RECAP: Sea Dogs Lose 4-0

FINAL: Saint John 0, Blainville-Boisbriand 4

BOISBRIAND, Que. – The Saint John Sea Dogs were outgunned by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Saturday evening.

Philippe Sanche had a pair of goals while Yvan Mongo and Danick Martel added singles in the Armada’s 4-0 home victory. Samuel Montembeault made 21 saves for the shutout win.

The Sea Dogs simply couldn’t generate enough offense on this night, registering 21 shots overall and just 15 through the first two periods. Saint John’s penalty kill had a busy night but was productive, giving Saint John a chance. Alex Bishop made 29 stops in the loss.

The game wrapped up a three-in-three Quebec road swing for Saint John. They went 1-2-0-0 on the trip with their only win coming last night against the Voltigeurs in Drummondville.

Thomas Chabot headed off for hooking at 7:49 of the first, putting the Armada’s potent power play to work. Just 21 seconds into the man advantage, Sanche redirected a point shot from Philippe Bureau-Blais to make it 1-0 Armada.

The Armada had a number of other power play opportunities in the period but Saint John’s penalty kill was able to hold them off the score sheet. Shots were 11-6 Armada in the first.

The Sea Dogs had a number of quality scoring chances in the second period but weren’t quite able to connect. On a power play, Montembeault robbed Joseph at the side of the net with a diving save. Later on, Spencer Smallman had a good backhand chance but was denied.

At 16:21, Mongo threw the puck in front from the behind the net. The disc went off some bodies and past Bishop to make it 2-0.

Late in the frame, the Armada were awarded, basically, unlimited power play time but could not connect. Shots were 10-9 Armada in the frame.

The Sea Dogs killed off the penalties that carried over into the third but were dealt a blow at 4:43 when Bailey Webster delivered a big hit on Sanche and then fought Nikita Jevpalovs. Webster was given an aggressor major and game misconduct, giving the Armada a five-minute power play. Despite some good pressure applied, the home side was unable to score.

At 13:54, Mongo sent a pass off the boards to Martel who skated in and fired a wrist shot past the glove of Bishop to make it 3-0. Less than three minutes later, Sanche outwaited Bishop and beat the Dogs goaltender in close to make it a 4-0 final. Shots in the third were 12-6 in favour of the Armada for a game total of 33-21.

TURNING POINT/BIG MOMENT

Despite being unable to generate much offense, the Sea Dogs were still in the game until the Armada scored twice in the final half of the third.

SN PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Alex Bishop made some good saves and gave the Dogs a chance. It was a nice rebound performance after a rough outing on Thursday in Shawinigan. Yvan Mongo had a strong game for the Armada.

TWEET OF THE NIGHT

Mascot city pic.twitter.com/z2ZpKEezWX
— Jérôme Bérubé (@Jerome_Berube) January 31, 2015

STATS

NOTES

• The Sea Dogs were without forwards Mark Tremaine (lower body) and Matthew Green (healthy) along with defensemen Braydon Blight (upper body) and Jakub Zboril (lower body).
• Sebastien Auger was given the day off as the team continues to be careful with him following his recent injury.
• If you’re into +/- stats, Thomas Chabot was a -3. Daniel Walcott was +3.
• Adam Marsh had a four-game point streak come to an end.
• This was Saint John’s first time being shutout since Nov. 12 in Quebec City.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Rimouski Oceanic on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Harbour Station.