Struggles Continue In Loss To Oceanic

There’s no denying it – the Saint John Sea Dogs are struggling right now.

The Sea Dogs entered January with a 22-10-1-4 record. Since then they’ve gone 4-8-0-2. That includes a 3-4-0-0 record on home ice.

Defensive woes have certainly been an issue, especially with Sebastien Auger recovering from an injury over the past few weeks. In their past eight games, Saint John has allowed four of more goals seven times. Scoring has also had it’s issues with consistency.

The January slide has put the Sea Dogs into a fight for home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They currently sit seventh and the top eight teams will have home ice.

Hopefully, with the team slowly getting healthy, the Sea Dogs can find their stride again before the playoffs.

Here are some other news and notes:

• Bailey Webster, playing in his 46^th career QMJHL game, netted his first goal last night.
• The Rimouski Oceanic and Sea Dogs meet again soon. The two play each other in Rimouski next Saturday, Feb. 14.
• International Scouting Services released their February top 30 rankings for the 2015 NHL Draft. Thomas Chabot was ranked 17^th and Jakub Zboril 19^th.
• Members of the Montreal Canadiens’ hockey operations staff, including general manager Marc Bergevin, were at last Saturday’s Sea Dogs game in Blainville-Boisbriand, as per 25Stanley.com.
• Hockey’s Future had an article on Adam Marsh posted on Sunday.
• The QMJHL is rolling out a new website.
• The Sea Dogs are in the middle of a three-game homestand. They host the Sherbrooke Phoenix tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. and Moncton Wildcats on Sunday at 3 p.m.
• Just how good will Nathan Beaulieu be? The Hockey Writers ask that question.
• Former Sea Dogs defenseman Yann Sauve has signed a PTO with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. Sauve has played in four AHL games with the St. John’s Fog Devils this season and 13 ECHL contests with the Orlando Solar Bears.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation