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| Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs |
The Acadie-Bathurst Titan bested the Sea Dogs on Thursday at the KC Irving Regional Centre, winning 4-2 and continuing to hold on to that No. 2 seed in the Maritimes Division. Saint John entered the game having won five straight road games.
The Sea Dogs have had some troubles against the Titan this season and those struggles were present on Thursday. Saint John just couldn't get clicking - especially on offense. Even when the Dogs created some strong chances, the Titan did a good job at disrupting rushes and/or blocking shots.
Saint John recorded just 14 total shots in the first two periods combined. This past Saturday at TD Station, where the Titan defeated the Sea Dogs 8-2, Saint John registered just 10 shots in the first two periods combined.
Any flow to this game was disrupted by penalties. Bathurst went 1/6 on the man advantage while Saint John went 2/6.
The Titan led 2-0 after one. Jacob Melanson put in a rebound at 11:11 and then Riley Kidney scored on a tap-in at 14:17.
Just 10 seconds into the second period, Melanson scored his second of the night. At 4:28, it looked as though Josh Lawrence had scored on a tip but the goal was overturned due to an offside.
Saint John did get on the board at 8:37. After a scramble in the crease got Titan netminder Chad Arsenault out of position, Burns ripped a shot from the bottom of a circle into an open cage to make it 3-1.
In a penalty filled third period, MacArthur finished off a tic-tac-toe on a power play to make it 4-1.
Burns scored his second of the game at 18:54 on a power play, firing a one timer from the circle. The Dogs had some good moments of sustained offensive pressure in the third - they outshot Bathurst 15-8 - but they were unable to get any closer on the scoreboard.
Arsenault made 27 stops in the win. Zachary Emond made 21 saves in the loss.
LINEUP
Francis - Reynolds - Kotkov
Burns - Lawrence - Girouard
Leonard - MacDonald - Bezeau
Carruthers - Alchorn
McCallum - DesRoches
Poirier - Villeneuve
Drapeau - Inniss
Casey
Emond
Patenaude
SCRATCHES: Forwards Charles Savoie (injury), Simon Hughes and Carter McCluskey along with defensemen Hunter Gartley (injured) and Jan Hampl (not yet arrived).
CHANGES: Saint John dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen with Charles Savoie out with an injury. Savoie was injured in Tuesday's game in Moncton. Former Titan forward Liam Leonard returned to the Saint John lineup after missing two games due to a suspension and another with an injury.
SCORING FIRST: The Sea Dogs have scored first in just eight of their 25 games this season. They've allowed the first goal in each of their past three games. In this game, Jacob Melanson put in the rebound of a Cole Larkin point shots at 11:11 of the first period.
TOSSED: Liam Leonard's return to the lineup was short lived. The overage forward was given a five-minute major and match penalty for high sticking 13:29 of the first. That forced Saint John to play with 10 forwards for the remainder of the game.
NO GOAL: Down 3-0, it looked as though Josh Lawrence put the Sea Dogs on the board 4:28 into the second when he tipped a Jeremie Poirier point shot. But after The Most Exciting Play In Hockey (a lengthy offside review - it's why we love the sport!) the play was ruled offside and the goal was called back.
BURNS: Brady Burns is on a hot streak. With two goals in this game, the Sea Dogs forward now has six goals in his past four games.
ARSENAULT: Chad Arsenault continues to be a problem for the Sea Dogs. The netminder is now 4-1 against Saint John this season. He entered the game with a 2.16 goals against average and a .942 save percentage in four games against the Dogs.
NOTES: Felix-Antoine Marcotty, one of Bathurst's leading scorers, did not play due to an injury... the Sea Dogs, down to 10 forwards with Liam Leonard tossed, started to mix their lines up in the second period... some nice work by Rogers TV on the replays of Josh Lawrence's goal that got called back... Jeremie Poirier now has eight assists in his past five games... the attendance was 1,085 which was the third smallest crowd the Sea Dogs have played in front of this season... the Sea Dogs and Titan meet again Sunday afternoon in Saint John.
NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Moncton Wildcats tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at TD Station.
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