RECAP: Sea Dogs Lose 7-4

FINAL: Saint John 4, Moncton 7

By Kevin Chambers | SN Staff

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs still haven’t clinched the Maritimes Division title.

The Sea Dogs fell short again on Wednesday night, falling 7-4 to the Wildcats in Moncton. Saint John still sits comfortably in first-place, seven points ahead of second-place Moncton.

The Sea Dogs got off to a solid start on Wednesday and were able to score the game’s first goal just as a penalty had expired. Nathan Noel walked in and blasted a shot past Keven Bouchard at 11:44 to give the Sea Dogs a 1-0 advantage. That would be the only marker of the opening frame.

Things really opened up in the second period with the Wildcats scoring two quick goals. The first goal came off the stick of Kelly Klima who wristed a shot past Marc-Antoine Turcotte at 2:12. Just 56 seconds later it was Manuel Wiederer beating Turcotte - who came off his post just enough for the puck to get by him - giving the Wildcats their first lead of the game. The Sea Dogs were able to knot the game at 2-2 during a five-on-three power play chance when Daniel Del Paggio jumped on a juicy rebound and flipped the puck past Bouchard at 9:33. Moncton jumped right back in front though with two more quick markers with the first coming at 14:17 when Zack MacEwen was able to beat Turcotte. Then at 16:41, Turcotte kicked out a huge rebound right onto the stick of Will Smith who hit the yawning cage to give the ‘Cats a 4-2 lead heading into the final frame.

The third period got off to a wild start with Moncton capitalizing on a power play chance just seven seconds in, making it 5-2. Just 15 seconds later, Oliver Felixson picked up his second goal of the season with a seeing eye wrist shot from the blue line to cut the lead to 5-3. The goals continued to come fast and furious just 15 seconds after with Vaclav Karabacek beating Turcotte and restoring the three-goal advantage for the Wildcats. Wiederer completed his hat trick at 11:17, giving the Wildcats a 7-3 lead. Matthew Highmore would notch his 21st goal of the campaign to close the gap to 7-4 but that was as close as the Sea Dogs would get.

NOTES

• Scratches for the Sea Dogs were Mathieu Joseph (upper body), Adam Marsh (upper body), Bailey Webster (upper body), and Alex Bernier (healthy).
• Mathieu Joseph missed tonight’s game after suffering a shoulder injury against the Charlottetown Islanders on Sunday. The injury is not believed to be too serious, according to head coach Danny Flynn.
• There was a scary moment for Daniel Del Paggio in the first period when he took a puck to the face. He would stay in the game, though.
• Attendance was an impressive 6,676.

TURNING POINT

With the Wildcats starting the third period on the power play, Manuel Wiederer scored his second of three goals on the night putting a quick end to the Sea Dogs’ comeback hopes.

SN THREE STARS

Manuel Wiederer

Matthew Highmore

Zack MacEwen

TWEET OF THE GAME

Fun atmosphere, unfortunate score. @SJSeaDogs lose 7-4 pic.twitter.com/aAiRDUGpDS

— Rockys (@RockysSportsBar) March 10, 2016

NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs will try to clinch the Maritimes Division title on home ice on Friday against the Charlottetown Islanders. Game time is 7:30 p.m.