GDT - 9/9 - AB - SNB - Exh Game 6

[dogbert]

I see there's been three fights so far. A first for McNeil?

[markofthebeast]

Yeah it looks like it's a rough one ... other then faceoffs looks like an even game too bad theres no web casts for preseason games.

[bjindaho]

McNeil lost to Svoboda. Svoboda threw almost all the punches. Though most did nothing.

Sparling lost to Smearer. Even amount of punches thrown, but Sparling had blood running down his nose.

Thomas killed Landry. Not even close. And Landry threw a couple of punches with gloves on before the fight, and dropped and threw first.

[elementz]

Here is what I wrote on the Titan board

Just got back from the game today. Titan won 2-1 but it wasn't an easy game by any means. Very close game with the Sea Dogs getting more dangerous opportunities but Tardiff stood on his head. Tardiff was by far the #1 star with his performance.

Titan scored the first goal on a PP, in the first minute of the game, with a shot from the point that Fullerton didn't see at all. 2nd Titan goal was a defensive breakdown from the Dogs that resulted in a 2-0 breakaway that Titan capitalized on. Again, in the first minute of the 2nd period. Sea Dogs goal came from a nice rush by Leduc.

Spirited affair with 3 fights in the first.

Svboda vs McNeil, I would say a draw. McNeil started strong and Svboda came on in the end. This came after Svboda boarded Thomas.

Smearer vs Sparling. Not sure how this came about but it was right after the faceoff and they started chucking the knuckles pretty good. They went blow for blow but Smearer caught Sparling with a shot that busted his nose open. Smearer gets the win. Funny to see Sparling rub the blood all over his face going off the ice. Again, hopefully another poster will comment on what lead up to this bout, because both coaches almost came to blows on the bench.

Landry vs Thomas - Pretty short fight, Landry started it and Thomas got in a few nice shots. Landy went down to a knee but not sure if it was from a punch or if he just fell. Linesman were quick to jump in. Thomas with the win.

Can't think of much else now but it was a very good game for pre season. According to the Q site, it shows the Titan lead in DS with 7-5, but I thought the Dogs had a few more dangerous shots with Tardiff saving the day on. Too bad we ran into penalties in the 3rd, we were making a good run.

[bjindaho]

Some thoughts:

Sparling, Leduc, and Stoddard have gotten a lot faster. They can all fly now.

Liske was amazing out there. He used his size well, and can skate pretty well.

Gauthier had a nice game. Nothing complicated.

The 2 on 0 resulted from an incredibly poor play at the bench by the forward, and Sauve moving up with the rush.

Sauve and Despres need to play together. Permanently. They are monsters together.

Leduc did A LOT of backchecking.

Despres threw a beauty hip check, then disposessed Couture on a partial breakaway.

Thomas can move out there. In fact, he was killing penalties and did an amazing job with 3 blocked shots.

Fullerton did a terrible job on the 2 on 0. I'm not sure what he was thinking but unless that puck was shot at his chest, it was going in.

Amyot looked good out there. He was pokecheck first, but laid the body when needed, and made Mailloux look bad a couple of times with physical play.

Clendenning took a run at Sauve and Sauve got a delay of game penalty on the play. The puck actually hit Clendenning on the way out, and Sauve got a 10 for arguing. Leduc did too.

McNeil threw a puck out of play. Hopefully he gets yelled at, because his not owning up to it, meant that Despres ended up getting called for it.

[bjindaho]

Thomas clocked Landry with a punch before he went to a knee, and pulled him up so he could let him have it after.

Smearer gave Sparling a stick in the ribs from the looks of things.

[canucklehead]

My fight opinions are:

McNeil lost the fight but not by alot I certainly wouldn't say he got his ass kicked he held his own what was more interesting was the fact that he came in to fight the guy because he took a run at Thomas ;D

Smearer was a joke first he sticks Sparling then Sparling who I'm sure wasn't to interested in fighting a guy over 200lbs when he weighs alittle over 160lbs. They were both chuckin em but Sparling took the harder hits for sure he left the game for awhile came back in the 3rd though.

Smearer was then showing some more toughness when he started to shoot his mouth off at Jordan "Scappy" Knox

Thomas kicked Landry's ass next time maybe Landry could actually drop the gloves before throwing punches!

[dogbert]

canucklehead said:

McNeil lost the fight but not by alot I certainly wouldn't say he got his ass kicked he held his own what was more interesting was the fact that he came in to fight the guy because he took a run at Thomas ;D

A good sign you've got a team!

[dogcatcher]

SEA DOGS LOSE PRE-SEASON FINALE

Saint John Finishes the Exhibition Schedule with a Record of 3-2-1 Following a 2-1 Loss to Acadie-Bathurst

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Sunday, September 9, 2007

SAINT JOHN, NB --- The Saint John Sea Dogs ended their 2007-08 Pre-Season schedule on a losing note Sunday afternoon, falling to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan by a score of 2-1 in front of nearly 2,500 fans at Harbour Station.

In an overtly physical affair in which several fighting majors were handed out, the Sea Dogs fell behind 1-0 early in the first and 2-0 early in the second period but fought back valiantly in the third, scoring the frame’s only goal and producing several offensive chances in the closing minutes of the match. Unfortunately, Titan goaltender Antoine played spectacularly well on Sunday, making 31 saves en route to earning both the victory and a First Star Selection for his efforts.

The game’s Second Star, veteran Sea Dogs net minder Travis Fullerton, was pleased with his team’s overall effort on Sunday despite the unfavourable result.

“I thought we played a good game,” said Fullerton, who finished with 29 saves on the afternoon. “They got a few breaks early that they capitalized on and we just weren’t able to recover from that unfortunately. Everyone was working hard out there though, so there are definitely a lot of positives to take from the game going into the regular season.”

Maxime Renaud and Eric Faille provided the goals for Acadie-Bathurst on Sunday while Alexandre Leduc scored the lone tally for Saint John.

The Sea Dogs’ power play, which went 1-for-6 in Friday night’s 4-2 road loss against the Titan, continued to struggle on Sunday, failing to score on seven opportunities.

Conversely, after going 2-for-3 on Friday night in Bathurst, the Titan power play picked up right where they left off on Sunday, striking with the man advantage 1:15 into the game as Maxime Renault snuck a low shot past Fullerton to give the visitors an early 1-0 advantage. Fullerton made two big stops off of Titan centre Jordan Cledenning a few moments later however, stoning the Fredericton native from point-blank range with successive pad saves to keep his team within one of Acadie-Bathurst lead at the 7:50 mark of the first period.

Play took a turn for the physical from there, with a series of big hits on both sides of the ice leading to a throwing down of fisticuffs between Sea Dogs defenseman Jeff McNeil and Titan forward Tomas Svoboda at the 10:10 mark of the opening frame. After a second fight took place in the Sea Dogs’ end, Fullerton made another big set of saves with just over five minutes remaining in the first, blocking a shot off the stick of Spencer Jezegou and a subsequent rebound attempt from Eric Faille. The third fight of the opening twenty minutes broke out a minute later, this time featuring Saint John’s Mike Thomas and Acadie-Bathurst’s Kevin Landry exchanging blows deep in Titan territory. The visiting squad received an additional penalty following the altercation, with Landry adding a roughing call to his resume as he entered the sin bin, giving the Sea Dogs a power play chance late in the frame. The Titan penalty kill proved victorious in the late-period special teams battle however, with Tardif turning aside everything fired his way to give his team a one-goal advantage as the opening period came to an end.

The second period opened in similar fashion to the first as the Titan scored an early goal, this time 0:35 into the frame with Eric Faille giving his team a 2-0 lead after beating Fullerton with a well-placed shot. Both teams subsequently registered quality scoring chances for the duration of the middle frame, with neither side able to produce a goal, largely due to the exceptional goaltending being exhibited at both ends of the ice.

Keven Charland had arguably the best scoring chance for the Sea Dogs in the second, firing a hard one-timer on the fly from just outside the slot off of a nifty pass from Matthew Stoddard near the fifteen minute mark of the period; Tardif was able to get a pad on the puck however, and the second intermission commenced with the Sea Dogs trailing by two goals.

Saint John finally got on the scoreboard 5:40 into the third period as Alexandre Leduc banged home a rebound past a sprawling Tardif to pull the home team back to within one of the Titan lead. Ten minutes later, with the score still 2-1 in favour of the visitors, the Sea Dogs’ penalty killing unit successfully killed off a huge 5-on-3 Titan advantage to preserve a chance at pulling off a late comeback with only a few minutes remaining in the third.

In what proved to be the final scoring chance of the game, Sea Dogs defenseman Yann Sauve unleashed a howitzer from ten feet out with just over thirty seconds remaining that Tardif somehow managed to get a glove on. The Sea Dogs’ offence was unable to muster another opportunity in the dying seconds, as both the game and pre-season came to and end on a losing note.

“It’s disappointing to lose today, but we’re very much looking forward to the regular season getting underway,” said Sea Dogs Head Coach/GM Jacques Beaulieu following the hard-fought loss. “We have a young, exciting team and I think the people of Saint John will be in for some very entertaining hockey this year at Harbour Station.”

The Sea Dogs open their 2007-08 season with a road contest versus the Lewiston MAINEiacs on September 13. Saint John’s home opener is scheduled to take place on September 21 and will see the Sea Dogs taking on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

[bjindaho]

well i think he got one or two off after dropping the gloves. Definitely none after THomas dropped his though

[canucklehead]

My opinion of the game itself

Wasn't really a good game for me I've come to realize how much I truly appreciate our team defense when they are complete.

I know it's only preseason so I take it with a grain of salt but their is a real chance a major rivalry building this year between these 2 teams! 3 fights and Gallant and Pisano weren't even there?

The game was kinda boring for me maybe that's because last game we went to see the 6 goal outburst against Lewy.

I really think Amyot had better step up and start doing something or Despres with take his spot on the depth chart IF he hasn't already not something he'd want in his draft year!

The goaltenders were both solid Tardif made some very nice glove saves.

Sparling - Thought it was real gutsy to stand up to Smearer even though he was 40lbs lighter.

Knox - One of the better looking Sea Dogs on the ice even threw a nice hit.

Anthony - Again showed a glimpse of what he is capable of doing he can really change gears in a hurry.

Thomas - Nothing new here bang bang bang!!!!

Keven Charland - Thought he was also one of the better forwards today made a beauty move on the Titan Dman but stopped by Tardif but it was a sweet move ;D

Sauve - Not sure if his curve is to big or what lol shooting over the glass twice in in the last 10 minutes? From the exact same spot on the ice?

LeDuc - I actually think he was looking for a fight tonight lol ;D

[canucklehead]

Almost forgot JB would have won his fight too ;D

[Dogs 08-09]

canucklehead said:

My opinion of the game itself

Wasn't really a good game for me I've come to realize how much I truly appreciate our team defense when they are complete.

I know it's only preseason so I take it with a grain of salt but their is a real chance a major rivalry building this year between these 2 teams! 3 fights and Gallant and Pisano weren't even there?

The game was kinda boring for me maybe that's because last game we went to see the 6 goal outburst against Lewy.

I really think Amyot had better step up and start doing something or Despres with take his spot on the depth chart IF he hasn't already not something he'd want in his draft year!

The goaltenders were both solids but both teams Tardif made some very nice glove saves.

Sparling - Thought it was real gutsy to stand up to Smearer even though he was 40lbs lighter.

Knox - One of the better looking Sea Dogs on the ice even threw a nice hit.

Anthony - Again showed a glimpse of what he is capable of doing he can really change gears in a hurry.

Thomas - Nothing new here bang bang bang!!!!

Keven Charland - Thought he was also one of the better forwards today made a beauty move on the Titan Dman but stopped by Tardif but it was a sweet move ;D

Sauve - Not sure if his curve is to big or what lol shooting over the glass twice in in the last 10 minutes? From the exact same spot on the ice?

LeDuc - I actually think he was looking for a fight tonight lol ;D

Great recap Canucklehead.

I have been very pleased with Despres' play so far with no exception tonight. He may deserve Amyot's spot real soon if not already. On the other hand although I am not a big fan of Amyot, I thought he had a decent game tonight. He actually threw a few minor hits early on.

Sweet move by Charland...

Knox is improving and hopefully continues to as he gets used to play in the Q...

Hey anyone see what got the Bathurst coach so upset?

[canucklehead]

I just seen him and JB yelling at each other I kinda thought it was JB that started the thing because Smearer took a cheap shot at Sparling then Ryan decided to drop the gloves with a guy 40lbs bigger and I think he's in the military so it likely ain't 40lbs of fat!

[Dogs 08-09]

canucklehead said:

I just seen him and JB yelling at each other I kinda thought it was JB that started the thing because Smearer took a cheap shot at Sparling then Ryan decided to drop the gloves with a guy 40lbs bigger and I think he's in the military so it likely ain't 40lbs of fat!

I missed the cheap shot...just seen them drop the gloves. Good to see Ryan give it a go knowing he would be out matched.

I was happy to see the boys (McNeil) come to the aid of a teammate who took a cheap one (Thomas getting hit from behind). This is not something we have seen alot of in the past.