Recap: Sea Dogs lose 3-2 (OT)

FINAL: Saint John 2, Bathurst 3 (OT)

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

BATHURST - The Saint John Sea Dogs dropped their third straight game on Saturday, falling 3-2 in overtime to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at the KC Irving Regional Centre.

The Sea Dogs had a much better showing compared to Thursday's 6-2 loss in Halifax. But one thing remained the same - the Sea Dogs just can't seem to find the back of the net right now.

Saint John entered Saturday's game averaging 3.91 goals per game, the third best average in the league. They haven't hit that mark in any of their past three games, scoring a total of just five goals.

Philippe Daoust and William Dufour scored for Saint John in this game. The Sea Dogs registered 30 shots but Titan netminder Jan Bednar had a very strong showing in net, especially in the third period where he made a couple big stops off Dufour chances and another on a Brady Burns opportunity.

Thomas Couture, who was pulled from Thursday's game after allowing three goals on six shots, rebounded Saturday and made 26 stops in the loss. He likely would not have started this game if Nikolas Hurtubise wasn't sidelined with an injury.

Felix Lafrance scored the overtime winner at 2:20 of the extra frame, beating Thomas Couture over the shoulder from a sharp angle near the goal line. Bennett MacArthur scored Bathurst's regulation time goals. The Titan were missing several regulars from their lineup due to injuries/illness.

This is the second time this season Saint John has lost three or more games consecutively. They'll look to end the streak on Sunday in Moncton.

LINEUP

Burns - Lawrence - Dufour

Ansons - Daoust - Francis

Reynolds - MacDonald - Bezeau

Picard - Trenholm - Chantler

Sevigny - Villeneuve

Kuznetsov - Poirier

Drapeau - DesRoches

Couture

Myatt

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without goaltenders Noah Patenaude (injury) and Nikolas Hurtubise (injury); defenseman Vincent Despont (healthy); and forwards Marshall Lessard (injury) and Nicholas Blagden (game four of a 10-game suspension). The Sea Dogs had seven defensemen listed on their lineup sheet with Despont the final scratch.

RECALLED: The Sea Dogs called up goaltender Alex Myatt from the Saint John Vito's once again with Nikolas Hurtubise hurt. Hurtubise played in Thursday's game in Halifax after Thomas Couture was pulled. He showed no visible signs of an injury in that game.

MIA: The Titan were without several regulars. From the team's game preview:

Forwards Jacob Melanson, Dylan Andrews, and Cameron MacLean along with defenceman Ty Higgins will be unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols while forward Logan Chisholm remains sidelined with an upper-body injury.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: This was the first meeting between the Sea Dogs and Titan since Dec. 18. Bathurst has now won four of the six meetings this season. Only one meeting hasn't been decided by one goal.

Saint John 2 @ Acadie-Bathurst 3 (Feb 26 2022) Final OT

Acadie-Bathurst 4 @ Saint John 3 (Dec 18 2021) Final

Saint John 4 @ Acadie-Bathurst 3 (Oct 24 2021) Final SO

Acadie-Bathurst 4 @ Saint John 5 (Oct 20 2021) Final

Acadie-Bathurst 4 @ Saint John 3 (Oct 9 2021) Final SO

Saint John 2 @ Acadie-Bathurst 5 (Oct 8 2021) Final

BIG BOYS: Both William Dufour and Felix Lafrance scored in this game to remain in a tie for second in the QMJHL's point scoring race. After a six-point night Saturday, Sherbrooke's Joshua Roy now has a 10-point lead on the two.

PENALTY SHOTS: Heading into play Saturday, there had been just 32 penalty shots issued in the league this season. There were two called in the third period of this game with Hendrix Lapierre firing wide on his free attempt while William Dufour was stopped by Jan Bednar.

NOTES: The Sea Dogs rarely lose the faceoff battle but they did in this game, winning 31 compared to the Titan's 34... Philippe Daoust has tied a career high for goals in a season with seven... the Titan have earned at least a point in each of their past nine games... William Dufour now has six goals in six games against the Titan... Dufour had eight of the team's 30 shots... Hendrix Lapierre extended his point streak to 14 games while Miguel Tourigny extended his to 12... the crowd of 1,703 was the third largest for a Titan home game this season.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs visit the Moncton Wildcats on Sunday at 4 p.m. The Wildcats confirmed Saturday afternoon that this game will be played despite COVID impacting some players and staff this week.