QUEBEC VS GATINEAU IN OTHER SEMIFINAL

The Quebec Remparts will face the Gatineau Olympiques in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s other semifinal.

The Remparts advanced to the third round following a 9-2 blowout victory over the Shawinigan Cataractes in Game Seven of their quarter-final series tonight. Vincent Barnard and Mikael Tam scored twice for the winners while singles came courtesy of Mirko Hoefflin, Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, Joel Champagne, Frederick Roy, and Matthew Brown. Louis Domingue made 27 saves in net for the win.

Quebec had 2-0 and 3-1 series leads but the Cataractes hung around and managed to take it to a Game Seven.

The Remaprts, the No. 3 seeded team and the highest seed remaining behind the top-ranked Saint John Sea Dogs, will now face the No. 5 seeded Olympiques. Gatineau advanced to the semifinals with a 4-2 series win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

Quebec finished the regular season with a record of 48-16-1-3 while Gatineau went 43-17-3-5.

Saint John will host the eighth-seeded Lewiston MAINEiacs in the other semi-final.

Only two of the top four seeds remain in the playoff race.

A TOUGH TRIP AHEAD

GATINEAU, Que. – The Canadian Hockey League’s top-ranked team is way up in Gatineau, Quebec preparing to kick off a three-in-three road trip through La Belle Province. It will be the Saint John Sea Dogs' last major Quebec road swing of the season and it will also be one of their toughest.

After Friday’s tilt against the Olympiques, the Sea Dogs travel to Victoriaville on Saturday and then close out the venture on Sunday in Shawinigan. Game time tomorrow night is 8:30 pm while the two other matches begin at 5:00 pm.

It will be a stiff test for Saint John. All three teams have above .500 records with the Tigres having the worst winning percentage at a fairly solid .559. Shawinigan sits sixth overall on the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League standings, Gatineau seventh, and Victoriaville ninth.

The Dogs sit comfortably atop the QMJHL standings with a nine-point lead over the Montreal Juniors with two games in hand. But Saint John will have to crank up the intensity level as all three squads should be pumped and ready to go. Although the three organizations have all clinched a playoff spot, all teams in the middle of the standings are jockeying for post-season positioning.

Saint John is currently on their hottest stretch of the season having won 14 straight and going 21 consecutive contests without losing in regulation. They are a decent hockey team.

Along with the winning streak, the weekend of action will provide some other interesting story lines. Tomorrow night, two of the league’s most dangerous offensive players in Saint John’s Jonathan Huberdeau and Gatineau’s Philip-Michael Devos will go head-to-head. Devos currently leads the QMJHL in scoring with 94 points while Huberdeau is third with 87.

On Saturday, the Dogs will travel to Victoriaville for the first time since the 2010 semi-finals. Saint John won the series 4-2, sending them to the President’s Cup final.

Finally, the trek will end Sunday afternoon as the Sea Dogs enter the Bionest Centre to play the Cataractes. These two teams met last Saturday at Harbour Station with Saint John prevailing by score of 7-3.

Of course, this match will see the two strongest bidders for the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup play each other. The Shawinigan media has been slamming the Sea Dogs of late, mainly about the drafting of Huberdeau saga. No clue what they might pull out of their hats this weekend.

As always, SN will have pre- and post-game coverage of every match as well as an in-game blog. Be there.

SEED TRADED TO SAINT JOHN

The Saint John Sea Dogs acquired some defensive depth this afternoon.

The club announced today that they have acquired 18-year old defenseman Jason Seed from the Gatineau Olympiques in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2011 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft.

“We feel Jason offers us another experienced defenseman who has playoff experience,” said Sea Dogs director of hockey operations Mike Kelly in a release. “We feel this player gives us depth at a very important position and are thrilled to have him join our team.”

The Sea Dogs next game is this Tuesday against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at Harbour Station, but according to the Sea Digs website, “Seed is expected to join the team for practice Wednesday.”

Considered more of a defensive defenseman, Seed played in 46 games with the Olympiques last season, recording one goal, three assists, and 14 penalty minutes. He appeared in 11 playoff contests and recorded no points to go along with four penalty minutes.

This season, Seed has appeared in 37 games for Gatineau, registering just one assist to accompany 20 penalty minutes. The Ottawa native appeared in the Olympiques’ road game at Harbour Station in December.

Le Droit mentions that the Olympiques are pretty full on the backend, and Seed may have had difficulty maintaining a roster spot with several defenders returning soon.

The Sea Dogs have been without Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Simon Despres over the past few games due to him participating in the World Junior Hockey Championships. The tournament ends on Wednesday. Also, Kevin Gagne is out for an undetermined amount of time with an upper body injury.

Saint John’s defense wasn’t spectacular on Sunday against Moncton and both Gagne and Despres were definitely missed. With the QMJHL entering its stretch run, adding defensive depth with some experience can only be a positive thing.

The QMJHL's trade period ends on Thursday.

DOGS TAKE DOWN OLYMPIQUES

SN RECAP
FINAL: Olympiques 2, Sea Dogs 5

SAINT JOHN – Make it eight straight wins for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League club has been hotter-than-toast (pictured) over the past few weeks. Their hot play continued Saturday night at Harbour Station as the Sea Dogs defeated the Gatineau Olympiques 5-2.

Tomas Jurco had a pair of goals while Stanislav Galiev, Stephen MacAulay, and Zach Phillips added singles. Jacob DeSerres had another solid game in net, stopping 25 shots.

Another dominant first period guided Saint John to yet another home victory. The Sea Dogs improved to an insane record of 15-0-0-1 at Harbour Station this season.

Tye McGinn and Raphael Lafontaine scored for the visitors who had their seven game winning streak snapped. Francois Lacerte started the game in net for Gatineau, allowing three goals on 18 shots. Maxime Clermont relieved the goaltender to start the second period. He didn’t fare much better, allowing two goals on 17 shots.

FIRST PERIOD
Jonathan Huberdeau had the best chance early after a Gatineau defenseman turned the puck over. Huberdeau cut through the crease and went to the forehand but was robbed by Olympiques starting goaltender Francois Lacerte. Then, Mike Thomas fed a streaking Guillaume Cloutier who was denied by the pad of the Gatineau goaltender.

After a failed power play attempt by the Sea Dogs, Tomas Jurco opened the scoring for the home team. Jurco fired a shot right on Lacerte who kicked the puck away. But Jurco found his own rebound and managed to get enough on the shot to go off the Olympiques goaltender and in to make it a 1-0 game at 7:14.

Gabriel Bourret went to the box at 7:37 for tripping. Christian Ouellet had the best chance for the visitors on the power play, missing a wide open net on the doorstep as the puck was tangled in his skates. With the man advantage over, Philippe Halley had a short breakaway but shot wide of Jacob DeSerres in the Sea Dogs goal.

At 11:46, a great pass from along the boards found Stanislav Galiev who crept down to the crease area. The puck slid off Galiev’s stick and slid under the legs of Lacerte to make it a 2-0 Saint John game.

The Sea Dogs made it 3-0 at 19:48. Lacerte stopped a point shot but couldn’t stop the rebound as Stephen MacAulay found it and had an open net to add to Saint John’s lead.

Shots in the first period were 18-7.

SECOND PERIOD
Maxime Clermont replaced Lacerte to start the second period of play. It was Gatineau having the best chance early as Tommy Tremblay cut through the crease but was robbed by the leg of DeSerres.

Steven Anthony then had a good chance for Saint John as he tried to cut across the top of the crease, getting a shot off that was stopped by the pad of Clermont. Then rookie Jason Cameron had a solid chance on a nice shot through traffic but was denied.

Gatineau got on the board at 10:08 of the middle frame as a pass from behind the net found Tye McGinn in front. He pulled off a nice spin move and beat DeSerres with a low backhand shot to make it a 3-1 game.

After Despres hammered McGinn in the end zone at 12:39, Gatineau went to the man advantage. Jean-Gabriel Pageau had a good chance on a one-timer at the side of the net but was stopped by DeSerres.

With the ‘Piques power play over, Saint John went back to work. A pass from the far corner went cross ice to Jurco on the doorstep but he tipped the puck wide.

The Sea Dogs got their three goal lead back at 16:15. Kevin Gagne came down the wing and centered to a streaking Jurco. The import made a deke to the backhand and roofed the puck past Clermont to make it a 4-1 contest.

At 18:55, Huberdeau tried to enter the zone on a breakaway but was hooked up and rewarded with a penalty shot. The skilled sniper pulled off his trademark move to the forehand but Clermont made the stop.

Shots in the second stanza were 10 apiece.

THIRD PERIOD
In the final frame, MacAulay came down the wing and cut in front, letting a shot loose that went wide.

Saint John went to the power play at 3:24. Nathan Beaulieu let a point shot go through some traffic but Clermont got just enough of the puck with his trapper to keep the puck out. A few moments later, Anthony hit the crossbar.

Gatineau got their second marker of the match at 7:10. With Clermont on the bench in favour of an extra attacker on a delayed penalty, Raphael Lafontaine walked out from behind the goal line and jammed the puck under DeSerres to make it a two goal game with lots of time left.

Gatineau was buzzing following the goal, getting some decent pressure on but just couldn’t score.

The ‘Piques took a lethal penalty at 11:24. On the man advantage, Beaulieu sent a bullet pass from the point down low to Phillips. The Fredericton native simply redirected the puck into the net, hardly moving his stick, to make it a 5-2 game.

Adam Janosik had a good offensive opportunity late, making a deke to the backhand that forced DeSerres to make a great sprawling save.

Gatineau had a late power play chance but it was too late, giving Saint John a 5-2 victory.

Shots in the third were 10-7 Gatineau.

Saint John went 1/3 on the power play while the Olympiques went 0/5.
NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs travel to Charlottetown to face the PEI Rocket Tuesday at 7:00 pm.

LIVE BLOG: Olympiques vs Sea Dogs

Note: Comments are OFF

LAPORTE RETURNS TO SAINT JOHN

If you wear #7 on an opposing team at Harbour Station, you should probably be mentally prepared for a chorus of boos.

Angelo Esposito found that out in his four year Quebec Major Junior Hockey League career, hearing the boos every time he touched the puck. But Esposito was nothing more than your average draft dodger, opting to join the Quebec Remparts back in 2005 after he was believed to be going the NCAA route.

When you want a true villain who gained hate by on-ice play, there is only one place to look – Hugo Laporte.

The Gatineau Olympiques defenseman may never win the QMJHL’s top defenseman award or the National Hockey League’s Norris Trophy, but Laporte has a legit shot at winning an Academy Award some day as best male actor.

At the 19:00 minute mark of Game One of the QMJHL Quarter-Final series between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Olympiques last year, Laporte crossed the blue line and ran into a backward skating Mike Thomas. The two collided knee-on-knee in what look like an accidental collision.

Play happened at 1:30 of this video:



Thomas was given a five minute major and game misconduct while Laporte, to quote SN’s Bert Richardson, “sat on the ice and held his knee like a train ran over it.”

Laporte managed to make his way off the ice with the support if his teammates.

It was a frustrating time for Sea Dogs fans. At playoff time last year, it was conspiracy theory city involving Thomas’ physical play. If there was a loud noise after a hit, Thomas was likely tossed from the game and often suspended. If it was at all a borderline hit, collision, or action, Thomas was likely to get an extended penalty.

“What the hell do the officials have against Thomas anyways,” writes one commenter on YouTube. “I'm getting tired of seeing Thomas playing a less agressive game trying not to get suspended. I imagine or I hope the they review this call and see it's a bogus call. Play with your heart Mike!!!”

“OMF!!! that was a non-sense misconduct! thomas didnt even move,” writes another. “the other buddy skated into him!”

All the hate, anger, and frustration carried over into the second period as Laporte returned to the ice in fine form.

