Recap: Sea Dogs win 7-5

FINAL: Saint John 7, Baie-Comeau 5

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

BAIE-COMEAU, Que. - It wasn't pretty at times, but the Saint John Sea Dogs picked up their third straight win on Tuesday night at the Henry Leonard Centre.

William Dufour led the way once again with a five-point night - two goals and three assists - as the Sea Dogs defeated the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 7-5. Jeremie Poirier, Vincent Sevigny, Marshall Lessard, Brady Burns and Riley Bezeau also scored.

The Drakkar, who were averaging less than three goals per game heading into this match, simply would not go away. The two teams traded goals and momentum for much of the night in what proved to be an entertaining match - but certainly not the greatest defensive game ever played.

While it was a much messier win than the two the Sea Dogs earned on home ice over the weekend, it's still a positive start to a three-game road trip. The Dogs will look to improve upon this performance Wednesday in Chicoutimi.

Nikolas Hurtubise, in his second start with the Sea Dogs, allowed five goals on 31 shots in the victory.

Benjamin Corbeil, Andrew Belchamber, Vincent Collard, Jacob Gaucher and Xavier Fortin all scored for Baie-Comeau. Olivier Ciarlo was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals on 21 shots. Olivier Adam made 10 stops in relief.

LINEUP

Ansons - Daoust - Francis

Burns - Lawrence - Dufour

Bezeau - MacDonald - Lessard

Picard - Trenholm - Blagden

Sevigny - Villeneuve

Kuznetsov - Poirier

Drapeau - DesRoches

Hurtubise

Couture

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without goaltender Noah Patenaude; defenseman Vincent Despont; and forwards Peter Reynolds and Jacob Chantler. Saint John had 13 forwards listed on their pre-game lineup sheet with Reynolds being the final scratch. Riley Bezeau took his spot on the third line.

WELCOME BACK: Sea Dogs forward Raivis Ansons, acquired during the holiday trading period, made his return to Baie-Comeau. Ansons was in the Sea Dogs' starting lineup and finished the game with one shot and a -3 rating

Raivis Ansons gets a warm welcome back from the crowd in Baie-Comeau before the anthems tonight.

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) February 9, 2022

HELLO AGAIN: One of the pieces that went to Baie-Comeau in the Ansons trade was forward Evgeny Sapelnikov. With an assist in the first period, Sapelnikov has points in all three games he's played with the Drakkar. He had two goals and an assist over the weekend.

STREAKS: William Dufour extended his goal streak to six games and point streak to 19. Josh Lawrence also extended his points streak to 14 games.

Dufour ties the game at 1 a piece with his 26th goal of the season 🚨 pic.twitter.com/lS2i3Ha7lJ

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) February 9, 2022

BIG NIGHT: That early first period goal was a sign of things to come for Dufour. He finished the night with two goals and three assists, tying a career high for points in a game and pushing him into the QMJHL scoring lead with 55 points. He had a chance for the hat trick in the third period but hit the post. This was Dufour's sixth two-goal game of the season.

FIRST GOAL: Defenseman Vincent Sevigny scored his first goal as a Sea Dog in the second period.

Sevigny makes it 3-2. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/xvyqOX7fGf

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) February 9, 2022

NOTES: This was Saint John's first visit to Baie-Comeau since Feb. 1, 2020... Quebec COVID restrictions allowed a maximum of 500 fans to attend this game. Attendance was 453... Nikolas Hurtubise allowed his first goal as a Sea Dog. He registered a shutout in his debut on Friday... Benjamin Corbeil extended his home points streak to 13 games... the "Loto Drakkar" winner took home $732... Cam MacDonald had two assists and a key faceoff win late in the third period after the Drakkar got within a goal... Riley Bezeau had five shots.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs continue their road trip in Chicoutimi on Wednesday night, facing the Sagueneens at 8:30 p.m.