FINAL (SO): Saint John 5, Bathurst 6
BATHURST – It was a rough game for the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sunday evening in Bathurst.
Special teams were the story as Saint John went just
1-for-9 on the power play and killed off just one of four penalties en route to
a 6-5 shootout loss to Acadie-Bathurst Titan in front of a sparse crowd at the
KC Irving Regional Centre.
Saint John had control for much of the game but only led
for a short time in the third period. The Sea Dogs outshot the Titan 38-22
overall and 37-16 in regulation. Bathurst was very opportunistic with their
chances in this game which included a strong performance from their power play.
It was also a strong team effort from the Titan as just
one of their five goals came from their top line of Zach O’Brien, Sebastien
Trudeau and Matthew Bissonnette.
The Titan had a pair of goals from Alex Jon Banville and singles
from O’Brien, Mirko Hoefflin, and Olivier Houle. O’Brien scored the lone goal
in the shootout. Goaltender Jacob Brennan made 33 stops in the game and all
three in the shootout.
Saint John had two goals from both Tomas Jurco and Ryan
Tesink. Kevin Gagne added a single marker. Zack Phillips extended his point
streak to 16 games by recording four assists.
Goaltender Sebastien Auger did not have a good night in
goal for Saint John. He allowed five goals on 22 shots – 16 of those shots came
in regulation time. The rookie netmider allowed two goals on four shots in the
first period, one on six shots in the second and two on six shots in the third.
The loss ended Saint John’s winning streak at seven games
and also dropped them to 0-2 in Bathurst this season.
Bathurst headed to the power play at 2:17 as Ryan Tesink
headed off. On the man advantage, a pass from along the boards found Alec Jon
Banville at the hash marks. He fired a wrist shot past Saint John goaltender
Sebastien Auger to make it 1-0 Titan.
The Sea Dogs headed to the power play at 5:10 but,
despite some good pressure, they failed to create any good scoring chances.
The Dogs headed back to the man advantage at 11:17 but,
once again , could not connect.
Tomas Jurco headed to the box at 14:06. On the power
play, the Titan connected again. A pass from
behind the goal found Banville at the side of the net. He cut through
the crease and beat Auger to give the home side a 2-0 advantage at 15:03.
Saint John got the board at 16:48. Zach Phillips did some
good work to get around the Bathurst defense. He then sent a pass over to
Tesink through the top of the crease. The St. Louis Blues prospect beat
Bathurst goaltender Jacob Brennan to make it a 2-1 game.
Late in the frame, Tomas Jurco created a good chance as he
snuck away from the Titan defense but ripped the puck wide of the net.
Despite the score, shots were 13-4 in favour of Saint
John in the opening frame.
SECOND PERIOD
Early in the second, Sebastien Trudeau was in the slot
and let a wrist shot go that was stopped by Auger. Then, Phillips came down the
wing and went in all alone but fired a backhander wide. Saint John kept the
pressure on moments later as Jurco nailed the post on a shot from the dot. That
was followed by Brennan stopping a Kevin Gagne point shot.
Saint John went back to the man advantage at 6:10. On the
power play, Jurco blasted the puck from just above the circle and beat Brennan,
making it a 2-2 affair at 7:22.
But the Titan quickly retook the lead at 8:37. An Olivier
Houle point shot hut something and changed direction, beating Auger to put
Bathurst up 3-2.
But Saint John would tie it up again at 9:27. Phillips
sent the disc to Tesink in front. The Saint John native made some moves in the
paint and then beat Brennan with backhand shot to make it 3-3.
Tesink created another good chance moments later as he
fired the puck into the pads on Brennan but the rebound was picked up and
cleared out of danger.
The Dogs headed to the power play again at 14:32 and them
a two-man advantage at 15:32. The Sea Dogs created some pressure and had a few
solid opportunities but were unable to take the lead.
At 18:09, the Dogs headed to yet another power play.
Stephen MacAulay had a great chance late in the period but the Titan ‘tender
made a nice pad stop. Saint John had another good chance in the dying seconds of
the frame but were not able to jam it in.
Shots in the second stanza were 15-6 in favour of the
visitors.
THIRD PERIOD
The Sea Dogs headed back to the power play just 18
seconds into the third. While shorthanded, Pierre Durepos got tangled up with
an official, causing a turnover. Trudeau carried it in and the centered to
Mirko Hoefflin to make it 4-3 Titan.
Back at even strength at 4:45, Scott Oke had the puck
down low and sent it through the crease to Jurco. The Slovak had a wide open
cage to tie it at 4-4.
Then at 5:20, a Tesink shot rebounded to Gagne. The
defenseman fired the puck past Brennan to put Saint John in the lead for the
first time on the night.
At 5:58, Grant West and Robert David dropped the gloves
for a decent tilt.
Tesink headed to the box at 7:56. On the power play,
Auger came up with a huge pad save on Mathew Bissonnette. Shortly after at
8:50, Zach O’Brien moved into the slot area and scored to tie things up at 5-5.
A bunch of penalties were called as the period went on
but things didn’t change, forcing overtime.
Shots were 9-6 Sea Dogs in the third period.
OVERTIME
In the extra frame, Bathurst had the better of the
chances. Jordan Murray ripped a shot off Auger’s glove and stayed out. Then, O’Brien
dropped the puck off to Bissonnette who was stopped as well.
Shots were 6-1 Titan in overtime.
SHOOTOUT
In the shootout, O’Brien scored the lone goal as he beat
Auger with a deke, giving Bathurst a 6-5 win.
NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow on SN.
Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation
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