LIVE BLOG: Game 1 - Tigres vs Sea Dogs

DOGS MUST STAY MORE DISCIPLINED

SAINT JOHN – It’s hard to find any negatives from the Saint John Sea Dogs’ first round playoff sweep of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. But there is an obvious one – penalties.

The Sea Dogs served 90 penalty minutes in the first round, averaging 22.50 penalty minutes per contest. Their totals in the four-game series is the highest of any team in the playoffs so far.

Saint John averaged 13.13 penalty minutes per game during the regular season.

Going into the series, it was expected to be full of rough stuff as the Eagles tried to take Saint John’s top players off their game. They certainly did that and, not surprisingly, the Sea Dogs occasionally fought back and picked up matching penalties.

But the somewhat concerning part is that not all the penalties were roughing and fighting penalties. There were plenty of slashing calls, hooking calls, interference calls, etc. The undisciplined play was really noticeable in Game Four when the Eagles were awarded seven man advantage chances.

In that fourth and deciding game, the Dogs took one roughing, boarding, hooking, and cross checking penalty. They also took two tripping penalties and three hooking calls.

Luckily for Saint John, it didn’t cost them. The offensively challenged Eagles failed to score on any of their 24 man advantage opportunities in the series.

Not every team in the President’s Cup playoffs will be as offensively brutal as Cape Breton. The Sea Dogs must be more disciplined as the playoffs progress. Even though the team had the best penalty kill during the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League regular season, the constant travel to the sin bin will surely catch up with them eventually.

VIDEO: Millman's fight flip

In Game Three of the Saint John Sea Dogs’ first round playoff series against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Mike Thomas and Blake Millman squared off in a round of fisticuffs at 18:31 of the third period. Saint John won the match 5-1.

It wasn’t an epic fight by any means between the two tough customers, but the tilt did feature one of the more bizarre endings. With Thomas bent over, Millman somehow did a complete flip and nearly took out both officials with his skates.



Really weird stuff.

- Video via HockeyFights.com

POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 4, Screaming Eagles 0

FINAL: Sea Dogs 4, Screaming Eagles 0

FULL RECAP

SEA DOGS SWEEP
SYDNEY, NS – The Saint John Sea Dogs put this painful first round playoff series to bed last night in Cape Breton with a 4-0 victory over the Screaming Eagles.

Watching the Sea Dogs win is nice, but watching the Dogs dominate to the extent of outscoring their opponent 26-2 in four games can only get so fun. This wasn’t much of a playoff series, but it will only get more entertaining from here.

On Wednesday at Centre 200, Stanislav Galiev, Jonathan Huberdeau, Michael Kirkpatrick, and Nathan Beaulieu all scored for Saint John. Mathieu Corbeil recorded the shutout in goal.

Andrew Hayes made 32 saves in the Eagles crease in the loss.

It was the first time all series that Cape Breton got out of the first period not down at least a goal. But things opened up in the second period as the Dogs scored two goals and added two more in the third.

The Eagles gave it their all in this series but it just wasn’t enough against a powerhouse Sea Dogs team.

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Forwards Jason Cameron and Aidan Kelly along with defenseman Jason Seed were all healthy scratches for Saint John.

SWEEP
The series sweep marked the third time in Sea Dogs that they have defeated their opponents in four consecutive playoff contests.

Saint John swept the Prince Edward Island Rocket in four games in 2008 and the Gatineau Olympiques last year. The Rocket series sweep was also in the opening round.

The Sea Dogs also got a little bit of revenge on Cape Breton who took out the Dogs in four games during the first round of the 2009 playoffs.

All-time in round one games, Saint John is 12-5.

THE LAST GAME
For North Sydney native Michael Kirkpatrick, it was his last game against his hometown team. The Sea Dogs’ overage forward tweeted this after the game:

Just finished my last game in cape breton.. Grew up watching them..now just eliminated them..

Kirkpatrick finished the series with two goals and six assists.

DUROCHER LEAVES EARLY
As reported by several folks on the Twitter machine, it appears Eagles head coach Mario Durocher left the match early and did not shake the hands of any Saint John personnel. From Even Strength:

Eagles head coach Mario Durocher goes right to the dressing room after the game and does not shake the hands of the Sea Dogs players/staff.

The webcast clearly shows the ‘mullet man’ walking down the runway to the Eagles room soon after the buzzer sounded. Photographic evidence:

Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant did the opposite of Durocher, shaking hands with all the players as well as giving some words to each. Durocher, of course, was the man tossed from Game One after refusing to close the bench door and then called two Saint John players ‘clowns’ earlier this week.

It takes a clown to know a clown, Mario.

NICE SEND OFF
The Sea Dogs swept the official three stars, but the unofficial three stars went to a trio of Eagles overage players in Spencer Metcalfe, Andrew Hayes, and Taylor MacDougall. It was the last game of junior hockey for Metcalfe and Hayes while MacDougall saw his last game action some time ago and has been out ever since following shoulder surgery.

Metcalfe will apparently jump to the university ranks and play for the UPEI Panthers. No clue where Hayes is going. As for MacDougall, you have to think that he will be heading to UNB in the fall to play under his father, Varsity Reds head coach Gardiner MacDougall.

CORBEIL GETS HIS SHUTOUT
The Sea Dogs made a change in net and went with Mathieu Corbeil rather than Jacob DeSerres. DeSerres, who appears to be the netminder that will get the majority of the playing time in the playoffs, had started all three previous games of the series.

Corbeil didn’t miss a beat, making 15 saves to earn the shutout victory. He made a couple of good stops, but other than that, wasn’t tested too much in this contest.

It was the former Halifax Mooseheads first ever QMJHL playoff start. He took advantage of the opportunity, too, recording his first career ‘Q’ shutout.

HIGHLIGHTS



QUICK HITS
There was a short delay to start the contest as the Centre 200 lights wouldn’t come back on… Wes Herret, who ran into an open bench door in Game Three, did not play… Stephen Woodworth was also hurt in Game Three as he broke his foot blocking a Simon Despres point shot… another light crowd of 2,104 on hand for this one… Michael Kirkpatrick and Despres had a team high four shots for Saint John… Brad Cuzner had four of the Eagles’ 15 shots… to relive the match, check out the SN Live Blog Replay.

NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs will open the second round next Friday, April 8 at Harbour Station at 7:30 pm. Tickets for Games One and Two of the series go on-sale tomorrow morning.

THE LIGHTS GO OUT IN SYDNEY

SN RECAP
FINAL: Sea Dogs 4, Screaming Eagles 0

SYDNEY, NS – The Saint John Sea Dogs won the game and the series on Wednesday night at Centre 200 – both by a score of 4-0.

The Sea Dogs blanked the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, giving them a four-game sweep in the best-of-seven Quebec Major Junior Hockey League first-round playoff series. Saint John now moves on to the quarter-finals which will begin on Friday, April 8 at Harbour Station against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

On Wednesday, Stanislav Galiev, Jonathan Huberdeau, Michael Kirkpatrick, and Nathan Beaulieu each scored for the Sea Dogs. Zack Phillips recorded three assists in the tilt as well.

Mathieu Corbeil made his first career playoff start and did so in fine fashion, picking up the first shutout of his junior career. He wasn’t too busy though, only facing 15 shots for the win.

Andrew Hayes allowed four goals on 36 shots for Cape Breton.

Like the previous three games, Cape Breton hung around in the first period but faltered the rest of the way. The Eagles couldn’t get anything going on the power play and finished the game at 0-for-7. To make things worse - Saint John scored twice shorthanded.

As expected, Saint John completely dominated this series. In four games, the Sea Dogs outscored the 16th seeded Eagles 26-2. Yikes.

The Sea Dogs are now on to bigger and better the things – the quarter finals – where the real post-season challenges will begin.

FIRST PERIOD
Tomas Jurco had the first decent chance of the game as he came down the wing and tried to breakaway. Jurco was able to get a shot off but was stopped easily by Eagles netminder Andrew Hayes. A little later on, Stanislav Galiev sent a backhand on goal through some traffic that hit the side of the net.

Then the boredom hit as both teams skated up-and-down the ice for several minutes, doing nothing in terms of offense.

That thrilling action ended when Jurco centered the puck through the crease and hit the skate of Steven Anthony and stayed out. Soon after, Scott Oke had the best opportunity of the frame as he cranked a wrist shot from long range off the post.

At 14:01, two heavyweights in Alexandre Beauregard and Spencer Metcalfe squared off. Both players got some good punches in. We’ll give the decision to Beauregard who had the better of the shots.

The fight seemed to spark the Eagles a beat as the ever dangerous Dany Potvin was parked at the side of the net down low but sent his shot off the side of the netting.

Stephen MacAulay was called for hooking at the 17-minute mark. Cape Breton had nothing to show for on the man advantage though and the game remained scoreless.

Kevin Gagne headed to the box at 19:23 but the Eagles power play was quickly cancelled out with Logan Shaw heading off at 19:23.

Shots in the first frame were just 4-3 in favour of Saint John.

SECOND PERIOD
Simon Despres had the first chance of the period as he one-handed a shot on goal but it was quickly covered by Hayes. Danick Gauthier and Morgan Ellis than turned the physical play up a bit as the two collided to create a huge open ice collision.

Michael Kirkpatrick had an opportunity down low but was robbed by the pad of Hayes. Then Steven Anthony sent a cross crease pass to Jurco but the puck was tipped and covered by the Cape Breton goaltender.

The Sea Dogs finally opened the scoring at 5:00. Zack Phillips came down the wing and sent a shot on goal that couldn’t be handled by Hayes. A short rebound was picked up by Galiev who sailed a backhand shot top corner to give the Dogs a 1-0 lead.

Nick Parker then had a breakaway for Cape Breton but sent a shot into the pads of Sea Dogs goaltender Mathieu Corbeil.

After failing to score on an earlier power play, the Eagles headed back to the man advantage at 8:22 with Anthony going off. But while shorthanded, Jonathan Huberdeau was sprung on a breakaway and pulled off his trademark move to give Saint John a 2-0 lead.

With the Eagles’ power play over, Jurco appeared to try some between-the-legs shot thing but sent the disc wide. Not long after, Huberdeau was fed in front but was denied by the pad of Hayes.

Nathan Beaulieu was called for cross-checking at 19:10. But the power play quickly ended for Cape Breton as Shaw headed off for hooking eight seconds later.

Corbeil was forced to make a big stop during the four-on-four action, robbing Brad Cuzner in front. Play then came up ice with just seconds left. Despres came in and sent a backhand shot on net that was just kept out. A lenghtly review took place over the play but it was ruled no goal. A big scrum on the same play resulted in a couple roughing calls.

Shots in the middle frame were 19-6 Saint John.

THIRD PERIOD
On a power play early in the third, Potvin had one of his many chances as the puck rolled on him at the side of the net and couldn’t fire a shot into the empty cage.

The Sea Dogs were called for too many men at 1:19. Corbeil made a nice stop during the session as he made a high shoulder save on a point shot. The Eagles had some good power play pressure but could not get anything through.

Saint John went back to the penalty kill at 5:57 with Anthony in the sin bin. But it would be the Sea Dogs striking during the span as Kirkpatrick broke loose on a breakaway and beat Hayes five-hole to make it 3-0 Saint John.

With Anthony’s penalty over, the Dogs struck again at 9:11. Some nice passing work was finished off by Beaulieu who ripped a shot past the blocker of Hayes to make it 4-0 for the visitors.

The goal woke the Dogs up a bit as they had several minutes of solid pressure. Galiev had a great opportunity in the slot but was denied by the shoulder of Hayes.

Potvin was called for interference at 14:58. Anthony had the best chance on the Sea Dogs’ power play but lost the puck as Hayes went down to attempt at a stop.

Shaw had the last good chance of the game back at even strength, splitting the Saint John defense and wiring a wrist shot into the glove of Corbeil.

Shots in the third period were 13-6 Sea Dogs.

NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow on SN.

NEXT GAME: Game One of the quarter-finals is expected to be Friday, April 8 at Harbour Station. They will likely play the Victoriaville Tigres.

LIVE BLOG: Game 4 - Sea Dogs vs Screaming Eagles

PRE-GAME: Game Four at Screaming Eagles

GAME DAY

Round One, Game Four- 2011 President’s Cup Playoffs

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

Tonight, March 30, 7:00 pm

Centre 200

SERIES STATUS
The top-seeded Saint John Sea Dogs currently lead the 16th seeded Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 3-0 in the best-of-seven first round series.

PREVIEW
SYDNEY, NS – It could all be over this evening at Centre 200.

Currently holding a 3-0 series lead, the Saint John Sea Dogs are just a win away from eliminating the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles from the 2011 President’s Cup playoffs. Game Four goes down tonight at 7:00 pm at Centre 200.

Saint John has dominated the series so far, outscoring the Eagles 22-2 over three games. The Sea Dogs are averaging 7.33 goals per game and 41 shots per contest. They have simply owned Cape Breton so far, something that isn’t too surprising when you have the top-ranked team in Canada is facing the 16th seeded team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

In last night’s game, Saint John defeated Cape Breton 5-1. It was a better game by the Eagles and probably their best of the series. They had some decent scoring chances but could only connect once. Although the team played much better, they were, once again, still not up to the Sea Dogs’ superior level of play.

Jonathan Huberdeau, Steven Anthony, Kevin Gagne, Stanislav Galiev, and Tomas Jurco all scored for the winners who had a 33-22 shots on goal edge in the affair. Dany Potvin scored the lone Cape Breton goal on a nice feed from Denis Kindl.

In net, former Brandon Wheat Kings goaltenders Jacob DeSerres and Andrew Hayes dueled. Like the first two games, DeSerres came out victorious. Both will likely start in goal again this evening.

The season is on the line for Cape Breton and they will be ready to roll when the clock strikes seven. They’ve been physical all series and tonight should feature more of the same.

A Saint John win will propel them into the quarter-finals and will give the team over a week off.

REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

	Cape Breton	Saint John
Record	18-45-1-4 (6th Maritimes)	58-7-1-2 (1st Maritimes)
Home Record	10-21-1-2	- - -
Road Record	- - -	27-7-0-1
Streak	1-0-0-0	2-0-0-0
Last 10	2-8-0-0	8-2-0-0
Goals For	154	324
Goals Against	276	165
Goals/Game	2.26 (16th)	4.76 (1st)
Goals Against/Game	4.06 (17th)	2.43 (1st)
Shots/Game	25.38 (17th)	36.81 (1st)
Shots Against/Game	30.22 (9th)	26.96 (5th)
Overall PP	15.2% (16th)	25.1% (6th)
Home PP	13.4% (17th)	- - -
Road PP	- - -	26.0% (5th)
Overall PK	74.1% (17th)	83.7% (1st)
Home PK	74.1% (16th)	- - -
Road PK	- - -	80.6% (5th)
PIM/GAME	16.1 (6th)	13.1 (13th)

SCHEDULE/RESULTS
GAME ONE – Friday, March 25: Cape Breton 0, Saint John 10
GAME TWO – Saturday, March 26: Cape Breton 1, Saint John 7
GAME THREE – Tuesday, March 29: Saint John 5, Cape Breton 1
GAME FOUR – Wednesday, March 30: 7 p.m. @ Centre 200
*GAME FIVE – Friday, April 1: 7:30 p.m. @ Harbour Station
*GAME SIX – Sunday, April 3: 4 p.m. @ Centre 200
*GAME SEVEN – Tuesday, April 5: 7 p.m. @ Harbour Station
*If Necessary

SWEEPING
The brooms will be out tonight in Cape Breton as Saint John looks to take the first round playoff series in a sweep of four straight contests.

