Recap: Sea Dogs lose 6-4

RECAP: Saint John 4, Charlottetown 6

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

CHARLOTTETOWN - The Saint John Sea Dogs' 10-game winning streak came to an end Thursday.

The Sea Dogs came up just short at Eastlink Centre, falling 6-4 to the league leading Charlottetown Islanders. It was the team's first loss since Feb. 26.

Saint John had a rough second period, getting into penalty trouble and giving up three goals - and they ultimately couldn't complete the comeback. The Sea Dogs pushed hard in the third period (which was good to see), outshooting the Islanders 10-4. The Dogs were able to make it a 5-4 game before giving up an empty net goal to make it a 6-4 final.

It was another playoff like battle between these two Maritime powers. Like last Friday at TD Station - which saw the Sea Dogs complete a third period comeback - it was a very physical and intense matchup. A playoff series between these two would be quite the war.

While they hung on for the victory, the Islanders have certainly developed a reputation in the second half as a team that has trouble holding onto leads. They'll want to clean that up over the next month.

Patrick Guay had a pair of goals for Charlottetown while singles came from Brett Budgell, Jakub Brabenec, Dawson Stairs and Noah Laaouan. Francesco Lapenna made 24 stops in the win.

Philippe Daoust scored a pair for Saint John while Raivis Ansons and Ryan Francis added solo markers. Nikolas Hurtubise allowed five goals on 15 shots in two periods of action. Thomas Couture stopped all three shots he faced in the third. 

LINEUP

Burns - Lawrence - Dufour

Trenholm - Daoust - Francis

Ansons - MacDonald - Lessard

Picard - Bezeau - Blagden

Poirier - DesRoches

Drapeau - Villeneuve

Sevigny - Despont

Hurtubise

Couture

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without goaltender Noah Patenaude (injury); defenseman Yan Kuznetsov (injury); and forwards Peter Reynolds (injury) and Jacob Chantler (healthy). The Sea Dogs listed 13 forwards on their lineup sheet with Chantler the final scratch.

RETURN: Zachary Roy, who was considered a game time decision for the Islanders, returned from injury. Xavier Simoneau and Ben Boyd remained on the injured list.

40 GOAL CLUB: Patrick Guay scored his 40th goal of the season in the first period - and then netted his 41st into an empty net late in the third. He became the second player in the QMJHL to reach the 40-goal mark this season, joining Saint John's William Dufour.

🎥 40 goals on the year for Patty Guay. pic.twitter.com/umoNbyf3qz

— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) March 24, 2022

PENALTY SHOT: For an eighth time this season, the Sea Dogs were involved in a penalty shot. This one came in the second period and resulted in former Sea Dog Dawson Stairs scoring to make it 4-1 at the time. It was Stairs' fourth goal since joining Charlottetown.

🎥 Penalty shot alert ⚠️ Dawson Stairs beats Hurtubise blocker side to pull us ahead 4-1. pic.twitter.com/Pau075nMuZ

— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) March 24, 2022

DAOUST: Philippe Daoust just keeps on producing for the Sea Dogs. With a pair of third period goals, Daoust has now scored 16 times with Saint John and added 12 assists in just 21 games. The 20-year-old left the game early in the second period after taking a puck to the side of the head.

HURTUBISE: Goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise got the hook after allowing five goals on 15 shots through 40 minutes of play. Thomas Couture played the third period and faced just three shots - all of which he stopped.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Islanders secured the season series with the Sea Dogs, improving to 5-2-1-0 against the Memorial Cup hosts. These two teams meet just one more time in the regular season: April 14 at Eastlink Centre.

NOTES: Olivier Picard returned to the lineup, taking Jacob Chantler's spot... the Islanders scored on their first shot of the game... there were more hits (11-10 Saint John) than shots (8-4 Saint John) in the first period... Ryan Francis has five goals over his past three games... William Dufour recorded two assists. The league's leading goal scorer has now gone four games without a goal (but does have an impressive seven assists during that stretch)... hits ended 22-17 in favour of Saint John. Riley Bezeau had six hits... Cam MacDonald had five shots... attendance was 2,422. Eastlink Centre still has a 75% capacity limit... this DJ had the place bumping.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Moncton Wildcats tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at TD Station.