SEA DOGS POST-GAME NOTEBOOK

SEA DOGS – OLYMPIQUES GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: Saint John 8, Gatineau 0
Saint John Goals: Danick Gauthier (11, 12), Mike Hoffman (32), Tomas Jurco (16, 17), Nicholas Petersen (29), Michael Kirkpatrick (19), and Stephen MacAulay (7)
Gatineau Goals: None
Winning Goaltender: SNB – Marco Cousineau (15-15-0)
Losing Goaltender: GAT – Maxime Clermont (19-20-0)
News 88.9 Top Dog: Tomas Jurco

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Saint John 3/8, Gatineau 0/2
Shots on Goal: Saint John: 13+17+12+42, Gatineau: 7+0+8=15
Attendance: 2,696

SCRATCHES
Christian Morin missed his second straight game with what the Sea Dogs are calling an upper body injury. Aiden Kelly was a healthy scratch.

RIDICULUS DOMINANCE
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 win 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.

GATINEAU – GET GOOD
The second period was not only awful for the Olympiques, but had to be rather embarrassing on home ice.

Gatineau failed to register a shot on goal while Saint John peppered the ‘Piques net minder Maxime Clermont with 17 in the middle frame. This was the first time in Sea Dogs franchise history that the feat has happened.

When Gatineau finally got a shot on net thanks to a dump in from center ice, the faithfull at the Robert Guertin Arena gave a loud cheer.

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.

SHUTOUT TIME
Marco Cousineau got his second shutout of the season and first as a Sea Dog on Sunday afternoon. The other was a 4-0 win over Saint John on October 3 in Charlottetown.

He only had to make 15 saves for the win – his fourth straight. Only three to four of those shots were challenging and most were in the third period when the game was already out of reach.

Since joining the Sea Dogs on News Year Eve, the Ducks prospect has a record of 5-1.

A LUMP OF COAL
What’s worse than getting a lump of coal on your birthday? How about losing 8-0 to the top team in the country on home ice.

“Hully,” the Olympiques mascot, turned 12-years old on Sunday. There was quite a celebration at center ice before the game. He was joined by a number of other mascots for the ceremonial puck drop and then had a bit of a “Wild Willy like” spaz attack before leaving.

As far as we can tell, Hully is a panda bear with a purple tint. He wore a ridiculously large hat shaped like a birthday cake.

It was the second time on the Sea Dogs’ road trip that mascots were involved in the opening faceoff.

OKAY ROAD TRIP
It ended on a solid note, but the Sea Dogs’ last three-in-three Quebec road swing of the season was anything but perfect.

Saint John barely defeated the Quebec Remparts 5-4 on Friday and then lost 6-4 to a .500 hockey team in the Montreal Junior.

"I wouldn't say I'm satisfied,'' Gallant said when asked to summarize the trip. "We got four points, but we wanted six.''

Unfortunately, Moncton went three-for-three on their road trip. Saint John’s Atlantic division lead is down to 11 points with Moncton having a game in hand.

CANADIAN PRESS RECAP
Sea Dogs 8 Olympiques 0

At Gatineau, Que., Marco Cousineau stopped 15 shots as Saint John trounced the Olympiques.

Tomas Jurco and Danick Gauthier both scored twice for the Sea Dogs (40-8-1), while Nicholas Petersen, Stephen MacAulay, Michael Kirkpatrick and Mike Hoffman added goals.

Maxime Clermont made 24 saves for Gatineau (23-20-5), before giving way to Dereck Tait, who stopped 10 shots.

OUT OF TOWN
Elsewhere in the QMJHL it was P.E.I. 2 Halifax 1 (SO); Cape Breton 2 Chicoutimi 5; and Shawinigan 5 Rimouski 0.

QUICK HITS
After breaking up the Sea Dogs' line combos in the third period on Saturday, Gerard Gallant returned his players to their natural surroundings… majority owner Scott McCain was an intermission guest on News 88.9 during the first period. He had been traveling with the team through their road trip… the Sea Dogs go 2-0 against Gatineau this season. More interesting though is the fact that Saint John shutout the ‘Piques in both games and outscored them 10-0… Tomas Jurco had his first QMJHL four point game. He has been on a tear in the second half, scoring six goals since New Year’s... Mike Hoffman has now taken over the league's goal scoring lead with a total of 32. He passed Nicolas Deschamps and Gabriel Dumont and has played five fewer games then the two.

NEXT GAME
Val-d’Or Foreurs vs Saint John Sea Dogs. Friday, January 29, 2010 at Harbour Station at 7:30 pm.

Friday’s game has been designated CHSJ Country Night. Fans are encouraged to dress in western-themed outfits. Several hundred cowboy hats will be distributed throughout the game, while popular country music will be played all evening long. One lucky fan will also win a trip to see Taylor Swift in concert courtesy of Country 94.1 FM!

Tickets to this 7:30pm contest are available by calling the arena box office at (506) 657-1234 or by visiting http://www.harbourstation.nb.ca/.

SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

LOTS OF PRAISE
Reports of the Saint John Sea Dogs’ number one ranking in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 rankings have turned up across the country.

From Gerard Gallant’s home town of Summerside, PEI to the sadden Windsor Star readers who saw their team fall all the way to number three in the nation.

NO RESPECT
Team president Wayne Long said on The Afternoon News with Tim Young last week that he feels the Sea Dogs are being “disrespected” with them now being the top team in country. Long didn’t get any respect from Chicoutimi head coach Richard Martel either.

"Victoriaville is the best team in the league,'' he said. "They're alone at the top. Victoriaville will meet Moncton in the final and Victoriaville will win. I would put money on it. Moncton will not be able to touch them.

"These are the two best clubs in the league, but Victoriaville has the advantage because (Moncton centre Kelsey) Tessier isn't capable of playing against (Victoriaville centre Joel) Champagne. Write it. You'll see.''

"I think our first focus is on staying ahead of Cape Breton,'' said Moncton Wildcats head coach Danny Flynn. "Saint John has a tremendous team and for us to make up that ground would be a significant challenge. All we can do and all we can control is how well we play.''

To read the full article click HERE.

HOWES’ GOAL
If you somehow have not managed to see this goal – here it is. Set up by former Sea Dog 42 goal scorer Scott Howes.



ANTHONY NAMED STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Vancouver Canucks prospect Steven Anthony was named the Sea Dogs’ Scholastic Player of The Month on Wednesday. Anthony is attending courses at UNBSJ. This is the second time this season he got the monthly honor.

This initiative’s goal, which was developed by the QMJHL and its member clubs, is to recognize student athletes’ performances both on the ice and in the classroom.

“Steven succeeded two University courses this semester while playing major junior hockey,” said a QMJHL press release. “He had excellent marks in both courses and hopes to pursue his degree in business.”

NAVY NIGHT ANNOUNCED
PRESS RELEASE
The Saint John Sea Dogs have announced that the team’s January 30 home game versus the Val-d'Or Foreurs has been designated Salute to the Navy Night in honour of the Canadian Navy Centennial.

A special ceremony paying tribute to the Canadian Navy’s 100th anniversary will be held at Harbour Station prior to the Saturday night match. Throughout the evening, fans will also be able to visit a display booth on the arena concourse which will highlight Canada rich naval history, to which Saint John has contributed greatly.

FULLERTON WINS NATIONAL AWARD
Travis Fullerton of the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds was named the Canadian interuniversity Sport male athlete of the week Wednesday. Fullerton, a former Saint John Sea Dog, turned aside 77 of 79 shots as UNB defeated Saint Mary's and Acadia in conference action last weekend. The second-year goalie lead the Atlantic University Sport with a 1.88 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. Fullerton, who played in 76 games for the Sea Dogs between 2006-08, was named the university's male athlete of the week on Monday after backstopping the country's No. 1 rated men's university hockey team to 6-1 and 2-1 victories.

THANK-YOU
A letter to the editor in the Telegraph-Journal reported that Saint John Sea Dogs fans threw over 3,000 teddy bears on to the ice during the annual teddy bear toss night. The bears were given to numerous children’s charities throughout the Saint John area in time for the Christmas holidays.

Also, fans were thanked in the Sea Dogs’ newsletter this week:

On behalf of the Canadian Red Cross Society I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Saint John Sea Dogs and their wonderful fans for showing incredible generosity during last weekend's home games. Nearly seven thousand dollars was raised over the course of the two days, with all of the proceeds going directly to the Canadian Red Cross Haiti Earthquake Fund.

Thanks again for your support, and go Sea Dogs go!

All the best,
Cynthia Reiker
Canadian Red Cross Society

PARTY AT THE CO-OP
Several members of the Saint John Sea Dogs will be taking part in a special autograph signing at three Co-op Atlantic locations on Sunday, February 7 from 2 - 4pm.

