Reid on the Rocket: Rocket snap slump with big win over Wildcats

Josh Currie's early third period goal lifted the Rocket to a 5-3 win over the Moncton Wildcats Tuesday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

For the sixth time in seven games this season, the Rocket have beaten the Wildcats. The win also snapped a 10-game losing streak for P.E.I. and improved to 18-40-2-3 on the season.

Ben Duffy led the way for the Rocket scoring two goals and adding an assist. He said it was huge to snap the losing streak.

"Especially right before going into the Cape, the two biggest games of the season coming up. "

The success against the Wildcats this year has been thanks to rivalry the two teams have, said Duffy.

"Come time to play them we never want to lose and I think that's why we battle so hard to make sure we get those two points every game."

A lot of positives came out of the win, said Duffy.

"We played a full 60 minutes and stuck to our game plan…and that's what we got to do for the rest of the season."

Moncton opened the scoring with Allain Saulnier's 25th goal of the season at 12:27 of the first period.

It didn't take the Rocket long to respond as Louick Marcotte potted home his 11th of the season at 13:22 to tie the game.

Ryan Penny gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead at 17:40.

After a near scoreless second period, Duffy's goal with 22 seconds left in the period tied the game at two.

In the third period, Duffy scored 51 seconds in to give the Rocket a 3-2 lead with his 34th of the season before Currie's 25th of the season made it 4-2 at 4:08.

Patrick Delisle-Houde got the Wildcats within a goal with a powerplay marker at 7:09.

Jimmy Oligny capped off the scoring with an empty net goal at 19:07.

Maxime Lagace made 26 saves for the win in goal for P.E.I.

Roman Will took the loss for Moncton stopping 28 shots.

With five games left on the schedule, the Rocket are still battling for that last and final playoff spot.

"We have to stay positive and make sure we compete and work hard in practice and make sure were mentally and physically ready for every game," said Duffy.

The Rocket are back in action Friday and Saturday night with back-to-back games against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in Cape Breton.

Rocket return home for their final home game of the season Sunday March 18 at 4 p.m. against the Halifax Mooseheads.

Video Highlights


nolan@theqspot.ca

Hyka, Duclair and Marcoux named Telus three stars of the week

Tomas Hyka, Anthony Duclair and Etienne Marcoux were named the Telus three stars of the week, the QMJHL announced earlier today.

The week is the period spanning from Feb. 27 to March 4, 2012.

Tomas Hyka of the Gatineau Olympiques is the week's first star after potting a pair of goals and collecting nine points.

The 18-year-old Czech native was named third-star on Wednesday with a goal. On Friday he scored a goal and added a pair of assists in an overtime win over Drummondville. He was named second star of the game.

On Sunday, he collected four assists in an 8-2 win over Drummondville.

The week's second star is Quebec Remparts rookie Anthony Duclair. Duclair, 16, scored his 25th goal of the season on Wednesday in a 9-2 thumping over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. He tallied three points in the game to be named the game's first star.

On Sunday, the Montreal, Que. native collected a goal and a pair of assists in a 4-2 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

Duclair has 60 points on the season.

The third star of the week belongs to Etienne Marcoux of the Blainville-Boisbrian Armada.

On Friday he made 29 saves in a 6-2 win over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar then posted a shutout the next night against Chicoutimi.

He posted a 1.00 goals-against average and a 0.959 save percentage.

nolan@theqspot.ca

Power Rankings - March 3

Will the Sea Dogs ever lose again? We’ve seen their streak run to 16 games now with no end in sight. Everyone expected them to be good again, but I don’t know if any of us thought they’d be this good. Val d’Or may just be the hottest team outside of top tiered clubs and the Islands are still struggling.

#1 Saint John Sea Dogs (46-14-0-2) – Last week #1 - No change – Have increased their win streak to 16 games, the Sea Dogs are rolling at the right time. Can anyone shut down Huberdeau and company?

#2 Shawinigan Cataractes (41-14-3-4) – Last week #4 – No change – Have lost two of their last three games, most recently a 5-4 decision against Chicoutimi. It was their first loss to the Sagueneens in seven games this season.

#3 Quebec Remparts (40-15-5-2) – Last week #4 - Up one spot- Have won six straight are 8-2 in their last 10 games with four shutouts. They’ve allowed one goal or less in six of those last 10. Leading rookie scorer Mikhail Grigorenko has seven goals and 10 points during Quebec’s six game winning streak.

#4 Halifax Mooseheads (35-20-2-4)– Last week #5 – Up one spot - Friday night’s loss to Rouyn-Noranda marks the Mooseheads first loss to a team below them in the standings since a 2-1 shootout loss in Baie Comeau on Feb. 8.

#5 Victoriaville Tigres (38-18-1-4) – Last week #3 – Down two spots- Have lost three of their last five games. Both wins were by a single goal. Two of their three losses were to Quebec and Halifax.

#6 Chicoutimi Sagueneens (32-20-3-6) – Last week #6 – No change – Beat Shawinigan for the first time this season for their third straight win.

#7 Rimouski Oceanic (38-23-1-0) – Last week #7 – No change – Have four straight wins since Cape Breton snapped their overtime winning streak . They’ve scored 27 goals in those four games.

