GDT: Sea Dogs vs Huskies - February 15, 2008

[Maddog]

Call a spade a spade. They couldn't measure up. Titan could handle them, Dogs couldn't. Enough said. Don't sugarcoat this, it was a chance to show this team is for real, this was a test in our own rink, and failed.

[Maddog]

If your satisfied with one point tonight then your satisfied with mediocrity.

[tostitos]

maddog said:

Call a spade a spade. They couldn't measure up. Titan could handle them, Dogs couldn't. Enough said. Don't sugarcoat this, it was a chance to show this team is for real, this was a test in our own rink, and failed.

Ok, so if we blow the Titan out of the water Sunday, then what will you say . Fact of the matter is, they played a hell of a lot better then they did in the last month for god sakes. They can handle the top teams in this league. Too bad you fail to see that.

[killer]

maddog said:

If your satisfied with one point tonight then your satisfied with mediocrity.

Why don;t you do everyone a favor and stay home, that was a great game to watch which could have gone either way. Who gives a hell what they did with Bathurst, your compairing apples to oranges..............

[tostitos]

Maybe you should blow it out your ear maddog.

If your going to compare games then lets go back thru the entire SCHEDULE and compare every single game the Dogs have played with every single team in the Q.

I feel like sending Andrew Krystal to your house, telling him to stand at the edge of your driveway, and egg your house.

[Maddog]

Can't criticize the team? Maybe half the people should of stayed home, then you would complain that no one goes to the games.

[tostitos]

maddog said:

Can't criticize the team? Maybe half the people should of stayed home, then you would complain that no one goes to the games.

There's a difference between critcism, and constructive critiscm. Fact of the matter is, they CAN play with the top teams in the league.

[canucklehead]

maddog said:

If your satisfied with one point tonight then your satisfied with mediocrity.

Mediocrity no that might be the case if they were playing a team in the middle of the pack they played IMO the best team in the Q.

You take the game the Dogs beat AB 9-2 in their own barn and then AB beats RN and we lose to them shit happens dude the fact is they came back against a very good team to if nothing else take a point out of it I'm not jumping up and down with excitement but if your losing a game with about 6 minutes left you should be fine with getting at least a point of the deal especially against a team as highly skilled as RN is.

[dogcatcher]

HUSKIES WIN DOG FIGHT AT HARBOUR STATION, 5-4 IN OT

Saint John Suffers Hard-Fought Loss to Rouyn-Noranda in Front of 5,924 Fans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Friday, February 15, 2008

SAINT JOHN, NB --- A near-capacity crowd was treated to a highly-entertaining hockey game at Harbour Station on Friday night, as two of the best teams in the Canadian Hockey League, the Saint John Sea Dogs and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, squared off in a heavyweight showdown of epic proportions.

In a back-and-forth affair that saw countless changes in momentum and notable performances being turned in from players on both sides, the Huskies were able to prevail by a single marker, netting the win-clinching tally two minutes into overtime after the Sea Dogs had scored late in the third period to tie the match up 4-4.

Scott Howes and Alexandre Picard-Hooper both scored twice for Saint John, while Maxime Macenauer, Jeff Desjardins, Michael Dubuc, and Yannick Riendeau all tallied markers for Rouyn-Noranda in regulation. Tyler Hawes scored the sudden-death, game-winning goal in the sixty-third minute of play.

Travis Fullerton (30 saves) suffered the loss in net for Saint John after playing brilliantly in the third to force an extra frame and earn his team a single point. Meanwhile, Maxim Gougeon earned the win between the pipes for Rouyn-Noranda, turning aside 24 of the 28 shots sent his way to improve his 2007-08 wins total to 17.

The Huskies were awarded an early power play on Friday when Chris DiDomenico as assessed a two minute minor for hooking in the opening minute of play. Rouyn-Noranda capitalized on their numerical advantage in dynamic fashion, as Maxime Macenauer deflected a Brett Morrison pass/shot between the pads of Fullerton to give the visitors a 1-0 lead 2:16 into the first period.

Saint John then went on a power play of their own forty-one seconds after Macenauer’s goal, as Hugo Carpentier was sentenced to two minutes in the sin bin for checking from behind. The Sea Dogs were unable to capitalize on their initial man-up advantage however, as the Huskies’ penalty killing unit proved victorious in the special teams showdown.

A second power play for the home team was awarded a moment later, as Rouyn-Noranda incurred a second checking from behind call. The Sea Dogs made no mistake on their second man-up opportunity, with Ryan Sparling feeding Scott Howes with a perfect cross-ice pass deep in Huskies territory that the 20-year old winger quickly deposited to the back of the net, earning his 36th goal of the year in the process.

The home team struck again just 0:51 later, as Alexandre Picard-Hooper banged in a loose puck following a lengthy scramble in front of Gougeon, giving the star forward 20 goals on the season. Payton Liske and David Stich both picked up assists on the play, which put the Sea Dogs up 2-1.

A second man-up tally for the Sea Dogs, again off the stick of Scott Howes, gave Saint John a 3-1 lead midway through the opening frame, as Port City’s major junior squad continued to play with unabashed intensity and gritty determination against their highly-regarded opponents.

Some impressive work by Fullerton during a late-period penalty kill, particularly in stoning Michael Dubuc on a snap shot from close range, kept the hosts up by a pair of goals as Friday’s match reached twenty minute mark.

Rouyn-Noranda pulled to within one of the Sea Dogs 4:11 into the second period, with Jeff Desjardins roofing a shot over Fullerton’s shoulder from point-blank range to earn his 19th tally of 2007-08. The visitors pulled even a moment later, as Dubuc beat Fullerton through the five-hole on a rebound to make the score 3-3 five-and-a-half minutes into the middle frame.

With Jeff McNeil in the penalty box, the Huskies scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second, as Yannick Riendeau finished off a highly-impressive one-man rush with a laser-guided wrist shot that beat Fullerton high, blocker side to give the 19-year old winger 18 goals on the season and a go-ahead PP marker on the night.

In the thirty-eighth minute of play, Scott Howes came incredibly close to tying the match up at four apiece, ringing a snap shot off of the left post of Rouyn-Noranda’s net after a flurry of action in the visitors’ zone had taken place during a Saint John power play.

The Sea Dogs continued to apply heavy pressure in the Huskies’ zone throughout the duration of the middle frame, but were unable to net the equalizer as the game entered the second intermission with Rouyn-Noranda leading by a score of 4-3.

Four-and-a-half minutes into the third period, Ryan Sparling was sent in on a breakaway courtesy of an air-mail pass from Chris DiDomenico during a Sea Dogs penalty kill, but was unable to fool Gougeon on a deking attempt as the visiting squad from north western Quebec continued to cling to their precarious one-goal advantage.

Francois Gauthier earned a strong scoring chance near the twelve minute mark of regulation’s final frame, dancing into the Huskies’ zone while exhibiting his impressive stick handling ability prior to getting off a hard wrist shot that Gougeon managed to get a glove on as the score remained 4-3 in Rouyn-Noranda’s favour.

With 6:17 remaining in the third, Alexandre Picard-Hooper scored his second goal of the night, re-directing a pass from rookie defenseman Simon Despres past Gougeon to tie the score up at four apiece and send the nearly six thousand fans in attendance into a frenzy as their team had finally pulled even with the TELUS Division powerhouse after several minutes of near-misses and bad bounces.

At the other end of the ice, Travis Fullerton played exceptionally well throughout the final twenty minutes of regulation, turning aside all 13 shots sent his way during the third period to force an overtime period in the highly-anticipated inter-divisional contest.

The Huskies dominated play for the majority of the extra frame however, with Tyler Hawes scoring the victory-clinching goal 125 seconds into overtime shortly after Fullerton had blocked a Pier-Luc Giguere one-timer with a spectacular pad save.

With the OT loss, Saint John now has 77 points on the season while Rouyn-Noranda improves their total to 81 with the victory.

The Sea Dogs will next hit the ice on Sunday afternoon at 4:00pm when they host the surging Acadie-Bathurst Titan at Harbour Station.

[habh8er]

Not a bad game tonight, but I think the guys should have been able to build off the momentum of the first period and come out in the 2nd and continue to put it to them. Instead we give up 3 goals in the first 10 mins(2 in 5 1/2), and give the momentum right back to them. Give the Huskys credit they are a good team, as their record indicates, but we had them down and with the next goal probably out...but we just couldn't finish them off.

I don't know if it's just me, but it looks like we need a little more intensity in our game. It's almost like we play at about 90% most of the time. It seems like they have a "ho hum it'll come" kinda' attitude for the first 55 mins. of the game and try to turn it on at the last possible opportunity. Guys need to have a better effort to beat good teams, and seem to be playing on what they've done in the past to get them results....."Look at us we're tops in the East".....if we don't get back to out working the opposition on every shift we are in for a long final month and an early exit from the post season IMO.

That O.T. goal was brutal...both Dogs go for the stick check, and next thing ya know it's a 2 on 1 and it's in the back of the net.....this isn't gentlemens league, take the body.....Thomas leads the team in hits with around 90, and that's about half as many as the top guys. We have to get tougher to play against along the boards, especially in our half of the ice, and no poke checks in open ice.

Good game by Fully. against a team that beat our D to position and were left alone in the slot far too many times.

Where would we be without Howes and Picard?.......Come on guys we need a team effort for 60 mins. if we are going to get back to where we were.

Good game from Despres, Sauve and Charland. Leduc, Gauthier Dido and Stoddard were just going through the motions. The others who weren't mentioned played OK.

[GallantUnit]

hey i think the dogs that rip off tonight i aint happy about the refs not callin the right calls like in overtme befores the got the goal the refs didnt call it so yeah i am

[elementz]

I think a huge turning point in the game was the Huskies 2nd goal. Fullertons clearing attempt/pass around the boards was going directly to Charland I believe, but the idiot ref was in the line of fire, off his skate, right on the tape to the Huskies player which created a 2-1 down low. Without that, we would have cleared the zone easily and who knows what would have happened after that.

I thought we hung in there very well, RN does have a scary team, some of those boys can fly.

[dogcatcher]

Huskies use overtime magic
QMJHL: Extra time required in elite battle at Harbour Station

Andrew McGilligan
Telegraph-Journal
Published Saturday February 16th, 2008
Appeared on page C10

SAINT JOHN - It was a case of what could have been for the Saint John Sea Dogs on Friday night versus the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.

The Huskies downed Saint John 5-4 in overtime in front of a season-high 5,924 fans at Harbour Station. Rouyn-Noranda did most of the damage in a dominant second period when they erased a two-goal first period Sea Dogs lead.

"We get away from our system for sure in the second period," said Saint John head coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu said. "Once we got back to our systems we played pretty well."

Tyler Hawes scored the game-winner for the Huskies while Maxime Macenauer, Hugo Carpentier, Jeff Desjardins and Yannick Riendeau added singles. Scott Howes and Alexandre Picard had two goals apiece for the Sea Dogs.

The Huskies struck first on the power play just 2:16 into the opening period. Macenauer redirected a centering pass from Michael Dubuc through the five-hole of Saint John starter Travis Fullerton for a 1-0 lead.

The Sea Dogs wasted no time tying the game and taking the lead with two goals less than a minute apart.

Howes tied the game for Saint John by finishing off a tic-tac-toe passing play for a power-play marker at 6:48. Picard gave the Sea Dogs a 2-1 lead by jamming the puck past Huskies starter Maxim Gourgeon on a scramble in front at 7:39.

The Sea Dogs kept it coming and brought crowd to its feet when Howes scored his second man-advantage marker of the game at 10:53 for a 3-1 lead.

Despite some close call in the final minute, Saint John carried the two-goal lead into the second period.

Rouyn-Noranda tied the game 3-3 with two quick goals to start the second. A failed clearing attempt allowed Carpentier to drive the net and dish the puck to Desjardins who fired it past Fullerton.

The Sea Dogs failed to clear the zone again moments later and Carpentier made them pay by jamming the puck home to tie the contest.

The Huskies kept coming and scored a power-play marker thanks to a highlight reel effort from Riendeau. The forward drove down the wing, turned a Saint John defender inside out before roofing a shot over the shoulder of Fullerton for a 4-3 lead at 9:35.

Saint John weathered the storm for the rest of the period and entered the third down a goal.

The Sea Dogs nearly tied the game five minutes into the final frame. A high shot to clear the zone on the penalty kill ended up on the stick of Ryan Sparling behind the Huskies defence. The 19-year-old made a nice deke, but Gourgeon stayed with him to preserve the Rouyn-Noranda lead.

Sparling got another chance to tie the contest when he was sent in alone again, but Gourgeon got just enough to keep the game 4-3.

The crowd finally got something to cheer about at 13:43 of the third. Picard tipped in a Simon Despres wrist shot to tie the game 4-4.

Neither team broke the tie sending the game to overtime.

The game ended when a defensive breakdown allowed a two-one-one for the Huskies. Riendeau slid a pass to Hawes who fired it by Fullerton to seal the 5-4 win.

Despite the loss, defenceman Jeff McNeil said the team played a solid game.

"It's a disappointing loss, but as a team it's the best we've played in a while," McNeil said. "If we have to take something from this game then that's a plus."

The head coach echoed his blue-liners thoughts.

"We played pretty good and we know we can play with any team in this league," he said. "(The Huskies) are a very good hockey team"¦and I think right now the best in the league."

The Sea Dogs (36-16-2-3) take on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan Sunday at 4 p.m. at Harbour Station.

[CrazyJoeDavola]

habh8er said:

Good game by Fully. against a team that beat our D to position and were left alone in the slot far too many times.

No he is weak. He needs to make those saves, a good goaltender will.

[tostitos]

crazyjoedevola said:

habh8er said:

Good game by Fully. against a team that beat our D to position and were left alone in the slot far too many times.

No he is weak. He needs to make those saves, a good goaltender will.

If he is weak, I'd hate to know what Pelletier is.