Star forwards Michael Kirkpatrick and Nick Petersen will be signing autographs at the regional grocery chain's Kennebecasis Valley location, while rookie defenseman Pierre Durepos and Ottawa Senators prospect Mike Hoffman will be appearing in Grand Bay. Veteran blue-liner Christian Morin and overage Marco Cousineau, meanwhile, will be on hand at the Saint John store to mingle with fans.

GATINEAU DEMOLISHED

STATION NATION POST-GAME
FINAL: Sea Dogs 8, Olympiques 0

GATINEAU – The Saint John Sea Dogs proved that they are worthy of their number one ranking in the Canadian Hockey League on Sunady.

The Sea Dogs absolutely destroyed the Gatineau Olympiques 8-0 at the Robert Guertin Arena on the Quebec-Ontario border.

Marco Cousineau registered his first shutout as a Sea Dog. But he didn’t have to do to much as Gatineau only recorded 15 shots on goal in the game.

Saint John dominated the play so much - especially in the second period - that the other side of the ice was rarely seen during the match.

The Sea Dogs got a pair of goal from Danick Gauthier and Tomas Jurco while singles came from Stephen MacAulay, Michael Kirkpatrick, Nicholas Petersen and Mike Hoffman.

Michael Kirkpatrick had the first good scoring chance in the first period when he hit the crossbar on a Gatineau line change. Shortly after, Jonathan Huberdeau had his shot stopped with Nicholas Pard sending the rebound off the pad of Maxime Clermont.

After a back-and-forth few minutes, Mitchell Porowski tipped a shot wide in front of the net. Then Vincent Barnard was stopped by a quick pad reflex by Saint John net minder Marco Cousineau.

Yann Sauve let a point blast go with Stanislav Galiev picking up the rebound but failing to get the puck in the get. Benjamin Laliberte was left all alone in front of the Saint John goal but was robbed by the pad of Cousineau. Then, Danick Gauthier was stopped by the pad of Clermont in the Gatineau zone.

With the Sea Dogs on the power play at 10:27, Mike Hoffman let go two big slap shots go but neither could get by the ‘Piques’ goaltender

At 15:46, Mike Thomas did some nice work down low and fed a cross ice pass to Gauthier from below the icing line. Gauthier ripped a shot into the empty cage to make it 1-0 Saint John.

Galiev stopped at the blue line and fed the puck to a streaking Hoffman at 15:35. The Ottawa draft pick went in all alone and beat Clermont on a nice deke to his backhand to make it 2-0 Sea Dogs going to the dressing room.

Shots in the first were 13-7 for the visitors.

It was all Saint John in the second period.

Just 1:01 into the period, Pierre Durepos sent a point shot wide. The puck went around the back boards and found Tomas Jurco at the side of the net. Jurco made no mistake and beat Clermont up high to make it 3-0 Dogs.

The Sea Dogs then executed a nice two-on-one with Stephen MacAulay registering two shots on goal.

At 5:37, it was Jurco again. Yann Sauve let a point shot go with the Slovak getting his stick on it and deflected the puck into the cage. The goal went under a lengthy review but was ruled a good goal.

Michael Kirkpatrick appeared to hurt his elbow on a hit behind the Gatineau goal. He would be okay and stayed in the game. On the same play at 5:59, Alex Noel high sticked Jurco and went to the penalty box. The Sea Dogs had some good chances but couldn’t score.

Then at 9:30, Gatineau got caught with too-many-men on the ice. On the power play, Nicholas Petersen let a sharp angle shot go along the goal line that beat a fallen Clermont to make it a 5-0 Sea Dog lead.

The onslaught continued for the Olympiques. Zach Phillips was denied on a nice shot between a defenseman’s legs. Kevin Gagne let a point shot go that got deflected just wide of the goal. The Sea Dogs were having a rather easy time letting point shots go and having them getting through.

Gauthier couldn’t get a shot off on a mad scramble and then Phillips missed again as he shot high and wide of the net.

Saint John went back to the power play at 16:59 when Olivier Croteau took down Hoffman off a faceoff in the Gatineau zone. On the power play, Hoffman was robbed by the toe of Clermont. At 18:56, a Simon Despres point shot was blocked in front. The rebound was picked up by Gauthier who netted his second of the game to make it 6-0.

Just how lopsided was the second period? Saint John outshot Gatineau 17-0 in the frame – the first time in Sea Dogs history they have not allowed a shot.

18-year old Dereck Tait took over the Gatineau crease for the highly touted Clermont. Galiev had the best chance early in the third when he sent a floater through the crease but Petersen couldn’t get the rebound from his glove to his stick.

The Olympiques started to show some life mid way through the final period. Joshua Domingues let a shot go from center ice to represent the first shot on Cousineau in over 20 minutes. The shot got a nice cheer from the Gatineau faithful.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau took a tripping and unsportsmanlike penalty at 4:31. On the man advantage, Sea Dogs leading scorer Michael Kirkpatrick took a nice pass in front from Jurco and scored on a wrist shot to make it 7-0 Saint John.

Shortly after, Mike Thomas took a questionable diving penalty. On the four-on-four, Phillips walked into the Gatineau zone and passed to Huberdeau cross crease but couldn’t get a shot off.

Nicholas Pard almost made it 8-0 when Tait almost let the puck go through the five hole.

Nathan Beaulieu took two for roughing at 9:16. Cousineau actually had to do some stuff in the net as he made two good saves from close range. Then he was forced to reach back behind him on a shot and keep the puck from crossing the goal line.

Cousineau was sharp again as he robbed Christian Ouellet in front with the pad. Then, the overage goaltender stopped Laliberte with the glove on a backhand opportunity.

Stephen MacAulay rounded out the scoring at 17:32. The 17-year old roofed a wrist shot up and over Tait’s glove to make the final score 8-0.

Shots in the third period were 12-8 Saint John. The Dogs won the shots on goal battle in the game 42-15.

NOTES: See Station Nation tomorrow for Sea Dogs Post-Game Notebook.

TOMORROW: The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced that disciplinary measures will be unveiled on Monday at 12:00 pm AST in regards to the incident involving Patrice Cormier of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Mikael Tam of the Quebec Remparts. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Disciplinary Prefect, Raymond Bolduc, has been collecting testimony from witnesses involved in the incident since Monday, including those of the on-ice officials, the players and members of both organizations. Over the week-end, the Disciplinary Prefect will analyse the facts with the help of the Disciplinary Sanctions Committee. The decision will be rendered on Monday. QMJHL authorities will make no further comment until the announcement.

NEXT GAME: Val-d’Or Foreurs vs Saint John Sea Dogs. Friday, January 29, 2010 at 7:30 pm at Harbour Station.

PRE-GAME: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Gatineau Olympiques

Game Day
Saint John Sea Dogs vs Gatineau Olympiques
Today, January 24, at 5:00 pm
Centre Robert Guertin

Visiting Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 39-8-1-0 (1st in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 6-4 loss at Montreal yesterday
Leading Scorer: Michael Kirkpatrick: 47 GP – 18 G – 42 A – 60 Pts
NHL Draft Picks: Yann Sauve (Vancouver), Marco Cousineau (Anaheim), Simon Despres (Pittsburgh), Steven Anthony (Vancouver), Mike Hoffman (Ottawa), and Nicholas Petersen (Pittsburgh).
Notes: Defenseman Christian Morin is expected to miss today’s game with what the team is calling an upper body injury. He was hurt by a Dominic Savoie hit in the third period during Friday night’s 5-4 shootout win in Quebec City. He missed yesterday’s game as well… Saint John sits first in the Atlantic division, first overall in the QMJHL, and are ranked number one in the country… coming off a disappointing 6-4 loss in Montreal yesterday. Goaltender Karel St. Laurent struggled in goal and the Sea Dogs allowed two shorthanded goals in the loss… after having yesterday off, Marco Cousineau will likely get the call in the Saint John net. He hasn’t played since Friday… the Sea Dogs have scored the most goals of any team in the league so far this season with 214. They have allowed the second fewest goals against with 131… have the seventh ranked power play in the league and went 2/6 last night against the Junior – owners of the best penalty kill in the league entering the match… 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games… owners of the league’s best record at 19-4-1-0. They are 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games… Stanislav Galiev is tied for first in rookie scoring with 45 points – 11 goals and 34 assists – in 47 games played… with two goals last night, Mike Hoffman now sits second in team scoring with 58 points in just 37 games this season… Nicholas Pard leads the Sea Dogs offensively against Gatineau this season. He is the only player to score against them, registering two goals in one game… Mike Hoffman has a seven game point streak entering tonight’s game. In that span, he has five goals and eight assists… Michael Kirkpatrick had a 10 game points streak snapped last night… this is the last game of a three-in-three road trip for Saint John – the last of its kind for this season.

Home Team: Gatineau Olympiques
Record: 23-19-1-4 (3rd in Telus Western Division)
Last Game: 5-4 overtime win vs Val-d’Or yesterday
Leading Scorer: Tye McGinn: 40 GP – 23 G – 28 A – 51 Pts
NHL Draft Picks: Hubert Labrie (Dallas)
Notes: Former Sea Dog Alexandre Leduc was traded to Gatineau earlier this season but is believed to have left team. He had quite a return in Saint John, checking Mike Hoffman from behind on his first shift of the game… former Sea Dog Benjamin Lecomte is reportedly no longer with the team as the well. He was sent to Val-d’Or and later to Gatineau in the Christian Morin trade. In six games in Gatineau, he had one assist… also believed to be longer with the team is Kevin Charland. Charland was traded to Val-d’Or during the 2009 Holiday trading period for the Foreurs’ first pick in the CHL Import draft – a pick that was used to draft Tomas Jurco… the only Gatineau player to record a point against Saint John this season is Alexandre Beaton, who got an assist before he was traded from Lewiston… Saint John native Ben Miller was traded to Gatineau at the deadline. In two games against Saint John this season, he is a -3… since the last time these two teams have played each other, Nicolas Boyer, Steven Delisle, Alexandre Quesnel, and Alexandre Touchette were all traded by the club… Beaton and rookie Jean-Gabriel Pageau are both on eight game point scoring streaks. Beaton has scored two goals and nine assists in that span while Pageau has registered eight goals and seven assists… 14-6-1-3 at home this season. They are 5-3-1-1 in their last 10 home games and have lost two straight games.

Saint John vs Gatineau:
This Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
1-1-0-0-0-2
Home: 1-1-0-0-0-2
Road: 0-0-0-0-0-0
Goals For: 2
Goals Against: 0

Last Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
3-2-1-0-0-0
Home: 2-1-1-0-0-0
Road: 1-1-0-0-0-2
Goals For: 14
Goals Against: 7

All-Time- Not Including This Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
9-3-5-0-1-7
Home: 5-1-3-0-1-3
Road: 4-2-2-0-0-4
Goals For: 33
Goals Against: 40

Station Nation Facts:

• The Hockey News named the Gatineau Olympiques organization the team of the decade in the QMJHL. They made the playoffs every season and had a below 0.500 winning percentage only once.
• In 2003-04, the Olympiques changed their name from Hull to Gatineau.
• The team’s notables over the years include: Sylvain Turgeon, Sam Lang, Pat Burns, Luc Robitaille, Guy Rouleau (photo), Martin Gélinas, José Théodore, Claude Julien, Colin White, Jiri Fischer, and Maxime Talbot.
• The City of Gatineau and the Olympiques announced last year that their will be major renovations done to the arena. The plan will result in a 6,000 seat arena for the 'Piques. A time frame for the work hasn't yet been decided.
• Gatineau mascot “Hully” is celebrating his 12th birthday during today’s game.

Important Info:
Venue: Centre Robert Guertin
Capacity: 3,196
Arena Guide Info: http://www.qmjhlarenaguide.com/olympiques.htm

Saint John Media: Radio- News 88.9 FM (www.news889.com)
Live Video Streaming: www.qmjhl.mytelus.com
Post-Game Coverage: www.stationnation.blogspot.com, Telegraph-Journal, Le Droit

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

SEA DOGS UPSET IN VERDUN

STATION NATION POST-GAME
FINAL: Sea Dogs 4, Junior 6

VERDUN – It was the Saint John Sea Dogs’ power play that killed them on Saturday evening in the Montreal suburbs.

The Sea Dogs went 2/6 on the man advantage but allowed two shorthanded goals to the Montreal Junior – who have the second worst power play in the league. The Junior used the two goals to their advantage as they defeated the number one team in the country 6-4 at Auditorium-Verdun.

Karel St. Laurent struggled in the Saint John crease and allowed five goals on 29 shots, with the sixth goal being an empty netter. He allowed two goals on 10 shots in the first and two goals on eight shots in the third period.

Mike Hoffman and Nicholas Petersen led the Sea Dogs in a losing effort, both scoring two goals while Hoffman added two more assists.

Jeremy Gouchie and Matthew Brenton scored a pair for Montreal while David Rose and Louis-Marc Aubry added singles.

The game started with Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant flipping out at a referee. Somebody on the Sea Dogs must be afraid of dark because Gallant was yelling and pointing at the official because the lights in the Saint John zone would not come on fully. The game started without them.

After an uneventful first few minutes of the game, Patrick Lapostolle was stopped on a partial breakway by a Yann Sauve stick lift.

Saint John opened the scoring at 3:34 when the Sea Dogs top line went in on a three-on-two. Mike Hoffman passed over to Nicholas Petersen who beat J.F. Berube clean blocker side to make it 1-0 Dogs.

Steven Anthony and Eliezer Sherbatov then had a big collision at the Saint John blue line. Sauve was called for tripping at 5:35 with the best chance coming on a shorthanded breakaway by Danick Gauthier.

Sherbatov had a good chance at a bad angle but was stopped by the pads of goaltender Karel St. Laurent. After Stanislav Galiev was called for a slash, Montreal had a good chance on a mad scramble around the crease but could not score. That seemed to turn on the Junior offense.

Trevor Parkes’ shot was stopped by St. Laurent but he allowed the rebound to sit in front of the crease. Matthew Brenton was on the door stop and slid it by the Sea Dogs net minder at 14:38 to tie the affair 1-1.

Galiev had a good chance following the goal but was stopped by the pads of Berube. Then, Stephen MacAulay had a solid wrap around opportunity.

Montreal took the lead at 18:38 after St. Laurent stopped the original shot. The puck got through his legs and went right to the stick of Louis-Marc Aubry to make it a 2-1 game.

Shots were 11-10 in the first period.

Just 36 seconds into the second period, Galiev was called for a questionable checking from behind penalty. On the power play, Aubry had the best chance at the side of the goal on what was an excellent penalty kill by the Sea Dogs.

Nathan Beaulieu let a hard wrist shot go point that was stopped through traffic. Jonathan Huberdeau picked up the rebound but was also stopped by Berube.

Hubert Genest went to the box at 8:16. The Junior had a great chance while shorthanded but St. Laurent shut the door on a two-on-one finished off by Jeremy Gouchie. Saint John finally got some offensive chances when Nicholas Pard rang a shot off the post and out the other side of the blue paint.

The Sea Dogs defense started to get a bit sloppy from here on in. St. Laurent had to be sharp off a turnover just above the crease. Then the former Screaming Eagle Lapostolle was robbed by the pad of the Dogs net minder.

After Lapostolle collided with Petersen at the line, Saint John went back to the power play. Hoffman had several shots on the man advantage with all his shots from the same spot.

At 17:23, Guillaume Asselin took a roughing penalty after a scrum in the Montreal crease. Simon Despres fed a wonderful cross ice pass to Petersen who had a wide open cage but couldn’t get a shot off.

It was the Junior capitalizing on the Sea Dogs' power play chance. At 19:00, Matthew Brenton picked up a turnover at the Sea Dogs blue line. Brenton took the puck to just above the icing line and then sent a pass over to Gouchie in the slot who scored into the empty net to extend the Montreal lead to 3-1 after two periods.

Shots in the second period were 12-6 for the home side.

Gerard Gallant juggled his lines to start the period and it seemed to spark the Sea Dogs, with some excellent pressure to start the period. Petersen fed Anthony in front but was robbed by the chest of Berube in front of the net after a cross crease effort.

Then, Galiev was stopped on a hard shot by the pad followed Jurco tipping a shot in the crease just wide of the goal. Junior head coach Pascal Vincent called a time out to try and calm down his now shaky defense.

It seemed to work as David Ross beat St. Laurent on the right side to make it 4-1 for the home team at 5:45. It was a weak shot that the Saint John goaltender no doubt should have had.

The Dogs’ come back began at 6:59 when Hoffman made it 4-2. The Ottawa Senators prospect beat Berube high blocker side thanks to some nice work by Despres. The goal got lots of cheers from the Sea Dogs fan bus at the Auditorium.

At 7:42 Jonathan Norbonne took a hooking penalty, allowing Saint John’s offense to fire everything they had at the Junior. It looked like the Dogs had made it a one goal game off a mad scramble in the crease. After checking with the goal judge (yes, the goal judge behind the net) and up stairs, the goal was waived off.

Saint John still kept firing though. Michael Kirkpatrick shot the disc just wide through traffic. Then off a faceoff, Jonathan Huberdeau fed Mike Thomas in the open. The Sea Dogs captain took a shot that deflected off Berube’s pad and right to the goal line but stayed out.

