RECAP: Sea Dogs beat Islanders in SO

FINAL: Charlottetown 2, Saint John 3 (SO)

By Kevin Chambers | SN Staff

SAINT JOHN  - The Saint John Sea Dogs defeated the Charlottetown Islanders 3-2 in a shootout on Friday night at Harbour Station.

The exhibition contest was likely the Sea Dogs’ final home game before several players make their way to NHL training camps. The game also featured a large audience thanks to the Sea Dogs offering free tickets for the match - which sold out relatively quickly.

It didn’t take long for new Sea Dog Chase Stewart to make a big impression, taking on Trevor Stacey in a heavyweight tilt and knocking the Islanders’ lid off with some heavy punches. The Sea Dogs would strike first when Bokondji Imama powered a wrist shot past Blade Mann-Dixon, sending Saint John to the dressing room with a 1-0 advantage.

The Islanders would even things up at 1-1 at the 3:29 mark of the second period off the stick of newly acquired Pascal Aquin. That would be all the scoring in a tight checking middle period of play.

The Islanders would strike first in the third, giving the visitors their first lead of the game at 11:51 when Cody Donaghey’s wrist shot deflected in front of Alex Bishop and found its way into the back of the net. The lead was short lived however as Joe Veleno caught a pass in the slot and went bar-down on Mann-Dixon just 46 seconds later. That would be all the scoring in regulation time and, after overtime solved nothing, the game went to a shootout.

RECAP: Sea Dogs defeat Eagles

FINAL: Cape Breton 2, Saint John 7

SAINT JOHN – Two goals each from Spencer Smallman and John Warren led the Saint John Sea Dogs to a 7-2 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in QMJHL pre-season action on Friday.

Mathieu Joseph, Kyle Ward and Zach Grzelewski also scored in Saint John’s first win of the pre-season. Alex Bishop and Alex D’Orio split the victory in net.

Marcus Tesink and Olivier Bourret-Vinette scored for Cape Breton. Kyle Jessiman and Colten Ellis spilt net duties for the Screaming Eagles.

Saint Jon opened the scoring at 10:42 of the first period when Luke Green found Mathieu Joseph in the slot. Joseph made no mistake, firing a hard wrist shot past Jessiman.

The Eagles would quickly tie it up though as Tesink, the brother of former Sea Dogs forward Ryan Tesink, beat Bishop at 11:17.

RECAP: Sea Dogs lose again

BATHURST – A three-goal second period pushed the Acadie-Bathurst Titan past the Saint John Sea Dogs on Wednesday night in QMJHL pre-season action.

The Sea Dogs dropped their fourth straight game of the pre-season in Bathurst, falling 6-2. This was Saint John’s first “real” exhibition game with veteran players – all three of their previous matches were rookie games.

Samuel L’Italien had two goals for Bathurst while singles came from Kynan Berger, Olivier Desjardins, Dawson Theede and Christophe Boivin. Reilly Pickard made 23 saves in the win.

Olivier Mathieu and John Warren scored for Saint John. Matthew Williams made 14 saves while Alex D’Orio made 17. The two netminders each played half the game.

RECAP: Sea Dogs fall again in Hub City

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs dropped their second game of the Hub City Showcase on Saturday.

Nick Fewer, Olivier Mathieu and Alexander Vdovenko scored Saint John's lone goals in a 7-3 loss to the Moncton Wildcats at the Superior Propane Centre. The loss drops the Sea Dogs to 0-2 at the rookie tournament after falling 4-1 to the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday.

Saint John will play their final game of the tournament tomorrow at either 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

Casey Fox opened the scoring for the Wildcats 5:36 into the third period. Christophe Bohemier doubled Moncton's lead at 16:13.

In the second period, a puck deflected off Sea Dogs defenceman Simon Elsliger and past goaltender Matthew Williams. The goal, scored at 8:22, was awarded to Jacob Hudson to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.

Saint John finally got on the board at 15:57 when Fewer scored by backhanding a shot past Wildcats goaltender Dominik Tmej.



While shorthanded at 18:40, Derek Dicaire scored to reclaim Moncton's three-goal lead. The 'Cats then made it 5-1 when Bohemier netted his second of the match at 2:30 of the third.

The Sea Dogs responded quickly from Bohemer's goal as Mathieu, Saint John's top pick in the 2016 QMJHL Entry Draft, scored his first QMJHL pre-season goal at 3:14. Then, with 7:01 to play, Vdovenko scored to get Saint John within two.

But just as the Sea Dogs got back into it, the Wildcats quickly extended their lead to secure the victory. Samuel Meisenheimer scored at 15:44 and then Bohemier completed his hat trick at 17:58 to make it a 7-3 final.

Williams made 33 stops in the loss while Tmej made 30 in the win.

Photo: Hub City Showcase Twitter

RECAP: Sea Dogs drop pre-season opener

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs dropped their first game of the Hub City Showcase on Friday afternoon.

The Sea Dogs recorded just 16 shots on goal - which included only two in the third period - in a 4-1 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads at Moncton's Superior Propane Centre.

Cedric Pare, a first round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2015 QMJHL Entry Draft, scored 38 seconds into the game - and that proved to be Saint John's lone goal of the contest.

The Mooseheads scored two goals early in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. The highly touted Jared McIsaac scored 51 seconds in and then Ilya Putintsev doubled the Mooseheads' lead at 1:26.

In the third, Ben Higgins scored at 5:14 to make it 3-1 Moose. Raphael Lavoie added further insurance at 15:34 to make it a 4-1 final.

Alex D'Orio, another 2015 first round pick of the Sea Dogs, made 42 saves in the loss. Alexis Gravel played 40 minutes for the Mooseheads and made 13 saves. Kirklin Allen played the third period and made two stops.

It was a penalty filled affair - especially in the third period - with Saint John picking up 64 total penalty minutes while Halifax earned 37.

The Sea Dogs are back in action at the inaugural rookie tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Wildcats.

GAME 3 RECAP: Sea Dogs Win 5-2

FINAL: Saint John 5, Cape Breton 2

By Kevin Chambers | SN Staff

SYDNEY, NS – After a few shaky games, the Saint John Sea Dogs proved why they are one of the top seeded teams in the QMJHL on Monday night in Sydney.

Despite a suspension to Nathan Noel, the Sea Dogs were able to put together a solid road effort and defeat the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 5-2 to take a 2-1 series lead. The win also regained home ice advantage for Saint John.

Matthew Highmore scored twice and added an assist while Jordan King, Spencer Smallman and Bokondji Imama also netted goals. Thomas Chabot registered four assists and Sam Povorozniouk had two. Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 20 saves in the win.

The Sea Dogs struggled in the final two games of the Bathurst series and did not have a good game one to this series. But Saturday’s overtime win coupled with this road victory brings some confidence back. Scoring five goals tonight without Noel in the lineup - along with Mathieu Joseph and Adam Marsh, of course - was impressive.

Cape Breton’s big guns – Pierre-Luc Dubois, Michael Joly, Evgeny Svechnikov and Maxim Lazarev – were all held pointless. Loik Leveille and Giovanni Fiore scored for the Screaming Eagles. Alexandre Belanger was pulled after allowing four goals on 18 shots. Daryl MacCallum made 11 saves in relief.

SEA DOGS WIN MEMORIAL CUP

SN RECAP
FINAL: Majors 1, Sea Dogs 3

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – For much of the season, the Saint John Sea Dogs were ranked No. 1 in the Canadian Hockey League. On Sunday night in Mississauga, they proved to be worthy of that ranking.

The Sea Dogs defeated the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors 3-1 in their own building to capture junior hockey’s Holy Grail – the MasterCard Memorial Cup. They become the first ever Atlantic Canadian team to win the trophy and just the eighth in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Simon Despres scored a shorthanded marker, Zack Phillips netted the eventual game winner, and Jonathan Huberdeau put it away with a nifty deke late in the third period.

