RECAP: Sea Dogs strike first but fall to Wildcats in Game 1
MONCTON, N.B. – The Saint John Sea Dogs struck first Friday night in Game 1 of their first-round QMJHL playoff series against the Moncton Wildcats, but dropped a 5-1 decision at the Avenir Centre. Rafaël Courchesne stood tall in net for the Sea Dogs, stopping 45 of 50 shots.
Alex Donovan opened the scoring for Saint John at 16:44 of the first period on the power play, deflecting Alexis Joseph’s shot from the high slot. The Sea Dogs carried a 1-0 lead into the intermission despite Moncton leading 13-7 in shots.
The Wildcats took control in the second period with three straight goals. Gavin Cornforth tied the game at 5:18 and scored again at 6:45, with the second goal standing as the winner. Teddy Mutryn added a power-play marker at 10:50 to make it 3-1 for Moncton. The Wildcats outshot the Sea Dogs 30-12 through 40 minutes.
In the third period, Gabe Smith scored on the power play at 9:42 before Cornforth completed his hat trick at 10:49 to close the scoring.
STATISTICS
SOG: SNB – 17 | MON – 50
PP: SNB – 1/2 | MON – 2/5
Faceoffs: SNB – 20 | MON – 34
3 STARS
1st: MON – Gavin Cornforth
2nd: MON – Teddy Mutryn
3rd: MON – Gabe Smith
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