Sherbatov took a holding penalty at 16:49. Montreal went back to work shorthanded as Brenton beat St. Laurent high blocker side at 17:06.

Mike Hoffman kept the Sea Dogs in the game though. On the power play, Hoffman made it 5-3 at 18:22 off a blast from just inside the point that went through everything and gave the Dogs a glimpse of hope.

After a time out call, Petersen tipped home a Hoffman shot from the faceoff circle to make it a one goal game with just over a minute remaining.

But despite their best efforts, Saint John just could not beat Berube in the final minute. Gouchie made it 6-4 on an empty net marker with one second remaining in the game.

SEA DOGS – JUNIOR GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: Saint John 4, Montreal 6
Saint John Goals: Nicholas Petersen (27, 28), and Mike Hoffman (30, 31)
Montreal Goals: Matthew Brenton (9, 10), Louis-Marc Aubry (11), Jeremy Gouchie (15, 16), and David Rose (4)
Winning Goaltender: MTL – Jean-Francois Berube (11-11-0)
Losing Goaltender: SNB – Karel St. Laurent (14-3-0)
News 88.9 Top Dog: Steven Anthony

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Junior 0/3, Sea Dogs 2/6
Shots on Goal: Junior: 10+12+8=30, Sea Dogs: 11+6+22=39
Attendance: 3,327

SCRATCHES
Aiden Kelly was a healthy scratch for Saint John. Also missing from the Sea Dogs lineup was defenseman Christian Morin, who missed the last half of the third period on Friday after taking a big hit from Dominic Savoie of the Remparts. Morin is expected to miss Sunday’s game in Gatineau as well with what the team is calling an “upper body” injury.

QUICK HITS
The Saint John Sea Dogs are now 0-3-0-0 at the Auditorium-Verdun in the two season they have played there. They go 0-2 this season… Moncton won in Drummondville tonight, cutting the division lead to 11 points… the light problem in the Sea Dogs zone in the first period was due to some things hanging the rafters, according to Tim Roszell on News 88.9. He said there is a reality TV program being shot in the building involving former Montreal Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau. This is the second time a game has started with the lights off in the Saint John zone. In 2007, Robert Mayer's QMJHL debut was in the dark in PEI… St. Laurent struggled with his rebound control all night and allowed two weak goals. This was his first start since January 17 and his first loss since October 3 - an overtime loss in Shawinigan.

NEXT GAME
Saint John Sea Dogs vs Gatineau Olympiques. Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 5:00 pm at Robert Guertin Arena.

PRE-GAME: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Montreal Junior

Game Day
Saint John Sea Dogs vs Montreal Junior
Today, January 23, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Auditorium - Verdun

Visiting Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 39-7-1-0 (1st in Atlantic division)
Last Game: 5-4 shootout win at Quebec last night
Leading Scorer: Michael Kirkpatrick: 46 GP – 18 G – 42 A – 60 Pts
NHL Draft Picks: Yann Sauve (Vancouver), Marco Cousineau (Anaheim), Simon Despres (Pittsburgh), Steven Anthony (Vancouver), Mike Hoffman (Ottawa), and Nicholas Petersen (Pittsburgh).
Notes: Nicholas Petersen will return today from his one game automatic suspension that he got last Sunday in a fight against Chicoutimi. He has not scored a point in his last two games… Christian Morin got leveled in the third period of yesterday’s game and did not return after the hit. In five games against the Junior this season, he has two goals… coming off a thrilling come-from-behind victory in Quebec City last night. The Sea Dogs were trailing 4-2 in the second period but fought back to take the game to a shootout. In the shootout, Mike Hoffman, Tomas Jurco, and Jonathan Huberdeau scored to give Saint John the win… this is the second game of a three-in-three Quebec road swing for the Dogs. After today’s game, they travel to Gatineau… sit first in the Atlantic division, first overall in the QMJHL, and are ranked number one in Canada for the first time in franchise history this week… Saint John has scored the most goals of any team in the QMJHL this season with 210. They are second in fewest goals allowed with 125… owners of the seventh ranked power play in the league with a rating of 21.8%. They went 0/5 last night against the Remparts… the Sea Dogs’ penalty kill has improved since the last time these two teams met. It now sits 14th in the league with a rating of 76.3%... 9-1-0-0 in their last games and have won five straight. One of those five games includes a victory over the Junior at Harbour Station two weeks ago… have the best road record in the league at 19-3-1-0 – six points ahead of second place Drummondville with four games in hand. 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 road games and have won four straight away from home… Michael Kirkpatrick leads the way in scoring against Montreal. In two games, he has one goal and three assists.

