POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 6, MAINEiacs 5

RECAP
LEWISTON, Me. – The Saint John Sea Dogs are heading back to the President’s Cup final.

The Sea Dogs advanced to the final after eliminating the Lewiston Maineiacs in a four game sweep in the semifinals. It was entertaining series and the two teams saved the best for last. In Game Four last night at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee, the Sea Dogs battled back from thee-goals down to win 6-5 and ultimately end the Maineiacs’ season.

It was a rough start for the Dogs and their starting goaltender, Mathieu Corbeil. Cameron Critchlow and Alex Zafiris both scored to give Lewiston a 2-0 lead just 2:43 in. That would be it for Corbeil who allowed two goals on two shots.

Jacob DeSerres came in in relief and also got off to a rough start. Olivier Dame-Malka scored on a wrist shot at 5:05 to extend the Maineiacs’ lead to 3-0.

Saint John finally got things straightened out at 7:07 as Zack Phillips scored to make it a two-goal game going into the second period.

In the middle frame, Nathan Beaulieu scored on an early power play to get the Dogs within one. But Lewiston responded quickly as Stefan Fournier scored at 3:44 to make it a 4-2 contest. The wildness continued as Scott Oke and Jonathan Huberdeau both scored solo markers to tie the match 4-4 heading into the final frame.

At 4:35 on a man advantage, Eric Gelinas let a bomb go that beat Maineiacs goaltender Andrey Makarov to put Saint John in front for the first time. But the lead was short lived as Pierre-Olivier Morin scored a little over a minute later to make it 5-5.

With 2:52 remaining in regulation, Stephen MacAulay scored his second game-winning goal of the series to give the Sea Dogs a 6-5 victory and series win.

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Saint John continues to sport the same lineup. Forwards Aidan Kelly and Jason Cameron along with defenseman Jason Seed were all healthy scratches.

CORBEIL PULLED
It’s been a bizarre series for Saint John’s goaltenders. Mathieu Corbeil made his third straight start in goal for the Dogs after coming up huge in both Games Two and Three. But he had his struggles on Wednesday, allowing two goals on the first two shots he faced.

Cameron Critchlow scored early at 1:21 and then Alex Zafiris found the score sheet at 2:43. Corbeil was yanked after that. Jacob DeSerres came in and allowed three goals on 28 shots, making some big saves when called upon.

DeSerres was pulled in Game One and replaced by Corbeil who then made the next three starts.

GAGNE BREAKING STUFF
Kevin Gagne’s point shot at 3:12 missed the net and shattered a pane of glass behind Lewiston ‘tender Andrey Makarov. The glass stayed together for the most part with the exception of a small slab near the top. The game was delayed and fans moved away as the Androscoggin Bank Colisee staff made the repairs.

They knocked out the remaining glass with a shovel, falling into garbage cans below. The floor was vacuumed and the section of ice was zambonied.

The 12-minute delay hurt the Maineiacs a bit as they had momentum going for them following their two quick goals. But it didn’t seem to hurt them too much as they scored again at 5:05.

The broken glass did create some proto fun, via Max Morin on Twitter:

STRONG WORDS
Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant didn’t sound too happy with the Maineiacs’ game in today’s Telegraph-Journal:

“They were out there running and trying to hurt people,’’ Gallant said. “I wasn’t too happy with that. There were a lot of cheap hits tonight. We don’t mind teams playing aggressive against us, but there’s a line there and I think it was crossed a few times tonight.’’

Speaking of Gallant, he wasn’t too happy with the officials in the second period. The two-time QMJHL coach of the year could be heard yelling some PG-13 words from the bench.

QUITE A COMEBACK
It was quite a comeback by the Sea Dogs who battled back from 3-0 and 4-2 deficits to win the contest. The two teams were tied at 4-4 entering the third period, a frame that saw the Sea Dogs take their first lead of the match.

"After the first five minutes, I was thinking, 'Man, this is turning around, we're starting to get some luck," Maineiacs head coach JF Houle said to the Lewiston Sun Journal. "They're a good team, they found a way to come back and win again."

"One thing we do know is we can score goals," Gallant said to the Sun Journal. "We were sound asleep for the first 15 minutes probably, until the Phillips goal went in. We got embarrassed, the guys don't like that and they showed some character."

It was the Sea Dogs’ second comeback of the series as they won Game One in overtime depite trailing 4-2 in the third period.

SERIES SWEEP
It was just the fourth series sweep by the Sea Dogs in team history and their first in the semifinals. Past series sweeps:

2008 – First round vs PEI
2010 – Second round vs Gatineau
2011 – First round vs Cape Breton

The Sea Dogs have made it to the finals by playing just 13 games. Last year, the club played 15 games before advancing to the finals.

SPECIAL GUESTS
Some big time hockey people attended the game according to several folks on Twitter.

According to Jean-Phillip Martin of the Radio Canada, the Edmonton Oilers were represented by president Kevin Lowe, general manager Steve Tambellini, and head scout Stu MacGregor. New York Islanders GM Garth Snow also took in the contest.

No word on if Snow signed Kirill Kabanov to a 15-year contract.

ANOTHER SMALL CROWD
Only 1,163 took in the Maineiacs’ final game of the season at the Colisee. There was a little under 1,400 in the building for Game Three on Tuesday.

Quickly glancing through Lewiston’s schedule, last night’s game was their smallest crowd of the season.

KIRKPATRICK HURT
Michael Kirkpatrick was injured in last night’s contest. From the T-J:

Meanwhile, Saint John centre Michael Kirkpatrick left the contest early in the second period and didn’t return.

His status is unknown.

QUICK HITS
Stanislav Galiev had a team high seven shots for Saint John… Olivier-Dame Malka had six shots for Lewiston… Kevin Gagne was a minus-three… Gabriel Bourret was a plus-three… Dillon Fournier was a minus-three… Malka had three hits… Saint John has now won seven straight games… Kirill Kabanov failed to score for the first time in this series… the Sea Dogs’ penalty kill is still perfect on the road so far this post-season… Stephen MacAulay scored his second game-winning goal of the series. He was an honourable mention in Buzzing The Net’s CHL Three Stars last night… to relive the game, check out the SN Live Blog Replay.

OUT OF TOWN
The Quebec Remparts took a 3-1 series lead in their semifinal series against Gatineau thanks to a 2-1 win last night.

NEXT GAME
Game One of the President’s Cup Finals will likely be Friday, May 6 at 7:30 pm at Harbour Station. They will play either the Quebec Remparts or Gatineau Olympiques.

Photo Credits: Maineiacs website, Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Max Morin, Cyberpresse

POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 5, MAINEiacs 2

RECAP
LEWISTON, Me. – The Saint John Sea Dogs have the Lewiston Maineiacs on the brink of elimination following a 5-2 victory last night at Androscoggin Bank Colisee. The Game Three win gave the Sea Dogs a 3-0 series lead.

