17 record, 2.68 G.A.A., 0.906 SV%); Tigres: Kevin Poulin (35-16 record, 2.63 G.A.A., 0.916 SV%)
What you need to know: Quebec goaltender Louis Domingue has a less then stellar 4.14 G.A.A. and 0.875 save percentage so far in the playoffs.
Prediction: Can’t think of anything. Victo’ in six.

ROUYN-NORANDA (4) vs. MONCTON (5)
Regular Season Series: Tied 1-1
Round One: Huskies Defeated Foreurs 4-2; Wildcats Defeated Screaming Eagles 4-1
Records: Huskies: 41-21-2-4 (1st Telus West, 6th QMJHL); Wildcats: 48-14-2-4 (2nd Atlantic, 3rd QMJHL)
Special Teams: Huskies: PP - 22.7% (6th); PK - 83.8% (2nd); Wildcats: PP - 27.0% (1st); PK - 83.0% (4th)
Leading Scorers: Huskies: Gabriel Lévesque, 82 points (67GP-24G-58A); Wildcats: Nicolas Deschamps, 96 points (64GP-39G-57A)
Goaltenders: Huskies: Nicholas Champion (26-21 record, 2.96 G.A.A., 0.907 SV%); Wildcats: Nicola Riopel (19-5 record, 2.06 G.A.A., 0.918 SV%)
What you need to know: The schedule for this series is amazingly screwed up due to some pre-planned events taking place at the Moncton Coliseum. Game four in Moncton is scheduled as an 8:30 pm local start time.
Prediction: Kirill Kabanov takes a job as the Coliseum’s Zamboni driver. Moncton takes the series in six games.

As expected, next to no one around the hockey blog world took the time to do round two predictions. Crash the Crease is the only site we could find with any:

Saint John is the beast of the East this year. Gatineau struggled through a contest of mediocrity in the last round against Montreal. From the net out, the Dogs are the deepest team left in the Q playoffs. Marco Cousineau was rock solid in round one and will look to continue on that against an offensively challenged Gatineau team. Despres and Sauve are horses on the blue-line while Saint John’s big offensive guns are unparalleled on the Gatineau side. All that having been said, Maxime Clermont was good in round one and could steal a game if he plays to potential.
Saint John in 5

PRE-GAME: Game One vs Gatineau

GAME DAY
2010 Presidents Cup Playoffs – Round Two
Game One: Gatineau Olympiques vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Friday, April 2, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Harbour Station

SERIES STATUS
This is game one of the best-seven-of-seven quarterfinal matchup.

PRE-GAME PREVIEW
For only the second time in their short five year history, the Saint John Sea Dogs enter the second round of the post-season.

The Dogs go into the best-of-seven quarterfinal matchup as the clear favourites over the Gatineau Olympiques. Saint John won the Jean Rougeau Trophy as regular season champions while the Olympiques finished below .500.

Saint John has destroyed Gatineau in their three regular season matchups, outscoring them 17-5 and recording two shutouts.

Gatineau will enter the game on an emotional high as they are coming off a thrilling double overtime win in Montreal on Tuesday night. In fact, Le Droit is reporting that many of the players are still in shock over the stunning events that occurred in the game seven affair.

But it is back to business for the ‘Piques, and they’ll need their “A” game if they are going to defeat the Dogs.

PREDICTIONS
Most predictions have Saint John winning the series in four or five games.

GET TO KNOW THE OLYMPIQUES
Visiting Team: Gatineau Olympiques

Playoff Record: 4-3
Record at Home: 1-2
Record on Road: 3-1
Power Play: 33.3%
Penalty Kill: 71.4%
Playoff Leading Scorer: Denis Kindl (6GP-3G-3A-GPts)
All-Time Playoff Record: 214-160

Reg. Season Record: 30-33-1-4 (3rd Telus East, 12th QMJHL)
Record vs Saint John: 0-3-0-0
Record at Home: 18-12-1-3 (10th)
Record on the Road: 12-21-0-1 (13th)
Power Play: 18.2% (11th)
Penalty Kill: 82.1% (6th)

Reg. Season Leading Scorer: Tye McGinn (50GP-27G-35A-62P)

NHL Draft Picks: Hubert Labrie (Dallas)

GET TO KNOW THE SEA DOGS
Home Team: Saint John Sea Dogs

Playoff Record: 4-1
Record at Home: 2-1
Record on Road: 2-0
Power Play: 29.2%
Penalty Kill: 82.1%
Playoff Leading Scorer: Tomas Jurco and Nicholas Petersen (5GP-2G-5A-7Pts)
All-Time Playoff Record: 12-11-0

Reg. Season Record: 53-12-1-2 (1st Atlantic, 1st QMJHL)
Record vs Gatineau: 3-0-0-0
Record at Home: 26-7-0-1 (3rd)
Record on Road: 27-5-1-1 (1st)
Power Play: 24.3% (5th)
Penalty Kill: 78.8% (10th)

Reg. Season Leading Scorer: Mike Hoffman (56GP-46G-39A-85P)

NHL Draft Picks: Yann Sauve (Vancouver), Marco Cousineau (Anaheim), Simon Despres (Pittsburgh), Steven Anthony (Vancouver), Mike Hoffman (Ottawa), and Nicholas Petersen (Pittsburgh).

HEAD-TO-HEAD THIS SEASON
Saint John won the season series 3-0.

December 5, 2009: Gatineau Olympiques 0 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 2
January 24, 2010: Saint John Sea Dogs 8 @ Gatineau Olympiques 0
February 24, 2010: Saint John Sea Dogs 7 @ Gatineau Olympiques 5

Olympiques leading scorer vs Saint John: Christian Ouellet (3GP-1G-2A-3Pts)
Sea Dogs leading scoring against Gatineau: Tomas Jurco (3GP-3G-2A-5Pts), Zach Phillips (3GP-2G-3A-5Pts) and Michael Kirkpatrick (3GP-1G-4A-5Pts)

TALE OF THE TAPE
No fights between the two during the regular season.

CRAZY FACT
This is crazy enough for us.


SAINT JOHN LINEUP NOTES
Aiden Kelly will not play due to a concussion... Steven Anthony is questionable with a groin injury and has not played so far in the playoffs… Nicholas Pard is questionable with a shoulder injury… Kevin Gagne will not play tonight or tomorrow due to a knee injury.

Saint John still has call-up Chuckie Schembri on their roster. They have also called up forward Will Johnston and defenseman Tyrone Sock.

Johnston is not eligible to play due to a MJAHL suspension.

EPIC GAME
Editors Note: The following appeared in “Sea Dogs Post-Game Notebook” on January 25 following an 8-0 Sea Dogs win the day before.

This game was a miss match on paper but the result of the game was absolutely insane. Saint John dominated the game from start to finish, and as the second period shots show – everywhere in between.

"(Sunday) was a real good effort for us,'' Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said to the Telegraph-Journal. "We played a full 60 minutes and controlled the play throughout the game. It was a real dominating performance.''

Gallant told Le Droit that he thought this was one of the best games played all season for the Sea Dogs, mentioning the fact that the team was coming off an ugly 6-4 loss in Montreal the day before. He also said that his team skated very well and played with a lot of intensity even when the score was so lopsided.

Jean-Francois Plante of Le Droit smartly pointed out that if Saint John had no goaltender through the first two periods, Gatineau would have led the game 7-6 heading into the third. That’s incredible when you think about.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
SAINTJOHNSEADOGS.COM
Overage goaltender Marco Cousineau posted a perfect record of 3-0 against Gatineau during the regular season while recording a G.A.A. of 2.00 and a SV% of 0.924. Backup net minder Karel St-Laurent, meanwhile, earned a shutout at Gatineau’s expense back on December 5 at Harbour Station.

Gatineau starter Maxime Clermont finished his regular season campaign with a record of 24-31, 2.81 goals against average, and a 0.897 save percentage. Clermont took all three loses for the ‘Piques against Saint John with a GAA of 6.06 and save percentage of 0.841.

HE’S BACK
From the “Brendan McNeil dance fan page:”

Brendan will be back danceing the first game off the seacond round off the 2010 play offs GO SEA DOGS GO !!

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Gatineau mascot Hully can defy all laws of physics.
• Saint John is 1-0 all-time in round two, game one games.
• 846 people have confirmed they are not attending this game on Facebook.
• Saint John’s only playoff loss this year has come on home ice.
• Mike Hoffman and Gerard Gallant are fresh off their Golden Puck Awards ceremonies. No Gatineau player or coach won an award or was named to an all-star team.
• This is a 2-3-2 playoff format, meaning the first two games are at Harbour Station, the next three in Gatineau, and the final two back in Saint John.
• Saint John has never won a playoff game against a Quebec based team.
• The last time Gatineau came to Harbour Station, teddy bears hit the ice.

THE RINK
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297
Playoff Average Attendance: 4,234
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 4,140

MEDIA RELATIONS
Newspapers: Saint John- Telegraph-Journal; Gatineau- Le Droit, Ottawa Citizen
Radio: Saint John- News 88.9; Gatineau- Tag Radio X
Video: Telus Webcast
Post-Game Highlights: SeaDogsTV

TWITTER
Follow Station Nation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/station_nation for in game updates from tonight’s game.

AFTER THE BUZZER
These two teams do battle in game two Saturday night at Harbour Station at 7:00 pm.

SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

SHOW TIME

The Saint John Sea Dogs’ QMJHL award winners will be featured during the six-o’clock news on CTV Atlantic tonight.

From the Dog Bytes Newsletter:

Be sure to tune into the CTV Evening News later today for reporter Mike Cameron's interviews with both Mike Hoffman and Gerard Gallant.

GEARING UP FOR 2011
If you thought the 2010 National Hockey League entry draft looked good for the Sea Dogs, hold on to your hat when 2011 rolls around.

The 2011 NHL draft is being called the “year of the Q,” with the possibility of having a fist full of first round picks, according to NHL.com.

It's possible the 2011 Draft will be the year of the "Q." League scout Chris Bordeleau was all smiles when discussing next year's crop, which includes four players from the Saint John Sea Dogs and high-profile sniper Sean Couturier of the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

The Saint John contingent consists of centers Jonathan Huberdeau (61 games, 15 goals, 43 points, plus-28) and Zack Philips (65 games, 16 goals, 44 points, plus-22), right wing Tomas Jurco (64 games, 26 goals, 51 points, plus-34) and defenseman Nathan Beaulieu (66 games, 12 goals, 45 points, plus-43).

"These kids are likely to be gone in the first round, so it's going to be a banner year in the 'Q' with these kids," Bordeleau said.

MOCK DRAFT SEASON
With the Spring season now upon us, the mock NHL draft campaign has begun. Several writers at NHL.com hosted mock drafts over the past week, with some different opinions about where Stanislav Galiev will go in the draft. Here is what they had to say:

Jen Raimondi: 30th pick, Washington Capitals – “A hard worker, he'll have more than one Russian mentor to help fine-tune his play.”

Adam Kimelman: 21st pick, Los Angeles Kings – “Talented scorer speaks near-flawless English.”
Shawn P. Roarke: Not listed

Brad Holland: Not listed

Mike G. Morreale: 11th pick, Dallas Stars – “His unpredictable creativity and vision make him tough to defend.”

MACAULAY, GALIEV GET THE MENTION
Stephen MacAulay and Danick Gauthier are listed by Central Scouting as two of the top 10 draft eligible QMJHL players for the upcoming selection process this June.

Here is the top 10 in alphabetical order:

Louis-Marc Aubry
Michael Bournival
Michael Chaput
Jakub Culek
Stanislav Galiev
Jerome Gauthier-Leduc
Brandon Gormley
Kirill Kabanov
Stephen Macaulay
Petr Straka

The “big chart” will be released on April 7.

POLL RESULTS
This week’s poll question was: Should horns be allowed at Harbour Station?

Yes, every section- 23
Keep the rule as is- 9
No, I hate horns- 5

Thanks to everyone who voted. This week’s question is: Who has been Saint John’s best rookie so far in the playoffs?

If you have an idea for a poll question, e-mail us at stationnation@yahoo.ca.

TO THE COMBINE WE GO
Stanislav Galiev was one of one hundred draft eligible players selected to participate in the annual NHL Draft Combine in Toronto. The combine, which will run May 24-29, is an opportunity for teams to meet and interview prospects, as well as see them tested in an off-ice setting.

To view the entire list of players invited click HERE.

GELINAS IS DONE
The phrase “in with a bang and out with a whimper” could describe former Sea Dog Marc-Antoine Gelinas’ season.

The 20-year old net minders season and QMJHL career is now over as his Shawinigan Cataractes fell in six games to the favoured Victoriaville Tigres on Sunday. Gelinas took a penalty at 11:16 of the OT frame in game six, allowing the Tigres to win the series on the power play.

Gelinas finished the year with a 30-15 record, 2.60 goals against average, and 0.915 save percentage. His junior career ends with a regular season record of 58-46.

STICH IS ALSO DONE
If you watch the Gatineau Olympiques’ Hubert Labrie’s freak overtime goal in game seven in Montreal on YouTube, you’ll see former Saint John captain David Stich standing near the goal crease.

Stich finished the season with the Junior with six goals and 17 assists in 47 games played. He ends his junior career with 26 goals, 74 assists, 367 penalty minutes, and a -2 rating in 243 regular season and playoff goals.

Of note, 28 of Stich’s 100 career points came in the post-season. Six of his 20 goals were also scored in the playoffs.

PLAYS OF THE WEEK
We have no idea how Danick Gauthier’s end-to-end goal in game five was missed this week.

Either way, click HERE to view the Mazda QMJHL plays of the week.

HOFFMAN VIDEO

SWEET VID

Not at all Sea Dogs related, but you haven't lived until you've seen this NHL on NBC fake promo from the the Maple Leafs blog Down Goes Brown.