Sea Dogs Defeat Wildcats 6-2 in Front of 5,678 Fans at Harbour Station
October 8, 2010 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release
SAINT JOHN, NB --- A season-high 5,678 fans were on hand at Harbour Station on Friday night as the Saint John Sea Dogs remained perfect on home ice this season by defeating the Moncton Wildcats by a score of 6-2. Saint John is now 4-0-0-0 at home in 2010-11 and 6-2-0-1 overall.
The Sea Dogs performed well in all aspects of play in laying claim to an impressive home win over the Wildcats, outshooting their regional adversaries 33-23 while striking both short-handed and with the man advantage and going 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. By virtue of Friday's game result and attendance figure, Saint John now leads Moncton 5-0 in this year's Brunswick News Rivalry Cup standings.
Tomas Jurco (2), Simon Després, Nathan Beaulieu, Steven Anthony, and Stanislav Galiev all found the back of the net for Saint John in their convincing victory over the Hub City's major junior squad, with Daniel Pettersson and Marek Hrivik responding for Moncton in a losing effort. Meanwhile, between the pipes, Karel St-Laurent (21 saves) outdueled fellow overager Shane Owen (22 saves) to pick up his fourth win of the season.
Saint John drew first blood on Friday when veteran blue-liner Nathan Beaulieu fooled Owen on a long-distance wrist shot 1:21 into the first period. St-Laurent came up with a big stop a moment later, denying a slot-perched Simon Jodoin with a lightning-fast blocker save to keep his team's one-goal lead in tact.
Moncton managed to tie things up in the final minute of the opening stanza, with Daniel Pettersson sneaking a wraparound across the Sea Dogs' goal line to send Friday's intraprovincial showdown into intermission number one with the score deadlocked at one apiece.
Saint John took a 2-1 lead in the 34th minute of play when sophomore winger Zack Phillips hit a streaking Tomas Jurco with a picture-perfect backhand pass on the fly in Moncton territory. Jurco made no mistake on the chance, burying an equally-impressive backhand shot to improve his 2010-11 goals total to seven. The helper was the second of three on the night for Phillips, who ended up earning First Star of the Game honours. The Sea Dogs went up 3-1 courtesy of Washington Capitals prospect Stanislav Galiev, who roofed a loose puck over a sprawling Owen at the 13:50 mark of the middle frame to register his first tally of the season.
The hosts' offensive onslaught continued 1:46 later when veteran forward Steven Anthony beat Owen on a high backhander after skillfully negotiating his way through traffic during a Saint John power play. Kevin Gagné and Pierre Durepos both picked up assists on Anthony's man-up marker, which proved to be the final goal of a highly-productive second period for the Sea Dogs.
Moncton briefly reduced their deficit to two in the opening minute of period number three when Marek Hrivik fired a shot to the back of Saint John's net, but Tomas Jurco put the home team back up by three a moment later, sliding home a nifty backhander to record his second goal of the evening.
Superstar blue-liner Simon 'Big Horse' Després then put the Sea Dogs up 6-2 at the 6:08 mark of regulation's final stanza, ripping a wrist shot past Owen to tally his first goal of the season in his first game of the season after being reassigned to the Q earlier this week by the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. Jonathan Huberdeau and Michael Kirkpatrick each assisted on Després' short-handed marker.
Philippe Trudeau took over goaltending duties for Moncton in the late-going, managing to prevent his team's deficit from expanding into blowout territory with some solid play in net for the visitors. The Sea Dogs ultimately took the decision by a 6-2 final, moving to within a single point of the Wildcats (who have two games in hand) in the Maritime Division standings in the process.
Up next for Saint John is a Sunday afternoon showdown with Montreal at Harbour Station. The puck drops at 4pm as the Sea Dogs look to even their season series with the Juniors in the final meeting of the year between the two teams. Tickets to this contest can be obtained by calling the arena box office at (506) 657-1234, or by visiting www.harbourstation.ca .
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from October 8, 2010
- Pink Power Pushes MAINEiacs Past Victoriaville, 7-2 - Lewiston MAINEiacs
- Juniors Top Mooseheads - Montreal Juniors
- Sea Dogs Take Game One of Rivalry Cup - Moncton Wildcats
- Sea Dogs Defeat Wildcats 6-2 in Front of 5,678 Fans at Harbour Station - Saint John Sea Dogs
- Take 5 With Lewy's Legion The Carpenters - Lewiston MAINEiacs
- Mike Thomas Named Sea Dogs Captain for 2010-11 Season - Saint John Sea Dogs
- MAINEiacs Radio Voice Alex Reed Accepts ECHL Position - Lewiston MAINEiacs
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