Green and Joseph Score Twice; Sea Dogs Dump Wildcats
Published on December 9, 2015 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release
MONCTON - Luke Green and Mathieu Joseph each scored twice to lead the Saint John Sea Dogs to a 6-2 victory over the Moncton Wildcats Wednesday at Moncton Coliseum.
Bokondji Imama and Matthew Highmore also found the net for Saint John (18-11-2-0), which counted three power play markers and a shorthanded strike among the team's six goals. The Sea Dogs have won two straight games
Liam Murphy and Adam Holwell replied for Moncton (20-10-4-0), which have lost three games in a row.
Wildcats forward Conor Garland, the QMJHL's leading scorer, was held pointless for the first time this season, ending a league-high 28-game points streak.
Saint John opened the scoring with a power play goal with six minutes left in the opening period.
Joe Veleno ripped a pass from the goal line on the right wing side through the crease to Green, who one-timed a shot past a helpless Blade Mann-Dixon in the Moncton goal.
Imama doubled the lead 65 seconds later.
Linemate Dawson Theede won a puck battle on the right wing boards, allowing Imama to grab it. The sixth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning moved into the slot and rifled a wrist shot through the legs of Mann-Dixon.
Late in the period, Garland was found behind the defence for a breakaway.
The Arizona Coyotes' prospect tried a deke, but Sea Dog goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte used a pokecheck to bat the puck away.
Moments later, Daniel Del Paggio led a 2-on-1 into the Wildcats' zone and fed Joseph in the middle. Joseph's initial wrist shot was stopped, but the third-year winger buried his own rebound for a 3-0 Saint John lead.
Mann-Dixon allowed three goals on 11 shots in the first period. The former Sea Dog was relieved by Sebastien Dupre to start the second.
But Saint John kept coming.
Six-and-a-half minutes into the period, with his team shorthanded, Joseph grabbed a loose puck near the blueline on the left side of his own zone and sent Highmore on a breakaway. The Dartmouth-native snapped a quick wrist shot past Dupre's blocker.
Two minutes later, the Sea Dogs added to their lead with a 5-on-3 power play goal.
Captain Spencer Smallman set up near the middle of the point before swinging a pass into the left circle. Green blasted a one-timer past Dupre to make it a 5-0 game.
Moncton got on the board with about six minutes to go in the second when Murphy won a faceoff to Turcotte's left by shooting it from the dot. The goalie made the initial save, but accidentally knocked the puck into his own goal.
The Sea Dogs got that one back a couple of minutes later on another 5-on-3 power play.
Sam Povorozniouk whipped a cross-crease pass from the left corner to Joseph at the bottom of the right circle. The Chambly, Quebec, native hammered home his second goal of the night, tying him with Povorozniouk for the team goal-scoring lead at 14.
Dupre allowed three goals on ten shots in the second period and was replaced by Mann-Dixon.
The Wildcats scored the only goal of the third period near the four-minute mark.
Holwell took a pass at the blueline and crushed a slap shot past Turcotte to cash in on a power play.
Del Paggio thought he had added a seventh goal to Saint John's total with under five minutes remaining when he beat Mann-Dixon with a shot over the blocker. The goal was called back due an offside call which had been missed by the officials earlier in the shift.
Turcotte earned the win in goal with 29 saves. Mann Dixon was charged with the loss with 13 stops in forty minutes of work.
Joseph's two goals and three points made him first star while Del Paggio's two assists merited a second-star selection. Highmore took third star with a goal and assist in front of 3,400 fans in attendance.
Saint John's next game is Friday, December 11th, at 7 p.m. against the Halifax Mooseheads at Scotiabank Centre. Listen LIVE on 96.1 NewSong FM or newsongfm.ca. Watch LIVE on theqmjhl.ca.
The Sea Dogs' next home game is Thursday, December 17th, at 7 p.m. against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles at Harbour Station. Tickets are available at the Harbour Station Box Office, online at harbourstation.ca or by calling 657-1234.
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from December 9, 2015
- Green and Joseph Score Twice; Sea Dogs Dump Wildcats - Saint John Sea Dogs
- Wildcats Suffer First Loss against the Sea Dogs this Season - Moncton Wildcats
- Islanders announce Teddy Bear Toss game - Charlottetown Islanders
- Sea Dogs Sign, Recall D Alex Bernier - Saint John Sea Dogs
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
