FINAL: Quebec 3, Saint John 2 (SO)
By Lorne Webster | SN Staff
SAINT JOHN - Former Sea Dogs Marcus
Cuomo, Nicolas Hebert and Alex McQuaid returned to Saint John with the Quebec
Remparts (11-5-0-0) and had first row seats for a 3-2 win over the Sea
Dogs (9-3-0-3) at Harbour Station Sunday afternoon.
Zachery Moody scored in the fourth round
of a shootout to carry the Remparts to victory. Proud Newfoundlanders Cody
Donaghey and Kurt Etchegary also scored for Quebec. Juraj Siska scored
three goals for Saint John, including one in the shootout.
The game got off to a feisty start when
star defencemen Olivier LeBlanc and Nicolas Brouillard dropped their mitts for
a short, spirited scrap just 69 seconds in. At 7:06, Remparts defenceman
Donaghey carried the puck into Saint John's end, faked to move around the net
but snapped the puck between Sebastien Auger and his post to open the scoring. The
Sea Dogs responded quickly when, 28 seconds later, Siska took a feed from Matt
Green, broke down the wing and ripped a wrist shot on the short side past
Callum Booth to tie the score at 1-1. That assist was Matt Green's first QMJHL
point. The period would end tied at ones and Quebec leading 14-10 on the shot
clock.
At 5:30 of the second period, the
Remparts created an odd man rush following a goalmouth scramble in front of
Booth. Etchegary one-timed a pass from Brouillard past Auger to give Quebec a
2-1 lead. The penalty killing units for both teams were tested in the second
half of the period and both passed with flying colours as the each killed off
two-man advantages. While the period ended with Quebec up 2-1, both teams
managed 11 shots apiece.
The Sea Dogs came out strong to start
the third period but Booth made several big saves. Also, the Remparts’ Zachery
Moody and Sea Dogs’ Justice Dundas came close to scoring but instead found iron
behind the respective keepers early in the period. Then at 7:00, Siska
corralled a rebound off a Bailey Webster point shot and flipped the puck past
Booth to make it 2-2. That assist was Webster's first point of the season as
well. With 2:04 left, Braydon Blight was assessed a major for interference on a
huge hit on Brouillard behind the play. Auger came up big to allow the game to continue
into overtime. Saint John held a 11-6 shot advantage in the third.
The OT session started with the Remparts
still on the power play. But at 0:58, Taylor Burke was penalized which created
lots of open ice for the skaters. There were several great scoring
opportunities for both teams but Auger and Booth refused to be beaten, leading
to a shootout. After Nathan Noel and Guillaume Gauthier were stopped, Siska and
Dmytro Timashov scored five-hole goals. Thomas Chabot, Adam Erne and Adam Marsh
all failed to score before Moody appeared to lose the puck in close but recovered
in time to flip a backhand shot over Auger's shoulder to claim the win for
Quebec.
Sebastien Auger showed why he is viewed
as one of the best goaltenders in the QMJHL when he made several big saves,
especially late in the game, to force the very evenly played match to be
settled in a shootout.
S.N. PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Juraj Siska played arguably his best
game in a Sea Dogs uniform and was rewarded with two goals and a shootout
marker. As for the Remparts, Cody Donaghey was very strong at both ends of the
ice.
STATS
NOTES
- As a result of a "brawl" late last night against Baie-Comeau, Spencer Smallman and Jack vanBoekel were each suspended for one game. Goalie Bobby Dugan as well as forwards Daniel Del Paggio and Alex Kealey (soreness) did not dress for Saint John.
- Former Sea Dog Connor Donaghey was in Harbour Station to see his kid brother, Cody, play for Quebec and visit with a few of his old teammates.
- With Anthony Duclair in New York with the Rangers and import Vladislav Kamenev playing in Russia, Quebec is missing arguably their two best offensive weapons. However, the 2015 Memorial Cup hosts are a solid team.
- The QMJHL rumour mill ran rampant in the pre-season with talk that Sebastien Auger (and possibly with Jack Eichel) would be headed to Quebec in exchange for a package including Callum Booth. While the chances of that happening appear to be disappearing, both goaltenders are playing very well for their respective teams.
NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs travel to Cape Breton on
Thursday, Oct. 30, for a 7 p.m. start against the Screaming Eagles. The Dogs
and Eagles return to Harbour Station on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. for the back
end of their 'home-and-home' series.
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