Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 4-3 (OT)

FINAL: Saint John 3, Edmonton 4 (OT)
Vincent Ethier/CHL
SAINT JOHN - The streak is over for the Western Hockey League.

For the first time since the 2015 semifinal, a WHL champion won a Memorial Cup game thanks to the Edmonton Oil Kings, who posted a 4-3 overtime victory over the host Saint John Sea Dogs on Wednesday at TD Station.

The Oil Kings were coming off a 4-3 loss to the Shawinigan Cataractes in their tournament opener on Tuesday. Wednesday's win earned them two points while the Sea Dogs collected a single point for their overtime loss.

Jaxsen Wiebe had quite the game for Edmonton, completing a hat trick by scoring the overtime winner  8:05 into the three-in-three frame. Wiebe also had a rare Memorial Cup fight, dropping the gloves with Riley Bezeau in the first period.

Carter Souch also scored for Edmonton. Sebastian Cossa made 36 stops in the win.

Raivis Ansons, Josh Lawrence and William Dufour scored for Saint John. Nikolas Hurtubise made 27 saves in the loss.

The game kicked off with a wild first period that saw the Sea Dogs carry a 3-2 lead into the second period. Things calmed down from there, but both teams had some quality chances throughout the remainder of regulation.

Overtime was quite the show with both teams getting plenty of opportunities. Wiebe netted the winner 8:05 in, ripping a perfectly placed shot over the shoulder of Hurtubise.

While a disappointing result for Saint John, they once again proved they can skate with a league champion. The Dogs can still end the round-robin with a winning record with a victory over the Cataractes on Saturday.

LINEUP
Burns - Lawrence - Dufour
Ansons - Daoust - Francis
Reynolds - MacDonald - Bezeau
Picard - Trenholm - Lessard

Sevigny - Villeneuve
Kuznetsov - Poirier
Drapeau - DesRoches

Hurtubise
Couture

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without goaltender Noah Patenaude; forwards Nico Laforge, Jacob Chantler, Adam Bowness and Nicholas Blagden; and defensemen Hunter Gartley and Vincent Despont.

PRE-GAME: Former NHLer Everett Sanipass, born in Elsipogtog First Nation, and former Sea Dogs defenseman Kevin Gagne performed the ceremonial puck drop.

WILD START: This game had an eventful start with four goals and a fight taking place just 6:26 into the game. Edmonton scored 2:14 in; Riley Bezeau dropped the gloves with Jaxsen Wiebe at 3:50; and then the Kings made it 2-0 at 4:27. Saint John then tied the game with goals at 6:01 and 6:26 by Raivis Ansons and Josh Lawrence, respectively.
ANSONS: After leading the team in scoring in their first round playoff loss to Rimouski, Raivis Ansons continues to produce offensively at the Memorial Cup. Ansons had a goal and an assist in Wednesday's game to add to his three-assist night on Monday.

PENALTY KILL: After allowing two power play goals on two opportunities in Monday's game, Saint John's penalty kill once again had its struggles in Wednesday's contest, allowing two goals on four chances. Saint John went 0/4 on the power play.

EXTRA TIME: For the first time at this year's tournament, a game needed overtime. With the new format introduced by the CHL, there was a 15-minute intermission followed by three-in-three overtime. The result means two points for Edmonton and one point for Saint John. Three points are awarded for regulation time wins.

NOTES: The Sea Dogs dressed the same lineup as Monday... Fleaburn really brought the spice with his sign selection... the on-ice all-white camera dude came out to grab footage of the Riley Bezeau fight... the Sea Dogs are now 2-1 all-time in Memorial Cup overtime wins. This was their first OT game since the 2011 tournament... William Dufour had eight shots...Saint John didn't record a shot in overtime until 3:30 in... attendance was 5,245... the 50/50 winner took home $17,013.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs take on the Shawinigan Cataractes on Saturday at 5 p.m.
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