Sea Dogs Take Down League Champs 3-2
Published on November 12, 2008 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release
GATINEAU, QC --- The Saint John Sea Dogs kicked off a three-game tour of Quebec in style on Wednesday night, earning an impressive 3-2 comeback victory at the expense of the Gatineau Olympiques at Robert Guertin Arena.
The defending President's Cup Champions led 2-1 after forty minutes of play, but third period goals by Michael Kirkpatrick and Alexei Dostoinov propelled Saint John to victory in their mid-week summit with Gatineau.
Payton Liske also scored for the Sea Dogs on the evening; the veteran winger also picked up an assist to finish the match with two points and capture Third Star of the Game honours.
The game's Second Star, Robert Mayer, played extremely well in net for Saint John throughout Wednesday's contest, making 29 saves on 31 shots to earn his eleventh victory of the 08-09 campaign. Mayer's counterpart, Olympiques goalie Maxime Clermont, made 22 saves in suffering his tenth defeat of the year, while Alexandre Quesnel and Tye McGinn both scored for Gatineau in a losing effort.
The Sea Dogs drew first blood on Wednesday, with Liske pouncing on a rebound in front of Clermont and beating the 17-year old goalie with a high backhand shot to register his sixth goal of the season and give his team 1-0 lead 4:08 into the match.
Saint John's defensive special teams unit then came up with back-to-back penalty kills, with Mayer coming up big on several occasions to keep the Sea Dogs ahead in the early-going. The Port City's major junior squad ultimately went 7-for-7 on the night in man-down situations, as the Sea Dogs' penalty killing unit continues to impress this season.
Gatineau was able tied things up with 2:22 remaining in the opening frame, as Alexandre Quesnel beat Mayer high, glove-side from just inside the left faceoff circle after taking a pass from a behind-the-net-hovering Tye McGinn and getting off a quick, hard wrist shot.
Early in period number two, the Olympiques took their first lead of the night when McGinn sprinted out of the penalty box after serving a two-minute minor and was promptly fed a breakaway pass by Quesnel. The former Ottawa 67 made no mistake on his chance, fooling Mayer on a nifty deke prior to firing a forehand shot to the back of Saint John's net to make the score 2-1 in favour of the hosts.
Mayer came up with a big right pad save on McGinn from close range late in the second, keeping the Sea Dogs' deficit at one as Wednesday's match reached the forty minute mark.
Ryan Sparling came incredibly close to scoring the tying goal early in the third period, one-timing a cross-crease pass from Chris DiDomenico that Clermont managed to stop with a dynamic sliding pad save. Clermont was unable to block a shot off the stick of Michael Kirkpatrick a moment later however, as the second-year centre scored his twelfth goal of the year to tie things up at two apiece in the 43rd minute of play with Simon Després and Payton Liske both picking up assists on the timely power play marker.
An enormous glove gave by Robert Mayer on an Alex Douchette shot amidst a Sea Dogs penalty kill ten minutes later kept things deadlocked 2-2, as an exciting finish beckoned in Wednesday's inter-divisional clash.
With 3:49 remaining in regulation, Alexei Dostoinov produced the go-ahead goal for Saint John, beating Clermont on a well-placed shot after taking a feed from Després in Gatineau's zone to record his third goal of the season and put his team on top by a score of 3-2.
Mayer and Saint John's stellar defenders were able to keep the home team at bay from there on in, resultantly producing a hard-fought, come-from-behind victory for the Sea Dogs.
Up next for Saint John is a Friday night tilt with the Val-d'Or Foreurs at the Air Creebec Centre. The puck drops at 7:30pm EST/8:30pm AST as the Sea Dogs look to capture their third straight victory on the road versus the lowest-ranked team in the QMJHL.
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from November 12, 2008
- First Period Meltdown Costs Juniors Win - Montreal Juniors
- Sea Dogs Take Down League Champs 3-2 - Saint John Sea Dogs
- Gordie Clark Named Honorary Captain For Game Two Of '08 Canada-Russia Challenge - Saint John Sea Dogs
- QMJHL Announces Honourary Captains for ADT Canada Russia Challenge - QMJHL
- Wildcats take control of CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top 10 Rankings - QMJHL
- Moncton takes top spot in rankings - QMJHL
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
