Recap: Sea Dogs win 2-1

FINAL: Saint John 2, Charlottetown 1

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

CHARLOTTETOWN - The Saint John Sea Dogs won their sixth straight game on Friday at Eastlink Centre.

Josh Lawrence put in his own rebound at 1:25 of the third period, a goal that proved to be the winner in a 2-1 Sea Dogs victory over the Charlottetown Islanders.

Ryan Francis scored Saint John's other goal, connecting early in the first period on a power play. Nikolas Hurtubise was solid in net, making 22 saves in the win.

It was a close, hard fought and entertaining contest even with both squads missing some regulars from their lineup. It was a fairly low event game - something unusual for the Sea Dogs - with shots ending just 23-23 in a faceoff between two of the QMJHL's top scoring teams.

Even though the Islanders were missing a few key players, this has to be another confidence boost for the Sea Dogs. Saint John entered the game having just one win in five tries against Charlottetown this season.

Brett Budgell scored Charlottetown's lone goal midway through the third period. Francesco Lapenna made 21 stops in the loss.

LINEUP

Burns - Lawrence - Dufour

Trenholm - Daoust - Francis

Ansons - MacDonald - Bezeau

Picard - Reynolds - Chantler

Poirier - DesRoches

Villeneuve - Drapeau

Despont - Sevigny

Hurtubise

Couture

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without goaltender Noah Patenaude (injury); defenseman Yan Kuznetsov (injury); and forwards Marshall Lessard (injury) and Nicholas Blagden (game 10 of a 10-game suspension).

HURTING: The Islanders were without a few key regulars for this game. Out of the lineup were Zachary Roy, Jakub Brabenec and Xavier Simoneau all due to injuries. Brabenec leads all QMJHL rookies in scoring while Simoneau is tied for second in the league in assists.

FRANCIS: Ryan Francis having a great month of March. After a bit of a slow start to the second half, Francis has recorded three goals and five assists over his past five games.

Some quick hands from @NHLFlames prospect Ryan Francis gives the Sea Dogs the lead early! #CityofChampions https://t.co/QCRxcqfEmK pic.twitter.com/SGV9hBZ71K

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) March 11, 2022

LAWRENCE: Josh Lawrence stayed hot on Friday, extending his point streak to six games. He's posted five goals and eight assists during that stretch.

Josh Lawrence picks up his own rebound! 🚨#CityofChampions pic.twitter.com/Md2cu6UJya

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) March 12, 2022

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Sea Dogs are now 2-4-0-0 against the Islanders this season. This was just Saint John's third win at Eastlink Centre over the past five years. The two teams will meet three more times in the regular season, including next Friday at TD Station.

ATTENDANCE: The game was officially a sellout even with attendance only 1,610. Sporting events in PEI are still limited to 50% capacity.

This evening's game against @SJSeaDogs is 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗢𝗨𝗧 as we have reached our capacity limit. #GoIslesGo pic.twitter.com/jAVuBjCAXY

— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) March 11, 2022

NOTES: Nicholas Blagden served the final game of his 10-game suspension... this was the first game of a three-in-three weekend for the Islanders. The team travels to Bathurst on Saturday and then hosts Chicoutimi on Sunday... William Dufour had his goal streak come to an end at six games... Saint John went for 1/3 on the power play against the league's best penalty kill.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs are in Moncton Saturday night to face the Wildcats at 7 p.m.