Jessyko Bernard scored with 4:53 remaining in the game to complete the comeback for the P.E.I. Rocket in a 4-2 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Friday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.
For the third straight game, the Rocket used the third period to their advantage, scoring three times after battling back from a 2-0 deficit.
Bernard said the team has been keeping their game simple in the third period and that is what has been successful for them.
"We're trying to get the pucks in deep, play physical on the closing team's defense and it wears them out come third period time and I think that gives us a little bit of a boost."
With the win, the Rocket have won three-straight games, including two straight against Cape Breton, and have improved to 17-31-2-2 on the season.
The winning streak feels good and relaxing, said Bernard.
"Everyone's happy when you're winning. (It) just makes coming to the rink just fun everyday and it's just a good atmosphere around the room right now."
The Screaming Eagles opened the scoring in the first period with a powerplay goal from forward Jonathan Brunelle.
In the second period, Kyle Farrell gave the Screaming Eagles a 2-0 lead at 2:27.
The Rocket cut the lead in half with Victor Provencher's 17th goal of the season at 6:27.
In the third period, Ben Duffy's team-leading 31st goal of the season tied the game 2-2 at 13:15 before Bernard's 15th of the season gave the Rocket the 3-2 lead at 15:07.
Matej Beran sealed the deal with an empty-net powerplay goal at 19:18.
Antoine Bibeau made 24 saves to pick up the win for the Rocket.
Philippe Trudeau took the loss for Cape Breton stopping 24 shots.
The Rocket will look to win their fourth straight game on Friday Feb. 10 when they travel to Acadie-Bathurst to take on the Titan. Game time 7:30 p.m.
Video Highlights
nolan@theqspot.ca
Friday, February 3, 2012
Game Previews-February 3rd, 2012
Game of Interest:
Saint John (36-13-0-2) at Drummondville (21-25-2-4)- Something has to give. Both teams have winning streaks; Drummondville has a four game streak going, while Saint John is riding a five game streak. This is a definite game of interest.
Players to Watch
Jonathan Oligny (Drummondville) & Ian Saab (Saint John). Oligny and Saab are one and two respectively in penalty minutes and major penalties. Expect them to drop the gloves tonight.
Other games on the Q schedule tonight:
Moncton (23-23-3-2) at Halifax (27-16-2-3)
Cape Breton (20-28-0-2) at P.E.I. (16-31-2-2)
Rimouski (31-21-0-0) at Quebec (32-12-4-2)
Victoriaville (33-16-1-2) at Baie-Comeau (24-22-1-3)
Gatineau (19-23-4-4) at Blainville-Boisbriand (27-20-2-1)
Rouyn-Noranda (16-29-2-3) at Chicoutimi (26-16-3-6)
Val-d’Or (21-26-0-4) at Shawinigan (34-11-2-3)
Saint John (36-13-0-2) at Drummondville (21-25-2-4)- Something has to give. Both teams have winning streaks; Drummondville has a four game streak going, while Saint John is riding a five game streak. This is a definite game of interest.
Players to Watch
Jonathan Oligny (Drummondville) & Ian Saab (Saint John). Oligny and Saab are one and two respectively in penalty minutes and major penalties. Expect them to drop the gloves tonight.
Other games on the Q schedule tonight:
Moncton (23-23-3-2) at Halifax (27-16-2-3)
Cape Breton (20-28-0-2) at P.E.I. (16-31-2-2)
Rimouski (31-21-0-0) at Quebec (32-12-4-2)
Victoriaville (33-16-1-2) at Baie-Comeau (24-22-1-3)
Gatineau (19-23-4-4) at Blainville-Boisbriand (27-20-2-1)
Rouyn-Noranda (16-29-2-3) at Chicoutimi (26-16-3-6)
Val-d’Or (21-26-0-4) at Shawinigan (34-11-2-3)
Saulnier concussion one of many
With four games left in the 2010-11 QMJHL season, the Moncton Wildcats played the P.E.I. Rocket.
Midway through the second period, the Wildcats forward Allain Saulnier passed the puck to his twin brother Alex, but he lost the puck.
The puck went to the boards near the Wildcat bench. Alex won the race to the puck, but he lost the size battle. Paradis’ shoulder made contact with Alex’s head,
leaving him motionless on the ice. He had a concussion.
The Quebec Remparts know exactly how the Wildcats felt at that moment. Two seasons ago in a game against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, former Huskies forward Patrice Cormier threw a blindsided elbow to the head of Remparts defenceman Mikaël Tam.
The hit sent Tam into convulsions. Tam recovered quickly and returned later that season. The QMJHL suspended Cormier for the rest of the season and playoffs, effectively ending his junior career.
“It’s definitely something that needs to be taken out of the game. You hit to take a player out of the play, not the game,” said Remparts coach Patrick Roy.
The Wildcats responded to the hit. Allain went after defenceman Jimmy Oligny, and Wildcat enforcer Scott Trask fought Paradis.
Alex would eventually skate off the ice on his own.
“I just didn’t feel normal so I knew something wasn’t right and I had headaches,” said Alex.
Alex missed the playoffs due to the concussion. He said he was tempted to come back, but he did what was best for his health.
“Maybe a little bit but I tried to be honest with myself and how I felt and after a few practices I felt ready to come back.”
The Wildcats have their own rule for players with concussions. They wait until the player has no symptoms of a concussion, then they move to light workouts, then non contact practices, and finally a normal practice.
“The reasons for longer recovery are not completely understood, but are related to the amount of damage to the brain and where the brain was damaged,” said physiotherapist Colin Moore.
Avoiding a concussion, or lessening the severity of one can easily be done.
“Wear a helmet and a mouth guard can help,” said Moore.
Concussions have been on the rise in hockey. There are currently 20 players in the NHL out with a concussion or concussion like symptoms.
The Eastern Conference alone has 15 players out with a concussion. There are 15 teams in the Eastern Conference.
Other injuries listed as “upper-body injuries” allow teams that don’t want to specify what the injury is for their player’s safety to use.
Alex got a game misconduct for hitting Oligny in the head in a recent home game against the P.E.I. Rocket. No suspension was given.
Midway through the second period, the Wildcats forward Allain Saulnier passed the puck to his twin brother Alex, but he lost the puck.
The puck went to the boards near the Wildcat bench. Alex won the race to the puck, but he lost the size battle. Paradis’ shoulder made contact with Alex’s head,
leaving him motionless on the ice. He had a concussion.
The Quebec Remparts know exactly how the Wildcats felt at that moment. Two seasons ago in a game against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, former Huskies forward Patrice Cormier threw a blindsided elbow to the head of Remparts defenceman Mikaël Tam.
The hit sent Tam into convulsions. Tam recovered quickly and returned later that season. The QMJHL suspended Cormier for the rest of the season and playoffs, effectively ending his junior career.
“It’s definitely something that needs to be taken out of the game. You hit to take a player out of the play, not the game,” said Remparts coach Patrick Roy.
The Wildcats responded to the hit. Allain went after defenceman Jimmy Oligny, and Wildcat enforcer Scott Trask fought Paradis.
Alex would eventually skate off the ice on his own.
“I just didn’t feel normal so I knew something wasn’t right and I had headaches,” said Alex.
Alex missed the playoffs due to the concussion. He said he was tempted to come back, but he did what was best for his health.
“Maybe a little bit but I tried to be honest with myself and how I felt and after a few practices I felt ready to come back.”
The Wildcats have their own rule for players with concussions. They wait until the player has no symptoms of a concussion, then they move to light workouts, then non contact practices, and finally a normal practice.
“The reasons for longer recovery are not completely understood, but are related to the amount of damage to the brain and where the brain was damaged,” said physiotherapist Colin Moore.
Avoiding a concussion, or lessening the severity of one can easily be done.
“Wear a helmet and a mouth guard can help,” said Moore.
Concussions have been on the rise in hockey. There are currently 20 players in the NHL out with a concussion or concussion like symptoms.
The Eastern Conference alone has 15 players out with a concussion. There are 15 teams in the Eastern Conference.
Other injuries listed as “upper-body injuries” allow teams that don’t want to specify what the injury is for their player’s safety to use.
Alex got a game misconduct for hitting Oligny in the head in a recent home game against the P.E.I. Rocket. No suspension was given.
Alexander Radulov should keep his stick on the ice
With all of the attention rightfully placed on Mikhail Grigorenko as the 2012 NHL Entry Draft approaches, it was another Russian who found himself leading the charge toward a Memorial Cup for the Québec Remparts a few years ago.
That Russian was Alexander Radulov, who terrorized opposing defenders with his skill in setting a team record with 152 points in 2005-06, setting team records in goals (61) and assists (91) while maintaining a mind-boggling 50-game point streak.
Radulov’s efforts led to him capturing the major junior’s Triple Crown: The Michel Brière Memorial Trophy (QMJHL MVP), CHL Player of the Year, and the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (Memorial Cup MVP).
He’d accomplished something not even Sidney Crosby can claim, and nobody has done it since. In fact, you have to go back to Brad Richards in 1999-2000 to find the next most recent Triple Crown winner from any of the three major junior leagues.
The Nashville Predators must have thought they were sitting on the next big NHL star when they signed him to his entry-level contract. He made his debut during the 2006-07 season, and he stuck around while scoring at a rate of 0.65 points per game through his first two seasons as a Predator.
Then, in the summer of 2008, a 22-year-old Radulov bolted back to Russia to play in the KHL to play for Salavat Yulaev Ufa. This came in spite of having the Predators, the NHL and the IIHF all release statements stating Radulov would be breaching his contract if he returned to Russia.
Nevertheless, Radulov went to the KHL citing better conditions, and he’s been a point-per-game player ever since while capturing the 2010 KHL MVP honours.
Radulov was enjoying his career out of the North American hockey spotlight, setting KHL records while helping Ufa to the 2011 Gagarin Cup.
Then, this happened.
Now, I’m not exactly sure what happened to cause the stick-swinging in the first place. Maybe it was a bad shift for Radulov, maybe a fan was heckling him, or maybe he wasn’t happy with his playing time, it could be just about anything. I’m not one to convict without a fair trial and argument, because it could have been accidental for all we know.
With that said, the constant line we hear from analysts when a stick infraction gets called is ‘You have to be in control of your stick at all times, regardless of where you are.’
Evidently, Radulov didn’t get the memo that the rule also applies while you’re on the bench. If it didn’t, professional hockey would be an extended Slap Shot movie.
More importantly, regardless of the scenario, you DO NOT hit one of your coaches. It’s often said coaches are merely ‘hired to be fired,’ but they should be respected while they’re coaching you. From Alexander Ovechkin’s saga with Bruce Boudreau earlier this season to Radulov’s actions here, it looks as if that respect is slowly starting to go the way of the 1-3-1 trap system.
Would Tiger Williams have struck Roger Neilson in the late 1970s and early 1980s while ‘Captain Video’ coached him? I’m sure he would have wanted to by times, but I couldn’t see him doing it out of respect for Neilson.
To Radulov’s partial credit, he does appear to wave as if to apologize to the coach, but it appears to be half-hearted. It’s just my observation (Note: My views are mine alone, and they certainly don’t reflect those of the rest of The Q Spot staff), but if I were in Radulov’s situation and was truly remorseful, I’d check with the coach to see if he was OK instead of turning my attention back to the play. I’m also fully aware that it could have just happened in the heat of the moment, but there’s no excuse for what he did because Radulov should have had control of his stick, plain and simple.
Even a more sincere acknowledgment of wrongdoing would have sufficed, because he seemed to shrug it off without any further communication.
Sadly, this will be the memory of Radulov that permeates our minds unless he returns to North America to play again someday. He may well be the most talented hockey player not currently in the NHL right now, but unless he does something magical, he could become the next Alexander Perezhogin.
Radulov has a world of talent, but he needs to keep his stick on the ice if he hopes to capitalize on it.
That Russian was Alexander Radulov, who terrorized opposing defenders with his skill in setting a team record with 152 points in 2005-06, setting team records in goals (61) and assists (91) while maintaining a mind-boggling 50-game point streak.
Radulov’s efforts led to him capturing the major junior’s Triple Crown: The Michel Brière Memorial Trophy (QMJHL MVP), CHL Player of the Year, and the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (Memorial Cup MVP).
He’d accomplished something not even Sidney Crosby can claim, and nobody has done it since. In fact, you have to go back to Brad Richards in 1999-2000 to find the next most recent Triple Crown winner from any of the three major junior leagues.
The Nashville Predators must have thought they were sitting on the next big NHL star when they signed him to his entry-level contract. He made his debut during the 2006-07 season, and he stuck around while scoring at a rate of 0.65 points per game through his first two seasons as a Predator.
Then, in the summer of 2008, a 22-year-old Radulov bolted back to Russia to play in the KHL to play for Salavat Yulaev Ufa. This came in spite of having the Predators, the NHL and the IIHF all release statements stating Radulov would be breaching his contract if he returned to Russia.
Nevertheless, Radulov went to the KHL citing better conditions, and he’s been a point-per-game player ever since while capturing the 2010 KHL MVP honours.
Radulov was enjoying his career out of the North American hockey spotlight, setting KHL records while helping Ufa to the 2011 Gagarin Cup.
Then, this happened.
Now, I’m not exactly sure what happened to cause the stick-swinging in the first place. Maybe it was a bad shift for Radulov, maybe a fan was heckling him, or maybe he wasn’t happy with his playing time, it could be just about anything. I’m not one to convict without a fair trial and argument, because it could have been accidental for all we know.
With that said, the constant line we hear from analysts when a stick infraction gets called is ‘You have to be in control of your stick at all times, regardless of where you are.’
Evidently, Radulov didn’t get the memo that the rule also applies while you’re on the bench. If it didn’t, professional hockey would be an extended Slap Shot movie.
More importantly, regardless of the scenario, you DO NOT hit one of your coaches. It’s often said coaches are merely ‘hired to be fired,’ but they should be respected while they’re coaching you. From Alexander Ovechkin’s saga with Bruce Boudreau earlier this season to Radulov’s actions here, it looks as if that respect is slowly starting to go the way of the 1-3-1 trap system.
Would Tiger Williams have struck Roger Neilson in the late 1970s and early 1980s while ‘Captain Video’ coached him? I’m sure he would have wanted to by times, but I couldn’t see him doing it out of respect for Neilson.
To Radulov’s partial credit, he does appear to wave as if to apologize to the coach, but it appears to be half-hearted. It’s just my observation (Note: My views are mine alone, and they certainly don’t reflect those of the rest of The Q Spot staff), but if I were in Radulov’s situation and was truly remorseful, I’d check with the coach to see if he was OK instead of turning my attention back to the play. I’m also fully aware that it could have just happened in the heat of the moment, but there’s no excuse for what he did because Radulov should have had control of his stick, plain and simple.
Even a more sincere acknowledgment of wrongdoing would have sufficed, because he seemed to shrug it off without any further communication.
Sadly, this will be the memory of Radulov that permeates our minds unless he returns to North America to play again someday. He may well be the most talented hockey player not currently in the NHL right now, but unless he does something magical, he could become the next Alexander Perezhogin.
Radulov has a world of talent, but he needs to keep his stick on the ice if he hopes to capitalize on it.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Reid on the Rocket: Wild third period gives Rocket 9-6 win over Screaming Eagles
A six goal effort by the P.E.I. Rocket in the third period propelled them to a 9-6 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Thursday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.
It is the second win in a row for the the Rocket and they up their season record to 16-31-2-2.
Jessyko Bernard (1-2) and Matej Beran (0-3) led they way for the Rocket with three points each. Ben Duffy had two goals while Matt Bursey had the Gordie Howe hat-trick with a goal, assist and a fight.
Jonathan Brunelle (2-1) led the way for the Screaming Eagles with three points.
Bursey, who just turned 18 on Wednesday, said it was a good game but too many goals were given up by the Rocket.
"Obviously we scored a lot of goals, but if we capitalized on all our chances it could have been a different outcome."
For the second straight game the Rocket used the third period to their advantage. The team isn't quitting, said Bursey.
"We know that it's a 60 minute game…and if a team doesn't battle for 60 minutes then their chances aren't that good."
The Rocket opened the scoring 1:53 into the first period with Yan Pavel Laplante's sixth goal of the season.
Cape Breton responded with a powerplay goal at the 10:00 mark with a goal from Alexandre Lavoie. Kyle Farrell scored 14 seconds later with another powerplay goal to give the Screaming Eagles a 2-1 lead.
Brunelle gave the Screaming Eagles a 3-1 lead at 16:28.
Jimmy Oligny scored his fourth of the season to put the Rocket within one on the powerplay at 19:02 before Josh Currie's 19th of the season tied the game with two seconds to play in the first period.
Being down by two, the team knew they could come back, said Bursey.
"It wasn't anything big. We knew we could beat this team and it end up happening."
There were no goals in the second period but it opened up for a wild third period, where the two teams combined for nine goals.
Cape Breton took a 4-3 lead with a shorthanded goal from Brunelle 36 seconds into the frame, but Ben Duffy responded with a powerplay goal just 24 seconds later to tie the game at 4-4. Bursey gave the Rocket a 5-4 lead just 15 seconds later with his seventh of the season.
Olivier Croteau put the Rocket up 6-4 with his 11th of the season at 10:24 before Bernard's 14th of the season made it 7-4 Rocket at 11:47.
Former Eagle Olivier Jodoin put the Rocket up by four with his fifth of the season at 14:31.
Blake Millman scored at 14:31 to make it an 8-5 game before Raphael Corriveau made it 8-6 only 27 seconds later.
Duffy capped off the scoring with an empty net powerplay goal at 18:49 for his 30th goal of the season.
Nobody in the stands could have predicted that third period, Bursey joked.
"We played to get pucks on net…fortunately a lot of them went in."
Rocket goaltender Maxime Lagace made 13 saves to pick up the in but was pulled after the sixth goal. Antoine Bibeau was 1-for-1.
Philippe Trudeau stopped 25 pucks before being replaced by William Racicot who made six saves on seven shots.
The Rocket play the Screaming Eagles again Friday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre. Gametime 7 p.m.
Video Highlights
nolan@theqspot.ca
It is the second win in a row for the the Rocket and they up their season record to 16-31-2-2.
Jessyko Bernard (1-2) and Matej Beran (0-3) led they way for the Rocket with three points each. Ben Duffy had two goals while Matt Bursey had the Gordie Howe hat-trick with a goal, assist and a fight.
Jonathan Brunelle (2-1) led the way for the Screaming Eagles with three points.
Bursey, who just turned 18 on Wednesday, said it was a good game but too many goals were given up by the Rocket.
"Obviously we scored a lot of goals, but if we capitalized on all our chances it could have been a different outcome."
For the second straight game the Rocket used the third period to their advantage. The team isn't quitting, said Bursey.
"We know that it's a 60 minute game…and if a team doesn't battle for 60 minutes then their chances aren't that good."
The Rocket opened the scoring 1:53 into the first period with Yan Pavel Laplante's sixth goal of the season.
Cape Breton responded with a powerplay goal at the 10:00 mark with a goal from Alexandre Lavoie. Kyle Farrell scored 14 seconds later with another powerplay goal to give the Screaming Eagles a 2-1 lead.
