Sea Dogs sweep Drakkar, reach semi-finals for third straight year

The Saint John Sea Dogs are headed to the QMJHL President’s Cup semi-finals for the third straight year following a 5-3 victory over Baie-Comeau.

With the win, the Sea Dogs sweep the series.

Jonathan Huberdeau scored the eventual game winner in the second period and added an empty netter.

Ryan Tesink also scored twice, while Charlie Coyle added a goal.

With Saint John down 1-0 in the first, Coyle tied it up on a rare shorthanded penalty shot, decking to the forehand on young Baie-Comeau netminder Philippe Cadorette, making the game 1-1 after one period.

Tesink scored twice in a six minute stretch in the second to give Saint John a 3-1 advantage.

Huberdeau snapped home a power play goal with under eight minutes left in the middle frame and Saint John led 4-2 after two.

The captain iced the Sea Dogs’ sweep with an empty net goal with five seconds to go.

The Sea Dogs will start the semi-finals on Friday, April 20 at Harbour Station, against an opponent still to be determined.

Catch all the action LIVE on News 88.9 beginning at 7:15p.m.

For a complete game recap and Sea Dog audio highlights, go to:

http://blog.rogersbroadcasting.com/seadogs/2012/04/12/sea-dogs-sweep-drakkar/

Sea Dogs win, push Drakkar to the brink

Ryan Tesink’s goal 2:31 into the third period proved to be the game winner, as the Saint John Sea Dogs dumped the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 5-2 in QMJHL playoff action.

The victory gives Saint John a 3-0 stranglehold on the best-of-seven quarter-final series.

Tesink, a Saint John, N.B., native took a Stephen MacAulay pass from behind the net and snapped a shot high glove side past Drakkar goalie Philippe Cadorette, snapping a 2-2 tie.

Saint John led 1-0 after one period on a goal by Stanislav Galiev, but the second period was much different story.

Drakkar forward Jonathan Lessard scored early in the middle frame and David Rose gave the Drakkar its first lead with under two minutes left in the period.

Tomas Jurco tied the game just 44 seconds later, and the period ended 2-2.

Not long after Tesink’s goal in the third, the game was delayed about ten minutes because of lighting problems.

Jonathan Huberedeau gave Saint John some insurance with under three minutes to go, and then set up MacAulay’s empty netter about a minute later.

Saint John can complete a second consecutive four-game sweepWednesday night at Centre Henry-Leonard.

Catch all the action LIVE on News 88.9 beginning at 8:15p.m.

For a complete recap and Sea Dog audio highlights, go to:
http://blog.rogersbroadcasting.com/seadogs/2012/04/11/sea-dogs-beat-drakkar/

Sea Dogs sink Drakkar, 10-2

Three different players scored twice to lead the Saint John Sea Dogs to a 10-2 drubbing of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar Saturday night in QMJHL playoff action at Harbour Station.

Saint John scored five times in the second period for the second straight night and cruised to a 2-0 series lead in the best-of-seven President's Cup quarter-final.

Kevin Gagne and Charles-Olivier Roussel scored seven minutes apart in the first period and the Sea Dogs led 2-0 after the first period.

Tomas Jurco deflected home consecutive goals early in the middle frame before Jonathan Huberdeau and Stanislav Galiev added markers before the period was half over, giving Saint John a 6-0 lead.

After the Drakkar got one back, Zack Phillips snapped home a loose puck in front of the net for a 7-1 Saint John lead through two.

In the third period, Phillips and Galiev netted their second goals of the night while Danick Gauthier rounded out the scoring in the final minute of the game.
David Rose had the other Drakkar goal.

The series shifts to Baie-Comeau for Games three and four - and Game five, if necessary.
Catch Game three Tuesday, April 10, live on News 88.9, beginning with the pregame show at 8:15 p.m.

For a complete game story and Sea Dog highlights, go to:
http://blog.rogersbroadcasting.com/seadogs/2012/04/08/sea-dogs-hammer-drakkar/

Five-goal second leads Sea Dogs over Drakkar

Stephen MacAulay scored twice 33 seconds apart as part of a five-goal second period for Saint John, as the Sea Dogs sunk the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 9-3, in game one of their QMJHL quarter-final series at Harbour Station.

The victory gives Saint John a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven match-up.
Charlie Coyle gave Saint John a 1-0 lead after one, with the Drakkar tying it early in the second on a power play goal.

Tomas Jurco gave Saint John the lead again before Baie-Comeau struck on the man advantage to even the game at 2-2

Then Saint John's offense exploded.

MacAulay's pair came just past the halfway mark of the period, first off a faceoff in the Drakkar zone, then a bank shot that went off the catching glove of Baie-Comeau goalie Philippe Cadorette.

Zack Phillips and Stanislav Galiev rounded out the scoring in the second, with Saint John scoring five times, including four in an 8:03 stretch.

Danick Gauthier, Phillips and Ryan Tesink added third period goals.

Game two goes Saturday night at Harbour Station.

Catch all the action live on News 88.9 beginning at 6:45 p.m.

Three Stars: 1. Phillips 2. Galiev 3. MacAulay Top Dog: Coyle

For a full recap and Sea Dog highlights, go to:
http://blog.rogersbroadcasting.com/seadogs/2012/04/07/sea-dogs-crush-drakkar/

Grigorenko, Gourde clean up at Golden Puck Awards

QMJHL's top NHL draft prospect, Mikhail Grigorenko was the big winner at Wednesday night’s Golden Puck Awards.

Grigorenko of the Quebec Remparts edged Halifax Mooseheads' Nathan MacKinnon for both the RDS Cup (Rookie of the Year) and the Michel Bergeron Trophy (Offensive Rookie of the Year). He also won the Michael Bossy Trophy as the top professional prospect.

Victoriaville Tigres forward Yanni Gourde was named league MVP, taking home the Michel Briere trophy. He also won the Jean Beliveau tophy as top scorer.

Jean-Francois Houle of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada won the coach of the year. Houle led his team to a 40-22-4-2 record, easily the best record in the West division. He edged out Sea Dogs coach Gerard Gallant, who had won the award the previous two seasons and Remparts coach Patrick Roy.

Houle's boss, Joel Bouchard, was named the league's top general manager.

While Gallant lost out on a third straight coach of the year award, the Sea Dogs were still big winners. Captain Jonathan Huberdeau took home the Paul Dumont Trophy (Personality of the Year) and goaltender Mathieu Corbeil won the Jacques Plante Trophy.

Jerome Gauthier Leduc, who had 28 goals, and 46 assists in 62 games patrolling the Rimouski blueline, was named the league's top defenseman.

Other winners included: Zach O'Brien (Acadie-Bathurst Titan) for sportsman of the year; Jonathan Brunelle (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles) was named the top scholastic player; and Vincent Barnard (Quebec Remparts) was singled out for his humanitarian and community involvement.

jonathan@theqspot.ca

Second round ready to go

After Chicoutimi's 4-3 overtime win over Bathurst in Game 6 Sunday night, the second round of the playoffs is set to go.

The No. 1 Saint John Sea Dogs will play the 13th-seeded Baie-Comeau Drakkar, who upset the Victoriaville Tigres 4-0. The series starts Friday April 6 in Saint John with Game Two going on Saturday. The series will switch to Baie-Comeau for games three, four and five on April 10, 11 and 13 respectively. Games six and seven will be back in Saint John on April 16 and 17.

Shawinigan will play the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

Shawinigan won their first-round matchup against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 4-0.

The series gets underway Friday April 6 and April 7 in Shawinigan.

The third series includes the third-placed Blainville-Boisbriand Armada taking on the seventh-seeded Rimouski Oceanic.

Armada won their series against Gatineau 4-0. Rimouski swept Val-'d'Or in four games.

The series kicks off Friday April 6 in Blainville.

