SEA DOGS – TITAN GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: Bathurst 3, Saint John 6
Saint John Goals: Zach Phillips (16, 17), Nathan Beaulieu (4), Tomas Jurco (13), Danick Gauthier (4), and Stephen MacAulay (8)
Bathurst Goals: Vincent Arseneau (4), Daniel Tanel (1), Christophe Losier (4)
Winning Goaltender: SNB – Jacob DeSerres
Losing Goaltender: BAT – Olivier Roy
News 88.9 Top Dog: Jacob DeSerres
THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Titan: 2/5, Sea Dogs: 1/8
Shots on Goal: Titan: 3+11+9=23, Sea Dogs: 5+10+11=26
Length: 2:16
Attendance: 3,546
SCRATCHES
Sea Dogs 20-year old center Michael Kirkpatrick served the first game of his three-game suspension yesterday. Kirkpatrick earned the suspension after he hit Alex MacDonald of the Moncton Wildcats from behind in Saint John’s 9-7 win on Sunday afternoon.
Tyrone Sock was a healthy scratch.
SEA DOGS DOULE UP TITAN
Two goals by Zach Phillips led the Saint John Sea Dogs to a 6-3 victory over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action on Friday night at Harbour Station.
After a slow first period, the Sea Dogs began to hit their stride in the second, scoring three goals in the frame.
"We found a way to win against a real good team with a good goaltender,'' Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said to the Telegraph-Journal. "Some guys played pretty well and some guys were OK.''
Daniel Tanel gave the Titan a 1-0 lead at 1:48 of the first period. Nathan Beaulieu tied the game at 16:30 of the frame on a blast from the wing that beat Olivier Roy up high to make it a 1-1 game.
In the second, Tomas Jurco made it a 2-1 game at 2:03. But Christophe Losier tied the match with a power play goal in close at 9:49. Saint John would continue to roll with two straight goals by Phillips to give the Dogs a 4-2 lead going into intermission.
Vincent Arseneau would score in the third to put the Titan within one. But that would be as close as they would come as Danick Gauthier and Stephen MacAulay make it a 6-3 final in favour of the home team.
THE BIG MOMENT
The biggest moment in the game came at 7:51 of the second period after Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Beaulieu collided with Bathurst forward Vincent Arseneau in the Titan offensive zone. Beaulieu was tossed from the game as he was awarded a game misconduct and a five minute major for elbowing.
Arseneau was on the ice for a few minutes before being helped off and slowly taken down the Titan runway.
It was a huge moment in the game with Saint John leading 2-1 in a game where it looked like goals would be hard to come by.
Bathurst would score on the power play to tie the match – but would get nothing else during the five minute span as the Sea Dogs’ defense went to work.
HATERS GONNA HATE
When Vincent Arseneau returned to the ice just a few minutes after appearing to have suffered an injury, Harbour Station erupted in a chorus of boos. He was booed every time he touched the puck in the game and will likely be hearing some more the next time the Titan are in town.
The moment brought back memories of Gatineau Olympiques defenseman Hugo Laporte from last year’s playoffs. Laporte appeared to suffer a serious leg injury after a Mike Thomas hit. The Sea Dogs captain was thrown out of the game while Laporte returned a few minutes later.
To this day, Laporte remains a legend.
LONG POWER PLAY
After Nathan Beaulieu’s five-minute power play ended, the Titan were awarded an extended power play thanks to a gaffe by the Sea Dogs coaching staff. Saint John did not put a player in the box to come out when the penalty expired, giving Bathurst over two minutes of extended man advantage time.
It’s not the first time this has happened as the Sea Dogs did the same thing at least once last year.
As News 88.9 pointed out during their game broadcast, Titan goaltender Olivier Roy made some extremely smart plays to keep the play alive.
