Recap: Sea Dogs win 5-4 (OT)

FINAL: Baie-Comeau 4, Saint John 5 (OT)

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs won an emotional rollercoaster on Saturday night at TD Station.

William Dufour scored the winner just 15 seconds into overtime to give the Sea Dogs a 5-4 victory over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

Things were looking good for the Sea Dogs in the first 40 minutes of the game, leading 3-2 and outshooting the Drakkar 30-13. But things took a turn in the third period when Jacob Gaucher scored two quick goals to put Baie-Comeau up 4-3.

Saint John had trouble getting the offense rolling in the third, firing just nine shots on net. With 32.8 seconds remaining and Noah Patenaude on the bench, a backdoor door pass from Jeremie Poirier went off Ryan Francis' skate and in to tie things up and eventually allow Dufour to score the OT winner.

Dufour, Francis, Yanic Crete, Jacob Chantler and Josh Lawrence all scored for Saint John. Jonathan Lemieux allowed two goals on nine shots before leaving the game with an injury in the second period. Noah Patenaude allowed two goals on 17 shots in relief.

Gaucher scored twice for the Drakkar - who had their four-game winning streak come to an end - while singles came from Benjamin Corbeil and Isaac Dufort. Olivier Ciarlo made 35 saves in the loss.

The Sea Dogs trailed 2-1 after one despite outshooting the Drakkar 11-7.

The Sea Dogs continued to control the game in the second period but simply couldn't find the back of the net. They had nearly four-minutes of power play time early in the period and then Francis was awarded a shorthanded penalty shot but fired high.

Finally at 16:52, Chantler jammed the puck through the pads of Ciarlo to tie things at 2-2. Then with 4.8 seconds remaining, Lawrence scored on a one-time shot on a power play to give the Sea Dogs their first lead of the game,  3-2.

Gaucher tied the game at 7:51 of the third, finishing off a nice passing play on a three-on-one. Then at 9:08, the puck took of bounce off the backboards that led to Gaucher scoring again, quickly putting Baie-Comeau in front 4-3.

With 32.8 seconds remaining and Patenaude on the bench, Poirier's backdoor feed found Francis' skate to even things up at 4-4.

Just 15 seconds into overtime, Francis made a perfect pass to Dufour who went in alone and beat Ciarlo blocker side to make it a 5-4 final.

LINEUP

MacDonald - Lawrence - Dufour

Burns - Reynolds - Chantler

Picard - Francis - Sapelnikov

Crete - Laforge - McCluskey

DesRoches - Villeneuve

Poirier - Inniss

Drapeau - Despont

Lemieux

Patenaude

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without forwards Charles Savoie (injury), Riley Bezeau (injury) and Adam Bowness (healthy) along with defenseman Hunter Gartley (healthy).

FRANCIS RETURNS: Ryan Francis drew back into the Saint John lineup after missing Thursday's game with an injury. He was slotted into the third line where Yanic Crete played on Thursday. Francis drew a shorthanded penalty shot in the second period but fired his backhand shot high of the net. He finished the game with one goal, one assist and five shots.

FIRST GOAL: Yanic Crete scored his first QMJHL goal in the first period. The goal comes after Nico Laforge scored his first QMJHL goal on Thursday.

LEMIEUX HURT: Goaltender Jonathan Lemieux left the game with an injury in the second period after stretching to make a save. He was bent over while skating off and in some obvious discomfort. Noah Patenaude took over goaltending duties for the rest of the night. Lemieux joined the team on the bench for the third period.

CHANTLER: Jacob Chantler is starting to find his groove in the QMJHL. The forward now has three goals and an assist in seven games - which includes three goals in his past four games.

DUFOUR: William Dufour extended his point streak to 10 games with an assist on Josh Lawrence's power play goal in the second period. His overtime goal gives him a league-leading 18 on the season. He's also scored four game-winners this season - three of which have come this month.

NOTES: Even with Ryan Francis back in the lineup, Olivier Picard remained on the top power play unit... the Sea Dogs and Drakkar meet again on Feb. 8 in Baie-Comeau... Francis' penalty shot attempt was Saint John's first penalty shot of the season... William Dufour and Brady Burns each had two assists... Jacob Gaucher extended his goal streak to four games... the Sea Dogs have scored five or more goals in four straight games... the Drakkar's three-in-three New Brunswick road trip ends on Sunday afternoon in Bathurst... attendance was 2,338.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Halifax Mooseheads on Tuesday at 7 p.m.