Notebook: Murnieks, Latvia almost upset Canada again

Tim Austen/IIHF

On the one-year anniversary of Eriks Mateiko's shootout winner against Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship, Team Latvia almost pulled off another massive upset.

The Latvians pushed the Canadians as much as they could, sending the match into overtime where Michael Hage scored the winner on a power play, giving Canada a 2-1 win.

The Latvians did an excellent job at limiting quality scoring chances. Like last year, Latvia hung around and scored late in the third period to send the match into extra time. This year though, they didn't have quite enough to get the win.

As expected, Saint John Sea Dogs forward Olivers Murnieks was Latvia's top line centre. He played 19:38, recording one shot and going 15-15 in the faceoff circle.

Despite the loss, this result will no doubt give the Latvians some confidence. They play Finland on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Atlantic.

BEVERIDGE TRADE

The Sea Dogs made their second deal of the trade period on Saturday, sending forward Egan Beveridge to the Quebec Remparts in exchange for forward Félix Pronovost and a 2027 sixth-round pick.

Here's what team president and general manager Trevor Georgie had to say about the trade in a news release.

“We are sad to see Egan go but are excited for him to get a fresh start in Quebec,” said Georgie. “He is an outstanding young man and he will be missed around the team and in the community. We wish him the very best.”

The Sea Dogs do not play the Remparts again this season.

Game Day 33: vs Islanders

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The second half of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season begins this afternoon for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The first half was certainly less than impressive for the Sea Dogs and there is belief within the entire organization that this group can perform much better. Now, and over the next few weeks and months, it's time to prove that.

The Sea Dogs enter play today sitting 17th overall with a 12-18-2-0 record. That's not where you want to be at the halfway point – but there's still halfway to go. There is plenty of time to move up the standings.

Saint John begins second half play with a home-and-home against the Charlottetown Islanders. The two-game series begins today at 3 p.m. at TD Station and concludes tomorrow night at Eastlink Centre.

Stream/TV/Radio: FloHockey/None/Sea Dogs Audio Network

Records: The Sea Dogs are 12-18-2-0 for 26 points (ninth Eastern/17th QMJHL) while the Islanders are 16-11-1-5 for 38 points (third Eastern/sixth QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss in Halifax on Dec. 18. Alexis Joseph had a pair of goals for Saint John while Zachary Morin added a single. Rafaël Courchesne made 32 saves in the loss. The Islanders are coming off a 4-1 home loss to the Newfoundland Regiment on Dec. 18. Marcus Kearsey scored Charlottetown's lone goal. Donald Hickey made 18 saves in the loss.

Beveridge traded to Remparts

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs have traded forward Egan Beveridge to the Quebec Remparts.

In exchange, the Sea Dogs have received 17-year-old forward Félix Pronovost and a sixth-round pick in the 2027 QMJHL Entry Draft.

The move doesn't come as a huge surprise. Beveridge had fallen down Saint John's depth chart and was primarily being used on the fourth line while occasionally being a healthy scratch. A fresh start with a new club could be just what he needs. 

The 18-year-old was a second-round pick of Saint John in the 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft and entered the league with quite a bit of hype. After recording 19 points in his rookie season, he posted 11 last year and is on pace for eight this season.

In 26 games with Saint John this year, the New Hampshire native has two goals and two assists.

Pronovost, meanwhile, has appeared in just seven career QMJHL games over two seasons. He spent most of last season with the Collège Esther-Blondin Phénix – the team that was led by Sea Dogs forward Alexis Joseph.

The Lachenaie, Quebec native was a fourth-round pick of the Remparts in the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft. In four games with the team this season, he's recorded one assist. 

Pronovost has spent most of this season with the Quebec collegiate league's Champlain St. Lawrence Lions where he's posted nine goals and eight assists in 21 games.

This is just the second deal the Sea Dogs have made since the trade period opened. Before Christmas, the team traded forward Jacob Beaulieu to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

The QMJHL's trade deadline is Jan. 6.

Second half set to begin

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs will begin the second half at a place they've struggled this season: at home.

The Sea Dogs recorded just five wins in 16 home games in the first half. Only the Victoriaville Tigres (3-8-4-0) and the Baie-Comeau Drakkar (3-11-1-1) had fewer home wins prior to the Christmas break.

As the below shows, the Sea Dogs have posted very respectable numbers on the road, adding to what was a frustrating first half for the club.

Home		Away
5-11-0-0 (10 points)	Record	7-7-2-0 (16 points)
50	Goals For	57
70	Goals Against	61
9.8% (18th)	Power Play	21.7% (8th)
85.4% (2nd)	Penalty Kill	83.0% (5th)

Saint John resumes play Sunday sitting 17th overall with a 12-18-2-0 record. It's easier said than done, but improving those home numbers would certainly help the team inch up the standings.

The Sea Dogs have two home games remaining in 2025: Sunday afternoon against the Charlottetown Islanders and New Year's Eve (also an afternoon contest) against the Newfoundland Regiment.

Saint John fans haven't had much to cheer for this calendar year. The Sea Dogs have just seven wins at TD Station (two in the second half of last season and five this season) in 2025.

A few other notes before the second half gets rolling:

• All 18 QMJHL teams resume play on Sunday. They've all been off since Dec. 18.
• The Sea Dogs will host the Islanders on Sunday and then travel to Charlottetown for a rare Monday night game. The Dogs are 1-1-1-0 against the Isles this season – which includes a win on TD Station ice back on Nov. 20.
• The Sea Dogs begin the second half on a three-game losing streak. They've also lost six straight at home, not winning since that Nov. 20 contest.
• The Monday night match in Charlottetown will be Saint John's final road game until Jan. 14. They'll play five straight home games (which includes one at the Aitken Centre) between Dec. 31 and Jan. 11. Three of those five games will be against the Regiment.
• The New Year's Eve game at TD Station will be a 2 p.m. start. It will be Newfoundland's first trip to Saint John.
• Saint John has made just one move since the trade period opened on Dec. 19, dealing veteran forward Jacob Beaulieu to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. 16-year-old forward Nolann Héroux will join the team for the second half, essentially taking Beaulieu's spot on the roster. The trade deadline is Jan. 6.

ECHL players begin strike

ECHL players are officially on strike.

The league issued a statement on Friday afternoon, saying that it "made its last, best, and final offer to the Professional Hockey Players’ Association," which was seemingly not accepted by the union. The PHPA released the following statement later in the day.

An update from the Professional Hockey Players’ Association.

The PHPA would like to express its gratitude for the continued support shown by fans, the broader hockey community, our brothers and sisters in sport, active and retired players, and communities in and out of the… pic.twitter.com/qQ6IAwuHhi

— PHPA (@thephpa) December 26, 2025

A large slate of games was supposed to be played Friday night but all were postponed. Like junior hockey, games around the Christmas break typically draw some of the largest crowds of the season. The strike beginning during this time is certainly not a coincidence.

This will be fascinating to follow. This is much more like a "real world" bargaining situation. Neither side, for the most part, has millions of dollars they can simply fall back on – like an NHL labour stoppage – and wait this out.

Some media have reported that several teams will try to ice teams during the strike.

This labour disruption impacts a number of former Saint John Sea Dogs. 10 former Sea Dogs skaters and one goaltender have played in the ECHL so far this season.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Drew Elliott	Tulsa	17	8	6	14
Ryan Francis	Atlanta	25	3	8	11
Matt Murphy	Fort Wayne	22	2	7	9
Oliver Cooper	Florida	25	3	5	8
Olivier Leblanc	Tahoe	29	1	7	8
Kevin Gursoy	Tulsa	9	0	5	5
Vincent Sevigny	Reading	5	1	3	4
Nick Deakin-Poot	Fort Wayne	15	1	3	4
Nathan Noel	Norfolk Iowa	21	1	3	4
Nico Blachman	Fort Wayne	3	0	0	0

Vincent Sevigny has played just five ECHL games because, according to the Reading Royals, he has signed four professional tryout agreements with AHL teams this season, the latest coming a couple weeks ago with the Syracuse Crunch. 

Jonathan Lemieux, who has also bounced between the AHL and ECHL, is the lone ex-Sea Dogs goaltender to see ECHL action this season. Lemieux is 2-4-2 with a 3.40 goals against average and a .884 save percentage in nine games with the Kalamazoo Wings.

It's World Junior time

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It's Boxing Day which means the IIHF World Junior Championship is set to kickoff.

Only one current Saint John Sea Dog will be playing in this year's tournament and they won't see game action on Friday. Forward Olivers Murnieks and Team Latvia will play their first game against Team Canada on Saturday.

Here are few preview pieces:

• Sportsnet's Sam Cosentino lists Murnieks as a player to watch for Latvia. "His play in the QMJHL has calmed, and getting back to representing the national team should inspire him," writes Cosentino.
• Inside the Rink previews Team Latvia. "A strong World Juniors could help Murnieks push back into contention as a first-round candidate," they write.
• The Hockey Writers previews Team Latvia. The team will be missing the veteran presence of former Sea Dogs forward Eriks Mateiko, who helped lead them into the quarterfinals last year.
• FloHockey lists Murnieks as one of the 2026 NHL Draft eligible players to keep an eye on. "Murnieks is the kind of player who can help Latvia be more than just a spoiler," writes Chris Peters.

This will be Murnieks' second World Junior after he recorded a goal and three assists in five games last year as a 16-year-old.

It seems like just about everyone is saying the same thing about Murnieks: after a slow last couple months (which included a concussion), this tournament offers him a chance to get his season (and draft stock) back on track.

Here's Latvia's schedule: Dec. 27 vs Canada; Dec. 28 vs Finland; Dec. 30 vs Denmark; and Dec. 31 vs Czechia. Obviously, that Dec. 30 matchup with Denmark could be a huge one.

According to a CHL news release, there are 79 players from the league (which includes present and past players) playing in this year's tournament, up from 63 last year. 14 of those 79 players are from the QMJHL.

"Latvia’s five active CHL players are one shy of its record six, set at the 2024 World Juniors," states the CHL.

There is one Sea Dog connection on Team Canada. Gardiner MacDougall, who coached Saint John to a 2022 Memorial Cup championship, is an assistant coach under Dale Hunter. The Canadians open the tournament against Czechia on Boxing Day.