On QMJHL Live and Rogers TV

Amidst numerous technical issues, QMJHL Live will remain free until the end of October.

The quality of video, when operating correctly, is undoubtedly a big improvement over Telus. But there have been plenty of glitches with the video, specifically last Saturday night when the stream from Harbour Station barely worked.

Also, there have been issues with audio, either in terms of sound level or it not being available at all.

There can’t be many who are surprised to see these problems popping up. But, they will eventually get it all right. The league, and the webcast providers, are certainly making the right move by extending the free preview.

Meanwhile, the QMJHL made its long awaited return to Rogers TV Channel 10 over the weekend as both Sea Dogs games were broadcast. Considering Rogers hasn’t broadcast New Brunswick based QMJHL games in several seasons, I’d have to say they did a pretty fantastic job. It’s also neat that the Sportsnet graphics and intro are used.

In terms of announcing, Rogers found some gems in getting Aaron Kennedy and Randy Corey to perform play-by-play and Andrew Cromwell to provide colour. That's a top notch crew.

Rogers also made the fantasies of all Sea Dogs fans come true this weekend – having a Heritage Minute commercial air during a Dogs broadcast. The Canadian anthem didn’t write itself, you know.

Thos weekend, Rogers will air Moncton Wildcats games on Friday and Saturday.

Report: Li Claimed By Tigres

Nikita Li has been claimed off waivers by the Victoriaville Tigres, reports TVA Sports’ Mikael Lalancette.

The Saint John Sea Dogs drafted the Russian forward with the 65^th overall pick in this year’s CHL Import Draft. He appeared in one regular season game, recording no points. Li was the odd man out in the Sea Dogs’ import situation and the team assigned him to the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers.

According to media reports that surfaced last week, the Dogs didn’t place Li on waivers before sending him to the USHL, which is why he is now apparently a member of the Tigres instead of the Buccaneers.

This is a weird situation. Sea Dogs general manager Darrell Young had said that the import they chose not to keep – either Li or Juraj Siska – had a spot waiting for them with a USHL team. So, you would think this had been okayed by the league… but I guess not? I don’t know. I’m not even going to try and understand all these import rules and loopholes and loop-don'ts.

Li is a bit a mystery, but he did look decent in his short time with the Sea Dogs. Victoriaville now has three imports on their roster: Li, Jan Mandat, and Fillip Pyrochta.

The Tigres and Sea Dogs meet on December 10 in Victoriaville and February 18 in Saint John.

Auger Named QMJHL's Second Star

Sea Dogs goaltender Sebastien Auger has been named the QMJHL’s second star of the week.

On Saturday, in a 7-0 Saint John victory over the Halifax Mooseheads, Auger made 30 saves to earn his first shutout of the season. Yesterday, the 20-year old netminder made 50 stops in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

Auger has played every second of the Sea Dogs’ season so far. He has posted a 3-3 record to go along with a 2.76 GAA and .909 SV% in six games.

Rimouski Oceanic forward Christopher Clapperton was named the first star of the week. The third star went to Chicoutimi forward Gabryel Paquin-Boudreau. The Sags star had three assists against Saint John yesterday.

Saint John’s next game is this Wednesday at Harbour Station when the Sea Dogs host the Charlottetown Islanders at 7 p.m.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

RECAP: Dogs Lose 5-4 (SO)

FINAL: Chicoutimi 5, Saint John 4 (SO)

SAINT JOHN – Alexandre Ranger’s game tying goal in the final second of regulation play propelled the Chicoutimi Sagueneens to a 5-4 shootout victory over the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sunday afternoon at Harbour Station.

The Sagueneens came back from a 4-2 second period deficit to take the extra point from the Sea Dogs. Nicolas Roy, Reid Halabi, Samuel Roussy, and Ranger scored for the visitors while Julio Billia made 33 saves in regulation time and three in the shootout.

Mark Tremaine, Samuel Dove-McFalls, Daniel Del Paggio, and Nathan Noel scored for the Dogs. Sebastien Auger made his first 50 save performance of the season but it was not enough on this day. The 20-year old made two of four saves in the shootout.

Roy opened the scoring on a power play just 2:42 into the game. Tremaine tied it up at 7:31 and Dove-McFalls put the Dogs in front at 15:10 with a power play marker.

In the second, Halabi tied the match at 2-2 at 1:39. But less than a minute later, Noel scored to give Saint John a 3-2 advantage. Del Paggio netted his first QMJHL goal at 9:15 thanks to a nice feed from Mathieu Joseph to make it a 4-2 game. Roussy scored late in the period to cut the Dogs’ lead to one.

Fast forward to the final second of regulation time, Ranger scored his fourth of the season to tie things in dramatic fashion.

The Sags then went on to score on two of their four shootout attempts. Juraj Siska had Saint John’s lone goal in the breakaway contest.

GAMEDAY 6: vs Sagueneens

A preview of today’s game between the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Saint John Sea Dogs…

When and where: Today at 3 p.m., Harbour Station

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sagueneens are last in the East Division and 16^th overall with a 2-4-0-0 record for four points. The Sea Dogs are third in the Maritimes Division and eighth overall with a 3-1-0-1 record for seven points.

Last games: The Sags are coming off a 3-1 victory in Moncton last night. Gabryel Paquin-Boudreau, Jeremy Bouchard, and Landon Schiller scored for Chicoutimi. Saint John defeated the Halifax Mooseheads 7-0 last night at Harbour Station. Justice Dundas and Thomas Chabot had two goals each while Sebastien Auger made 30 saves for the shutout.

2013-14 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 0-1-0-1 against the Sagueneens last season while Chicoutimi went 2-0-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: October 26, 2013 at Chicoutimi when the Sea Dogs fell 3-2 in a shootout to the Sagueneens. Olivier LeBlanc and Oliver Cooper had Saint John goals while Sebastien Sylvestre and Janne Puhakka had Chicoutimi markers. Sebastien Auger made 42 stops in the loss.

Random stat: Both teams had penalty shots against them last night and both attempts were stopped. There hasn’t been a penalty shot goal in five attempts this season in the QMJHL.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Sagueneens: None

RECAP: Dogs Win 7-0

FINAL: Halifax 0,  Saint John 7

By Lorne Webster | SN Staff

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs (3-1-0-1) gave their faithful fans plenty to be excited about Saturday evening at Harbour Station with a most convincing 7-0 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads (2-3-1-0). Thomas Chabot and newcomer Justice Dundas led the way with two goals each.  Imports Juraj Siska and Jakub Zboril each scored their first QMJHL goals while Mitchell Dempsey, with his third goal on the season, rounded out the scoring.  Sebastien Auger turned aside 30 Halifax shots to earn the shutout.

The Sea Dogs ran into penalty trouble early in the first period but their outstanding penalty kill units managed to keep Halifax off the board, including a 48 second two-man advantage. Just past the six-minute mark, Thomas Chabot took a cross ice feed from Mathieu Joseph and blasted a slap shot that somehow made its way through Zach Fucale's equipment to open the scoring. With a little over two minutes left in the first period, the line of Mark Tremaine, Braydon Blight and Dundas completely outworked the Mooseheads. Dundas found himself all alone in front to snap a shot over Fucale's shoulder to stretch the lead to 2-0 after one. Shots favoured Saint John 16-11.

Saint John came out strong again in the second period and pretty much dominated Halifax in every aspect. At 6:35 of the second, Chabot's point shot pin balled off a few players and found its way past Fucale to make it 3-0. Later in the period, less than two minutes apart, Siska (with a roof job over a stickless Fucale's shoulder) and Zboril (with a bullet from the point through traffic on the power play) racked up their first 'Q' league goals to extend the Saint John lead to 5-0. Shots were 18-7 for the Sea Dogs.

Early in the third, Philippe Gadoury was awarded a penalty shot but Sebastien Auger flashed his catching glove to rob him of a goal. Just before the 5:00 mark, Jack vanBoekel caught Vincent Watt with a huge open ice hit that sent the young Moosehead flying. A massive scrum resulted in a number of penalties as Watt was helped to the dressing room. Less than a minute later, Dundas scooped up a loose puck in the Sea Dogs' zone, streaked down the right wing and snapped a shot just over Fucale's pad to make it 6-0... and end Fucale's night in goal. Once Kevin Resop took over in the Halifax net, a few Mooseheads took it upon themselves to try to avenge Watt's injury. First, Danny Moynihan had a vicious check from behind on Matt Highmore. That hit sent the Sea Dogs assistant captain to see the team doctor. Later, Austyn Hardie's head shot on Mathieu Joseph earned him a dance invitation from vanBoekel. And, about four minutes later, Brandon Vuic made his attempt at putting Joseph through the boards with another vicious hit from behind.  It will be interesting to see if the league takes any action on these plays. With just under 3:00 to go in the game, Mark Tremaine outworked the Halifax 'D' and fed a lovely pass to Dempsey for a tap in to set the final score.  Shots were even at 12 per side but the final shot clock read 46-30 for SJ.

GAMEDAY 5: vs Mooseheads

A preview of tonight’s game between the Halifax Mooseheads and Saint John Sea Dogs…

When and where: Tonight at 7 p.m., Harbour Station

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/96.1 NewSongFM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Mooseheads enter action with a 2-2-1-0 record for five points and sit fifth in the Maritimes Division and 12^th overall. The Sea Dogs have a record of 2-1-0-1 for five points and sit fourth in the division and 10^th overall.

Last games: The Mooseheads are coming off a 6-4 victory over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens last night in Halifax. Philippe Gadoury had two goals and two assists in that game. The Sea Dogs are coming off a 6-5 overtime victory over the Moose last Saturday in Halifax. Adam Marsh had a hat trick for Saint John.

