Mississauga defeated by Sea Dogs in the opener of

beizi July 14th 2011, 12:13 am

Nathan Beaulieu's power-play goal at 8:00 of the third period proved to be the game-winner as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 4-3 on Friday in the opening game of the MasterCard Memorial Cup.

Beaulieu's goal on a play that appeared to be offside gave the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions a 4-2 advantage. Mississauga, the host team, made it 4-3 when Casey Cizikas scored with the man advantage just 33 seconds later, delighting the Hershey Centre crowd of 5,429.

But Cameron also said Mississauga's lack of discipline played a role in the loss. Saint John finished the game 3-for-8 on the power play. The Majors were 2-of-7 with the man advantage.

The Sea Dogs came into this event as the top-ranked junior squad, two spots ahead of a Majors team playing its first game since a 3-2 overtime loss to the Owen Sound Attack at the Hershey Centre on Sunday in the Ontario Hockey League final.

"We weren't so much the better team but more we got a couple of bounces," Beaulieu said. "We didn't play our best game at all and I give full credit to them for working so hard.