Sea Dogs begin road stretch Saturday

They're not going too far, but the Saint John Sea Dogs will not be playing at home again until Feb. 10.

The Sea Dogs will play their next five contests on the road - all within the Maritimes Division. The team will visit each city in the division once during the span, which begins on Saturday in Moncton.

Saint John will have the week to prepare for what will be interesting mental test for the squad. The Sea Dogs, 29-12-3-1, should easily beat the Moncton Wildcats, 13-30-2-0, but with a big Sunday showdown in Charlottetown looming, Saint John will have to stay focused and not look past Saturday's match.

Sunday's game in Charlottetown, which begins at 3 p.m. at Eastlink Centre, is getting a lot of hype - and rightfully so.

Battle of the Maritimes top two teams this Sunday afternoon at 3PM. #ProtectTheBridge pic.twitter.com/QwIUwhYlde

— IslandersHKY (@IslandersHKY) January 23, 2017

Just two points separate Saint John and Charlottetown for top spot in the Maritimes Division. That could change by the time the two meet though, with the Islanders visiting the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Friday and Sea Dogs travelling to Moncton on Saturday.

There are four regular season meetings left between the Sea Dogs and Islanders: Sunday in Charlottetown, Feb. 14 in Charlottetown, March 10 in Saint John and March 17 in Charlottetown.

Saint John's other contests during this five-game road stretch will be Feb. 3 in Halifax, Feb. 4 in Sydney and Feb. 8 in Bathurst.

The Sea Dogs return home to host the Drummondville Voltigeurs on Feb. 10.