RECAP: Pushed To The Brink. Dogs Win 8-2

FINAL: Saint John 8, Cape Breton 2

SYDNEY, NS – The Saint John Sea Dogs are a win away from eliminating the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

The Sea Dogs took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven first round series this evening, defeating the Screaming Eagles 8-2 in front of a sparse crowd at Centre 200 in Sydney.

It was another fairly dominant game by the Sea Dogs who have now outscored Cape Breton 29-7 in three games. The Eagles did produce a solid amount of shots, throwing 29 pucks at Sea Dogs goaltender Mathieu Corbeil.

Charlie Coyle had another big night, registering two goals to give him eight in three playoff games. Danick Gauthier also had two goals while singles came from Jonathan Huberdeau, Tomas Jurco, Ryan Tesink, and Kevin Gagne. Jurco added three assists. Corbeil made 27 saves for the win.

Saint John couldn’t have started the game much better, scoring five goals in the first 5:01 of the game.

William Carrier and Kyle Farrell had goals from Cape Breton. Philippe Trudeau was pulled after allowing three goals on six shots. William Carrier allowed five on 32 shots in relief.

Game 4 of the series is tomorrow night at Centre 200. The Eagles will need a miracle if they want to win this series.

In the first period, Charlie Coyle opened the scoring on a breakaway, beating Philippe Trudeau with a move to his backhand. That made it 1-0 Saint John at 1:35.

Then at 2:26, Danick Gauthier converted after the Eagles lost the puck in their own zone. That made it 2-0.

Gauthier scored his second of the match 37 second later. That made it 3-0. That would also be the end of Philippe Trudeau’s night as William Racicot came in in relief.

Kevin Gagne got in on the action at 5:01, scoring on a hard shot from inside the circle. That gave the Sea Dogs a 4-0 advantage.

Saint John led Cape Breton 16-10 in the shots on goal category after one. The Dogs dominated early in the first but the Eagles did show some life in the second half.

The second proved to be just as eventful. Cape Breton got on the board just 22 seconds into the middle frame as William Carrier cut through the crease and beat Mathieu Corbeil to make it a 4-1 contest.

Not long after Saint John killed off a Ryan Tesink penalty, Tomas Jurco netted his second of the playoffs at 3:51 to give the Dogs their four-goal lead back.

Saint John made it a 6-1 game at 14:21. Zack Phillips centered the puck to an open Coyle in front. The American connected for his second of the game and eighth of the playoffs.

Jonathan Huberdeau gave the Dogs a 7-1 lead at 15:01, burying a rebound in close.

Kyle Farrell ended the period on a positive note for Cape Breton, beating Corbeil in the crease area to make it a 7-2 Saint John advantage after two. Shots were 15-13 Cape Breton in the frame.

The third was fairly uneventful. Ryan Tesink scored on a power play at 13:06 to make it an 8-2 final.

Shots in the third were 8-4 Saint John.

The Dogs went 1-for-1 on the power play on the power play while the Eagles went 0-for-2.

MISSING IN ACTION: Grant West (flu), Spencer MacDonald (bicep), Maxime Villemaire (knee), Devon Oliver-Dares (collarbone), and Ian Saab (suspension) were all out for Saint John. Jordan Moore and Dylan McGuigan both played.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs and Screaming Eagles play Game 4 of their fest-of-seven first round playoff series tomorrow night at 7pm.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation