QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs

Gelinas Bags OT Winner To Sink Former Mates

January 22, 2011 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release


CHICOUTIMI, Que. - Eric Gelinas scored the overtime winner against his former team as the Saint John Sea Dogs gutted out their second straight one-goal win on the road, 4-3 over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

Gelinas drifted in from the point and fired a shot that found its way through Christopher Gibson for the margin of victory 2:51 into the extra frame. It was the 10th goal of the season for Gelinas, and his first as a Sea Dog in six games since being acquired from Chicoutimi.

Stephen MacAulay had a goal and two assists, Michael Kirkpatrick scored and set up another, and Stanislav Galiev added a single as the Sea Dogs built a 3-0 lead before the home side charged back to force OT. Mathieu Corbeil turned away 23 shots for his second straight win as Saint John improved its record to 37-5-1-2.

Steve Lebel, Napessis Andre and Alexandre Roy had the Chicoutimi goals, while Guillaume Asselin assisted on all three. Gibson suffered the loss despite turning in a 37-save performance. Chicoutimi fell to 16-21-4-6.

There was no scoring in the first period, but it ended with some fireworks as Nathan Beaulieu handled Roy in a middleweight bout after the buzzer.

The deadlock continued until late in the second period, when the Sea Dogs finally broke through. Just after a video review confirmed a Chicoutimi wraparound attempt was unsuccessful, the Sea Dogs came back the other way to score.

MacAulay won a defensive-zone faceoff to Corbeil's left, and the Sea Dogs quickly broke out of their own end and worked the puck ahead to Kirkpatrick, who got in behind the defense and deked Gibson for his 18th of the year. MacAulay and Tomas Jurco picked up assists on the scoring play at 16:14.

Galiev sent Saint John to the dressing room with a 2-0 lead, taking a feed from Jonathan Huberdeau and ripping it past Gibson at 18:54. Zack Phillips had the other assist on the goal, Galiev's 22nd of the year and fifth in four games.

After outshooting Chicoutimi 16-8 in the second period, the Dogs picked right up where they left off in the third. MacAulay scored his 12th of the year on a power play at 1:03 of on a shot from the top of the left circle, put on a tee for him by Nathan Beaulieu. Kirkpatrick picked up the other assist.

But the Sags charged back in the latter half of the third. Lebel got them on the board at 10:13, then Andre drew them within one on a power play at 15:26. Roy tied it 3-3 on another power play at 18:44, redirecting an Andre shot on a play that was reviewed as a possible high-stick.

That sent the game to overtime, setting up Gelinas' clutch game-winner in front of his former home crowd. Gelinas got his shot on net with traffic in front and his new teammates streamed off the bench to congratulate him in the corner after the red light went on.

The Dogs are back in action Sunday with a 4 p.m. start in Quebec against the Remparts, a matchup of the league's top two teams. Sea Dogs play-by-play voice Tim Roszell will have the call on News 88.9 FM. Fans can also catch all the action online via the official TELUS QMJHL webcast (click HERE to order; charges apply).

Saint John's next home games are Jan. 29 and 30 against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Tickets can be obtained by calling the Harbour Station box office at (506) 657-1234, or by visiting www.tickets.harbourstation.ca.

Check out the Saint John Sea Dogs Statistics



Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from January 22, 2011


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.

OurSports Central