Friday, October 25, 2013

RECAP: So Yeah. Dogs Lose 2-1.

FINAL: Saint John 1, Baie-Comeau 2
BAIE-COMEAU, Que. – This losing streak is going to end at some point.

The Saint John Sea Dogs produced yet another solid road performance but came away with nothing to show for it. The Sea Dogs lost their seventh straight Quebec Major Junior Hockey League contest on Friday night in Baie-Comeau, losing 2-1 to the Drakkar.

Rookie Joey Richard had Saint John’s only goal. Goaltender Sebastien Auger was Sebastien Auger, giving the Sea Dogs a good chance to win this game thanks to a 30 save, first star performance.

But much like on Wednesday in Drummondville - and despite being outshot - the Sea Dogs played a solid road game against a good team. The effort is there – unfortunately the wins just aren't coming right now.

The Drakkar had goals from Alec Jon Banville and Gabryel Boudreau. Philippe Cadorette made 22 saves in the win.

The Sea Dogs and Drakkar are heading in opposite directions at the moment. While Saint John dropped their seventh straight, Baie-Comeau picked up their sixth consecutive victory.

Saint John, now 5-10-0-1 on the year, continues their three-game Quebec road trip tomorrow in Chicoutimi.

FIRST PERIOD
The Drakkar went to the power play at 4:51 as Alexander McQuaid was called for slashing. But Baie-Comeau didn’t do much on the man advantage so it remained scoreless. Soon after, Jeremy Gregoire had a good chance but missed the net.

Alec Jon Banville opened the scoring at 9:20. Gregoire was along the back boards and sent a pass to Banville who had snuck into the zone. He quickly let a shot go that beat Sebastien Auger to open the scoring.

Not long after, Alexandre Ranger had a good chance but was stopped. Then Dominic Poulin sped past the Saint John defense and went in alone but was denied by Auger.

The Sea Dogs went to the power play at 15:47 but could not score despite some decent pressure applied.

Auger took a roughing penalty at 19:52, a penalty Mike Kelly was not too happy about. At the buzzer, Jason Cameron was helped off by Sea Dogs athletic therapist JP Laciak after a big time shot block.

Shots were 13-7 Drakkar.

SECOND PERIOD
The Drakkar had quite a few chances and some unreal pressure on during the power play that carried over into the period.

Baie-Comeau went straight back to the man advantage at 2:00 as Michael Abbott headed off for cross checking. Baie-Comeau had a couple of great chances before finally connecting soon after at 3:52. Gabryel Boudreau let a quick snap shot go that beat Auger low to make it 2-0 for the home team.

Then the Sea Dogs got some power play time. Banville headed off for boarding at 5:43 and then Ranger joined him in the box at 7:01. During the five-on-three, there was a mad scramble at the top of the crease but Saint John could not jam it in past Philippe Cadorette.

The Dogs finally got on the board – at even strength – at 13:20. Matthew Highmore fired a sharp angle shot from along the side boards that was stopped by Cadorette. But Joey Richard was in perfect position to put in the rebound and make it 2-1.

At 18:37, McQuaid and Gabriel Verpaelst dropped the gloves. McQuaid picked up an instigator, giving the Drakkar a power play.

At the buzzer, Drakkar captain Felix Girard put a big hit on Noah Zilbert. Girard was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for checking to the head.

Shots in the second were 13-10 Baie-Comeau.

THIRD PERIOD
Unfortunately for the Sea Dogs, the Drakkar produced a solid penalty kill and managed to kill off the penalty to Girard.

Auger was solid in the third period as he was all game. Banville was robbed by the glove of the Sea Dogs netminder and then Valentin Zykov was denied in front.

The Sea Dogs had some good pressure applied midway through the frame. Highmore let a shot go and a big rebound was produced but nobody was there to cash in.

Fast-forward to the final minute, the Dogs pulled Auger but could not get any scoring chances despite a man advantage. That would be all she wrote.

Shots were 6-6 in the scoreless third. The Drakkar outshot the Sea Dogs 32-23.

Saint John went 0-for-4 on the power play while Baie-Comeau went 1-for-4.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs are in Chicoutimi tomorrow to take on the Sags at 5pm.

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