SEA DOGS POST-GAME NOTEBOOK

SEA DOGS –ROCKET GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: PEI 6, Saint John 3
Saint John Goals: Zach Phillips (1), Nicholas Petersen (1), and Mike Hoffman (2)
PEI Goals: Louis-Philippe Lacroix (2), Jarrad Struthers (1, 2), Benjamin Casavant (1, 2), and Jonathan Bonneau (1)
Winning Goaltender: PEI – Evan Mosher (1-1-0)
Losing Goaltender: Marco Cousineau (1-1-0)
News 88.9 Top Dog: Tomas Jurco

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Rocket: 1/6, Sea Dogs: 3/7
Shots on Goal: Rocket: 11+16+9=36, Sea Dogs: 15+12+17=44
Attendance: 4,232

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Mike Thomas served the sixth and final game of his suspension on Saturday night and could be seen walking around the concourse. Thomas is eligible to play on Tuesday in Charlottetown.

Aiden Kelly missed the game with a concussion and Steven Anthony was out with a reported groin injury.

WHAT WAS THAT?
Referee Jeff Hopkins said it best on his Twitter page.

“Saint John forgot to show up tonight..Good for us that there will be a game 5.. Off to the Alehouse for a few.”

The Saint John Sea Dogs, the number two team in the country, simply did not bring their best for game two of the playoffs. The series is now tied at 1-1 as it shifts over to Prince Edward Island.

The PEI Rocket did just about everything right. They didn’t score many pretty goals, in fact two of them were reviewed, but they beat Saint John when they had the opportunity. It was the gritty kind of performance that is needed to win in the post-season.

Saint John didn’t play horrible, but they certainly did not play the type of style they did during the regular season. The Sea Dogs played with the Rocket up until Zach Phillips’ goal in the second period. But unlike what usually happens with the Dogs, they did not take over from there.

PEI battled hard and it worked, giving them a two goal cushion heading into the third period.

ROCKET ALMOST BLOW IT

With under nine minutes to go in the third, PEI had a 5-1 lead and looked like they would cruise the rest of the way back to the Island. With most fans already through the exit, Jordon Southorn took a five minute major penalty for charging.

It didn’t feel like the Dogs would get in back in the game until Nicholas Petersen and Mike Hoffman notched two quick ones, giving Saint John some hope with just under three minutes to play.

“Just don’t let them score four goals,” said Rocket net minder Evan Mosher to The Guardian about the Saint John power play.

Mosher was tested and made two great saves but Saint John could not score, giving way to Louis-Philippe Lacroix’s rare shorthanded-empty net goal at 18:51.

MOSHER WAS NO HOSER
After allowing six goals in 31 shots on Friday night, Evan Mosher had a great bounce back performance for the Rocket.

“My game was better tonight and as a whole we were sharper,” said Mosher after the game. He was named second star for his performance.

Backup goaltender Wendell Vye allowed two goals on 10 shots in the third period on Friday. It looked like he may get the start in goal after he headed to dressing room first following warm-up.

IMPORTANT NOTICE
If you missed the game, Guardian reporter Charles Reid still has his live blog up. Simply click “replay” and relive an epic Saint John loss.

DOUBLE TAKE
Both the first and second Rocket goals went under review by the officials.

The first goal went under a lengthy review before being declared a goal. Marco Cousineau was furious and thought that he had been interfered with. But sense you cannot review goaltender interference we are not really sure why it was reviewed. Kicking motion?

The second goal hit something on the way in and was reviewed to see if it was tipped by a high stick. It wasn’t, and the Rocket took a 2-1 lead.

IMPORTANT NOTICE
Sea Dogs playoff bracelets were given out at the door and were, of course, sponsored by Bell Aliant FibreOP. The bracelets were of the same style as the Lance Armstrong cancer rings that were all the rage a few years ago.

It really felt like 2006 when a young fan was spotted holding some thunder sticks.

CRAZY STAT TIME
Four of Saint John’s 13 regulation loses (playoff and regular season loses) this year have been against PEI. Three of those four wins by PEI were at Harbour Station. The only home win for the Rocket was a 4-0 shutout win thanks to current Saint John net minder Marco Cousineau.

Saint John is 3-1 at the Charlottetown Civic Centre this season. They have a league best road record of 27-5-1-1.

IT COULD BE WORSE
If you are still feeling down about the loss, here are a few things that will make you think twice prior to jumping out a window.

• Saint John could be Calgary Hitmen, who are down 2-0 in a best-of-seven series against the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Hitmen finished the season ranked fifth in the country while the Warriors snuck into the post-season with the eighth seed in the conference.
• “Greatbiggeek” sent us this on Twitter: @station_nation I was at the game last night, one of the few Rocket fans in the building. Sea Dogs org knows how to give fans there $ worth!
• The Dogs could also be the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, who have played about one period of hockey in two games against the Moncton Wildcats.

SCHEMBRI GETS ROCKED
“Rock the Schembri” must be PEI’s playoff slogan. Jordan Southorn destroyed the Saint John call-up with a huge hit along the boards late in the third. Christian Morin wanted to fight Southorn after the hit but it was broken up.

Schembri was okay and played a solid game in his Dogs debut. He had no points, no shots, was a -1, and laid three hits.

“I play a physical style,” said Schembri in the Sea Dogs Game Day program.

ODD MOVE
Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant has shown us this year that he isn’t afraid to use the bizarre. He did it again on Saturday. The Dogs pulled Marco Cousineau at 17:40 of the third period in exchange for Karel St. Laurent in order to squeeze in a mini time-out.

SEADOGSTV HIGHLIGHTS


QUICK HITS
Former Sea Dog forward Alexandre Leduc was in the house. Leduc was traded earlier this season due to Mike Hoffman and Nicholas Petersen returning to junior… Steven Anthony turns 19-years old today… this will be the first opening round series that has gone longer than four games for Saint John… the big line of Hoffman, Stanislav Galiev, and Nicholas Petersen were all -3 on the night… former Dog Chris DiDomenico is tied for the league lead in playoff scoring with two goals and five assists in two games... Cleve's Source For Sports has a nice Sea Dogs display in their window... Evam Mosher could be seen puting chalk on his hands in the first period. He didn't do the Lebron James chalk shower move though... the new intro video is one of the better ones.

TICKET INFO
Game five playoff tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at Harbour Station at 10:00 am.

NEXT GAME
Game three goes Tuesday as the series heads to PEI for the first of two games. Game time is 7:00 pm.

TRASK GETS 15 GAMES FOR HEAD SHOT

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Disciplinary Prefect, Raymond Bolduc, today announced that Moncton Wildcats left-winger Scott Trask has been suspended fifteen games for a hit to the head involving Saint John Sea Dogs forward Aidan Kelly. The incident occurred last Sunday in Moncton.

"The bar has been set, and we will continue to be very stern regarding hits to the head. The safety and well-being of our players is the main focus of the League’s efforts," said QMJHL Commissioner Gilles Courteau. "We remain in contact with the Sea Dogs in order to get updates on Aidan’s health and progress."

Kelly suffered a concussion on the hit and is questionable for the remainder of the post-season. The hit came as the 16-year old was skating across the blue line, where Trask stuck his shoulder and eventually his elbow up to Kelly's head.

The decision was rendered after reviewing the videotape of the incident, gathering the testimonies of the players and members of both organizations, reading the official’s report and consulting the independent committee in the matter of disciplinary sanctions.

The game was also broadcast live coast-to-coast in Canada and in the United States on television.

The Disciplinary Prefect will not be available for further comment.

-with files from the QMJHL

ROCKET PULL OFF THE UPSET YET AGAIN

STATION NATION RECAP
FINAL: Rocket 6, Sea Dogs 3

SAINT JOHN – It was another disturbing loss to the Prince Edward Island Rocket.

The Rocket dropped the top ranked Saint John Sea Dogs 6-3 on Saturday night at Harbour Station in a bizarre game. PEI fell behind, took a big lead, and then almost lost it.

But the disturbing fact lies behind the score sheet. The Sea Dogs have now lost 13 regulation games this season, four of them being against PEI. Another strange note is that three of those four wins have been at Harbour Station, a venue that the home team has lost only eight times at.
With the victory, the Rocket tie the best-of-seven round one series at one game apiece. Game three goes Tuesday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre. Saint John is 0-1 all-time in game five games with this being the first round on match that has gone more than four games.

PEI used some kind of mystical powers to defeat the number one team in the QMJHL. It wasn’t that the Sea Dogs played bad for most of the night, but they just didn’t play their game, something that cost the Rocket in game one on Friday night.

Saint John took six penalties on the night with PEI scoring once. With so many penalties taken throughout the game, the Dogs seemed to be dysfunctional and didn’t play in sync with each other. There were all lot of missed passes and unorganized plays on the night which is not something the Dogs have been known for this year.

But the Rocket need to be given a lot of credit. They played the way they needed to play in order to beat the Sea Dogs. PEI was able to withstand the Sea Dogs’ storm thanks to some sensational play from starting goaltender Evan Mosher. PEI took advantage on their chances, beating the Sea Dogs on their own mistakes in the defensive zone.

Jarrad Struthers and Benjamin Casavant netted two for the winners while singles came from Louis-Philippe Lacroix and Jonathan Bonneau. Saint John got goals from Zach Phillips, Nicholas Petersen, and Mike Hoffman.

Mosher made 44 saves in net while Marco Cousineau stopped 30 of 35 shots he faced.

Saint John went 1/6 on the power play.

FIRST PERIOD
The pace inthe first period was excellent with both teams trading chances. The first whistle of the game didn’t come until the game was over five minutes old.

Chuckie Schembri, making his Saint John debut, missed his man at the blue line and collided hard with his team mate Zach Phillips. Both would be okay.

At 7:28 Samson Mahbod went to the box for PEI. Saint John had some good control and pressure with the puck on the power play. Tomas Jurco had the best chance in front but couldn’t jam in the puck. Kevin Gagne took a holding penalty at 10:49 but the Rocket couldn’t capitalize.

With Michael Kirkpatrick and Jonathan Huberdeau in the box at 18:31, Jarrad Strauthers was robbed at the side of the net with a huge glove save by Cousineau. Eric Bouchard had another good chance just as the buzzer sounded by the Saint John net minder extended his leg to make the block.

Shots in the first were 15-11 for the Port City.

SECOND PERIOD
Jonathan Bonneau hit Nicholas Petersen at the blue line at 3:00 and got called for interference. On the man advantage, Kirkpatrick sent a shot from the faceoff circle that was stopped by Mosher but the puck floated behind the goaltender. The puck was batted out of the air by Petersen but it sat on the line and didn’t cross.

On the same power play, Zach Phillips opened up the scoring at 4:56. Phillips looked like he was going to pass but shot instead, beating Mosher five hole from just below the faceoff dot.

At 12:16, Struthers and Simon Despres took penalties. Then at 13:37, Nathan Beaulieu took a questionable boarding penalty. PEI called a time-out to work out a game plan for the four-on-three chance and it seemed to work.

Struthers tied the game at 14:26 after a wrist shot from the faceoff circle was stopped by Cousineau. Struthers picked up the rebound and beat the former Rocket goalie down low. Cousineau looked to be interfered with and the goal went under a lengthy review but the call stood.

Less than a minute later at 15:09, a point shot was deflected in by Washington Capitals prospect Benjamin Casavant to give the Rocket their first lead of the series. The goal went under review to see of it was put in with a high stick but was ruled a goal.

After a solid Saint John penalty kill, PEI increased their lead to two goals. Jonathan Bonneau sent a wrist shot on goal from just inside the blue line that beat a screened Cousineau to make it a 3-1 PEI lead.

Shots in the middle stanza were 16-12 Rocket.

THIRD PERIOD
After an awful power play by the Sea Dogs came to an end, Jonathan Huberdeau gave a no look pass from behind the net to Stephen MacAulay but was denied by Mosher.

At 11:27, Struthers scored his second of the game to give PEI a big 4-1 lead. After a turnover, the Rocket broke in on a two-on-one with Pierre Durepos the only man back. Struthers kept the puck and beat Cousineau on a hard wrist shot over the glove.