Home Team: Montreal Junior
Record: 23-20-0-3 (3rd in Telus Western Division)
Last Game: 5-1 Win vs Val-d'Or last night
Leading Scorer: Jeremy Gouchie: 46 GP – 14 G – 26 A – 40 Pts
NHL Draft Picks: Jean-Francois Berube (Los Angeles)
Notes: Montreal did some shopping and selling during the holiday trading period. The Junior acquired Marc-Andre Levasseur from Chicoutimi for a third rounder… the Junior traded defenseman Alex Wall to the Moncton Wildcats and a third round pick for Dillon Donnelly and a European draft pick… one of the biggest deals of the entire deadline was the Jake Allen trade. Montreal traded the star goaltender to Drummondville for two first round picks… Montreal traded Pierre-Antoine Dion to Cape Breton for Patrick Lapostolle and a second round pick… J.F. Berube, the teams only NHL draft pick, is now the team’s starting goaltender after the Allen trade… Nicolas Chouinard leads the Junior in scoring against the Sea Dogs this season. In two games, he has scored one goal and three assists… Eliezer Sherbatov and Loik Poudrier have both scored two goals against Saint John this season… Guillaume Asselin is team high +4 versus the Dogs this season… they are one of the few teams who can say they have defeated Saint John on the road this season. They won 7-4 over the Dogs in October… Montreal is 12th overall in the league. In their last 10 games they are 7-3-0-0 and are coming off a victory… the Junior are tied with Victoriaville for the best penalty kill in the league with a rating of 84.8%... they have the second worst power play with a rating of 14.8%... 14-10-0-1 at home this season and are 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 home games… their penalty kill is ranked second among home statistics with a rating of 84.7%... averaging 2,849 fans per game this season.

Saint John vs Montreal:
This Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
2-1-1-0-0-2
Home: 1-1-0-0-0-2
Road: 1-0-1-0-0-0
Goals For: 8
Goals Against: 9

Last Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
3-1-2-0-0-2
Home: 2-1-1-0-0-2
Road: 1-0-1-0-0-0
Goals For: 8
Goals Against: 9

All-Time-Not including this season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
As Montreal and St. John’s
23-8-15-0-0-16
Home: 11-6-5-0-0-12
Road: 12-2-10-0-0-4
Goals For: 73
Goals Against: 86

As St. John’s
20-7-13-0-0-14
Home: 9-5-4-0-0-10
Road: 11-2-9-0-0-4
Goals For: 65
Goals Against: 77

Station Nation Facts:

• This is the third and final game between the two. Saint John is 1-1-0-0 against the Junior this season.
• Tonight’s game will feature former Sea Dog captain David Stich, who was traded to the Junior earlier this season. The trade had to happen because Stich takes up both a European spot and overage spot. Stich was drafted in the 2006 CHL Import Draft. He played 172 games with Saint John and recorded 14 goals and 46 assists. His point total had nothing to do with his success as he was a fan favourite because of shot blocking and rough play.
• The Montreal Junior and Saint John Sea Dogs are 2005 expansion cousins after they broke into the league as the St. John’s Fog Devils. During the 3rd season of their history, the Fog Devils, property of the Dobbin Family, were sold to Mr Farrel Miller. The new owner of the franchise transfers the team in Montreal (QC) for the start of the 2008-09 season. The Montreal Junior Hockey Club will play its home games at the Verdun Auditorium.
• On October 2, the Sea Dogs fell 7-4 to the Junior in Montreal. The Sea Dogs had a 2-1 lead early in the first period but allowed three Montreal goals in under two minutes, causing Marc-Antoine Gelinas to get the pull in net. Yann Sauve, Alexandre Leduc, Zach Phillips, and Steven Anthony all had goals for Saint John. The Dogs outshot Montreal 34-25.
• The Junior have been ridiculed at times for their high ticket prices: VIP (around the red lines): $50, Prestige (first few rows around the rest of the building): $28, Classic (all others): $17.

Important Info:
Venue: Auditorium - Verdun
Capacity: 3,780
Arena Guide Info: http://www.qmjhlarenaguide.com/juniors.htm

Saint John Media: Radio- News 88.9 FM (http://www.news889.com/)
Live Video Streaming: http://www.qmjhl.mytelus.com/
Post-Game Coverage: http://www.stationnation.blogspot.com/

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