Here are some of the unreal plays from the Victoriaville Tigres - Saint John Sea Dogs second round playoff series. Some great goals and great saves are included in the highlight pack.
Thanks to Chris Phillips from HockeyFights.com for the upload.
Showing posts with label Victoriaville Tigres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Victoriaville Tigres. Show all posts
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
MOVING ON UP
FINAL: Sea Dogs 3, Tigres 2
VICTORIAVILLE, Que. – The Victoriaville Tigres put up quite a fight, but at the end of the day, they just couldn’t handle the Saint John Sea Dogs.
The Sea Dogs climbed back from a two-goal first period deficit, scoring three unanswered goals en route to a 4-1 series win in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League quarter-final playoff series. The team will open up the semi-finals next Friday at Harbour Station.
Zack Phillips scored twice and Stanislav Galiev added the other. Jonathan Huberdeau had a pair of assists. Goaltender Jacob DeSerres made some huge stops to keep momentum going in his team’s favour, making a total of 22 stops on the night.
Brandon Hynes and Carl-Antoine Delisle scored for Victoriaville. Davod Honzik put on his nightly goaltending clinic, stopping 42 shots in the loss.
It was certainly a close and hard fought series, especially considering the Tigres were the 11th-seeded team going into the playoffs. But the underdogs of the President’s Cup playoffs proved their first round sweep of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan was no fluke, taking the nation’s top-ranked team to five games – including three one-goal affairs.
The Tigres deserve a lot of credit – especially Honzik. The 17-year old has gone from a no-name backstop to one of the fastest rising goaltenders from the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
Saint John battled through some adversity in this series, an experience that should help them as the playoffs progress.
The win puts the Sea Dogs into the semi-finals for the third time in four years.
FIRST PERIOD
Brandon Hynes opened the scoring at 1:21. Then Carl-Antoine Delisle made it 2-0 at 6:32.
Saint John had a better second half to the period but were unable to beat David Honzik in the Tigres’ crease. Whatever.
Shots were 14-8 Saint John in the opening stanza.
SECOND PERIOD
The Sea Dogs opened the period on a power play that carried over from the first frame but could not connect.
Finally, at 1:13, a two-on-one for Saint John developed. Jonathan Huberdeau slid the puck ahead to Zack Phillips who ripped a wrist shot past Honzik to make it a 2-1 game.
Danick Gauthier headed off for checking Brandon Hynes from behind at 3:26. While shorthanded, Stephen MacAulay fed Simon Despres at the side of the cage but was robbed by Honzik. Victoriaville then had an opportunity as a huge scrum ensued in the Sea Dogs crease but they could not beat DeSerres.
Back at even strength, Saint John would tie the game. At 5:38, Gauthier was still buzzing around the penalty box area. He then sent a pass over to Stanislav Galiev who backhanded a shot past Honzik to make it a 2-2 match.
Tomas Jurco took a penalty at 6:26 for roughing but the Tigres couldn’t connect. When the penalty expired, Steven Anthony had a step on a Tigres defender but was denied by a huge pad stop by Honzik.
The Sea Dogs had another man advantage chance at 11:03 with Samuel Groulx in the box. On the power play, the puck was centered for Huberdeau in the crease but he couldn’t get lumber on the disc.
After the Tigres couldn’t connect on yet another power play, some four-on-four play took place at 17:27 following some rough stuff. During that span, Michael Kirkpatrick broke free and cut through the crease but was stopped nicely by Honzik.
Late in the frame, Gauthier had a partial break but was interfered with and taken down. There would be no penalty called in the play.
Shots were 14-5 Saint John in the second period.
THIRD PERIOD
Saint John kept things rolling as the third period started. Honzik made a dangerous play with the puck and turned the puck over, allowing Jurco to have a wide open net but cranked it off the crossbar. Then, Anthony dropped the disc for Kevin Gagne who was denied by the pads of Honzik.
MacAulay headed off for high sticking at 4:07. On the man advantage, Phillip Maillet got around a Saint John defenseman but was stopped by DeSerres in close.
After the man advantage chance, Victoriaville started to put some pressure on as DeSerres made some ridiculous paddle stop in the crease. Then, Bohumil Jank let a long shot that went off DeSerres’ head and stayed out.
Finally, at 12:54, Saint John made the comeback complete by taking the lead. Phillips fed Galiev as they entered the zone and then he fed Huberdeau at the side. Huberdeau threaded a cross crease pass to Phillips who went upstairs on Honzik to give the Dogs a 3-2 lead.
Saint John had a couple of chances after that as Jurco went in on an odd man rush but hit the legs of Troy Vance. Then, Mike Thomas hit the post later on.
Honzik was pulled for the final minute but the Tigres couldn’t pull off another late miracle, falling 3-2 in the game and 4-1 in the series.
Shots in the third period were 17-11 Sea Dogs.
NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs open up the semi-finals next Friday at 7:30 pm at Harbour Station.
Photo Credit: Marc Grandmaison
PRE-GAME: Game Five at Victoriaville Tigres
GAME DAY
President’s Cup Playoffs - Round 2, Game 5
Saint John Sea Dogs vs Victoriaville Tigres
Tonight, April 15, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Colisee Desjardins
The top-seeded Saint John Sea Dogs currently lead the 11th-seeded Victoriaville Tigres 3-1 in the best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series.
PREVIEW
VICTORIAVILLE, Que. – The Saint John Sea Dogs can book their trip to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League semi-finals with a win tonight in Game Five of their quarter-final series against the Victoriaville Tigres.
Saint John currently leads the series 3-1 following an entertaining 5-4 overtime victory in Game Four on Wednesday at Colisee Desjardins. The Tigres scored first but the Sea Dogs quickly took a 2-1 lead. The rest of the match would be back-and-forth with Victoriaville always finding a way to even the game up.
Despite a resilient effort, Jonathan Huberdeau ended any chances of a Victoriaville win when he tapped home a Stanislav Galiev rebound to give the Dogs an extra time win. Also scoring for Saint John was Jason Cameron, Eric Gelinas, Stephan MacAulay, and Tomas Jurco. The Tigres had markers from Phillip Danault, Benjamin Laliberte, Philippe Maillet, and Brandon Hynes.
Both goaltenders were excellent as they have been all series long. Jacob DeSerres made 24 saves for the win while 17-year old import David Honzik made 39 stops in the loss.
The Tigres will likely come out flying tonight as they have for much of the series. Saint John will have to match their intensity level and play a solid game. One of the issues in Game Four was that the Sea Dogs continued to let Victoriaville get back in the match and never took a two-goal lead at any point.
"They're not going to lay down and our team will be ready to play and hopefully wrap it up, but it won't be easy," Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said to Sportsnet.ca. "It will be the toughest one."
It has been a hard fought series with two of the four games being decided by one goal. Whatever it is that Victoriaville is doing – it’s working. After sweeping the sixth-seeded Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the first round, the 11th-seeded Tigres are have done extremely well against the nation’s top-ranked team.
If the Sea Dogs are unable to end this series tonight, Game Six is Monday at Harbour Station.
REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS
| Victoriaville | Saint John | |
| Record | 35-29-1-3 (3rd East) | 58-7-1-2 (1st Maritimes) |
| Home Record | - - - | 32-0-1-1 |
| Road Record | 19-13-1-1 | - - - |
| Streak | 0-3-0-0 | 2-0-0-0 |
| Last 10 | 5-5-0-0 | 8-2-0-0 |
| Goals For | 256 | 324 |
| Goals Against | 240 | 165 |
| Goals/Game | 3.76 (6th) | 4.76 (1st) |
| Goals Against/Game | 3.53 (12th) | 2.43 (1st) |
| Shots/Game | 31.16 (6th) | 36.81 (1st) |
| Shots Against/Game | 30.24 (10th) | 26.96 (5th) |
| Overall PP | 22.1% (11th) | 25.1% (6th) |
| Home PP | - - - | 24.4% (8th) |
| Road PP | 25.4% (6th) | - - - |
| Overall PK | 75.0% (16th) | 83.7% (1st) |
| Home PK | - - - | 86.1% (1st) |
| Road PK | 75.9% (14th) | - - - |
| PIM/GAME | 14.0 (11th) | 13.1 (13th) |
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game One – Tigres 1, Sea Dogs 4
Game Two – Tigres 3, Sea Dogs 3
Game Three – Sea Dogs 6, Tigres 3
Game Four – Sea Dogs 5, Tigres 4 (OT)
Game Five - Friday, April 15, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
*Game Six – Monday, April 18 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
*Game Seven – Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
*if necessary
ABOUT HONZIK
The human stop sign, David Honzik, has been Victoriaville’s best player so far in the post-season. Scott Briggs had a solid feature on the import netminder in yesterday’s Telegraph-Journal.
"He's used to big games,'' Tigres head coach Yanick Jean said. "When everybody's emotion goes high, his kind of goes low. He's more focused and more in his own world (under pressure).''
EARNING RESPECT
Patrick King of Rogers Sportsnet had a good article on the surprising Tigres yesterday.
Brandon Hynes on goaltender David Honzik:
"Since he's came here he's just been on a constant climb," Hynes said. "I've never seen a goalie like this in my career. He gives us a chance to win."
STILL STREAKING
Jonathan Huberdeau’s goal streak was in jeopardy of ending on Wednesday night, but a clutch overtime marker kept the streak going.
Huberdeau has now scored in seven straight playoff games. The only game he failed to score in was the opening match of round one against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, a game in which he had four assists.
In just eight playoff games, the 17-year old sniper has 10 goals and nine helpers.
IF LEWISTON WINS TONIGHT
The Lewiston MAINEiacs have been a pleasant surprise in the second round of the 2011 President’s Cup Playoffs. The eighth-seeded Maineiacs are one-win away from pulling off a large upset over the second-seeded Montreal Juniors.
Lewiston currently leads the series 3-1 with Game Five tonight at 8:05 pm in Verdun.
A Lewiston win tonight will propel them into the semi-finals. With the team being the lowest seeded team remaining (assuming Saint John moves on, eliminating Victoriaville), they would play Saint John in the third round.
OTHER GAMES
Shawinigan at Quebec - 7:00 PM EDT
Saint John at Victoriaville - 7:00 PM EDT
Lewiston at Montreal - 7:05 PM EDT
Gatineau at Drummondville - 7:30 PM EDT
THE RINK
Venue: Colisee Desjardins
Capacity: 2,933
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 2,551
Playoff Average Attendance: 2,484
QMJHL Arena Guide
MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Telegraph-Journal, La Nouvelle Union
Live Coverage: There will be no SN Live Coverage of tonight’s game.
AFTER THE BUZZER
If Victoriaville wins tonight, Game Six will be Monday night at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.
Photo Credits: Tigres website, Google
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
HUBERDEAU ENDS WILD GAME FOUR
FINAL (OT): Sea Dogs 5, Tigres 4
VICTORIAVILLE, Que. – It took over 63 minutes for Jonathan Huberdeau to be credited with a shot on goal, but the Saint John Sea Dogs’ leading scorer made the best of his lone chance.
Huberdeau netted the overtime winner at 3:04 of the extra frame, giving Saint John a 5-4 win over the Victoriaville Tigres and a 3-1 series lead in the best-of-seven quarter-final playoff matchup. Game Five, which could be the final affair of the series, is Friday night at Colisee Desjardins.
It was a wild back-and-forth game that seemed destined for overtime after the teams were deadlocked at 2-2 after both the first and second period. The Tigres scored first but the Sea Dogs quickly retook the lead. That would pretty much be the story of this game as no matter how many times the Dogs went ahead, Victoriaville always stayed calm and evened the match in no time.
The Tigres’ big players came to play tonight as Phillip Danault, Benjamin Laliberte, Brandon Hynes, and Philippe Maillet all scored. David Honzik was David Honzik, making 39 saves in the loss.
Besides Huberdeau’s game-winner, the Dogs had goals courtesy of Jason Cameron, Eric Gelinas, Stephen MacAulay, and Tomas Jurco. Mike Thomas and Pierre Durepos each had two assists while goaltender Jacob DeSerres made 24 saves in the win.
The Sea Dogs certainly didn’t play perfect but still played well. One of the obvious negatives for Saint John was that they kept allowing the Tigres to get back into the game and were never able to gain a two-goal lead.
If Game Five is anything like the first four, it should be an entertaining match.
FIRST PERIOD
Victoriaville had all the pressure early on. They had a two-on-one chance just a few minutes into the game but Nathan Beaulieu got down to block the centering pass.
The Tigres opened the scoring at 2:21. The puck was fed to Phillip Danualt in front who who beat Sea Dogs netminder Jacob DeSerres to make it a 1-0 affair.
But the Sea Dogs would respond to that goal not too long after. At 3:32, Jason Cameron was in behind the goal battling for the puck. He then walked out to the bottom rim of the faceoff circle and ripped a shot past David Honzik to tie the match at 1-1.
Danick Gauthier had a good chance following the goal but was robbed by the leg of Honzik. Then, Guillaume Naud was at the side of the Sea Dogs net but was stopped by DeSerres.
There was some four-on-four action at 6:04 following some rough stuff. During that span at 6:43, Jonathan Huberdeau entered the zone on a breakaway but hit the post. The puck was cleared to the line where Eric Gelinas kept it in. Gelinas fired the puck on net and it slid past Honzik to give Saint John a 2-1 edge.
Not long after the goal, Stanislav Galiev was breaking away but was hauled down and awarded a penalty shot. On his free attempt, Galiev made a pretty sick move, one-handed the puck on net but just hit the top of Honzik’s leg and stayed out.
Victoriaville kept on rolling though despite the Saint John chances. On a delayed penalty call at 10:05, Phillip Maillet centered the puck from behind the goal line to Benjamin Laliberte in front to make it a 2-2 game.
After missing on their first man advantage moments earlier, Saint John went to the power play at 16:29. Their best chance came when Simon Despres sent a pass down low to Huberdeau at the side of the cage but was denied.
Beaulieu ended the Dogs’ power play at 17:55 as he was whistled for slashing. The Tigres had plenty of puck control but few chances to score.
Shots in the first period were 13-11 Saint John.
SECOND PERIOD
The Sea Dogs went to the power play at 2:10 as Lalieberte headed off for tripping. The best chance for the Sea Dogs came on a Gelinas point shot through some traffic that was easily stopped by the eagle-eyed Honzik.
Back at even strength, Vincent Marcoux sent a cross crease pass to Goulet who just missed the puck on his follow through. After that chance, Saint John really turned up the pressure.
Danick Gautier tried to breakaway but fell and then had the puck taken away from him by a Victoriaville defender. Then, Beaulieu had a clear shooting lane from the dot but riffled a shot just wide of the net.
At 11:56, the Sea Dogs rushed up ice and threw the puck on net. A streaking Scott Oke beat the fallen Honzik to give, it appeared, Saint John a 2-1 lead. But there was a delayed penalty on the play against the Tigres, and for some reason, even though the Dogs had the puck, the whistle blew and the goal was not allowed.
On the ensuing Sea Dogs man advantage, a bouncing puck found Tomas Jurco at the side but he couldn’t get enough on the shot to make it accurate. Then, Mike Thomas dove for a loose puck at the side of goal but sent it wide.
The Tigres gave Saint John another power play chance at 17:25 as Honzik tripped Huberdeau. But just 23 seconds later, Steven Anthony ended the man advantage opportunity as he was called for slashing. During the four-on-four play, a shot from the boards got through some traffic and forced DeSerres to make a blocker stop. Late in the frame, Maillet was at the side of the crease but was robbed by a pad-stacking DeSerres.
At the buzzer, Gabriel Bourret took a high sticking penalty to give the Tigres a power play to start the second frame.
Shots in the middle stanza were 18-6 Saint John.
THIRD PERIOD
On the power play that carried over into the third, the Tigres finally got some good pressure on. Brandon Hynes one-timed the puck from the circle but it just went wide. Later on, a huge scrum in the Saint John crease created a buzz but the Tigres could not beat DeSerres.
With the penalty over, Galiev was alone in the slot but was denied by the chest of Honzik.
Saint John stepped things up again at 5:10 as Stephen MacAulay walked out from the goal line and beat Honzik down low with a wrist shot to give Saint John a 3-2 lead.
But the Tigres refused to die. At 6:46, a breakaway for Brandon Hynes looked deadly but he missed the net. Fortunately for the Tigres, the puck quickly came out for Maillet who tied the match with a clutch goal.
After the Sea Dogs killed off a Galiev penalty, Anthony went one-on-one with a Tigres player and got a shot off that was stopped by Honzik.
Saint John would take the lead once again at 14:26. Mike Thomas broke loose from the defense but blasted a shot high of the net. The puck came to the side of the net where Jurco found it and beat a fallen Honzik to make it a 4-3 game.
With 1:02 left, the Tigres called a time-out and pulled Honzik.
With the extra man on the ice, Victoriaville continued their comeback ways by tying the affair with 35 seconds to go. Hynes somehow scored by lifting the puck up-and-over and DeSerres to send the match into overtime.
Shots in the third frame were 10-9 in favour of Victoriaville.
OVERTIME
The Sea Dogs had the best chance early in the frame, breaking into the zone on a three-on-one. Saint John got a shot off but Gauthier couldn’t jam it past Honzik.
At 3:04, Galiev came down the wing and sent a shot that hit the glove of Honzik and rattled the post, putting the disc onto the goal line. Huberdeau was all alone and simply tapped it in to give Saint John a thrilling 5-4 extra-time victory.
Shots in the overtime session were 4-1 Saint John.
Saint John went zero-for-five on the man advantage while Victoriaville went zero-for-four.
NEXT GAME: Game Five of the series goes Friday night at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins.
PRE-GAME: Game Four at Victoriaville Tigres
GAME DAY
President’s Cup Playoffs - Round 2, Game 4
Saint John Sea Dogs vs Victoriaville Tigres
Tonight, April 13, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Colisee Desjardins
The top-seeded Saint John Sea Dogs currently lead the 11th-seeded Victoriaville Tigres 2-1 in the best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series.
PREVIEW
VICTORIAVILLE, Que. – The Saint John Sea Dogs can take a commanding lead in their best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series tonight against the Victoriaville Tigres.
The Sea Dogs currently lead the Tigres 2-1 in the series, meaning a win tonight would put Saint John in position to clinch the series on Friday in Game Five. Tonight’s game and Friday’s will both be played at Colisee Desjardins.
The Sea Dogs played pretty well in last night’s game. Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice in the match while Eric Gelinas, Zack Phillips, Stephen MacAulay, and Danick Gauthier all added singles. Stanislav Galiev had three assists. Goaltender Jacob DeSerres was solid, making 25 saves in the win.
Saint John got into some penalty trouble early in the first period but managed to escape it thanks to some terrific penalty killing. That wasn’t the only time the penalty kill had to come up big as the Dogs continue to take a lot of penalties. Luckily, the combination of Saint John’s P.K. and Victoriaville’s lackluster power play resulted in no damage done.
The Sea Dogs also had some trouble closing out the second and third period. The Tigres scored at 16:50 of the middle frame and then had all the pressure late in the period. Then in the third, Saint John allowed two goals in the final five minutes, but, they also scored twice during that time frame.
Even with the shaky finishes, the Sea Dogs, for the most part, looked better than they did in Game Two when they fell 3-2 to the Tigres.
Victoriaville should come out flying tonight as they will not want to go down 3-1 in the series and face elimination on Friday.
REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS
| Victoriaville | Saint John | |
| Record | 35-29-1-3 (3rd East) | 58-7-1-2 (1st Maritimes) |
| Home Record | - - - | 32-0-1-1 |
| Road Record | 19-13-1-1 | - - - |
| Streak | 0-3-0-0 | 2-0-0-0 |
| Last 10 | 5-5-0-0 | 8-2-0-0 |
| Goals For | 256 | 324 |
| Goals Against | 240 | 165 |
| Goals/Game | 3.76 (6th) | 4.76 (1st) |
| Goals Against/Game | 3.53 (12th) | 2.43 (1st) |
| Shots/Game | 31.16 (6th) | 36.81 (1st) |
| Shots Against/Game | 30.24 (10th) | 26.96 (5th) |
| Overall PP | 22.1% (11th) | 25.1% (6th) |
| Home PP | - - - | 24.4% (8th) |
| Road PP | 25.4% (6th) | - - - |
| Overall PK | 75.0% (16th) | 83.7% (1st) |
| Home PK | - - - | 86.1% (1st) |
| Road PK | 75.9% (14th) | - - - |
| PIM/GAME | 14.0 (11th) | 13.1 (13th) |
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game One – Tigres 1, Sea Dogs 4
Game Two – Tigres 3, Sea Dogs 3
Game Three – Sea Dogs 6, Tigres 3
Game Four - Wednesday, April 13, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
Game Five - Friday, April 15, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
*Game Six – Monday, April 18 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
*Game Seven – Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
*if necessary
KIRKPATRICK UPDATE
According to News 88.9 last night, Michael Kirkpatrick would be reevaluated today. Kirkpatrick has missed the last two games of the series with an ‘upper body’ injury he suffered in Game One at Harbour Station.
From today’s Telegraph-Journal:
Meanwhile, Dogs centre Michael Kirkpatrick skated during Tuesday’s practice. The 20-year-old missed Games 2 and 3 after experiencing post-concussion symptoms following Saint John’s 4-1 Game 1 victory.LEADERS
The top three scorers for each team so far in this series:
Saint John
Jonathan Huberdeau: 4G-2A-6Pts
Steven Anthony: 2G-2A-4Pts
Stanislav Galiev/ Eric Gelinas: 1G-3A-4Pts
VictoriavilleON A ROLL
Phillip Danault: 2G-2A-4Pts
Samuel Groulx: 1G-3A-4Pts
Yanni Gourde: 2G-1A-3Pts
Jonathan Audy-Marchessault is the playoff scoring leader with 19 points.
Huberdeau had several chances last night but only cashed in on two of them.
"I try to do too much fancy," Huberdeau said to Sportsnet.ca, referring to his near-misses. "I think at the end, great passing play with (Zack) Phillips and (Stanislav) Galiev and I just had to put it in."
OTHER GAMES
Montreal at Lewiston - 7:00 PM EDT
Quebec at Shawinigan - 7:00 PM EDT
Saint John at Victoriaville - 7:00 PM EDT
Drummondville at Gatineau - 7:30 PM EDT
THE RINK
Venue: Colisee Desjardins
Capacity: 2,933
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 2,551
Playoff Average Attendance: 2,578
QMJHL Arena Guide
MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation
Live Coverage: Follow Station Nation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/station_nation) for live in game coverage. All tweets will also appear in the SN Live Blog that is posted on this site.
AFTER THE BUZZER
Game five of the series goes Friday night at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins.
Photo Credits: Marc Grandmaison, Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Roaming The Rinks
SEA DOGS STRIKE BACK
FINAL: Sea Dogs 6, Tigres 3
VICTORIAVILLE, Que. – It was a rough start but a solid finish for the Saint John Sea Dogs.
A penalty filled first five minutes in the opening frame could have been disaster for Saint John. Instead, the team took a 2-0 lead in the first period and never looked back en route to a 6-3 win over the Victoriaville Tigres Tuesday night at Colisee Desjardins. The win gives Saint John a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-seven quarter-final playoff matchup.
Saint John had period leads of 2-0 and 2-1 before exploding in the third period. Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice in the match while Eric Gelinas, Zack Phillips, Stephen MacAulay, and Danick Gauthier all added singles. Stanislav Galiev had three assists.
Goaltender Jacob DeSerres was excellent, making some very big stops all game long. He came up big at important times, keeping momentum in the Sea Dogs’ favour. He made 25 saves on the night.
It was a much better game for Saint John after the 3-2 loss in Game Two on Saturday. The Tigres played the trap less and that seemed to allow the Sea Dogs to play a much smoother game. They were also finally able to solve goaltender David Honzik who looked human in this one.
Even when the score was close Saint John was still getting the better of the chances. Penalties were once again an issue, but fortunately for the Dogs, their penalty kill came through in a big way all night long.
Honzik made 33 saves in the loss. Tigres goals came from Samuel Groulx, Pierre-Luc Pelletier, and Yann Gourde.
Victoriaville looks to even the series up again tonight at 8:00 pm.
FIRST PERIOD
1:09 into the game Alexandre Beauregard was called for roughing. Then things got even worse as Nathan Beaulieu picked up a double minor for high sticking. During the long power play, the Sea Dogs shut down the Tigres. Victoriaville had the puck a lot but couldn’t generate any dangerous chances.
Pierre-Luc Pelletier blasted a point shot when the penalties were over, forcing Sea Dogs stopper Jacob DeSerres to make a nice pad stop. Soon after, a big scrum in the Saint John crease had DeSerres successfully dig for and keep the disc out.
Saint John then turned on the engines. Jonathan Huberdeau made a move to get into the slot but was denied by David Honzik in the Victoriaville crease. Not long after, the puck came loose to Pierre Durepos who had an open net but couldn’t get a shot off in time to beat the sliding Honzik.
The Sea Dogs went to the power play at 8:47 with Samuel Groulx heading off. At 8:59, the puck was sent to Eric Gelinas at the point who sent a shot through some traffic and beat Honzik through the legs to give the Dogs a 1-0 advantage.
The Dogs kept on rolling after their first marker. The puck was centered between the faceoff circles where Stephen MacAulay battled for it. He managed to find the disc and get a shot off to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
Troy Vance was called for interference at 11:22 to send Saint John back to the power play. The Sea Dogs had some chances but couldn’t get a third goal.
Scott Oke was then fed at the side of the net but tipped it just wide. Late in the frame, Saint John had an odd-man rush as Oke fed Zack Phillips but any chance of centering the puck was ruined after a Tigres defender made a nice play to block the pass.
Shots in the opening frame were 9-5 in favour of the Sea Dogs.
SECOND PERIOD
Stanislav Galiev had a chance early in the frame as he was left alone in front but was stopped by the leg of Honzik.
Victoriaville went back to the power play at 1:28 with MacAulay heading off. But once again, the Tigres failed to get anything going on the man advantage.
Philippe Maillet went into animal mode after the penalty expired, cutting through the crease but was stopped by a huge toe save by DeSerres. A few moments later, Maillet let a shot go again from the faceoff dot but was denied by the Sea Dogs ‘tender.
Beaulieu made a dangerous play in front of his net and took a cross checking call at the same time at 7:38. While shorthanded, Honzik was being Honzik as he robbed Steven Anthony on a breakaway with a big glove save. Like previous times, Victoriaville failed on the power play again.
The Sea Dogs started to crank the pressure up after the penalty. A shot from the point was stopped nicely by Honzik. Then things really started up as Ryan Tesink threaded a pass to a streaking Oke at the side of cage but was denied by the Tigres goaltender. Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant argued for a replay and was granted one. Unfortunately, the no-goal call stood.
Soon after, things opened up a bit. Huberdeau nicked a shot off the far post and then Brandon Hynes was robbed by DeSerres on a shot from just inside the line. Huberdeau was back at it again in close, but Honzik made a huge pad stop.
The Tigres started to take control late in the frame. Finally, at 16:50, they would connect. DeSerres stopped a Maillet shot but the rebound came out to Samuel Groulx. With some traffic in front, Groulx slid the puck past DeSerres to make it a 2-1 game.
The Tigres kept pressing and eventually forced Anthony to take a roughing call at 19:29 following a mix up with Yannick Dube. The infraction would carry over into the third frame.
Shots in the middle stanza were 13 apiece.
THIRD PERIOD
After successfully killing off the penalty, Galiev fed Huberdeau down low at 1:55. The Sea Dogs’ sniper deked around Honzik and slid a backhand shot home to give the Sea Dog a two-goal lead.
Saint John had a five-on-three power play opportunity five minutes into the third. The team had some good puck movement but had little scoring chances.
The Dogs had a chance to redeem themselves with another power play at 8:56. They would connect this time as Beaulieu sent a point pass to Zack Phillips parked at the side of the goal. The Fredericton native beat Honzik with a wrister to make it a 4-1 Saint John lead.
Soon after Mike Thomas was given a 10-minute misconduct for some reason, Vincent Marcoux was at the top of the Sea Dogs crease but flipped the puck just wide of the net.
After a few minutes of nothing happening, Victoriaville made it a two-goal game again. Phillip Danault fed Pelletier in the slot who ripped the puck high glove side on DeSerres to make it 4-2.
The Tigres kept the pressure on as, moments later, Maillet was fed in front on a pass from behind the goal but was robbed by the leg of the Sea Dogs goaltender.
Saint John took control of the play again at 16:15. A point shot was tipped nicely by Danick Gauthier and got past Honzik to give Saint John a three-goal lead again. The play would be reviewed to see if it went in with a high stick but it was ruled a good goal.
A delayed penalty was called against the Tigres after Galiev was smoked by the benches. During the same sequence at 17:52, Scott Oke centered a pass to Huberdeau at the top of the crease who had a wide open net to make it 6-2 Sea Dogs.
Victoriaville would score once more but it was too late to start any kind of comeback. Yann Gourde made a nice toe-drag around a fallen Saint John player and then riffled the puck up and over DeSerres to make it a 6-3 final.
Shots in the third period were 15-8 Sea Dogs.
SCRATCHES
Michael Kirkpatrick missed his second straight game with an ‘upper body’ injury. According to News 88.9, he will be reevaluated today.
Forwards Jason Cameron and Aidan Kelly were both scratches.
Defenseman Jason Seed made his 2011 playoff debut but didn’t appear to take a shift all game.
NEXT GAME: Game Four of the best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series goes down tonight at 8:00 pm.
Photo Credits: La Nouvelle Union
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
PRE-GAME: Game Three at Victoriaville Tigres
GAME DAY
President’s Cup Playoffs - Round 2, Game Three
Saint John Sea Dogs vs Victoriaville Tigres
Tonight, April 12, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Colisee Desjardins
SERIES STATUS
The best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series between the 11th-seeded Victoriaville Tigres and the top-seeded Saint John Sea Dogs is currently tied at 1-1.
VICTORIAVILLE, Que. – It’s the biggest game of the season for the Saint John Sea Dogs tonight in Victoriaville.
