QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs

Sea Dogs Drop Decision to Kootenay

Published on May 24, 2011 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release


MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - The Saint John Sea Dogs suffered their first loss at the MasterCard Memorial Cup, falling 5-4 to the Kootenay Ice in overtime Tuesday after battling back to force the extra frame.

Matt Fraser's sharp-angle shot from the right wing eluded Saint John goalie Mathieu Corbeil for the winning goal as Kootenay kept its hopes alive by advancing to a tie-breaker game on Thursday.

Fraser also scored in regulation, with Kootenay's other goals coming from Drew Czerwonka, Kevin King and Jesse Ismond. Max Reinhart racked up four assists and Brayden McNabb chipped in two helpers as the Ice rode a 3-for-6 power play performance to the win. King picked up an assist as well, and Nathan Lieuwen made 19 saves in goal.

Tomas Jurco had a pair for Saint John, including the tying goal with the goaltender pulled to run his tournament-best total to four. Ryan Tesink and Kevin Gagne also bulged the twine and Corbeil made 40 stops in the loss.

The national major junior championship tournament runs through May 29, when the Sea Dogs will compete for the Cup against an opponent yet to be determined. Tim Roszell will have the call on News 88.9 FM. The games will also be televised nationally by Rogers Sportsnet and a webcast is available at http://mastercardmemorialcup.insinc.com/

Having already clinched a spot in the final, the Sea Dogs used Tuesday's game as a chance to rest veterans battling illness and injuries and give some playing time to players who have seen lesser roles in the playoffs. Corbeil got the start in goal and was backed up by Jacob Edwards, dressing for his first-ever game as a Sea Dog. On defense, Jason Seed got into his third post-season game, while Spencer MacDonald made his first playoff appearance. Up front, Devon Oliver-Dares, who played one playoff game, got back into the lineup. Forwards Michael Kirkpatrick and Danick Gauthier took advantage of the chance to rest nagging hurts, as did defenseman Simon Despres (bronchitis), and goalie Jacob DeSerres, who watched the game from the stands.

The Sea Dogs opened the scoring when Tesink's shot from the left-wing circle beat Lieuwen at 1:26 of the second. Zack Phillips and Gabriel Bourret collected the assists. Jurco made it 2-0 at 5:33, taking a pass from Stanislav Galiev and flipping a backhander up and over Lieuwen.

Kootenay came back however, with Czerwonka solving Corbeil when he grabbed the puck off the back boards and tucked it in to on a power play at 13:13 of the second. The penalty trouble continued for the Sea Dogs, who found themselves down 5-on-3 later in the period. The two-man kill started well, with Corbeil flashing a big glove save on Brayden McNabb. But the Kootenay captain would not be denied, blasting a one-timer through from the right-wing circle that King tipped past Corbeil to even the score.

The Ice took the lead just 23 seconds into the third when Jesse Ismond knocked in a rebound on the doorstep to make it 3-2.

Saint John equalized at 2:10 of the final frame when Jonathan Huberdeau faked a shot on the right wing, then passed to Gagne coming up the middle. His low shot beat Lieuwen, with a slight deflection from a backchecker. Nathan Beaulieu picked up the other assist.

Kootenay pulled back in front, however, on yet another power play. This time it was Fraser, who took a nice feed in the right-wing circle from Reinhart and ripped home a shot to make it 4-3.

Jurco scored a tough one to send the game to overtime. After absorbing a beating in front of the net with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, the puck deflected in off Jurco's face with 14.5 seconds left.

But Kootenay stayed alive when Fraser fired a shot from the right-wing boards that proved to be the winner at 3:55 of extra time.

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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from May 24, 2011


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