The Sea Dogs struggled to get much of anything going offensively in the first 40 minutes at Eastlink Centre, falling behind 4-0 and ultimately losing 5-1 to the Charlottetown Islanders. Saint John only registered 11 shots through the first two periods despite having five-and-a-half power plays.
Saint John finished the game 0-for-7 on the man advantage and were outshot 35-25.
Much like the last meeting between these two - which the Islanders led 4-0 in as well - the Sea Dogs turned things around in the third period (some of it, at least). Peter Reynolds scored an early goal and the Dogs had 12 shots just eight minutes in. But unlike that last meeting - which Charlottetown hung on to win 6-5 - Saint John couldn't cut the deficit any further.
Saint John is now 1-2-1-1 overall and 0-1-1-1 on the road. It's been a struggle, but hopefully the Sea Dogs can start to make some improvements as the season continues to move along.
Keiran Gallant, Drew Elliott, Ryan Maynard, Cedric Desruisseaux and Sam Oliver scored for Charlottetown. Colten Ellis made 24 saves in the win.
A positive for Saint John was Noah Patenaude, who had a good night in net despite the loss. He made 30 saves.
The Sea Dogs have now lost 13 straight games at Eastlink Centre, a streak that dates back to the 2017-18 season. Their last win in the building was on Oct. 6, 2017.
LINEUP
Girouard - Lawrence - Roy
Stairs - Reynolds - Drover
Leonard - MacDonald - Bezeau
Savoie - Carruthers - Vander Voet
McCallum - DesRoches
Drapeau - Villeneuve
Poirier - Inniss
Patenaude
Jones
SCRATCHES: Forwards Brady Burns (healthy) and Vladislav Kotkov (not yet arrived) along with defensemen Hunter Gartley, Jan Hampl (not yet arrived) and Benjamin Roode.
PP CHANGES: Kale McCallum joined William Villeneuve on the team's second power play unit, taking Jeremie Poirier's usual spot. Charlie DesRoches remained the lone defenseman on the top unit.
FIRST GOAL: Charlottetown's Ryan Maynard, an 18-year-old forward from Ontario, scored his first QMJHL goal in the second period. He also had an assist on Drew Elliott's goal a couple minutes earlier.
FIRST HALF STRUGGLES: The Sea Dogs struggled to get much going offensively in the first half of the game despite having four power plays. The club had eight shots at the midway point and 11 shots through 40 minutes.
SHORTHANDED: Cedric Desruisseaux's second period goal was Charlottetown's first shorthanded marker of the season - and it was also Saint John's first shorthanded goal allowed.
FIRST POINT: Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Drapeau picked up his first career QMJHL point, assisting in Peter Reynolds' third period goal.
PP STRUGGLES: Saint John's power play entered the game at 27.3% (fifth in the league) but it certainly struggled in this game, finishing 0-for-7 and allowing a shorty. Saint John went 2-for-5 on the man advantage in their previous meeting with Charlottetown, a team that typically has a strong penalty kill.
LONG WAIT: This was the first Islanders game - pre-season or regular season - to take place at Eastlink Centre since March 10. Charlottetown played their first five regular season games on the road as the team's arena was converted from a COVID-19 testing centre back into a hockey rink.
WATCHING: Only 970 fans are permitted to watch games inside the Eastlink Centre this season. Many fans watched the game at the Brackley Drive-In instead.
We found video evidence that the Brackley Drive-In is currently, as the kids say, lit. pic.twitter.com/KZEVip4vTy
— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) October 24, 2020
NOTES: The game started a few minutes late due to Islanders player introductions... Charlottetown's black jerseys are real nice... Nicholas Girouard returned from injury. He hadn't played since Oct. 9... the Sea Dogs have allowed the first goal in each of their past four games. The only time they've scored first was in their season opener on Oct. 2... Cedric Desruisseaux now has four goals in two games against Saint John this season... Noah Patenaude is now 0-4 in his career against the Islanders... Saint John won just 26 of 63 faceoffs.
NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
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