Tied at 1-1 in their best-of-seven quarter-final series against the Victoriaville Tigres, Saint John will try to take a series lead and take a big momentum boost. The Sea Dogs won Game One of the series on Friday at Harbour Station by score of 4-1 and then dropped a 3-2 decision on Saturday.
Victoriaville was very opportunistic with their chances in Saturday’s game and did a fantastic job at shutting down Saint John’s dangerous offense. Although the Sea Dogs had plenty of shots, the Tigres were able to keep them away from any second chances.
Of course, a big reason why Victoriaville was victorious was because of the play of their goaltender, the draft eligible David Honzik. The netminder has been unreal in the post-season so far and is a major factor in how the Tigres made this quarter-final series.
The Tigres jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period of Game Two and that really seemed to give the squad a big boost going forward. With the series now shifting to Quebec, the first goal of the game could prove to be huge in terms of momentum.
Victoriaville has now beaten the Sea Dogs twice in regulation time this season – once at home and once on the road.
In last year’s semi-final series against the Tigres, the Dogs had their troubles in Victoriaville but still managed to come out on top in the six-game series.
The next three games will be played at Colisee Desjardins.
REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS
| Victoriaville | Saint John | |
| Record | 35-29-1-3 (3rd East) | 58-7-1-2 (1st Maritimes) |
| Home Record | - - - | 32-0-1-1 |
| Road Record | 19-13-1-1 | - - - |
| Streak | 0-3-0-0 | 2-0-0-0 |
| Last 10 | 5-5-0-0 | 8-2-0-0 |
| Goals For | 256 | 324 |
| Goals Against | 240 | 165 |
| Goals/Game | 3.76 (6th) | 4.76 (1st) |
| Goals Against/Game | 3.53 (12th) | 2.43 (1st) |
| Shots/Game | 31.16 (6th) | 36.81 (1st) |
| Shots Against/Game | 30.24 (10th) | 26.96 (5th) |
| Overall PP | 22.1% (11th) | 25.1% (6th) |
| Home PP | - - - | 24.4% (8th) |
| Road PP | 25.4% (6th) | - - - |
| Overall PK | 75.0% (16th) | 83.7% (1st) |
| Home PK | - - - | 86.1% (1st) |
| Road PK | 75.9% (14th) | - - - |
| PIM/GAME | 14.0 (11th) | 13.1 (13th) |
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game One – Tigres 1, Sea Dogs 4
Game Two – Tigres 3, Sea Dogs 3
Game Three - Tuesday, April 12, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
Game Four - Wednesday, April 13, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
Game Five - Friday, April 15, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
*Game Six – Monday, April 18 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
*Game Seven – Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
*if necessary
BEATING HONZIK
David Honzik has proven to be the playoff version of Evan Mosher.
Honzik has played all six playoff games so far for the Tigres. He is 5-1 with a 0.934 save percentage and a 2.62 goals against average. The netminder has allowed just 16 goals on 242 shots.
Honzik has been solid in both games of this series, stealing Game Two with some insane stops. He made 39 saves in Game One and 41 in Game Two.
"They have the momentum,'' said Sea Dogs forward Jonathan Huberdeau to the Telegraph-Journal, referring to Victoriaville's 3-2 triumph in Game 2. "We need to break that (tonight) and play simple (by) shooting at the net and making traffic. We know the goalie (David Honzik) is good.''
KIRKPATRICK OUT
The Telegraph-Journal reported this morning that Sea Dogs centre Michael Kirkpatrick is not expected to play tonight. He missed Game Two with what the team is calling an “upper body” injury which is rumored to be a concussion.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Special teams have proven to be a key part of this season.
In Game Two, Victoriaville went 2-for-3 on the power play and Saint John went 2-for-6. In Game One, the Tigres went 1-for-6 while the Sea Dogs went 0-for-2.
The three power play goals that the Tigres have scored in this series are the only man advantage markers Saint John has allowed in the post-season so far. Their penalty kill is operating at 90.9%.
OTHER GAMES
Montreal at Lewiston - 7:00 PM EDT
Quebec at Shawinigan - 7:00 PM EDT
Saint John at Victoriaville - 7:00 PM EDT
Drummondville at Gatineau - 7:30 PM EDT
THE RINK
Venue: Colisee Desjardins
Capacity: 2,933
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 2,551
Playoff Average Attendance: 2,403
QMJHL Arena Guide
Apparently, this is hilarious.
MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation
Live Coverage: Follow Station Nation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/station_nation) for live in game coverage. All tweets will also appear in the SN Live Blog that is posted on this site.
AFTER THE BUZZER
Game four of the series goes tomorrow night at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins.
Photo Credits: Tigres Facebook page, Roaming The Rinks (really cool site)
KIRKPATRICK NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY
The Telegraph-Journal is reporting that there is expected to be a big hole in the Saint John Sea Dogs’ lineup tonight in Victoriaville.
The Sea Dogs and Tigres meet this evening at 8:00 pm for Game Three of their quarter-final series.
The 20-year old brings a little bit of everything to the Sea Dogs and is a big loss. He has two goals and seven assists in five playoff games this year and finished the regular season with 31 markers and 51 assists, good for third in team scoring.
There has been no word on Simon Despres who looked to be in some serious pain on Saturday after appearing to twist his knee/leg. He left the game but would return a short time later.
Meanwhile, Michael Kirkpatrick, who sustained an upper-body injury in Game 1, is not expected to play tonight.Kirkpatrick missed Game Two of the series on Saturday with a rumored concussion. The Sea Dogs are, not surprisingly, labeling it an ‘upper body’ injury.
The Sea Dogs and Tigres meet this evening at 8:00 pm for Game Three of their quarter-final series.
The 20-year old brings a little bit of everything to the Sea Dogs and is a big loss. He has two goals and seven assists in five playoff games this year and finished the regular season with 31 markers and 51 assists, good for third in team scoring.
There has been no word on Simon Despres who looked to be in some serious pain on Saturday after appearing to twist his knee/leg. He left the game but would return a short time later.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
KIRKPATRICK 'DAY-TO-DAY'
20-year old Michael Kirkpatrick missed Game Two of the Sea Dogs’ quarter-final series against the Victoriaville Tigres with what the team is calling an “upper body” injury. According to News 88.9, he is listed as day-to-day.
The Victoriaville newspaper La Nouvelle Union is speculating that Kirkpatrick suffered a concussion in Game One. The veteran forward was the victim of a huge Francois Godin hit in open ice in front of the player benches. Kirkpatrick didn’t look too out of place following the play and remained in the game.
The hit can be seen at 3:10 of this highlight package:
Kirkpatrick is Mr. Everything for Saint John and would have been a big help in Game Two as the Sea Dogs fell 3-2 to the Tigres. Hopefully he isn’t out too long.
In five playoff games this year, the North Sydney native has two goals and seven assists. In 63 regular season contests, Kirkpatrick has 31 markers and 51 helpers.
As pointed out during the Sea Dogs’ radio broadcast, Kirkpatrick had played in every single playoff game in franchise history before missing last night’s.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
TIGRES CLAW BACK
FINAL: Tigres 3, Sea Dogs 2
SAINT JOHN – Most fans were not prepared for what they witnessed on Saturday night at Harbour Station. For the first time in almost a year, the Saint John Sea Dogs lost a home game in regulation time.
The Victoriaville Tigres, who beat Saint John in regulation time on the road during the regular season, were the winners by score of 3-2. But much more importantly than ending Saint John’s streak, the Tigres evened the best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series at 1-1.
Given the Sea Dogs’ home dominance this season and Victoriaville being the 11th-seeded team, it is a surprise to see this series knotted at 1-1. But the Tigres seem to enjoy surprising people after sweeping away the sixth-seeded Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the first round.
Victoriaville used their traditional trap game thing and the Dogs couldn’t break through it. Even when they did, the sensational goaltending of David Honzik kept the Dogs from lighting the lamp very much. From a Saint John perspective, it was a frustrating game.
The Tigres got off to a good start, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. At 17:34 on a power play, Brandon Hynes scored followed by Phillip Danault at even strength at 19:30 to put the visitors up a couple going into the second frame.
The two-goal deficit sparked the Sea Dogs as they dominated the second period. Although they only outshot Victoriaville 18-6, they carried the play for the majority of the stanza. At 12:42 on a man advantage, Jonathan Huberdeau tapped the puck past the pad of Honzik to make it a one-goal affair.
The Sea Dogs continue to buzz as the third period started. At 3:01, Steven Anthony blasted a shot that bounced off the crossbar but appeared to somehow stay out. Play carried on for a short amount of time before a whistle went, allowing the play to be reviewed. The goal review lasted long enough to eat an entire tray of nachos, but finally, after a solid 10 minutes, the phone was put and was ruled a goal.
But just when it looked like the game may be destined for overtime, Eric Gelinas was called for slashing at 15:33. On the man advantage, Danault lifted the puck over a falling Jacob DeSerres to give the Tigres a 3-2 lead with just a few minutes remaining.
Pier-Luc Pelletier took an elbowing penalty at 19:02 which, with DeSerres on the bench, would allow Saint John to finish regulation with a 6-on-4 advantage. The Sea Dogs had control of the puck in the Victoriaville zone but couldn’t break through the Tigres to tie it.
Shots in the match were 43-29 in favour of Saint John.
The Tigres went 2-for-3 on the power play and have now scored three of their four goals in this series on the man advantage. Saint John did not allow a power play goal in the opening round.
The Sea Dogs scored both of their markers in the man advantage, going 2-for-6.
The series is a whole lot more interesting know and will shift to Victoriaville for Games Three, Four and Five on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.
NEXT GAME: Game Three of the series is Tuesday night at Colisee Desjardins at 8:00 pm.
LIVE BLOG: Game 2 - Tigres vs Sea Dogs
There will no live Twitter coverage from SN for tonight's game. But, you can follow the SN Live Blog for the streaming of Even Strength’s Jeremy Fraser’s tweets.
PRE-GAME: Game Two vs Victoriaville Tigres
GAME DAY
Round Two, Game Two - 2011 President’s Cup Playoffs
Victoriaville Tigres vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Tonight, 7:00 pm
Harbour Station
The top-seeded Saint John Sea Dogs currently lead the 11th-seeded Victoriaville Tigres 1-0 in their best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series.
PREVIEW
SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs look to a 2-0 series lead this evening at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.
The Sea Dogs and Victoriaville Tigres opened their best-of-seven quarter-final series last night in Saint John, a match that saw the home side take a 1-0 series lead following a 4-1 victory. Tomas Jurco, Jonathan Huberdeau, Stanislav Galiev, and Steven Anthony all scored for the winners. Yanni Gourde scored the lone Victoriaville goal.
A big story from last night’s game was the goaltending as both David Honzik and Jacob DeSerres played well. Honzik let out quite a few rebounds, but also made some huge stops to keep the Tigres in the game. If Saint John can start to take advantage of those rebounds tonight, it could be a much larger margin of victory.
Both teams looked a bit sluggish to start the game off as neither had played in over a week. But tonight, that rust should be gone from both sides and could be a more intensely played affair.
The Sea Dogs are now 5-0 in the post-season and have outscored their opposition 30-3. The Tigres dropped to 4-1, and have outscored their opposition 23-15.
Saint John still has their undefeated-in-regulation-at-home streak still going and the Tigres will be in tough once again to pull off a victory this evening. This is a big game for both squads as the series shifts to Quebec for the next three games.
REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS
| Victoriaville | Saint John | |
| Record | 35-29-1-3 (3rd East) | 58-7-1-2 (1st Maritimes) |
| Home Record | - - - | 32-0-1-1 |
| Road Record | 19-13-1-1 | - - - |
| Streak | 0-3-0-0 | 2-0-0-0 |
| Last 10 | 5-5-0-0 | 8-2-0-0 |
| Goals For | 256 | 324 |
| Goals Against | 240 | 165 |
| Goals/Game | 3.76 (6th) | 4.76 (1st) |
| Goals Against/Game | 3.53 (12th) | 2.43 (1st) |
| Shots/Game | 31.16 (6th) | 36.81 (1st) |
| Shots Against/Game | 30.24 (10th) | 26.96 (5th) |
| Overall PP | 22.1% (11th) | 25.1% (6th) |
| Home PP | - - - | 24.4% (8th) |
| Road PP | 25.4% (6th) | - - - |
| Overall PK | 75.0% (16th) | 83.7% (1st) |
| Home PK | - - - | 86.1% (1st) |
| Road PK | 75.9% (14th) | - - - |
| PIM/GAME | 14.0 (11th) | 13.1 (13th) |
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game One – Tigres 1, Sea Dogs 4
Game Two - Saturday, April 9 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
Game Three - Tuesday, April 12, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
Game Four - Wednesday, April 13, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
*Game Five - Friday, April 15, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
*Game Six – Monday, April 18 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
*Game Seven – Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
*if necessary
HIGHLIGHTS
From last night’s game:
GALIEV STILL GOING
With a goal last night, Stanislav Galiev has now scored in all five Sea Dogs playoff games. Frederick Roy of the Quebec Remparts is also on a five-game goal scoring streak.
In total, Galiev has six goals and three assists in five playoff games. His six goals ties him with Jonathan Huberdeau for the team lead.
BEATING HONZIK
David Honzik was very good in goal last night for the Tigres. Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant agreed.
"We had lots of scoring chances and Honzik was very good," Gallant said to the Telegraph-Journal.
In five playoff games, Honzik has a 4-1 record to go along with a 2.74 goals against average and a 0.930 save percentage.
NOTES
The QMJHL website posted some notes on each quarter-final playoff series last night.
OTHER GAMES TONIGHT
Lewiston at Montreal - 3:05 PM EDT
Victoriaville at Saint John - 7:00 PM ADT
Gatineau at Drummondville - 7:00 PM EDT
Shawinigan at Quebec - 7:00 PM EDT
THE RINK
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 4,478
Playoff Average Attendance: 4,286
QMJHL Arena Guide
MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, La Nouvelle Union
AFTER THE BUZZER
The series shifts to Victoriaville on Tuesday for Game Three at 8:00 pm.
Photo Credits: Marc Grandmaison, Google
VIDEO: Game One Highlights
SeaDogsTV highlights from last night's 4-1 win over the Victoriaville Tigres:
Friday, April 8, 2011
DOGS TAKE GAME ONE
SN RECAP
FINAL: Tigres 1, Sea Dogs 4
SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs continued their winning ways in Game One of their quarter-final series against the Victoriaville Tigres.
The Sea Dogs defeated the visiting Tigres 4-1 on Friday night at Harbour Station, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven second round Quebec Major League Hockey League playoffs series.
Tomas Jurco, Jonathan Huberdeau, Stanislav Galiev, and Steven Anthony all scored for Saint John. The Sea Dogs have now outscored their opposition 30-3 in five post-season games.
Goaltender Jacob DeSerres was solid, making 29 stops for his fourth playoff victory.
Both teams looked a bit sluggish to start off the game. Neither team has played in over week thanks to four-game sweeps in the first round. The Sea Dogs carried the play for most of the game, but, the Tigres didn’t play terrible.
Goaltender David Honzik was a big reason why the score was so close. Honzik, who played a major role in the Tigres’ upset over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the first round, made some incredible stops and earned second star honours. He struggled with rebound control, but certainly kept the Tigres in the game.
Victoriaville’s only goal came from Yanni Gourde during the second period.
