Thursday, November 26, 2009

READY FOR ROUND TWO

Mike Hoffman burned his former team last Friday at the Marcel Dionne Centre. Hoffman scored the shootout winner and added an assist as the Sea Dogs escaped with a 4-3 victory.

"They still have their great work ethic and some of their younger guys have stepped up and played well,'' Hoffman said about his former team to the Telegraph-Journal. "That's why they're doing so well.

"We went in there and played a good game, and Drummondville played well, too. We knew it was going to give us an indication on how we compare to other top teams in the league. We found out we're right there, but we just have to keep working and get better.''

Saint John currently leads the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in terms of points with a record of 23-4-1-0.

"Drummondville skates really well and they work very hard," says Sea Dogs Head Coach Gerard Gallant in the Dog Bytes newsletter. "We haven't played Quebec yet this season but we know they've got a lot of talent on their roster. This weekend is definitely big for us."

Something that has caught national attention is the same thing that the Gallant and the Sea Dogs coaching staff are trying to keep out of the players heads. Saint John is on a 15 game winning streak and hasn’t lost since October 13 in Charlottetown.

"Every team that does something, they break records, or whatever," Nicholas Petersen said to CBC New Brunswick. "You have to be remembered in some way, so it's a great start and hopefully we build off it."

"The more the game's going, the more we think about it," said goaltender Marc-Antoine Gelinas. "We're definitely looking forward to this weekend. Both of our opponents will be playing hard, looking to gain ground on us in the overall standings. We'll be ready for a battle when we hit the ice in front of our home fans."

Gelinas has been a big part of the winning streak. The overage net minder leads the league among starters with a goals against average of 2.24. His save percentage stands at 0.923% and has a record of 15-3-0 this season.

The Sea Dogs, ranked second in the country, play Drummondville who are ranked fourth tomorrow night at Harbour Station at 7:30 pm. (News 88.9 FM, 7:25 pm)

"Obviously, we've moved up in the rankings in Canada and it's nice to be there, but it's not a big thing right now because it's the end of November," Gallant said.

Station Nation has your pre-game tomorrow.

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