Recap: Sea Dogs lose 4-2

FINAL: Chicoutimi 4, Saint John 2

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - Fabrice Fortin's goal with 48.4 seconds remaining gave the Chicoutimi Sagueneens a regulation time win over the Saint John Sea Dogs on Saturday at TD Station.

The puck was thrown on net from the point and deflected a couple times before going over the shoulder of Noah Patenaude to give the Sagueneens a 3-2 advantage. Felix Lafrance hit an empty net at 19:51 to make it a 4-2 final.

Matej Kaslik and Thomas Belgarde scored in the second period, which gave Chicoutimi a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes. Despite giving up the two goals, the Sea Dogs outshot the Sags 18-9 in the middle frame - but they just weren't generating great scoring chances.

In the third, William Dufour put in the rebound of a Josh Lawrence shot to get Saint John on the board at 2:48. Then at 5:56 - with Saint John on their first and only power play of the game - Evgeny Sapelnikov ripped a shot top corner from the circle to make it a 2-2 game.

The game seemed destined for overtime until Fortin's goal in the final minute.

Saint John outshot Chicoutimi 46-25 in the game but dangerous shots were listed at 12-12. The Sea Dogs just couldn't find the right gear offensively.

Sergei Litvinov made 44 saves in the win while Patenaude made 21 stops in the loss.

LINEUP

Burns - Lawrence - Dufour

Sapelnikov - Reynolds - Francis

Picard - MacDonald - Bezeau

Crete - Chantler - Savoie

DesRoches - Villeneuve

Poirier - Inniss

Drapeau - Gartley

Patenaude

Lemieux

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without defenseman Vincent Despont along with forwards Cole Foston, Carter McCluskey, Adam Bowness and Nico Laforge.

SWAPS: Evgeny Sapelnikov and Charles Savoie swapped spots in Saint John's lineup. Defenseman Vincent Despont, who was listed on Saint John's original lineup, did not play and Hunter Gartley was inserted. Noah Patenaude also got the start in the net after Jonathan Lemieux played last night.

PINK IN THE RINK: Before the game, there was a ceremonial puck drop with cancer survivors Karine Cote, the mother of Sea Dogs forward William Dufour, and Roxanne Ward, the mother of former Sea Dogs forward Kyle Ward. As usual, the Sea Dogs wore pink jerseys that were raffled off to fans.

Thank you again to Karine, Roxanne, and Kyle for making tonight's puck drop extra special! 💜#HockeyFightsCancer pic.twitter.com/9rL77OY0KQ

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) November 14, 2021

DUFOUR: William Dufour scored his 15th goal of the season in the third period. He's now scored 15 goals in 17 games, keeping pace with Shawinigan's Xavier Bourgault - who had a hat trick in Bathurst on Saturday - for the league lead.

William Dufour gets the Sea Dogs on the board! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/NpHOQrTBXV

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) November 14, 2021

NOTES: Evgeny Sapelnikov has now scored four goals in his past eight games... Chicoutimi's Matej Kaslik has now scored four goals in his past four games... Kaslik was slow to get up after a hit in the third period that saw his head go hard into the glass along the sideboards... both teams were awarded only one power play in this game... Hunter Gartley - who didn't see much ice time - and Jacob Chantler were the only Sea Dogs without shots on goal... Jeremie Poirier and Charlie DesRoches each had six shots... Ray Edwards, director of player development for the Calgary Flames, was in attendance viewing prospects Poirier and Ryan Francis... Poirier and Brady Burns both had their home point streaks come to an end... the attendance of 2,682 was the second biggest crowd of the season at TD Station... the Sea Dogs and Sagueneens meet again on Feb. 9 in Chicoutimi.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs begin another Quebec road trip on Wednesday, facing the Olympiques in Gatineau at 8 p.m.