Recap: Sea Dogs lose 4-3

FINAL: Halifax 4, Saint John 3

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - Luck wasn't on the Saint John Sea Dogs' side on St. Patrick's Day at TD Station.

A third period comeback by the Sea Dogs came up just short as the Halifax Mooseheads edged the Sea Dogs 4-3. The loss ended a streak of six straight games that saw the Sea Dogs earn at least a point (3-0-3-0).

Jordan Dumais, Attilio Biasca, Evan Boucher and Alexandre Doucet scored for Halifax. Brady James made 29 saves in the win.

Vince Elie, Peter Reynolds and Danny Akkouche scored for Saint John. Ventsislav Shingarov made 36 saves in the loss.

The Mooseheads scored two goals nine seconds apart in the second period to grab a 3-1 lead. In the third, Doucet scored on a shorthanded breakaway to make it 4-1 at 8:22, which made it look as though the Moose would cruise to a win.

But the Sea Dogs had other plans. Reynolds scored on a power play at 13:37 and then Akkouche scored on a shot from the point at 14:03, quickly making it a one-goal game.

Saint John pulled Shingarov late and applied some strong offensive zone pressure but couldn't quite come up with an equalizer.

Even earning a point in this game would have been huge for Saint John, who entered play Friday in a tie with the Val-d'Or Foreurs for the league's final playoff spot.

LINEUP

Burns - Reynolds - Reinhart

Simek - Burbidge - Benoit

Mateiko - Cournoyer - Drover

Calder - Elie

Tivey - DesRoches

Ianniello - Cosman

Bilodeau - Akkouche

Despont

Shingarov

Brideau

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without defenseman Jeremie Richard (injury) along with forwards Sam-Luca Thifault (injury), Harrison Ballard (injury), Nathan Casey (injury), Nico Laforge (injury) and Jacob Beaulieu (healthy).

ANOTHER SHORTY: Alexandre Doucet scored shorthanded in the third period. The Sea Dogs have now allowed 15 shorthanded goals this season, the most in the QMJHL.

ONE AWAY: With an assist on Peter Reynolds' third period goal, Brady Burns is just one point away from tying Jonathan Huberdeau's franchise record of 257.

Burns ▶ Reynolds for the one tee! pic.twitter.com/wo9PKnFG9T

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) March 18, 2023

RECORD TIED: With an assist on Danny Akkouche's third period goal, Nicolas Bilodeau tied the franchise record for points by a rookie defenseman, matching Radim Salda's 41.

Akkouche Bomb! 💣 pic.twitter.com/2NtuUGp95u

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) March 18, 2023

FINAL MEETING: This was the final meeting of the regular season between the Sea Dogs and Mooseheads - and what a lopsided season series it was. Halifax finishes with an 8-0-0-0 record.

NOTES: Saint John once again went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen... the Sea Dogs wore their black third jerseys... this was Halifax's final road game of the regular season... Jordan Dumais scored his 50th goal of the season. He is the third QMJHL player to reach the 50-goal mark this season... Brady Burns had six shots... Burns, Peter Reynolds and Noah Reinhart were all a -3... Reynolds now has goals in four straight games. He has also scored seven goals over his past seven games... Josh Lawrence had an assist and five shots in what was likely his final game at TD Station... attendance for this St. Patrick's Day game was 3,813.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs take on the Charlottetown Islanders on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at TD Station.