Recap: Sea Dogs lose 7-3

FINAL: Sherbrooke 7, Saint John 3

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs' home woes continued on Sunday at TD Station.

A week after falling 6-1 to the rebuilding Quebec Remparts, the Sea Dogs fell 7-3 to the also rebuilding Sherbrooke Phoenix on home ice.

Saint John is just 2-5-1-1 on home ice this season. Both of their home wins have come against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

This was Saint John's third game in three nights and it looked like it at times, allowing seven goals against a Sherbrooke team that is averaging just 2.80 goals per game, the second fewest in the league.

Mavrick Lachance and Israël Mianscum each scored a pair of goals for Sherbrooke while Lewis Gendron, Coen Miller and Alexis Doucet added singles. Mathys Routhier, Sherbrooke's backup goaltender, made 32 saves in the win.

Matteo Mann, Eriks Mateiko and Egan Beveridge scored for Saint John. Patrick Leaver was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 11 shots. Justin Robinson allowed three goals on 11 shots the rest of the way.

The Sea Dogs trailed 2-1 after the opening period after Gendron broke a tie with a power play goal at 13:04.

Mateiko tied the game early in the second period but then the Phoenix took control. Lachance scored at 4:23 and then Miller gave the Phoenix a two-goal lead at 9:11, ending Leaver's day in net.

Beveridge got Saint John back within one at 10:01, taking advantage a perfect bounce off the backboards. Late in the frame, Mianscum fired the puck under Robinson to restore Sherbrooke's two-goal lead heading into intermission.

Sherbrooke took a 6-3 lead at 6:08 when Mianscum beat Robinson with a point shot while on a power play. Just 18 seconds later, Doucet scored to make it 7-3.

Saint John pulled Robinson a couple times late in the game in an attempt to get back in it but couldn't beat Routhier a fourth time.

LINEUP

Simek - Reynolds - Mateiko

Akkouche - Elie - Reinhart

Beveridge - Pierre-Noel - Beaulieu

Laforge - Benoit

Tivey - Mann

Bilodeau - Gauthier

Dassylva - Amyot

MacLean

Leaver

Robinson

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without forwards Sam-Luca Thifault (serving the first game of a two-game suspension), Francis Woods (healthy), Chad Bellemare (healthy) and Reid Calder (healthy) along with defenseman Joseph Ianniello (injury).

SUSPENDED: After making his season debut on Saturday in Bathurst, forward Sam-Luca Thifault was out of the Sea Dogs lineup on Sunday, serving the first game of a two-game suspension for kneeing. Thifault was given a major penalty and game misconduct on the play.

LATE PULL: Down 7-3 with 6:35 remaining in the third and heading to a power play, the Sea Dogs opted to pull their goaltender to create a six-on-four opportunity. The man advantage didn't last long as Noah Reinhart was called for a high stick. The Sea Dogs pulled Robinson again later in the period when the team was awarded another power play.

NOTES: Peter Reynolds returned to Saint John's lineup after missing Saturday's game with an injury or illness... Saint John went back to 11 forwards and seven defensemen... Matteo Mann's goal was his first as a Sea Dog... Sherbrooke's Coen Miller, a Bedford, NS native, recorded his first QMJHL point and goal... Saint John had another rough day on the power play, going 0/7... Sherbrooke went 2/6 on the power play... Noah Reinhart had five shots... Mathis Gauthier had four hits... the Phoenix are now 8-0-0-0 this season when scoring first... a season-low crowd of 1,941 attended the game.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs stay at home and host the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday night at 7 p.m.