Post by dogcatcher on Sept 21, 2007 6:09:19 GMT -4
Sea Dogs hoping for a full house tonight
QMJHL Saint John hosts Cape Breton in home opener at 7:30 p.m. at Harbour Station
Andrew Mcgilligan
Telegraph-Journal
Published Friday September 21st, 2007
Appeared on page B12
SAINT JOHN - When the puck drops tonight at Harbour Station for the Saint John Sea Dogs' home opener at 7:30 p.m., second-year defenceman Yann Sauve hopes the building is packed.
"I don't know why, but a packed house gives you a little more energy," he said. "Each of the players will have their family there, so there's a little more motivation."
While the squad won't be short on motivation, head coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu said they will need to improve in a few areas if they want to defeat the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League tilt. One of those areas is discipline. In their first two games, a 4-1 loss to the Lewiston Maineiacs and a 6-3 win over the Prince Edward Island Rocket, the Sea Dogs took 15 penalties. The team has been bailed out by its penalty killing, which has only allowed one goal.
Beaulieu said at the start of the season, referees tend to call a tight game.
"I think they'll loosen up, but for now things are being called tight and as a group we have to be more disciplined and make sure when we hit, we keep our hands and sticks down," he said.
He also pointed out that some of penalties were careless. For instance, the five-minute major and match penalty assessed to forward Brett Gallant for a high stick against the Rocket.
"We weren't happy with (Gallant) and we made it quite clear to him that we don't want any of that," the bench boss said.
Gallant has been suspended for both of this weekend's games for the incident.
"It's important for us to be on the power play and not killing penalties the whole game," Beaulieu said.
Speaking of the man advantage, the Sea Dogs have scored two power-play goals and hope to add to that number tonight. Recently acquired power-play specialist Alexandre Picard-Hooper should help the special teams improve. The offensively talented forward will be playing in his first game of the season after having notched 11 power-play markers last year.
The third area Beaulieu would like to see his team improve on is its decision making - specifically the defencemen. The Sea Dogs were burned in Lewiston by risky plays that ended up in odd-man rushes and breakaway chances for the Mainieacs. The team cut the risky plays in half from the first game to the second, but there's still room for improvement.
"We have to try and limit opponents' scoring chances to under 12 and we did that (in P.E.I.), but I think we could have been at eight if the risks weren't taken," he said.
He's not suggesting the team play in a defensive shell, but rather defencemen make smarter decisions when rushing with the puck.
"When you've got skill guys like Sauve, (Alex) Grant and (Simon) Despres, they like to go with the puck," he said. "They just have to make the right decisions on when to go and when not to go."
The Sea Dogs' next game is Sunday at Harbour Station against the Maineiacs in a 4 p.m. start.
QMJHL Saint John hosts Cape Breton in home opener at 7:30 p.m. at Harbour Station
Andrew Mcgilligan
Telegraph-Journal
Published Friday September 21st, 2007
Appeared on page B12
SAINT JOHN - When the puck drops tonight at Harbour Station for the Saint John Sea Dogs' home opener at 7:30 p.m., second-year defenceman Yann Sauve hopes the building is packed.
"I don't know why, but a packed house gives you a little more energy," he said. "Each of the players will have their family there, so there's a little more motivation."
While the squad won't be short on motivation, head coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu said they will need to improve in a few areas if they want to defeat the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League tilt. One of those areas is discipline. In their first two games, a 4-1 loss to the Lewiston Maineiacs and a 6-3 win over the Prince Edward Island Rocket, the Sea Dogs took 15 penalties. The team has been bailed out by its penalty killing, which has only allowed one goal.
Beaulieu said at the start of the season, referees tend to call a tight game.
"I think they'll loosen up, but for now things are being called tight and as a group we have to be more disciplined and make sure when we hit, we keep our hands and sticks down," he said.
He also pointed out that some of penalties were careless. For instance, the five-minute major and match penalty assessed to forward Brett Gallant for a high stick against the Rocket.
"We weren't happy with (Gallant) and we made it quite clear to him that we don't want any of that," the bench boss said.
Gallant has been suspended for both of this weekend's games for the incident.
"It's important for us to be on the power play and not killing penalties the whole game," Beaulieu said.
Speaking of the man advantage, the Sea Dogs have scored two power-play goals and hope to add to that number tonight. Recently acquired power-play specialist Alexandre Picard-Hooper should help the special teams improve. The offensively talented forward will be playing in his first game of the season after having notched 11 power-play markers last year.
The third area Beaulieu would like to see his team improve on is its decision making - specifically the defencemen. The Sea Dogs were burned in Lewiston by risky plays that ended up in odd-man rushes and breakaway chances for the Mainieacs. The team cut the risky plays in half from the first game to the second, but there's still room for improvement.
"We have to try and limit opponents' scoring chances to under 12 and we did that (in P.E.I.), but I think we could have been at eight if the risks weren't taken," he said.
He's not suggesting the team play in a defensive shell, but rather defencemen make smarter decisions when rushing with the puck.
"When you've got skill guys like Sauve, (Alex) Grant and (Simon) Despres, they like to go with the puck," he said. "They just have to make the right decisions on when to go and when not to go."
The Sea Dogs' next game is Sunday at Harbour Station against the Maineiacs in a 4 p.m. start.