RECAP: Sea Dogs take down Titan in thrilling Hockey Fights Cancer game
SAINT JOHN – In a back-and-forth contest that had fans on the edge of their seats, the Saint John Sea Dogs took a 6-4 victory over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on a very special Hockey Fights Cancer night at TD Station. The Artificially Hip hit the stage with intermission performances as the Sea Dogs improved their record to 5-7-1-2.
The action started off immediately with Eriks Mateiko lighting the lamp at 1:10 for the Sea Dogs, assisted by Matteo Mann and Pavel Simek. Saint John goaltender Patrick Leaver made a highlight-reel pad save at 9:40 to keep the momentum, however, Titan forward Milo Roelens snuck in a powerplay goal at 15:32, with assists from Robert Orr and Noah Laberge, to tie the game. The period ended 1-1, shots 12-10 favouring the Titan.
Despite starting the second period a man down, the Sea Dogs killed off the early penalty. At 2:30, Mateiko sparked a breakout, leading to a saucer pass from Simek to captain Peter Reynolds who made it 2-1 for the Sea Dogs. 10 seconds later, Joseph Henneberry for the Titan made it 2-2, followed by an Orr go-ahead goal at 10:40. The second period closed with the Sea Dogs trailing 3-2, shots 24-22 in their favour.
Only 22 seconds into the third period, Reynolds, again assisted by Simek, drew things even for the Sea Dogs at 3-3. Henneberry was quick to answer with his second of the game, restoring the Acadie-Bathurst lead 30 seconds later. Noah Reinhart, with a helper from Mathis Gauthier, found twine at 5:05 tying the game at 4-4. A five-minute major was assessed to Mann at 14:35, but the teams went four-on-four after a Titan penalty at 17:28. At 19:13, Vince Elie scored the eventual game-winning goal, off a nice pass from Nate Tivey. With just two seconds left, Reynolds capped off his hat-trick and sealed the deal on an empty net.
The game wrapped with the Sea Dogs outshooting the Titan 34-32. Reynolds was named first star of the game while Elie earned second star honours and third star went to Pavel Simek with three assists.
Next up for the Sea Dogs is a rematch with Acadie-Bathurst tomorrow at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre. Saint John returns home on Sunday afternoon at 3pm where they’ll face off against the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Tickets are available at the TD Station box office, by calling (506) 657-1234 or online at tickets.tdstation.com.
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