#8 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (34-22-3-2) –Last week #8 – No change – Have been playing good hockey as of late, collecting points in eight of their past ten games, including six wins.

#9 Acadie-Bathurst Titan (29-28-2-3)- Last week #10 – Up one spot – The Titan continue to confuse. They’ve won two of their last three, beating Cape Breton twice while losing to Baie-Comeau. As usual, everyone expects much more from a team who boasts two of the leagues top three scorers.

#10 Moncton Wildcats (27-28-3-3) – Last week #9 - Down one spot – Have lost five straight games, but it’s hard to hold that against them. They’ve played Saint John and Quebec twice in that span. At least they only had to play Shawinigan once. The Wildcats were shutout three times in those five games.

#11 Val d’Or Foreurs (28-30-0-5)- Last week #14 – Up three spots - Val d’Or could be dark horse for a first round upset. They’ve won five straight games and have a couple of streaking wingers. Benjamin Casavant has 16 points in his ongoing 11 game point streak while Anthony Mantha has 14 points in eight games.

#12 Baie-Comeau Drakkar (28-29-1-4)- Last week #12 – No change – Th eDrakkar have lost four of their last five giving up 30 goals in that span.

#13 Gatineau Olympiques (24-28-4-5)-Last week #13 – No change- Needed a shootout to snap a four game losing streak Friday night against Drummondville.

#14 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (21-34-4-3)- Last week #11- Up one spot- Have collected points in four straight games. Chased rookie standout Zachary Fucale in a 5-2 win of the fourth ranked Halifax Mooseheads on Friday night.

#15 Drummondville Voltigeurs (25-28-2-7)- Last week #11- Down four spots- In their last six games they’ve lost to Val d’Or, Gatineau, and twice to Rouyn-Noranda. Needless to say they are slumping.

#16 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (21-38-1-2) – Last week #17- Up one spot- Have lost six in a row starting with their 10-1 loss to Rimouski. Things are better than in P.E.I, but not by much. Have given up 41 goals in their six losses.

#17 P.E.I Rocket(17-40-2-2)- Last week # 16 – Down one spot – Have now lost nine in a row. Fortunately Rocket fans are seeing lots of goals this season. Unfortunately they are going in the wrong net. The Rocket are the lowest scoring team in the Q right now, while also giving up the most goals. Not a lot of positives on the Islands right now.

The power rankings take a break next week as I enjoy mojitos and sunny beaches. Check back March 15 for the penultimate edition of the 2012 Q Spot power rankings.

Reid on the Rocket: Titan edge Rocket in shootout

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan used a shootout to get by the P.E.I. Rocket, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

The loss for the Rocket keeps them in the league's basement with a 17-40-2-3 record for 39 points. It was also the ninth straight loss for the Rocket, but collected their first point in nine games.

Alex Noel, who scored a goal for the Rocket, said the team battled hard for two periods, but could have played better in the third period.

"We could have came out with two points there, got one, it's better than nothing but we should have performed better in the third period."

Noel's goal gave the Rocket a 3-2 lead with less than a minute to go in the second period but it wouldn't be enough as Bathurst's Mirko Hoefflin tied the game with 2:54 left in the third period. Bathurst then scored twice in the shootout and the Rocket were shutout.

It's never fun to lose like that, said Noel.

"We were playing pretty good all game, pops our bubble a little bit. We just got to forget about it and focus on the Moncton game on Tuesday."

The Titan opened the scoring with Zach O'Brien's league-leading 50th goal of the season just 2:19 into the first period.

Josh Currie tied the game at one with this 23rd goal of the season at 11:02. Jimmy Oligny and Victor Provencher drew the assists.

In the second period, Olivier Croteau's 13th goal of the season put the Rocket up by a score of 2-1 on the powerplay at 6:22.

Hoefflin scored his first of the game to tie the game at two for the Titan at 9:59.

Noel's ninth of the season gave the Rocket a 3-2 lead at 19:06.

In the third period, Hoefflin tied the game for Bathurst to send the game to overtime and eventually to the shootout.

O'Brien and Sebastien Trudeau scored for Bathurst in the shootout, as Jessyko Bernard and Louick Marcotte were held scoreless.

Maxime Lagace made 27 saves in net for the Rocket.

Jacob Brennan made 28 saves to pick up the win for Bathurst.

The Rocket host the Moncton Wildcats on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. It is also the last ticket redemption night for the season.

Video Highlights


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.

Canadiens sign Morgan Ellis to entry-level deal

Montreal Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier announced today the signing of defenseman Morgan Ellis to a three-year contract (2012-13 to 2014-15). As per club policy, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

In 54 games with the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and Shawinigan Cataractes, Ellis ranks tied for seventh among defensemen in the league with 46 points (13 goals and 33 assists). He ranks tied for fifth among league defensemen for goals (13). The 6-2 and 204-pound defenseman displays a +18 plus/minus differential and served 45 penalty minutes.

The 19-year-old Ellerslie, P.E.I., native has recorded 117 points (25 goals and 92 assists) in 231 games since his junior debut with Cape Breton in 2008-09. He was drafted in the fourth round, 117th overall by the Canadiens at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Ellis took part in his second training camp with the Canadiens in 2011, appearing in one preseason game. He was returned to the Screaming Eagles on Sept. 26.