Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Recap: Sea Dogs win 3-2

FINAL: Gatineau 2, Saint John 3
Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs did something Tuesday that very few teams have been able to do against the Gatineau Olympiques since the calendar flipped to 2023: win.

The Sea Dogs earned a hard fought 3-2 victory over the Olympiques on Tuesday night at TD Station. Saint John goaltender Ventsislav Shingarov, who had an excellent Game 1 of this series and gave the Dogs a chance, made 44 saves in a first star performance.

Gatineau now leads the best-of-seven first round series 2-1 heading into Wednesday's Game 4. Tuesday's result means there will be a Game 5 on Friday night in Saint John.

It was a mix of veterans and youth who delivered for the Sea Dogs with Noah Reinhart, Brady Burns and Nicolas Bilodeau scoring. Burns and Reinhart also had assists while Peter Reynolds added two helpers. 

Saint John opened the scoring and play was fairly even through the first two periods with Shingarov making a few key stops. Play was mostly controlled by Gatineau in the third with shots ending 23-6 in favour of the visitors - but Saint John cashed in when they had opportunities. Burns made it 2-1 Saint John at 11:24 of the third and then Bilodeau scored a beautiful goal down low at 12:51 to give the Dogs some insurance.

Olivier Nadeau got Gatineau back within one at 18:50. The Olympiques pressured in the final minute but could not net an equalizer.

Nadeau and Alexis Gendron scored for Gatineau. Francesco Lapenna made 26 saves in the loss.

The Sea Dogs are still in tough to win this series, but this kind of victory against this kind of opponent is a huge confidence boost for this young and rebuilding Sea Dogs core. This certainly makes getting into the playoffs worth it.

LINEUP
Burns - Reynolds - Reinhart
Mateiko - Cournoyer - Beaulieu
Akkouche - Burbidge - Elie
Simek - Laforge - Drover

Tivey - DesRoches
Ianniello - Cosman
Bilodeau - Despont

Shingarov
Brideau

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

CHANGES: The Sea Dogs shook up their lineup and went back to the traditional 12 forwards and six defensemen setup. Luka Benoit was a healthy scratch while Danny Akkouche moved back to forward and Nico Laforge returned from injury, playing his first game since Feb. 20. Rookie Jacob Beaulieu, who provided some grit in the first two games, moved up to the second line.

TOUGH CROWD: Attendance was just 1,487 at TD Station on Tuesday night, the smallest crowd this season and the smallest playoff crowd in team history (excluding the 2021 COVID playoffs). The previous low was 2,005, set during Saint John's first round loss to Rimouski last season.
BEEN A LONG TIME: This was Gatineau's first loss in regulation time since Jan. 18, ending a stretch of 26 straight games. Their lone blemish during that stretch was an overtime loss to the high powered Sherbrooke Phoenix on March 22.
NOTES: Noah Reinhart's first period power play goal gave the Sea Dogs their first lead of the series... Cole Cormier was given a five-minute major and match penalty for a slew foot on Peter Reynolds late in the first period... Joseph Ianniello and former Sea Dog Cam MacDonald got into it a bit in the third period, resulting in both receiving roughing minors... rookie defenseman Nicolas Bilodeau led Saint John in shots with five... Bilodeau, who netted the game-winner, is a Gatineau native... Zach Dean had 10 shots for Gatineau... the Olympiques are oddly 0-2 at TD Station this season.

HIGHLIGHTS


NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs and Olympiques play Game 4 of this series tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at TD Station.
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