Recap: Sea Dogs win 5-3

FINAL: Cape Breton 3, Saint John 5

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs delivered a treat on Saturday, ending a four-game losing streak by beating the Cape Breton Eagles 5-3 at TD Station.

The Sea Dogs had a strong first period, grabbing a 3-1 advantage, and were able to maintain a lead throughout the game, something the team has struggled mightily with all season long.

Nicholas Girouard, playing on the fourth line, had one of his best games as a Sea Dog, scoring twice and recording seven shots. Joshua Roy, Peter Reynolds and Riley Bezeau also scored. Noah Patenaude, playing for a second straight game, made 29 saves in the win.

This was Saint John's best 60-minute performance of the season, something that was much needed after a rough start to the year. This was Saint John's first regulation time win this season.

While no games have been easy for the Sea Dogs, they're entering an "easy" stretch, playing the Moncton Wildcats four times and Halifax Mooseheads twice over the next six games. Hopefully the team can carry the positive momentum gained from this win into the coming week and earn some more dubs.

Cape Breton goals came from Nathan Larose, Felix Lafrance and Shawn Element. Nicolas Ruccia made 44 stops in the loss.

LINEUP

Leonard - MacDonald - Bezeau

Savoie - Reynolds - Roy

Burns - Lawrence - Stairs

Girouard - Carruthers - Drover

Drapeau - DesRoches

McCallum - Villeneuve

Poirier - Inniss

Patenaude

Jones

SCRATCHES: Forwards Julian Vander Voet (healthy) and Vladislav Kotkov (not yet arrived) along with defensemen Hunter Gartley (healthy), Jan Hampl (not yet arrived) and Benjamin Roode (healthy).

PATENAUDE: Noah Patenaude got the start for Saint John - which was a bit of surprise given the Sea Dogs have been platooning this season and Patenaude played less than 24 hours earlier. Patenaude was good again, improving his numbers to 2-3 with a 3.28 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.

ROY STRIKES AGAIN: Joshua Roy scored his sixth goal of the season and his third goal in as many games in the first period, this one off a great feed from Kale McCallum. He's been held goalless in just two of Saint John's eight games.

🚨GOAL🚨

McCallum makes a heads up play to keep the puck in and feeds Josh Roy who dunks it. 2-1! pic.twitter.com/bALBPd8YG5

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) October 31, 2020

STRONG FIRST: Similar to Friday's game, the Sea Dogs had a pretty good first period, scoring early on and controlling the play at times. The Dogs led 3-1 after one thanks to a pair of goals from Nicholas Girouard and a solo marker from Roy. Roy and McCallum each had three shots in the opening frame. The three goals was the most the Sea Dogs have scored in a first period this season.

PENALTY KILL: Saint John's penalty kill entered the game with a 57.9% rating, the worst amongst playing QMJHL teams. The Dogs allowed one goal on three chances in this game. 

BEZEAU: The Sea Dogs finally had a bounce go their way, resulting in Riley Bezeau's early third period goal.

🎃GOAL🎃

🐝zeau 31 seconds into the period and it's 5-3! pic.twitter.com/mDg7QTPcxC

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) October 31, 2020

NOTES: The shorthanded goal the Sea Dogs allowed in the second period was the second shorty they have given up this season... Shawn Element extended his point streak to 10 games. He has recorded at least a point in every Eagles game this season... Nicolas Ruccia started in net again for Cape Breton with William Grimard still out with a lower body injury... Charlie DesRoches had three assists... after a season-high crowd on Friday, Saturday's game featured a season-low 1,418 in attendance.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs visit the Moncton Wildcats on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a makeup game.