RECAP: Wildcats down Sea Dogs to spoil Fleaburn’s Birthday Bash
SAINT JOHN – In front of a loud and celebratory crowd of 4,912 for Fleaburn’s 30th birthday, the Saint John Sea Dogs fell to the Moncton Wildcats 6-2 on Sunday afternoon at TD Station. Despite playing strong in the first two periods, the Sea Dogs just could not find their rhythm in the third. This drops their season record to 14-19-3-3.
Rookie forward Egan Beveridge opened the first with a highlight reel goal assisted by Nate Tivey giving the Sea Dogs a 1-0 lead. A hooking penalty at 9:49 called on the Sea Dogs followed by Joseph Ianniello’s selfless shot block on the penalty kill, kept the Sea Dogs in front. Goaltender Justin Robinson’s crucial save with just five seconds left in the frame kept the Wildcats at bay. Sea Dogs trailed in shots 14-12 at the end of the first.
Saint John began the second period on the penalty kill but successfully neutralized the Wildcats’ advantage. At 8:03, Preston Lounsbury scored for the Wildcats to tie the game at one. However, Pavel Simek, set up by Brody Fournier and Tyler Peddle, sniped the top right corner taking the lead for the Sea Dogs at 10:28. A goal from Vincent Collard tied the game again for Moncton at 19:22. The period closed 2-2, with the Wildcats leading in shots 25-21.
The Wildcats quickly gained momentum, with Miles Mueller scoring just 36 seconds into the third period. Beveridge’s roughing penalty at 8:49 was exploited by Collard just ten seconds later with a powerplay goal, extending the Wildcats lead to 4-2. Thomas Auger and Etienne Morin followed up with additional goals for the visitors, cementing their victory 6-2.
The Sea Dogs are set to face the Rimouski Océanic at TD Station this Thursday at 7pm for their second matchup of the season. Tickets are available at the TD Station box office, by calling (506) 657-1234 or online at tickets.tdstation.com.
For the latest Sea Dogs news, visit SJSeaDogs.com, or follow the team on Facebook (Facebook.com/sjseadogs), Twitter (@SJSeaDogs), and Instagram (@SJSeaDogs).