Brunelle gave the Screaming Eagles a 3-1 lead at 16:28.
Jimmy Oligny scored his fourth of the season to put the Rocket within one on the powerplay at 19:02 before Josh Currie's 19th of the season tied the game with two seconds to play in the first period.
Being down by two, the team knew they could come back, said Bursey.
"It wasn't anything big. We knew we could beat this team and it end up happening."
There were no goals in the second period but it opened up for a wild third period, where the two teams combined for nine goals.
Cape Breton took a 4-3 lead with a shorthanded goal from Brunelle 36 seconds into the frame, but Ben Duffy responded with a powerplay goal just 24 seconds later to tie the game at 4-4. Bursey gave the Rocket a 5-4 lead just 15 seconds later with his seventh of the season.
Olivier Croteau put the Rocket up 6-4 with his 11th of the season at 10:24 before Bernard's 14th of the season made it 7-4 Rocket at 11:47.
Former Eagle Olivier Jodoin put the Rocket up by four with his fifth of the season at 14:31.
Blake Millman scored at 14:31 to make it an 8-5 game before Raphael Corriveau made it 8-6 only 27 seconds later.
Duffy capped off the scoring with an empty net powerplay goal at 18:49 for his 30th goal of the season.
Nobody in the stands could have predicted that third period, Bursey joked.
"We played to get pucks on net…fortunately a lot of them went in."
Rocket goaltender Maxime Lagace made 13 saves to pick up the in but was pulled after the sixth goal. Antoine Bibeau was 1-for-1.
Philippe Trudeau stopped 25 pucks before being replaced by William Racicot who made six saves on seven shots.
The Rocket play the Screaming Eagles again Friday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre. Gametime 7 p.m.
Video Highlights
nolan@theqspot.ca
Quebec Remparts fined by league
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League have fined the Quebec Remparts $5,000 for comments made by head coach and general manger Patrick Roy in relation to league management.
The comments are believed to be about star winger Mikhail Grigorenko's participation in the CHL Home Hardware Top Prospects game held last night in Kelowna, B.C.
No specifics were named.
The outspoken Roy, is no stranger to controversy. Roy has been fined twice this season over comments made about league officials.
Most recently, he was fined after a recent game against the Victoriaville Tigres, after saying the officials were "a disgrace".
-Jonathan Dunphy
jonathan@theqspot.ca
The comments are believed to be about star winger Mikhail Grigorenko's participation in the CHL Home Hardware Top Prospects game held last night in Kelowna, B.C.
No specifics were named.
The outspoken Roy, is no stranger to controversy. Roy has been fined twice this season over comments made about league officials.
Most recently, he was fined after a recent game against the Victoriaville Tigres, after saying the officials were "a disgrace".
-Jonathan Dunphy
jonathan@theqspot.ca
Ouellet, Asselin and Girard named Telus stars of the month
Xavier Ouellet, Guillaume Asselin and Gabriel Girard have been named the TELUS three stars for the month of January the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced today.
Xavier Ouellet, 18, of the Blaineville-Boisbriand Armada is the first star of the month.
The Terrebonne, Que. native had points in 10 of 11 games this month. He also registered five games with two points or more. In total, Ouellet scored four goals for 16 points and a plus-8 rating in 11 games over the course of January.
The month's second star is Chicoutimi Sagueneens right-winger Guillaume Asselin.
Asselin ended the month with the most goals of any player with 12, equalling Titan's Zach O'Brien. In addition, 19 of his 21 points were collected on the road. He registered at least two points a game for seven games while scoring three game-winning goals. The 19-year-old Quebec City, Que., native finished with a plus-7 rating.
The third star of the month is Shawinigan Cataractes goaltender Gabriel Girard.
Girard, 20, registered a goals-against average of 1.71, which was the best amongst league goaltenders. He won seven of eight games and finished behind Roman Will of the Moncton Wildcats with a save percentage of .934.
nolan@theqspot.ca
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