GDT: Sea Dogs @ Drakkar - November 17, 2007

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

Leclair doing awesome. wish we could have kept that lead

[Hockey4Life]

Blocker side boys hes good with the glove hand.

[Hockey4Life]

hooper getting the boooo treatment..

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

and its over , 5-3 lose. hope we win tomarrow lol

[Maddog]

Total collapse. Really don't know how you can lose control of the game up 3-0. Well this road trip is a total wash.

[Hockey4Life]

dont know how they blew the 3-0 lead but... ahhh well period tomarrow and game friday lets go dogs.

[canucklehead]

The boys let this one slip gotta stay outta the box against these guys they'll kill us with their PP

[arrk]

howes gets second star.

[dogcatcher]

SEA DOGS DROP 5-3 DECISION TO DRAKKAR
Alexandre Picard-Hooper Registers Two Points For Saint John in His Return to Baie-Comeau

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Saturday, November 17, 2007

BAIE-COMEAU, QC --- It was the best of times and the worst of times for the Saint John Sea Dogs on Saturday night at the Henry-Leonard Centre. Port City’s major junior squad put forth a dominating performance in the first period versus the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, going 2-for-2 on the power play en route to establishing a 3-0 lead by the twenty minute mark of the match. The Drakkar were able to net the game’s subsequent five goals however, claiming a 5-3 victory as a result.

“It’s always disappointing to lose a game in which you have a big lead early,” said Head Coach/General Manager Jacques Beaulieu following the road loss. “Full marks to the Drakkar, they battled hard out there, and we’ll definitely take what information we can from this loss and apply that knowledge to improving our team moving forward.”

Chris DiDomenico, Ryan Sparling, and Scott Howes all scored for Saint John on Saturday while Baie-Comeau received quantitative offensive production from Samuel Morneau, Alexandre Boivin, Mathieu Tousignaint, Jean-Philippe Paquet, and Francis Bouchard

Alexandre Picard-Hooper, playing against his former team for the first time since he was traded to Saint John in September, tallied a pair of assists for the visitors in a losing effort.

The Sea Dogs got off to a quick start on Saturday, registering the game’s first goal 3:53 into the opening period when Chris DiDomenico grabbed a loose puck deep in Drakkar territory and jammed it to the back of the Baie-Comeau goal to earn a power play marker with Ryan Sparling and Picard-Hooper drawing assists on the play.

Starting Sea Dogs goalie Travis Fullerton was sharp early on as well on Saturday, making a huge blocker save off of a Samuel Morneau shot near the five minute mark of the first to preserve his team’s one-goal advantage.

Saint John’s power play then struck again midway through the opening frame when Sparling beat Drakkar goaltender Marco Cousineau with a quick backhand from nine feet out to make the score 2-0 in favour of the visiting team from south western New Brunswick.

Scott Howes then put Saint John up by a field goal, getting off a hard shot that ricocheted off of a Baie-Comeau defenseman on its way to the back of the Drakkar net. Howes’ even strength tally brought an end to Cousineau’s night, as the 18-year old goalie was pulled in favour of Mathieu Leclair with 3:07 remaining in the first period.

The start of the second period saw Baie-Comeau tallying two goals in the opening minute to pull to within one of Saint John’s lead. Jean-Philippe Paquet and Francis Bouchard registered the back-to-back goals for the Drakkar, scoring at the 0:30 and 0:59 marks of the middle frame respectively.

Some impressive goaltending by Leclair during Saint John’s third man-up opportunity of the night then kept the visitors from reclaiming a multi-goal advantage during the middle frame’s second and third minutes of play despite some high-quality scoring chances for the Sea Dogs.

Brett Gallant then did his part to appropriate some momentum for the visitors, squaring off with Baie-Comeau’s Maxime Morier in the home team’s zone, earning a late-round victory with a KO-producing right hook that struck the Drakkar forward’s chin with tremendous force and prompted an unceremonious plummet to the ice as the fight came to an abrupt end with the rugged Sea Dogs winger the clear winner.

Despite Gallant’s efforts, the Drakkar were able to tie Saturday’s contest at the 6:47 mark of the second, as Mathieu Tousignaint knocked home a rebound to earn his ninth tally of the season and knot the score up 3-3.

A more defensive tone accompanied the remaining two-thirds of play in the middle frame, as neither team was able to add to their respective goal totals as Saturday’s match reached the forty minute mark with the score deadlocked at three apiece.

Travis Fullerton made several big saves between the pipes for Saint John early in the third period, keeping the contest tied in the process.

The Drakkar were able to get to Fullerton at the 5:07 mark of regulation’s final frame however, as Alexandre Boivin gave Baie-Comeau their first lead of the night with a power play goal.

Scott Howes then very nearly re-tied the game a few moments later, intercepting an errant pass by Baie-Comeau’s goaltender in the home team’s zone and breaking in on an out-of-position Mathieu Leclair. The 17-year old net minder was able to recover from his miscue however, robbing Howes with a big glove save to keep his team’s one-goal lead in tact.

The Sea Dogs would register a few more scoring chances in the second half of the third, but Leclair was able to keep any Saint John shots from breaching the Baie-Comeau goal line. An empty net tally by Samuel Morneau sealed the deal for the Drakkar, who are now 17-6-0-2 on the season. The Sea Dogs fall to 13-7-1-2 as a result of their loss on Saturday.

Saint John will head back to Chicoutimi tomorrow afternoon to finish up Friday night’s game which was postponed due to a power outage at the George Vezina Centre during the second intermission. The Sea Dogs will start the 20-minute contest with a 4-0 lead over the Sagueneens.

[habh8er]

I think Jaccues said it all when he said.......“It’s always disappointing to lose a game in which you have a big lead early. Full marks to the Drakkar, they battled hard out there, and we’ll definitely take what information we can from this loss and apply that knowledge to improving our team moving forward.”

We had them on the ropes.....but we didn't have the finishing punch to end it....and hopefully the team learns what it takes to apply the pressure and get the win when we get off to a good start like that......I would have liked to at least get one point in this one though !!