Late Game Push Propels Sea Dogs Past Eagles in 4-3 Win
December 16, 2022 – Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) – Saint John Sea Dogs news release
Saint John Sea Dogs center Connor Trenholm in front of the Cape Breton Eagles net
(Saint John Seals)
Brady Burns struck the winner with 1:23 left to round out a three-point night and propelled the Saint John Sea Dogs (10-18-1-1) to an exciting 4-3 win over the Cape Breton Eagles (11-11). -17 -2-1) in front of the crowd at TD Station on Friday.
Cam MacDonald and Connor Trenholm each added a goal and an assist in the win, while Vince Elie turned on two assists.
Charles Boutin and Olivier Houde led the Eagles in the loss with a goal and an assist each.
Ventsislav Shingarov made 32 saves to get the win for the Sea Dogs while Nicolas Ruccia made 36 saves for the Eagles.
The first quarter was relatively even between the two teams in the first twelve minutes.
The Sea Dogs got the only two power plays of the frame, but despite being very active, they both failed to convert.
Cape Breton almost took the Sea Dogs’ first advantage towards the end, creating a 3v1 that resulted in a good chance for Samuel Johnson, who was stopped by Shingarov.
Shots were 11-10 for the Sea Dogs after a scoreless first period.
A little over a minute into the second minute, with the Eagles on the power play, the Sea Dogs forced a turnover in the neutral zone that sent MacDonald alone to Ruccia, but it hit the post.
The Eagles immediately got back on the ice for an odd rush that resulted in a dangerous shot from Boutin, but Shingarov shut the door.
A minute later, Trenholm ran past both Eagles defenders for a chance of his own, but Ruccia showed up big for Cape Breton to keep the game scoreless.
Trenholm continued to cause chaos five minutes later, circling the Eagles zone into the slot for a shot that was stopped and the rebound almost deflected by Eriks Mateiko. his shot also failed to materialize.
The deadlock broke just before halftime in the game when Boutin stole the puck in the neutral zone, cutting into the Sea Dogs’ net from the right wing and putting in an under-glove shot from Shingarov to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Burns almost leveled the game just 30 seconds later when he received a close-range pass in front of the Cape Breton goal, but he put his shot just over the net.
Five minutes later, Pavel Simek ran down the left wing into the Eagles zone and made a great back pass to Mateiko, who was alone in the slot, but his subsequent shot was blocked again by Ruccia.
The Sea Dogs eventually found the scoreboard at 3:28 in the period with an extended 5-on-3 that Burns converted and fired a laser from the faceoff spot on the left to tie it 1-1 in the third period.
Shots were 30-24 for the Sea Dogs after the second.
6:02 in the third, Sea Dogs on the power play, MacDonald put in a wrist shot from the point that found its way through traffic and at Ruccia, giving Saint John a 2-1 lead.
The Eagles didn’t go away, however, and just over four minutes later, Ivan Ivan put the gloved puck down to keep the Eagles on the side in the Sea Dogs zone and shot for Shingarov to stop but Houde scored the rebound to level the game again at 2-2.
Ivan nearly put the Eagles ahead on the next faceoff when he sat in on his own chance, but Shingarov was up to the task.
Three minutes later, Houde continued the pressure for Cape Breton but failed to finish on a 2v1 chance.
Shortly after, Boutin found Samuel Johnson for a successful 2-on-1 to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead with just over six minutes left.
Just 1:52 later, Burns caught the Eagles off guard and found Trenholm with a back door pass to make it 3-3.
Burns wasn’t finished there and just minutes later he put in another shot from the left faceoff spot on the top shelf past Ruccia for his second of the night to make it 4-3.
The goal would be considered a game winner as the Sea Dogs killed the remaining 1:23 on the clock.
The last shots were 40-35 for the Sea Dogs.
Alpine 3 stars
1 Brady Burns (2G 1A)
2 Camera MacDonald (1G 1A)
3 Charles Boutin (1G 1A)
The Sea Dogs and Eagles play tomorrow night for the third and final game of the week at TD Station in Saint John’s final pre-holiday game. Puck Drop is at 7:00 p.m. and you can purchase tickets at the TD Station box office or online.
Looking for the perfect gift? Holiday Packs, which include six Flex tickets and your choice of t-shirt or pet pack, are now available at the TD Station box office!
New Year’s is just around the corner! Don’t miss the special 2pm start time with performances by Wannabe: A Spice Girls Tribute Act on both intermissions! Tickets are now available.
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