QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs

Three-point night for Despres; Gauthier scores twice in 6-1 victory over Baie-Comeau Drakkar

January 29, 2011 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release


SAINT JOHN, N.B. - For the third time in four seasons, the Saint John Sea Dogs have reached the 40-win mark, topping the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 6-1 Saturday to achieve the milestone.

First star Simon Despres scored twice and added an assist to lead the Sea Dogs to victory before 4,652 fans Saturday at Harbour Station. Second star Danick Gauthier added two goals and Steven Anthony and Eric Gelinas chipped in singles. Michael Kirkpatrick contributed two assists, while Pierre Durepos had an assist and a plus-4 rating and was named third star. Jacob DeSerres stopped 17 shots for the win as the Sea Dogs ran their record to 40-5-1-2.

Lukas Cingel had the lone Baie-Comeau goal and Simon Giroux made 28 saves in the loss. The Drakkar fell to 7-36-5-4.

Baie-Comeau surprised the Sea Dogs by scoring first, just 4:20 into the first period. A lively bounce off the back boards went the Drakkar's way and Cingel snuck into the high slot and whacked the puck into an open net.

Despres drew the Sea Dogs level at 14:30 of the first, firing a wrist shot from the right point that found its way through a forest of bodies and sticks and into the net. Kirkpatrick and Pierre Durepos picked up the assists.

The Big Horse scored again to make it 2-1 at 17:28, firing another perfectly timed shot from the right point. The goal, Despres' 11th of the year, was unassisted, but Alexandre Beauregard and Anthony helped create traffic in front to screen Giroux.

Gauthier padded the lead to 3-1 on a power play at 12:40 of the second period. The veteran forward took a pass from Kirkpatrick inside the blueline and snapped it high to the glove side on Giroux. Tomas Jurco had the other assist on the goal.

Anthony made it 4-1 with just 44 seconds remaining in the middle frame. After Despres threw the puck in front, Anthony's first whack was stopped, but he finished his second as he was dumped to the ice by two Baie-Comeau defenders.

In the third period, Gauthier extended the lead to 5-1, adding an unassisted short-handed goal while being hauled to the ice on a breakaway at 5:07. The goal was Gauthier's eighth of the year. Gelinas completed the summary at 14:30, taking a feed from Kevin Gagne and one-timing a blast past Giroux to make it 6-1. Stanislav Galiev collected the other assist on the goal, the 11th of the year for Gelinas.

The teams renew acquaintances Sunday at 4 p.m. Sunday's game is Francofans Day, with live music from Tradition beginning at 3 p.m., and 4-for-$44 ticket packages available. Tickets can be obtained by calling the Harbour Station box office at (506) 657-1234, or by visiting www.tickets.harbourstation.ca.

Check out the Saint John Sea Dogs Statistics



Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from January 29, 2011


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