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Post by dogsfan64 on Jan 27, 2008 18:45:33 GMT -4
great to see a good crowd. To bad they always dissapoint when there is 5000+
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Post by berner on Jan 27, 2008 19:36:06 GMT -4
I wouldn't say that - while the first 40 minutes were overall pretty bad, the last 20 were exciting even with the loss. Atmosphere was best in the third period and I think that's what a lot of those attending would have taken with them.
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Post by mrlittlewolf on Jan 27, 2008 20:25:36 GMT -4
Yup plus they left mad at the ref, not the Sea Dogs!!!! Best atmosphere in there in years in the 3rd if we had of won the roof would have came off
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Post by dogcatcher on Jan 28, 2008 7:07:11 GMT -4
Head scout high on Sea Dogs' blueliner
QMJHL Simon Despres' play catches the eye of Hockey Canada's Al Murray
Andrew McGilligan
Telegraph-Journal
Published Monday January 28th, 2008
Appeared on page B6
SAINT JOHN - A season-high 5,657 fans packed Harbour Station Saturday night to see the Saint John Sea Dogs come up just short in a comeback attempt against the St. John's Fog Devils in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.
Among those in the crowd for the 5-4 Fog Devils win was Al Murray, head scout for Hockey Canada.
Jean-Simon Allard, Nick Layton, Mario Kempe, Wesley Welcher and Luke Adam scored for St. John's. Chris Di Domenico, Scott Howes, Payton Liske and Alex Grant replied for the Sea Dogs.
In town to have a look at players on both teams, Murray said he's been impressed with a Sea Dogs defenceman Simon Despres.
The scout liked his play at the World Under-17 Hockey Championship held over the holiday season in London, Ont.
"I thought Simon was an elite player in the tournament," Murray said. "He got better with every game and was one of the top 10-12 players in his age group."
"The Team Quebec coaches asked him to bring more every game and do things he hasn't done in Saint John."
For his part, Despres said he thought he'd be asked to play a more offensive role with Team Quebec, but ended up being asked to play a shut down defensive role.
"Personally, I think I didn't have a good tournament," Despres said. "I worked hard, but I think I could've done better."
This season has been full of adjustments for Despres. An offensive minded blue-liner during his midget career, the Sea Dogs coaching staff has worked with Despres to make him a more complete player.
The philosophy for the rookie has been to keep things simple and learn how to play at the major junior level.
"He's full of skill, we just need to make sure we reign it in properly and that he uses it properly," Jacques Beaulieu, Sea Dogs coach and general manager, said. "With Simon, he's really offensive minded and in this league you have to pick your spots; and the big thing for him is to figure out when to do that."
It's an approach Beaulieu is familiar with, especially in Saint John where he's in the process of grooming two other former first overall QMJHL draft picks in Alex Grant and Yann Sauve.
"Alex was a big challenge to get him to play the right way and we got it done," the coach said.
Grant has found his offensive groove this season and with 12 goals is one away from setting a franchise record for most goals in a season by a defenceman.
As for Sauve, Despres said he's been a big help this season.
"I look to a guy like Sauve and he's always giving me comments and it helps me a lot," the 16-year-old said.
According to Murray, Despres will follow in Grant and Sauve's footsteps this summer when he takes part in Hockey Canada's Under-18 program. Murray figures Despres to be a lock for the team.
Despres said he's excited about the opportunity and will continue to evolve his game.
"Coming into junior people were telling me I need to work on my defence, then I'll have to work on my offence again," he said. "That's how it is, you have to keep getting better."
One Saturday night, the season's largest home crowd went away disappointed after the Sea Dogs came out flat in the first period and never recovered.
Goals by Allard, Layton and Kempe gave St. John's a 3-0 lead before the game was 14 minutes old. Howes' 30th of the season brought the crowd to life with two minutes to play in the period. However, Adam restored the three-goal cushion 10 minutes into the second period.
The Sea Dogs got within one after markers by Di Domenico and Grant in the third period. Welcher's 10th of the year at the 6:40 mark on the power play made it 5-3 for St. John's. Liske brought the Sea Dogs within one on the power play at 11:48. But Saint John came no closer.
The Sea Dogs comeback trail was derailed by a controversial call late in the third period. With just over two minutes to go, Saint John forward Mike Thomas drove hard to the net and was called for interference when he collided with Fog Devils netminder Jake Allen. A replay showed a Fog Devils defenceman forcing Thomas into the goaltender. The Sea Dogs couldn't muster the game-tying marker while killing a penalty over the final two minutes.
Beaulieu complained about the call and was assessed a bench minor for his troubles with three seconds to go in the game.
ON THE ROAD: The Sea Dogs hit the road Tuesday to take on the Prince Edward Island Rocket in 7 p.m. The next home game is Thursday when former Sea Dog Alexandre Monahan and the Victoriaville Tigres come to Harbour Station.
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Post by J4M13 on Jan 28, 2008 12:19:50 GMT -4
Nice article. I thought Despres had a pretty good game. I was watching him closely, and he seemed to make decisions quickly, and for the most part, he was making the right ones. Steady on his feet, and playing an expanded role as the season progresses. I expect big things from him in the future! Also, as a point to counter something I kinda hinted at in the Volts GDT, I'm positive the Foggies fell a lot more than the Sea Dogs. I never really noticed before, because I never looked. Looks like my skate talk was mostly all in my head, and not really an issue. As for the game, as soon as the team woke up from the two-period nap (exaggerating, but you get the point, I hope), they really showed some hustle and drive. That was an awful call on Thomas, but had the Dogs played better over the course of the first 58 minutes, it probably wouldn't have mattered. Also, at one point, Kirkpatrick was positively mugged in front of the Foggie net, mere feet from the ref, who was perfectly positioned to see it. It looked like a slew-foot, and when Kirky stumbled but didn't fall, the Foggie shoved him the rest of the way down. The only reason I mention this is because had he called it, the Howes penalty would never have happened, as it was mere seconds before their breakout play where the Howes infraction was called. Grant would have been my pick for best Sea Dog. He got a star, so I guess someone agrees with me...  EDIT: a couple spelling errors |
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Post by tostitos on Jan 28, 2008 12:37:38 GMT -4
JPM: Many of us had said that if Thomander had called the interference/trip/slew foot on the Fog Devil player, the major never would have been called. Thomander was downright embarassing. He didn't really seem to appreciate our comments after the game.
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Post by Michael Phelps on Jan 28, 2008 12:49:55 GMT -4
JPM: Many of us had said that if Thomander had called the interference/trip/slew foot on the Fog Devil player, the major never would have been called. Thomander was downright embarassing. He didn't really seem to appreciate our comments after the game. A Ref doesn't lose you the hockey game. You're inability to stop the pucks, or put the pucks in the net is what loses you the hockey game. |
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Post by J4M13 on Jan 28, 2008 13:05:43 GMT -4
A Ref doesn't lose you the hockey game. You're inability to stop the pucks, or put the pucks in the net is what loses you the hockey game. True. I never said otherwise. In fact, I think I made that exact same point when I was talking about the Thomas call. But that doesn't mean the referee should be exempt from criticism when he makes a seemingly deliberate non-call. Seriously, my angle was looking right over his shoulder. He had to see the whole thing and for whatever reason, he decided not to call it. If he didn't see it from his position, I think that's an even more serious indictment than a non-call. There may be an explanation for not calling it, but I can think of none for a ref not to see a play ten feet from him, unobstructed, and directly in front of the angle he was facing. I'm not doing anything more than stating fact. I'm not saying he deliberately changed the complexion of the game or anything. I'm not blaming him for anything but I would dearly love an explanation (we all know it's not going to happen, but that doesn't mean I can't want it). Heck, maybe his rulebook had the pages about slew-footing and interference ripped out or damaged. I have no idea why he didn't call it. But he didn't, and the result was very unfortunate for the Dogs, Howes, and especially Grenache. |
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Post by canucklehead on Jan 28, 2008 13:27:46 GMT -4
JPM: Many of us had said that if Thomander had called the interference/trip/slew foot on the Fog Devil player, the major never would have been called. Thomander was downright embarassing. He didn't really seem to appreciate our comments after the game. A Ref doesn't lose you the hockey game. You're inability to stop the pucks, or put the pucks in the net is what loses you the hockey game. Do you even watch hockey  The ref can't cost you a game? wha? Time to go back to Pee Wee there superstar! ;D |
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Post by killer on Jan 28, 2008 13:41:28 GMT -4
A Ref doesn't lose you the hockey game. You're inability to stop the pucks, or put the pucks in the net is what loses you the hockey game. Do you even watch hockey The ref can't cost you a game? wha? Time to go back to Pee Wee there superstar! ;D Maybe if we didn't come out and play garbage hockey for 2 periods then the ref wouldn't have cost us the game Yeah the ref was brutal for both sides but Saint john didn't deserve to win this game no matter who put on the stripes. |
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Post by canucklehead on Jan 28, 2008 13:45:11 GMT -4
Do you even watch hockey The ref can't cost you a game? wha? Time to go back to Pee Wee there superstar! ;D Maybe if we didn't come out and play garbage hockey for 2 periods then the ref wouldn't have cost us the game Yeah the ref was brutal for both sides but Saint john didn't deserve to win this game no matter who put on the stripes. Not that it would have made a difference but ya know he made a call near the end then let one slide for the foggies it was an easy call he was calling it all game. The player was taken down but this time there was no call .... amazing! I'm pretty sure JB was thinking the same thing. |
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Post by killer on Jan 28, 2008 13:55:21 GMT -4
Maybe if we didn't come out and play garbage hockey for 2 periods then the ref wouldn't have cost us the game Yeah the ref was brutal for both sides but Saint john didn't deserve to win this game no matter who put on the stripes. Not that it would have made a difference but ya know he made a call near the end then let one slide for the foggies it was an easy call he was calling it all game. The player was taken down but this time there was no call .... amazing! I'm pretty sure JB was thinking the same thing. We should have never put ourselves in the position of letting a ref "decide" the game for us. Lots of blame to go round defensive coverage was terrible, the top 2 lines didn;t show up, Fullerton was not ready for the game. These are much bigger reasons then the damn ref. I think JB was more pissed about his teams preformance the last few games and took it out on the ref................. he was quite animated taking a page out of Roy's book with the mock cheer and Hands in the air. |
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Post by canucklehead on Jan 28, 2008 14:00:02 GMT -4
I'm not saying we would have won or lost but he has to be consistant that was called earlier in the game and on this occasion it wasn't.
I know our guys played terrible I understand that and sure they never should have put themselves in the situation .... so that excuses him for such a simple call I don't think so he called it the entire game he just blew this one.
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Post by killer on Jan 28, 2008 14:07:27 GMT -4
I'm not saying we would have won or lost but he has to be consistant that was called earlier in the game and on this occasion it wasn't. I know our guys played terrible I understand that and sure they never should have put themselves in the situation .... so that excuses him for such a simple call I don't think so he called it the entire game he just blew this one. Welcome to the Q where inconsistent reffing occurs time and time again............. Each team needs to deal with this problem. I am more concerned about our lackluster play of late compared to one ref's blown call. |
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Post by canucklehead on Jan 28, 2008 14:18:54 GMT -4
The guys will be fine the last couple games previous they got into penalty trouble giving up 5 on 3's and letting the other teams back in the game but aside from that they had the game in hand until then.
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