RECAP: Back To The Wins. Dogs Win 5-3.

FINAL: Saint John 5, Bathurst 3

BATHURST – A four-goal third period propelled the Saint John Sea Dogs to a 5-3 victory at the KC Irving Regional Centre on Saturday night.

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan held a 2-1 lead entering the final frame but two goals by the Sea Dogs in a 1:05 span seemed to turn the tides. Saint John would add two more goals in the frame and outshoot Bathurst 17-8. It was good to see after a couple of tough games for the Sea Dogs’ offense.

Oliver Cooper had two goals and Nathan Noel had a goal and two assists. Jason Cameron and Nicolas Hebert also scored while Jeremy Doucet added a couple assists. One of the big stories in this one was Christopher Smith who made 26 saves in his first Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game.

Nicolas Blanchard, Matthew Boudreau, and Raphael Lafontaine all scored for the Titan. Jacob Brennan made 24 stops in the loss.

Basically nothing happened in the first period. Shots were 8-2 Titan.

Blanchard opened the scoring at 3:27 of the second. Cooper tied it on a power play at 8:46 which was followed by Boudreau getting the Titan back in front at 10:47. Shots in the middle stanza were 13-10 in favour of Bathurst.

Noel tied the game with his 14^th of the season at 4:42 of the third. 1:05 later, Cooper scored his second of the match to make it 3-2 Saint John. Later on at 14:18, Cameron scored his second goal in as many games to make it 4-2.

The Titan got back in it with a goal from Lafontaine at 19:19. But Hebert sealed the deal with a empty netter just nine seconds later to make it a 5-3 final.

Shots in the game were 29-29.

Saint John went 1-for-2 on the power play while Bathurst went 0-for-4.

This win ends a two-game skid for the Sea Dogs and moves them back into the final playoff spot for the time being. Meanwhile, the Titan have lost 12 straight and are just two points ahead of the Dogs.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host Ryan Tesink and the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada tomorrow at 4pm.

Photo courtesy Bryan Willett