Last but not least, the Quebec Remparts will battle against the Halifax Mooseheads. This series will feature Mooseheads' Nathan MacKinnon going up against Remparts' Mikhail Grigorenko.

Quebec swept Drummondville in the first round and Halifax swept rival Moncton Wildcats.

This will be the second series in the second round to have a 2-3-2 format. Quebec gets games one and two on Friday and Saturday, and Halifax gets games three to five. Games six and seven will come back to Quebec if necessary.

Stay tuned for The Q Spot's second round predictions.

Click here for playoff bracket.

nolan@theqspot.ca

Sea Dogs crush Eagles; Cape Breton on the brink

The Saint John Sea Dogs are on the verge of advancing to the second round of the Quebec League playoffs after hammering Cape Breton, 8-2, in Sydney.

Danick Gauthier and Charlie Coyle each scored twice while Kevin Gagne, Tomas Jurco, Jonathan Huberdeau and Ryan Tesink added one each.

Half of the team's goals came in the opening 5:01 of the first period.

Mathieu Corbeil got the win in goal with 27 saves.

The Sea Dogs carry a 3-0 series lead into Game 4 Wednesday at Centre 200.

If Saint John completes the sweep, it would be the second straight year the Sea Dogs will have eliminated the Eagles in four games.

NOTES: Sea Dog scratches were Maxime Villemaire (right knee injury), Devon Oliver-Dares (broken collarbone), Grant West (flu), Spencer MacDonald (right bicep strain), and Ian Saab (suspended). Dylan McGuigan dressed for his first ever QMJHL playoff game in place of West, registering one shot on goal and three hits. Jordan Moore dressed for his second straight game in place of MacDonald, who took part in the team’s morning skate, but was not ready to play. Coyle’s eight goals are a new Sea Dog single series record.

Three Stars: 1. Gauthier (SJ) 2. Coyle (SJ) 3. Carrier (CB) Top Dog: Jurco

Visit the News 88.9 Sea Dogs Blog to Tim Roszell's calls for all eight of the Sea Dogs goals last night.

Q hands down two suspensions

The disciplinary prefect of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has handed suspension to a player and a coach, the league announced today.

Gatineau Olympiques head coach Benoit Groulx has been suspended two games and fined $1,000.

The suspension and fine were handed out after Groulx's inappropriate behavior during a game against Blainville-Boisbriand on March 14, 2012.

Ian Saab of the Saint John Sea Dogs has been suspended eight games for a high sticking incident which occurred March 11, 2012 against the Shawinigan Cataractes.

Here is the rational that led to the decision:

-The player at fault (Saab) left his blue line and headed towards his opponent.
-The opponent raised his arm up to the plexus of the offending player.
-The offending player (Saab) then forcefully hit his opponent in the face with his stick and glove and hit him on the head a second time with his glove.
-It was not Saab's first offence
-The opponent was injured.

nolan@theqspot.ca

Sea Dogs clinch first overall for the third consecutive season

For the third straight year, the Saint John Sea Dogs have been crowned the regular season champions after their 6-1 win over the Halifax Mooseheads Wednesday night at the Halifax Metro Centre.

The Sea Dogs have posted a 48-15-0-3 record for 99 points this season, with two games left. They have the chance to end the season with 103 points if they win their final games of the season.

Saint John holds a four-point lead over the Memorial Cup hosts Shawinigan Cataractes who can at best, finish with 99 points if they too win their final two games of the season,

Jonathan Huberdeau (1-2), Danick Gauthier (1-2), Charlie Coyle (1-1) and Ryan Tesink (2) all registered multi-point performances on the night. Grant West chipped in with another goal for the Sea Dogs.

Alexandre Grenier had the lone goal for the Mooseheads.

Mathieu Corbeil made 17 saves in the win for the Sea Dogs.

Zachery Fucale made 33 saves and Marc-Olivier Daigle allowed a goal on six shots.

