RECAP: Comeback Kids. Dogs Win 3-2.

FINAL (OT): Shawinigan 2, Saint John 3

SAINT JOHN – What a game on Saturday night at Harbour Station.

The Memorial Cup champion Saint John Sea Dogs needed overtime to defeat the Memorial Cup hosting Shawinigan Cataractes 3-2. The win extended Saint John’s home winning streak to 15 games.

The Sea Dogs had a sloppy first period and were down 1-0 at intermission. The Cataractes then went up 2-0 in the second before the Sea Dogs turned it on. Saint John managed to tie the game and send it into overtime where Nathan Beaulieu scored the game-winner on a power play.

Oliver Cooper and Zack Phillips had the other Saint John goals. Phillips’ goal extended his point streak to 21 games. Goaltender Mathieu Corbeil picked up the win, making 37 saves.

Shawinigan had goals from Maxime Le Sieur and Michael Bournival. Gabriel Girard made 29 saves in the loss.

Although it wasn’t the prettiest game of the year, it was certainly one of the most entertaining. The two teams meet three more times this season.

Saint John headed to the power play 9:07 of the first. On the man advantage, Mathieu Corbeil gave the puck away in the corner. Felix-Antoine Bergeron quickly fired the puck on goal but just missed the far post. In the dying seconds of the power play, Charles-Olivier Roussel blasted a point shot that nailed the crossbar and then bounced out. Although the light went on, play continued. After a short video review, it was ruled no goal.

The Cataractes made it 1-0 at 16:04. Loik Poudrier cut in front through some traffic and got a pass off to Maxime Le Sieur. The Shawinigan forward had an open cage to make it 1-0 in favour of the visitors.

Kirill Kabanov headed to the box at 16:28 to send the Dogs to the man advantage. Saint John had some good power play pressure but couldn’t tie the game. Just after Kabanov rejoined the play, Oliver Cooper had a great chance in front but was unable to score.

The Catarctes headed back to the power play at 19:07. In the dying seconds, Tomas Jurco and Zack Phillips had a shorthanded two-on-one. Jurco passed the puck ahead to Phillips but was unable to reach it in time to get a good shot off.

Shots were 12-12 in the opening frame.

The Sea Dogs killed the penalty that carried over into the second period. But Shawinigan headed to a five-on-three man advantage at 2:26 with Nathan Beaulieu joining Roussel in the box. On the man advantage at 3:39, Michael Bournival fired the puck upstairs at the side of the goal to make it a 2-0 game.

A little later on, the Cataractes thought they had scored on a scrum in the crease. The play was reviewed – and it was lengthy one – but the call remained no goal.

Saint John headed to the power play at 4:45. The Dogs had some good pressure and great chances during the time frame but were unable to beat Gabriel Girard in the Shawinigan crease.

The Dogs went on an abbreviated power play later on in the frame but, once again, couldn’t beat Girard.

Finally, at 12:49, Scott Oke came out from behind the goal and sent a perfect pass to a wide open Oliver Cooper. The Fredericton native had an open cage to make it a 2-1 contest.

The remainder of the frame featured some solid back-and-forth action with both teams getting plenty of chances.

Shots in the middle stanza were 13-10 in favour of the visitors.

Phillips tied the game at 2-2 at 4:42 of the third. The Minnesota Wild prospect was left all alone, allowing him to snipe the puck top corner and past Girard to tie it up.

Once Phillips tied the game, it started to feel like a playoff game. The mixture of excitement of nervousness went around the building. What a feeling.

Later on, Scott Oke had a great chance in front but was stopped. Then, Zlobin made some nice moves to get around the Saint John defense but nailed the crossbar when he finally let a shot go.

Cooper had a chance late as he came down the wing and got the puck on Girard but it stayed out.

Shots in the third were 14-8 Shawinigan.

In overtime, Peter Sakaris tripped up Corbeil just 23 seconds in to send Saint John to the power play. At 1:57, Beaulieu fired a low shot through a screen that found its way past Girard and in to give the Dogs a 3-2 win.

Shots were 2-0 Saint John in the extra frame.

The Sea Dogs went 1-for-5 on the power play while the Cataractes went 1-for-4.

MISSING IN ACTION: Forwards Jonathan Huberdeau, Stanislav Galiev, and Ryan Tesink along with defenseman Jason Seed all missed the contest. According to News 88.9, Tesink’s status has been downgraded to “week-to-week” instead of day-to-day. Seed, who was the victim of Olivier D’Aoust’s hit from behind, will be revaluated this week.

WELCOME BACK: In a surprising turn of events, Devon Oliver-Dares returned to the Sea Dogs lineup. He had not played with the squad since mid-October due to "personal reasons."

HIGHLIGHTS: Here are the SeaDogsTV highlights of the game.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Chicoutimi Sagueneens tomorrow at 3pm at the Station.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation