YOUNG GUNS GETTING IT DONE

Another big win for the Saint John Sea Dogs last night produced another big game for a talented trio of players.

The line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Zach Phillips, and Tomas Jurco combined for four goals and six assists in a 7-2 road win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan last night.

The “Bachelor Line,” as Sea Dogs play-by-play man Tim Roszell has coined them, has produced well all season. But in the last six games – all wins for Saint John – the line has taken it up a notch.

Here is a look at their production during the Sea Dogs’ six game winning streak:

DOGS KEEP ON ROLLING

SN RECAP
FINAL: Sea Dogs 7, Titan 2

BATHURST – It’s been a good stretch for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

With a 7-2 win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Wednesday night at the KC Irving Regional Centre, the Sea Dogs have won six straight games and have not lost in regulation over their past 13 contests.

The Sea Dogs’ 'Bachelor Line' was once again the story in this one. Jonathan Huberdeau scored a hat trick and added an assist while Zach Phillips continued his stunning play with a solo marker and four assists. Tomas Jurco also had a helper.

Simon Despres, Steven Anthony, and Mike Thomas were the other Saint John goal getters.

Jacob DeSerres, who played poorly the last time he visited Bathurst, played very well. He made 32 saves and was deserving of the victory.

On the other end, Edmonton Oilers draft pick Olivier Roy allowed five goals on 25 shots before getting the hook during the second intermission. Robert Steeves made 10 saves in relief.

The Titan had goals from Daniel Tanel and Jonathan Lessard.

Saint John has now shown that they are very capable of beating the Titan. The Dogs carried the flow for most of the game, especially in the second period where they scored two goals in the final minute.

LIVE BLOG: Sea Dogs vs Titan

DOGS JUMP TO #2 IN CHL RANKINGS

The Saint John Sea Dogs are moving on up.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League club jumped over the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks in this week’s edition of the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, making the Sea Dogs the #2 ranked team in the country.

Saint John was ranked third last week, but after a dominating weekend, the team jumped up the list. The Sea Dogs defeated the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 6-3 on Friday night and then wrecked the Halifax Mooseheads 7-1 on Sunday afternoon. Both contests were held at the friendly confines of Harbour Station.

This is the Sea Dogs’ highest ranking of the season since the Canadian Hockey League released their pre-season list where the team was placed second as well. Saint John had been ranked third for the past two weeks.

Other teams from the QMJHL to make the cut were the Quebec Remparts in fourth, the Montreal Juniors in sixth, and the Lewiston MAINEiacs on tenth. The Drummondville Voltigeurs were an honourable mention.

The weekly rankings of the CHL’s Top 10 teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts.

Here are the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings for week 11:

1 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (22-2-0-1)
2 Saint John Sea Dogs (21-3-0-2)
3 Portland Winterhawks (21-5-0-3)
4 Quebec Remparts (21-6-0-2)
5 Saskatoon Blades (19-6-0-1)
6 Montreal Juniors (21-4-2-1)
7 Saginaw Spirit (18-5-3-1)
8 Owen Sound Attack (17-6-0-2)
9 Red Deer Rebels (18-7-1-2)
10 Lewiston MAINEiacs (21-8-0-2)

Honourable Mention:
Kitchener Rangers (17-6-0-1)
Kootenay Ice (18-7-0-2)
Drummondville Voltigeurs (18-8-3-1)

In the Buzzing The Net Dynamic Dozen this week, Saint John was also ranked second.

The Sea Dogs can't do anything about their strength of schedule (57th of 60 CHL teams). All they do is rebuff opponents, usually with extreme prejudice. The 'Dogs only played eight games in November, but won three by five or more, including one over a team in the Dynamic Dozen.

The Sea Dogs will have a good test this week against four strong opponents who are all above the .500 mark. The Sea Dogs head to Bathurst to face the Titan tonight before hosting the Lewiston MAINEiacs and Gatineau Olympiques on the weekend. The team then begins a rare mid-week home-and-home series against the PEI Rocket on Tuesday in Charlottetown.

Photo Credit: David Connell Web Album

PHILLIPS CHL'S BEST THIS WEEK

 Zach Phillips continues to get recognition for his hot play of late.

After being named the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s first star of the week on Monday, Phillips was given the honour of Canadian Hockey League Player of the Week today.

The Fredericton native scored two goals in each contest he played in this weekend, helping the Sea Dogs defeat the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 6-3 on Friday night and the Halifax Mooseheads 7-1 on Sunday afternoon.

Along with his four goals, Phillips added two assists and was a +3. He was named first star in both contests.

Here is part of the release:

Phillips led the Sea Dogs to two wins scoring the game-winner in both contests and was twice named first star of the game. He had two goals and an assist on Friday night in a 6-3 win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, and then scored another two goals with an assist on Sunday in a 7-1 win over the Halifax Mooseheads to give the Sea Dogs nine wins in their past 10 games.

