RECAP: Rocked on the Road. Dogs Lose 6-2

FINAL: Saint John 2, Shawinigan 6

SHAWINIGAN, Que. – File this one under the “games to forget” category.

The Saint John Sea Dogs missed an opportunity to clinch first place in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League by losing 6-2 to the Shawinigan Cataractes on Sunday night.  It was Saint John’s first regulation loss since January 12 when they lost to this same Cataractes team.

The Sea Dogs played an ugly game. The game was delayed 30 minutes because a piece of glass had to be replaced at the Bionest Centre. The Dogs opened the scoring in the first period but Shawinigan quickly tied it at 1-1. Then the penalties started coming left and right as Shawinigan was awarded back-to-back five-on-three power plays. Saint John would kill them off, but they never looked quite the same after.

Shawinigan scored three times in the middle frame and twice more in the third to earn the 6-2 victory. The Cataractes are now just two points back of Saint John for first overall but have just two games remaining. Saint John still has three games remaining on their schedule, meaning the Sea Dogs are in control of their destiny.

It wasn’t a great road trip for Saint John. With their shootout loss in Chicoutimi on Friday, they head back to the Maritimes with just one of a possible four points.

Stanislav Galiev and Jonathan Huberdeau both had goals for Saint John in the loss. Mathieu Corbeil was pulled in the third period after allowing five goals on 35 shots. Sebastien Auger allowed one goal on 14 shots in relief.

Anton Zlobin had a big night for the Cataractes, scoring twice and adding three assists. Jonathan Narbonne, Kirill Kabanov, Michael Chaput and Michael Bournival had solo markers. Alex Dubeau made 28 saves for the win.

This was the last Saint John/Shawinigan game of the regular season. The teams split the four-game regular season series.

FIRST PERIOD

Saint John went to the power play at 1:54. On the man advantage, Stanislav Galiev fired home his 11^th of the season from the slot to give Saint John a 1-0 lead at 2:51.

But the Cataractes would quickly tie it. At 4:12, Jonathan Narbonne fired a shot from just inside the line that went through some traffic and beat Mathieu Corbeil to tie things at 1-1.

After some rough stuff by the Shawinigan bench at 9:09, Saint John went back to the power play. On the man advantage, Charlie Coyle deflected a point shot that just went wide of the goal. Soon after, Danick Gauthier was in front but was stopped. Then, Ryan Tesink split the defense but Alex Dubeau made a fine stop.

Just after the Sea Dogs’ power play expired, Shawinigan had all kinds of pressure on but could not take the lead.

At 13:10, Maxime Villemaire was sent to the sin bin. Then at 13:47, Kevin Gagne was sent off as well. On the five-on-three advantage, the Cataractes had some solid pressure on but could not generate many scoring opportunities.

Then at 15:48, Charles Roussel headed to the box. At 16:16, Stephen MacAulay was sent off as well to send the Cats straight back to the two-man advantage. Vincent Arseneau had Shawinigan’s best chance but was stopped by Corbeil in close. The Dogs would kill it off.

In the final minute, Coyle had a good chance but was stopped and then Jonathan Huberdeau sailed the rebound wide.

Shots were 12-11 Shawinigan in the first period.

SECOND PERIOD

Early in the second period, Roussel was robbed as Dubeau was putting on a show in net. A little later on at the other end, Dillon Donnelly let a couple shots go that couldn’t reach the back of the net. Then Corbeil made a big pad save on Jonathan Racine.

At 5:03, Grant West and Mathieu Gagnon dropped the gloves for uneventful scrap. Just after the fight, the Dogs had a bit of pressure on as Stephen MacAulay tipped a Nathan Beaulieu point shot right on goal but was denied.

The Cataractes took a 2-1 lead at 6:12. Anton Zlobin went in on a breakaway and beat Corbeil.

Then at 9:26, Kirill Kabanov converted on a turnover and beat the Saint John goaltender to give Shawinigan a 3-1 lead and put Saint John in a hole.

Saint John headed to the power play at 11:09. On the man advantage, Huberdeau was in the slot and wired a shot past Dubeau to cut the lead to one.

At 13:09, two unexpected combatants dropped the gloves as Zack Phillips and Peter Sakaris squared off. Both players got some shots in before being broken up.

After the tilt, the Cataractes had some pressure on. Corbeil made a huge save on Loik Poudrier as he stretched out to stun the Shawinigan forward. A few moments later, Dubeau would make a nice stop on Huberdeau.

Then at 19:04, the Cats took a two-goal lead again. Zlobin sent the puck in front where Michael Chaput was left all alone. He made a move around Corbeil to give Shawinigan a 4-2 lead heading into the dressing room.

Shots were 18-12 Shawinigan in the middle frame.

THIRD PERIOD

Shawinigan made it a 5-2 game when Michael Bournival beat Corbeil at 2:59. That would end Corbeil’s night as Sebastien Auger took over.

At 3:01, Beaulieu and Mitchel Maynard dropped the gloves for a solid scrap. Then at 3:22, the rough stuff continued with a scrum in the Shawinigan crease area. Dubeau ended up taking a penalty after shoving his blocker in someone’s face. The Sea Dogs could do much on the power play though.

At 5:50, Zlobin scored his second of the game to give the home side a 6-2 lead. Ugh.

Gauthier headed to the box at 9:05. Zlobin had a good chance on the power play but couldn’t connect. After the penalty expired, Auger robbed Chaput.

Late in the game, Ian Saab picked up a match penalty for high sticking, a play that will likely be look at by the QMJHL disciplinary folks.

Shots in the third were 19-7 Cataractes.

Saint John went 2-for-4 on the power play while Shawinigan went 0-for-7. Saint John's penalty kill was a bright spot.

NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow on SN.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs take on the Halifax Mooseheads on Wednesday night at the Metro Centre.