RECAP: Sea Dogs Win 5-3

FINAL: Saint John 5, Blainville-Boisbriand 3

By Lorne Webster | SN Staff

BOISBRIAND - In their second game of a three-in-three in western Quebec, the Saint John Sea Dogs were in Blainville-Boisbriand to face the Armada. A week after arguably the most embarrassing performance by the Sea Dogs in recent memory, Saint John played an excellent road game and were rewarded with a well earned 5-3 victory over the Armada.

Sam Povorozniouk, with a pair, Spencer Smallman, Adam Marsh and Mathieu Joseph all scored for Saint John. Philippe Sanche, with two goals, and TJ Melancon replied for Blainville-Boisbriand.

1st Period

Following strong penalty killing by Matthew Highmore, Smallman opened the scoring with a shorthanded marker from the high slot - on the Sea Dogs' first shot of the game - at 3:11. Later, Joe Veleno stole the puck in the offensive zone and fed Povorozniouk, whose shot eluded Samuel Montembault's glove at 14:11. However, less than a minute later, Sanche snuck into the slot and fired a bullet just under the crossbar to make it a one goal game again. The Sea Dogs' league-worst power play was unable to capitalize on four man advantage opportunities, including a brief five-on-three. 

2nd Period

At 7:50, Povorozniouk took advantage of a poor clearing pass by Montembault and snapped the puck behind the scrambling goalie to get his second of the night and restore the Sea Dogs’ two-goal lead. But as was the case in the first period, the Armada responded quickly. On a power play - with Mathieu Joseph down after blocking a shot - Melancon tipped a pass past Marc-Antoine Turcotte, at 9:05, to make it 3-2 for Saint John. Roughly a minute after Melancon's goal, Montembault stoned Joseph on a shorthanded breakaway. However, at 16:44, Marsh took a feed from Highmore and rifled a wrist shot from the right face-off circle to the top corner on the short side to extend the Sea Dogs' lead to 4-2.

   

3rd Period

The Armada held a distinct territorial advantage in the third period, thanks largely to eight minutes in penalties against Saint John - despite a few "no calls" in favour of Blainville-Boisbriand. In fact, the Sea Dogs did not record a shot on goal until just over four minutes remaining. Sanche's blast from the point, on a power play at 16:19, gave the hosts energy for a final push. However, Joseph corralled a turnover and deposited an empty net goal at 19:40 to set the final score at 5-3.

STATS

NOTES

• It was 'Pink in the Rink' night in Blainville-Boisbriand and the Armada wore two-toned pink jerseys.
• The Sea Dogs power play was 0-for-6 to end the night in dead last in the league – 5-for-54 overall. However, the coaching staff reportedly is committed to sticking with a four forward setup for the foreseeable future.
• Jason Bell returned to the line-up after spending time at home with his family following the death of his Grandfather. Bell played left wing on a line with Dawson Theede and Julien Tessier.
• Cedric Pare returned to his Midget AAA team in Levis following a strong performance in Victoriaville on Friday.
• Nathan Noel and Jakub Zboril served the second game of their two-game suspensions as a result of their actions in last weekend's game against the Armada. Luke Green, who was assessed a 3-game suspension for a high hit during the same game, did not travel with the Sea Dogs this weekend.
• Samuel Dove-McFalls is scheduled to have knee surgery this week in the Montreal area. He is expected to be out of the line-up for 8-12 weeks. 
• Kyle Ward remains out of the line-up with a hand injury suffered in a fight with former Sea Dog Kelly Bent. He is likely to miss another 2-4 weeks.
• Saint John native Sam King was recalled from Woodstock (MHL) by Blainville-Boisbriand for the weekend.
• The Armada were missing Brendan Hamelin, Olivier Schingh-Gomez, Alex Katerinakis, Guillaume Beaudoin and Christian Blomqvist.
• Rookie goaltender Mark Grametbauer - a Halifax native - relieved Montembault to start the third period. He stopped both shots he faced in 19:15 of action.
• Former Sea Dogs head coach Ross Yates was in attendance. Yates lives near Blainville-Boisbriand.
• Attendance - 2,215.

TURNING POINT

Adam Marsh's snipe late in the second period took some wind out of the Armada's sails. 

HIT OF THE GAME

With under three-minutes remaining in the first period, Guillaume Bergeron took exception to a thunderous hit by Dawson Theede and initiated a fight, which Theede dominated. 

SN PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Marc-Antoine Turcotte

Philippe Sanche

Mathieu Joseph



TWEET OF THE GAME

Nice 5-3 sea dogs win in Boisbriand today pic.twitter.com/dDqzQcYfxn

— Ryan Butler (@arbz28) October 18, 2015

NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs travel to Gatineau to take on the Olympiques tomorrow (Sunday, Oct. 18th) with a 5 p.m. start time.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation