Monday, November 8, 2010

PRE-GAME: Subway Super Series - Game 1

GAME DAY

What: 2010 Subway Super Series – Game One
Who: Team Russia vs Team QMJHL
When: 7:00 PM AST
Where: Harbour Station, Saint John, NB

SHOW TIME
The city of Saint John will be at the center of the Canadian junior hockey world this evening as the 2010 Subway Super Series kicks off at 7pm at Harbour Station.

A sell-out crowd (or at least close to one) will be in hand to watch a Russian national junior team take on the best world junior eligible Canadians from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In the past, the Canadian Hockey League has had the upper hand versus the Russians. But back in 2008 when Saint John last hosted the event, Team QMJHL fell 4-3 to the visitors.

This match will feature four Saint John Sea Dogs – defenseman Nathan Beaulieu and forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Zach Phillips for Team QMJHL and forward Stanislav Galiev joins the Russians. Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant will be an assistant tonight.

There will be lots of future National Hockey League players featured in the game as well as players who will be on Team Canada at the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo this Christmas season.

Love this event or hate this event – it’s the best Canadians in the QMJHL on one sheet of ice. Enjoy it.

VISITING TEAM: Team Russia
Record: 0-0-0-0
All-Time vs CHL: 6-36
All-Time vs QMJHL: 5-9
Fun Fact: The Russians have not won a game at this event since November 19, 2008 – a 4-3 win at Harbour Station.
Roster:

Forwards:
Stanislav Bocharov (Ak Bars, Kazan)
Anton Burdasov (Traktor, Chelyabinsk)
Nikita Dvurechensky (OHK Dynamo)
Denis Golubev (Ak Bars, Kazan)
Sergey Kalinin (Avangard, Omsk)
Maxim Kitsyn (Metallurg, Novokuznetsk)
Alexey Kruchinin (VMF, Sankt-Peterburg)
Vladimir Malinovskiy (Metallurg, Magnitogorsk)
Artemiy Panarin (Vityaz, Chekhov)
Daniil Sobchenko (Lokomotiv, Yaroslavl)
Artem Voronin (Spartak, Moscow)
Pavel Zdunov (Metallurg, Magnitogorsk)

Defencemen:
Zakhar Arzamastsev (Metallurg, Novokuznetsk)
Georgy Berdyukov (SKA, Sankt-Petersburg)
Maxim Berezin (Neftekhimik, Nizhnekamsk)
Mikhail Grigoryev (Ak Bars, Kazan)
Maxim Ignatovich (Sibir, Novosibirsk)
Nikita Pivtsakin (Avangard, Omsk)
Andrey Sergeev (Neftekhimik, Nizhnekamsk)
Yuri Urychev (Lokomotiv, Yaroslavl)

Goaltenders:
Emil Garipov (Neftyanik, Almetyevsk)
Dmitry Shikin (Amur, Khabarovsk)

QMJHL Games:
Stanislav Galiev (Saint John Sea Dogs)
Artem Sergeyev (Val d’Or Foreurs)
HOME TEAM: Team QMJHL
Record: 0-0-0-0
All-Time vs Russia (CHL): 36-6
All-Time vs Russia (QMJHL): 9-5
Fun Fact: According to Wikipedia, the QMJHL has three of the CHL’s four all-time regulations loses against Russia.
Roster (for tonight’s game only):

Goaltenders:
Jean-Francois Bérubé, Montreal Juniors
Olivier Roy, Acadie-Bathurst Titan

Defencemen:
Nathan Beaulieu, Saint John Sea Dogs
Nicolas Deslauriers, Gatineau Olympiques
Simon Després, Saint John Sea Dogs Eric Gelinas, Chicoutimi Sagueneens
Jérome Gauthier-Leduc, Rimouski Oceanic
Brandon Gormley, Moncton Wildcats
Ryan Kavanagh, Rimouski Oceanic
Xavier Ouellet, Montreal Juniors
Charles-Olivier Roussel, Montreal Juniors

Forwards:
Guillaume Asselin, Chicoutimi Sagueneens
Louis-Marc Aubry, Montreal Juniors Alex Saulnier, Moncton Wildcats
Michael Bournival, Shawinigan Cataractes
Sean Couturier, Drummondville Voltigeurs
Jonathan Huberdeau, Saint John Sea Dogs
Brandon Hynes, Victoriaville Tigres
Louis Leblanc, Montreal Juniors Phillip Danault, Victoriaville Tigres
Philippe Lefebvre, Montreal Juniors
Jonathan Lessard, Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Philippe Paradis, PEI Rocket
Trevor Parkes, Montreal Juniors
Zack Phillips, Saint John Sea Dogs
SAULNIER REPLACES AUBRY
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in collaboration with the Canadian Hockey League announced on November 3rd that Moncton Wildcats forward Alex Saulnier will suit up for game one of the Subway Super Series. Saulnier will replace Montreal Juniors forward Louis-Marc Aubry who will miss the game due to injury.

GELINAS REPLACES DESPRES
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in collaboration with the Canadian Hockey League announced yesterday that Chicoutimi Saguenéens defenseman Éric Gélinas will suit up for game one of the Subway Super Series. Gélinas will replace Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Després who will miss the game due to injury.
According to today’s Telegraph-Journal, Despres will also miss Game Two in Drummondville on Wednesday. As previously reported, Despres also told the paper he has been suffering from a shoulder injury. He missed this past weekend’s game with a believed hip injury.

DANAULT REPLACES LEBLANC
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in collaboration with the Canadian Hockey League announced yesterday that Victoriaville Tigres forward Phillip Danault will take part in the Subway Super Series which starts today in Saint John. Danault will replace Montreal Juniors forward Louis Leblanc who will miss the game after sustaining an injury this weekend.

GAUTHIER-LEDUC OUT
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in collaboration with the Canadian Hockey League announced yesterday that Rimouski Océanic defenseman Jérôme Gauthier-Leduc will miss the Subway Super Series due to injury.

WE'RE TALKING 'BOUT PRACTICE
Both Team QMJHL and Team Russia practiced this morning at Harbour Station. Here is a shot of Team QMJHL from the Sea Dogs' Twitter page:


TICKETS
At the time of this posting, there were still seats available for this evening's game at Harbour Station. They can be bought by phone, internet, or by visiting the box office. Select Subway locations are offering customers the chance to obtain a discounted upper bowl ticket with the purchase of any six-inch sub.

When the seats are all gone, it is expected that standing room tickets will be made available.

CEREAL
Fans are reminded to bring a box of cereal or oatmeal to tonight’s game. The boxes will be donated to local school breakfast programs.

WE ON THE TV
This game can be viewed live on Rogers Sportsnet East, West, and Pacific. Sportsnet Ontario will carry the game on a one-hour tape delay. RDS will also be broadcasting the match.

The Sportsnet crew consists of Rob Faulds, Sam Cosentino, and Louis Jean.

WELCOME HOME
Former Sea Dogs captain Alex Grant will serve as an honourary captain for the tonight’s game. Grant, who played with Saint John from 2005-2009, is currently on the Pittsburgh Penguins injured reserve after suffering multiple injuries in the Toronto Maple Leafs Rookie Tournament last month in London, Ontario.

THE BIG BOY
The only real star playing for Team Russia in this event is Los Angeles Kings prospect Maxim Kitsyn. The forward led the Super Series in scoring last year and also played for his country at the 2010 world juniors.

“Kitsyn is a supremely talented young forward withthe body and skill package to suggest he could one day develop into a power forward,” writes HockeysFuture.com. “Playing in the KHL however, he was inconsistent shift-to-shift, let alone game-to-game, failing to display his offensive ability with any sort of regularity. However, when playing against lesser competition, Kitsyn has shown a great confidence and elite play, suggesting he simply needs more time to physically mature.”

Kitsyn was selected by the Kings in the sixth round, 158th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

SUPER SERIES SURVIVAL GUIDE
  • The prices for programs are jacked right up for these CHL events. You’re looking at a $5 program tonight.
  • TV timeouts suck. In the NHL, they are taken after the 6, 10, and 14 minute marks of the period, unless there is a power play, a goal has just been scored, or the stoppage was as a result of an icing. They seemed very long at the ’08 Canada-Russia game.
  • They usually sell pucks and hats at this bad boy.
NEXT GAME
The Subway Super Series moves to Drummondville, QC on Wednesday before moving to Ontario for games in London on Thursday Nov. 11 and in Sudbury on Monday Nov. 15. The series concludes in the Western Hockey League with games in Kamloops, BC on Wednesday Nov. 17 and in Prince George, BC the following night.

Note: All past event totals are from the Subway Super Series Wikipedia page.

Image Credits: Harbour Station, Google, QMJHL, SeaDogsHockey TwitPic, Google, Rogers Sportsnet

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