The Sea Dogs have swept only two other playoff series in their team history. The first came in the opening round of the 2008 post-season against the Prince Edward Island Rocket and the other in last year’s second round against the Gatineau Olympiques.

Saint John can also get a little revenge with a win tonight. In 2009, the Screaming Eagles were on the other end of things and swept the Sea Dogs out to sea in the opening round.

All-time, the Dogs are 11-5 in first round games.

EAGLES LINE-UP NOTES
Rough times get rougher in Cape Breton. From the CB Post:

Cape Breton’s injury woes continued Tuesday night. Defenceman Wes Herrett (forearm) was injured after being checked into the Eagles bench in the second period. Fellow blue-liner Stephen Woodworth (foot) was also injured blocking a shot. They’ll get assessed today. Another defenceman, Loic Leduc (head), may also miss tonight’s game. Forward Cory MacIntosh, who suffered a hit to the head in Saint John, is likely done for the season.

PP MAGIC
Saint John’s unreal power play has been a big story in this series. The Sea Dogs are operating at a league high 55.6% in the playoffs. They have scored 10 power play goals on 18 opportunities.

“With our hockey club, we’re definitely a top power-play team,” said Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant to the Cape Breton Post. “We can move the puck with our skill level and speed. We got another two goals, so it’s been very good for us.”

The Sea Dogs went 2-for-4 on the power play last night.

Cape Breton’s penalty kill on the other hand is running at 44.4%.

GALIEV’S HOT STREAK
Stanislav Galiev has been playing some of his best hockey as a member of the Saint John Sea Dogs over the past few weeks.

Thanks in much part to playing with one of the top offensive duos in the QMJHL in Jonathan Huberdeau and Zack Phillips, Galiev recorded six goals and two assists in the regular season portion of March. His hot play carried over into the playoffs as the Russian has scored in all three games, registering a total of four goals to go along with two assists.

In 21 playoff games last year, Galiev recorded eight goals and 11 assists.

OTHER GAMES TONIGHT
Montréal at Halifax - 7:00 PM ADT
Lewiston at Moncton - 7:00 PM ADT
Shawinigan at P.E.I. - 7:00 PM ADT
Acadie-Bathurst at Victoriaville - 7:00 PM EDT
Drummondville at Chicoutimi - 7:30 PM EDT
Gatineau at Rimouski - 7:30 PM EDT
Québec at Val-d'Or - 7:30 PM EDT

THE RINK
Venue: Centre 200
Capacity: 4,881
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 2,954
Playoff Average Attendance: 1,869
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, Cape Breton Post
Live Coverage: Follow Station Nation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/station_nation) or check out the SN Live Blog on this site for live coverage of this evening’s game.

AFTER THE BUZZER
If the Eagles win, Game Five is Friday at 7:30 pm at Harbour Station. If the Sea Dogs win, the quarter-finals will likely begin Friday, April 8 in Saint John. The way things are going at the moment, it looks like they will be playing the Victoriaville Tigres.

Photo Credits: Marc Henwood/Station Nation, some broom site, Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Screaming Eagles Facebook page

POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 5, Screaming Eagles 1

FINAL: Sea Dogs 5, Screaming Eagles 1

FULL RECAP

DOGS UP 3-0
SYDNEY, NS – With a 5-1 victory, the Saint John Sea Dogs are just a win away from sweeping their first round playoff series against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

Jonathan Huberdeau, Steven Anthony, Kevin Gagne, Stanislav Galiev, and Tomas Jurco all scored for Saint John in the victory while Dany Potvin replied for Cape Breton.

Andrew Hayes made 28 stops in net for the Eagles and Jacob DeSerres earned the win via a 21 save performance.

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Defenseman Jason Seed and forwards Scott Oke and Aidan Kelly were all healthy scratches for Saint John.

BEAT DOWN
The Sea Dogs’ demolition of the Screaming Eagles continued as the highest scoring team during the regular season put up five goals. Saint John has now outscored the Eagles 22-2 over the three games of this series.

After scoring 10 goals in Game One and seven in Game Two, the Dogs are averaging 7.33 goals per game which ties them with the Quebec Remparts for the league high this post-season. Saint John is also averaging a league high 41 shots per game.

After the trio of games, Cape Breton is averaging a miserable 0.67 goals per game and just 18.67 shots per contest.

BACK FROM SUSPENSIONS
Spencer Metcalfe returned to the Cape Breton line-up after serving a two-game suspension. Metcalfe was suspended after hitting Halifax Mooseheads rookie forward Darcy Ashley in an illegal fashion during the final game of the regular season.

Metcalfe had an impact on this game, taking two penalties. His first penalty came at 7:10 of the first period and Jonathan Huberdeau would score four seconds later to make it 1-0 Saint John.

The veteran also had a big hit in the third period, leveling Mike Thomas as he crossed the blue line.

Saint John’s Danick Gauthier also returned after serving a one-game suspension for an illegal hit on Cory MacIntosh in Game One of the series. Gauthier was held pointless but had two shots and two hits.

THE POWER PLAY
Saint John’s unreal power play has been a big story in this series. The Sea Dogs are operating at a league high 55.6% in the playoffs. They have scored 10 power play goals on 18 opportunities.

“With our hockey club, we’re definitely a top power-play team,” said Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant to the Cape Breton Post. “We can move the puck with our skill level and speed. We got another two goals, so it’s been very good for us.”

The Sea Dogs went 2-for-4 on the power play last night.

Cape Breton’s penalty kill on the other hand is running at 44.4%.

BIG GOAL
For only the second time this series, Cape Breton was actually able to score a goal. With Saint John carrying a 1-0 lead at that point, Dany Potvin tied the match up at 14:14 of the first period. The Eagles had been buzzing a bit and the momentum from the goal could have created a interesting end to the period.

But that momentum never came as Steven Anthony silenced the Eagles six second later with a goal that put Saint John ahead 2-1.

"That was huge,'' Gallant said to the Telegraph-Journal. "When you come back and score right away, it takes a bit of the steam out of them. That was definitely the turning point. We're successful when we put pucks to the net and we're a good team when we have that puck down low in the zone.''

Kevin Gagne scored in the final minute of the period to give Saint John a 3-1 lead heading into intermission.

DULL SECOND PERIOD
Neither team was too interested in offense at the beginning of the second period. It took Saint John several minutes just to get a single shot on goal.

The time span featured a lot of dull back-and-forth action that had very few shots or any dangerous looking rushes.

Things would pick up later in the stanza with Stanislav Galiev scoring. Shots in the frame ended up being 9-8 in favour of the visitors.

SMALL CROWD
Not all that surprisingly, there was a small crowd for this contest. First round playoff series usually feature small crowds but even more so when the home team scoring a single goal in considered somewhat of a success.

1,869 gathered at Centre 200 to watch this one. Cape Breton averaged 2,954 fans per game during the regular season.