The Maineiacs had the better of the chances in the opening frame although shots were at 10 apiece. Lewiston had some momentum going into the second period, but unfortunately for them, it wouldn’t last.

Just 1:56 into the second frame, Jonathan Huberdeau scored his 12th of the playoffs on the power play to give Saint John a 1-0 lead. The Dogs kept the pressure on and made it a 2-0 game at 3:14 as Tomas Jurco scored. Ryan Tesink blew it open at 7:01 and made it a 3-0 affair.

Kirill Kabanov scored at 11:23 to put Lewiston back within two. But just over seven minutes later, Mike Thomas added his second of the post-season at 18:26 to give the Dogs a 4-1 advantage entering intermission.

Lewiston replaced goaltender Nicholas Champion with Andrey Makarov to start the third period. Just 23 seconds in, Christophe Lalonde netted his first of the playoffs to put the Maineiacs back within two. But Saint John goaltender Mathieu Corbeil shut the door on the home team for the rest of the night and made sure the Maineiacs didn’t get within a goal.

Stanislav Galiev scored an empty net marker at 18:15 to make it a 5-2 final.

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
The Saint John lineup was the same for Game Three as it was for Game Two. Forwards Aidan Kelly and Jason Cameron along with defenseman Jason Seed were all healthy scratches.

NO CHAPUT
There was a big hole in the Maineiacs lineup as their playoff leading scoring was out of with an injury.

Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Michael Chaput missed the match and is “day-to-day” with an injury. Olivier Dame-Malka – the man who hit Jonathan Huberdeau from behind in Game Two – was also injured in the third period following a collision with Danick Gauthier.

From the Lewiston Sun Journal:

"Michael Chaput is day-to-day, we're not sure what's going to happen with him yet," Houle said. "Malka I believe came back from his injury. He's going to get treated and hopefully he'll be able to play tomorrow."

Chaput leads his team in scoring this post-season with seven goals and 13 assists in 13 games. He is fourth in league scoring.

PUCK DROP
There was a unique ceremonial faceoff prior to the match. 100-year old Doris Makas, who is apparently the oldest season ticket holder in the Canadian Hockey League, dropped the puck for captains Mike Thomas and Cameron Critchlow.

CORBEIL DOES IT AGAIN
What else can you say about Mathieu Corbeil? The goaltender was sensational for a second straight game and was one of the major difference makers in this game.

The Blue Jackets prospect made 28 stops in last night’s win and was certainly tested. He made some unreal stops, but he also made key saves at key times to keep Saint John’s momentum moving forward.

“He’s been very good,’’ Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said of Corbeil to the Telegraph-Journal. “He’s a big guy and he’s getting a chance to play and he’s running with it. He’s playing real well and real solid and he’s making some key saves for us.’’

"I've never been in the playoffs before in junior hockey," Corbeil said to the Lewiston Sun Journal. "It's a whole other feeling. It's very fun and it gives me another level of desire to win. You need to do whatever it takes to win."

It was Corbeil’s second straight start and third of the post-season. The netminder has allowed just three goals in 191 minutes and 49 seconds of action.

KABANOV STRIKES AGAIN
Kirill “The Thrill” Kabanov struck again last night. The Russian’s second period goal gives him a marker in each game of this series. The QMJHL website also credited him with eight shots on goal.

In 14 playoff games he now has eight goals and 11 assists.

THE MORE THINGS STAY THE SAME
You don’t see this everyday:

SMALL CROWD
A small crowd gathered at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee for this contest. Only 1,304 attended the game which is nearly 700 less spectators than the last time the Sea Dogs were in town back in December.

The Maineiacs are averaging 1,680 fans per game in the playoffs.

Obviously, the Boston Bruins – Montreal Canadiens game being on television likely hurt a bit. But, still, this was Game Three of the semifinals.

QUICK HITS
Stanislav Galiev had a Sea Dogs high four shots on goal… Kirill Kabanov had a Maineiacs high eight shots on net… Eric Gelinas and Nathan Beaulieu had two hits each… Pierre-Olivier Morin had four hits for Lewiston… Zack Phillips had three assists… Samuel Carrier had two assists… Saint John has now won six straight games… the Dogs have not lost on the road so far in this year’s post-season. They have won all six games away from Harbour Station… The Maineiacs went 0-for-7 on the man advantage, meaning the Sea Dogs have still not allowed a power play against on the road in the playoffs… to relive the match, check out the SN Live Blog Replay.

NEXT GAME
Game Four of this series goes tonight at 8:00 pm at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Lewiston MAINEiacs

POSTSCRIPT: MAINEiacs 1, Sea Dogs 4

SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs to a 2-0 series lead in their semifinal playoff series against the Lewiston MAINEiacs thanks to a 4-1 win in Game Two on Saturday night at Harbour Station.

It was a pretty solid game for the Sea Dogs and was a much better one than on Friday night when the team needed overtime to defeat the 5-4 Maineiacs in Game One.

The Sea Dogs got off to a good start as Michael Kirkpatrick made it 1-0 just 2:16 in. Saint John had control of the play for most of the frame, outshooting the Maineiacs 17-6.

In the second period, things opened up a bit. Olivier Dame-Malka nailed Jonathan Huberdeau from behind and was given a game misconduct and five-minute major penalty. The penalty proved costly as the Dogs would score three times with Malka in the box. Stanislav Galiev, Kevin Gagne, and then Huberdeau – on a five-on-three man advantage – all netted markers to make it 4-0 Saint John after two.

Lewiston would get on the board in the third period as Kirill Kabanov scored at 9:54 on a delayed penalty. But the Russian’s goal wouldn’t be enough as the Dogs sailed to a 4-1 victory.

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
The Sea Dogs sported the same lineup as they did for Game One of the series. Forwards Jason Cameron, Aidan Kelly, and defenseman Jason Seed were all healthy scratches.

BIG NIGHT FOR CORBEIL
The Sea Dogs made the bold move of replacing goaltender Jacob DeSerres with Mathieu Corbeil in the second half of Game One’s third period on Friday night. Corbeil played well, backstopping the Dogs to a 5-4 overtime victory.

Head coach Gerard Gallant explained to move to Lewiston Sun Journal:

"It was a genius move," Gallant joked. "To be honest with you, I was frustrated. Nothing against Jake DeSerres. That fourth goal was a great shot. But sometimes you have to pull the goalie anyway. I wasn't going to pull him right away. I waited until the timeout just so it was casual."

On Saturday, Corbeil was given the start and once again put forth a solid performance. The netminder looked very comfortable; more so than at times during the regular season. He showed plenty of confidence, coming out to play the puck and keeping square with his shooters.

The 19-year old Columbus Blue Jackets prospect made 24 stops in the win. In three playoff appearances, Corbeil has been playing in record setting fashion. From the Sea Dogs website:

Mathieu Corbeil made 24 saves for the win and established a new team record by running his shutout streak to 121:43 before allowing a third-period goal to Kirill Kabanov.

