Post by dogbert on Sept 16, 2007 19:48:45 GMT -4
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Sea Dogs Ground Rocket
09/16/07 - Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Saint John Sea Dogs
CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI --- The Saint John Sea Dogs won their first game of the 2007-08 season on Sunday afternoon, besting the PEI Rocket by a score of 6-3 at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.
In what proved to be a thoroughly dominating performance at both ends of the ice for Saint John, Chris DiDomenico paced the offence with three goals on the afternoon while Robert Mayer earned a win in his QMJHL debut, stopping 23 of the 26 shots sent his way.
Mayer's workload on Sunday was reduced greatly thanks to an extremely impressive performance by the Sea Dogs defensive core, as blocked shots were a major factor in keeping the Rocket shot-on-goal tally down all game long.
"This was a big win for us," said Sea Dogs Head Coach/GM Jacques Beaulieu following the impressive road victory. "The kids battled their hearts out there and everyone really played their respective roles exceptionally well. It's definitely nice to have the first win of the year out of the way going back home for our next few games."
The Sea Dogs came out flying in the first period, registering the game's first nine shots on goal and taking an early 1-0 lead on the strength of a goal off the stick of Yann Sauve, who feathered a shot through traffic that starting Rocket goalie Antoine Lafleur was unable to spot.
The Rocket responded quickly however, as Brett Morrison and Lucas McKinley worked an impressive give-and-go in the Sea Dogs' zone, with Geoff Walker finishing off the play by finding the back of the net to tie the match at one apiece on PEI's first shot of the game.
With PEI on the power play, Chris DiDomenico managed to intercept an errant near the Sea Dogs blue line, skating the length of the ice and beating Lafleur on a low shot despite being man-handled by Rocket defenseman Pierre-Luc Lessard.
Rookie goaltender Robert Mayer was seldom tested in the first, facing only three shots in his debut period in the QMJHL. The Swiss import's first stop in a Sea Dogs uniform came in the form of a stick save off of a backhand attempt from defenseman Jason Swilt.
With three minutes and change remaining in the first, a massive melee broke out in PEI's zone, with Sea Dogs enforcer Brett Gallant ending up in a fight against not one but two Rocket players - Jordan Southorn and Bryan Main. Both Gallant and Main received game misconducts as a result.
The Sea Dogs had several opportunities to go up 3-1 late in the opening frame, but a series of impressive saves by Lafleur ensured that the Rocket only trailed by one as the first period came to an end despite the visitors having dominated the home team in shots on goal (18-3) over the course of the opening twenty minutes.
After successfully killing off a two-man disadvantage to open the second period, the other end of Saint John's special teams went to work, with Francois Gauthier netting a power play goal 5:33 into the middle frame to give the Sea Dogs a two-goal advantage. The visitors went up by a field goal when DiDomenico tallied his second SHG of the afternoon, putting on an impressive stick-handling display prior to beating Lafleur on a breakaway to the glove hand side.
The fourth goal of the game prompted a goaltending change for the Rocket, as Marc-Antoine Gelinas replaced Lafleur between the pipes for PEI. Gelinas kept the Sea Dogs at bay for several minutes before he was beaten by Chris DiDomenico, who put the finishing touches on a hat trick at the 15:44 mark of the second as Ryan Sparling and Payton Liske each registered on assist on the power play marker, which gave the visiting squad from Port City a 5-1 advantage. The Rocket managed to score a short-handed goal as time expired in the second to pull back to within three, with Chris Doyle beating Mayer on a slap shot to earn his first of the year on a play that officials reviewed extensively prior to the marker being added to PEI's total.
The third period saw each team registering one goal apiece, with Ryan Sparling scoring for Saint John and Chris Doyle responding for PEI. As the final buzzer sounded, the final score read SEA DOGS 6 - PEI 3, and Saint John had officially claimed their first win of the new season.
Up next for the Sea Dogs are the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, who will travel to Harbour Station on Friday, September 21 for a 7:30pm game. Saint John will then face the Lewiston MAINEIacs on Sunday, September 23 at 4:00pm.
Sea Dogs Ground Rocket
09/16/07 - Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Saint John Sea Dogs
CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI --- The Saint John Sea Dogs won their first game of the 2007-08 season on Sunday afternoon, besting the PEI Rocket by a score of 6-3 at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.
In what proved to be a thoroughly dominating performance at both ends of the ice for Saint John, Chris DiDomenico paced the offence with three goals on the afternoon while Robert Mayer earned a win in his QMJHL debut, stopping 23 of the 26 shots sent his way.
Mayer's workload on Sunday was reduced greatly thanks to an extremely impressive performance by the Sea Dogs defensive core, as blocked shots were a major factor in keeping the Rocket shot-on-goal tally down all game long.
"This was a big win for us," said Sea Dogs Head Coach/GM Jacques Beaulieu following the impressive road victory. "The kids battled their hearts out there and everyone really played their respective roles exceptionally well. It's definitely nice to have the first win of the year out of the way going back home for our next few games."
The Sea Dogs came out flying in the first period, registering the game's first nine shots on goal and taking an early 1-0 lead on the strength of a goal off the stick of Yann Sauve, who feathered a shot through traffic that starting Rocket goalie Antoine Lafleur was unable to spot.
The Rocket responded quickly however, as Brett Morrison and Lucas McKinley worked an impressive give-and-go in the Sea Dogs' zone, with Geoff Walker finishing off the play by finding the back of the net to tie the match at one apiece on PEI's first shot of the game.
With PEI on the power play, Chris DiDomenico managed to intercept an errant near the Sea Dogs blue line, skating the length of the ice and beating Lafleur on a low shot despite being man-handled by Rocket defenseman Pierre-Luc Lessard.
Rookie goaltender Robert Mayer was seldom tested in the first, facing only three shots in his debut period in the QMJHL. The Swiss import's first stop in a Sea Dogs uniform came in the form of a stick save off of a backhand attempt from defenseman Jason Swilt.
With three minutes and change remaining in the first, a massive melee broke out in PEI's zone, with Sea Dogs enforcer Brett Gallant ending up in a fight against not one but two Rocket players - Jordan Southorn and Bryan Main. Both Gallant and Main received game misconducts as a result.
The Sea Dogs had several opportunities to go up 3-1 late in the opening frame, but a series of impressive saves by Lafleur ensured that the Rocket only trailed by one as the first period came to an end despite the visitors having dominated the home team in shots on goal (18-3) over the course of the opening twenty minutes.
After successfully killing off a two-man disadvantage to open the second period, the other end of Saint John's special teams went to work, with Francois Gauthier netting a power play goal 5:33 into the middle frame to give the Sea Dogs a two-goal advantage. The visitors went up by a field goal when DiDomenico tallied his second SHG of the afternoon, putting on an impressive stick-handling display prior to beating Lafleur on a breakaway to the glove hand side.
The fourth goal of the game prompted a goaltending change for the Rocket, as Marc-Antoine Gelinas replaced Lafleur between the pipes for PEI. Gelinas kept the Sea Dogs at bay for several minutes before he was beaten by Chris DiDomenico, who put the finishing touches on a hat trick at the 15:44 mark of the second as Ryan Sparling and Payton Liske each registered on assist on the power play marker, which gave the visiting squad from Port City a 5-1 advantage. The Rocket managed to score a short-handed goal as time expired in the second to pull back to within three, with Chris Doyle beating Mayer on a slap shot to earn his first of the year on a play that officials reviewed extensively prior to the marker being added to PEI's total.
The third period saw each team registering one goal apiece, with Ryan Sparling scoring for Saint John and Chris Doyle responding for PEI. As the final buzzer sounded, the final score read SEA DOGS 6 - PEI 3, and Saint John had officially claimed their first win of the new season.
Up next for the Sea Dogs are the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, who will travel to Harbour Station on Friday, September 21 for a 7:30pm game. Saint John will then face the Lewiston MAINEIacs on Sunday, September 23 at 4:00pm.