It is likely the Sea Dogs will the play the 16th-seeded Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the first round of the playoffs.

nolan@theqspot.ca

Three Q teams make BMO Top 10 Rankings

Three Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams have made the cut for the BMO MasterCard Top 10 Rankings the CHL announced yesterday.

For the second straight week, the Saint John Sea Dogs claim the top spot in the country. The Shawinigan Cataractes and the Quebec Remparts are the other two teams.

Saint John's 47-14-0-2 record has them in the number one spot. The mighty Sea Dogs have won 16 straight games.

The Cataractes sit a No. 4 with a 42-14-3-4 record. The 2012 Memorial Cup hosts are 7-2-1-0 in their past 10 games.

And last but not least, Patrick Roy's Quebec Remparts sit at the No. 8 spot with a 41-15-5-2 record. The Remparts are 9-1-0-0 in their past 10 games.

The Victoriaville Tigres were honourable mentions.

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings

1. Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL (47-14-0-2)
2. London Knights, OHL (45-16-0-1)
3. Portland Winterhawks, WHL (46-16-3-1)
4. Shawinigan Cataratces, QMJHL (42-14-3-4)
5. Tri-City Americans, WHL (46-17-1-2)
6. Plymouth Whalers, OHL (43-17-2-1)
7. Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL (44-15-3-4)
8. Quebec Remparts, QMJHL (41-15-5-2)
9. Kamloops Blazers, WHL (44-17-2-3)
10. Niagara Ice Dogs, OHL (42-17-0-3)

nolan@theqspot.ca

Gauthier signs with Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Danick Gauthier to a three-year contract, Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced today.

Gauthier, 6-2, 201 pounds, has played in 59 games with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, recording 41 goals and 72 points, to go along with a plus-35 rating. He ranks second in the QMJHL in goals and is tied for 12th in points. Gauthier has recorded four hat-tricks this season and also leads the Sea Dogs with 11 power-play goals.

The Repentigny, Que. native has skated in 212 career games in the QMJHL with the Sea Dogs and Shawinigan Cataractes, posting 70 goals and 132 points, to go along with 219 penalty minutes. Gauthier was a member of the 2009-10 Sea Dogs team that won the Memorial Cup.

Coyle signs three-year deal with Wild

The Minnesota Wild on signed 2010 first-round pick Charlie Coyle to a three-year, entry level contract., the team announced Thursday. No financial terms were disclosed.

The East Weymouth, Mass., native started this season as a sophomore at Boston University. But after representing the United States for the second straight year at the World Junior Championship, Coyle joined the defending Memorial Cup-winning Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he's played on the same line with fellow Wild prospect Zack Phillips, who's sixth in the QMJHL in scoring.

Coyle and Phillips have been a potent tandem, with Coyle scoring 12 goals and adding 12 assists in just 16 games.

“Point-wise I think obviously we’re both doing pretty good and we’re winning so I think it’s working for everyone,” Coyle told the Wild's website of playing with Phillips. “I think we complement each other pretty good. Hopefully we stick together. I think we work well together."

Coyle had four goals in six games with Team U.S.A. at the World Juniors after going 3-11-14 in 16 games for Boston University.

Coyle was originally a first-round pick by San Jose, but was dealt to the Wild on draft day last June along with Devin Setoguchi and a first-round pick that turned out to be Phillips in exchange for defenseman Brent Burns.

Who's Hot, Who's Not: Feb. 20th - 26th

Two wingers from one of the league’s lowest ranked clubs take home hottest players of the week honours here at the q spot, and a team other than the Sea Dogs will be recognized for their strong play of late.  With less distinction, one of the league’s top scorers on what should be one of the top ranked teams is cooling down, and there’s no foreshadowing it, P.E.I is freezing in February.

The Val d’Or Foreurs may be near the QMJHL basement in 14^th place but the teams’ second leadings scorer Benjamin Casavant is one of the hottest producers in the league right now. Casavant has 29 goals and 60 points in 51 games this season.  Even at over a point per game on the season, February has been a good month.  Casavant is in the midst of a nine game point streak this month that at one point saw him score a goal in seven straight. He has 12 points in those nine games.

Anthony Mantha may be a surprise second entry for the lowly Foreurs this week. Prior to the beginning of February, Mantha had managed only 23 points in 55 games, and then only two points in his first four games to start the month.  But since then, Mantha has put together a six game goal scoring streak where he earned 12 points.  In ten games this month Mantha has put up 14 points and 26 points in his last 18.

This is the longest goal scoring streaks for both Mantha (Current) and Casavant (broken 02/26) QMJHL careers, and both players second longest points streak. Mantha had an eight game streak lasting until the end of January and Casavant has twice reached the 10 point plateau.

Despite Halifax’s strong play of late, 25 goal scorer Matthew Boudreau has struggled.  A two goal output on February 10^th against Chicoutimi improved Boudreau to a point per game with 52 points in 52 games.  Boudreau and the Mooseheads have played seven times since that game with Halifax sporting an impressive 5-2 record. Yet Boudreau hasn’t scored a point and is a minus five in those same seven games.  Boudreau’s will look to break out of his slump over the next three games which are against Gatineau and Rouyn-Noranda. In the two games against those two clubs this season, Boudreau has scored two goals and added an assist to go with a plus three rating.

Last week’s cold team of the week, the Chicoutimi Saguenees, continue to struggle, and nobody is feeling it more than leading scorer Guillaume Asselin. Asselin sits 18^th in league scoring with 67 points in 59 games but has only scored one goal and one assist in his last seven games.  A four game slump in the middle of those seven games was the longest he has been held without a point this season.

The Halifax Mooseheads are the surprise hot team of the QMJHL this week.  Halifax entered what may have been their hardest stretch of the year including four games in five nights on the road.  In their last nine games Halifax has had to play Shawinigan and Victoriaville twice, and Saint John and Chicoutimi once. Shawinigan, Saint John, and Victoriaville are first, second, and third in points this season.  Halifax won four of those six games and are 6-2-0-1 in their last nine. Within those nine games the Mooseheads have even managed a four game winning streak, swept Victoriaville and split with Shawinigan. One of their two losses was a hotly contested 4-3 against the Saint John Sea Dogs. Their only other regulation loss was to the memorial cup hosts Shawinigan. 

You don’t have to travel from this week’s hottest team to find its coldest. The P.E.I Rocket have had a dismal February. The Rocket have now lost eight straight being outscored 45-13 in the process. Four in a row were at home by a combined score of 24-3. Positive news is leading scorer Ben Duffy is starting to break out of his slump with two points in his last three games. Less fortunate news is the team’s next game will be against the Saint John Sea dogs at Harbour Station.  Their last meeting ended in a 10-1 drubbing.

Honourable Mentions: 

The Saint John Sea Dogs have won 14 straight games now, and 15 of their last 16.

Montreal Canadians first round pick Nathan Beaulieu of the Saint John Sea Dogs had a seven game point streak snapped Saturday in Moncton. Beaulieu has 1 goal and 14 points in nine games in February. 

16-year-old Halifax Mooseheads forward Ryan Falkenham had a four game streak snapped Saturday against Shawinigan. The longest streak of the young rookie’s career saw him score four goals and add two assists.

*Disclaimer- 15 of 16 does not include forfeit to Gatineau that Saint John originally won.

Injuries haven't slowed the Sea Dogs

By Patrick Moore
TQS Writer

Before the season even started, the Saint John Sea Dogs knew a Memorial Cup repeat was going to be a tough road to travel.

No one knew the feeling more than Stanislav Galiev. The Washington Capitals pick returned for the Sea Dogs 5-0 win against the P.E.I. Rocket after missing 48 games with a broken wrist.

It was tough for him, knowing that he wasn't able to help his teammates on the ice.

"It's tough to watch the games when you're sitting in the stands."