As if a three goal lead wasn’t bad enough for the Dogs, just 16 seconds later Casavant scored on a broken play by beating Cousineau on a weak little wrist shot that snuck through. As the Rocket players rejoiced in the corner, Sea Dogs fans headed for the exit.

But hold on. With just under seven minutes to go, Jordon Southorn absolutely rocked Schembri along the boards. It was a massive hit that featured the 19-year old Saint John call-up going head-over-heels. Southorn was given a major penalty and a game misconduct.

On that power play, Petersen found the back of the net at 15:34 for his first of the post-season. Petersen managed to find the loose puck on a scramble in front and beat a flopping Mosher in his crease.

Jurco had a good chance in close but was stopped followed by Mosher robbing Kirkpatrick with the leather.

But Hoffman finally beat Mosher at 17:40 with a points shot that somehow got through a large amount of traffic. On the same play, head coach Gerard Gallant put Cousineau on the bench in exchange for Karel St. Laurent in order to give his team a small time-out.

With St. Laurent on the bench, Jurco had a wide open cage on a one timer but Mosher came up huge with a cross crease pad save.

PEI iced the game at 18:51 when Louis-Philippe Lacroix sent a long floater towards the empty Saint John goal to make it a 6-3 final.

NOTES: See Station Nation later today for all the notes from a wild one at Harbour Station.

NEXT GAME: Game three goes Tuesday in Charlottetown in a the now best-of-five series. Game time is 7:00 pm.

SCHEMBRI CALLED UP TO FILL VOID

Saint John Sea Dogs Director of Hockey Operations Mike Kelly announced today that the team has called up forward Chuckie Schembri from the Dieppe Commandos of the MJAHL.

Dieppe was swept out of Kent Cup contention by the Woodstock Slammers earlier this month. Schembri recorded one assist and eleven penalty minutes in the series.

The call-up comes after the Sea Dogs played a forward short last night against the PEI Rocket in game one of their first round playoff series. Mike Thomas will serve the final game of his suspension tonight and Aiden Kelly will not play due to a concussion.

Schembri will likely be sent back home after Thomas returns on Tuesday night.

A native of Brampton, ON, Schembri has registered 25G-34A-59P in 149 career MJAHL games, all with the Dieppe/Moncton franchise.

The 5’10”, 170 lb. winger has also appeared in six games at the major junior level, having tallied 1G-1A-2P-4PIM in brief stints with the Moncton Wildcats (5GP, 2008-09) and Halifax Moosheads (1GP, 2009-10).

He recently participated in the Halifax Mooseheads’ training camp after a stint with the Moncton Wildcats. That’s when things went a wrong.

On September 16, 2009, Schembri was sent home by the Mooseheads for disciplinary reasons. It was later revealed that it was due to incident on a road trip to Cape Breton.

"I was treated fairly," Schembri said to Metro Halifax. "I made a mistake that at that level you just can't do. And being 19, I don't get second chances. It's too bad I didn't really even get a chance to prove anything on the ice. But that is no one's fault but my own and I have only great things to say about the coaching staff and the organization."

PRE-GAME: Game Two vs PEI

GAME DAY
2010 Presidents Cup Playoffs – Round One
Game Two: PEI Rocket vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Harbour Station

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

PRE-GAME PREVIEW
This is a huge game for the Prince Edward Island Rocket tonight at Harbour Station. Not only would a split in Saint John boost morale, but a win would put PEI bcak in the series as it heads back to Charlottetown on Tuesday.

The Rocket got destroyed last night at Harbour Station against a team they have played well against this season. Saint John did everything right and had their offense rolling on all cylinders. The neutral zone trap that PEI has used to stop the Dogs’ attack this season was nowhere to be found.

PEI net minder Evan Mosher struggled in goal, letting out several rebounds that produced goals for the Dogs. At the other end, Marco Cousineau was solid when called on upon.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
The consensus pick for this series is Sea Dogs in five games.

KNOW THE TEAMS

Visiting Team: PEI Rocket
Playoff Record: 0-1
Playoff Leading Scorer: Samson Mahbod (1GP-0G-2A-2Pts)
Reg. Season Record: 35-25-2-6 (4th Atlantic, 8th QMJHL)
Record vs Saint John: 3-5-0-0
Record on the Road: 18-11-0-5 (7th)
All-Time Playoff Record: 19-34-0
Power Play: 19.6% (10th)
Penalty Kill: 81.0% (7th)
Reg. Season Leading Scorer: Samson Mahbod (52GP-20G-44A-64P)
Expected Starting Goaltender: Evan Mosher (21-13 record, 3.13 G.A.A., 0.904 SV%)
NHL Draft Picks: Jordon Southorn (Bufflao), and Benjamin Casavant (Washington)

Home Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
Playoff Record: 1-0
Playoff Leading Scorer: Tomas Jurco (1GP-1G-2A-3Pts); Michael Kirkpatrick (1GP-1G-2A-3Pts)
Reg. Season Record: 53-12-1-2 (1st Atlantic, 1st QMJHL)
Record vs PEI: 5-3-0-0
Record at Home: 26-7-0-1 (3rd)
All-Time Playoff Record: 9-10-0
Power Play: 24.3% (5th)
Penalty Kill: 78.8% (10th)
Reg. Season Leading Scorer: Mike Hoffman (56GP-46G-39A-85P)
Expected Starting Goaltender: Marco Cousineau (25-19 record, 2.82 G.A.A., 0.919 SV%)
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 5-3.

Sep 23, 2009: PEI Rocket 6 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 1
Oct 13, 2009: Saint John Sea Dogs 0 @ PEI Rocket 4
Oct 18, 2009: PEI Rocket 2 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 5
Dec 02, 2009: Saint John Sea Dogs 4 @ PEI Rocket 1
Dec 11, 2009: Saint John Sea Dogs 4 @ PEI Rocket 1
Dec 29, 2009: PEI Rocket 2 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 5
March 2, 2010: PEI Rocket 3 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 1
March 12, 2010: Saint John Sea Dogs 4 @ PEI Rocket 0

Rocket Leading Scorer vs Saint John: Benjamin Casavant (8GP-4G-2A-6Pts)
Sea Dogs Leading Scorer vs PEI: Nicholas Petersen (7GP-5G-5A-10Pts)

TALE OF THE TAPE
HOCKEYFIGHTS.COM
Sep 23, 2009: Matthew Hobbs vs Mike Thomas
Oct 13, 2009: Brendan Wright vs Mike Thomas
Oct 13, 2009: Louis-Philippe Lacroix vs Benjamin Lecomte
Dec 11, 2009: Brendan Wright vs Mike Thomas

CRAZY FACT
After finishing the season with a +46 rating, Nicholas Petersen was a -1 in game one.

SAINT JOHN LINE-UP NOTES
Mike Thomas is serving the final game of a six game suspension.

Aiden Kelly suffered a concussion last Sunday against Moncton and will not play.

Saint John Sea Dogs Director of Hockey Operations Mike Kelly announced today that the team has called up 19-year old forward Chuckie Schembri from the Dieppe Commandos (MJAHL). Dieppe was swept out of Kent Cup contention by the Woodstock Slammers earlier this month. Schembri recorded one assist and eleven penalty minutes in the series.

Marco Cousineau is expected to start in goal.

COACHES CORNER
Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant in the Telegraph-Journal:

"We got pucks to the net and that's what we talked about in our game plan,'' Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant said. "They came out pretty good in the first five minutes and we had some trouble, but we got some early goals and that makes a big difference.”

PLAYOFF HISTORY
Saint John Sea Dogs playoff record since 2005:
2005-06 - Did not qualify.
2006-07 - Did not qualify.
2007-08 - Defeated P.E.I. 4-0 in first round, defeated Acadie-Bathurst 4-2 in second roud, lost to Rouyn-Noranda 4-0 in President’s Cup semifinal.
2008-09 - Lost to Cape Breton 4-0 in first round.

P.E.I. Playoff Results since 2003-04:
2003-04 - Defeated Quebec 4-1, lost to Moncton 4-3 in second round.
2004-05 - Did not qualify.
2005-06 - Lost to Acadie-Bathurst 4-2 in first round.
2006-07 - Lost to Acadie-Bathurst 4-3 in first round.
2007-08 - Lost to Saint John 4-0 in first round.
2008-09 - Lost to Moncton 4-1 in first round.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The Sea Dogs are 2-2 all-time in game two games.
• Steven Anthony and Stephen MacAulay were the only Saint John forwards held pointless last night. Both are Halifax area natives and both have the same first name.
• Nathan Beaulieu has a 100% shooting percentage entering tonight’s game.
• It will be interesting to see who starts in goal tonight. Evan Mosher started the game last night but Wendell Vye came in to start the third. Mosher allowed six goals on 31 shots.
• PEI beat Saint John 29-28 on face-offs last night.
• Guardian reporter Charles Reid is taking his show on the road this weekend. He will bless Rocket fans with a live blog from Harbour Station. If you can’t go to the game – read it.

MEDIA RELATIONS
Newspapers: Saint John- Telegraph-Journal; PEI- The Guardian
Radio: Saint John- News 88.9; PEI- peirocket.com
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
The series heads to the Island for game three on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm.

SEA DOGS POST-GAME NOTEBOOK

SEA DOGS –ROCKET GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: PEI 3, Saint John 8
Saint John Goals: Mike Hoffman (1), Jonathan Huberdeau (1), Stanislav Galiev (1), Nicholas Pard (1), Nathan Beaulieu (1), Tomas Jurco (1), Michael Kirkpatrick (1), and Pierre Durepos (1)
PEI Goals: Louis-Philippe Lacroix (1), Michael Stinziani (1), and Jimmy Oligny (1)
Winning Goaltender: SNB – Marco Cousineau (1-0-0)
Losing Goaltender: PEI – Evan Mosher (0-1-0)
News 88.9 Top Dog: Nicholas Pard (shout-out to Stanislav Galiev)

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Rocket: 2/6, Sea Dogs: 3/5
Shots on Goal: Rocket: 11+10+10=31, Sea Dogs: 16+15+10=41
Attendance: 4,218

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Mike Thomas served the fifth game of his six game suspension that he received two weeks ago against the Moncton Wildcats’ Alex Wall. According to the Times & Transcript, Wall is out indefinitely.

Aiden Kelly missed the game because of a concussion he received after a blow to the head from Moncton’s Scott Trask last Sunday.

Defenseman Gabriel Bourret was inserted into the lineup to fill the void up front.

PRE-GAME STUFF
Before the game last night, there was a pre-game ceremony awarding the Sea Dogs two league trophies.

The Commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Gilles Courteau, was on hand to present the Jean-Rougeau Trophy to the regular season champion Sea Dogs prior to their first playoff game. Saint John also received the Luc-Robitaille Trophy during pre-game festivities.

"After finishing the 2008-09 campaign with 34 wins, the Sea Dogs closed out the year with 53 victories and captured their first regular season championship with 109 points. I would like to congratulate the players, the front office, the coaching staff and the support staff for their extraordinary season. Finally, I would like to thank the fans for their unwavering support. Saint John is quickly becoming one of the League’s premier markets," commented the Commissioner in a release.

Lisa Savidant of Irving Oil and Mike Harroun of Moosehead Breweries were on hand to present the Luc-Robitaille Trophy (highest total of goals scored during the regular season) to Sea Dogs captain Mike Thomas. Saint John registered a league-high 309 markers this season.

The Sea Dogs captain looked quite funny standing next to the man who officially suspended him and smiling for pictures. Thomas didn’t touch either trophy.

Several Rocket fans chose not to stand up and clap for the accomplishment. We were not surprised though, with one wearing a Tampa Bay Rays hat and the other a Washington Nationals lid.

SOLID GAME ONE
After playing close to a month of uninspired hockey, the Saint John Sea Dogs showed that they were anxious to get the playoffs rolling.

The Dogs did everything right and shut the PEI Rocket’s trap system down that has worked well against Saint John this season.

“I think we had a bit of a spark tonight,” said Michael Kirkpatrick to The Guardian. “Going into tonight we wanted to set the tone.”

The Sea Dogs set the tone early. After Mike Hoffman made it 1-0 quickly on a point shot, the Rocket had some great chances in the Sea Dogs zone but failed to score. But late in the third, the Rocket collapsed and allowed three straight goals.

“(Saint John was) a little bit lucky. One goal went in off a skate,” said Michael Stinziani who had one goal for PEI. “But give them credit. Saint John is a tough offensive team and we can’t give them 41 shots.”

"We got pucks to the net and that's what we talked about in our game plan,'' Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant to the Telegraph-Journal. "They came out pretty good in the first five minutes and we had some trouble, but we got some early goals and that makes a big difference.''

"We wanted to get on them early,'' Mike Hoffman said. "That first one was key. We had a power play and took advantage of it and I think that helped out for the rest of the game. When we finished the first period up 4-0, we didn't want to let up.”

Saint John leads the best-of-seven series 1-0.

GOOD GOALIE, BAD GOALE
The score may not indicate it, but Sea Dog goalie Marco Cousineau was excellent in the Saint John crease.

"There were some point-blank chances in the first period,'' Gallant said. "He had to make some big saves for us early.''

“Cousey made a couple of big saves. It was a big moment in the game,” said Stinziani. “Instead of 1-1, it’s 3-0.”

Evan Mosher was good early on, but seemed to get shakier as the game went on. Several goals came off big rebounds that had him out of position. He allowed six goals on 31 shots. Wendell Vye relieved him to start the third, but he allowed two goals on 10 shots.

BUSINESS TIME
Comment from today’s Guardian game story:

Rodney Shea from Not ctown, PEI writes: Beautiful,,,absolutely BEAUTIFUL

ROCKET FANS IN THE HOUSE
The PEI fan bus made the trip down this weekend and had a large contingent of fans sitting in the corner. They all gathered around the tunnel before warm-up and cheered on “their boys.” They also had some chants going all evening.

BUSINESS TIME
Bell Aliant FibreOp must have spent close to half their advertising budget on this year’s playoffs.
From programs to posters, to pillars, banners, and commercials, FibreOP was everywhere.

THE LITTLE BIG LINE
The line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Michael Kirkpatrick, and Tomas Jurco was fabulous all night. The line combined for three goals, four assists, and was a combined +5.

The real big line of Stanislav Galiev, Mike Hoffman, and Nicholas Petersen combined for two goals, two assists, and was a combined +3.

The Rocket tried to get under the skin of the top line through some physical play. Samson Mahbod tried to land a huge hit on his former team mate Hoffman. In the third, Hoffman and Jordan Southorn almost got into a scrap but ended with the Dogs forward pointing to the score clock.

SEADOGSTV HIGHLIGHTS


CHSJ NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
If you have ever wanted to see the Harbour Station press box in action, check out this video.


BUSINESS TIME
The fan of the game needs to be given a playoff ticket pass.

Brendan (I think that was his name) was a dancing machine and was up and out if his seat during every stoppage in play in section “T.” He had the entre “ScotiaZone” up on their feet and dancing.

Well done son, will done.

QUICK HITS
Mike Hoffman ran into the referee in the third period, making his whistle fall of his finger… rally towels were given out at the door and created a nice air current on a hot day in the S.J… the Sea dogs have switched back to their white jersey’s from the first half. The Rocket wore their road reds… UNBSJ sponsored the game, which meant there would be at least one person decked out in strange attire. There was a a guy was dressed as a baby… former Sea Dogs Pascal Amyot (who is a nominee for the QMJHL’s scholastic award) and Alexandre Labonte were at the game… the loudest cheer of the night came when the score of Moncton game (trailing 3-1 at the time) came over the P.A. They scored five straight to win the game… Nicholas Petersen was a +46 in the regular season – a team high. Last night he was a -1… the wave made its way around Harbour Station for about two minutes… the slogan for this year’s playoffs is “Sea Dogs Nation, Lets Rock The Station”… Sea Dogs president Wayne Long was looking for over 5,000 in attendance for this game. He was 800 folks short.

NEXT GAME
The Rocket remain in Saint John for game two of the best-of-seven first round playoff series. Game time is today at 7:00 pm in Saint John. The Dogs lead the series 1-0.