Small crowds gathered at Harbour Station back in the 2009 first round when the Sea Dogs were swept by the Eagles. 2,929 watched Game Three of the series at the Station and 2,757 for Game Four.

OUT OF TOWN
Montréal 2 at Halifax 0
Lewiston 4 at Moncton 2
Shawinigan 3 at P.E.I. 0
Drummondville 6 at Chicoutimi 4
Gatineau 4 at Rimouski 7
Québec 9 at Val-d'Or 0

QUICK HITS
Saint John improved tom 11-5 all-time in first round games… Mike Thomas had a Sea Dogs high three hits… Olivier Jodoin had four hits for Cape Breton… Michael Kirkpatrick had a team high seven shots for Saint John… Dany Potvin led the way for Cape Breton with four shots… Kirkpatrick had three assits… Jonathan Huberdeau is tied with Jonathan Audy-Marchessault of the Quebec Remparts for the league lead in post-season points with 10… Huberdeau is tied with multiple players for the league high in goals with four… to relive the match, check out the SN Live Blog Replay.

NEXT GAME
Game Five, if necessary, will be Friday at 7:30 pm at Harbour Station. If the Sea Dogs win this evening’s game they will advance to the quarter-finals.

EAGLES ON THE BRINK

SN RECAP
FINAL: Sea Dogs 5, Screaming Eagles 1

SYDNEY, NS – The Saint John Sea Dogs are one win away from advancing to the second round of the 2011 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs.

The Sea Dogs defeated the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 5-1 at Centre 200 on Tuesday night and are now the owners of a commanding 3-0 advantage in the best-of-seven first round playoff series. Game Four, which could be the final game of the season for Cape Breton, is Wednesday night at 7:00 pm in Sydney.

Jonathan Huberdeau, Steven Anthony, Kevin Gagne, Stanislav Galiev, and Tomas Jurco all scored for Saint John in the victory. Michael Kirkpatrick had three assists while Jurco added two helpers to go along with his goal.

It wasn’t the Sea Dogs’ most dominating victory of the series but it was certainly enough for the win. In the three games of this playoff matchup, Saint John has now outscored Cape Breton 22-2. One of the stories was once again the Dogs’ power play. They were given just four opportunities on this night but still went 50% on the man advantage.

It was definitely Cape Breton’s best match of the series so far and had some decent scoring pressure on at times. They were blocking shots and trying to grind the Sea Dogs down with some physical play, but like in the first two matches, it just wasn’t enough to contain Saint John.

Cape Breton fired 22 shots on goal and forced Sea Dogs netminder Jacob DeSerres to make a few good stops. Dany Potvin scored the lone Eagles goal in the loss while goalie Andre Hayes made 28 stops.

FIRST PERIOD
Michael Kirkpatrick had a chance early on with a wraparound attempt but was stopped nicely be Cape Breton goaltender Andrew Hayes. Danick Gauthier was then stopped in a close a few minutes, producing a rebound that Ryan Tesink but he couldn’t hang on as he danced through the blue paint.

Cape Breton then shocked the world by having some sustained pressure. The Eagles had a couple of good chances but couldn't cash in on their best opportunity as Stanislav Galiev picked up a loose puck that goaltender Jacob DeSerres couldn’t hold onto.

Spencer Metcalfe, fresh off a two-game suspension, headed to the box for cross-checking at 7:10. Just four seconds into the power play, Simon Despres let a point shot go that hit an Eagle player and deflected to Jonathan Huberdeau at the side of the goal. Hayes had no chance on the play and Huberdeau had an easy goal to make it 1-0 Saint John.

Mike Thomas then stepped up shortly after the marker, nailing William Carrier in the faceoff circle with a clean open ice hit.

Tomas Jurco then had a good scoring chance as a pass down low found him but was stopped by the Eagles backstop.

Cape Breton tied the match at 14:14. Denis Kindl centered the puck and found Dany Potvin at the other side to tie the affair at 1-1.

But just six seconds later, Jurco came across the line and partially split the defense before wiring a shot on net. Hayes let a big rebound  go and Steven Anthony had an open cage to make it a 2-1 tilt.

Fast forward to 19:12, Kevin Gagne fired a wrist shot that hit something on its way to the net, beating Hayes to give the Dogs a two-goal lead going into intermission.

Shots in the first period were 14-10 Saint John.

SECOND PERIOD
Kirkpatrick was along the boards early in the frame and sent a pass to a streaking Anthony. The Nova Scotian broke in alone but sailed a backhand shot wide of the goal. Shortly after, Nick Parker led a two-on-one charge for the Eagles but was sent it high.

The next several minutes was the equivalent of watching paint dry as the teams skated from one end to the other, occasionally making line changes and chips off the boards.

Things picked back up again as Anthony had another great chance in close but had his backhand shot stopped by Hayes.

The Sea Dogs struck again at 10:04. Galiev picked up the puck in the slot and spun around. He shot the disc glove side on Hayes and got it past the goaltender to give Saint John a 4-1 edge.

At 11:11, Gelinas and Brad Cuzner dropped the gloves in the neutral zone. It was a short bout with Cuzner getting the better of Gelinas. The Sea Dogs’ defenseman jersey came off, earning him a 10-minute misconduct along with his fighting major.

Dany Potvin was then sprung on a breakaway by getting around a Saint John d-man but was denied by DeSerres. The Sea Dogs goaltender kept coming up big as he stopped a couple of Eagles at the side of the crease.

Jean Kristoff Grenier had a wide open cage late in the frame with DeSerres way out in front of crease. Somehow, he missed the yawning the cage. The Eagles then had a power play at 16:36 with Simon Despres in the box but couldn’t generate anything.

Marc-Andre Kaiser was called for roughing at 19:14. On the man advantage, Zack Phillips hit the post on what would prove to be Saint John’s last good chance of the period. At 19:57, a scrum saw Huberdeau pick up a roughing penalty along with Morgan Ellis and Metcalfe for Cape Breton.

Shots in the middle stanza were 9-8 Sea Dogs.

THIRD PERIOD
Saint John started the third period on a five-on-three man advantage. They would make Cape Breton pay for their actions as Phillip centered the puck for Jurco in the crease. After a couple of bats, the Slovakian slid one home to make it 5-1 Sea Dogs.

With the man advantage over, some rough stuff created some four-on-four action for Saint John at 4:17 with Ryan Tesink and Cuzner heading off. Nothing would come of it, however.

The Dogs went back to the power play at 7:03 with Parker in the box but nothing would happen. Soon after the penalty expired, Raman Hrabarenka rocked Nathan Beaulieu with a hard hit by the player benches.

Galiev had a good opportunity later on but was denied in front but Hayes. Metcalfe continued his physical play soon after, dumping captain Mike Thomas with a big hit at the blue line.

Gelinas was called for interference at 14:37. Cape Breton produced some of their best pressure in the game during the span, working the puck around well and not allowing the Dogs to get the puck out for some time. But unfortunately for the home team, none of that pressure resulted in any goals.

At 18:31, a big scrum resulted in Thomas and Blake Millman dropping the gloves in a short tilt. Not many punches were thrown and the fight ended with Thomas making some bizarre WWE inspired flip move on that resulted in Cape Breton tough guy's skates almost chopping off an officials arm.

That would be all she wrote as the Dogs skated to a 5-1 win.

Shots in the final frame were 10-4 in favour of the visitors.

NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow on SN.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs and Eagles play Game Four of their opening round series tomorrow at 7:00 pm at Centre 200.

LIVE BLOG: Game Three - Sea Dogs vs Screaming Eagles

VIDEO: Games 1 & 2

Highlights from the first two games of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles – Saint John Sea Dogs playoff series have been posted by SeaDogsTV.

