Recap: Sea Dogs win 9-2

FINAL: Rouyn-Noranda 2, Saint John 9

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - Despite missing three regulars, the Saint John Sea Dogs had one of their best performances of the season on Thursday, defeating the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 9-2 at TD Station.

The Sea Dogs were without forwards Ryan Francis, Riley Bezeau and Charles Savoie but had little trouble scoring with the lineup they did dress. Saint John kept pouring it on all game - something the team has struggled to do this season.

Saint John's season high nine goals were scored by Josh Lawrence, William Dufour, Charlie DesRoches, Jacob Chantler, Cam MacDonald, William Villeneuve, Nico Laforge, Carter McCluskey and Brady Burns. Burns also had three assists while Jeremie Poirier, Villeneuve, Lawrence, Dufour and MacDonald all had two assists each.

Jonathan Lemieux made 22 saves in the win.

The Sea Dogs got some revenge on the Huskies after falling 6-5 in a shootout on Saturday in Rouyn-Noranda. In Thursday's game, Saint John was dominant for most of it, outshooting Rouyn-Noranda 39-24 despite giving the Huskies nine power play opportunities.

Donovan Arsenault and Louis-Philippe Fontaine scored for the Huskies. Samuel Richard allowed five goals on 21 shots in the first two periods. Mathis Dorcal-Mador allowed four goals on 13 shots in the third.

The Sea Dogs led 2-1 after 20 minutes. Lawrence opened the scoring just 12 seconds in on a lovely pass from MacDonald. The Huskies tied the game at 3:52 when Arsenault netted a power play marker. Dufour's man advantage goal at 5:50 - which came thanks to a perfect cross crease feed from Burns - gave the Dogs the lead after one.

Saint John scored three more times in the second period and outshot Rouyn-Noranda 13-7 - this despite the Huskies having quite a bit of power play time. After DesRoches and Chantler scored 42 seconds apart, MacDonald put in the rebound of a Jeremie Poirier blocked shot at 16:59 to give the Dogs a 5-1 advantage through two periods.

Just 21 seconds into the third, Villeneuve scored to make it a 6-1 game. Then at 4:25, Poirier stole the puck at the blue line and setup Laforge for his first QMJHL goal, giving Saint John a 7-1 lead.

McCluskey scored a shorthanded goal at 10:47 on a give-and-go with Villeneuve. Then at 13:13, Burns scored from the slot to extend Saint John's lead. Fontaine got one back for the Huskies at 14:03 to make it 9-2.

LINEUP

MacDonald - Lawrence - Dufour

Burns - Reynolds - Chantler

Picard - Crete - Sapelnikov

Bowness - Laforge - McCluskey

DesRoches - Villeneuve

Poirier - Inniss

Drapeau - Despont

Lemieux

Patenaude

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without forwards Ryan Francis (injury), Charles Savoie (injury) and Riley Bezeau (injury) along with defenseman Hunter Gartley (healthy).

DUFOUR: William Dufour extended his point streak to nine games with a power play goal in the first period. He leads the QMJHL in goals with 17 and is tied for the scoring lead with 34 points.

DUUUUUUFOUR! Scores his 17th of the season 7 seconds into a power play! pic.twitter.com/4RBO9gQp4B

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) November 25, 2021

SECOND GOALS: After scoring their first goals of the season on Saturday in Rouyn-Noranda, Charlie DesRoches and William Villeneuve both found the scoresheet again on Thursday.

BIG PK: With William Dufour already in the box, Christopher Inniss was given a four-minute high sticking penalty at 9:14 of the second period, giving Rouyn-Noranda 1:54 of five-on-three time. The Sea Dogs produced a great penalty kill and gave the Huskies' power play - which entered the game ranked last in the league - very few chances. The Huskies went 1/9 on the power play in the game.

LAFORGE: Nico Laforge scored his first QMJHL goal in the third period on a nice play by Jeremie Poirier.

And they KEEP COMING! Nico Laforge makes it 7-1 for Saint John with his first Q goal! pic.twitter.com/NiCS2V2ISA

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) November 26, 2021

MCCLUSKEY: Carter McCluskey continues to make the most of his limited playing time. With a shorthanded goal in the third period, McCluskey has scored in three straight games and has an impressive five goals in 12 games this year.

SHORTY: The Sea Dogs are now tied with the Victoriaville Tigres for the most shorthanded goals scored in the league this season with five. The Huskies, meanwhile, are now tied with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada for the most shorthanded goals allowed with six.

BIG NIGHTS: A quick look at some of the bigger Sea Dogs performances in this game.

Brady Burns: 1G, 3A, +3

William Villeneuve: 1G, 2A, +6, 3 shots

Josh Lawrence: 1G, 2A, +3, 3 shots

William Dufour: 1G, 2A, +4, 6 shots

Cam MacDonald: 1G, 2A, +3, 5 shots

NOTES: This was the final meeting of the regular season between the Sea Dogs and Huskies. Saint John scored 14 goals in the season series... the Huskies also travel to Halifax and Cape Breton on this three-game road trip... there were quite a few Huskies jerseys in the crowd with Rouyn-Noranda's lineup featuring some Maritimers... a very nice "City of Champions" video was played before the game... the Sea Dogs have scored five goals in three straight games... Olivier Picard took Ryan Francis' spot on the top power play unit... former Sea Dog Leighton Carruthers was held pointless with no shots in this game... the Huskies had a three-game winning streak come to an end... the attendance of 2,093 was the third smallest crowd for a Sea Dogs home game in team history.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs take on the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Saturday at 7 p.m. at TD Station.