Dog Bytes Newsletter:
May 25, 2012
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SEA DOGS, CATARACTES MEET IN ELIMINATION GAME
It's a meeting of Quebec Major Junior Hockey League rivals tonight at the MasterCard Memorial Cup, and only one team will be left standing at the end. The President's Cup champion Saint John Sea Dogs take on the host Shawinigan Cataractes in semifinal action tonight, the second matchup between the teams in three nights.
Wednesday's game was a chippy affair that ended in a 4-1 win for the Sea Dogs, forcing Shawinigan to play a tie-breaker game against the Edmonton Oil Kings Thursday. Jonathan Huberdeau led the way with two goals and an assist in a game that seemed like it might never end, with 10 separate penalties called in the last two minute of the game. That included a fight between Saint John's Grant West and Shawinigan's Vincent Arseneau.
The Cataractes appeared to be trying to set a tone for a return engagement, and followed up by taking care of business against Edmonton in Thursday's tie-breaker. The Cataractes lit up the Western League champions by a 6-1 score, with six players enjoying multi-point nights in front of a 29-save performance by Gabriel Girard. Defenceman Brandon Gormley was named first star with two assists and a plus-4 rating. Michael Chaput also had two assists to run his tournament-best points total to eight.
 Huberdeau is close behind in the scoring race with six points, matching the total that earned him most valuable player honours at last year's Memorial Cup. Gormley also has six points in the tournament. Saint John is hoping history repeats as they look to win the national major junior championship for a second straight year. No team in this year's tournament has won on back-to-back nights, another trend the Sea Dogs hope holds up heading into tonight's matchup. Saint John and Shawinigan finished 1-2 in the regular-season standings, with the Sea Dogs (50-15-0-3) becoming the first team in QMJHL history to win three straight Jean Rougeau Trophies as regular-season champions. The Cataractes had a solid record at 45-16-3-4 and split four meetings with the Sea Dogs.
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DOGS MERCHANDISE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
Just in time for the MasterCard Memorial Cup, Saint John Sea Dogs fans from around the world can now order team merchandise online. The Sea Dogs have announced the launch of http://store.saintjohnseadogs.com/- a dedicated online store that puts official team apparel just a click away.
The store features jerseys, hats and other apparel, as well as collectables such as hockey cards, pucks, foam fingers and mini sticks. Fans can select various quantities and a range of child and adult sizes. The site will be updated regularly and already features limited edition 2012 President's Cup championship merchandise, including hats, T-shirts and Playoff Edition hockey cards.
In addition to ordering directly through the site, fans also have the option of ordering through the team's official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sjseadogs. The "Shop" button at the top of the page offers all the same great shopping options as the store site, and is another easy way to browse and order Sea Dogs merchandise.
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"PAINT THE TOWN BLUE" CONTEST ENDING
The Saint John Sea Dogs and Advocate Printing are partnering on a promotion that will reward passionate fans for showing their support for the Port City's major junior hockey team. The "Paint the Town Blue" contest will end at the conclusion of the Memorial Cup. This contest encourages fans in the Saint John area to show their community pride by displaying Sea Dogs logos and colours prominently in their homes or places of business.
Advocate, the official printer of the Sea Dogs, is providing 2,000 Sea Dogs posters to help fans get their displays started. These free posters will be available while supplies last at Sea Dogs Central during all remaining Sea Dogs playoff games, and at the Sea Dogs office during business hours. Fans are challenged to go above and beyond by adding to the display and uploading a photo of their home or business to the team's official Facebook page (www.facebook.com/sjseadogs).
Displays must include the poster, but fans can take it from there, with their own creativity being the only limit. Prizes will be awarded in two categories: one for businesses, one for homes. The photos receiving the three highest totals of "Likes" in each category (home/business) will win prizes at the conclusion of Saint John's playoff run as follows:
First Prize: 2012-13 Season Flex Package (includes 34 pre-paid ticket vouchers that can be redeemed for any game in any combination, along with all season-ticket holder benefits)
Second Prize: 10-voucher Flex Package
Third Prize: $50 Gift Certificate for merchandise from the Sea Dog Styles store
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QPLEX OPENS DOORS FOR TONIGHT'S SEMIFINAL
Hockey fans can watch the Saint John Sea Dogs vie for their second straight appearance in the Memorial Cup final tonight at the qplex in Quispamsis.
The game will be shown on the three large projection screens in a family-friendly environment in the qplex's Moosehead Breweries Conference Centre.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Bar and canteen services from George Cousins Catering will be available. There is no admission fee.
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