Sea Dogs Take Down Rocket 5-3
Published on January 29, 2008 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release
CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. --- The Saint John Sea Dogs improved their 2007-08 record to 32-13-1-3 on Thursday night, defeating the P.E.I. Rocket by a score of 5-3 at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.
The Sea Dogs are now 5-0 versus the Rocket this season and have outscored their divisional rivals 39-17 over the course of their five head-to-head matches.
Saint John remains one point ahead of the Halifax Mooseheads in the race for the #1 position in the QMJHL East. The Mooseheads also earned two points on Tuesday, besting the St. John's Fog Devils by a score of 7-2 at the Halifax Metro Centre.
Ryan Sparling, Chris DiDomenico (2), Yann Sauvé, and Alexandre Picard-Hooper all scored for Saint John on Tuesday, while Dylan Quaile, Geoff Walker, and Martin Latal all tallied markers for P.E.I.
DiDomenico finished the night with 2G-2A-4P, both reclaiming the top spot in the QMJHL scoring race and establishing a new franchise record for points in a season with 76, surpassing the previous mark of 75 which he set last season as a rookie.
Robert Mayer earned the win in net for the Sea Dogs, making 25 saves on the evening to improve his record to 13-6 on the season. The import goaltender has been between the pipes for all five of Saint John's wins over P.E.I. this season. Meanwhile, Marc-Antoine Gelinas suffered the loss in goal for the Rocket, falling to 13-14 this year as a result.
After a back-and-forth opening few minutes, star defenseman Yann Sauvé gave the Sea Dogs a 1-0 lead with a highly-impressive unassisted goal. The 17-year old blue-liner intercepted a slow-moving P.E.I. pass at centre ice and carried the puck into the Rocket zone, skating between a pair of defenders prior to wiring a shot over Gelinas' right shoulder from a tight angle to earn his fourth goal of the year at the 7:47 mark of the first period.
The home team responded on the power play just 1:02 later, with Martin Latal banging a rebound past a sprawling Robert Mayer to record his 14th tally of 2007-08.
The Sea Dogs then regained the lead at the 9:48 mark of the opening frame when Chris DiDomenico and Ryan Sparling executed a perfect two-on-one rush, with DiDomenico carrying the puck deep into Rocket territory prior to hitting Sparling with a picture-perfect pass on the fly. The 19-year old winger made no mistake on the play, one-timing DiDomenico's feed to the back of the Rocket net to earn his 20th goal of the season.
Saint John went up by two 6:15 later when Alexandre Picard-Hooper scored on the power play. Sparling and DiDomenico both picked up assists on the goal, Picard-Hooper's 13th as a Sea Dog.
Geoff Walker pulled P.E.I. to within one of the Sea Dogs' lead 3:00 into the second period, beating Mayer with a well-placed shot during a Rocket power play to inflate his season goal total to 25.
The visitors then went back up by two with 8:27 remaining in the middle frame when Chris DiDomenico scored on a breakaway during a Sea Dogs penalty kill. The 18-year old sniper took a pass from Ryan Sparling in the neutral zone and raced into P.E.I. territory unmolested; he then avoided a poke-check attempt by Gelinas prior to firing a backhand shot to the back of the P.E.I. net to make the score 4-2 in favour of Saint John.
A moment later, Mayer came up huge for the Sea Dogs, stoning Mathew Lachaine on a breakaway to preserve the two-goal advantage for Port City's major junior squad.
Late in the second period, Lachaine and Ryan Sparling squared off in spirited bout in the Sea Dogs' zone, with both players landing some decent shots during the unlikely scrap between offensive specialists. Both forwards received 10-minute misconduct penalties following their split decision, as they had each removed their helmets prior to the commencement of the fight.
Sparling's draw gave him 1G-2A-3P-5PIM, earning the proverbial 'Gordie Howe Hat Trick' in just two periods of work.
Chris DiDomenico put Saint John up by three 5:54 into the third period, unleashing a howitzer of a slap shot from the slot that Gelinas couldn't come up with. The Rocket replied 3:55 later, with Dylan Quaile scoring his seventh goal of the season to pull the home team back to within two of the visitors.
That would be as close as P.E.I. would get however, as the Sea Dogs' defence was able to keep the Rocket's offence at bay for the duration of regulation's final frame, giving Saint John a 5-3 victory in the process.
Up next for the Sea Dogs is a Thursday night match versus the Victoriaville Tigres at Harbour Station. The action gets underway at 7:00pm as Saint John looks to defeat Victoriaville for the first time in franchise history.
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from January 29, 2008
- Sea Dogs Take Down Rocket 5-3 - Saint John Sea Dogs
- MAINEiacs Weekly Update - Lewiston MAINEiacs
- Howes suspended for three games - QMJHL
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