SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

SCHEDULE TO BE ANNOUNCED MONDAY
According to the official Twitter page of the Saint John Sea Dogs, their round three schedule will be released on Monday.

Game one and two against Victoriaville are already set in stone and will take place this Friday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 4:00 pm. Both games are at Harbour Station. Games three are four will played in Victoriaville, game five in Saint John, game six in Victo’, and game seven back in the SJ.

According to Fleaburn on Facebook, he will be attending the Kids Exploratorium thing at the Station on Saturday.

THE 2011 DRAFT WILL BE IN…
With all the talk about Saint John’s crop of 2011 NHL draft prospects, Sea Dogs fans will have to jump on a bus to St. Paul, Minnesota to see it live. The NHL awarded the Wild franchise the 2011 NHL Draft on Saturday.

''The Draft is a signature event, and, as our League gets younger and younger, it offers a preview of the NHL's future,'' said Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner to TSN.

STICH IN THE MINOR LEAGUE SHOW
David Stich finished up his season with the Peoria Rivermen this weekend. On Friday, the former Sea Dogs captain was held pointless, had a -1 rating, and picked two penalty minutes in a 3-2 loss in Manitoba.

Last night, Stich went without a point in a 2-1 shootout loss for the Rivermen against the Moose. The 20-year old picked up a boarding penalty in the first period.

MAYER FINALLY GETS HIS START
Robert Mayer started his first American Hockey League game on Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto. Mayer and the Hamilton Bulldogs fell 3-2 in a shootout to the Marlies.

Mayer was named second star for his 27 save performance. Shawinigan Cataracte Philippe Paradis scored the winner in the fifth round of the breakaway showdown.

It was also "Bring Your Dog to the Game Day" at Ricoh Coliseum as 60 pooches watched from the stands according to The Canadian Press.

The following excerpt is from Friday’s Hamilton Spectator:

Mayer, called up two weeks ago to replace the injured Curtis Sanford and backup Desjardins, has yet to see action. Sanford's ankle injury will probably keep him out at least through the first round of playoffs.

The head coach said putting Mayer into one of the two games is as much about getting him some ice time, in case he had to be pressed into service, as it is about giving Desjardins a rest.

Mayer, who has played most of the year with ECHL Cincinnati, was featured will fellow Cyclones net minder Jeremy Smith on NHL.com.

PLAYS OF THE WEEK
Tomas Jurco and Stanislav Galiev were featured in the Mazda QMJHL Plays of the Week.

Click HERE to view the intense highlights.

VIDEO SYSTEM UPDATE
A few tweets from Harbour Station on Friday about the new clock:

the second shipment of the new video system arrived today... slow motion replay already up and running for the Seadogs playoffs...

the HD retro fit to the scoreclock is slated to start mid May. Four 13'X7.5' screens getting you closer to the action! Exciting!

MASS CONFUSION
There was a good deal of confusion about who the Sea Dogs would be playing in round three yesterday. That was thanks in much part to the QMJHL playoff tree and Friday’s QMJHL Canadian Press recap that wrote this:

The Voltigeurs will face the Saint John Sea Dogs in the QMJHL semifinal.

Obviously, that is not true (and impossible with Saint John being the #1 seed and Drummondville being #2) and was confirmed by saintjohnseadogs.com and later the QMJHL playoff tree.

Moncton will play Chris DiDomenico and the Voltigeurs.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN
Chris Kreider scored a goal in the NCAA final yesterday to help Boston College defeat Wisconsin 5-0. The New York Rangers draft pick also helped Team USA win the World Junior Championship in January.

Kreider was drafted by Saint John in the 10th round, 176th overall in the 2008 entry draft but chose to go the NCAA route.