Goaltender Jacob DeSerres was unbelievable in net, making several game-saving stops. He made 34 stops in total, erasing all of the bad memories that happened in last year’s final with the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The win ended an incredible season, a campaign that is difficult to put into words.

The victory solidifies the Sea Dogs as one of the greatest QMJHL teams of all time. Maybe even one of the greatest in CHL history.

Enjoy it. Saint John doesn’t win a national championship everyday.

ICE BREAK SEA DOGS

RECAP
FINAL (OT): Ice 5, Sea Dogs 4

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The Kootenay will live to see another day at the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

The Ice defeated the Saint John Sea Dogs 5-4 in overtime on Wednesday night at the Hershey Centre, forcing a tie-breaker game against the loser of tomorrow’s Owen Sound – Mississauga contest.

The victory improves the Ice to 1-2 at the Memorial Cup while the Sea Dogs dropped to 2-1. Saint John has already earned a bye to Sunday’s final because, no matter who wins tomorrow’s game, they will win the first tie-breaker.

Matt Fraser scored twice while Kevin King, Jesse Ismond, and Drew Czerwonka added singles. Goaltender Nathan Lieuwen made 19 saves on the night to pick up his first win of the Memorial Cup.

Kootenay was finally able to get their offense going after getting shutout in their first game against Mississauga and only scoring once against Owen Sound. They went 3-for-6 on the power play and fired 45 shots at Saint John netminder Mathieu Corbeil.

Tomas Jurco scored twice for Saint John. Ryan Tesink and Kevin Gagne also scored. Corbeil was solid in net, making 40 saves in the loss.

The game meant nothing to Saint John and they played like it at times. They rested some of their regulars with a trip to the final already booked.

DOGS BOOK THEIR TRIP TO CUP FINAL

SN RECAP
FINAL (OT): Attack 2, Sea Dogs 3

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – For the first time since 2006, a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team will play in the MasterCard Memorial Cup final.

The Saint John Sea Dogs punched their ticket to Sunday’s final with a dramatic, come-from-behind 3-2 overtime victory over the Owen Sound Attack on Monday NIGHT at the Hershey Centre. It was an instant classic and by far the best game of the 2011 Canadian Hockey League national championship tournament thus far.

The Attack held a 2-0 lead after one and a 2-1 edge after two. But a YouTube worthy goal by Tomas Jurco in the final five minutes of the third sent the match into overtime. In the extra frame, who else other than Jonathan “Hoobadoo” Huberdeau would net the winner at 17:35 to send the Dogs to the Cup final.

Stanislav Galiev, Jurco, and Huberdeau all scored for Saint John to improve to 2-0 at the Memorial Cup. Jacob DeSerres was sensational in net, making 47 saves for the win. It was a rare night as the Attack managed to outshoot the Sea Dogs 49-44.

Owen Sound, 1-1, had their markers from Matt Petgrave and Andrew Shaw. Goaltender Jordan Binnington was an absolute beast in net, stopping 41 shots in the loss.

It was an epic back-and-forth, high paced affair that had a national television audience watching on. Huberdeau, who has become the tournament’s must see attraction, didn’t even have his best night overall.

The Sea Dogs still have one game left in the round-robin, but, no matter what happens in that contest, they will play for a national championship on Sunday. The last Memorial Cup final that featured a QMJHL team came in 2006 when the Quebec Remparts defeated the Moncton Wildcats.

SAINT JOHN WINS OPENER

SN RECAP
FINAL: Sea Dogs 4, Majors 3

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Jacob DeSerres began his road to redemption at the MasterCard Memorial Cup with an impressive performance.

The Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender came up huge at times as he backstopped his team to a 4-3 win over the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors in the opening game of the Canadian Hockey League championship tournament.