It’s been awhile since referee Jeff Hopkins tweeted part of his pre-game meal:
Grabbing the Ol Pre Game Caffeine fix at Timmy's and then off to the Station for QMJHL tilt. Bathurst @ Saint John.50/50 NOTICE
Nobody claimed last night’s 50/50 jackpot of over $4,000. Here is notice that was placed on the Sea Dogs website:
ATTENTION the fan holding the winning ticket from Friday’s 50/50 draw (#160532) must call Trisha Erb at 632-9263 to claim their prize of $4,244 as soon as possible.STILL LOVING THE STATION
In the event that the prize is left unclaimed, the prize money will be added to the total of the 50/50 draw in Saint John’s final home game of the season
With the win, Saint John improved to 12-0-0-1 at Harbour Station this season and have yet to lose a regulation game on home ice. Their only blemish was a 4-3 shootout loss versus Chicoutimi a few weeks ago.
The Sea Dogs have been quite hot of late. They have earned at least a point in their last 11 contests and have won four straight.
TANEL MAKES HISTORY
After four QMJHL seasons featuring182 games, Titan defenseman Daniel Tanel finally scored his first career goal in major junior hockey. Tanel has just 22 points over that span.
Tanel made it short and sweet after the game, tweeting this: “Thank god! About time.”
LINE CHANGES
With Michael Kirkpatrick suspended, rookie Ryan Tesink was inserted into the top line with Stanislav Galiev and Steven Anthony.
It was probably the best move as Saint John’s other lines have been quite successful over the past few weeks. The bachelor line of Tomas Jurco, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Zach Phillips combined for three goals and three assists. The third line of Mike Thomas, Danick Gauthier, and Stephen MacAulay put forth two goals and an assist.
TEAM CANADA WATCH
Team Canada’s world junior camp roster will be announced on Monday afternoon by Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League. Two players in this game are on the radar in Titan goaltender Olivier Roy and Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres.
Roy played well, making some great saves in the contest. He stopped 20 shots in the loss.
Despres had a quiet game on the score sheet. As former Toronto Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell would say, he had a stat line of zero - zero - zero. He did record one hit, though.
But the ‘Big Horse’ still made an impression in the game.
"He looked like a man amongst boys out there tonight,” said Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant to the teams Twitter after the game. “We're very pleased with his game."
QUICK HITS
Zach Phillips, with two goals last night, now leads the Sea Dogs in goal scoring with 17 markers on the season… Jonathan Huberdeau, Kevin Gagne, and Pierre Durepos each had two assists in the game… the new top line of Galiev, Tesink, and Anthony was held pointless… Saint John continues to struggle on the penalty kill. After allowing the Moncton Wildcats to score five man advantage goals last Sunday, the Titan scored twice on five opportunities… the Sea Dogs’ power play hasn’t been amazing of late. They went 1/8 last night… Stephen MacAulay was stopped on a penalty shot in the second period… the two teams combined for only eight shots in the first period… to relive the game, check out the SN Live Blog Replay.
HIGHLIGHTS
The game highlights are not posted yet.
OUT OF TOWN
Finally, the Baie-Comeau Drakkar won a game. The Drakkar ended a 25-game losing streak last night with a 4-3 win over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
Elsewhere in the QMJHL it was: Cape Breton 4 Halifax 2; Quebec 4 Chicoutimi 3; Lewiston 3 Moncton 2 (SO); Drummondville 5 Victoriaville 3; Gatineau 5 P.E.I. 3 and Montreal 4 Shawinigan 3.
Former Sea Dogs defenseman Yann Sauve made his pro debut last night with the East Coast Hockey League’s Victoria Salmon Kings. In a 6-4 loss to the Idaho Steelheads, Sauve had no points, one shot, and was a -2.
It probably wasn’t the start Sauve wanted in his first game back since a concussion put him out of commission in September. From the Victoria Times-Colonist:
Welcome to the pros, kid.
A disastrous turnover-laden shift early in the second period by Vancouver Canucks prospect Yann Sauve, in which the Idaho Steelheads scored twice, proved crucial in Idaho's 6-4 ECHL victory last night at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The touted new Victoria blue-liner, returning from concussion after being hit by a car in a Vancouver crosswalk in September, was playing his first regular-season game as a pro.
NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs look to finish November on a high note when they face the Halifax Mooseheads Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm at Harbour Station.
Photo Credits: David Connell Web Album, Tim Hortons, Ron Morin
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