Phillips, an 18-year-old from Fredericton, NB, is playing in his second QMJHL season with the Sea Dogs. He has 33 points in 26 games so far this season and is the 11th ranked QMJHL skater eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft as determined by NHL Central Scouting’s Preliminary Rankings.

Phillips joins Victoriaville’s Brandon Hynes and Shawinigan’s Michael Bournival as players from the QMJHL who have won the award this season.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

PRE-GAME: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Acadie-Bathurst Titan

By Station Nation Staff

GAME DAY
WHO: Acadie-Bathurst Titan vs Saint John Sea Dogs
WHEN: Tonight, 7:30 pm
WHERE: KC Irving Regional Centre

VISITING TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 21-3-0-2 (1st in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 7-1 win vs Halifax Sunday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (26GP-16G-22A-38Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs come into today’s game with a 21-3-0-2 record which is good for first place in the Maritime Division and seven points up on the second place Moncton Wildcats. The Sea Dogs sit in a three way tie for second overall in the Quebec Major Hockey League and are one point back of league leading Montreal Juniors who have played two more games… Saint John was ranked third in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings last week… the Dogs are coming off a 7-1 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads on Sunday afternoon at Harbour Station. Zach Phillips scored twice while Nathan Beaulieu, Tomas Jurco, Jonathan Huberdeau, Stanislav Galiev, and Scott Oke also recorded markers. Huberdeau added three assists. Frederic Piche played well in the Sea Dogs crease, stopping 33 shots and earning third star honours… Saint John has been very hot of late. They are 9-0-0-1 in their last 10 games and have picked up 23 of a possible 24 points over their past 12 games… lead the league in goals scored with 128 for a per game average of 4.9… the team has allowed the fewest amount of goals of any team in the QMJHL with 70 against in 26 contests. The Dogs are averaging 2.69 goals against per game… have played the fewest number of games of any team in the league so far with 26. The Lewiston Maineiacs have played the most with 31… are 8-3-0-1 on the road this season and have outscored their opposition 54-40 along the way. Only 17 of Saint John’s 44 points have come away from Harbour Station… 0-1-0-0 at the KC Irving Regional Centre this season after suffering a 5-1 loss to the Titan on October 22. The Sea Dogs haven’t suffered a regulation loss since then… went 3/6 on the power play last Sunday against the Mooseheads. The Dogs’ power play is currently ranked eighth in the league with a rating of 0.210. On the road, Saint John’s power play drops to 0.184 which places them 13th… ranked seventh in the league in penalty killing with a rating of 0.795… Jonathan Huberdeau leads Saint John in points this season with 38 points… Zach Phillips leads the team in goals with 19… Huberdeau is now tied with Michael Kirkpatrick for the team lead in assists with 22… Huberdeau’s +33 leads the QMJHL. The second highest is Alex Wall of the Quebec Remparts who is a +24. Seven of the top 10 plus/minus leaders in the league play for Saint John… Jacob DeSerres will likely start in goal tonight. The 20-year old has a record of 7-1-0-0, a goals against average of 2.75, and a save percentage of 0.895. He was in net for Saint John’s 5-1 loss in Bathurst in October.

HOME TEAM: Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Record: 18-10-0-0 (3rd in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 4-2 win at Cape Breton Sunday
Leading Scorer: Gabriel Levesque (28GP-11G-32A-43Pts)
Notes: The Acadie-Bathurst Titan enter action today with a record of 18-10-0-0 which is good for third in the Maritime Division and eighth overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They sit eight points behind Saint John… the Titan are coming off a 4-2 victory in Cape Breton against the Screaming Eagles on Sunday afternoon. Zach O’Brien, Radovan Pulis, David Gilbert, and Sebastien Trudeau all scored for the winners. Olivier Roy made 23 saves for the victory… are 9-4-0-0 at the KC Irving Regional Centre this season and have outscored their opposition 46-41 along the way. Half of their 36 points have come on home ice… the Titan power play is ranked sixth in the QMJHL with a rating of 0.266. They went 1/3 on Sunday against Cape Breton… Bathurst has one of the strongest penalty kills in the league. They are ranked second in the league with a rating of 0.848. At home though, their penalty kills slips down to 0.817… Bathurst is 12th in the league in goals scored with 91 in 28 contests for an average of 3.25 per game… the Titan have been solid on defense this season. They have allowed the third fewest amount of goals against this year with 79… Gabriel Levesque continues to lead the Titan in scoring. He has 43 points in 28 games… Sebastien Trudeau leads the club in goals with 15 on the year… Levesque also leads the team in assists with 32. That total places him second in the QMJHL behind Philip-Michael Devos’ 36… Olivier Roy will likely start in net. He has a record of 10-8-0-0, a 2.88 goals against average, and a 0.908 save percentage.