Recap: Sea Dogs win 4-3

FINAL: Bathurst 3, Saint John 4

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - A power play goal from Philippe Daoust with 1:26 remaining in regulation time was the difference as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 4-3 on Wednesday at TD Station.

Ryan Francis set up the goal with a slap pass from the point, allowing Daoust to perfectly redirect the puck past Titan netminder Jan Bednar.

Bednar was excellent in the Titan net all game long, making 39 stops in the loss.

It looked as though Connor Trenholm's goal at 4:57 of the third would be the winner but Jacob Melanson tied it up with a power play marker at 16:08. It was a back-and-forth game with both teams controlling the play at times.

Daoust, Trenholm, William Dufour and Cam MacDonald all scored for Saint John. Ryan Francis chipped in with three assists. Nikolas Hurtubise made 34 saves in the win.

Melanson, Bennett MacArthur and Miguel Tourigny scored for the Titan.

The Sea Dogs have now won five straight games, a streak that dates back to an overtime loss in Bathurst. Wednesday's win pushes them four points ahead of the Titan in the battle for second-place in the Maritimes Division. Bathurst still has three games in-hand, though.

LINEUP

Burns - Lawrence - Dufour

Trenholm - Daoust - Francis

Ansons - MacDonald - Bezeau

Picard - Reynolds - Chantler

Villeneuve - Sevigny

Kuznetsov - DesRoches

Drapeau - Poirier

Hurtubise

Couture

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without goaltender Noah Patenaude (injury); defenseman Vincent Despont (healthy); and forwards Marshall Lessard (injury) and Nicholas Blagden (game nine of a 10-game suspension).

DUFOUR: He did it again. William Dufour scored his league-leading 41st goal of the season in the second period, putting his own rebound past an outstretched Jan Bednar. Dufour has now scored in six straight games and posted points in 14 straight home games.

Dufour ties it up with a slick backhand 🚨#CityofChampions pic.twitter.com/QR2ypBIcZ5

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) March 10, 2022

TRENOLM: Connor Trenholm's third period goal was his first as a Sea Dog. He now has five points in 13 games with Saint John.

A tip from Trenholm gives the Sea Dogs the lead again! 🚨#CityofChampions pic.twitter.com/TvkbqVqwtE

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) March 10, 2022

SEASON SERIES: Check out how tight the Sea Dogs/Titan season series has been. Saint John is now 3-2-1-1 against Bathurst with only one those games being decided by more than a goal.

Bathurst 3 @ Saint John 4 (March 9 2022) Final

Saint John 2 @ Acadie-Bathurst 3 (Feb 26 2022) Final OT1

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

BEDNAR: Jan Bednar made some huge saves in this game, including a couple key stops on William Dufour and Josh Lawrence. The Detroit Red Wings prospect entered the game with a 2-2 record against Saint John this season to go along with a 3.11 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.

NOTES: Defenseman Vincent Sevigny returned to the lineup after missing Sunday's game with an injury... Sea Dogs head coach Gordie Dwyer was back behind the bench after missing last weekend's games... Josh Lawrence extended his home point streak to 16 straight games... Cam MacDonald now has three goals in his past two games. He also extended his point streak to three games... Philippe Daoust now has 11 goals and 11 assists in 15 games with Saint John... Saint John won 41/67 faceoffs. Lawrence went 18/27... William Dufour had nine shots... William Villeneuve was given a misconduct for unsportsmanlike conduct after Daoust's goal... the attendance was 2,736, the fourth largest crowd at TD Station this season.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs are in Charlottetown to battle the Islanders on Friday at 7:30 p.m.