The Sea Dogs scored twice in the third but were unable to net the equalizer, falling 5-4 to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar at the Henry Leonard Centre on Thursday night. Saint John was coming off a 5-4 overtime win that saw them erase a two-goal third period deficit.
It was another night of bad breaks and missed opportunities for the Sea Dogs, much like most of the team's games over the past month. They simply can't quite get over this hump.
The good news for Saint John was that this was a decent road game and should give the club some confidence heading into their next two contests. Thursday's match was the first game of a three-in-three for the Dogs.
Landon Quinney, William Poirier, Cedric Pare and Joe Veleno all scored for Saint John. Alex D'Orio made 36 saves in the loss.
Jordan Martel scored twice for Baie-Comeau while singles came from D'Artagnan Joly, Jean-Simon Belanger and Gabriel Fortier. Antoine Samuel made 31 saves in the win.
The Drakkar opened the scoring at 10:20 of the first period when Joly pushed a loose puck at D'Orio's side past the Sea Dogs goaltender.
Saint John quickly tied the game thanks to a Quinney goal at 12:34. With Alexandre Lafreniere streaking into the zone with him, Quinney opted to keep the puck and snap a wrist shot past Samuel's glove, making it a 1-1 game.
The Sea Dogs seemed to gradually improve as the period went along, but the team would head to the dressing room down 2-1. At 19:28, Martel threw a long shot on net that beat D'Orio, giving the home side a one-goal lead after 20 minutes.
Baie-Comeau took a 3-1 lead at 11:07 of the second period. On a four-on-three power play, a pass from the point by Antoine Girard found Martel in the circle. Martel ripped a one-timer into an empty net, giving Baie-Comeau a two-goal advantage.
Saint John got back within one with a shorthanded goal at 12:42. Poirier entered the zone with some speed and beat Samuel with a nice deke to his backhand.
Baie-Comeau quickly scored again, ending any Saint John momentum. At 13:30, Belanger deposited the puck into an open net before D'Orio could get over, making it a 4-2 match.
Not long after Ostap Safin hit the post on a power play, the Drakkar scored again, this time off the stick of Fortier at 18:10, giving Baie-Comeau a 5-2 advantage.
In the third, Pare scored on a power play at 3:55, making it 5-3. Radim Salda sent a perfect pass to Pare in front, who spun around and beat Samuel in close.
Soon after a hard fought fight between Nathan Larose and Christopher Benoit, the Sea Dogs got within one with a four-on-three power play goal. Veleno fired a shot from the bottom of the circle that went through some traffic and past the Drakkar 'tender, making it a 5-4 game.
With D'Orio on the bench, Daniel Hardie had the puck and a wide open net but his shot was deflected by the stick of a Drakkar defender. Saint John was buzzing in the final seconds, but couldn't beat Samuel.
LINEUP
SCRATCHESHere's a look at tonight's #SJSeaDogs lineup, brought to you by @CantrburyDental Clinic. #AlwaysWearYourMouthguard pic.twitter.com/jvQvkfLasz— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) November 2, 2017
The Sea Dogs were without goaltender Matt Williams (lower body); defenceman Marcus Tesink (healthy); and forwards Nick Deakin-Poot (healthy), Isiah Campbell (healthy) and Samuel LeBlanc (healthy).
NOTES
The Sea Dogs announced on Thursday afternoon goaltender Stewart Bagnell had been recalled to replace the injured Matt Williams... the Drakkar were without defenceman Christopher Ortiz and forward Nathan Légaré due to to the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Both were first round picks in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft... the Sea Dogs once again failed to score first. They've scored first in just three of their 18 games this season... Radim Salda was in some pain in the second period after taking a stick to the face. He remained in the game... William Poirier's goal was Saint John's second shorthanded marker of the year... Poirier's goal was his first as a Sea Dog... Landon Quinney had a goal and an assist... Cedric Pare went an impressive 24/30 in the faceoff circle... Saint John was outshot all game long, but did outshoot Baie-Comeau 17-8 in the third period.
NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs travel to Chicoutimi to take on the Sagueneens on Friday at 8:30 p.m.
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