SAINT JOHN – In a hard fought Game 1, the Saint John Sea
Dogs scored three times in the third period to take a 1-0 series lead over the
Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Friday night at Harbour Station top open up the semifinals.
Stanislav Galiev scored the eventual game winner at 2:18
of the third. He sped away from the Chicoutimi defense and then cut through the
goal crease, pushing the puck and Christopher Gibson’s leg across the goal
line. Jonathan Huberdeau and Danick Gauthier would add insurance markers.
Pierre Durepos scored the other Saint John marker. Kevin
Gagne registered three assists while Charlie Coyle added two.
The big story was the play of goaltender Mathieu Corbeil.
The Sea Dogs goaltender played one of his best games of the season and made 24
saves for the win. He was sensational in the first period as he made a couple
of terrific stops to keep it scoreless. He was named the game’s first star.
Chicoutimi netminder Christopher Gibson played very well
despite the loss. He made 29 stops and was named the contest’s third star. Mathieu Gagnon scored Chicoutimi's lone goal.
This game certainly felt like a playoff game. It was
intense, physical, and a bit nasty at times. There was good goaltending, some
good defensive play, and a few nice goals. This should be an entering series.
The Sags were able to stick with the Dogs until the third
period. It was scoreless after the first period and tied 1-1 after two.
Chicoutimi was outshooting Saint John entering the final frame.
The two teams have a day off to work on some things. Game 2 will be held on Sunday afternoon at Harbour Station.
Despite having over a week off, Saint John got off to a
quick start and showed no signs of rust. That ended when Huberdeau joined
Stephen MacAulay in the penalty box at 6:40 to give the Sags a long
five-on-three power play. But Saint John would kill it off thanks to a massive
pad blocker save by Corbeil that saw him stretch across the paint to cover a wide open
goal.
Some rough stuff took place at 16:08 after Gauthier made
contact with Gibson behind the goal. The Sags got another power play but couldn’t
get much going.
Mathieu Gagnon opened the scoring at 6:16 of the second.
Gagnon fired a point shot that hit something and found its way past Corbeil to
give Chicoutimi a 1-0 lead.
The teams would exchange some power play opportunities in
the middle frame as the physical play heated up. But neither team had much luck
on the man advantage.
Finally at 17:02, the Sea Dogs would strike. Durepos
fired a point shot through some traffic that beat Gibson to make it a 1-1
affair after two.
In the third, Galiev gave the Dogs a 2-1 lead at 2:18 as
he turned on the jets, cut through the crease and pushed the puck across the
line. Corbeil received an assist on the goal.
Saint John took a 3-1 lead at 3:39. The puck was loose in
front and Huberdeau was all alone. He walked around a fallen Gibson and fired
the puck over him to give the Dogs some insurance.
The scoring summary came to an end at 10:12 on a power
play when Galiev fed Gauthier to put the Dogs in front 4-1.
Shots were 33-25 in favour of Saint John by the end of
it. The Dogs went 1-for-3 on the power play while the Sags went 0-for-5.
NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow on SN.
NEXT GAME: Game 2 is Sunday at 3pm. Be there.
Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation
Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation
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