The two teams do battle again on Saturday at Harbour Station.
FIRST PERIOD
Steven Anthony had the first chance of the game from a sharp angle but was stopped by Victoriaville goaltender David Honzik.
The Sea Dogs opened the scoring at 5:09 of the first frame. Eric Gelinas blasted a point shot and Tomas Jurco was able to get a stick on it and tipped it into the cage to give Saint John a 1-0 lead.
The home side kept the pressure on as a point pass went down low to the opposite side and found Michael Kirkpatrick. The 20-year old waited too long to hit the empty cage and was denied by Honzik. Kirkpatrick then picked the puck up again but sent backhand through the crease.
Jonathan Huberdeau had a good opportunity soon after but was denied on his wraparound chance. Steven Anthony had the next opportunity, ripping a shot off the blocker of Honzik. Later on, Anthony fed Kirkpatrick in the slot but fired wide.
At 13:18, Stanislav Galiev was trying to bang the disc in in the crease area but was knocked down, giving Saint John a man advantage. On the ensuing power play, Kirkpatrick walked out into the crease area but was denied and the rebound was quickly recovered by Victoriaville and cleared away. The Dogs had a great power play but could not score.
The Tigres had a couple of good chances late in the frame. Yannick Dube fired a shot that was bobbled by Saint John goaltender Jacob DeSerres but the rebound was whistled high and wide by Philippe Maillet.
Shots in the opening frame were 18-6 Sea Dogs.
SECOND PERIOD
Tomas Jurco headed to the penalty box at 2:05 to give the Tigres a power play chance. The visitors had an okay man advantage but could not connect.
Just after the penalty expired, Saint John tried the bang the disc in at the side. The puck got through Honzik but sat on the line and stayed out. The play would go under a review but the call would stand.
On a delayed penalty call against Saint John, the Tigres tipped the puck just wide. On their man advantage, the team couldn’t get anything going.
Saint John went to a power play at 8:56. Nathan Beaulieu started it off with a point shot but it was blocked. Then , Gelinas blasted the puck but it was gloved by Honzik. Late in the power play, the Victoriaville netminder dropped his stick behind the goal, allowing Huberdeau to dish a pass to Anthony but he couldn’t get a shot off.
With the man advantage over, Galiev made some sick move to get around his man before being stopped by Honzik. Then, Scott Oke, made a similar move to get in alone but was denied on the backhand.
Alexandre Beauregard headed off at 13:28 for roughing. On the man advantage, a point shot was stoped but Phillip Danault quickly grabbed the loose puck and sent a pass to Yanni Gourde at the side. Gourde had an open cage to tie the match at 1-1.
At 17:16, the Sea Dogs retook the lead. Pierre Durepos fired a point shot that was stopped. Kirkpatrick found the rebound but was denied as well, allowing Huberdeau to slide in the second rebound to give Saint John a 2-1 advantage.
Late in the period, Brandon Hynes walked out from behind the net and had a wide open cage but missed.
Shots in the middle stanza were 16-14 Saint John.
THIRD PERIOD
Honzik was on his game early in the frame as he made a big stretching toe stop to keep it a one-goal game.
Kevin Gagne had a decent chance moments later as he fired a wrist from the dot that just sailed high of the Tigres backstop’s glove. Victoriaville came back the other way a few moments later, forcing DeSerres to make a nice pad stop on Gourde at the side of the net.
The Sea Dogs created some breathing room at 7:18 as they made it a 3-1 game. Huberdeau made a great pass to a wide open Galiev. The Russian was all alone in front, making some unreal spin move before going upstairs on Honzik to give the Dogs a two-goal lead.
After the Dogs killed off an Eric Gelinas penalty, Galiev headed to the sin bin at 14:25. Danick Gauthier had a good shorthanded opportunity as he broke through the defense and made a move to the backhand but was denied by Honzik.
Following the failed power play, the Tigres pulled Honzik with well over a minute left and then called a time-out. Mike Thomas then took a delay of game penalty at 19:27, giving the Tigres some space to work with.
But Victoriaville couldn’t anything going and Anthony scored into the empty net at 19:36 to give Saint John a 4-1 win.
Shots in the third period were 11-6 Victoriaville.
NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Tigres tomorrow night at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station in Game Two of their quarter-final series.
Photo Credit: Marc Grandmaison
FINAL: Tigres 1, Sea Dogs 4
SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs continued their winning ways in Game One of their quarter-final series against the Victoriaville Tigres.
The Sea Dogs defeated the visiting Tigres 4-1 on Friday night at Harbour Station, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven second round Quebec Major League Hockey League playoffs series.
Tomas Jurco, Jonathan Huberdeau, Stanislav Galiev, and Steven Anthony all scored for Saint John. The Sea Dogs have now outscored their opposition 30-3 in five post-season games.
Goaltender Jacob DeSerres was solid, making 29 stops for his fourth playoff victory.
Both teams looked a bit sluggish to start off the game. Neither team has played in over week thanks to four-game sweeps in the first round. The Sea Dogs carried the play for most of the game, but, the Tigres didn’t play terrible.
Goaltender David Honzik was a big reason why the score was so close. Honzik, who played a major role in the Tigres’ upset over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the first round, made some incredible stops and earned second star honours. He struggled with rebound control, but certainly kept the Tigres in the game.
Victoriaville’s only goal came from Yanni Gourde during the second period.
The two teams do battle again on Saturday at Harbour Station.
FIRST PERIOD
Steven Anthony had the first chance of the game from a sharp angle but was stopped by Victoriaville goaltender David Honzik.
The Sea Dogs opened the scoring at 5:09 of the first frame. Eric Gelinas blasted a point shot and Tomas Jurco was able to get a stick on it and tipped it into the cage to give Saint John a 1-0 lead.
The home side kept the pressure on as a point pass went down low to the opposite side and found Michael Kirkpatrick. The 20-year old waited too long to hit the empty cage and was denied by Honzik. Kirkpatrick then picked the puck up again but sent backhand through the crease.
Jonathan Huberdeau had a good opportunity soon after but was denied on his wraparound chance. Steven Anthony had the next opportunity, ripping a shot off the blocker of Honzik. Later on, Anthony fed Kirkpatrick in the slot but fired wide.
At 13:18, Stanislav Galiev was trying to bang the disc in in the crease area but was knocked down, giving Saint John a man advantage. On the ensuing power play, Kirkpatrick walked out into the crease area but was denied and the rebound was quickly recovered by Victoriaville and cleared away. The Dogs had a great power play but could not score.
The Tigres had a couple of good chances late in the frame. Yannick Dube fired a shot that was bobbled by Saint John goaltender Jacob DeSerres but the rebound was whistled high and wide by Philippe Maillet.
Shots in the opening frame were 18-6 Sea Dogs.
SECOND PERIOD
Tomas Jurco headed to the penalty box at 2:05 to give the Tigres a power play chance. The visitors had an okay man advantage but could not connect.
Just after the penalty expired, Saint John tried the bang the disc in at the side. The puck got through Honzik but sat on the line and stayed out. The play would go under a review but the call would stand.
On a delayed penalty call against Saint John, the Tigres tipped the puck just wide. On their man advantage, the team couldn’t get anything going.
Saint John went to a power play at 8:56. Nathan Beaulieu started it off with a point shot but it was blocked. Then , Gelinas blasted the puck but it was gloved by Honzik. Late in the power play, the Victoriaville netminder dropped his stick behind the goal, allowing Huberdeau to dish a pass to Anthony but he couldn’t get a shot off.
With the man advantage over, Galiev made some sick move to get around his man before being stopped by Honzik. Then, Scott Oke, made a similar move to get in alone but was denied on the backhand.
Alexandre Beauregard headed off at 13:28 for roughing. On the man advantage, a point shot was stoped but Phillip Danault quickly grabbed the loose puck and sent a pass to Yanni Gourde at the side. Gourde had an open cage to tie the match at 1-1.
At 17:16, the Sea Dogs retook the lead. Pierre Durepos fired a point shot that was stopped. Kirkpatrick found the rebound but was denied as well, allowing Huberdeau to slide in the second rebound to give Saint John a 2-1 advantage.
Late in the period, Brandon Hynes walked out from behind the net and had a wide open cage but missed.
Shots in the middle stanza were 16-14 Saint John.
THIRD PERIOD
Honzik was on his game early in the frame as he made a big stretching toe stop to keep it a one-goal game.
Kevin Gagne had a decent chance moments later as he fired a wrist from the dot that just sailed high of the Tigres backstop’s glove. Victoriaville came back the other way a few moments later, forcing DeSerres to make a nice pad stop on Gourde at the side of the net.
The Sea Dogs created some breathing room at 7:18 as they made it a 3-1 game. Huberdeau made a great pass to a wide open Galiev. The Russian was all alone in front, making some unreal spin move before going upstairs on Honzik to give the Dogs a two-goal lead.
After the Dogs killed off an Eric Gelinas penalty, Galiev headed to the sin bin at 14:25. Danick Gauthier had a good shorthanded opportunity as he broke through the defense and made a move to the backhand but was denied by Honzik.
Following the failed power play, the Tigres pulled Honzik with well over a minute left and then called a time-out. Mike Thomas then took a delay of game penalty at 19:27, giving the Tigres some space to work with.
But Victoriaville couldn’t anything going and Anthony scored into the empty net at 19:36 to give Saint John a 4-1 win.
Shots in the third period were 11-6 Victoriaville.
NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Tigres tomorrow night at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station in Game Two of their quarter-final series.
Photo Credit: Marc Grandmaison
PRE-GAME: Game One vs Victoriaville Tigres
GAME DAY
Round Two, Game One - 2011 President’s Cup Playoffs
Victoriaville Tigres vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Tonight, 7:30 pm
Harbour Station
This is the first game of the best-of-seven quarter-final series between the 11th seeded Victoriaville Tigres and the top seeded Saint John Sea Dogs.
PREVIEW
SAINT JOHN – Oh yeah, the playoffs!
The Saint John Sea Dogs have not played a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game in over a week thanks to their four-game dismantling of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the first round. Saint John swept the Eagles in convincing fashion, outscoring them 26-2.
Since that series ended last Wednesday in Sydney, two members of the Sea Dogs’ coaching staff picked up awards, two players won awards, two players were also named to the league’s first all-star team, and the franchise suffered through the disappointment of watching the Shawinigan Cataractes awarded 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup hosting duties.
It has been an eventful few days, but now it’s time to get back down to business.
The Sea Dogs host the Victoriaville Tigres tonight at Harbour Station in Game One of their quarter-final best-of-seven series. Game time is 7:30 pm.
It's a surprise to see the Tigres playing in the second round of the President’s Cup playoffs. The squad went up against the sixth seeded Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the first round and were definitely considered the underdogs. But the Tigres shocked the world by not only winning the series, but sweeping Bathurst.
Victoriaville is not the team they were last year when they took the Sea Dogs to six games in the semi-finals before falling, but they still have plenty of talented players. Even without QMJHL leading scorer Philip-Michael Devos, the team still has Philippe Maillet, Phillip Danault, Brandon Hynes, and the star of the first round – goaltender David Honzik.
Saint John can’t take the Tigres lightly. Unlike the first round against Cape Breton, Victoriaville does have the ability to steal at least a game.
REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS
| Victoriaville | Saint John | |
| Record | 35-29-1-3 (3rd East) | 58-7-1-2 (1st Maritimes) |
| Home Record | - - - | 32-0-1-1 |
| Road Record | 19-13-1-1 | - - - |
| Streak | 0-3-0-0 | 2-0-0-0 |
| Last 10 | 5-5-0-0 | 8-2-0-0 |
| Goals For | 256 | 324 |
| Goals Against | 240 | 165 |
| Goals/Game | 3.76 (6th) | 4.76 (1st) |
| Goals Against/Game | 3.53 (12th) | 2.43 (1st) |
| Shots/Game | 31.16 (6th) | 36.81 (1st) |
| Shots Against/Game | 30.24 (10th) | 26.96 (5th) |
| Overall PP | 22.1% (11th) | 25.1% (6th) |
| Home PP | - - - | 24.4% (8th) |
| Road PP | 25.4% (6th) | - - - |
| Overall PK | 75.0% (16th) | 83.7% (1st) |
| Home PK | - - - | 86.1% (1st) |
| Road PK | 75.9% (14th) | - - - |
| PIM/GAME | 14.0 (11th) | 13.1 (13th) |
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game One - Friday, April 8 at 7:30 pm at Harbour Station
Game Two - Saturday, April 9 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
Game Three - Tuesday, April 12, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
Game Four - Wednesday, April 13, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
*Game Five - Friday, April 15, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
*Game Six – Monday, April 18 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
*Game Seven – Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
*if necessary
MIND GAMES
After yesterday’s disappointment, the Sea Dogs can’t let it get to them. Especially since, well, they have a decent chance at winning at all this year.
According to the Telegraph-Journal, “after the practice had ended, head coach Gerard Gallant gathered his players and reminded them to stay focused on their second-round playoff series against the Victoriaville Tigres.”
"I don't think the best team won,” said Gallant. “The five committee members have to live with (their decision), so if they think it's the right thing, that's all that matters.''
Of note, if Saint John and Shawinigan both win their series and the Lewiston MAINEiacs don’t advance, the Sea Dogs and Cataractes would meet in the semi-finals.
LONG WAIT
It’s been awhile since the Sea Dogs played a game, but Gerard Gallant doesn’t seem to think that will affect his team. From today’s Times & Transcript:
"No, I don't think so," said Gallant when asked if he has any concerns that Victoriaville may be more battle ready than his club because it's coming off a tougher test in the opening round.VS VICTO
"That doesn't bother us at all. We played a lot of those (lopsided) games this season. It really doesn't affect our team. We usually just come out and play our type of game whether we're facing a top team or one of the weaker teams in the league."
The Sea Dogs went 1-1-0-0 against the Tigres this season, winning 4-2 on October 17 at Harbour Station and then falling 2-1 at Colisee Desjardins on February 26.
The win:
The loss:
OTHER GAMES TONIGHT
Victoriaville at Saint John - 7:30 PM ADT
Shawinigan at Quebec - 7:00 PM EDT
Lewiston at Montreal - 7:05 PM EDT
Gatineau at Drummondville - 7:30 PM EDT
THE RINK
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 4,478
Playoff Average Attendance: 4,010
QMJHL Arena Guide
MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Telegraph-Journal, La Nouvelle Union
Live Coverage: Follow Station Nation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/station_nation) or follow the Live Blog on this site for live coverage of tonight’s game.
AFTER THE BUZZER
The Sea Dog and Tigres meet tomorrow night at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station in Game Two of their second round series.
Photo Credits: Yahoo! Sports, Google
Saturday, April 2, 2011
REPORTED QUARTER-FINAL SCHEDULE
The schedule is as follows:
Game One - Friday, April 8 at 7:30 pm at Harbour StationThe Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has yet to officially announce any schedules for the four quarter-final series.
Game Two - Saturday, April 9 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
Game Three - Tuesday, April 12, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
Game Four - Wednesday, April 13, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
*Game Five - Friday, April 15, at 8:00 pm at Colisee Desjardins
*Game Six – Monday, April 18 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
*Game Seven – Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station
*if necessary
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