Watch as the Sea Dogs outscore the Eagles 17-1.

PRE-GAME: Game Three at Screaming Eagles

GAME DAY

Round One, Game Three – 2011 President’s Cup Playoffs

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

Tonight, March 29, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Centre 200

SERIES STATUS
The top-seeded Saint John Sea Dogs currently lead the 16th seeded Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 2-0 in the best-of-seven first round series.

PREVIEW
SYDNEY, NS – The season is basically on the line this evening for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Down 2-0 in their best-of-seven first round series against the Saint John Sea Dogs, the team will have to pull off a victory tonight to have any chance at all in coming back in this series.

The Eagles have barely been in this thing so far. Saint John has thrown the hammer down on Cape Breton, outscoring them 17-1 over the two playoff games. The Eagles have had a decent first period in each contest but couldn’t keep that momentum going forward into the latter frames.

Saint John has dominated both games in just about every department. It’s obvious that the Eagles’ game plan is to be physical and beat down the Sea Dogs – but that has not worked at all so far. Cape Breton has taken plenty of penalties because of their physical play, allowing Saint John to go 8-for-14 on the power play.

The Sea Dogs’ offense has been alive and well while Cape Breton has only beaten netminder Jacob DeSerres once so far in this series. Saint John’s big boys have not been held at bay at all as both Jonathan Huberdeau and Zack Phillips have recorded eight points each.

Cape Breton will look to change all of that on home ice this evening where they will last change and a hometown crowd behind them.

"Having last change will make a big difference," Eagles head coach Mario Durocher said to the Chronicle Herald. "I can put who I want against their top guys. We don’t have too much experience on our third and fourth lines but everyone on our first two lines is at least 18 years old. All season long we were able to manage the game a little bit more.”

Cape Breton was 1-3-0-0 against Saint John at Centre 200 during the regular season.

REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

	Cape Breton	Saint John
Record	18-45-1-4 (6th Maritimes)	58-7-1-2 (1st Maritimes)
Home Record	10-21-1-2	- - -
Road Record	- - -	27-7-0-1
Streak	1-0-0-0	2-0-0-0
Last 10	2-8-0-0	8-2-0-0
Goals For	154	324
Goals Against	276	165
Goals/Game	2.26 (16th)	4.76 (1st)
Goals Against/Game	4.06 (17th)	2.43 (1st)
Shots/Game	25.38 (17th)	36.81 (1st)
Shots Against/Game	30.22 (9th)	26.96 (5th)
Overall PP	15.2% (16th)	25.1% (6th)
Home PP	13.4% (17th)	- - -
Road PP	- - -	26.0% (5th)
Overall PK	74.1% (17th)	83.7% (1st)
Home PK	74.1% (16th)	- - -
Road PK	- - -	80.6% (5th)
PIM/GAME	16.1 (6th)	13.1 (13th)

SCHEDULE/RESULTS
GAME ONE – Friday, March 25: Cape Breton 0, Saint John 10
GAME TWO – Saturday, March 26: Cape Breton 1, Saint John 7
GAME THREE – Tuesday, March 29: 7 p.m. @ Centre 200
GAME FOUR – Wednesday, March 30: 7 p.m. @ Centre 200
*GAME FIVE – Friday, April 1: 7:30 p.m. @ Harbour Station
*GAME SIX – Sunday, April 3: 4 p.m. @ Centre 200
*GAME SEVEN – Tuesday, April 5: 7 p.m. @ Harbour Station
*If Necessary

FUN QUOTES
Cape Breton head coach Mario Durocher was a clown during Game One of the series, getting himself thrown out after continuous screaming at the officials and refusing the close the bench door.

Today, he called two of Saint John’s toughest forwards a couple of clowns. From the Chronicle Herald:

"With him and (Blake) Millman on the ice, (Saint John’s Alexandre) Beauregard and (Mike) Thomas will have somebody to talk to instead of (acting) like clowns around our players."

Some strong words right there.

EAGLES LINE-UP
Also from the Chronicle Herald, a few line-up notes for the Eagles:

Cape Breton forward Dany Potvin (arm) will also be back in the line-up but Cory MacIntosh (concussion) is not ready to return.

MacIntosh, who was tied for the team lead in scoring with Logan Shaw during the regular season, was hit hard by Danick Gauthier in Game One and did not play in Game Two with a suspected head injury.

WELCOME BACK
Sea Dogs forward Danick Gauthier, who was suspended for Saturday’s game for his hit on Cory MacIntosh in Game One, will likely return to the Saint John line-up this evening.

For the Eagles, they will likely have Spencer Metcalfe back in their line-up. The veteran was suspended for the first two games of this series after delivering an illegal hit on Halifax’s Darcy Ashley in the final game of the regular season.

Metcalfe had a career high three goals and six assists in 59 regular season games. He finished the year with 126 penalty minutes, good for 11th in the QMJHL.

LOOK OUT
This video has been floating around the interwebs for a few weeks now. Watch as a Moncton Wildcat makes a kid cry:



OTHER GAMES TONIGHT
Montréal at Halifax - 7:00 PM ADT
Lewiston at Moncton - 7:00 PM ADT
Shawinigan at P.E.I. - 7:00 PM ADT
Drummondville at Chicoutimi - 7:30 PM EDT
Gatineau at Rimouski - 7:30 PM EDT
Québec at Val-d'Or - 7:30 PM EDT

THE RINK
Venue: Centre 200
Capacity: 4,881
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 2,954
Playoff Average Attendance: N/A
QMJHL Arena Guide

MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Cape Breton Post, Telegraph-Journal
Live Coverage: Follow Station Nation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/station_nation) or check out the SN Live Blog on this site for live coverage of this evening’s game.

AFTER THE BUZZER
The Sea Dogs and Eagles play Game Four tomorrow night at 7:00 pm at Centre 200.

Photo Credits: Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Screaming Eagles website

VIDEO: Gauthier suspension

Danick Gauthier was suspended for yesterday’s playoff game at Harbour Station for what the league called a “dangerous bodycheck.”

Via Hockey Fights Plus, here is the video of the play.



The play occurred 59 seconds into the second period of Game One of the Saint John Sea Dogs’ playoff game against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Friday night. Gauthier was given a two-minute interference penalty for his actions.

MacIntosh did not play in Saturday’s game against Saint John. According to News 88.9, MacIntosh has a suspected head injury and will be reevaluated when the team returns home to Sydney.

If MacIntosh stays out, it will be a huge loss for Cape Breton. He finished tied with Logan Shaw for tops in team scoring with 46 points during the regular season. He led the team in helpers with 32.

The Eagles have be unable to generate much of any offense in the opening round playoff series so far. In Games One and Two combined, Cape Breton has been outscored 17-1.

Games Three is Tuesday at Centre 200.

DOGS DOWN EAGLES 7-1

SN RECAP
FINAL: Screaming Eagles 1, Sea Dogs 7

SAINT JOHN – It was only a matter of time before Jonathan Huberdeau found the back of the cage.

Huberdeau had four assists in Saint John’s 10-0 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Friday night, but the Sea Dogs' leading scorer in the regular season couldn't register a goal. On Saturday night, the 17-year old was the one doing the direct damage as he scored three times in the Sea Dogs’ 7-1 win over the Eagles at Harbour Station.

The win puts Saint John up 2-0 in the best-of-seven first round playoff series. The series now hits the road for Games Three and Four on Tuesday and Wednesday at Centre 200. Game Five, if necessary, shifts back to Saint John.

