Voltigeurs Down Sea Dogs 7-6 In A Shootout
Published on September 25, 2010 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release
DRUMMONDVILLE, QC --- The Drummondville Voltigeurs emerged victorious from a highly-entertaining hockey game on Saturday night, defeating the Saint John Sea Dogs by a score of 7-6 at the Marcel Dionne Centre. After sixty-five minutes of intense back-and-forth action produced a 6-6 deadlock, the Voltigeurs laid claim to victory by way of the shootout, outpacing the Sea Dogs 2-1 in the five-round breakaway contest.
Scott Oke (2), Jonathan Huberdeau, Steven Anthony, Danick Gauthier, and Tomas Jurco all scored for Saint John during regulation play on Saturday, while Nicolas Dionne, Sean Couturier, J-P Mathieu, Jonathan Brunelle, Julien Tremblay, and Marc-Olivier Vachon all tallied markers for the home team. Guillaume Nadeau (25 saves) picked up the win in net for Drummondville, while former Voltigeur Frédéric Piché suffered the loss between the pipes for the Sea Dogs after surrendering six goals on 41 shots faced.
The visitors struck first on Saturday when a crease-hovering Danick Gauthier banged home a fluttering puck out of mid-air to register his first goal of the season 2:22 into the first period. Vancouver Canucks prospect Steven Anthony drew the lone helper on the play.
Gauthier then returned the favour in setting Anthony up for his second goal of the year three minutes later, stealing the puck from a Voltiguers defender in enemy territory and chipping it ahead to his net-charging linemate. Anthony then managed to roof a shot over Nadeau's shoulder from an incredibly-difficult angle, giving the Sea Dogs a 2-0 lead in the process.
After Marc-Olivier Vachon scored to cut Saint John's lead in half at the 12:59 mark of the opening frame, sophomore scoring sensation Jonathan Huberdeau put the visitors up 3-1 in the sixteenth minute of play, briefly chasing Nadeau from the Drummondville net in tallying his fifth goal of the year on a feed from Tomas Jurco.
Promising young forward Scott Oke then scored the first goal of his career late in the opening frame, beating replacement Voltigeurs goaltender Dominic Graham with a nifty backhand shot at the tail-end of a breakaway set up by fellow 17-year-old winger Jason Cameron.
The Sea Dogs took a four-goal lead at the 6:29 mark of the middle frame when second-year forwards Tomas Jurco, Zack Phillips, and Stanislav Galiev joined forces to produce the fifth marker of the evening for Saint John. Jurco finished the impressive passing play off by one-timing a stellar Galiev feed to the back of Drummondville's net to improve his 2010-11 goals total to six.
A low, hard shot off the stick of Julien Tremblay reduced the hosts' deficit to three at the midway mark of the match. The Voltigeurs then struck on the power play a moment later, with Jonathan Brunelle netting the fourth goal of his season to make the score 5-3 in favour of the visiting squad from south western New Brunswick. Drummondville pulled to within immediate striking distance of their opponents when J-P Mathieu finished off a short-handed two-on-one rush by jamming his first of the year across the Saint John goal line.
Scott Oke gave the Sea Dogs an insurance goal early in the third period, burying a picture-perfect cross-ice feed from Danick Gauthier to put his team up 6-4. Reigning QMJHL scoring champion Sean Couturier then pulled the Voltigeurs back to within one of the visitors, knocking a rebound past Piché at the three minute mark of regulation's closing stanza.
The Voltigeurs produced the equalizer nine minutes later when Nicolas Dionne fired a one-timer to the back of the Sea Dogs' net to make the first goal of his season of the clutch variety. Neither team was able to break the scoreboard deadlock throughout the duration of regulation, necessitating extra time in Saturday's showdown.
Frédéric Piché came up with his biggest stop of the night on Marc-Olivier Vachon in overtime, stoning the proficient sniper with a lightning fast glove hand to prevent the hosts from capturing a sudden-death win. Vachon's chance proved to be the closest the OT session came to producing a victor, forcing a penalty shot showdown.
Alexandre Comtois and Ondrej Palat both found the back of the net in the shootout for Drummondville, while Tomas Jurco tallied the lone marker of the post-OT skills competition for Saint John as the Voltigeurs took the decision by a 7-6 final.
The Sea Dogs' next match will be played on Friday, October 1 at 7pm in Halifax against the Mooseheads. Saint John will face the Moncton Wildcats in their next home game, scheduled to take place on Friday, October 8 at 7:30pm.
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from September 25, 2010
- Thrilling Third Period Leads MAINEiacs Past Titan - Lewiston MAINEiacs
- Voltigeurs Down Sea Dogs 7-6 In A Shootout - Saint John Sea Dogs
- Wildcats Come From Behind to Complete Perfect Road Trip - Moncton Wildcats
- \Juniors Win Second Home Game in as Many Days - Montreal Juniors
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