THE HIT
The turning point of the game came at 7:57 of the second period when Olivier Dame-Malka nailed Jonathan Huberdeau from behind. Huberdeau lay flat on the ice for several minutes while Malka was escorted off to the dressing room.

Here be the video:



Malka was given a five-minute penalty and a game misconduct. The Sea Dogs would score three times on the man advantage, making it 4-0 at that point.

Huberdeau left the ice with the help of two teammates and looked a little dazed as he left. He would return in time to score on the man advantage, though.

Is this hit suspension worthy? The QMJHL, like the NHL, seems to be all over the map when it comes to plays like this. We shall wait and see.

KIRKPATRICK’S RETURN
Michael Kirkpatrick’s nose didn’t get in his way of scoring the team’s first goal of the match. He also added an assist, was a plus-one, and had three shots.

In the dying moments of Game One, Kirkpatrick went awkwardly into the boards and cut his nose badly thanks to his visor. Via Sea Dogs equipment manager David Kelly, here’s the pic of his nose following the incident.

GOALIE SWITCH
Nicholas Champion didn’t play horribly but got the yank following the Sea Dogs’ fourth goal. Champion allowed four goals on 33 shots and now has a 2.81 goals against average and a 0.913 save percentage in 13 post-season games.

Andrey Makarov came in in relief. He made a few big saves but wasn’t tested as much as Champion, stopping all 13 shots he faced.

There were a lot of “Champion Sucks” signs at Harbour Station, which may or may not have affected his play.

HOULE SPEAKS
Maineiacs head coach JF Houle spoke his thoughts on the game to the Canadian Press:

“You can’t be in the penalty box against this team,” Maineiacs coach Jean-Francois Houle said. “We ran out of juice (after the major) and we had nothing left. We were flat and we just didn’t have the fire in our hearts that we had (in Game 1). You can’t be undisciplined against this team.”

Houle said his team came up short in other areas as well.

“I didn’t think we competed hard

HIGHLIGHTS
From SeaDogsTV:



QUICK HITS
Nathan Beaulieu had a team high eight shots on goal for the Sea Dogs… Ian Saab and Stefan Fournier had a team high four shots each for the Maineiacs… Eric Gelinas led the way with five hits for Saint John… Cameron Critchlow had a team high five hits for Lewiston… to relive the game, check out the SN Live Blog Replay… for photos of the game, check out Marc Henwood’s album.

OUT OF TOWN
The Quebec Remparts and Gatineau Olympiques are now knotted at 1-1 after the Remparts won Game Two, 3-2.

NEXT GAME
Game Three of the series is Tuesday night at 8:00 PM at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Photo Credits: Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Marc Henwood/Station Nation, David Kelly

SEA DOGS STRIKE BACK

SN RECAP
FINAL: Sea Dogs 6, Tigres 3

VICTORIAVILLE, Que. – It was a rough start but a solid finish for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

A penalty filled first five minutes in the opening frame could have been disaster for Saint John. Instead, the team took a 2-0 lead in the first period and never looked back en route to a 6-3 win over the Victoriaville Tigres Tuesday night at Colisee Desjardins. The win gives Saint John a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-seven quarter-final playoff matchup.

Saint John had period leads of 2-0 and 2-1 before exploding in the third period. Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice in the match while Eric Gelinas, Zack Phillips, Stephen MacAulay, and Danick Gauthier all added singles. Stanislav Galiev had three assists.

Goaltender Jacob DeSerres was excellent, making some very big stops all game long. He came up big at important times, keeping momentum in the Sea Dogs’ favour. He made 25 saves on the night.

It was a much better game for Saint John after the 3-2 loss in Game Two on Saturday. The Tigres played the trap less and that seemed to allow the Sea Dogs to play a much smoother game. They were also finally able to solve goaltender David Honzik who looked human in this one.

Even when the score was close Saint John was still getting the better of the chances. Penalties were once again an issue, but fortunately for the Dogs, their penalty kill came through in a big way all night long.

Honzik made 33 saves in the loss. Tigres goals came from Samuel Groulx, Pierre-Luc Pelletier, and Yann Gourde.

Victoriaville looks to even the series up again tonight at 8:00 pm.

FIRST PERIOD
1:09 into the game Alexandre Beauregard was called for roughing. Then things got even worse as Nathan Beaulieu picked up a double minor for high sticking. During the long power play, the Sea Dogs shut down the Tigres. Victoriaville had the puck a lot but couldn’t generate any dangerous chances.

Pierre-Luc Pelletier blasted a point shot when the penalties were over, forcing Sea Dogs stopper Jacob DeSerres to make a nice pad stop. Soon after, a big scrum in the Saint John crease had DeSerres successfully dig for and keep the disc out.

Saint John then turned on the engines. Jonathan Huberdeau made a move to get into the slot but was denied by David Honzik in the Victoriaville crease. Not long after, the puck came loose to Pierre Durepos who had an open net but couldn’t get a shot off in time to beat the sliding Honzik.

The Sea Dogs went to the power play at 8:47 with Samuel Groulx heading off. At 8:59, the puck was sent to Eric Gelinas at the point who sent a shot through some traffic and beat Honzik through the legs to give the Dogs a 1-0 advantage.

The Dogs kept on rolling after their first marker. The puck was centered between the faceoff circles where Stephen MacAulay battled for it. He managed to find the disc and get a shot off to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.

Troy Vance was called for interference at 11:22 to send Saint John back to the power play. The Sea Dogs had some chances but couldn’t get a third goal.

Scott Oke was then fed at the side of the net but tipped it just wide. Late in the frame, Saint John had an odd-man rush as Oke fed Zack Phillips but any chance of centering the puck was ruined after a Tigres defender made a nice play to block the pass.

Shots in the opening frame were 9-5 in favour of the Sea Dogs.

SECOND PERIOD
Stanislav Galiev had a chance early in the frame as he was left alone in front but was stopped by the leg of Honzik.

Victoriaville went back to the power play at 1:28 with MacAulay heading off. But once again, the Tigres failed to get anything going on the man advantage.

Philippe Maillet went into animal mode after the penalty expired, cutting through the crease but was stopped by a huge toe save by DeSerres. A few moments later, Maillet let a shot go again from the faceoff dot but was denied by the Sea Dogs ‘tender.

Beaulieu made a dangerous play in front of his net and took a cross checking call at the same time at 7:38. While shorthanded, Honzik was being Honzik as he robbed Steven Anthony on a breakaway with a big glove save. Like previous times, Victoriaville failed on the power play again.

The Sea Dogs started to crank the pressure up after the penalty. A shot from the point was stopped nicely by Honzik. Then things really started up as Ryan Tesink threaded a pass to a streaking Oke at the side of cage but was denied by the Tigres goaltender. Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant argued for a replay and was granted one. Unfortunately, the no-goal call stood.

