Recap: Sea Dogs lose 6-4

FINAL: Shawinigan 6, Saint John 4

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs fell into a hole early and were never able to fully dig themselves out of it on Saturday at TD Station.

The Shawinigan Cataractes scored three times in the first 8:39 of the first period in a 6-4 win over the Sea Dogs. Saint John was able to rebound from the rough start, getting within a goal on a few occasions but could never pull even with their rivals. 

The Sea Dogs have now lost seven straight games overall and six straight at home.

Former Sea Dogs forward Vince Elie once again had a strong showing against his old team, recording two goals and an assist. Oddly enough, Olivier Groulx, who the Sea Dogs acquired in the Elie deal, posted a goal and two assists.

Mathieu Plante, Matvei Girdin, Chad Lygitsakos and Louis-Philippe Fontaine also had Shawinigan goals. Mathys Fernandez made 30 stops in the win.

Groulx, Dylan Rozzi, Elliot Dubé and Ben Cross all scored for Saint John. Justin Robinson was pulled in the first period after allowing two goals on six shots in the opening 4:59. Eric Young allowed three goals on 26 shots in relief.

LINEUP

Morin - Groulx - Peddle

Rozzi - Dubé - Beveridge

Calder - M. Krayer - Cross

Beaulieu - Wagner

Tivey  - Duhamel

Bilodeau - Mann

Lumsden - Amyot

MacLean

Robinson

Young

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without forwards William Yared (injury or sickness), Dylan Krayer (injury) and Darien Reynolds (injury) along with defensemen Julien Bonnet (healthy).

NOTES: Saint John went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen... forward Jacob Beaulieu returned from a four-game suspension... defenseman Olivier Duhamel returned from injury, playing his first game since Jan. 3. He'd played just two games since the end of November... Matvei Gridin and Kody Dupuis each had three assists... Nate Tivey, Zachary Morin and Tyler Peddle were all a -4... Olivier Groulx had six shots... the Sea Dogs visit Shawinigan next weekend... attendance for Saint John's first Next Gen Game was 3,062.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Cape Breton Eagles on Family Day Monday at 3 p.m. at TD Station.