Post by dogcatcher on Nov 7, 2007 11:29:01 GMT -4
Riverview native backs Sea Dogs to great start
Travis Fullerton having a solid season in net for Saint John, looks forward to facing Wildcats tonight at Coliseum
By NEIL HODGE
Times & Transcript Sports
Published Wednesday November 7th, 2007
Appeared on page D1
Travis Fullerton came into this season looking to do more than just stop pucks. He also wanted to help stop the bleeding.
The veteran goaltender from Riverview has been performing admirably and he's a key factor in the uprising that's taking place in the Port City. The Saint John Sea Dogs are no longer the weak sister and the butt end of countless jokes in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Saint John, 11-5-0-2, is seventh overall in the 18-team league and must now be taken seriously in its third season. It's a dramatic turnaround considering this club finished among the two worst in the league the past two seasons.
"We're looking to make a statement this season," said Fullerton, who will get the start when the Sea Dogs meet the Moncton Wildcats tonight at 7 p.m. at the Moncton Coliseum.
"The guys who have been with this team since Day 1, they're obviously tired of losing. Everyone here is hungry to win. Every time we go on the ice we're trying to earn some respect around the league and I think we've done that so far."
Fullerton was traded from the Lewiston MAINEiacs to Saint John midway through last season. He was there for the struggles as the Sea Dogs went on to finish worst in the league at 20-47-1-2.
"The mood around our team is obviously much better this season," he said. "We're off to a good start, but we're not getting ahead of ourselves and looking too far down the road. We're taking it one game at a time.
"We came into this season expecting to battle for a playoff spot. I don't think anyone on our team would've predicted us to have this kind of a record right now. We're feeling good about ourselves, but we're staying calm. The standings are pretty close and things can change quickly."
Saint John is fourth in the eight-team Eastern Division with 24 points. The St. John's Fog Devils are fifth with 21 points. Moncton, 9-11-1-1, and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan are tied for sixth with 20 points.
Moncton is 4-4-0-0 in the past eight outings and the club is now on its first two-game winning streak since late September. A win tonight would give the Wildcats a season-high, three-game winning streak.
Fullerton, 20, is a third-year veteran in the QMJHL. He's a former member of the Moncton Flyers of the New Brunswick/P.E.I. Major Midget Hockey League and the Moncton Beavers of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League.
He's only played once in his hometown in the QMJHL, that coming last season in a 3-2 Saint John loss.
"It should be a lot of fun (tonight) so I'm looking forward to it," he said. "I'll have some family and friends going to the game. Moncton's coming off a big win over Halifax (on Sunday). We know they're a good team and they're always tough at home. It will definitely be a good test for us."
Saint John had an overall record of 35-94-3-8 for 81 points in its first two seasons combined. The club is currently on pace to finish with 42 wins and 93 points this season so that speaks volumes about the improvement.
"I think we've surpassed our own expectations a little," said Sea Dogs head coach Jacques Beaulieu. "Making those two trades for (20-year-old forwards) Alexandre Picard-Hooper and Scott Howes has added a lot of depth to our lineup.
"We wanted to play above .500 and so far so good. We're still struggling at times to score goals. We haven't been as consistent as I would like offensively. That's a concern for me."
The Sea Dogs felt the need to have a strong start this season in order to shed their losing image of the past. They're 6-2-0-2 in the past 10 outings and they posted a 3-2 home win in their only game against Moncton.
"We wanted to get that losing attitude out of the dressing room and out of the organization as quickly as we could and I think we've done that," said Beaulieu. "We've proved to our fans that we're for real and that we're going to win our share of games this season.
"We're more confident going into games this season. The guys feel they have a chance to win every night no matter who we're playing against. We were going into some games last season and deep down we knew we didn't have much of a chance of winning."
Saint John boasts one of the best goaltending tandems in the QMJHL with Fullerton and Robert Mayer.
Fullerton has the 10th best goals-against average in the league at 2.77. His other numbers are a .900 save percentage, 5-5 record and 585 minutes played.
Mayer, of Switzerland, was the third overall pick in the 2007 Canadian Hockey League import draft. He has a 3.03 goals-against average, .891 save percentage and 6-2 record while playing 514 minutes.
"It's comforting to know that I can turn to either guy and know they're going to give us a chance to win," said Beaulieu. "Both of them have played very well."
Mayer only played 22 games in Europe last season. The Sea Dogs felt it would've been too much to ask an 18-year-old to move to a different country, adjust to a different culture and give him the bulk of the workload in his rookie season.
"I think you'll probably see Fullerton with a little more of the workload when it's all said and done," said Beaulieu. "We're really hoping we can get Mayer 30 games this season.
"Mayer is a big part of our team this season, but next season is really going to be his time to shine and carry the load. This season, he'll learn from Fullerton what it takes to be a real good major junior goalie."
Fullerton is enjoying his mentor role.
"We get along really well," he said. "Mayer and I push each other every practice. We feed off each other's play. I definitely think he has a bright future."
Saint John's goaltenders have a star-studded defence corps in front of them.
Alex Grant, Yann Sauve and Simon Despres were the first overall pick in the past three QMJHL drafts. Pascal Amyot was a second-round pick in the 2006 QMJHL draft. David Stich was the fourth overall pick in the 2006 CHL import draft.
"It's awesome having a group of defencemen like that," said Fullerton. "We don't have a weak link on defence. They're big, but they're mobile. They move bodies and let you see the puck so it's great from a goaltending standpoint."
Travis Fullerton having a solid season in net for Saint John, looks forward to facing Wildcats tonight at Coliseum
By NEIL HODGE
Times & Transcript Sports
Published Wednesday November 7th, 2007
Appeared on page D1
Travis Fullerton came into this season looking to do more than just stop pucks. He also wanted to help stop the bleeding.
The veteran goaltender from Riverview has been performing admirably and he's a key factor in the uprising that's taking place in the Port City. The Saint John Sea Dogs are no longer the weak sister and the butt end of countless jokes in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Saint John, 11-5-0-2, is seventh overall in the 18-team league and must now be taken seriously in its third season. It's a dramatic turnaround considering this club finished among the two worst in the league the past two seasons.
"We're looking to make a statement this season," said Fullerton, who will get the start when the Sea Dogs meet the Moncton Wildcats tonight at 7 p.m. at the Moncton Coliseum.
"The guys who have been with this team since Day 1, they're obviously tired of losing. Everyone here is hungry to win. Every time we go on the ice we're trying to earn some respect around the league and I think we've done that so far."
Fullerton was traded from the Lewiston MAINEiacs to Saint John midway through last season. He was there for the struggles as the Sea Dogs went on to finish worst in the league at 20-47-1-2.
"The mood around our team is obviously much better this season," he said. "We're off to a good start, but we're not getting ahead of ourselves and looking too far down the road. We're taking it one game at a time.
"We came into this season expecting to battle for a playoff spot. I don't think anyone on our team would've predicted us to have this kind of a record right now. We're feeling good about ourselves, but we're staying calm. The standings are pretty close and things can change quickly."
Saint John is fourth in the eight-team Eastern Division with 24 points. The St. John's Fog Devils are fifth with 21 points. Moncton, 9-11-1-1, and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan are tied for sixth with 20 points.
Moncton is 4-4-0-0 in the past eight outings and the club is now on its first two-game winning streak since late September. A win tonight would give the Wildcats a season-high, three-game winning streak.
Fullerton, 20, is a third-year veteran in the QMJHL. He's a former member of the Moncton Flyers of the New Brunswick/P.E.I. Major Midget Hockey League and the Moncton Beavers of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League.
He's only played once in his hometown in the QMJHL, that coming last season in a 3-2 Saint John loss.
"It should be a lot of fun (tonight) so I'm looking forward to it," he said. "I'll have some family and friends going to the game. Moncton's coming off a big win over Halifax (on Sunday). We know they're a good team and they're always tough at home. It will definitely be a good test for us."
Saint John had an overall record of 35-94-3-8 for 81 points in its first two seasons combined. The club is currently on pace to finish with 42 wins and 93 points this season so that speaks volumes about the improvement.
"I think we've surpassed our own expectations a little," said Sea Dogs head coach Jacques Beaulieu. "Making those two trades for (20-year-old forwards) Alexandre Picard-Hooper and Scott Howes has added a lot of depth to our lineup.
"We wanted to play above .500 and so far so good. We're still struggling at times to score goals. We haven't been as consistent as I would like offensively. That's a concern for me."
The Sea Dogs felt the need to have a strong start this season in order to shed their losing image of the past. They're 6-2-0-2 in the past 10 outings and they posted a 3-2 home win in their only game against Moncton.
"We wanted to get that losing attitude out of the dressing room and out of the organization as quickly as we could and I think we've done that," said Beaulieu. "We've proved to our fans that we're for real and that we're going to win our share of games this season.
"We're more confident going into games this season. The guys feel they have a chance to win every night no matter who we're playing against. We were going into some games last season and deep down we knew we didn't have much of a chance of winning."
Saint John boasts one of the best goaltending tandems in the QMJHL with Fullerton and Robert Mayer.
Fullerton has the 10th best goals-against average in the league at 2.77. His other numbers are a .900 save percentage, 5-5 record and 585 minutes played.
Mayer, of Switzerland, was the third overall pick in the 2007 Canadian Hockey League import draft. He has a 3.03 goals-against average, .891 save percentage and 6-2 record while playing 514 minutes.
"It's comforting to know that I can turn to either guy and know they're going to give us a chance to win," said Beaulieu. "Both of them have played very well."
Mayer only played 22 games in Europe last season. The Sea Dogs felt it would've been too much to ask an 18-year-old to move to a different country, adjust to a different culture and give him the bulk of the workload in his rookie season.
"I think you'll probably see Fullerton with a little more of the workload when it's all said and done," said Beaulieu. "We're really hoping we can get Mayer 30 games this season.
"Mayer is a big part of our team this season, but next season is really going to be his time to shine and carry the load. This season, he'll learn from Fullerton what it takes to be a real good major junior goalie."
Fullerton is enjoying his mentor role.
"We get along really well," he said. "Mayer and I push each other every practice. We feed off each other's play. I definitely think he has a bright future."
Saint John's goaltenders have a star-studded defence corps in front of them.
Alex Grant, Yann Sauve and Simon Despres were the first overall pick in the past three QMJHL drafts. Pascal Amyot was a second-round pick in the 2006 QMJHL draft. David Stich was the fourth overall pick in the 2006 CHL import draft.
"It's awesome having a group of defencemen like that," said Fullerton. "We don't have a weak link on defence. They're big, but they're mobile. They move bodies and let you see the puck so it's great from a goaltending standpoint."