In Game Two, Stanislav Galiev, Michael Kirkpatrick, Steven Anthony, and Simon Despres also scored to go along with Huberdeau’s hat trick. Goaltender Jacob DeSerres was tested more during warm-up than in the game itself, stopping 14-of-15 shots for his second straight playoff victory.

Cape Breton scored their first goal of the series in the second period as Olivier Jodoin finally solved DeSerres. But that would be all the offense they could generate. Andrew Hayes, who started Friday’s game as well, played the full 60 minutes and allowed seven goals on 40 shots.

It wasn’t as dominating as Friday’s game, but the Sea Dogs still played a step above and then some against the Eagles. Cape Breton had a few scattered scoring opportunities, but they were never much of a match for the Dogs.

But on a positive note for Cape Breton, they did play a bit better and didn’t completely collapse in a 20-minute span like they did on Friday

Saint John has now outscored Cape Breton 17-1 in the first two games of the first round series.

With Morgan Ellis in the box, Huberdeau made it 1-0 Saint John just 1:49 into the first period. A cross ice feed hit the leg of a Cape Breton defenseman but the puck still got to Huberdeau who had a wide open cage to open the scoring.

The Sea Dogs wouldn’t strike again until almost 20 minutes later. At 1:40 of the middle frame, Galiev made some spin move to get around an Eagle and make some space. He then wired a wrist shot beat Hayes high blocker side to give Saint John a 2-0 lead.

Huberdeau scored his second of the match on another power play at 9:37. A Nathan Beaulieu point shot was stopped by Hayes but the Sea Dogs sniper was parked in front and banged the disc in to make it 3-0.

After some sweet passes, Kirkpatrick found the score sheet at 10:11 with a snipe job that beat Hayes high glove side to give Saint John a 4-0 advantage.

DeSerres would allow his first goal of the post-season at 13:31. Wes Herrett was stopped but Jodoin backhanded the rebounded past the Sea Dogs netminder to get Cape Breton on the board after 133 minutes and 31 seconds of being held scoreless in the series.

In the third, Beaulieu nearly made it 5-1 as his blast hit the crossbar.

Not long after Beaulieu’s opportunity, a cross ice feed from Zack Phillips found Huberdeau at 5:00 to complete the hat trick. It was one of Phillips' three assists in the game.

Saint John would keep the pressure on after the marker. At 7:39, Alexandre Beauregard dropped the puck back to Tomas Jurco. The Slovakian’s shot missed the mark but floated behind the goal. Jurco then flipped the disc to an open Simon Despres who scored on the strange play to make it a 6-1 game. It was an odd marker as the officials called the goal off, but after some chatting, ruled it a good goal.

The Sea Dogs closed out the scoring at 11:18 of the final frame. Some hard work along the back boards by Scott Oke allowed the puck to come free. Oke then sent the puck in front for a wide open Steven Anthony who sent a low, wide range shot that beat Hayes to make it a 7-1 final.

Saint John went 2-for-5 on the man advantage while Cape Breton went 0-for-6.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs head to Sydney to face the Screaming Eagles in Game Three on Tuesday at 7:00 pm.

GAUTHIER SUSPENDED

What a way to start the playoffs – only seven players got suspended!

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Disciplinary Prefect, Raymond Bolduc, today suspended seven players following incidents which occurred during last night’s playoff games. It was the first game of the post-season for all but two teams.

Of those seven players suspended, Saint John Sea Dogs forward Danick Gauthier was one of them. Gauthier receieved a one-game suspension for what the league is calling a “dangerous bodycheck.”

There was plenty of hitting and physical play in last night’s 10-0 Saint John win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles at Harbour Station. Among that physical play were a few cheap hits along the boards and some junk after the whistles.

The Eagles are expected to play physical in this series and they did just that last night. Unfortunately for them, many of those plays resulted in penalties.

Game Two of the best-of-seven series goes tonight at 7:00 pm at the Station.

The list of the other seven players suspended can be found here.

The decisions were rendered after reviewing the videotapes of the incidents, gathering the testimonies from the players and the organizations involved, reading the officials’ reports and consulting the independent committee in the matter of disciplinary sanctions.

The Disciplinary Prefect will not be available for further comment.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

POSTSCRIPT: Screaming Eagles 0, Sea Dogs 10

FINAL: Screaming Eagles 0, Sea Dogs 10

FULL RECAP

DOGS DOMINATE
SAINT JOHN – Complete domination by the Saint John Sea Dogs gave them a 10-0 victory over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Friday night at Harbour Station. The Sea Dogs now have a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Quebec Major Junior Hockey League opening round playoff series.

It was a bit of shaky first period and the Sea Dogs led just 1-0 after one. But Saint John kicked it up a notch in the second period, scoring seven times and adding two more in the third period.

Zack Phillips scored four times, Stanislav Galiev had a pair of goals, and singles came from Eric Gelinas, Tomas Jurco, Mike Thomas, and Ryan Tesink. Jacob DeSerres made 19 saves in net for the shutout.

“We capitalized on our opportunities,’’ Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant said to the Telegraph-Journal. “The first period was a little slow, but after that we took control. It’s nice to see your power play work.’’

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Forwards Jason Cameron and Aidan Kelly along with defenseman Jason Seed were all healthy scratches.

PICKING STUFF UP
One of the biggest debates going into this game: would Sea Dogs captain Mike Thomas touch the Jean Rougeau Trophy?

The answer was a definite yes as the fifth-year Sea Dog picked the hardware up off of the table at centre ice. QMJHL Commissioner Gilles Courteau was on hand to present the regular season championship honour to the Sea Dogs franchise. It was the second straight year that Saint John has won the award.

Last season, Thomas chose not to touch the trophy and the Sea Dogs lost in the President’s Cup Finals. In 2008, Sidney Crosby did not touch the Eastern Conference Championship trophy and the Pittsburgh Penguins lost in the final. The next year, Crosby picked up the trophy and the Pens went on to win the Stanley Cup. Thomas and the Sea Dogs hope to have the same luck.

The team also received its second straight Luc Robitaille Trophy for most goals scored, and first ever Robert LeBel Trophy for best goals-against average. According to the Sea Dogs website, “it’s the first time in the 10-year history of the Luc Robitaille Trophy that a team has won both the Robitaille and LeBel.”

FIRST PERIOD TROUBLES
Despite the lopsided score, it was only 1-0 after 20 minutes of play.

Compared to some of the games they have played in at Harbour Station this season, it wasn’t a bad period by Cape Breton. They were only outshot 14-9 and had a few good scoring chances. Sea Dogs goaltender Jacob DeSerres made a huge glove save on Logan Shaw early on and then two players hit the post.

Saint John’s defense was a bit slow getting going and the team played somewhat ‘blah’ in the opening frame. The Dogs also took six penalties in the first period.

DUROCHER TOSSED
Cape Breton head coach Mario Durocher had a rough night. Not only did his team lose 10-0 in the first game of the playoffs, but he was ejected late in the second period after yelling and trying to get a referee’s attention for several minutes.

Durocher just wasn’t helping his team out at all as his actions gave Saint John some power play time. He wouldn’t close the bench door for some reason and stood screaming at the officials.

What a coach, what a human.

Sadly, his team seemed to play better without him as his team allowed just two goals in the third period compared to the seven allowed in the second.

He left to a round of cheers from the crowd at Harbour Station. He put on a good show. We give him 4/5 stars.

ZACK ATTACK
Zack Phillips started the post-season on a high note. The Sea Dogs’ second best scorer from the regular season lit up the Eagles, recording four goals and adding an assist. All four of his markers were on the man advantage.

