SAINT JOHN RANKED 4th IN CHL

The BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings were released this afternoon and the Saint John Sea Dogs moved up two spots to fourth overall in the country.

This past week saw Saint John defeat the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles rather easily on Friday at Harbour Station, winning 7-2. Then on Saturday, the Sea Dogs struggled all game against the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and trailed 3-1 going into the final minute of the third. But some late game heroics by Nathan Beaulieu and a miracle goal by Jonathan Huberdeau put the game into extra time. Ultimately, the Sags would win 4-3 in a shootout.

It will be a much tougher weekend for Saint John this time around. They face the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Saturday at Harbour Station – a team that defeated them 5-1 on the road a few weeks ago – and the Quebec Remparts who were named the third best team in the Canadian Hockey League today.

“In spite of a shortened week due to the CHL Subway Super Series, the Remparts will face a tough challenge,” writes Patrick King of Rogers Sportsnet who named Sunday’s match the QMJHL Game of the Week. “Québec heads east for games in Bathurst and PEI before finishing the third game in three nights against the Sea Dogs. Both teams head into the week with the top spot in their respective divisions, but neither lead by a wide margin. Each game will be critical and it will be interesting to see how much the Remparts have left in the tank for this game.”

Along with the Remparts ranked third and the Sea Dogs fourth, two other Quebec Major Junior Hockey League clubs made the weekly top 10. The Drummondville Voltigeurs come in at #9 and the Moncton Wildcats at #10. The Montreal Juniors were an honourable mention.

The weekly rankings of the Canadian Hockey League’s Top 10 teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts.

Here are the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings for week eight:

1. Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (15-2-0-1)
2. Portland Winterhawks (15-2-0-1)
3. Quebec Remparts (15-3-0-2)
4. Saint John Sea Dogs (16-3-0-2)
5. Saginaw Spirit (13-3-1-1)
6. Saskatoon Blades (13-5-0-1)
7. Owen Sound Attack (12-4-0-1)
8. Kootenay Ice (12-4-0-2)
9. Drummondville Voltigeurs (15-6-2-1)
10. Moncton Wildcats (14-6-0-2)

Honourable Mention:
Red Deer Rebels (13-6-1-0)
Kitchener Rangers (12-5-0-0)
Montreal Juniors (14-3-2-1)

In the Open Ice Hockey weekly QMJHL Power Rankings, the Sea Dogs faired very well and are ranked first overall. As the site points out, Saint John has not lost in regulation in their last seven games.

The rankings are calculated using a formula based on weekly and season long play.