2014-15 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 1-0-0-0 against the Mooseheads this season while Halifax is 0-0-0-1 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Last Saturday in Halifax when the Sea Dogs came back to defeat the Mooseheads 6-5 in overtime. Adam Marsh had three goals, Mitchell Dempsey two, and Julien Tessier one in the win. Connor Moynihan and Timi Meier had two goals each for the Moose while Ryan Falkenham had one. Sebastien Auger made 20 stops in the win while Kevin Resop made 27 in the loss.

Random stat: Mooseheads goaltender Zach Fucale had a 5-1 record to go along with a 1.77 GAA and .913 SV% in six games against Saint John last season.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Mooseheads: Kelly Bent

Mooseheads, Sagueneens Coming To Town

The Halifax Mooseheads and Chicoutimi Sagueneens are in town to battle the Saint John Sea Dogs this weekend.

On Saturday night at 7 p.m., the Sea Dogs host the Mooseheads in a rematch of last weekend’s thrilling 6-5 Saint John overtime win in Halifax. On Sunday at 3 p.m., the Sagueneens make their only appearance of the regular season at Harbour Station.

The Mooseheads, who will be led by the return of goaltender Zach Fucale from Montreal Canadiens camp, enter action this weekend with a 1-2-1-0 record. They host Chicoutimi tonight.

The Sagueneens, who feature a top NHL prospect in Nicolas Roy, have a 1-3-0-0 record.

Meanwhile, the Sea Dogs have a 2-1-0-1 record and sit fourth in the Maritimes Division and 10^th overall.

A few other things...

• Sea Dogs defenseman Jakub Zboril was ranked 14^th for the 2015 NHL Draft by TSN’s Bob McKenzie.
• Former Sea Dogs defenseman Charles-Olivier Roussel has signed with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. Roussel played in 66 AHL games with the Milwaukee Admirals last season, recording four goals and 13 assists. The Grizzlies are affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks. 
• Who deserves a roster spot on the Habs: Nathan Baeulieu or Jarred Tinordi? All Habs takes a look at that. 
• Jack Eichel is pretty good says The Canadian Press and The Hockey News.

Sea Dogs Return To Rogers This Weekend

The Saint John Sea Dogs will be making their long awaited return to Rogers TV this weekend.

The Sea Dogs finally announced their full Rogers TV schedule this afternoon. 19 games in total will air featuring the Dogs with 15 of them originating from Harbour Station.

The full schedule is below:

The games can be seen on channel 10 for Rogers cable subscribers in New Brunswick.

Saint John’s home games this weekend will be broadcast. The Sea Dogs host the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday night at 7 p.m. and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Sunday at 3 p.m.

Channel 10 hasn’t broadcast local QMJHL games since the 2010 President Cup final between the Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats.

Wednesday News & Notes

The QMJHL has corrected it’s scoring mistake from Saturday’s Sea Dogs game. The overtime goal has been changed from Thomas Chabot to Adam Marsh.

The #QMJHL has officially changed Saturday's overtime GWG to @marshdangls13, meaning he gets a hat trick!! Congratulations, Adam!
— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SeaDogsHockey) September 23, 2014

Right call.

Some other news and notes:

• The big news on Tuesday: the Sea Dogs announced they have created a Player Development and Analytics program.
• The Casket has an article on Sea Dogs backup goaltender Blade Mann-Dixon.
• The Moncton Wildcats have released their Rogers TV schedule. The Sea Dogs still haven’t released theirs, but, according to some tweets, Saturday’s game against Halifax and Sunday’s game against Chicoutimi will both be broadcast.
• Nikita Li is listed on the Des Moines Buccaneers 23-man season opening roster.
• The Hockey News’ Adam Proteau has a good article on Jonathan Huberdeau’s upcoming season.
• Simon Despres is fighting for a bigger role with the Penguins this season, says the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. New Pens assistant coach, Gary Agnew, said he spoke with Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly to get some ideas on what to expect from Despres.
• CBS says Gerard Gallant is one of the reasons to be excited about the Florida Panthers this season.

Twitter: Justice Dundas Joining Dogs

It appears Justice Dundas is on his way to join the Sea Dogs.

Want to thank the city of Oshawa, all the fans, my billets, and teammates for an unforgettable last 2 years wish everyone the best!
— Justice Dundas (@ServingJustice_) September 24, 2014

Flying out to Saint John's now to start a new chapter of my career with the @SeaDogsHockey can't wait to get things going!
— Justice Dundas (@ServingJustice_) September 24, 2014

In 51 games with the Oshawa Generals last season, the 20-year old forward had four goals, five assists, and 96 penalty minutes.

Dundas has played in 152 OHL games over the past three seasons, registering 16 goals and 14 assists with the Generals and Sarnia Sting. The Richmond Hill, Ont. native was a 12^th round pick of the Sting in the 2011 OHL Draft.

Dundas was also a free agent invite to St. Louis Blues rookie camp this year.

Saint John currently has just two 20-year olds on their roster – goaltender Sebastien Auger and forward Mark Tremaine. 

Dundas will be the seventh player from Ontario on the Dogs roster.

The Sea Dogs’ next game is on Saturday night at Harbour Station against the Halifax Mooseheads.