Saint John wins Ttans battle over Quebec

QUEBEC CITY , P.Q. — Sunday afternoon game between the Sea Dogs and the Remparts represented a lot for Quebec, a game the Quebec headcoach Patrick Roy used to evaluate his team against the best in the QMJHL. Unfortunately a goal with seven seconds remaining in second period by Saint John made the big difference in favor of the Sea Dogs winning 4-2 over Quebec with the insurance goal scored in the third period.
 

The Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant was the first to recognize it wasn’t easy for his team having to play a third game in less than seventy-two hours.
 
“It was a tough game, you play a third game in two and a half days and their goaltender was big part of the game today, he played real well,” the Sea Dogs coach Gallant said after the game. “We capitalized on our scoring chances and I thought we had a real good third period. The guys knew they didn’t play until next Thursday so they let all out today.”
 
Saint John head coach also talked about the importance of the game in Quebec even if it was their third game in as many days.
 
“We could make an excused after the game but I told our players before the game started, there are no excuse today you guys going to have to play and work hard, we aren’t tired we rest lots of guys and the travel wasn’t bad.”
 
“Obviously when you play a team like Quebec they are one of two teams with Montreal in the standing so you want to come in here and there is a real important game. There are no games that give you more than two points but it’s a real important game and you want to play a good game. It can be fun playing those games. They play the same style as us; they like to move the puck, they skate well so they are the same kind of team we are.”
 
Both teams played a solid first period exchanging good scoring chances even if the visiting team came out on top after the first twenty minutes leading 2-1. The line of Stanislav Galiev (1g-1a), Jonathan Huberdeau (0g-1a) and Zack Philips (1g-1a) ended the game totaling five points.
 
Galiev was the first Sea Dog to break the ice with only 55 seconds gone in the opening period when his shot beat Quebec goaltender low on his left pad.
 
Quebec tied the game 1-1 on rookie forward Axel Rioux’s 7^th of the year tooling his shot in an empty net after receiving a nice pass from his teammate defenseman Alex Wall who sped past Sea Dogs goaltender Jacob DeSerres 6:32 into first period.
 
But with less then five minutes remaining in the first period Saint John came back regaining a one goal lead with Mickael Kirkpatrick’s 19^th of the regular season. Quebec ended first period leading on shots on goal department 13-10 but trailing by one on the main scoreboard.
 
The 12751 fans who came to see their favorite regained confidence when Quebec tied the game two all with a Ryan Bourque goal 50 seconds into the middle period. Olivier Hinse in a two-on-one made a nice pass to the son of Raymond Bourque who beat the Sea Dogs netminder between his pads.
 
But again Saint John came back this time with a goal with only seven seconds remaining in the second period, a goal scored from almost the goal line (impossible angle), a goal scored by Zack Philips when his team had a man advantage.
 
Saint John’s insurance goal came in the third period from the stick of Alexandre Beauregard, his 6^th of the year at 12:12. His wrist shot from the slot beat Quebec netminder on his left side.
 
Quebec Captain Mikael Tam in front of his stall answered reporter’s questions like a man not hiding the truth.
 
“We gave up a goal that killed us at the end of second period,” Tam said. “We didn’t let it go in the third, we put lots of pressure on their defense and that’s when it went well for us. We weren’t able to score but they got a third goal that killed us in the third. We lose 4-2 but we know we can play with them, there are little things that hurt us (turnovers created by Quebec).”
 
“They are a team with lots of skills so when you make a mistake they make you pay the price. Against them you have to play along the boards winning the one-on-one battle, if you try to play fancy against them you won’t win. You have to drive the net and take the rebounds; you can’t play fancy because they will win the game.” Remparts said after the game.
 
Quebec head coach Roy wasn’t discouraged after the game but he was honest recognizing the strength of Saint John team.
 
“The goal at the end of second period breaks the momentum on our side in the third period. But on the other end we can’t look for any excuses, we didn’t have any reasons to come stronger in the third. Overall we saw good things but we know one thing they (Sea Dogs) are very strong. To beat this team in the series it will take a heck of a game. If we would like to have a chance against a team like that we will need a better performance of our goaltender. We will need an excellent performance from our netminder, we will need to see our defensemen play very well on defense and we will need to see our four lines works at their best.”
 
Quebec next game will be this Wednesday January 26 hosting the Rimouski Oceanics.
 
Other games in the QMJHL
Moncton 5 vs. PEI 4
Victoriaville 4 vs. Cape Breton 1
Gatineau 0 vs. Montreal 2
Lewiston 3 vs. Rimouski 1
 
Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com