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QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs

Juniors defeat Sea Dogs 3-1

February 21, 2009 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release


SAINT JOHN, NB --- On the strength of a highly-impressive 34-save performance by star net minder Jake Allen, the Montreal Juniors defeated the Saint John Sea Dogs by a score of 3-1 on Saturday night in front of over five thousand fans at Harbour Station.

Special teams play proved to be a major factor in Saturday's outcome, as the Sea Dogs were unable to capitalize on any of their nine man-up opportunities throughout a gritty, penalty-filled match, while the Juniors went 3-for-7 on the power play in laying claim to their 30th victory of 2008-09.

By virtue of Saturday's win, Montreal takes the season series between these two teams two-games-to-one.

Import defenseman Dmitri Kostromitin led the way for the Juniors offensively, scoring twice to double his seasonal goals total to four. Matt Fillier also struck for the visitors on Saturday, while Mike Thomas tallied the lone marker for Saint John.

Sea Dogs goalie Robert Mayer made 28 saves in a losing effort. The 19-year old Montreal Canadiens prospect is now 22-25 in his sophomore campaign. Allen, meanwhile, improves to 26-22 with the win.

Both goaltenders played exceptionally well throughout the opening frame, with Mayer and Allen combining for 17 stops as Saint John went 0-for-4 on the power play and Montreal 0-for-3.

The Juniors broke the scoreless tie early in the second period, as Dmitri Kostromitin banged home a rebound produced by a Nick Layton blast in the twenty-first minute of play to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Saint John went on their fifth power play of the night five minutes later, earning several prime scoring chances during the two-minute five-on-four session as Louis-Marc Aubry served a too-many-men-on-the-ice bench minor. Jake Allen continued to confound the Sea Dogs' shooters however, exhibiting outstanding command of his position as he turned aside shot after shot between the pipes for Montreal.

With Josh Schram in the penalty box, the Juniors doubled their lead 9:16 into the middle frame, as Matt Fillier made no mistake from close range after being set up nicely by Philippe Fontaine deep in Saint John territory. The veteran winger wired a bullet of a shot past Mayer's blocker to tally his 17th marker of the year.

Montreal was awarded a penalty shot 45 seconds later, as Stephen MacAulay was deemed to have hooked Guillaume Asselin on a ‘breakaway'. The rookie's attempt sailed wide of the Sea Dogs' net however, as the home team's deficit remained at two as the game reached its midway point.

The hosts continued to pepper Allen with shots throughout the duration of the central stanza, but the St. Louis Blues draft pick and Fredericton native was able to continually thwart his opponents' best efforts in sending Saturday's match into its second intermission with the Juniors ahead 2-0.

Overage forward Shea Kewin took it upon himself to inject a healthy dose of adrenaline into the Sea Dogs' collective demeanour early in period number three, challenging Pier-Antonie Dion to a fight which he won handily. The Sea Dogs were unable to convert the momentum created by Kewin's successful scrap into quantitative offence however, as Montreal's goaltender maintained his sensational level of play well into regulation's final frame.

Steven Anthony finally beat Allen 53:30 into the game, but the second-year forward's ten-foot snap shot struck the crossbar on the tail end of a lengthy scramble in Juniors territory.

With 3:28 remaining in the third, rugged Saint John winger Mike Thomas was at long last able to get his team on the scoreboard. After a successful face-off win by Michael Kirkpatrick at Montreal's end of the ice, Thomas grabbed the puck and bulldozed his way through a pair of Juniors defenders prior to jamming home the fifth goal of his season, cutting the visitors' lead in half in the process.

Montreal was able to restore their two-goal advantage fifty seconds later however, as Dmitry Kostromitin unleashed a rocket of a one-timer from the point that beat Mayer high and secured a road win for the Telus West Division's second-ranked team.

Up next for the Sea Dogs is a Sunday afternoon tilt with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. The puck drops at 4pm as Saint John seeks their second win of the year versus the team immediately above them in the QMJHL Atlantic standings. Tickets to this intra-divisional clash can be obtained by calling the Harbour Station Box Office at 657-1234.

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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from February 21, 2009


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