His first goal at 6:15 of the second period came after Nathan Beaulieu and Jonathan Huberdeau both hit the post, allowing Phillips to bang the dancing puck into an open cage. At 6:48, Beaulieu sent a laser of a cross ice pass down low to Phillips who went roof daddy on Eagles netminder Andrew Hayes.

Fast-forward 18:26 of the middle frame, Phillips recorded his hat trick goal after another nice cross ice feed from Beaulieu. A few pieces of head ware found the ice after the goal.

In the third, Phillips became the first player in franchise history to record four goals in one game. At 14:31, a Stanislav Galiev wrist shot hit a skate and deflected to the Fredericton native who quickly got the puck on goal to make it a 9-0 game at that point.

MacAULAY VS KAISER
At 2:50 of the third period, Stephen MacAulay and Marc-Andre Kaiser dropped the gloves for a short tilt. As the video shows, they also try to fight the 50/50 draw.



QUICK HITS
Unreal playoff haircuts… the Sea Dogs seven-goal second period outburst was the most goals scored in one-period in franchise history… Zack Phillips had a team high six shots for the Sea Dogs… Morgan Ellis, Cory MacIntosh, and Denis Kindl each had four shots for Cape Breton… Alexandre Beauregard had six hits… bunch of Eagles players had two hits… Saint John has never lost a playoff series when they have won the first game… the Dogs are 1-4 all-time against the Eagles in the playoffs. This was their first win against them… the 10 goals ties a franchise record for goals in a playoff game... for pictures from the game, check out Marc Henwood’s photos on Facebook.

NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs and Eagles tango again tonight at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station in Game Two of their first round series.

Photo Credits: Marc Henwood/Station Nation, QMJHL website, Marc Henwood/Station Nation

PRE-GAME: Game Two vs Screaming Eagles

GAME DAY

Round One, Game Two - 2011 President’s Cup Playoffs

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight, 7:00 pm

Harbour Station

SERIES STATUS
The top-seeded Saint John Sea Dogs currently lead the 16th seeded Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 1-0 in the best-of-seven first round series.

PREVIEW
SAINT JOHN – Following last night’s blowout of epic proportions, the Saint John Sea Dogs and Cape Breton screaming Eagles go right back at tonight at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station in Game Two of their President’s Cup playoffs first round series.

This series wasn’t expected to be very close, but the Sea Dogs’ destruction of the Screaming Eagles in the opening game was a bit stunning. The Eagles had a pretty good first period, but completely lost control of the game in the second period.

The Sea Dogs scored just once in the first and then turned on the jets in the middle frame, scoring a franchise record seven goals over the 20-minute span. Saint John added two more insurance markers in the third to make it a 10-0 final.

The Eagles just imploded. They took a ton of penalties, applied no offensive pressure in the middle stanza at all, and lost their cool as the game grew on. Eagles coach Mario Durocher was tossed from the game late in the second period after repeatedly trying to get the referees attention and not closing the bench door.
Unfortunately for Cape Breton, they have a minimum of three games left in this series. They’ll need to do the opposite of what they did in the second period to have any success at all. The team was undisciplined and it was costly as Saint John went an amazing 6-for-9 on the power play. Five of those power play goals came in the second period.

For Saint John, they’ll need to stay a bit more composed as well. They gave Cape Breton six power play opportunities but, fortunately, the Eagles offense was a no show. The Sea Dogs also got off to a slow start and really did not have a great first period. The Eagles had some decent chances in the opening frame and even hit a couple of goal posts.

A Sea Dogs win today would give them a commanding 2-0 series lead heading to Sydney for Game Three on Tuesday.

REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

	Cape Breton	Saint John
Record	18-45-1-4 (6th Maritimes)	58-7-1-2 (1st Maritimes)
Home Record	- - -	32-0-1-1
Road Record	8-24-0-2	- - -
Streak	1-0-0-0	2-0-0-0
Last 10	2-8-0-0	8-2-0-0
Goals For	154	324
Goals Against	276	165
Goals/Game	2.26 (16th)	4.76 (1st)
Goals Against/Game	4.06 (17th)	2.43 (1st)
Shots/Game	25.38 (17th)	36.81 (1st)
Shots Against/Game	30.22 (9th)	26.96 (5th)
Overall PP	15.2% (16th)	25.1% (6th)
Home PP	- - -	24.4% (8th)
Road PP	16.9% (14th)	- - -
Overall PK	74.1% (17th)	83.7% (1st)
Home PK	- - -	86.1% (1st)
Road PK	74.1% (17th)	- - -
PIM/GAME	16.1 (6th)	13.1 (13th)

SCHEDULE/RESULTS
GAME ONE – Friday, March 25: Cape Breton 0, Saint John 10
GAME TWO – Saturday, March 26: 7 p.m. @ Harbour Station
GAME THREE – Tuesday, March 29: 7 p.m. @ Centre 200
GAME FOUR – Wednesday, March 30: 7 p.m. @ Centre 200
*GAME FIVE – Friday, April 1: 7:30 p.m. @ Harbour Station
*GAME SIX – Sunday, April 3: 4 p.m. @ Centre 200
*GAME SEVEN – Tuesday, April 5: 7 p.m. @ Harbour Station
*If Necessary

PHYSICAL AFFAIR
This game had a lot of nastiness to it and it started just after the first whistle was blown in the first period. There was a lot of scrums after whistles and stuff as well as a few cheap hits into the boards by both teams.

Not surprisingly, it was Cape Breton who was starting most of this stuff. They seemed to be trying to get Saint John’s top players off their games with a physical tone, but after a while the Sea Dogs were not biting and the Eagles got into penalty trouble.

The Eagles had a hard time containing all four of Saint John’s lines, allowing the Sea Dogs to open the flood gates in the second period.

Saint John did get involved in some stuff that resulted in penalties though, something they can try and correct this evening.

ZACK ATTACK
It was a huge night for Zack Phillips who scored a team record four goals in one game. He also added an assist in the blowout win.

All four of his goals came on the power play with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nathan Beaulieu assisting on three of those goals. Stanislav Galiev had the lone helper on the fourth goal.

OTHER GAMES TONIGHT
P.E.I. at Shawinigan - 4:00 PM EDT
Victoriaville at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:00 PM ADT
Chicoutimi at Drummondville - 7:00 PM EDT
Rimouski at Gatineau - 7:00 PM EDT
Moncton at Lewiston - 7:00 PM EDT
Val-d'Or at Québec - 7:00 PM EDT

THE RINK
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 4,360
Playoff Average Attendance: 4,007
QMJHL Arena Guide

MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Cape Breton Post
Live Coverage: There will no live coverage from Station Nation during this game.

AFTER THE BUZZER
The Sea Dogs head to Cape Breton Tuesday night for Game Three of the best-of-seven first round series. Game time is 7:00 pm.

Photo Credits: Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Saint John Mill Rats Facebook page

DOGS LOWER BOOM ON EAGLES

SN RECAP
FINAL: Screaming Eagles 0, Sea Dogs 10

SAINT JOHN – It came as no real surprise, but the scene at Harbour Station was alarming nonetheless.

The top-ranked Saint John Sea Dogs threw the hammer down Friday night, dismantling the 16th seeded Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-0 in Game One of the opening round of the President’s Cup playoffs. The two teams meet once again tomorrow at Harbour Station for Game Two of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League series.

It was only 1-0 Saint John after one period – but then the second period started. The Sea Dogs scored seven goals in the middle frame and outshot the Eagles 22-3. In the third, the Dogs would add two more to make it a 10-0 final.

Zack Phillips was a beast, scoring four goals in a game for the first time in team history. Stanislav Galiev kept his hot play going by scoring two goals while Eric Gelinas, Tomas Jurco, Mike Thomas, and Ryan Tesink added single markers.