A villain was born.

Every time Laporte touched the puck following his return, he was booed mercifully. The fans clearly had an effect on Laporte as he was given a misconduct for shoving an official in the third period. “Harbour Station gave a standing ovation to the confused and stunned defenseman,” reports the SN Post-Game from April 3.

All that hate, of course, carried over into Game Two at Harbour Station. Some of the more casual fans could be seen asking why Laporte was booed to the Sea Dogs faithful. Everybody wanted in on the hate.

Twitter became a popular weapon for Laporte fans as the tag #BooLaporte caught on throughout the series and continues to be an inside joke.

Will that hate carry over into tonight’s match? Who knows.

As Andrew McGilligan pointed out on the News 88.9 Sea Dogs post-game show last night, Saint John has always had a smart and aware hockey crowd. But, even so, booing a Gatineau defenseman eight months after the initial play would be impressive.

So tonight, sit back, relax, and boo Laporte.

Photo Credits: David Connell Web Album, David Connell Web Album, David Connell Web Album, KJ McLean

PRE-GAME: Gatineau Olympiques vs Saint John Sea Dogs

By Station Nation Staff

GAME DAY
WHO: Gatineau Olympiques vs Saint John Sea Dogs
WHEN: Tonight, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Harbour Station

VISITING TEAM: Gatineau Olympiques
Record: 19-8-2-2 (Tied 2nd in Telus West Division)
Last Game: 3-2 overtime win at Moncton yesterday
Leading Scorer: Jean-Gabriel Pageau (31GP-16G-15A-31Pts)
Notes: The Gatineau Olympiques arrive in Saint John with a record of 19-8-2-2 which places them in a tie for second in the tough Telus West Division with the Drummondville Voltigeurs. The two teams are six points back of the division leading Montreal Juniors. The Olympiques are tied for fifth overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League… Gatineau is coming off a 3-2 overtime win in Moncton against the Wildcats last night. Hugo Laporte and Philippe Halley scored in regulation while Adam Janosik scored at 4:11 of overtime on a power play to win the game for the ‘Piques. Former Cape Breton Screaming Eagles goaltender Francois Lacerte made 25 saves in the win. Gatineau scored two of their three goals on the man advantage… the Olympiques are streaking right now dispite some injuries to their squad. The team has won seven straight games and are 8-1-1-0 in their last 10 games… this is the third game of a four game road swing through Atlantic Canada for the Olympiques. Their trip started Wednesday with a 4-1 victory in PEI over the Rocket. The team then beat Moncton in overtime last night, play in Saint John this evening, and wrap things up tomorrow afternoon at Bathurst… on the road this year, Gatineau is 9-3-1-2 and have gained 21 of their 42 points away from home. They have outscored their opposition on the road 41-21… Gatineau’s power play is ranked tenth overall in the QMJHL with a rating of 0.206.Their rating slips to 0.200 on the road… the Olympiques’ penalty kill is ranked 13th in the league with a rating of 0.764. On the road, they are producing a penalty kill of 0.787… Jean-Gabriel Pageau leads the ‘Piques in scoring this season with 31 points in 31 contests. Pageau also leads the team in goals with 16 and assists with 15… Tommy Tremblay has a team best +19 rating… with Lacerte starting in goal last night, Maxime Clermont will likely get the call between the pipes this afternoon. The star netminder has a record of 14-4-1-2, a goals against average of 2.39, and a save percentage of 0.903. His last start was Wednesday in Charlottetown where he made 26 saves in a 4-1 Gatineau victory… Gatineau has taken the fourth most fighting majors of any team in the league this season with 35. They team is led by Scott Sandercock, who has five fighting majors to go along with his overall unreal name.

