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Anybody have a defibrillator?

1 of 2

marty klinkenberg/telegraph-journal

Sea Dogs fans get worked up before Sunday night's game in Bathurst.

marty klinkenberg/telegraph-journal

Jason Kilpatrick of Saint John hoists a Sea Dogs banner – Got Er Done – before the start on Game 6 in the Battle of new Brunswick at the K.C. Irving Centre in Bathurst on Sunday night. Kilpatrick travelled to Bathurst with other Saint John fans on a chartered bus for Sunday night's game. For coverage of the game, see page B10.

It might come in handy when Saint John moves on to play at Rouyn Noranda later this week.

The Sea Dogs, who were nervous and unable to close out their playoff series 24 hours earlier on home ice, eliminated the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, 5-4, in overtime at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre on Sunday night. Payton Liske was credited with the winning goal, silencing an arena full of fans who had been cheering wildly all night.

For the first time, there was a sense of urgency, and desperation, in the air.

Saint John Sea Dogs could feel its stranglehold slipping away; and Acadie-Bathurst Titan could feel the clock ticking down on its season.

The result on Sunday was the entertaining game fans of both have been waiting for since the Battle of New Brunswick commenced 10 days ago in the second round of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs. It was wild and hold-your-breath intense.

The Titan, who were seven minutes away from being eliminated before rallying on Saturday night, looked as if they would do it again. They took a 4-3 lead late in the third period, and then the third-year team from Saint John finally grew up. Chris DiDomenico tied the game with less than four minutes left, and then Liske ended it two minutes and 16 seconds into the extra period.

"I felt bad for our kids last night,'' Sea Dogs president Wayne Long said before the game. "I think we really showed our age on Saturday night. But it was a great learning experience and a growing experience.

"Ah, the joys of playoff hockey."

Neither team looked as if it was the least bit weary on Sunday night, even after playing in Saint John on Saturday and travelling four hours to get back to Bathurst for the sixth game in the best-of-seven series.

Saint John goalie Travis Fullerton was magnificent, as he has been all series, furiously kicking and ticking and poking and deflecting enemy shots away. Once, a Titan player rolled over him like a bowling pin in the crease, and still Fullerton was still able to smother the puck. Late in the third-period, he belly-flopped on top of another, helping send the series into overtime for the first time.

The Titan's Mathieu Perreault, meanwhile, was fantastic, just as he has been throughout the series and the entire season. Looking as if he is ready to skate beside Alex Ovechkin in Washington, Perrault flew up and down the ice as quickly as the cartoon Road Runner, dodging and weaving and pirouetting through and around defenders. The leading scorer in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and a Capitals draft choice, Perreault had three assists on Sunday to go with the four points he scored in the Titan's victory at Harbour Station on Saturday night.

Even Nicolas Champion, the Acadie-Bathurst goalie, put on a show on Sunday night. Champion, who was hit by pucks more than he stopped them this series, made several spectacular saves to keep the Titan in the game.

In the end, though, the Sea Dogs put the bite on their more experienced opponents. The teams shook hands at centre ice, as the Titan's rabid fans stood and cheered the home team for the last time this season.

Next up for Saint John is Rouyn Noranda, most likely on Friday night. The Huskies are 8-0 thus far in the playoffs, so Saint John's young team has its work cut out.

Anybody have a defibrillator handy?

Marty Klinkenberg is a contributing editor of the Telegraph-Journal. He can be reached at martyklinkenberg@hotmail.com.