GDT: Sea Dogs vs MAINEiacs - December 29, 2007

[dogcatcher]

SEA DOGS VS MAINEIACS TONIGHT - 7:00PM!!

Lewiston visits Saint John for the third time this season on Saturday night after having earned one win and suffered one defeat thus far at Harbour Station in 2007-08.

On September 23, Alexandre Leduc scored two goals in leading the Sea Dogs to a 6-1 win over the defending President’s Cup Champions at Harbour Station. Five weeks later, an epic goaltending duel was staged in Port City, with Travis Fullerton and Jonathan Bernier combining to stop 52 shots during regulation and overtime prior to partaking in a marathon-length shootout in which no fewer than 24 breakaways took place. The MAINEiacs eventually prevailed in the match, as Bernier stoned rookie Michael Kirkpatrick in the deciding twelfth round of the shootout after Marc Bourgeois successfully converted his attempt. Lewiston will be without Bernier’s services this weekend, as the 19-year old is currently playing for Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic.

In four games played versus the MAINEiacs this season, Chris DiDomenico and Payton Liske have combined for 4G-7-11P while Yann Sauve and Alex Grant are a combined +8 against the United States’ lone QMJHL franchise in 2007-08.

Fans can catch the action live by logging onto News 88.9 FM at www.news889.com/, or by watching the official QMJHL webcast at qmjhl.mytelus.com/. Tickets are available by calling the Harbour Station Box Office at [phone].

SPECIAL NOTES: Saturday's game is sponsored by Chandler, Inc.; they will be selling a limited number of special Sea Dogs water bottles for $5 with proceeds going to benefit Saint John Minor Hockey.

During the second intermission on Saturday Atlantic Lotto will be sponsoring a dance contest with the winner receiving an mp3 player. Fans wishing to sign up in advance should call Mark Gamble at [phone].

[briansjnb]

Glad the weather has held off for now. Hoping for a big crowd tonight.

[Superdog]

maineiacs were really dirty team out there tonight

[Gallant-Unit(14-0-3)]

wish sumone would kick 47's butt. Jump him and get suspended , it would be worth it

[Gallant-Unit(14-0-3)]

keep rollin and beat those putty tats

[dogcatcher]

SEA DOGS TAKE DOWN MAINEIACS 6-4 AT HARBOUR STATION

Saint John Moves Into First Place In The QMJHL East with Home Win Over Lewiston

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Saturday, December 29, 2007

SAINT JOHN, NB --- The Saint John Sea Dogs defeated the Lewiston MAINEiacs by a score of 6-4 in front of 4,239 fans at Harbour Station on Saturday night, resultantly moving into first place in the QMJHL East as they simultaneously earned their 50th and 51st points of the season at the expense of the defending league champions.

The 24 wins now possessed by Saint John are the most in the division. The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, who suffered a 4-2 home loss to the PEI Rocket on Saturday, also have 51 points on the year, but have played four more games than the Sea Dogs to date.

Yann Sauve, Scott Howes, Alexandre Picard-Hooper (2), and Ryan Sparling (2) all notched markers for Saint John in Saturday’s contest, while Chris Tutalo, Todd Chinova (2) and Michael Ward all scored goals for Lewiston in a losing effort.

Peter Delmas made 32 saves for the MAINEiacs on Saturday, falling to 14-10 as a result of the loss. Meanwhile, Travis Fullerton improved to 15-7 on the season after turning in a 26-save performance for the Sea Dogs, setting a new franchise record for most wins by a goaltender in a single season in doing so.

The Sea Dogs earned a huge scoring opportunity early in the first period when Chris DiDomenico broke in uncontested on Delmas after taking a pass from Alex Grant near the Lewiston blue line. The 18-year old sniper was denied on his attempt however, as the MAINEiacs’ goalie made a big glove save to keep Saint John off the scoreboard just one minute into the game.

Two minutes later, MAINEiacs winger Stefano Gilati earned a breakaway of his own, but his backhand attempt was handled easily by Fullerton, who skilfully deflected the puck into the corner.

Saint John registered yet another high-quality scoring chance at the 5:29 mark of the opening frame, with DiDomenico setting up Ryan Sparling for a one-timer from close range; Delmas was somehow able to get a toe on the shot however, as the score remained knotted at zeroes.

Another huge save by Fullerton off of a Stefano Gilati shot, this time a one-timer which ended a two-on-one rush during Saint John’s second power play of the night, took place near the 15 minute mark of the match as the Sea Dogs’ veteran net minder continued his strong play after holding the high-flying Acadie-Bathurst Titan to two first period goals in Friday night’s 9-2 road win.

The Sea Dogs then broke the scoreless tie with 1:05 remaining in the first when Alexandre Picard-Hooper banged home a loose puck following a frantic scramble in front of Lewiston’s goal crease. Scott Howes and Keven Charland both picked up assists on the tally, which gave Saint John a 1-0 lead as the opening frame came to an end.

Lewiston then produced the tying goal at the 4:59 mark of the second period when Todd Chinova beat Fullerton with a high wrist shot from close range to earn his fourth tally of the year.

The visitors continued to apply pressure in Saint John’s zone, with Fullerton coming up big at the midway mark of the second period, stoning Stefan Chaput twice from point-blank range to keep the score tied 1-1.

The Sea Dogs then went on the power play for a third time at the 31:40 mark of the game, but were unable to get anything past Delmas despite feeding the 17-year old net minder a steady diet of rubber throughout the two minute man-up session.

With 5:20 remaining in the middle frame, the MAINEiacs grabbed their first lead of the game when Michael Ward was able to sneak a rebound past Fullerton following a booming shot off the stick of Todd Chinova.

The Sea Dogs re-tied the match 2:31 later when, during a four-on-four session, Scott Howes wired a hard wrist shot to the back of the Lewiston net, earning his 23rd goal of the season in the process. The score was then made 3-2 in favour of the host squad by the red-hot Alexandre Picard-Hooper, who beat Delmas with a well-placed shot from five feet out with 35.2 seconds remaining in the middle frame to give Saint John the lead as the contest entered its second intermission.

A goal by Ryan Sparling 3:18 into the third period gave Saint John a 4-2 lead as Scott Howes picked up his third point of the night in the form of a primary assist.

The MAINEiacs responded on the power play, with Chris Tutalo pulling his team to within one of the Sea Dogs’ lead with 12:27 remaining in regulation. The one-goal discrepancy was short-lived however, as Sparling scored his second goal of the period just 39 seconds after Tutalo’s tally to make the score 5-3 in Saint John’s favour.

At the 13:28 mark of the third, Yann Sauve put the Sea Dogs up by a field goal, aggressively jumping up in the play and banging home a rebound to earn his third goal of the season as the home team functionally wrapped up the win.

A meaningless goal by Todd Chinova with 24 seconds left in regulation thusly resulted in the final score reading SEA DOGS 6 – MAINEIACS 4.

Saint John next hits the ice on Sunday afternoon, squaring off with the Moncton Wildcats at Harbour Station. The puck drops at 4:00pm as the Sea Dogs look to defeat their provincial rivals for the third time in 2007-08.