A lot of credit does lie with the rest of the Sea Dogs.

"I told the players to just go out and play their best, " said head coach Gerard Gallant.

With 12 games left in the season, the Sea Dogs haven't had a game with their full roster.

Sea Dogs captain Jonathan Huberdeau is happy to have the team back with some games left in the season.

"It's good, it gives us a chance to work on our team chemistry which will help us in the playoffs."

He admits there is a lot of pressure on the team this year because they are looking to repeat as Memorial Cup champions.

"Even though we won it last year, it's important not think about it. It's a new year and a new team."

Galiev did what he could while he was injured,

"I didn't go on any road trips, because I had to work out and stay in shape, but I would support the guys during home games."

Gallant expects the Sea Dogs to be much better now that everyone is back.

"I expect us to compete every game."

He isn't worried about who they end up playing in the first round of the playoffs.

"It doesn't matter if we play the Rocket, Cape Breton or Rouyn-Noranada. We are going to play our game."

Gallant said that a series against P.E.I. or Cape Breton would be ideal because the travel would be cut down by a lot. They would probably have to take a plane to Rouyn-Noranda.


*Patrick is currently enrolled in the Journalism program at Holland College.

Three QMJHL teams make the cut for BMO Top 10 rankings

Three Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams made the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings for week 22 which were announced today by the Canadian Hockey League.

The Saint John Sea Dogs, Shawinigan Cataractes and the Quebec Remparts have all made the cut.

Saint John sits at spot No. 2 on the rankings with an impressive 42-14-0-2 record. The mighty Sea Dogs are currently in the midst of 12-game winning streak. Their last loss came back on Jan. 12 when they lost 4-1 to Shawinigan.

Shawinigan sits at No. 5 with a 39-12-3-4 record, behind Tri-City Americans and in front of the Portland Winterhawks. The 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup hosts have gone 6-4 in their past ten games.

Patrick Roy's Quebec Remparts have secured the final spot at No. 10 with a 36-15-5-2 record. Quebec has won their last two games by shutting out their opponents.

The Victoriaville Tigres were honourable mentions yet again with a 37-17-1-3 record.

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings - Week 22
1. London Knights, OHL (42-13-0-1)
2. Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL (42-14-0-2)
3. Kamloops Blazers, WHL (41-14-1-3)
4. Tri-City Americans, WHL (41-15-1-2)
5. Shawinigan Cataractes, QMJHL (39-12-3-4)
6. Portland Winterhawks, WHL (42-15-2-1)
7. Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL (39-14-3-4)
8. Plymouth Whalers, OHL (37-17-2-1)
9. Ottawa 67's, OHL (36-15-5-1)
10. Quebec Remparts, QMJHL (36-15-5-2)

nolan@theqspot.ca

Halifax Mooseheads battle Sea Dogs in Saint John tonight

The two longest winning streaks in the QMJHL will be on the line tonight in Saint John as the Halifax Mooseheads visit Harbour Station.

The powerhouse Saint John Sea Dogs (41-14-2-0) boast an impressive 11 game winning streak and have only lost one game in 2012. Expect to see their high flying offence on display tonight in front of their hometown fans. Saint John has scored 21 goals in their last three games.

The Mooseheads (33-18-2-4) will be in tough trying to shut down first round selections Jonathan Huberdeau and Nathan Beaulieu. Each have nine points in their past three games. If that weren’t enough for the Mooseheads defenders to think about, Charlie Coyle and Tomas Jurco each have six points in those same three games.

Halifax has been impressive themselves lately, winners of four straight and six of their past 10. Halifax will be hoping for their leading scorer, Nathan MacKinnon, to return from a thumb injury. He will be a game time decision.

The Mooseheads last played in Bathurst where they exploded for six second period goals before allowing five in the third to set up a tense final minute.

The Sea Dogs lead the season series 5-1 and outscoring Halifax by a margin of 31-15. Their last match was a 7-3 Sea Dog victory. In that game, Coyle and Jurco each scored two goals and Huberdeau added two assists.

