Offence explodes in third period, Cataractes take 2-1 series lead
SAINT JOHN, NB – With their best-of-seven QMJHL semi-final series all knotted up at one win apiece, the Shawinigan Cataractes and Saint John Sea Dogs tangled once again on Tuesday night in game three at Harbour Station.
Brandon Gignac scored a few minutes after the midway mark of the first period to put the visiting Cataractes ahead 1-0. Cavan Fitzgerald and Nicholas Welsh picked up the assists at 13:18. Three minutes later Saint John drew even. Nathan Noel put the puck on net and after a couple wacks the puck popped up into the air where Kyle Ward batted it past Philippe Cadorette and into the net. Thomas Chabot also got a helper.
Samuel Dove-McFalls scored four minutes into the second period to give the Sea Dogs a 2-1 lead as he banged away at the puck in the crease until it finally got through the five-hole on Cadorette. Later in the frame Sam Povorozniouk gave the Saint John crowd more to cheer about making it 3-1 with his 13th goal of the post-season. Gignac responded with his second of the night before the end of the first 40 minutes of play making it a 3-2 Sea Dogs lead going into the second intermission.
In the third period the Cataractes came flying out of the dressing room lighting up Sea Dogs goaltender Marc-Antoine Turcotte to put the game out of reach. Timashov and Olivier scored seconds apart with just five minutes gone by in the period. Then, Gabriel Gagne would add two goals of his own just after the middle mark of the final frame to make it 6-3 for the visitors.
With the arena almost empty, Shawinigan put the finishing touches on a 7-3 victory with an empty-net goal from Timashov at 18:42. Cadorette made 26 saves in the victory.
For highlights of the game, click HERE!
Game four of the series goes tonight at 6pm EST/7pm AST in Saint John at Harbour Station. Follow us on twitter for updates, @Cataractes_Shaw, or watch the webcast via QMJHL Live.
