RECAP: Sea Dogs win 2-1

FINAL: Saint John 2, Halifax 1

HALIFAX - Another intentionally shorthanded Saint John Sea Dogs lineup took to the ice on Saturday - but this time they had a much better result.

Joe Veleno and Bokondji Imama both scored in Saint John's 2-1 road victory over the Halifax Mooseheads at Scotiabank Centre.

It was the second straight game that saw the Sea Dogs rest several regulars. The Sea Dogs fell 6-3 in Charlottetown on Friday.

Maxime Fortier gave Halifax a 1-0 lead midway through the opening period. The Sea Dogs tied it on a power play at 6:28 of the second when Veleno scored his 13th of the season.

Less than 30 seconds after Veleno's goal, Imama netted his 41st of the year to give Saint John a 2-1 advantage.

Alex D'Orio made 23 saves in the win. Alexis Gravel made 28 stops in the loss.

The win gives the Sea Dogs a final record of 48-14-5-1. The team clinched first overall on Wednesday, which allowed the Dogs to rest several regulars over the past two games.

Saint John will face the Rimouski Oceanic, the 16th seed, in the opening round.

LINEUP

Today's forward lines for your #SJSeaDogs
Imama - Veleno - Leblanc
Green - McFalls - Reginato
Campbell - Pare - Quinney
Pietroniro

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) March 18, 2017

Defense pairings
Stewart - Webster
Ward - Bernier
Comeau - Smallwood

Alex D'Orio will start in goal today

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) March 18, 2017

SCRATCHES
The Sea Dogs were without Matthew Highmore, Nathan Noel, Julien Gauthier, Spencer Smallman, Mathieu Joseph, John Warren, Simon Bourque, Thomas Chabot, Oliver Felixson and Callum Booth.

Per Kevin, the total number of points out of the lineup was 500.

NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs begin playoff action against the Rimouski Oceanic on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Harbour Station.