Sea Dogs Defeat Titan
November 13, 2010 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release
SAINT JOHN, NB --- The Saint John Sea Dogs picked up their tenth home win of the season on Saturday night, defeating the Acadie-Bathurst Titan by a score of 5-3 in front of 4,129 fans at Harbour Station. Saint John (17-3-0-2) now leads second-place Acadie-Bathurst (15-9-0-0) by six points in the QMJHL's Maritime Division.
Simon Després, Michael Kirkpatrick, Tomas Jurco, Scott Oke, and Steven Anthony all scored for the Sea Dogs on Saturday while Zach O'Brien, Olivier Hotte, and Gabriel Lévesque each tallied markers for the Titan in a losing effort. Meanwhile, between the pipes, veteran goalie Frédéric Piché (30 saves) picked up his ninth win of the season for Saint John while Edmonton Oilers prospect Olivier Roy (34 saves) suffered his seventh loss in net for Acadie-Bathurst. Click HERE to view a complete box score from Saturday's game.
The Sea Dogs struck first on Saturday as a long-range wrist shot off the stick of superstar blue-liner Simon Després made its way to the back of Acadie-Bathurst's net in the third minute of play, giving the Pittsburgh Penguins prospect his fourth goal of the season. Veteran forward Danick Gauthier picked up the lone assist on the play. Saint John registered several additional high-quality scoring chances throughout the duration of the first period, but some exceptional work by Olivier Roy prevented the hosts from further adding to their lead. The Titan then produced the equalizer with 4.5 seconds remaining in the opening frame when Olivier Hotte deflected a teammate's shot past Piché during an Acadie-Bathurst power play to send the match into intermission number one with the score deadlocked at one apiece.
Saint John pulled ahead 2-1 early in the second period, with Vancouver Canucks prospect Steven Anthony banging home a loose puck to improve his 2010-11 goals total to seven. On the ensuing faceoff, Team Captain Mike Thomas further added to his team's surging momentum by besting Christophe Losier in a bout of fisticuffs at centre ice, much to the delight of the Harbour Station faithful.
Overage centre Michael Kirkpatrick then gave the home team a 3-1 lead at the 8:32 mark of the middle frame, wiring home his eighth of the year on a blistering wrist shot that eluded Roy on its netward journey. Stanislav Galiev and Gabriel Bourret both drew helpers on Kirkpatrick's man-up marker.
Frédéric Piché came up big for the Sea Dogs a moment later, denying Gabriel Lévesque of a breakaway goal by virtue of a lightning-fast glove save. Lévesque did manage to get the puck past Piché during a late-stanza power play however, thereby reducing his team's deficit to one as Saturday's intradivisional showdown reached the forty minute mark.
Rookie forward Scott Oke gave the home team an insurance marker early in the third period, redirecting an Aidan Kelly feed past Roy to pick up the third tally of his season. After Zach O'Brien shoveled a backhander past a sprawling Piché midway through regulation's final frame, import sniper Tomas Jurco sealed the deal for Saint John late in the period, hammering a low one-timer past Roy on a play setup nicely by First Star of the Game Gabriel Bourret. The Titan were unable to pull back to within immediate striking distance of their opponents in the late-going as the Sea Dogs ultimately took the decision by a 5-3 final.
Up next for the Port City's major junior squad is a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Quebec Remparts at Harbour Station. The puck drops at 4pm as Saint John looks to earn a victory in a much-anticipated match pitting a pair of nationally-ranked squads against one another. Tickets to this contest can be obtained by calling the arena box office at (506) 657-1234, or by visiting www.tickets.harbourstation.ca.
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from November 13, 2010
- First Period Explosion Keys Lewiston Victory - Lewiston MAINEiacs
- Sea Dogs Defeat Titan - Saint John Sea Dogs
- Hard Fought Battle Leads to 4-0 Loss for Wildcats in Drummondville - Moncton Wildcats
- Juniors Lose in Gatineau - Montreal Juniors
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