The Sea Dogs have not played a game since last Saturday night and fans are looking forward to a visit to Harbour Station this Saturday night from the Halifax Mooseheads. With help from rookie Nathan MacKinnon the Herd has proven they are a force that should not be taken lightly by any team.
Since they acquired MacKinnon’s rights from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar this past summer, the Herd has become one of the most-watched teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Previous to this season, the Mooseheads suffered through three straight losing seasons, averaging 17 wins per year and missing the playoffs twice in that span. Halifax, however, owns a 26-14-1-3 record entering tonight’s match up against Cape Breton.
“It’s become a rivalry,’’ Dogs forward Jason Cameron said about the Maritime Division opponents in today's Telegraph Journal.. “They’re getting better and they always work hard. We always have to be up for them and we can’t take them lightly.’’
MacKinnon has 22 goals and 55 points, just three behind Quebec’s Mikhail Grigorenko in the league’s rookie scoring race. Second-year Czech forward Martin Frk is healthy again, (4-3-7 in 12 games) making the Mooseheads even more dangerous.
“We have to shut those guys down,’’ Cameron said. “Once you get by those guys, there are not too many offensive threats. Whenever you’re able to shut guys down like that, it gives you a lot of confidence.
“When you play against them, they’re really tough and it teaches you to work hard. We’ve been working hard the last couple of weeks on our defensive-zone (coverage) and I think we’re going to shut them down. If you shut those guys down and if we play a full three periods, we’ll come out with the win and get back in gear.’’
The Sea Dogs are on the road for their second weekend game to be played Sunday at 4 p.m., against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre.
League Suspension
Val-d’Or Foreurs defenceman Alex Filiatrault was suspended for six additional games, the QMJHL announced Thursday. The suspension was handed out after a knee-on-knee collision during a game against the Quebec Remparts on Jan. 14. Filiatrault’s original suspension was just one game. In addition, the league fined the Remparts $2,500 for comments made by head coach and general manager Patrick Roy. “I do not tolerate any criticism made to the media about our officials, video goal judges, team personnel or players that casts a doubt at the integrity of our league,’’ commissioner Gilles Courteau said in a release.
0 comments:
Post a Comment