Sea Dogs fall to Mooseheads 2-1 in a SO
Published on January 20, 2008 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release
HALIFAX, NS --- An epic heavyweight bout between the top two contenders in the QMJHL East was staged at the Halifax Metro Centre on Sunday afternoon, with the Saint John Sea Dogs and Halifax Mooseheads exchanging blows with fierce rapidity throughout an incredibly competitive 65-plus minute match.
After the two squads skated to a 1-1 draw over the course of the opening three periods and overtime, a shootout was required to determine a victor in the contest; Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Jakub Voracek scored the lone goal in the post-OT breakaway showdown, resultantly propelling Halifax to victory.
Both teams' goaltenders played exceptionally well on Sunday, with Halifax's Pier-Olivier Pelletier and Saint John's Travis Fullerton each making countless highlight-reel saves throughout the match. Pelletier went 3-for-3 in the shootout, solidifying his First Star of the Game position in doing so. Fullerton grabbed Third Star honours, while Sea Dogs Captain Alex Grant was named the game's Second Star after logging a superhuman amount of ice time.
Payton Liske notched the lone Sea Dogs regulation marker in the third period, while Colby Pridham scored Halifax's only pre-shootout goal in the second. Both tallies were earned on the power play.
Despite suffering a loss on Sunday, Saint John remains one point up on the Mooseheads in the QMJHL East standings. These two teams will next face each other on the last day of the regular season - March 16 in Halifax.
Exciting end-to-end action took place throughout a highly-entertaining opening twenty minutes of play on Sunday, with neither squad managing to register a goal despite splitting a quartet of power play sessions.
Keven Charland registered arguably the strongest scoring opportunity for Saint John in the first, getting off a solid shot from close range midway through the frame that Pelletier managed to block in spectacular fashion. Pelletier tallied nine saves on nine shots in the first, three of which came off the stick of aggressive Saint John forward Scott Howes.
Fullerton was also sharp in the opening frame, making 16 saves on 16 shots and establishing a strong presence in the Sea Dogs net early on by virtue of his stellar play.
Halifax was able to convert on their third power play opportunity of the afternoon early in the second period, with Colby Pridham netting his eighth goal of the season 2:28 into the middle frame as the home team went up 1-0 in the twenty-third minute of play.
Chris DIDomenico very nearly tied things up a few moments later, breaking in all alone on Pelletier and making an impressive deking manoeuvre prior to getting off a solid backhand shot that the Mooseheads' veteran goal was miraculously able to get a blocker on as the home team continued to lead by one.
Pelletier came up big again soon thereafter following a play which saw Alexandre Picard-Hooper stripping Jakub Voracek of the puck deep in Mooseheads territory and feeding a streaking Scott Howes with a picture-perfect pass in the slot. Howes' wrist shot was labelled for the top corner of Halifax's net, but Pelletier made use of a lightning-fast glove hand in keeping the puck from crossing the line and bulging the twine.
The Sea Dogs continued to apply heavy pressure in the Mooseheads' zone throughout the duration of the second period, but were unable to get anything past Pelletier, who made seven saves in the frame, the vast majority of which were exceptionally challenging, as Sunday's match reached the forty-minute mark with the home team clinging to a precarious one-goal advantage.
Regulation's final frame opened with a power play opportunity for the visitors, as Mooseheads defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk had been assessed a two-minute minor with three seconds remaining in the second. The home team registered the lone scoring opportunity of the two-minute session however, as Team Canada alumnus Brad Marchand was able to earn a breakaway during Halifax's successful penalty kill. Fullerton blocked the speedy forward's backhand attempt with a dynamic pad save however, keeping the Sea Dogs within immediate striking distance of Halifax in doing so.
A few minutes later, Saint John earned an enormous 5-on-3 opportunity after Guillaume Monast and Logan MacMillan were sent to the penalty box within 1:13 of one another. The Sea Dogs came up empty on their two-man advantage, but red-hot winger Payton Liske was able to beat Pelletier after pouncing on a rebound produced by a Jeff McNeil point shot with one second remaining in the latter penalty, thusly earning his 12th goal of 2007-08 at a highly opportune time.
The Mooseheads went back on the power play late in regulation, but the Sea Dogs' penalty killing unit came up huge, sending Sunday's contest into overtime in the process.
In the extra frame, neither team was able to clinch sudden-death victory, with Alexandre Picard-Hooper registering the best chance for Saint John and Ryan Hillier the highest-quality scoring opportunity for Halifax.
Following he scoreless five-minute OT, Pelletier was able to shut down Scott Howes, Chris DiDomenico, and Payton Liske in succession during the decisive shootout, while Jakub Voracek was able to score in the opening round of the breakaway contest to clinch a big win for the Mooseheads.
The 30-12-1-3 Sea Dogs will next hit the ice on Thursday night when they play host to the Drummondville Voltigeurs at Harbour Station. Game time is scheduled for 7:00pm.
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from January 20, 2008
- Fog Devils weekly - St. John's Fog Devils
- Sea Dogs fall to Mooseheads 2-1 in a SO - Saint John Sea Dogs
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