Who to watch tonight:

Jonathan Huberdeau (Saint John) – 26GP -19G -33A -52PTS, Has scored five points in three games against Halifax this season.

Zach Fucale(Halifax) – 47GP-3.11GAA -.892S%, Has given up more than three goals only twice in his last seven games.

Roy, Huberdeau and Will named Telus three stars of the week

Frederick Roy, Jonathan Huberdeau and Roman Will have been named the Telus three stars of the week the league announced today.

The week is the period spanning from Feb. 13 to Feb. 19.

Frederick Roy of the Quebec Remparts is the week's first-star after collecting three goals and 11 points in four games.

The 20-year-old Montreal, Que. native had a goal and four assists on Tuesday Feb. 14 in a 9-1 win over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. On Friday, he collected an assist in a 4-1 loss to the Sea Dogs. The next day, he netted the only two goals in his team's 2-0 victory over the Moncton Wildcats. On Sunday, he added three helpers in a 6-0 win over the P.E.I. Rocket.

The second-star of the week is Saint John Sea Dogs superstar and captain Jonathan Hubderdeau after collecting two goals and seven points in two games.

In a 10-1 win over the P.E.I. Rocket on Wednesday, the 18-year-old Florida Panthers prospect had a pair of goals and a pair of assists. On Friday, he added three assists in a 4-1 win over the Quebec Remparts.

Moncton Wildcats netminder Roman Will is the week's third-star after allowing two goals on 65 shots over the course of two games.

On Friday, the 19-year-old Czech Republic native made 34 saves in a 3-1 win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. On Saturday, he allowed one goal and made 29 saves, despite a 2-0 loss against the Quebec Remparts.

nolan@theqspot.ca

Russia return

By Bradey Williston
TQS Writer

With the return of Russian forward Stanislav Galiev the Saint John Sea Dogs have the depth to be considered the best top-six forward unit in the CHL.

The top-six include Galiev, Jonathan Huberdeau, Charlie Coyle, Zack Phillips, Jurco and Danick Gauthier.

Galiev has been out of for most of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a broken left wrist on Oct. 1, 2011. The Russian sniper was on a hot streak before his injury scoring three goals and three assists in just five games.

Since his return, he has made an immediate impact on the already stacked Sea Dogs roster. Galiev notched two goals in a 7-2 home victory over the Titan on Feb. 12, his first since Sept. 24, 2011.

This season he has an impressive nine points in just eight games, the kind of offensive flare the Sea Dogs will need going in to their highly anticipated playoff stretch.

Galiev and the Sea Dogs are back in action this Friday, when they play host to the Quebec Remparts . Game time at Harbour Station and broadcast time on Rogers Sportsnet is 8 p.m.

A few of Galiev’s Tweets leading up to his return:

@Galixon_97 :

It's been tough 4month for me, watching games from stands! And now I'm back. First game tomorrow since 1st October. #Dogs #RoadToShawi. Tweeted on Feb. 10

I hope I don't forget how to shoot the puck @mathieutcorbeil. Tweeted on Feb. 8

Great day inDC today.Heard great news from a doctor this morning.Now at the airport,coming back to Saint John. Tweeted on Feb. 8

Three QMJHL teams make BMO Top 10 rankings

Three QMJHL teams have made the cut for the BMO CHL MasterCrad Top 10 Rankings for week 21 which was released by the Canadian Hockey League today.

The Saint John Sea Dogs top the list for the Q at No. 2 with a 40-14-0-2 record. The defending Memorial Cup Champions only sit behind the London Knights who are posting a 41-11-0-1 record.

The next Q team are the Shawinigan Cataractes at No. 5 with a 37-12-3-4 record. They sit behind the Tri-City Americans (38-15-1-2) and are ahead of the Edmonton Oil Kings (38-13-3-4).

In the 10th spot are Patrick Roy's and Mikhail Grigorenko's Quebec Remparts with a 34-14-5-2 record. The Remparts fall back a spot after being ranked ninth last week.

