Sea Dogs Earn Hard-Fought 5-3 Win in Val-D'Or
Published on November 14, 2008 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release
VAL-D'OR, QC --- The Saint John Sea Dogs completed a season sweep of the Val-d'Or Foreurs on Friday night, handing the City of Gold's major junior squad a 5-3 loss at the Air Creebec Centre to improve to 2-0 on their current three-game road trip through Quebec.
With the two-goal victory, the Sea Dogs are now 14-9-1-1 on the season while the Foreurs fall to 2-19-1-1 following their home loss to Saint John.
After 40 minutes of exciting back-and-forth action produced a 3-3 deadlock on Friday, fourth-year Sea Dog Ryan Sparling scored twice in the third period to deliver his team to victory.
Mike Thomas, Simon Després, and Payton Liske also scored for the Sea Dogs, while Robert Mayer was named First Star of the Game after making 33 saves in improving his record to 12-9.
Meanwhile, the home team received offensive support from Jason Legault, Alex Noel, and Derek Famulare, while Raffaele D'Orso surrendered four goals on 25 shots faced in suffering his 17th defeat of the 08-09 campaign.
The Sea Dogs finish their season series against Val-d'Or with a perfect 2-0 record after outscoring the Foreurs 10-3 over the course of their two head-to-head matchups.
After the opening fifteen minutes of play saw neither team producing much in the way of offence, rugged winger Mike Thomas gave Saint John a 1-0 lead on a supersonic slap shot, absolutely hammering a loose puck past D'Orso to register his second goal of the season. Kyle Dilosa earned an assist on the successful scoring play, giving the 17-year old rookie out of Cheticamp, NS his first career QMJHL point.
Robert Mayer, fresh off of a Second Star of the Game, 29-save performance versus Gatineau on Wednesday, continued his strong play through the opening frame on Friday. The import goalie made 11 saves on as many shots faced to lead his team into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.
An impressive individual effort by former Sea Dog Alexandre Monahan then tied thing up at one apiece 8:13 into the second period. The 20-year old winger skated around a Saint John defender prior to feeding a streaking Alex Noel with a picture-perfect pass that the rookie promptly fired over Mayer's outstretched glove to tally his fifth marker of 2008-09.
The visiting squad from the Port City responded almost immediately, as only 22 seconds later a three-on-two rush ended with a goal off the stick of sophomore defenseman Simon Després which gave the Sea Dogs a 2-1 lead.
Derek Famulare then scored for Val-d'Or to re-tie the match at two apiece just 17 seconds after Després' goal, but veteran winger Payton Liske netted his forth goal of the month 22 seconds after that to give Saint John back the lead, wrapping up a frantic scoring frenzy which saw the Sea Dogs and Foreurs combine for four goals in only 1:01 of action.
Late in the middle frame and with a one-man advantage, Jason Legault scored his second goal of the year on a booming one-timer that beat Mayer through the five-hole as Friday's contest reached the forty minute mark with the score deadlocked 3-3.
The Sea Dogs took their fourth lead of the night three minutes into the third period, as Ryan Sparling fired a rebound produced by an Alex Grant shot past a sprawling D'Orso to put Saint John up 4-3 on a power play marker.
Saint John's defensive special teams unit then came up with a key penalty kill a few minutes later, preserving the visitors' one-goal lead in the process.
Sparling added an insurance marker for the Sea Dogs late in regulation, beating D'Orso on a high shot from a tough angle to both seal the deal his team's road win and earn himself a Third Star of the Game selection.
Up next for Saint John is a Saturday night showdown with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at Dave Keon Arena. The puck drops at 7:30pmEST/8:30pmAST as the Sea Dogs look to wrap up their three-game tour of Quebec with a win at the expense of the reigning regular season champions.
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from November 14, 2008
- Bérubé and Juniors Blank P.E.I. 1-0 - Montreal Juniors
- Sea Dogs Earn Hard-Fought 5-3 Win in Val-D'Or - Saint John Sea Dogs
- Anthony To Replace Injured DiDomenico At '08 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge - Saint John Sea Dogs
- Anthony will replace DiDomenico at the 2008 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge - QMJHL
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