RECAP: Dogs Lose 6-2

FINAL: Saint John 2, Bathurst 6

BATHURST – The Acadie-Bathurst Titan turned the tables on the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sunday afternoon.

After posting a 7-1 victory over the Titan on Saturday night in Quispamsis, the Sea Dogs fell 6-2 to Bathurst in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season play at the KC Irving Regional Centre. Both teams are now 1-1-0 in exhibition play.

Like Saturday it was a penalty filled affair. The Titan jumped ahead 2-0 in the second period but Saint John tied it at 2-2 with a pair of power play markers. But then Bathurst blew it open and the Dogs could never come back.

Joel Blanchard had a pair of goals for the Titan while singles came from Marc-Andre Gauvreau, Christophe Boivin, Francois Godin, and Adam Chapman. Miguel Sullivan played the entire game, making 23 saves in the victory.

Saint John goals came from Spencer Smallman and Brett Malone. Antoine Landry got the start in net again and made 18 saves. Maxime Michaud played the second half of the game and made 25 saves.

Bathurst took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a five-on-three power play. A quick Godin shot beat Landry five-hole to open the scoring at 15:32. Shots in the first were 11-10 Titan.

The home side grabbed a 2-0 advantage at 3:15 of the second. After Landry made a nice save with his pad, Gauvreau picked up the puck and swung it around the Saint John netminder and in.

The Sea Dogs scored their first goal on a five-on-three advantage as well as Samllman tapped the puck in at 7:51. Saint John tied the game at 2-2 with a five-on-four power play goal at 8:10 by Malone.

At 10:05, Joey Bernard and Alexander McQuaid squared off in a good tilt.

Bathurst retook the lead at 17:26 as Blanchard beat Michaud glove side to make it 3-2. Then one minute later, Michaud left the puck behind the net for his teammates to take but there were none there. The Titan grabbed the puck and Boivin managed to poke it in to give Bathurst a 4-2 lead heading into the third. Shots were 18-9 in favour of the Titan in the middle stanza.

The Sea Dogs nearly got back in the game midway through the frame. While shorthanded, Stephen Anderson beat Sullivan but could not beat the crossbar.

Bathurst took a commanding 5-2 lead at 12:01 on the man advantage. Dominic Beauchemin was along the side boards and fed Chapman perfectly. Chapman made no mistake and hit the open cage.

Blanchard scored his second of the match at 14:02 on the power play to make it a 6-2 final.

Shots were 20-6 in the third and 49-25 overall in favour of Bathurst.

The Titan went 3-for-7 on the power play while the Sea Dogs went 2-for-5.

NOTES: There was a long moment of silence for Jordan Boyd before the game. This was the Titan’s first exhibition home game since his death… the public address announcer at the KC Irving Regional Centre was in playoff form… real nice Subway in the KCI parking lot… Charles Corriveau had assists on both Saint John goals… Stephen Anderson had six shots… Mathieu Joseph had four shots… 876 people attended the game.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs battle the Titan again next Saturday at Harbour Station.