FINAL: Sea Dogs 9, Mooseheads 2
HALIFAX – It was an old fashioned blowout at the Halifax Metro Centre on Saturday night.
The Saint John Sea Dogs held period leads of 4-1 and 8-1 en route to a 9-2 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Jonathan Huberdeau scored just 39 seconds into the game, and despite the Mooseheads tying the match a few minutes later, the game was never really in doubt for Saint John.
Huberdeau had an amazing night, recording a goal and four assists. His linemates also had strong performances with Zach Phillips getting a goal and two assists and Steven Anthony registering two goals and an assist. The trio has been, without question, one of the hottest lines in the country over the past few weeks.
Michael Kirkpatrick also scored a pair of goals and added two assists. Nathan Beaulieu also had a pair while Mike Thomas added a single marker. In net, Jacob DeSerres made some quality saves as the Mooseheads somehow outshot Saint John 39-36.
Over the past two seasons, there have been games where Halifax gave Saint John fits. But on this night, the Mooseheads were dominated by Saint John.
Charles Bety and Brent Andrews had the goals for the Mooseheads.
Poor Frederic Piche had to face his old mates in just his second game with his new club. The goaltender allowed five goals on 24 shots while Anthony Terenzio gave up four on just 12 shots.
FIRST PERIOD
The first shot of the game managed to find its way past Mooseheads goaltender Frederic Piche. Jonathan Huberdeau danced around Pascal Amyot and blasted a wrist shot high glove to give Saint John a 1-0 lead at 0:39.
The newly acquired Eric Gelinas then created a solid scoring chance, blasting a point shot that made its way to the crease but nobody could bang it home.
Gabriel Bourret was called for hooking at 3:26. On the power play, the Mooseheads tied the affair at 5:01. Amyot let a point shot go followed by Charles Bety tipping the puck past Jacob DeSerres to make it a 1-1 game.
At 6:51, Bourret was once again called for hooking. The best Halifax opportunity came after a dump in took a strange bounce off the glass and landed in front, fortunately with no Moose players buzzing around.
Back at even strength, Ryan Tesink performed a wraparound but was stopped by his old teammate. Then at 10:46, a scrum in the Halifax crease gave Saint John a five-on-three power play chance. They made no mistake as Michael Kirkpatrick gave a cross ice pass to Nathan Beaulieu who slappen one past Piche to give the Dogs a 2-1 lead.
With the penalties just about to end, Huberdeau sent a perfect pass to Kirkpatrick in the slot who ripped the disc just wide. At the other end shortly after, Alex Souligny had a great chance at the side of the crease but was robbed by the pad of DeSerres.
Saint John took a 3-1 lead at 11:16 when Steven Anthony entered the zone and ripped a shot by the glove of Piche.
With Martin Frk in the box for Halifax, the puck was centered from along the boards to Anthony in front. The Halifax native tipped the puck past Piche to make it a 4-1 game. The goal went under review to see if it crossed the line, and it did.
Shots in the first period were 14-13 Saint John.
SECOND PERIOD
Just 16 seconds into the second period, Zach Phillips ripped a shot between Anthony Terenzio – who started the second - and the post to give Saint John a 5-1 lead. It was the first shot on goal in the period.
Beaulieu then let a shot go on net that was nicely stopped by the arm of the Mooseheads goaltender. Soon after, Anthony tried to jam the puck in against the post and the pad but couldn’t. Then, a loose puck in the neutral zone was picked up by Stanislav Galiev who fired a shot that was blockered away by Terenzio.
Stephen MacAulay was called for hooking at 6:44. But while shorthanded at 7:04, Huberdeau and Mike Thomas entered the zone on a two-on-one. Huberdeau sent the puck over to Thomas who simply tapped the disc home to make it a 6-1 game.
After the penalty expired, Kirkpatrick found the score sheet at 9:47 to make it a 7-1 game. Gelinas let a point shot go and Kirkpatrick put the finish on the puck to give Saint John a six goal lead halfway through the game.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Anthony had a chance for the hat trick shortly after but struck iron. The Sea Dogs went back to the power play at 12:55, and on the man advantage, Galiev sat at the icing line and fed Kirkpatrick in front to make it an 8-1 game.
Piche returned the match following the marker. Huberdeau went to the box at 15:26 and then the Dogs took a too many men penalty at 17:51. On the man advantage, Martin Frk had a great chance on the doorstep but was stoned by the blocker of DeSerres in the Sea Dogs crease. Then, Gelinas put a nice move on DeSerres but he was able to stretch out and make the pad stop.
Shots in the second stanza were, somehow, 15-13 Halifax.
THIRD PERIOD
Things slowed down in the opening parts of the final frame. Galiev made a nice move to get around Trey Lewis but couldn’t get a great shot on goal.
Soon after, the Mooseheads started to gain some momentum despite already being blown out of the water. Luca Ciampini started it off by making a nice move in front but was stopped rather easily by DeSerres. Then, Andrew Ryan sent a short pass to Soulingny in front but was denied by the Sea Dogs goaltender once again. Travis Randell had the last good chance in the sequence, sending the puck high over the net with DeSerres down.
The Sea Dogs had another five-on-three power play at 15:32 with Darcy Ashley and Steve Gillard both in the box. The Sea Dogs, despite having their third and fourth lines out for most of the man advantage, found the back of the cage at 15:54. Alexandre Beauregard sat on the icing line and fed Beaulieu who ripped the puck past Piche to make it a 9-1 game.
Beaulieu tripped Francis Turbide at 16:27, giving the Herd a late man advantage. Brent Andrews showed some displays of skill, making some room for himself in front prior to roofing a wrist shot over the glove of DeSerres to make it a 9-2 affair.
Late in the period, the Mooseheads kept coming as Randell had a wide open cage but was robbed once again by a stretched out DeSerres.
Shots in the final frame were 11-9 Halifax.
Saint John went a stunning four-for-six on the power play while Halifax went two-for-six.
NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow.
NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the PEI Rocket Tuesday night at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.
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