Soon after, things opened up a bit. Huberdeau nicked a shot off the far post and then Brandon Hynes was robbed by DeSerres on a shot from just inside the line. Huberdeau was back at it again in close, but Honzik made a huge pad stop.

The Tigres started to take control late in the frame. Finally, at 16:50, they would connect. DeSerres stopped a Maillet shot but the rebound came out to Samuel Groulx. With some traffic in front, Groulx slid the puck past DeSerres to make it a 2-1 game.

The Tigres kept pressing and eventually forced Anthony to take a roughing call at 19:29 following a mix up with Yannick Dube. The infraction would carry over into the third frame.

Shots in the middle stanza were 13 apiece.

THIRD PERIOD
After successfully killing off the penalty, Galiev fed Huberdeau down low at 1:55. The Sea Dogs’ sniper deked around Honzik and slid a backhand shot home to give the Sea Dog a two-goal lead.

Saint John had a five-on-three power play opportunity five minutes into the third. The team had some good puck movement but had little scoring chances.

The Dogs had a chance to redeem themselves with another power play at 8:56. They would connect this time as Beaulieu sent a point pass to Zack Phillips parked at the side of the goal. The Fredericton native beat Honzik with a wrister to make it a 4-1 Saint John lead.

Soon after Mike Thomas was given a 10-minute misconduct for some reason, Vincent Marcoux was at the top of the Sea Dogs crease but flipped the puck just wide of the net.

After a few minutes of nothing happening, Victoriaville made it a two-goal game again. Phillip Danault fed Pelletier in the slot who ripped the puck high glove side on DeSerres to make it 4-2.

The Tigres kept the pressure on as, moments later, Maillet was fed in front on a pass from behind the goal but was robbed by the leg of the Sea Dogs goaltender.

Saint John took control of the play again at 16:15. A point shot was tipped nicely by Danick Gauthier and got past Honzik to give Saint John a three-goal lead again. The play would be reviewed to see if it went in with a high stick but it was ruled a good goal.

A delayed penalty was called against the Tigres after Galiev was smoked by the benches. During the same sequence at 17:52, Scott Oke centered a pass to Huberdeau at the top of the crease who had a wide open net to make it 6-2 Sea Dogs.

Victoriaville would score once more but it was too late to start any kind of comeback. Yann Gourde made a nice toe-drag around a fallen Saint John player and then riffled the puck up and over DeSerres to make it a 6-3 final.

Shots in the third period were 15-8 Sea Dogs.

SCRATCHES
Michael Kirkpatrick missed his second straight game with an ‘upper body’ injury. According to News 88.9, he will be reevaluated today.

Forwards Jason Cameron and Aidan Kelly were both scratches.

Defenseman Jason Seed made his 2011 playoff debut but didn’t appear to take a shift all game.

NEXT GAME: Game Four of the best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series goes down tonight at 8:00 pm.

Photo Credits: La Nouvelle Union

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.

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.

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

POSTSCRIPT: Rocket 2, Sea Dogs 7

FINAL: Rocket 2, Sea Dogs 7

FULL RECAP

DOGS CLOSE OUT SEASON IN STYLE
SAINT JOHN – On the final day of the Quebec Major Junior hockey League season, the Saint John Sea Dogs delivered just like they have all year long.

The Sea Dogs thumped Evan Mosher and the Prince Edward Island Rocket 7-2 at Harbour Station. The Rocket opened the year up in Saint John back in September and closed it down yesterday afternoon.

It was a solid victory for Saint John.

"The guys played pretty well today,'' Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said to the Telegraph-Journal. "We haven't played great lately, but that's a good way to finish. The guys were jumping today and they felt good about their game.''

Michael Kirkpatrick opened the scoring at 7:45 on the power play, ripping a wrist shot five-hole and past PEI goaltender Evan Mosher. Stanislav Galiev gave Saint John a 2-0 lead at 14:14 when he came out from the backboards and sent a low wide range shot that got past the Rocket netminder. The Dogs led 2-0 after one frame.

PEI made it a one-goal affair at 1:06 of the second period with Gabriel Bourret in the box. A cross crease pass found Adam Polsek in front who banged one home to make it a 2-1 game. But at 5:16 on yet another man advantage, Jonathan Huberdeau restored the Sea Dogs’ two-goal lead after a great pass from Zack Phillips found him open in front.

The Rocket would not go away though. Samuel Morneau scored at 10:51 to make it 3-2. After the goal, PEI had some good pressure on and was buzzing a bit in an effort to tie the game. But their efforts would be for nothing as the Ryan Tesink show started up at 18:34. Tesink roofed the puck up and over Mosher to make it 4-2 Saint John and then scored again 37 seconds later to give the Dogs a commanding 5-2 advantage after two periods.

Kirkpatrick scored his second of the game at 16:10 of the third period and then Simon Despres connected 21 seconds later to make it a 7-2 final.

THE NUMBERS

PEI, Rocket 2 at Saint John, Sea Dogs 7 - Status Final
Sunday, March 20, 2011 - Harbour Station

PEI 0 2 0 - 2
Saint John 2 3 2 - 7

1st Game Period-1, Saint John, Kirkpatrick 30 (Huberdeau), 7:45 (pp). 2, Saint John, Galiev 37 (Gagné, Huberdeau), 14:14. Penalties-Durepos Snb (high-sticking), 1:30; McIsaac Pei (hooking), 6:46; served by Snb (too many men on the ice), 9:46; Bourret Snb (roughing), 19:26.

2nd Game Period-3, PEI, Polasek 7 (Nestrasil, Morneau), 1:06 (pp). 4, Saint John, Huberdeau 43 (Phillips, Kirkpatrick), 5:16 (pp). 5, PEI, Morneau 30 (Noël, Croteau), 10:51. 6, Saint John, Tesink 7 (Després), 18:34. 7, Saint John, Tesink 8 (Gauthier, Després), 19:11. Penalties-MacIntyre Pei (high-sticking), 4:04.

3rd Game Period-8, Saint John, Kirkpatrick 31 (Galiev, Després), 16:10 (pp). 9, Saint John, Després 13 (Beauregard, Anthony), 16:31. Penalties-Bourret Snb (interference of a player or a goaltender), 0:43; MacIntyre Pei (slashing), 3:58; Anthony Snb (slashing), 7:53; Noël Pei (kneeing), 14:31.

Shots on Goal-PEI 29. Saint John 44.
Power Play Opportunities-PEI 1 of 5; Saint John 3 of 4.
Goalies-PEI, Mosher 25-22-3-6 (44 shots-37 saves). Saint John, Corbeil-Thériault 20-16-1-1 (29 shots-27 saves).
A-6,488
Referees-André Dupuis (16), Tom Clarkson (11).
Linesmen-Andrew Connors (66), Justin Burchell (49).

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Captain Mike Thomas missed his second straight game with a lower body injury. He stood watching warm-up from the Sea Dogs’ bench and then gave a speech after the game over the PA system, thanking fans for their support this season.

Forward Jason Cameron and defenseman Jason Seed were healthy scratches while forward Marshall Worden, who made his Saint John debut Friday against Cape Breton, is not currently with the club according to News 88.9.

SETTING THE RECORD STRIAGHT
It was one for the record books at Harbour Station Sunday as the Sea Dogs tied the all-time QMJHL record for wins in a single season with their 58th victory of the year. The club tied the Sorel Eperviers who reached the mark in 70 games in 1973-74 and the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs who tied the record in 72 games in 1978-79.

The win also made Saint John 32-0-1-1 on home ice, making them the first Quebec League club to ever go an entire season without losing a regulation game at home.

The Sea Dogs set a boat load of franchise records as well, including most goals scored in a season and fewest goals against.

FEELING THE LOVE
It was Fan Appreciation Night and the fans were appreciated nicely. There was a massive 50/50 pot to go along with a bunch of stuff being thrown into the crowd. During intermission, several contestants had an opportunity to win a car by sliding a puck through a hole that may not have been as big as a puck. None could, though.

It was the Sea Dogs’ second straight sell-out crowd and the fourth straight home game that had over 5,000 fans in house.

After Mike Thomas gave his speech, an impromptu ‘we want the cup’ chant started up.

MOSHER THE GREAT
Evan Mosher made some great saves last night but could not wear his Superman cape enough to give the Rocket a chance to win this game. After stoning the Sea Dogs Wednesday in Charlottetown, Mosher looked a little human on Sunday and allowed seven goals on 44 shots.

Saint John finishes the season with a 7-1-0-0 record against PEI. The Rocket gave the Dogs a few tough games and would make for an an interesting playoff matchup if the two meet at sometime.

PEI will face the Shawinigan Cataractes in Round One.

TESINK’S BIG NIGHT
It was a huge night for Ryan Tesink who scored for the first time in 37 games.

"It felt good to get that monkey off my back,'' Tesink said about his drought to the Telegraph-Journal. "Scoring another felt great too and I think that kind of turned the game around. They were getting close and putting some pressure on.''

Tesink scored on a partial break at 18:34, going snipe job on Evan Mosher. 37 seconds later, Tesink had a yawning cage at the side of goal and slid home his eighth of the season. That made it 5-2 Saint John going into the third period.

Strangely enough, Tesink scored twice in the Sea Dogs’ first match of the season – against who other than the PEI Rocket. It has been a weird campaign for the Saint John native who had three two-goal games in the regular season and two one-goal affairs.

Tesink hadn’t scored since the ‘Wild One in Wildtown’ on November 21.

ALL DONE
Jonathan Huberdeau’s magical 2010-11 season came to an end Sunday. He finished it off in appropriate fashion, dishing out a goal and an assist. He finishes the season with 105 points and third in league scoring. He is one of only three players to crack 100 points this season.

Huberdeau’s line-mate Zack Phillips had a big assist in the game. He finishes the season with 95 points, tying Chris DiDomenico for second most points in a single season in franchise history. The Fredericton native finishes seventh in league scoring, just one-point back of superstar Sean Couturier.

There is a bunch of other stuff that was broken, tied, or just bizarre that probably requires its own post.

PEACE OUT
For three Sea Dogs, this was definitely their final regular season game in junior hockey. Although they aren’t league superstars like Mike Hoffman, Nick Petersen, and Marco Cousineau were last year, this year’s trio of 20-year olds was still one of, if not the best group the team has ever had.

Mike Thomas is the longest serving Sea Dog in franchise history and has been the captain of the club in their two best seasons. Michael Kirkpatrick is the all-team leading scorer in team history and goaltender Jacob DeSerres has some of the best of numbers.

It was likely also the final regular season game for defensemen Eric Gelinas and Simon Despres as well.

All will be missed, but their career isn't over yet. Their impact on the club will be needed even more over the next two months.

QUICK HITS
Saint John went 3-for-4 on the power play… Jonathan Huberdeau had a Sea Dogs high seven shots on goal… Samuel Morneau was an animal, firing a team high six shots on net for PEI… Alex Noel had two hits for the Rocket… Eric Gelinas had four hits for Saint John… three assists for Simon Despres… The ‘Big Horse’ was a team best plus-three… for pictures from the game, check out Marc Henwood’s album… to relive the game, check out the SN Live Blog Replay.

NEXT GAME
It’s Game One of the First Round as the Sea Dogs host the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Friday at 7:30 pm at Harbour Station.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

POSTSCRIPT: Screaming Eagles 1, Sea Dogs 8

FINAL: Screaming Eagles 1, Sea Dogs 8

By Station Nation Staff

FULL RECAP

DOGS DOMINATE
SAINT JOHN – Another dominating win by the Saint John Sea Dogs was good enough for an 8-1 victory over the lowly Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Friday night at Harbour Station.

It was a bit of a slow start to the first period for both clubs. But at 7:30 on a power play, Aidan Kelly scored to give Saint John a 1-0 lead. It wasn’t until 17:54 of the frame until Saint John would score again as Stanislav Galiev rushed down the wing and went high on Eagles netminder Andrew Hayes. The Sea Dogs would be on fire for the next 52 seconds as Alexandre Beauregard and Stephen MacAulay netted markers to make it 4-0 after one period.

Even with Alexandre Veronneau now between the pipes, things didn’t get much better for the Eagles in the second period as Danick Gauthier scored at 5:59 to make it a 5-0 game.

The Eagles would spoil Jacob DeSerres’ shutout bid at the 14-minute mark as Logan Shaw scored a power play goal to cut the Sea Dogs’ lead to four.

In the third period, Galiev scored his second of the game at 4:03 to give Saint John their five-goal lead back. Steven Anthony and Pierre Durepos scored later on in the frame to make it an 8-1 final score.

THE NUMBERS

Cape Breton, Screaming Eagles 1 at Saint John, Sea Dogs 8 - Status Final
Friday, March 18, 2011 - Harbour Station

Cape Breton 0 1 0 - 1
Saint John 4 1 3 - 8

1st Game Period-1, Saint John, Kelly 6 (Worden, Durepos), 7:30 (pp). 2, Saint John, Galiev 35 (Durepos), 17:54. 3, Saint John, Beauregard 11 (Tesink, MacAulay), 18:07. 4, Saint John, MacAulay 15 (Tesink, Gagné), 18:46. Penalties-Hrabarenka Cap (cross-checking), 0:54; Metcalfe Cap (checking from behind), 4:06; Carrier Cap (tripping), 6:28; Tesink Snb (roughing), 8:42; Gélinas Snb (hooking), 12:03; Galiev Snb (high-sticking), 15:32; Woodworth Cap (high-sticking), 19:09.

2nd Game Period-5, Saint John, Gauthier 11 (Jurco, Gélinas), 5:59. 6, Cape Breton, Shaw 25 (Ellis, MacIntosh), 14:00 (pp). Penalties-Millman Cap (fighting), 8:20; Worden Snb (fighting), 8:20; Beaulieu Snb (slashing), 10:41; Gélinas Snb (roughing), 13:08; Herrett Cap (interference of a player or a goaltender, roughing), 15:12; Worden Snb (slashing), 19:17; Beauregard Snb (high-sticking), 20:00.

3rd Game Period-7, Saint John, Galiev 36 (Phillips, Huberdeau), 4:03. 8, Saint John, Anthony 23 (Beaulieu, Gauthier), 6:46 (pp). 9, Saint John, Durepos 3 (Tesink, Beauregard), 19:03. Penalties-Worden Snb (cross-checking), 1:38; Jodoin Cap (fighting, taking off one's own helmet or attempting to pull off an opponent's helmet, undo the chinstrap or his opponent's - game misconduct), 5:31; Bourret Snb (fighting), 5:31; Metcalfe Cap (cross-checking), 6:00; Hrabarenka Cap (boarding, fighting), 13:38; Gauthier Snb (fighting), 13:38; Ellis Cap (slashing), 14:27; Kelly Snb (tripping), 16:10.

Shots on Goal-Cape Breton 25. Saint John 39.
Power Play Opportunities-Cape Breton 1 of 9; Saint John 2 of 9.
Goalies-Cape Breton, Hayes 12-22-1-3 (15 shots-11 saves); Véronneau 1-16-0-0 (24 shots-20 saves). Saint John, DeSerres 27-3-0-0 (25 shots-24 saves).
A-6,245
Referees-Brad Mills (24), Devin Piccott (53).
Linesmen-Josh DeYoung (52), Ryan Burke (46).

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Defenseman Jason Seed and forward Scott Oke were healthy scratches. Forwards Michael Kirkpatrick, a minor hip flexor, and Mike Thomas, a lower body bruise, were both out injured.

RECORD WATCH
The win puts Saint John one win away from tying the QMJHL record for wins in a single season with 58.

From the Sea Dogs website:

The Sea Dogs improved to 57-7-1-2 heading into the 68th and final game of the season. They sit one win short of the record of 58 established by the Sorel Eperviers in 70 games in 1973-74 and matched by the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs in 72 games in 1978-79. The Dogs also ran their home record to 31-0-1-1 and could become the first team in QMJHL history to go undefeated at home in regulation time.

The Sea Dogs host the PEI Rocket tomorrow at 4:00 pm at Harbour Station in what could be a historic match.

WHEAT KINGS PARTY
After waiting all season, two former Brandon Wheat King goaltenders went head-to-head in a QMJHL match.

Jacob DeSerres of the Sea Dogs took on Andrew Hayes of the Screaming Eagles in what was surely the first game in Q history to feature two former Wheat Kings in goal. The two helped Brandon reach the Memorial Cup finals last season.

DeSerres got the better of Hayes as he made 24 saves to pick up the win. Hayes allowed four goals on 15 shots and was pulled to start the second favour of Alexandre Veronneau.

WORDEN CALLED UP
In a surprising move, the Sea Dogs called up affiliate Marshall Worden. Apparently the Sea Dogs picked him up after he was let go around Christmas by the PEI Rocket. There was never an announcement made but Marshall did appear on the Sea Dogs roster on the QMJHL website.

Worden is known more for his fists than his skills. With Mike Thomas out of the lineup and the Eagles likely trying to set a physical tone with the playoff matchup approaching, it probably wasn’t a bad idea.

Speaking of Thomas and Worden:



It was an eventful night for Worden who picked up his first ever QMJHL point after assisting on Aidan Kelly’s first goal. This was his 64th game in the league.

In the second, he and Blake Millman dropped the gloves in a scrap that showed some huge punches land. Worden then picked up a slashing penalty late in the second period and a cross checking penalty in the third period.

ST. PATRICK’S NIGHT
St. Patrick’s Day was the theme of choice for Friday’s game at Harbour Station. Fleaburn had some unreal green tie and hat on while there was a large amount of fans in the crowd wearing green and lucky charm decked out attire.

The intro video featured the Dropkick Murphy’s song “Shipping Up To Boston”:



QUICK HITS
Gabriel Bourret was named the student of the month for February before the game… Zack Phillips was named the player of the month prior to puck drop… these two teams meet next Friday in Game One of the first round of the post-season… the three goals in 52 seconds set a franchise record for fastest three goals scored… there were a lot of penalties in this game as each team had a total of nine power play opportunities… Phillips had a Sea Dogs high five shots on goal… Spencer Metcalf had a team high five shots on net for Cape Breton… Metcalf had four hits… Alexandre Beauregard and Eric Gelinas had two hits… the Eagles have played Saint John three times this month, losing all three and being outscored 20-2 over that span… it was the third straight 5,000-plus crowd at Harbour Station… for pictures of the game, check out Marc Henwood’s gallery… to relive the game, visit the SN Live Blog Replay.

NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs host the Prince Edward Island Rocket tomorrow at 4:00 pm at Harbour Station in the final home game of the regular season. The match is sold-out.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 2, Rocket 5

FINAL: Sea Dogs 2, Rocket 5

By Station Nation Staff

FULL RECAP

ROCKET BLAST DOGS
CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – The Prince Edward Island took the lead and then went into shutdown mode Wednesday night in Charlottetown, handing the Saint John Sea Dogs a 5-2 loss in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.

"It's a rewarding win obviously,” said Travis McIsaac to our boy Nolan Reid of the PEI Rocket Twitter account. “Everyone showed up and everyone emptied the tank tonight.

"You know beating a team like that feels good. Really, really good win for the guys."

The Rocket led 1-0 after one and 3-0 after two periods. The Sea Dogs’ powerful offense started to come to life in the third period, but by then, it was too late. Even when Saint John did apply some pressure, the Rocket would jump right back in and squash any chance of a comeback attempt.

PEI has been close to beating the Dogs at times this season and finally were able to put all together on Wednesday to pick up the win.

It certainly wasn’t the best game of the season for Saint John. The team looked flat at times and were not the dominant team that we have watched all season. The offense had a hard time generating anything, mostly because of Rocket netminder Evan Mosher who is not really human.

PEI opened the scoring at 17:33 of the first period as Olivier Croteau scored his eighth of the year to make it 1-0. Shots after 20 minutes were 9-8 in favour of the home side.

At 13:50 of the second frame, Ben Duffy netted his team-leading 36th marker of the year on backhand shot in close to give PEI a 2-0 advantage. 26 seconds later, Travis McIsaac scored to give the Rocket a stunning 3-0 lead halfway through the match. Shots in the middle session were 14-12 Saint John.

Who else other than Jonathan Huberdeau finally got the Dogs on the board in the third period after some hard work in the crease area. But the momentum created from the marker was quickly driven away by Duffy’s second of the match at 4:27 to give the Rocket back their three-goal lead.

On a power play at 16:26, Tomas Jurco scored to put the Dogs within two. But Alex Noel put the butter on the toast at 18:20 with an empty netter to give PEI a 5-2 victory.

THE NUMBERS

Saint John, Sea Dogs 2 at PEI, Rocket 5 - Status Final
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - Charlottetown Civic Centre

Saint John 0 0 2 - 2
PEI 1 2 2 - 5

1st Game Period-1, PEI, Croteau 8 (Noël, Fournier), 17:33. Penalties-Huberdeau Snb (hooking), 0:26.

2nd Game Period-2, PEI, Duffy 36 (Nestrasil, Capstick), 13:50. 3, PEI, McIsaac 15 (Duffy, Capstick), 14:16. Penalties-Beaulieu Snb (high-sticking), 4:45; Oligny Pei (cross-checking), 11:14; Provencher Pei (high-sticking), 14:56.

3rd Game Period-4, Saint John, Huberdeau 42 (Phillips, Gagné), 4:07. 5, PEI, Duffy 37 (Nestrasil, Polasek), 4:27. 6, Saint John, Jurco 31 (Anthony, Gélinas), 16:26 (pp). 7, PEI, Noël 14 (Croteau), 18:20 (en). Penalties-Polasek Pei (interference of a player or a goaltender), 0:26; Galiev Snb (slashing), 10:36; Fournier Pei (tripping), 14:52.

Shots on Goal-Saint John 39. PEI 29.
Power Play Opportunities-Saint John 1 of 4; PEI 0 of 3.
Goalies-Saint John, DeSerres 26-3-0-0 (28 shots-24 saves). PEI, Mosher 24-21-3-6 (39 shots-37 saves).
A-2,109
Referees-Jeff Hopkins (20).
Linesmen-Wayne Doyle (43), Rory Faulkner (68).

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Forwards Danick Gauthier and Aidan Kelly were both sick and did not play. 20-year old forward Michael Kirkpatrick was a late scratch for an undetermined reason. Defenseman Jason Seed, who just returned to the team after suffering a death in his family, was inserted into the lineup.

NOT READY TO GO
It seems the Sea Dogs just were not prepared for this game.

"There was no groove and there was no commitment when we left the rink in Saint John,'' Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said after Wednesday's loss to the Telegraph-Journal. "I haven't seen us play a game like that in quite a while. We've had four games in a row on the road and there was probably a little fatigue, but definitely the mental part wasn't there tonight.''

Jonathan Huberdeau agreed.

“We have to be more prepared,” said Huberdeau to the Charlottetown Guardian. “Not disappointed. We want to win these last two games and be ready for the playoffs.”

The Sea Dogs are coming off a three game road swing that saw them play in Rimouski, Bathurst, and Cape Breton in just four games.

THE MACHINE
It’s becoming a recurring them when these two teams play each other: Evan Mosher is a beast.

The man who put on one of the best goaltending performances in league history earlier this season at Harbour Station was back at it again last night. Although he didn’t need to make as many stops, Mosher made 37 saves - many if them unreal - to earn the win.

A lot of his stops were huge, especially in the third period when the Dogs came out buzzing.

“Thank God. We finally got that win against them,” said Mosher to The Guardian. “Certainly a memorable one, last game at home.”

With Mosher putting on clinics in net and the Rocket actually starting to produce some stretches of wins, could the team pull off a first-round playoff upset? We shall see.

DeSERRES RETURNS
As other players were hit with the flu, goaltender Jacob DeSerres made his return to the crease after fighting illness on the clubs road trip last week.

DeSerres looked a little rusty at times but played decent, making 24 saves in goal.

The netminder picked up his first loss in 14 games and hadn’t lost a match since December 30 in Bathurst. It was only his third loss of the season.

NO HISTORY
Saint John can tie history but they can no longer break it.

With the loss, the Sea Dogs can now only reach the 58-win mark which would tie them for the league record for wins in a single season. Saint John will have to win their games Friday against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and Sunday against the Rocket in order to meet the mark.

It’s too bad that the Dogs won’t have a chance to break the record, but, the fact that the Sea Dogs are even in this conversation is quite incredible.

The QMJHL website has an epic rundown of some of records, comparing the Sea Dogs to some of the greatest QMJHL teams of all-time.

By winning their two games at home this weekend, Saint John can become the first team to ever go an entire regular season without a regulation loss on home ice.

REDEMPTION
According to the Guardian, the Sea Dogs had won nine straight over the Rocket going into this contest. That includes last year’s first-round playoff series.

Saint John is now 6-1-0-0 against PEI this season with the last meeting coming this Sunday at Harbour Station.

HIGHLIGHTS
The Rocket website provides some highlights from last night’s game.

QUICK HITS
This game was supposed to be played on December 28, 2010. Due to a snowstorm, this game was postponed to March 16, 2011… this was only Saint John’s fourth divisional loss of the year… Jonathan Huberdeau has now scored in six straight games. He has 101 points on the season… Stephen MacAulay and Alexandre Beauregard were both a minus-3… Tomas Jurco was literally firing on all cylinders, leading the team with 10 shots on goal… Samuel Morneau had five shots for the Rocket… Stanislav Galiev had three hits for Saint John… Adam Polasek had four hits… this ended Saint John’s six-game winning streak… the Rocket are 7-2-1-0 in their last 10… to relive the match, check out the SN Live Blog Replay.

NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs host the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles tomorrow night at 7:30 pm at Harbour Station.

Photo Credit: The Guardian

POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 4, Screaming Eagles 1

By Station Nation Staff

FULL RECAP
DOGS WIN AGAIN
SYDNEY, NS – The Saint John Sea Dogs keep on rolling as the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League post-season is less than two weeks away.

The Sea Dogs upended the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 4-1 Sunday afternoon at Centre 200, giving them their sixth straight win. It wasn’t the greatest, most exciting game of the season but it was pretty much what was expected from the Dogs on the tail end of a long road trip and playing one of the worst teams in the league in an afternoon contest.

"We didn't have the best start,” said Sea Dogs captain Mike Thomas to the Telegraph-Journal. “We got better as the game progressed, but we have to play better than that.''

“It wasn’t our best game, but we have been on two road trips now and three games in four nights is pretty hard,” said Michael Kirkpatrick to the Cape Breton Post.

“There is a lot of travel in between and we didn’t get much rest last night so it wasn’t our best game, but we’ll take the two points.”

The Sea Dogs outshot the Eagles 12-7 in the first period but could only beat Cape Breton goaltender Andrew Hayes once. Aidan Kelly opened the scoring at 7:38 to cap off what was a solid period for the fourth line.

In the second, Saint John would connect twice. Stanislav Galiev made it a 2-0 game at 13:44. Then, while shorthanded, Alexandre Beauregard made some nice moves to get in front and wire one past Hayes to give the Dogs a 3-0 lead.

In the third, the Eagles would find the cage at 14:35. Denis Kindl was on a mission, making some moves to get around a couple of Saint John players and then beating Sea Dogs goaltender Mathieu Corbeil with a backhander to make it a 3-1 game.

But Jonathan Huberdeau would put the match away with seven seconds remaining in the contest with an empty netter to give the visitors a 4-1 win.

THE NUMBERS

Saint John, Sea Dogs 4 at Cape Breton, Screaming Eagles 1 - Status Final
Sunday, March 13, 2011 - Centre 200

Saint John 1 2 1 - 4
Cape Breton 0 0 1 - 1

1st Game Period-1, Saint John, Kelly 5 (Tesink, Oke), 7:38. Penalties-Tesink Snb (roughing), 3:32; Leduc Cap (roughing), 3:32; Gélinas Snb (high-sticking), 19:28.

2nd Game Period-2, Saint John, Galiev 34 (Gagné, Anthony), 13:44. 3, Saint John, Beauregard 10 (Thomas), 16:28 (sh). Penalties-Potvin Cap (high-sticking), 11:14; served by Oke Snb (too many men on the ice), 14:57.

3rd Game Period-4, Cape Breton, Kindl 22 (Hrabarenka, Parker), 14:35. 5, Saint John, Huberdeau 41 (Thomas), 19:53 (pp en). Penalties-Huberdeau Snb (checking from behind), 0:22; Thomas Snb (roughing), 6:49; Kindl Cap (slashing), 12:19; Potvin Cap (tripping), 19:03; Beaulieu Snb (unsportmanlike conduct - misconduct), 19:53; Hrabarenka Cap (unsportmanlike conduct - misconduct), 19:53.

Shots on Goal-Saint John 34. Cape Breton 20.
Power Play Opportunities-Saint John 1 of 3; Cape Breton 0 of 4.
Goalies-Saint John, Corbeil-Thériault 19-16-1-1 (20 shots-19 saves). Cape Breton, Hayes 12-21-1-3 (33 shots-30 saves).
A-3,375
Referees-Thane Arsenault (9), Tim Hamel (19).
Linesmen-Peter Sheppard (59), Jackson Doughart (39).

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Forward Stephen MacAulay was ill and did not play while defenseman Jason Seed has gone home for a few days following a death in his family. Jason Cameron was a healthy scratch.

CHASING HISTORY
The win puts the Sea Dogs that much closer to QMJHL history. With an unreal record of 56-6-1-2, Saint John can surpass the all-time QMJHL record for wins in a season.

The Dogs are two wins short of tying the record of 58 victories established by the Sorel Eperviers in 1973-74 and matched by the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs in 1978-79.

Saint John will have an opportunity to break that record with three games remaining on their schedule. The team travels to Charlottetown on Wednesday to face the PEI Rocket and then hosts the Screaming Eagles Friday and the Rocket on Sunday.

Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant isn’t too concerned about meeting the mark.

"We have three games to play and we're going to work hard and get ready for the playoffs,'' Gallant told the Telegraph-Journal.

"If the record happens to be there, then fine, but that's not a (concern) for me.''

If the Dogs can set the record, it would also tie them for second in the Canadian Hockey League wins list, tying them with the 2005 Memorial Cup winning London Kinghts.

HUBERDEAU MAKES HISTORY
Jonathan Huberdeau became the first Sea Dog in franchise history to record 100 points in a season on Sunday afternoon. Huberdeau scored into an empty net with seven seconds remaining in the game to get the 100th point and his 41st goal of the season.

The top-prospect for the upcoming National Hockey League Entry Draft joins Gatineau’s Philip-Michael Devos and Bathurst’s Gabriel Levesque as the only players to record 100 points so far this season as the 2010-11 campaign enters its final week.

Huberdeau was featured on NHL.com today where he talked about being ranked fourth in North America by Central Scouting for the 2011 draft.

"I think (being No. 4) surprised me a little bit, but I don't want to be cocky about it," Huberdeau said. "I may be in the top four, but there are a lot of good players after me. I'm going to keep playing the way I've been playing since the beginning of the season, and then we'll see what happens in June."

CORBEIL STARTS AGAIN
With Jacob DeSerres recovering from the flu, goaltender Mathieu Corbeil made his third straight start in goal. He is the first netminder on the Sea Dogs roster to start three consecutive games this season.

Corbeil played all three games on Saint John’s road trip, allowing five goals on 69 shots.

The Columbus Blue Jackets was fairly solid again on Sunday and continues to improve with every game.

KINDL GOAL
It sounded like Denis Kindl scored a beautiful goal against Saint John on Sunday. Unfortunately, the Telus Webcast operator was snoozing and barely captured any of the play.



We doubt this footage will be used to promote the webcast packages for next season.

PLAYOFF PREVIEW
The Eagles loss guaranteed that Cape Breton and Saint John will meet in the first round of the playoffs which begins Friday, March 25 at Harbour Station.

In the season series, Saint John has a 6-1-0-0 record. These two teams will meet for the final time this regular season on Friday at the Station.

If the first four games are able to be scheduled within the month of March, the Dogs and Eagles will have played each other seven times this month.

DUROCHER SPEAKS
Despite losing 4-1 and falling to 1-6-0-0 in the season series, only recording 20 shots on goal, and being outscored 32-4 over their past five games, Eagles head coach Mario Durocher believes in his team.

“I think we just showed them we can play against those guys,” said Cape Breton coach and general manager Mario Durocher following the game to the CB Post.

“We struggled on the powerplay in the second period and we lost our focus and then they scored two goals pretty quick. And that’s hockey. If you had a bad shift, you have to bounce back right away. If you give them one inch they are going to take it.”

QUICK HITS
Mike Thomas was the News 88.9 Top Dog… Saint John closes out the regular season at Centre 200 with a 3-1-0-0 record… this was Cape Breton’s final regular season home game… the Eagles wore green, Irish themed jerseys. Raffle tickets were sold during the game and the winners received their sweaters at ice level following the match. All proceeds went to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation… Eric Gelinas and Michael Kirkpatrick each had a team high four shots on goal… Denis Kindl had a team high four shots for the Eagles… Gelinas had five hits for Saint John… Spencer Metcalf and Loic Leduc had three hits for Cape Breton… Mike Thomas had two assists... pictures of the Eagles’ green jersey can be viewed here… to relive the match, check out the SN Live Blog Replay.

RANDON THOUGHTS
- Cape Breton’s green jerseys were nicer than their third jerseys.
- Telus sucks.

NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs play their final road game of the regular season Wednesday night in Charlottetown against the PEI Rocket at 7:00 pm in a makeup match.