POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 2, Remparts 5

A collection of recaps from last night’s 5-2 Saint John Sea Dogs loss to the Quebec Remparts…

Our recap. The final score may not show it, but the Saint John Sea Dogs put up a great performance against the No. 2 ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League on Wednesday night.

The Telegraph-Journal’s recap (paywall). The Saint John Sea Dogs skated with the nation’s second-ranked Quebec Remparts for 59 minutes but dropped a 5-2 decision in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action on Wednesday night.

News 88.9’s recap. Featuring Tim Roszell’s goal calls.

Le Soleil’s recap. Remparts goaltender Francois Brassard was solid last night.

Journal de Quebec’s recap. Shocker: Patrick Roy thinks his team can play better. He’s probably right.

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. Olivier LeBlanc and Jonathan Huberdeau scored for the Sea Dogs while Sebastien Auger stopped 26 of 29 in the loss. The Sea Dogs now stand at 5-6.

Remparts.ca’s recap. The Remparts won. True story.

Live Blog replay.

MISSING IN ACTION: Ryan Kelly (healthy), Michael Mastrangelo (healthy), Benjamin Hade (upper body), Pierre Durepos (hip), Mackenzie Brown (knee), Matthew Highmore (shoulder), and Spencer Smallman (shoulder) did not play for Saint John.

According to News 88.9’s Tim Roszell, Durepos has suffered a setback in recovering from a hip injury. He will be re-evaluated soon. Durepos has not played yet this season.

HOME AND AWAY: The Remparts improved to a perfect 6-0-0-0 on home ice with the win. They have outscored opponents 34-13 at the Colisee Pepsi this season. On the other side, Saint John fell to 2-3-0-0 on the road.

STRUGGLES: The Sea Dogs now have just one win over their past six games and that came in a shootout. Their last regulation win came on September 30 in Moncton. Given how Saint John has performed over the past few games, last night’s contest was a step in the right direction.

SCORING FIRST: The Remparts have scored the first goal in every game they have played this season. They are 9-1-0-0 overall.

LEBLANC: Olivier Leblanc fired a point shot past Francois Brassard at 16:38 of the first, putting Saint John on the board and giving the rookie defenseman his second goal of the year. The goal was extra special given Leblanc had a bunch of family and friends in the crowd. He finished the game with an even rating and was named third star. 

3-1 for Quebec at the end of the first. LeBlanc tallied the lone Dogs goal with 50+ family and friends in attendance. #hometowncrowd
— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SeaDogsHockey) October 17, 2012

Back from @seadogshockey game in Quebec City. @3leblanc made us proud by scoring a goal in his home city. twitter.com/Lulubizou/stat…
— Lucie Le Blanc (@Lulubizou) October 18, 2012

Leblanc has been impressive so far this season. He now has two goals and four assists in 11 matches.

ERNE: Adam Erne had two goals in the first period giving him six on the season. He finished the game with three shots and a +3 rating.

2nd PERIOD: The underdog Sea Dogs produced a solid second period, carrying the play and, in the end, outshooting the high powered Remparts 10-7. Jonathan Huberdeau netted the lone goal in the frame, making it 3-2 Remparts heading into the third.

IZACKY: Sea Dogs import forward Jakub Izacky returned to the Saint John lineup after not playing in either game last weekend. He was a -1 in the game and did not record any shots on net.

POWER PLAY: Saint John’s power play on the road entered this game running at a dismal 4.3%, placing them last in the league. Last night’s 1-for-2 performance improved their rating to 8%.

The Remparts, who have the best power play in the league, went 0-for-3.

GRIGO VS HUBIE: The Mikhail Grigorenko – Jonathan Huberdeau showdown didn’t amount to a whole lot. Grigorenko recorded an empty net goal, an assist, five shots, and was a +3 while Huberdeau had a goal, one shot, and was a -4.

LOSING RECORD: The Sea Dogs fell to 5-6-0-0 with the loss, giving them a losing record for the first time since losing their season opener on September 20. They currently sit fifth in the Telus Maritimes Division and 13^th overall in the QMJHL. The Dogs have the same record as the Moncton Wildcats.

NOTES: There were no penalties in the first period… Stephen MacAulay, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Kevin Gagne were all a -4… no Sea Dogs had a plus rating… Ryan Tesink has eight shots… Devon Oliver-Dares had four hits… Martin Lefebvre and Marc-Antoine Carrier each had two assists for Quebec… Carrier was a team best +4… Nick Sorensen had nine shots… Ryan Culkin had three hits.

OUT OF TOWN

Sherbrooke 6 at Cape Breton 5 (OT)

Acadie-Bathurst 3 at Moncton 4 (OT)

Halifax 7 at P.E.I. 5

Blainville-Boisbriand 3 at Rimouski 1

Chicoutimi 5 at Baie-Comeau 4 (SO)

Shawinigan 3 at Gatineau 5

These are dark days for the Screaming Eagles franchise.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs travel to Chicoutimi to take on the Sags on Friday night.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation