Tuesday, August 18, 2009

First Day of Sea Dogs camp

Press Release

The fifth training camp in Saint John Sea Dogs history got underway on Monday, with a full day of competitive action taking place at Harbour Station.

After a veteran-laden Team A kicked things with a spirited camp-opening practice, Teams B and C, comprised entirely of rookies and free agents, hit the ice to square off in the first of two scrimmages on the day at 10:30am.

Team B, donning white jerseys, turned in a dominating performance in the morning contest, earning a 5-1 victory on the strength of a stellar effort from a line comprised of 16-year old forwards Jonathan Huberdeau, Scott Oke, and Aidan Kelly, all of whom were acquired by Saint John during the opening three rounds of the 2009 QMJHL Entry Draft.

A swap was then made before the evening match (6:15pm), as Oke moved over to Team C in exchange for eighth round ’09 draft pick Gino Goguen, a native of Grand-Digue, NB.

Skating alongside former Lawrence Academy Spartans standout Zack Phillips, Oke again impressed in Scrimmage #2. On his new team, the St-Lambert, QC native continued to score, distribute the puck well, and use his 6’1” frame to great effect in the offensive zone.

After a back-and-forth opening evening frame, a great individual effort by Zack Phillips gave Team C the lead heading into halftime. The 17-year old Frederictonian skated through a pair of defenseman and fired a rocket of a snap shot to the back of the net to put his squad up 4-3 midway through the scrimmage.

Aidan Kelly buried a nice feed from Jonathan Huberdeau early in the second half of the game to tie things up at four apiece, but that would be as close as Team B would get as Team C went on a solid offensive run which ultimately secured them a 9-5 win.

Season V Training Camp reconvenes on Tuesday morning at 9:00am. A full itinerary for Day Two can be found below:

9:00-10:00am – Practice, Team A
10:30am-12:00pm – Scrimmage, Team B vs. Team C
4:00-5:00pm – Practice, Team A
5:15-6:00pm – Practice, Goaltenders Only
6:15-8:00pm – Scrimmage, Team B vs. Team C

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

No comments: