Recap: Sea Dogs win 5-3

FINAL: Bathurst 3, Saint John 5

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs picked up a big regulation time win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Saturday night at TD Station.

Josh Lawrence scored what proved to be the game-winner in a 5-3 Sea Dogs victory - the team's fifth straight win. The two points put Saint John into a tie with Bathurst for third overall in the QMJHL's Eastern Conference. Both teams have 10 games remaining.

Cam MacDonald, Vincent Sevigny, Raivis Ansons and Riley Bezeau also scored for Saint John. William Dufour registered three assists while Nikolas Hurtubise made 34 stops in the win.

The Titan played a strong game despite being a man short and without several key regulars. The Sea Dogs were able to take advantage of the shorthanded Titan squad at times though, especially on special teams. Saint John went 2/3 on the power play against the league's top penalty kill while Bathurst was only able to score once on six man advantages.

Logan Chisholm, Jacob Melanson and Ben Allison scored for Bathurst. Jan Bednar made 24 saves in the loss.

Game Day 58: vs Titan

SAINT JOHN - One of the most important games of the regular season takes place tonight at TD Station.

The Saint John Sea Dogs host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in a key Eastern Conference showdown this evening. The result of this game could play a huge role in deciding who finishes third overall in the conference, a playoff position that could be very important down the road.

The Titan, thanks to an overtime win last night, have a two-point lead on the Sea Dogs. Both teams have 11 regular season games remaining.

Tonight is also Pride Night in Saint John. Game time is 7 p.m.

We are hosting the @ABTitan for Pride Night presented by TD at 7PM on Saturday! Bring tickets originally issued for December 31 to enter.

Tickets are available at the TD Station Box Office and online. Come celebrate the LGBTQ2+ community and show that we are Proud of our Pride! pic.twitter.com/fglPJ09cVa

— x - Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) April 7, 2022

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/93 CFBC/CHL TV

Capacity/Proof of Vaccination/Masks: 100%/None/Not mandatory

Records: The Sea Dogs are 36-17-1-3 for 76 points (third Maritimes/fourth Eastern/fifth QMJHL) while the Titan are 36-15-3-3 for 78 points (second Maritimes/third Eastern/fourth QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 overtime win over the Gatineau Olympiques on Wednesday. Josh Lawrence, Brady Burns, Ryan Francis and Philippe Daoust scored for Saint John. Nikolas Hurtubise made 32 saves in the win. The Titan are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Olympiques last night. Ben Allison scored a pair of goals while Miguel Tourigny netted the OT winner. Jan Bednar made 36 stops in the win.

Notebook: MHL playoffs off to fun start

SAINT JOHN - If the opening round of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs are anything like the Maritime Junior Hockey League's, we're in for a wild ride.

There were two significant upsets in the MHL's first round with the Valley Wildcats (19-16-2-1) upsetting the Eastlink South Division's top seeded Yarmouth Mariners (25-8-4-1) in six games and the Fredericton Red Wings (22-12-2-0) eliminating the Eastlink North Division's second-place squad in the Campbellton Tigers (23-8-4-1) in six matches.

The Truro Bearcats (19-15-2-0), the No. 3 seed in the South, also upended the Amherst Ramblers (19-14-2-2), the No. 2 seed, in five games.

The MHL's semifinals will feature the Wildcats facing the Bearcats and the Red Wings taking on the top-ranked Summerside Western Capitals. Even the Western Capitals, who finished 18 points ahead of the Edmundston Blizzard, needed five games to advance to the next round (each series was/is best-of-seven).

Some notable names to watch in the MHL semifinals:

Fredericton Red Wings: Zachary Alchorn, Logan Carruthers, Connor McCluskey and Mathias Savoie

Summerside Western Capitals: Josh MacDonald and Sam Dow

Truro Bearcats: Brady Stone and Frederic Plourde

Valley Wildcats: Luke Wilson, Julian Vander Voet, Antoine Lyonnais and Justin Bourque

GREAT PIC

Quite a photo captured by Sea Dogs team photographer Michael Hawkins on Wednesday night.

Last night's OT Winner: Philippe Daoust or Bobby Orr? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/bVEQOF30WQ

— x - Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) April 7, 2022 

Dufour, Lawrence close to more records

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - With 11 games remaining in the regular season, William Dufour and Josh Lawrence are closing in on some more Saint John Sea Dogs franchise records.

Dufour broke Danick Gauthier's single season goals record last weekend in Cape Breton, scoring his 48th into an empty net. Now he's inching closer to Jonathan Huberdeau's single season points record of 105, set in 2010-11.

With two assists on Wednesday, Dufour now has 98 points to currently place him second in team history. Given the pace he's been on this season, the New York Islanders prospect has a strong chance of breaking Huberdeau's record - along with becoming just the second Sea Dogs player to reach the 100-point mark.

Dufour currently sits in a tie with former Sea Dogs forward Joshua Roy, now with the Sherbrooke Phoenix, for first in league scoring. Dufour's 48 goals is a league high, five more than Patrick Guay of the Charlottetown Islanders.

In the QMJHL assists race, there is a three-way tie between Roy, Bathurst's Riley Kidney and Saint John's Josh Lawrence. All three have 59 helpers.

Lawrence, who sits seventh overall in league scoring, has flown under the radar a bit this season due to Dufour's historic numbers. The Fredericton native is close to breaking Huberdeau's franchise record for most assists in a single season.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 4-3 (OT)

FINAL: Gatineau 3, Saint John 4 (OT)

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - Philippe Daoust scored 16 seconds into overtime to give the Saint John Sea Dogs a 4-3 victory over the Gatineau Olympiques on Wednesday night at TD Station.

A nice feed from William Dufour allowed Daoust to dive across the top of the crease and net his 20th of the season and give the Sea Dogs the victory.

Offense was not easy to come by for the Sea Dogs in this game as the team struggled to generate quality scoring chances. Saint John registered 26 shots on goal but only nine were considered dangerous. The Sea Dogs made the most of their limited chances though, erasing a two-goal deficit to earn the extra point.

Josh Lawrence, Brady Burns and Ryan Francis scored in regulation for Saint John. Nikolas Hurtubise made 32 saves in the victory, helping the Sea Dogs stretch their winning streak to four games.

Gatineau had a pair of goals from Antonin Verreault and a solo marker from Donovan Arsenault. Emerik Despatie made 22 stops in the loss as the Olympiques saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

Key stretch of games ahead for Sea Dogs

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - While the Saint John Sea Dogs have already secured a playoff spot, the team's next four games may prove pivotal in determining their playoff positioning.

The Sea Dogs have a tough stretch of games over the next week-and-a-bit, beginning with Wednesday's 7 p.m. home contest with the Gatineau Olympiques. The Olympiques have a huge lead atop the West Division and are battling with the Shawinigan Cataractes for the second seed in the Western Conference.

On Saturday the Sea Dogs host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in what will be a huge game for both clubs. The Titan currently have a two-point lead (and a game in-hand) on the Sea Dogs for third overall in the Eastern Conference. It remains possible but unlikely that either club will be able to move past the third spot.

The Sea Dogs and Titan meet only one more time in the regular season after Saturday's contest: April 22 at the KC Irving Regional Centre.

The Quebec Remparts visit Saint John on Sunday and then the Sea Dogs travel to Charlottetown to face the Islanders next Thursday. The Remparts and Islanders currently sit tied for first in the Eastern Conference. Quebec has won eight straight games while Charlottetown continues to go through a rough stretch.

If the top four Eastern Conference seeds advance to the second round of the playoffs, the Sea Dogs would play either Charlottetown or Quebec.