Sea Dogs' Season Ends With A 5-4 Loss To The Huskies In Game Four
Published on April 23, 2008 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release
SAINT JOHN, NB --- As is the case with all good things, the Saint John Sea Dogs' 2007-08 season came to an end on Wednesday night, with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies earning a hard-fought 5-4 win at the expense of Port City's major junior squad in front of 4,610 fans at Harbour Station in Game Four of their best-of-seven playoff series.
The Huskies will now face either Gatineau or Halifax in the President's Cup Finals, while the Sea Dogs will take countless positives away from what was an incredibly successful campaign for the third-year franchise.
"This team has a lot of heart and you saw that out there on the ice tonight," said Team Captain Alex Grant following the disappointing one-goal loss. "Our fans have been tremendously supportive of us all season, and they really gave us a boost in tonight's game when we needed it. We'll have a lot of the players from this year's team back for next season, so our best days are definitely ahead of us and in the very near future."
Jeff Desjardins (2), Pier-Luc Giguere, Tyler Hawes, and Yannick Reindeau all scored for Rouyn-Noranda in Wednesday's series-clinching victory, while Scott Howes, Keven Charland, and Michael Kirkpatrick tallied markers for the hosts in what proved to be Saint John's 2008 post-season finale.
Travis Fullerton made 38 saves, several of the spectacular variety, in the final game of his major junior career, suffering his sixth loss of the playoffs in net for the Sea Dogs. At the other end of the ice, Maxim Gougeon earned his 12th straight playoff win between the pipes for the Huskies, securing his team a spot in the league finals as a result.
The Sea Dogs struck first on Wednesday, with Keven Charland deflecting a Francois Gauthier shot past Gougeon to give the home team a 1-0 lead 3:30 into the first period. Charland's goal, a power play marker, improved his '08 post-season total to nine, with Alexandre Leduc picking up the second assist on the play.
With Dallas Stars prospect Ivan Vishnevskiy in the penalty box for delay of game, Saint John's man-up unit struck again, with Chris DiDomenico darting through Rouyn-Noranda's zone prior to firing a perfect cross-ice pass on to the stick of a streaking Scott Howes, who promptly one-timed his line mate's feed to the back of the Huskies' net to tally his league-leading 14th goal of the playoffs and give his team a 2-0 advantage midway through the opening frame.
Rouyn-Noranda responded with two goals late in the first (off the sticks of Jeff Desjardins and Pier-Luc Giguere) to send Wednesday night's contest into the first intermission with the score knotted at two apiece.
After Jeff Desjardins scored to give the Huskies their first lead of the night early in the second, Scott Howes netted his second goal of the night to re-tie the match 3-3. After taking a pass from Chris DiDomenico along the boards, the 20-year old winger muscled his way into the slot prior to wiring a shot to the back of the visitors' net 5:41 into the middle frame.
The Huskies then retook the lead one minute later, with Tyler Hawes ripping a high snap shot over Fullerton's glove to earn his fourth goal of the playoffs.
Midway through the second, the Sea Dogs came up with a huge three-on-five penalty kill when Ryan Sparling and Chris DiDomenico were assessed simultaneous slashing penalties with Mike Thomas already in the box. Some timely shot blocking, solid goaltending, and effective zone clearings all combined to prevent Rouyn-Noranda from capitalizing on their multi-player advantage, as Saint John remained within immediate striking distance of the Huskies following the lengthy man-down situation.
With twenty-seven seconds remaining in the middle frame, Michael Kirkpatrick scored to make the score 4-4. Alex Grant picked up the lone assist on the rookie forward's timely tally, giving the star defenseman 11 helpers on the post-season.
The third period saw a steady procession of players to the penalty box, with both teams coming up empty on their multiple power play opportunities.
With 7:42 remaining in regulation, the Huskies scored in transition to take a 5-4 lead with Hugo Carpentier setting Yannick Riendeau up for a close-range one-timer that the 19-year old winger made no mistake on.
The Sea Dogs applied extreme pressure in the Huskies' zone late in the third, but Gougeon was able to keep the puck out of the net, making some highly-impressive saves in the late-going, particularly on a point-blank Ryan Sparling shot in the closing minute of play, to lead his team to a one-goal victory.
Saint John finishes their first-ever playoff run with a record of 8-6 after having set numerous team records during what was by far the team's greatest regular season to date.
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from April 23, 2008
- Sea Dogs' Season Ends With A 5-4 Loss To The Huskies In Game Four - Saint John Sea Dogs
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