The P..E.I Rocket looked sharp and earned a decisive 5-1 victory over the Saint John Sea Dogs in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season action Thursday night at the Civic Centre.
Rocket forward Jordan Escott figured in P.E.I.’s two first-period goals by scoring the game’s opener and assisting on the second by Matthew Hobbs. Those markers sandwiched Saint John’s lone goal by Michael Kirkpatrick about 15 minutes into the opening frame.
Although it’s exhibition, Escott said the win wasn’t lost on a Rocket team that was eliminated by the Sea Dogs in the first round of last year’s QMJHL playoffs.
“We talked about that before the game,” said Escott, who assisted on P.E.I.’s fourth goal by Philippe Paradis in the third. “They beat us something like five-out-of-eight games (in the regular season) last year. We wanted to set the tone.”
The Rocket moved to 3-1-0-1 in exhibition play while the Dogs dropped to 2-4.
Rookie forward Victor Provencher notched his second pre-season goal for the Rocket in the second while Ben Duffy added P.E.I.’s final score just past the midway mark of the third.
Saint John goalie Karel St-Laurent (1-1) stopped 28 of 33 shots in the loss. Rocket goaltender Evan Mosher (2-0) pushed aside 31 of 32 shots for the win.
For Clyde River native Jason Cameron, who was 9-of-12 in the face-off circle for the Dogs, the loss came down to one simple formula.
“It was a pretty good game, but I think we never won our battles. The next game, we have to win more of our battles.”
Cameron added being the brother of former Moncton Wildcat Randy Cameron is tough work.
“Yeah, they’re huge shoes (to fill). A lot of pressure to live up to, but I want to make a name for myself.”
Randy Cameron won a President’s Cup with Moncton last season and earned a berth at the 2010 Memorial Cup. He has signed on with the UPEI Panthers.
P.E.I.’s final pre-season game is Saturday versus the Mooseheads in Halifax. Game time is 7 p.m.
The Rocket opens the regular season Sept. 10 in Saint John and Sept. 12 in Moncton. P.E.I. opens at home Sept. 17 versus Moncton at 7 p.m.
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A look at Thursday’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season game at the Civic Centre:
The Outcome - P.E.I. 5 Saint John 1
The Goalscorers - Saint John: Michael Kirkpatrick (1); P.E.I.: Ben Duffy (2)
Jordan Escott (2), Matthew Hobbs (1), Philippe Paradis (1), Victor Provencher (2).
The Assists - Saint John: Nathan Beaulieu (1), Stanislav Galiev (2); P.E.I.: Jordan Escott 2 (3), Jean-Laurence Beauchemin (1), Josh Currie (3), Ben Duffy (1), Andrej Nestrasil (2), Adam Polasek (2).
The Goalies - Saint John: Karel St-Laurent 28-of-33, loss (1-1); P.E.I.: Evan Mosher 31-of-32, win (2-0).
Shots By Period - Saint John: 8-14-10, 32; P.E.I.: 12-13-8, 33.
Penalty Minutes - Saint John: 13; P.E.I.: 9.
Power Play - Saint John: 0-for-2; P.E.I.: 1-for-4, 25 per cent.
Hits - Saint John: 16; P.E.I.: 25.
Time Of Goals: Saint John: 14:34 (first); P.E.I.: 9:19, 17:31 (first), 2:20 (second), 6:19, 11:35 (third).
Next Up - The Rocket (3-1-0-1) finish up the pre-season versus the Halifax Mooseheads (2-2-0-1) on Saturday in Halifax. Game time is 7 p.m.
