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| Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs |
The Titan picked up their third straight victory over the Sea Dogs on Sunday afternoon at TD Station, earning a 6-3 win. The result also extended the gap between the two in the Maritimes Division standings: Bathurst remains in second with a .654 points percentage while Saint John still sits in third with a .556 points percentage.
The Sea Dogs struggled to stay disciplined at times in this game and the Titan made them pay, scoring three power play goals on six opportunities. Bathurst scored the game's opening two goals and Saint John struggled to regain and keep momentum after that.
Even in the third period when the Sea Dogs cut the deficit to 4-3 and were buzzing offensively, Jacob Melanson's goal at 11:36 of the third seemed to deflate the home side and they couldn't bounce back. Saint John outshot Bathurst 17-12 in the third but most of the Sea Dogs' chances came in the first 10 minutes.
Mathieu Desgagnes and Logan Chisholm each scored a pair of goals for Bathurst while singles came from Cole Huckins and Melanson. Chad Arsenault continued his mastery of the Sea Dogs in net, making 33 saves in the victory.
Peter Reynolds, Brady Burns and Jeremie Poirier scored for Saint John. Zachary Emond made 31 stops in the loss.
Bathurst opened the scoring on a five-on-three power play. A shot from the bottom of the circle produced a rebound that Chisholm banged home at 6:06. On another man advantage at 7:35, Riley Kidney fired a cross ice feed to Desgagnes who had a wide open net to make it 2-0.
Saint John started to get things rolling around the midway mark of the period. The team got on the board at 13:29 when a hard Poirier shot produced a rebound that a streaking Reynolds put home.
Sam Dow was called for roughing at 4:52, sending Bathurst to another power play. At 6:02, Adam McCormick fired a nice feed down low to Chisholm who redirected the puck past Emond to put Bathurst up 3-1.
55 seconds later, a long and low Huckins shot from the point beat Emond clean, making it 4-1 Titan.
The Sea Dogs scored early in the third period. Just 1:23 in, Josh Lawrence won an offensive zone draw and the puck came back to Burns at the top of the circle. Burns ripped a shot off the post and in to make it 4-2.
Then at 4:49 and Saint John on a power play, Arsenault was caught out of position following a scramble at the side of the crease. The puck came out to Poirier in the slot who fired a shot over a fallen Arsenault, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
Melanson restored Bathurst's two-goal lead at 11:36, beating Emond with a bomb of a shot. Then at 15:53, Desgagnes iced the game by scoring on a long breakaway, making it 6-3.
LINEUP
Francis - Reynolds - Kotkov
Burns - Lawrence - Girouard
Alchorn - MacDonald - Bezeau
Hughes - Carruthers
Dow - DesRoches
Poirier - Villeneuve
Drapeau - Inniss
McCallum
Emond
Patenaude
SCRATCHES: Forwards Liam Leonard (suspension), Charles Savoie (injured) and Carter McCluskey (healthy) along with defensemen Brandon Casey (healthy), Hunter Gartley (injured) and Jan Hampl (not arrived). McCluskey took warm up but was the team's final scratch.
SAME: Other than Zachary Emond getting the start in net, the Sea Dogs dressed the same lineup as they did for Friday's game against Moncton, going with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
FIRST GOAL: Saint John has now allowed the first goal in four straight games. They've scored first in just eight of their 27 games this season. The team that scores the game's first goal has a .739 winning percentage in the QMJHL this year.
PENALTIES: It was a penalty filled first period with Bathurst given 10 minutes in penalties and Saint John 14. The Titan went 2/4 on the power play in the first frame while the Sea Dogs went 0/2. The Titan finished the game 3/6 on the power play.
ARSENAULT: Chad Arsenault continued his dominant ways against the Sea Dogs on Sunday. The goaltender entered the game with a 4-1 record to go along with a 2.13 goals against average and a .940 save percentage in five games against Saint John this season. He made 33 saves in his latest win.
HUCKINS HEATING UP: After being held pointless in his first four games in the restart and goalless in his first six, Cole Huckins is heating up. The 2021 NHL Draft eligible forward now has three goals in his past two games and four in his past five.
BURNS: Another player who is hot right now is Brady Burns. With his third period goal, Burns now has goals in four straight games (eight goals total) and has scored in five of his past six games (10 goals total).
NOTES: The Titan were once again without Felix-Antoine Marcotty, one their leading scorers, due to injury... the last time the Sea Dogs played on Easter weekend? In 2016 when the Sea Dogs took on none other than the Titan in the first round of the playoffs... Jeremie Poirier now has points in four straight games... Bennett MacArthur's seven-game goal streak came to an end... the Titan have now won four straight road games... the attendance was 1,486... the Sea Dogs and Titan meet again on Thursday night at TD Station.
HIGHLIGHTS
NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs travel to Moncton to face the Wildcats on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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