The stats sheet shows that he only made 24 saves on the night, but without DeSerres’ performance, the Sea Dogs may not have left the Hershey Centre on Friday night with a victory. He made several stops to keep momentum going in Saint John’s favour and weathered the storm on several Majors power play attempts.

Saint John had goals from Michael Kirkpatrick, Jonathan Huberdeau, Tomas Jurco, and Nathan Beaulieu. Beaulieu netted the game-winner in the third period on a controversial play that appeared to be offside.

But the missed offside call wasn’t the only officiating problem as several questionable penalty calls were made throughout the contest. The officiating was almost as bad Doug MacLean’s microphone.

Mississauga had two goals from captain Casey Cizikas and a single marker from Devante Smith-Pelly. Goaltender JP Anderson allowed four goals on 31 shots.

It was far from perfect, but the Sea Dogs performance got the job done. They battled hard against a tough Majors team all night long, they survived the hostile crowd, and they got through the hoopla of playing in the tournament opener.

Now, they will have two days off to prepare for Monday’s match against the Owen Sound Attack.

CHAMPIONS

SN RECAP
FINAL (2OT): Sea Dogs 3, Olympiques 2

GATINEAU, Que. – Alexandre Beauregard, a mid-season acquisition that was expected to provide some toughness in the Saint John Sea Dogs lineup, will forever be known as the player who scored “the goal.”

At 15:45 of the second overtime, Beauregard sniped the puck past Gatineau Olympiques netminder Maxime Clermont and gave the Sea Dogs a 3-2 victory, a series win, and the franchise’s first ever President’s Cup Championship.

They failed to clinch the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League title in their first attempt on Friday on home ice. In Game Six, it looked like the Sea Dogs would be returning to Harbour Station to try and win the trophy. But a heroic goal by playoff MVP Jonathan Huberdeau with 23 seconds remaining in regulation tied the match up at 2-2 and led to Beauregard’s game winner to make it a 3-2 final.

Stanislav Galiev scored the other Sea Dogs goal. Goaltender Jacob DeSerres was solid in net, making 34 stops for the win.

Philip-Michael Devos and Adam Janosik scored for Gatineau. Maxime Clermont was incredible – as he was the entire series – and made 52 stops in the loss. He looked devasted after allowing Beauregard’s goal.

It was the perfect ending to an epic series. It was a hard fought six games that saw all but one game be decided by one-goal. Game Six was the second time this series that a match went to double-overtime.

There were plenty of momentum shifts and thrilling action. But in the end, the best team came out on top.

The Saint John Sea Dogs are the 2011 President’s Cup Champions. The MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament awaits.

'PIQUES LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY

SN RECAP
FINAL: Olympiques 3, Sea Dogs 2

SAINT JOHN – It was a night to forget at Harbour Station.

The Gatineau Olympiques, facing elimination, defeated the Saint John Sea Dogs 3-2 in Game Five of the President’s Cup final. The Sea Dogs still lead the best-of-seven series, 3-2, with Game Six taking place Sunday night in Gatineau.

The Sea Dogs entered Friday’s game riding the momentum of a double overtime victory on Wednesday night. But Saint John didn’t play well at all on Friday.

"There was no work ethic, not enough work ethic," Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant said of his team to the Canadian Press. "In the two games in Gatineau, we won the battles and we competed and tonight we froze. We didn't play well at all and it wasn't our team at all.

"When we won (Games 3 and 4) in Gatineau, we won puck battles and we won foot races, and tonight we didn't win many of those."

Right from the start Gatineau had the edge. They were better offensively. Their defense shut down everything but the power inside the building. Maxime Clermont was a rock in net.

Saint John on the other hand had trouble getting anything going offensively. It was an odd sight for the league’s most offensively dangerous team. Even when they had a decent opportunity they had trouble beating Clermont.

The Sea Dogs turned the puck over plenty of times as well. Goaltender Jacob DeSerres bailed his team out on several occasions but couldn’t stop everything, allowing three goals on 23 shots.

Christian Ouellet, Adam Janosik, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau all scored for Gatineau. Clermont made 25 stops in net.

Eric Gelinas and Stephen MacAulay scored the lone Saint John goals.

ONE WIN AWAY

SN RECAP
FINAL (2OT): Sea Dogs 4, Olympiques 3

GATINEAU, Que. – Ryan Tesink scored the biggest goal in Saint John Sea Dogs history on Wednesday night in Gatineau, giving the team a 4-3 double overtime victory over the Olympiques.

The victory gives Saint John a 3-1 series lead in the President’s Cup final and a chance to book a trip to the MasterCard Memorial Cup on Friday night at Harbour Station.

In Game Four, Tesink, Jonathan Huberdeau, Zack Phillips, and Nathan Beaulieu all scored for the winners. Stanislav Galiev assisted on all four goals. Goaltender Jacob DeSerres came up huge at times and made 35 saves in the win.

Gatineau had a pair of goals from Philip-Michael Devos and a single marker from Tye McGinn. Maxime Clermont was the reason this game went so long, making 60 stops in the loss.

It was an unreal game at the Robert Guertin Centre. A highly entertaining back-and-forth affair that was capped off with some thrilling sessions of overtime.

Gatineau opened up the scoring but then Saint John took the lead. Then Gatineau retook the lead until Beaulieu tied it at 3-3 in the third period. The Olympiques could have changed the entire series in the first overtime but couldn’t connect on a long five-on-three power play.

Combined with the goaltending performance of Clermont and the bad ice at the old barn, you wondered if this game would ever end. It was the longest game in Sea Dogs history and the longest match in the history of the President’s Cup finals.

DOGS DOMINATE GAME THREE

SN RECAP
FINAL: Sea Dogs 5, Olympiques 0

GATINEAU, Que. – It was a dominating performance by the Saint John Sea Dogs on Monday night.

The Sea Dogs rattled off five goals and 35 shots to beat the Gatineau Olympiques 5-0 in Game Three of the 2011 President’s Cup final. The victory gives Saint John a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-seven championship final.

Saint John dominated the game from start to finish and always looked in control. A goal by Stephen MacAulay in the final second of the first period proved to be the winner. The Sea Dogs also had markers from Jonathan Huberdeau, Aidan Kelly, Danick Gauthier, and Mike Thomas.

Goaltender Jacob DeSerres only had to make a few key saves to earn the shutout win. Gatineau could only fire 17 shots on goal in the game with 10 of them coming in the final frame.

It was quite a performance by Saint John who struggled to generate offense in Games One and Two of the series on home ice. But the Dogs didn’t look intimidated by the loud sold out crowd at the Robert Guertin Centre and took care of business for a full 60 minutes.

Olympiques netminder Maxime Clermont, who has been a wall in this series, allowed all five goals on 35 shots to pick up the loss.

Saint John now carries the momentum into Game Four which will be held on Wednesday night in Gatineau.

GATINEAU STRIKES BACK

SN RECAP
FINAL: Olympiques 3, Sea Dogs 2

SAINT JOHN – The Gatineau Olympiques are heading home with a split.

The Olympiques defeated the Saint John Sea Dogs 3-2 in Game Two of the President’s Cup final, tying the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship series at 1-1. The series shifts to Gatineau for Games Three and Four on Monday and Wednesday.

Hubert Labrie, Tommy Tremblay, and Nicolas Deslauriers all scored for the winners. Goaltender Maxime Clermont was excellent in net for the second straight contest, making 38 saves in the win.

Saint John’s only goals came from Simon Despres who scored in the first and third period. Jacob DeSerres made 21 stops in goal in the loss.

Gatineau played like they wanted it more. They took a quick 2-0 lead and then shutdown the Sea Dogs offense for most of the night. Saint John had a difficult time creating many dangerous opportunities, and even when they did, Clermont was their make the stop.

