FINAL: Shawinigan 7, Saint John 3
SAINT JOHN – A third period meltdown by
the Saint John Sea Dogs has given the Shawinigan Cataractes a 2-1 series lead.
The Sea Dogs allowed six unanswered
goals – including five goals on 11 shots in the third period – in a 7-3 loss to
the Cataractes on Tuesday night at Harbour Station. Shawinigan now leads the
best-of-seven semifinal series 2-1.
Brandon Gignac, Gabriel Gagne and Dmytro
Timashov each scored twice for Shawinigan. Mathieu Olivier also scored. Philippe Cadorette
made 26 saves in the win.
Kyle Ward, Samuel Dove-McFalls and Sam
Povorozniouk scored for Saint John. Marc-Antoine Turcotte allowed six goals on
22 shots in the loss.
The Sea Dogs were up 3-1 in the second
period and entered the third up 3-2. But that third period… that was something.
Saint John will need to regroup quickly or they could be facing a do-or-die game in
Shawinigan on Friday.
The Sea Dogs would even the contest at
16:17 when Ward batted the puck out of the air for his first goal of the
playoffs, evening the game at a 1-1.
Saint John put on their hard hats in the
second period as they scored a pair of hard work style goals. The first was on
a scramble in front with Dove-McFalls putting in a loose puck to give the Sea
Dogs their first lead of the game at 3:57. The second came at 15:36 off
another scramble where Povorozniouk was able to jump on a loose puck and lift a
backhand shot over Cadorette, making it 3-1.
The Cataractes would get one back at
17:09. Gignac was seemingly shot out of a cannon, showing off some great wheels
before tucking a shot by Turcotte to close the gap to 3-2.
Shawinigan tied the game at 5:31 of the
final frame by using a quick transition game. Timashov made no mistake and
knotted things at 3-3. The Cataractes came right back just 21 seconds
later to take the lead, 4-3, as Olivier beat Turcotte.
The onslaught would continue with Gagne
extending the lead to 5-3 at 10:46. As if that wasn’t enough, Gagne struck
again at 14:23 to extend Shawinigan’s lead to 6-3 and putt the game out of reach
for the home town Sea Dogs. Shawinigan would end the game with a long
empty net goal by Timashov to secure the 7-3 victory.
NOTES
- Scratches for the Sea Dogs were Mathieu Joseph, Adam Marsh, Nico Blachman, Alexandre Bernier, Vincent Martineau, Bokondji Imama, Alex Lafreniere and Ian Smallwood.
- Scratches for the Cataractes were Dennis Yan, Justin Bernier, Tommy Lemay and Simon Benoit.
- Dennis Yan was suspended for this game following a crosscheck he delivered in game two.
- The Saint John Vito’s were recognized before the game and captain Will Drummond performed the ceremonial puck drop.
- Kyle Ward’s goal was his first career playoff goal and first ever goal scored at Harbour Station. Ward hadn’t scored since Nov. 21.
- Saint John outshot Shawinigan 11-7 in both the first and second periods. Shawinigan outshot Saint John 11-7 in the third.
TURNING POINT
The third period start to finish was just
a disaster for the Sea Dogs, giving up five unanswered goals.
SN THREE STARS
Brandon Gignac
Gabriel Gagne
Samuel Dove-McFalls
NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs and Cataractes go right
back at it tomorrow night at Harbour Station for game four. Game time is 7 p.m.
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