RECAP: Heave Away. Dogs Win 2-1.

FINAL: Bathurst 1, Saint John 2

By Tim Lumsden

SN Staff

SAINT JOHN - Saint John fans rocked the Station on Friday night as the Sea Dogs went head to head with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for the Port City’s last home game of the regular season.

Sebastien Auger took his regular place in net for Saint John while Jacob Brennan guarded the Titan's net.

FIRST PERIOD

Both teams played aggressively during the first period.

Fans saw nothing but disciplined hockey as teams managed to avoid the penalty box the entire twenty minutes.

Shots on goal were 16-10, with Bathurst taking the lead. Despite the number of shots, neither team was able to put a point up on the board.

SECOND PERIOD

Christophe Lalancette kicked off the penalties at 0:44 with a high sticking call.

Fans watched as Steven Duda headed to the box at 10:27 for cross checking.

Maxime Villemaire was sent off for interference at 15:10. Pierre Durepos sent the Dogs to a difficult two man penalty kill just three seconds later with his unfortunate slashing penalty. Saint John, despite some good pressure applied by Bathurst, was able to kill it off.

The rink heated up as the period came to an end with a scoreless 40 minutes and Bathurst slightly edging out Saint John in shots on goal in the second stanza, 17-16.

THIRD PERIOD

Francois Godin headed to the box at 0:22 with a cross checking call.

Jakub Izacky was next to the box at 4:34 for tripping.

Bathurst's Patrik Zdrahal scored the first point of the game at 7:02, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.

It was soon answered and once again the score was tied as Stephen Anderson scored his unassisted goal at 8:05. That made it 1-1.

Adam Stevens was ushered off at 9:28 for tripping.

The tie was shattered at 13:04 as Maxime Villemaire sent a rocket through Brennan's defences. Assists went to Izacky and LeBlanc.

And with that the Fat Lady sang her song and yes it was over for Bathurst in this 2-1 game. Total shots on goal were 45-36 in favour of the Titan.

NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow on SN.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs take on the Screaming Eagles in Cape Breton on Sunday afternoon.