The Victoriaville Tigres were honourable mentions with a 36-16-1-3 record.

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings
1. London Knights, OHL (41-11-0-1)
2. Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL (40-14-0-2)
3. Kamloops Blazers, WHL (41-12-1-3)
4. Tri-City Americans, WHL (38-15-1-2)
5. Shawinigan Cataractes, QMJHL (37-12-3-4)
6. Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL (38-13-3-4)
7. Plymouth Whalers, OHL (36-15-2-1)
8. Kitchener Rangers, OHL (36-15-1-1)
9. Portland Winterhawks, WHL (38-15-2-1)
10. Quebec Remparts, QMJHL (34-14-5-2)

nolan@theqspot.ca

Reid on the Rocket: Sea Dogs dominate struggling Rocket

The Saint John Sea Dogs built a 4-0 lead in the first period and never looked back as they went on to dominate the P.E.I. Rocket 10-1 at the Charlottetown Cvic Centre on Wednesday night.

It wasn't a pretty loss for the Rocket either, as the two teams combined for 92 penalty minutes including four fights.

For Saint John, it's their 10th win a row and remain first overall with a 40-14-0-2 record. For the Rocket, it's their third straight loss and remain in last place with a 17-34-2-2 record.

Rocket captain Josh Currie said it was an embarrassing loss.

"It was really tough on all of us. Obviously you don't want to lose in front of your home crowd, especially 10-1."

It was a bad game, said Currie.

"We couldn't get anything going. I thought we had offensive chances but their goalie came up huge, and when they had chances they were able to put them in and that's what it came down to."

Jonathan Huberdeau (2-2) led the way for Saint John with four points as Charlie Coyle (1-2) and Tomas Jurco (2-1) chipped in with two points.

Alex Noel had the lone goal for the Rocket.

It didn't take long for Saint John to open the scoring as Huberdeau scored 4:15 into the first period. Oliver Cooper made it a 2-0 Sea Dogs game at 9:58 before Coyle made it 3-0 at 11:14.

Jurco's powerplay marker at 14:15 chased Rocket starter Maxime Lagace out of the net after giving up four goals on only eight shots.

Currie said the team came out strong in the first.

"We were hitting them, getting pucks down low…but then we took penalties and it's costly against a team like that."

In the second period, Maxime Villemaire scored 55 seconds in to give the Sea Dogs a 5-0 lead before Jurco scored shorthanded at 2:30 to increase the lead by six. Villemaire added a second goal at 6:33 to make it 7-0.

With the Saint John up 7-0, the Rocket only had five shots on goal half way through the second.

That's pretty bad, said Currie.

"I thought as the game went on we got more pucks to the net and played a little bit better, but unfortunately they also were able to put more in."

Noel gave the Rocket some life with his eighth of the season 1:13 into the third period. But, the Sea Dogs responded with goals from Danick Gauthier, Stanislav Galiev and Huberdeau to increase the Sea Dogs lead to 10-1.

Antoine Bibeau made 20 saves in relief of Lagace.

Sea Dogs goaltender Mathieu Corbeil made 21 saves.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the P.E.I. Rocket as the host the Victoriaville Tigres on Saturday night, then take on the Quebec Remparts on Sunday.

A closer look
Shots per period: P.E.I. 3,5,14 total 22; Saint John 11,13,10 total 34.

Scorers: P.E.I. - Noel; Saint John - Coyle, Huberdeau (2), Jurco (2), Gauthier, Villemaire (2), Cooper

Powerplay: P.E.I. 0-for-7; Saint John 2-for-4.

Fights: 4, Herret, P.E.I. vs. Villemaire, Saint John; Oligny, P.E.I. vs. Villemaire, Saint John; Gallant, P.E.I. vs. West, Saint John; Gallant, P.E.I. vs. Villemaire, Saint John

Video Highlights


nolan@theqspot.ca