RECAP: Penalties prove costly as Sea Dogs fall to Cataractes
SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs faced another challenging outing Thursday night at TD Station in their first matchup against the Shawinigan Cataractes, ending in a 6-1 loss. The game also marked the Talk Today game in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association of New Brunswick, emphasizing the importance of mental health awareness.
The first period got off to a rough start for the Sea Dogs, beginning with Joseph Ianniello’s high sticking penalty just 49 seconds into the match. The Cataractes quickly scored on the powerplay with Jiri Klima netting a goal, assisted by former Sea Dog Vince Élie. Despite a successful penalty kill of Reid Calder’s high sticking infraction, the Sea Dogs fell further behind as Félix Lacerte scored twice for the Cataractes, leaving the first period score at 3-0 with the Sea Dogs trailing in shots 11-8.
A short-handed goal by Cataractes defenceman Jordan Tourigny dampened the mood just 1:47 into the second period pushing the deficit to four. Eriks Mateiko struck back at 13:59, thanks to some skillful passing from Drew Elliott and Brody Fournier. The Sea Dogs ended the second period trailing 21-14 in shots, and 4-1 on the scoreboard.
The Cataractes continued pushing in the third, with the Sea Dogs unable to stop the offensive surge. Despite some roughhousing that led to penalties on both sides, including misconducts, Shawinigan padded their lead with two more goals, including an empty-netter by Lacerte, completing his hat-trick, and a final goal from Noah Mackinnon to make it 6-1. With tonight’s loss, the Sea Dogs record drops to 15-22-3-3. They struggled to generate scoring opportunities, while being outshot 28-26.
Saint John will look to shake off the loss as they hit the road to face the Cape Breton Eagles this Saturday at 7pm. The team will play eight-straight game on the road before returning to home ice on February 15th to kick-off the One For All Festival with their annual Pride Night against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. The upcoming games will be crucial for the Sea Dogs as they continue the push for a playoff berth. Tickets are available at the TD Station box office, by calling (506) 657-1234 or online at tickets.tdstation.com.
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