"I thought they played real well," Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said of the Olympiques to the Canadian Press. "We had all kinds of chances to win the game. We played OK, but we didn't work hard enough.”

The Sea Dogs offense, missing two key elements in Michael Kirkpatrick and Steven Anthony, just couldn't get rolling. Although the Dogs outshot the ‘Piques 40-24, many of them weren’t all that dangerous.

Saint John made it interesting in the final couple of minutes but couldn’t get a tying goal. In the end, the better team won Game Two.

DESPRES DELIVERS IN GAME ONE

SN RECAP
FINAL: Olympiques 1, Sea Dogs 2

SAINT JOHN – It was a battle, but the Saint John Sea Dogs took Game One of the President’s Cup final on Thursday night at Harbour Station.

Simon Despres scored the winner at 12:17 of the third period to give the Sea Dogs a 2-1 victory over the Gatineau Olympiques. The win gives Saint John a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-seven matchup. Game Two is Saturday night at the Station.

Danick Gauthier scored the other Sea Dogs goal, a marker that gave the top-ranked team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League a 1-0 lead after one. Hubert Labrie scored the lone Olympiques goal in the middle stanza.

Gatineau goaltender Maxime Clermont was solid in net, making 35 stops in the loss. Jacob DeSerres made 22 saves in the Sea Dogs crease.

The game went pretty much as expected. Saint John has plenty of opportunities but had a difficult time getting through the Gatineau defense and goaltending.

“We had some good chances, but we didn’t always bear down (enough),’’ Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said to the Canadian Press. “I thought there was some rust in our game tonight. Overall, we played a decent game, but not good enough for what we need and hopefully we’ll be a lot better Saturday night.’’

SEA DOGS MOVING ON

SN RECAP
FINAL: Sea Dogs 6, MAINEiacs 5

LEWISTON, Me. – A wild Game Four ended a wild semifinal playoff series against the Saint John Sea Dogs and the Lewiston Maineiacs.

Five minutes into the game and many were already making plans for a Game Five on Friday. But the Sea Dogs pulled off a huge comeback to win the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League match 6-5 and earn a 4-0 sweep in the series.

The victory means that, for the second straight season, the club advances to the President’s Cup Final where they will play the winner of the Quebec - Gatineau series.

It was a game that had a bit of everything. Just 5:05 into regulation there were three goals, a goaltending change, and a broken pane of glass. But Saint John battled back and finally tied it in the second period before pulling ahead in the third.

Zack Phillips, Nathan Beaulieu, Scott Oke, Jonathan Huberdeau, Eric Gelinas, and Stephen MacAulay all scored for winners. Mike Thomas had two assists. Mathieu Corbeil, who was unbelievable in Games Two and Three, was pulled after allowing two goals on two shots. His replacement, Jacob DeSerres, made some big stops to keep the Dogs in the game. He made 25 saves overall on the night.

Other than the terrible start, Saint John played a decent game. They certainly didn’t panic after going down by three. If there is anything we’ve come to realize about the 2010-11 edition of the Sea Dogs, it’s that a three-goal lead with 55 minutes left is not too big of a mountain to climb.

Lewiston was expected to come out flying in the opening frame - and they did just that. After all, it was their season on the line. But the Maineiacs, like in the first three games, just couldn’t keep the goals pumping like Saint John and kept giving them opportunities. They had plenty of chances throughout the game but just couldn’t cash in enough.

Lewiston had goals from Cameron Critchlow, Alex Zafiris, Olivier Dame-Malka, Stefan Fournier, and Pierre-Olivier Morin. Goaltender Andrey Makarov, making his first start of the post-season, allowed six goals on 31 shots.

MAINEIACS PUSHED TO THE BRINK

SN RECAP
FINAL: Sea Dogs 5, MAINEiacs 2

LEWISTON, Me. – The Saint John Sea Dogs are one win away from returning to the President’s Cup Finals.

The Sea Dogs took a commanding 3-0 series lead following a 5-2 victory in Game Three of their semifinal playoff series against the Lewiston Maineiacs. Game Four, which could be the final match of the series, is Wednesday night at 8:00 pm at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

It was a hard fought, intense match that saw Sea Dogs capitalize on their chances when they had them. After a scoreless opening frame, Saint John jumped out to 3-0 and 4-1 leads in the second period. Lewiston put up a good battle in the third period but the Dogs would hang on for the victory.

Jonathan Huberdeau, Tomas Jurco, Ryan Tesink, Mike Thomas, and Stanislav Galiev all scored for the winners. Zack Phillips added three assists.

Goaltender Mathieu Corbeil – making his second straight start and third of the playoffs – was terrific in goal once again. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect stopped 28-of-30 shots he faced and kept the momentum going in the Sea Dogs’ favour at key points during the game.

Lewiston had goals from Kirill Kabanov and Christophe Lalonde. Nicholas Champion allowed four goals on 22 shots before getting replaced by Andrey Makarov to start the third period. Makarov stopped all seven shots he faced.

Once again, the Maineiacs kept the game close and outplayed the Sea Dogs at times throughout the contest. But when Lewiston has given Saint John opportunities in this series, they have been able to convert on them.

SAINT JOHN TAKES 2-0 SERIES LEAD

SN RECAP
FINAL: MAINEiacs 1, Sea Dogs 4

SAINT JOHN – Olivier Dame-Malka’s hit from behind on Jonathan Huberdeau proved to be costly for the Lewiston Maineiacs on Saturday night at Harbour Station.

Malka was given a game misconduct and five-minute major penalty for the hit, giving the Saint John Sea Dogs a long power play opportunity. The Sea Dogs would connect not once, not twice, but three times during Malka’s penalty, making it 4-0 at point.

Saint John would cruise to a 4-1 win from there, taking a 2-0 series lead in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League semifinal playoff series. Games Three and Four now shift to Lewiston on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Game Two proved to be much better than Game One for the Sea Dogs. They controlled the play for most of the game and both their offense and defense were both clicking. Goaltender Mathieu Corbeil, who replaced Jacob DeSerres in the third period of Game One, was dialed in in net and made 24 stops for the victory.

Michael Kirkpatrick, Stanislav Galiev, Kevin Gagne, and Jonathan Huberdeau all scored for Saint John.

Kirill Kabanov had the lone Lewiston goal near the halfway point of the third period. Nicholas Champion allowed four goals on 29 shots before being pulled in favour of Andrey Makarov who stopped all 13 shots he faced.

DOGS WIN GAME ONE THRILLER

SN RECAP
FINAL (OT): MAINEiacs 4, Sea Dogs 5

SAINT JOHN – Anything can happen in the playoffs, and on Friday night at Harbour Station, that was proven to be true.

A dramatic third period comeback by the Saint John Sea Dogs in Game One of their semifinal series against the Lewiston Maineiacs gave them a 5-4 overtime win and a 1-0 series lead. Game Two of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff series is tonight at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.

Lewiston had a 4-2 lead with just under six minutes to play. But clutch goals by Nathan Beaulieu and Tomas Jurco tied the match a 4-4, allowing Stephen MacAulay to score in the extra session to give the Dogs a dramatic come-from-behind win.

Also scoring for Saint John was Pierre Durepos and Steven Anthony. Jacob DeSerres made 13 saves on 17 shots in 51:10 of action. He was pulled in favour of Mathieu Corbeil in the third period who also made 13 stops.

It wasn’t a perfect game by any means. Saint John jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period but then hit the snooze button. Lewiston had control of the second period and much of the third period. But both teams won’t have much time to think about it with Game Two less than 24 hours away.

The Maineiacs had goals from Matthew Bissonnette, Jess Tanguy, Kirill Kabanov, and Antoine Houde-Caron. Nicholas Champion made 26 saves in net.