RECAP: Leaver stands tall, offence comes to life as Sea Dogs down Tigres
VICTORIAVILLE, QC – The Saint John Sea Dogs snapped a four-game skid with a 7-4 victory against the Victoriaville Tigres on Saturday night. This win, in Victoriaville, was the product of an offensive explosion in the first period along with key contributions of their recent acquisitions and a big performance from goaltender, Patrick Leaver.
Pavel Simek opened the scoring with a powerplay goal at 5:18, thanks to assists from Joseph Ianniello and Eriks Mateiko. Egan Beveridge, the team’s leading rookie scorer, extended the lead with Drew Elliott and Mateiko providing the assists. Elliott, set up by Mateiko and Ianniello, continued the scoring trend with a powerplay goal at 12:02. Tyler Peddle with a goal at 18:30, assisted by Nicolas Bilodeau and Matteo Mann, closed the period 4-0 for the Sea Dogs.
The second period saw Peddle swiftly adding his second goal just 16 seconds in, with Ianniello and Nate Tivey adding helpers. Despite two goals from Tigres captain Maxime Pellerin, the Sea Dogs maintained a 5-2 lead but trailed in shots 31-21 after 40 minutes.
In the third period, the Tigres attempted a comeback with goals from Mathis Aguilar at 4:55 and Justin Larose at 13:25. However, Simek buried his second of the night at 6:54 with help from Brody Fournier and Tivey. That goal was followed up by Fournier’s late empty netter which secured the Sea Dogs victory 7-4. A significant factor in the win was the stellar performance of goaltender Leaver, who was instrumental in fending off the Tigres offence with 47 saves, earning him the first star of the game.
With an improved record of 16-24-3-3, the Sea Dogs will continue their road trip Sunday afternoon at the Centre Slush Puppie against the Gatineau Olympiques. Next home game for Saint John is set for February 15th where the “One for All Festival” kicks off with the annual Pride Night against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Tickets are available at the TD Station box office, by calling (506) 657-1234 or online at tickets.tdstation.com.
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