Jonathan Huberdeau and Nathan Beaulieu added four assists in the blowout win.

Goaltender Jacob DeSerres picked up his first QMJHL post-season win in net, making 19 saves for a shutout.

The Eagles had nothing in the tank in terms of offense. Andrew Hayes allowed eight goals on 36 shots through 40 minutes of play. Alexandre Veronneau was beaten twice on 14 shots.

Saint John was an insane 6-for-9 on the power play while Cape Breton was 0-for-6.

This kind of blowout wasn’t unexpected. 78 points separate the two teams in the standings and it looked like 78 points separated the two teams in the standings tonight. It’s hard to believe this was actually a playoff game.

It's always nice to see the Sea Dogs win – but this was brutal. This was only Game One, and could get even uglier.

NOTES: For more on this game see SN Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs and Screaming Eagles play Game Two Saturday night at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.

NO LIVE COVERAGE FOR GAMES 1 & 2

SAINT JOHN – SN will not be offering in-game tweets or a live blog for this evening’s playoff game at Harbour Station between the Saint John Sea Dogs and the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Game Two of the first round playoff series - which will be played tomorrow at 7:00 pm - will also be without live coverage.

The rest of the series will be covered as usual.

For score updates, follow the Sea Dogs on Twitter.

The SN Pre-Game for tonight’s game can be found here.

PRE-GAME: Game One vs Screaming Eagles

GAME DAY

Round One, Game One - 2011 President’s Cup Playoffs

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight, 7:30 pm

Harbour Station

SERIES STATUS
This is Game One of the best-of-seven first round series between the 16th seeded Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and the top-seeded Saint John Sea Dogs.

PREVIEW
SAINT JOHN – For the players and the fans, it has been a long wait. But finally, the Saint John Sea Dogs’ road to redemption begins this evening at 7:30 pm at Harbour Station as Round One of their 2011 President’s Cup Playoff series begins.

Last May, the Sea Dogs made it all the way to Game Six of the finals before bowing out to the Moncton Wildcats. Saint John lost their two best forwards from a year ago, their No. 1 goaltender, and one of their top defenseman made the jump to the pro ranks. But their core of young forwards, a WHL castoff goalie, and a solid backend have put the Sea Dogs in better position than they were in a year ago.

Saint John was the top-seeded team at this time a season ago as well. But it didn’t matter as the Wildcats, on paper, were a better team and were considered the favourites. But this time around, the pressure is on Saint John. The team had one of the greatest regular seasons in Canadian Hockey League history, they reset almost every team record, and didn’t lose a regulation game on home ice.

Although it’s a lot of pressure for a group of teenagers to handle, this team is the favourite to represent the QMJHL at the Memorial Cup. Not making it that far would surely be viewed as a disappointment.

That road to the Memorial Cup begins tonight in Game One. The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles are in town for what is a huge mismatch. Cape Breton is 78 points back of Saint John and they will have to play their best hockey of the year to have any chance at all in winning this thing.

The Eagles are expected to be physical and try to beat down the Sea Dogs. Saint John’s offense will have to be shut down in order for Cape Breton to have any success.

REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

	Cape Breton	Saint John
Record	18-45-1-4 (6th Maritimes)	58-7-1-2 (1st Maritimes)
Home Record	- - -	32-0-1-1
Road Record	8-24-0-2	- - -
Streak	1-0-0-0	2-0-0-0
Last 10	2-8-0-0	8-2-0-0
Goals For	154	324
Goals Against	276	165
Goals/Game	2.26 (16th)	4.76 (1st)
Goals Against/Game	4.06 (17th)	2.43 (1st)
Shots/Game	25.38 (17th)	36.81 (1st)
Shots Against/Game	30.22 (9th)	26.96 (5th)
Overall PP	15.2% (16th)	25.1% (6th)
Home PP	- - -	24.4% (8th)
Road PP	16.9% (14th)	- - -
Overall PK	74.1% (17th)	83.7% (1st)
Home PK	- - -	86.1% (1st)
Road PK	74.1% (17th)	- - -
PIM/GAME	16.1 (6th)	13.1 (13th)

SCHEDULE/RESULTS
GAME ONE – Friday, March 25: 7:30 p.m. @ Harbour Station
GAME TWO – Saturday, March 26: 7 p.m. @ Harbour Station
GAME THREE – Tuesday, March 29: 7 p.m. @ Centre 200
GAME FOUR – Wednesday, March 30: 7 p.m. @ Centre 200
*GAME FIVE – Friday, April 1: 7:30 p.m. @ Harbour Station
*GAME SIX – Sunday, April 3: 4 p.m. @ Centre 200
*GAME SEVEN – Tuesday, April 5: 7 p.m. @ Harbour Station
*If Necessary

EAGLES LINEUP NOTES
From the Cape Breton Post:

Overage defenceman Spencer Metcalfe will miss the first two games of the series due to a suspension for charging during the final game of the regular season against the Halifax Mooseheads, Sunday. They’ll also be without forward Dany Potvin (thumb) who’s listed as day-to-day and Kyle Farrell (knee) who will likely miss the series.

Metcalfe hit Halifax Mooseheads forward Darcy Ashley last Sunday, a hit that was deemed illegal. Here is the video of the play:



SEA DOGS LINEUP NOTES
All hands should be on deck for Saint John. Captain Mike Thomas missed the final two games of the regular season with a lower body injury that did not sound too serious.

THE TROPHIES
QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau will be in house this evening to present the Sea Dogs the Jean Rougeau Trophy as regular season champions. It is the second year in-a-row that the franchise has won the award.

The big question – will captain Mike Thomas touch the trophy? He chose not to touch/lift the trophy a year ago and the Sea Dogs ended up losing in the President’s Cup Finals.

Saint John will also be awarded the Luc Robitaille Trophy as the highest scoring team in the league and the Robert LeBel Trophy for the best goals-against average.

LOOKING FOR A SPLIT
Saint John has only lost two home games all year – one in a shootout and one in overtime. They became the first QMJHL team to ever go an entire season without losing a game in regulation on home ice. Despite that, the Screaming Eagles are still looking for a split.

"We’re playing our first two games there and it would be really good to come back with at least a win," defenseman Morgan Ellis said to the Chronicle Herald yesterday. "Then we’d have two games in our barn so that would probably be the best situation possible."

Cape Breton was 0-4-0-0 at Harbour Station this season and allowed eight goals in each of their last two games in the facility.

GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER
It’s pretty rare when teams play each other seven times in one month. But the Sea Dogs and Eagles will do just that.

The two squads have met three times this month already with the Sea Dog coming out victorious in each match. The first four games in this series will all be played in March, meaning the two will meet seven times this month.

That’s quite a few games.

OTHER GAMES TONIGHT
Victoriaville at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:30 PM ADT
Val-d'Or at Québec - 7:00 PM EDT
Halifax at Montréal - 7:05 PM EDT
Chicoutimi at Drummondville - 7:30 PM EDT
Rimouski at Gatineau - 7:30 PM EDT
Moncton at Lewiston - 7:30 PM EDT
P.E.I. at Shawinigan - 7:30 PM EDT

THE RINK
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 4,478
Playoff Average Attendance: N/A
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, Cape Breton Post
Live Coverage: Station Nation will not be offering in-game tweets or a Live Blog this evening.

AFTER THE BUZZER
The Sea Dog and Screaming Eagles meet tomorrow night at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station in Game Two of the first round.

Photo Credits: Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Saint John Sea Dogs, Marc Grandmaison