FINAL: Team McCain Wins 9-8

FINAL: Team McCain 9, Team McGraw 8

SAINT JOHN – In another close and entertaining Wallace McCain Memorial Alumni Reunion, Team McCain edged Team McGraw 9-8 on Saturday afternoon at Harbour Station.

Team McCain erased a three-goal first period deficit in the win. Scoring wise, the game got off to a mild start but, by the final half of the third period, the goals were coming fast and furious.

The two teams appeared fairly evenly matched. Sebastien Auger kept Team McGraw in front for much of the game but could not hold them off for the full 60 minutes.

A full scoring summary can be found below.

Just 3:30 in, Alex Leduc found Danick Gauthier who went upstairs on St. Laurent to give Team McGraw a quick 1-0 lead. A few minutes later, Michael Kirkpatrick fired a quick one time shot but was stopped by Karel St. Laurent.

Some nice passing and spinning was on display about 13 minutes in. After Jonathan Huberdeau and Zack Phillips couldn’t bury the puck, Kirkpatrick put in a rebound over a fallen St. Laurent to make it 2-0.

With about three minutes left, Huberdeau showed some patience and fired a low shot from the slot that gave Team McGraw a 3-0 lead after one. Shots were 13-10 in favour of Team McGraw.

Kevin Gagne got Team McCain on the board about three minutes into the second period, finishing off a nice passing play with Mackenzie Brown and Nathan Beaulieu.

Team McCain got within one near the halfway mark of the second when Mike Thomas scored from the slot. Team McGraw quickly got the goal back though thanks to a marker from Phillips.

With about 20 seconds remaining in the period, Francois Gauthier fed Jason Cameron who beat Auger blocker side to make it a one-goal game entering the third period.

The goal scoring picked up in a big way in the third period. Within the first five minutes, Team McCain took their first lead of the game thanks to goals from Cameron and Brown.

Team McGraw tied the contest back up around seven minutes into the third when Huberdeau poked the puck past St. Laurent, making it a 5-5 game. Brown, Stephen MacAulay and Francois Gauthier then all scored, giving Team McCain an 8-5 advantage.

Stephen Anderson and MacAulay then exchanged goals, making it a 9-6 game. In the final minute, Huberdeau scored twice to make things interesting. Despite some strong pressure applied by Team McGraw, St. Laurent and company would hang on for a 9-8 victory.

The Full Rosters:

Scoring Summary (times as posted on clock):

First period

1. Team McGraw – Danick Gauthier (Leduc) - 16:30ish

2. Team McGraw – Michael Kirkpatrick (Huberdeau, Phillips) - 7:25ish

3. Team McGraw – Jonathan Huberdeau (Leduc) - 3:00ish

Shots 13-10 Team McGraw

Second Period

4. Team McCain – Kevin Gagne (Brown, Beaulieu) - 17:00ish

5. Team McCain – Mike Thomas (Tesink) – 9:00ish

6. Team McGraw - Zack Phillips (D. Gauthier, Huberdeau) – 8:10ish

7. Team McCain – Jason Cameron (F. Gauthier) 0:20ish

Shots 13-12 Team McCain; 25-23 Team McGraw overall

Third Period

8. Team McCain – Jason Cameron (Tesink, Beaulieu) – 18:30ish

9. Team McCain – Mackenzie Brown (F. Gauthier) - 15:45ish

10. Team McGraw – Jonathan Huberdeau (Phillips, D. Gauthier) – 7:00ish

11. Team McCain – Mackenzie Brown (Smallman) – 5:50ish

12. Team McCain – Stephen MacAulay (Gagne) – 5:00ish

13. Team McCain – Francois Gauthier (Thomas) – 3:45ish

14. Team McGraw – Stephen Anderson (Dempsey) – 2:00ish

15. Team McCain – Stephen MacAulay (Tesink) – EN – 1:30ish

16. Team McGraw – Jonathan Huberdeau (Phillips) - 1:00ish

17. Team McGraw – Jonathan Huberdeau – 0:30ish

Shots 18-17 Team McCain; Shots 42-41 Team McGraw Overall

Win: Karel St. Laurent (34 saves)

Loss: Sebastien Auger (32 saves)

Second time around: Here are the players who attended both the 2013 event and this year’s: Eric Gelinas, Kevin Gagne, Pierre Durepos, Nathan Beaulieu, Simon Despres, Zack Phillips, Alexandre Leduc, Michael Kirkpatrick, Francois Gauthier, Mike Thomas, Danick Gauthier, Alexandre Beauregard, Jonathan Huberdeau and Chuckie Schembri.

NHL alumni: Five players at the game have played at least a game in the NHL: Simon Despres, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nathan Beaulieu, Eric Gelinas, and Brett Gallant

Gallant: Where was Brett Gallant?

For those asking, @gally44 had some travel issues today and unfortunately couldn't get here in time but sends his best to everyone!

— DK (@SeaDogsDK) August 8, 2015

Original Dog: Jevin MacLellan was the only player participating who played in Saint John’s first franchise game on Sept. 16, 2005.

NOTES: Real solid video tribute played before the game… Saint John’s first overall draft pick in this year's draft, Joe Veleno, performed the ceremonial puck drop. He forgot to bring a puck out, but the drop was still exceptional… great crowd of 2,234 watched the game… 50/50 winner took home $1,841… nice to see the Huberdeau-Kirkpatrick-Phillips line back together and still dangerous... another great game for a great cause.

Up next: Current Sea Dogs players will report to training camp tomorrow and hit the ice on Monday at Harbour Station. Their first pre-season game is on Thursday night at the Station against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.