HOME TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 23-3-0-2 (1st in Maritime Division)
Last Game: 6-2 win vs Lewiston yesterday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (28GP-20G-24A-44Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs come into today’s action with a record of 23-3-0-2 which is good for first in the Maritime Division and are currently eight points up on the second place Moncton Wildcats. The Sea Dogs are tied with the Montreal Juniors for first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 48 points… the team was ranked second in this week’s edition of the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings… Saint John is coming off a rather solid win over a good team in the Lewiston Maineiacs last night at Harbour Station. Six different goal scorers - Jonathan Huberdeau, Danick Gauthier, Michael Kirkpatrick, Tomas Jurco, Simon Despres, and Mike Thomas - all scored for the winners. Goaltender Frederic Piche made 28 saves to pick up the win… the Sea Dogs continued their hot ways with a victory last night. Like Gatineau, Saint John has now won seven straight contests. They are 9-0-0-1 in their last 10 games and have picked 27 of a possible 28 points over the past 14 games. The squad has not lost in regulation since October 22nd in Bathurst… the team continues to lead the QMJHL in goals scored. They have now recorded 141 goals in 28 games for a per-game average of 5.03… Saint John continues to dominate at Harbour Station. The team is now 14-0-0-1 at home this season and have outscored their opposition by a whopping 80-29 margin. The Dogs are averaging 5.33 goals per-game at the Station in 15 matches… Saint John’s power play has been fairly solid over the past few games. The team now has a rating of 0.227 which places them seventh overall in the QMJHL… the Sea Dogs’ penalty kill is also ranked seventh with a rating of 0.807… Jonathan Huberdeau still leads Saint John in scoring with 44 points in 28 games… Huberdeau and Phillips both have a team high 20 goals. The two are tied with Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Ondrej Palat for second overall in league goal scoring with 20 markers each… Huberdeau also leads Saint John in helpers with 24, penalty minutes with 44, and has a league best +35 rating… 20-year old Jacob DeSerres will likely get the start in goal this evening. DeSerres has a record of 8-1-0-0, a goals against average of 2.66, and a save percentage of 0.902. His last start was Wednesday in Bathurst where he made 32 saves in a 7-2 Sea Dogs victory.

HARD TIMES
The Olympiques have managed to pull off seven straight wins without two of their best players.

Nicolas Deslauriers remains out of action with a knee injury he suffered in mid-November in a game against the Moncton Wildcats where he collided with Scott Trask. Deslauriers, who was a strong candidate to make Canada’s world junior team this year, had five goals and 13 assists in 19 games before going down.

Gatineau has also been without their captain, Hubert Labrie. “Labrie has been out of action since the second day of training camp in August, when he received a seemingly innocent check from teammate Jacob Conrad behind the net during a scrimmage,” reports the Ottawa Citizen. “Labrie's right skate caught in the ice and his knee twisted, rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament. “

He is expected to be out the ‘Piques lineup until February or March.

"When I watch a game, it's hard," Labrie says. "Every game, it's like I want to be on the ice to help my teammates, to be in the room and close to the guys. I'm there for everybody. I'm the captain and it's my job."

REMATCH
This will be the first meeting between these two teams since Game Four of the QMJHL Quarter-Finals.

Saint John dominated the series, winning it in four straight. It wasn’t just the playoffs, though, as the Sea Dogs had the Olympiques’ number last season.

From the SN Sea Dogs Post-Game Notebook following Game Four:

Regular season and post-season combined, Saint John finishes with a record of 7-0 against Gatineau this year. That includes a 4-0 record at the Robert Guertin Centre.

Saint John scored seven or more goals four times and shutout the ‘Piques three times.

Overall, Saint John outscored their Quebec opponent 41-13.

We must not forget about our old friend, paper bag guy (pictured), who appeared in Gatineau at Game Four.

ARENA INFO
Venue: Harbour Station
Seating Capacity: 6,297
Year Built: 1993
QMJHL Arena Guide

MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Live Blog: Station Nation
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Telegraph-Journal, Le Droit, Ottawa Citizen

TWITTER
Follow Station Nation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/station_nation for in-game updates, scores, stats, and live coverage during tonight’s game.

AFTER THE BUZZER
The Sea Dogs travel to Charlottetown on Tuesday to face the stalling Rocket at 7:00 pm.