Post by dogcatcher on Sept 25, 2007 6:08:02 GMT -4
Two Gallants better than one
Shuffling the deck: Sea Dogs release two 20-year-olds and have their eye on Brett Gallant's brother
PETER MCGUIRE
Game on
Published Tuesday September 25th, 2007
Appeared on page B6
There will be no free rides this season with the Saint John Sea Dogs.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team made a bold statement on Monday when it announced it has released 20-year-olds Francis Charland of Victoriaville, Que., and Jordan Knox of Summerside.
The Dogs were expected to drop one of their four 20s to get down to the league-mandated three per team but it came as a bit of a surprise on Monday when Sea Dogs general manager and head coach Jacques Beaulieu made his announcement.
"We feel we can play Mike Thomas more and get Nicolas Pard in the lineup and get just as much from them," said the coach and general manager. "They just weren't getting the job done."
Always the wheeler and dealer, Beaulieu now has an open 20-year-old slot on the roster.
"We'll be very selective and if it takes until Christmas, it takes until Christmas," he said.
One interesting option would see Bradley Gallant of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles join the squad. He's the big brother of Saint John tough guy Brett Gallant. Bradley is Cape Breton's property but he doesn't appear to be part of the team's plans. The Eagles already have three 20-year-olds, including former Sea Dog forward Jonathan Laberge, Edmundston native and team captain Dean Ouellet and defenceman Beau Prokopetz of Winnipeg.
Having another Gallant in the lineup would surely make the Sea Dogs tougher but the young man can play the game, too.
This isn't just some dream scenario, either. The Sea Dogs have, indeed, inquired about his services but have not heard back.
EASY NOW: OK, everyone take a deep breath. Now that the first weekend of action at Harbour Station is complete, we've come to a few conclusions.
First, after the Sea Dogs delivered a stinker in their home opener on Friday - a 6-1 loss to Cape Breton - some passionate fans were ready to bail on the team. Whether it was at the grocery store, the local minor hockey practice or the golf course, people were talking Sea Dogs but they were talking trash.
"Here we go again," was the general consensus. "What about all the pre-season hype?," they asked.
They seemed ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
"We knew we were going to have our moments but we didn't think we'd have them on Friday night," said Beaulieu. "It was terrible."
On Sunday, Saint John gave its fans a taste of what it hopes are things to come with a 6-1 win of their own over the defending league champion Lewiston Maineiacs.
Conclusion? It's not quite time to anoint the Sea Dogs as Memorial Cup contenders but it's also clear this is a different team with lots of skill that has turned the proverbial corner we've been hearing about for the last couple of years.
TOO MANY ... MISTAKES: The Sea Dogs have been nailed for having too many men on the ice four times in four games so far this season. It's the result of players not catching on to the league crackdown of the five-foot rule. If a player on the ice wants to change on the fly, he must be within five feet of the bench before the other player jumps on the ice. The call can be made by any of the officials on the ice. On Sunday, the linesman who made the call looked like a super cop nailing you for doing 61 in a 60. But if that's the rule, that's the rule.
CLEARING THE AIR: Just like the players on the ice, it appears John Trivett, the new English public address voice at Harbour Station, needs some polish. One slip-up per game is certainly human. Two might even be excusable, if it wasn't every game, but when there are several glaring errors per game, it might be time to take a different approach, like a mini-rehearsal before turning the microphone on. On several different occasions on Sunday, Trivett struggled. He announced a Maineiacs' penalty to be a Sea Dogs' penalty. He announced that Chris Di Domenico scored when it was clearly Matt Stoddard who finished the play. And to top things off, after the final horn sounded, he announced the final score was 7-1 for the Sea Dogs instead of 6-1. Having said all of that, there was an improvement from Friday's game. There seemed to be an awful lot of talking during the play in the home opener but very little on Sunday.
Stage Lachance has been handling the French P.A. chores and has been solid. He even added some pizzazz on Sunday when he dressed up the pronunciation of Alexandre Picard-Hooper's name, adding several o's to Hooper. He also toyed with Di Domenico's last name, which brought a few smiles to those on hand.
NOBODY'S PERFECT: It appeared Di Domenico could do no wrong during his rookie season with the Sea Dogs and he's off to another fine start this year. However, the Woodbridge, Ont., product showed he's not perfect in the home opener when he took a frustration slashing penalty. The Screaming Eagles scored on the ensuing power play and Di Domenico took a seat. Insisting that no player will put himself before the team, Beaulieu benched Di Domenico for a good chunk of the third period.
LEROY'S BACK: Brett Gallant, Saint John's answer to Leroy Brown (baddest man in the whole darn town), will be back in uniform on Thursday when the Sea Dogs host the P.E.I. Rocket at 7 p.m. It was in a game against the Rocket on Sept. 16 that Gallant was suspended for two games for a serious highsticking incident. Gallant was forced to take on two Rocket players after the incident, which should make for an interesting evening on Thursday, should the parties involved decide to revisit the episode.
Shuffling the deck: Sea Dogs release two 20-year-olds and have their eye on Brett Gallant's brother
PETER MCGUIRE
Game on
Published Tuesday September 25th, 2007
Appeared on page B6
There will be no free rides this season with the Saint John Sea Dogs.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team made a bold statement on Monday when it announced it has released 20-year-olds Francis Charland of Victoriaville, Que., and Jordan Knox of Summerside.
The Dogs were expected to drop one of their four 20s to get down to the league-mandated three per team but it came as a bit of a surprise on Monday when Sea Dogs general manager and head coach Jacques Beaulieu made his announcement.
"We feel we can play Mike Thomas more and get Nicolas Pard in the lineup and get just as much from them," said the coach and general manager. "They just weren't getting the job done."
Always the wheeler and dealer, Beaulieu now has an open 20-year-old slot on the roster.
"We'll be very selective and if it takes until Christmas, it takes until Christmas," he said.
One interesting option would see Bradley Gallant of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles join the squad. He's the big brother of Saint John tough guy Brett Gallant. Bradley is Cape Breton's property but he doesn't appear to be part of the team's plans. The Eagles already have three 20-year-olds, including former Sea Dog forward Jonathan Laberge, Edmundston native and team captain Dean Ouellet and defenceman Beau Prokopetz of Winnipeg.
Having another Gallant in the lineup would surely make the Sea Dogs tougher but the young man can play the game, too.
This isn't just some dream scenario, either. The Sea Dogs have, indeed, inquired about his services but have not heard back.
EASY NOW: OK, everyone take a deep breath. Now that the first weekend of action at Harbour Station is complete, we've come to a few conclusions.
First, after the Sea Dogs delivered a stinker in their home opener on Friday - a 6-1 loss to Cape Breton - some passionate fans were ready to bail on the team. Whether it was at the grocery store, the local minor hockey practice or the golf course, people were talking Sea Dogs but they were talking trash.
"Here we go again," was the general consensus. "What about all the pre-season hype?," they asked.
They seemed ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
"We knew we were going to have our moments but we didn't think we'd have them on Friday night," said Beaulieu. "It was terrible."
On Sunday, Saint John gave its fans a taste of what it hopes are things to come with a 6-1 win of their own over the defending league champion Lewiston Maineiacs.
Conclusion? It's not quite time to anoint the Sea Dogs as Memorial Cup contenders but it's also clear this is a different team with lots of skill that has turned the proverbial corner we've been hearing about for the last couple of years.
TOO MANY ... MISTAKES: The Sea Dogs have been nailed for having too many men on the ice four times in four games so far this season. It's the result of players not catching on to the league crackdown of the five-foot rule. If a player on the ice wants to change on the fly, he must be within five feet of the bench before the other player jumps on the ice. The call can be made by any of the officials on the ice. On Sunday, the linesman who made the call looked like a super cop nailing you for doing 61 in a 60. But if that's the rule, that's the rule.
CLEARING THE AIR: Just like the players on the ice, it appears John Trivett, the new English public address voice at Harbour Station, needs some polish. One slip-up per game is certainly human. Two might even be excusable, if it wasn't every game, but when there are several glaring errors per game, it might be time to take a different approach, like a mini-rehearsal before turning the microphone on. On several different occasions on Sunday, Trivett struggled. He announced a Maineiacs' penalty to be a Sea Dogs' penalty. He announced that Chris Di Domenico scored when it was clearly Matt Stoddard who finished the play. And to top things off, after the final horn sounded, he announced the final score was 7-1 for the Sea Dogs instead of 6-1. Having said all of that, there was an improvement from Friday's game. There seemed to be an awful lot of talking during the play in the home opener but very little on Sunday.
Stage Lachance has been handling the French P.A. chores and has been solid. He even added some pizzazz on Sunday when he dressed up the pronunciation of Alexandre Picard-Hooper's name, adding several o's to Hooper. He also toyed with Di Domenico's last name, which brought a few smiles to those on hand.
NOBODY'S PERFECT: It appeared Di Domenico could do no wrong during his rookie season with the Sea Dogs and he's off to another fine start this year. However, the Woodbridge, Ont., product showed he's not perfect in the home opener when he took a frustration slashing penalty. The Screaming Eagles scored on the ensuing power play and Di Domenico took a seat. Insisting that no player will put himself before the team, Beaulieu benched Di Domenico for a good chunk of the third period.
LEROY'S BACK: Brett Gallant, Saint John's answer to Leroy Brown (baddest man in the whole darn town), will be back in uniform on Thursday when the Sea Dogs host the P.E.I. Rocket at 7 p.m. It was in a game against the Rocket on Sept. 16 that Gallant was suspended for two games for a serious highsticking incident. Gallant was forced to take on two Rocket players after the incident, which should make for an interesting evening on Thursday, should the parties involved decide to revisit the episode.
