Post by dogcatcher on Jan 15, 2008 8:38:08 GMT -4
Centre for prevention
PETER MCGUIRE
GAME ON
Published Tuesday January 15th, 2008
Appeared on page B6
Since the start of the season, coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu had been searching for an element that would allow the Saint John Sea Dogs to become serious contenders in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League post-season.
It appears the answer was right under his nose the whole time.
The Sea Dogs are tied for top spot in the Eastern Division with the Halifax Mooseheads with a record of 28-12-1-2 for 59 points and are fourth overall. They also hold four games in hand on the three teams above them in the overall standings.
Much of their success can be traced to outstanding production from the league's second leading scorer, Chris Di Domenico (29 goals and 38 assists), his linemate Ryan Sparling (18 goals and 27 assists in just 31 games), a trio of 20-year-olds - goaltender Travis Fullerton and forwards Alexandre Picard-Hooper and Scott Howes - who have proven to be worth their weight in gold and a second-to-none defence corps.
However, in order to taken seriously in the playoffs, Beaulieu insists that a checking line - one he can throw out against the other team's top unit - is a must.
Led by Michael Kirkpatrick of Hammonds, N.S., the Dogs appear to have found the solution. Kirkpatrick, who was taken in the second round of the 2007 QMJHL draft and 22nd overall, is flanked by wingers Alexandre Leduc and Francois Gauthier.
The fresh-faced 17-year-old with a tireless work ethic has inherited the assignment of shutting down the opposition's top offensive threat.
You can safely say he's embraced the role.
Just ask Acadie-Bathurst Titan captain Mathieu Perreault.
Back on Dec. 28, Perreault was so frustrated with Kirkpatrick's Velcro-like checking that he dropped the gloves and fought for the first time in his three-year career.
The result? It didn't turn out so well for the former first-round pick. Neither did the game. Saint John pounded the Titan 9-2 in Bathurst and followed it up with a 7-2 romp last Wednesday at Harbour Station.
"It wasn't too good but that's OK," Perreault told the Bathurst Northern Light after the Dec. 28 contest. "That guy watched me all game. He was in my face all game. At the end I just lost it. He wanted to go so I said, 'Let's go'. That's hockey."
Wednesday, Kirkpatrick was back at it, driving Perreault bananas.
Once again, Perreault found himself sitting in the penalty box after being clearly frustrated and goaded into a penalty.
"It's a tough assignment because it takes away from your offence," said Beaulieu, who isn't quite ready to annoint the Kirkpatrick line as bona fide shut-down unit just yet. "We're trying to build (a checking line) and it's coming.
"You have to be able to skate and check and Kirky has those attributes. We sat down with him (before the game in Bathurst) and told him what we wanted."
Kirkpatrick, who checks in at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds and has contributed seven goals and six assists in 43 games, won't draw the smothering assignment every game because some teams just don't have a dominant centre who needs such attention. That will likely be the case on Friday and Saturday when the Sea Dogs host the P.E.I. Rocket and Val D'Or Foreurs, respectively.
His next big assignment is expected to come on Sunday when the Sea Dogs visit Jakub Voracek and the Halifax Mooseheads at 4 p.m. Vorachek, a first-round pick (seventh overall) of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2007, is one of the most impressive players in the league.
"We know if we're going to make it far in the playoffs we have to have a good checking line and with the team we have this year with so much offence, I don't mind it at all," said Kirkpatrick. "I'm glad to do it. I love it."
PETER MCGUIRE
GAME ON
Published Tuesday January 15th, 2008
Appeared on page B6
Since the start of the season, coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu had been searching for an element that would allow the Saint John Sea Dogs to become serious contenders in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League post-season.
It appears the answer was right under his nose the whole time.
The Sea Dogs are tied for top spot in the Eastern Division with the Halifax Mooseheads with a record of 28-12-1-2 for 59 points and are fourth overall. They also hold four games in hand on the three teams above them in the overall standings.
Much of their success can be traced to outstanding production from the league's second leading scorer, Chris Di Domenico (29 goals and 38 assists), his linemate Ryan Sparling (18 goals and 27 assists in just 31 games), a trio of 20-year-olds - goaltender Travis Fullerton and forwards Alexandre Picard-Hooper and Scott Howes - who have proven to be worth their weight in gold and a second-to-none defence corps.
However, in order to taken seriously in the playoffs, Beaulieu insists that a checking line - one he can throw out against the other team's top unit - is a must.
Led by Michael Kirkpatrick of Hammonds, N.S., the Dogs appear to have found the solution. Kirkpatrick, who was taken in the second round of the 2007 QMJHL draft and 22nd overall, is flanked by wingers Alexandre Leduc and Francois Gauthier.
The fresh-faced 17-year-old with a tireless work ethic has inherited the assignment of shutting down the opposition's top offensive threat.
You can safely say he's embraced the role.
Just ask Acadie-Bathurst Titan captain Mathieu Perreault.
Back on Dec. 28, Perreault was so frustrated with Kirkpatrick's Velcro-like checking that he dropped the gloves and fought for the first time in his three-year career.
The result? It didn't turn out so well for the former first-round pick. Neither did the game. Saint John pounded the Titan 9-2 in Bathurst and followed it up with a 7-2 romp last Wednesday at Harbour Station.
"It wasn't too good but that's OK," Perreault told the Bathurst Northern Light after the Dec. 28 contest. "That guy watched me all game. He was in my face all game. At the end I just lost it. He wanted to go so I said, 'Let's go'. That's hockey."
Wednesday, Kirkpatrick was back at it, driving Perreault bananas.
Once again, Perreault found himself sitting in the penalty box after being clearly frustrated and goaded into a penalty.
"It's a tough assignment because it takes away from your offence," said Beaulieu, who isn't quite ready to annoint the Kirkpatrick line as bona fide shut-down unit just yet. "We're trying to build (a checking line) and it's coming.
"You have to be able to skate and check and Kirky has those attributes. We sat down with him (before the game in Bathurst) and told him what we wanted."
Kirkpatrick, who checks in at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds and has contributed seven goals and six assists in 43 games, won't draw the smothering assignment every game because some teams just don't have a dominant centre who needs such attention. That will likely be the case on Friday and Saturday when the Sea Dogs host the P.E.I. Rocket and Val D'Or Foreurs, respectively.
His next big assignment is expected to come on Sunday when the Sea Dogs visit Jakub Voracek and the Halifax Mooseheads at 4 p.m. Vorachek, a first-round pick (seventh overall) of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2007, is one of the most impressive players in the league.
"We know if we're going to make it far in the playoffs we have to have a good checking line and with the team we have this year with so much offence, I don't mind it at all," said Kirkpatrick. "I'm glad to do it. I love it."
