Sunday Notes: Have we seen the end of empty CHL buildings?

Jonathan Roy/QMJHL

Thursday's opening game of the 2021 President Cup final was intriguing for a couple reasons.

For starters, the Victoriaville Tigres did something no team has done since March 4 - hand the Val-d'Or Foreurs a loss. Benjamin Tardif's second goal of the game at 19:04 of the third period gave the underdog Tigres a 3-1 lead at the time and they hung on for a 3-2 victory.

Secondly, the game was played without fans once again. All games in Quebec this season have been played in empty arenas with the province riding the COVID-19 rollercoaster for the past year. But that all changed on Saturday with 1,816 fans in attendance (the capacity is apparently 2,000). Fans will be allowed into Quebec City's Videotron Centre for the remainder of the championship series, a nice reward for what's been a challenging season for everyone.

Here's hoping that last Thursday's game was the last CHL contest ever played without fans in attendance.

Some news and notes:

• The Foreurs evened up the President Cup final with a 4-1 victory in Game 2 on Saturday. Former Sea Dogs forward Maxim Cajkovic was the game's first star with two goals and an assist. Game 3 takes place Sunday.
• In the regular season and playoffs combined, Cajkovic has five game-winning goals.
• Ostap Safin and the Bakersfield Condors won the AHL's Pacific Division playoff, upsetting Tomas Jurco and the top-seeded Henderson Silver Knights. Safin had one assist in Bakersfield's 3-2 victory on Saturday to clinch the title. This was the final AHL contest of the season.
• Jonathan Huberdeau led the Florida Panthers in playoff goals (two), assists (eight) and points (10) in their six-game playoff series loss to Mathieu Joseph and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
• Remember the Memorial Cup? It was this tournament the CHL hosted at the end of every season to crown a national champion. As Pat McNeil noted on Twitter, it's now been over two years since a Memorial Cup game has been played. The 2022 edition is scheduled for June 2-12.
• Friday was the 20th anniversary of the Saint John Flames' Calder Cup victory. The only cities that had AHL teams in 2001 and still do today: Rochester, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Syracuse, Hershey, Hartford, Providence and Springfield. Wild how the AHL map has shifted.

10 years since Memorial Cup championship

Marc Henwood for Station Nation

It was 10 years ago tonight that the Saint John Sea Dogs became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win the Memorial Cup.

Simon Despres, Zack Phillips and Jonathan Huberdeau all scored and Jacob DeSerres made 34 saves as the Sea Dogs defeated the host Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 3-1 on a Sunday night at the Hershey Centre.

The CHL uploaded the entire game to its YouTube channel last year.

The Telegraph-Journal (paywall) caught up with captain Mike Thomas and defenseman Nathan Beaulieu to discuss the 10-year anniversary of the championship.

So here we are 10 years later. Has our perspective on this championship changed at all?

I think most of us recognized right away just how incredibly good this team was - so good that a run like this may never happen again in franchise history. Saint John went 58-7-1-2 in the regular season; 16-3 in the playoffs; and earned the bye straight to the final at the Memorial Cup. Remarkable numbers.

The one thing I've come to appreciate more over the years is how entertaining this team was. There were some ridiculously fun games played during this run - especially in the playoffs. Even if the Dogs went down by four goals in the third period, it still didn't feel like the game was over.

Covering this team in 2011 - and again in 2012 - felt like covering the New York Yankees at times. They were the Goliath heading into every game. Rinks in Quebec were sold out to see this loaded team. It was a lot of fun.

Four Dogs make final Central Scouting list

Four current members of the Saint John Sea Dogs cracked NHL Central Scouting's final rankings for the 2021 NHL Draft.

Forward Peter Reynolds, ranked 80th amongst North American skaters, was the highest listed Sea Dog. Reynolds was followed by forward Cam MacDonald (137th) and Charles Savoie (170th).

Goaltender Noah Patenaude, meanwhile, was ranked 21st amongst North American netminders.

The full rankings can be found found here.

There were a few other notable players ranked:

• Sea Dogs draft pick Guillaume Richard, who played this past season in the USHL with Tri-City, was ranked 32nd amongst North American skaters.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Joshua Roy, now a member of the Sherbrooke Phoenix, was ranked 66th.
• Forward Bobby Orr, a Sea Dogs draft pick who was traded to the Halifax Mooseheads last year, was ranked 76th.
• Shawinigan's Xavier Bourgault was the highest ranked QMJHL player at 13th. 44 QMJHL players were ranked. Bathurst, Gatineau and Quebec each had five players ranked while Saint John and Sherbrooke each had four.
• Sea Dogs import draft pick Fyodor Svechkov was ranked sixth amongst international skaters.

Defenseman Owen Power from the University of Michigan was the top ranked skater. Three Michigan players were listed in the top-eight.

The 2021 NHL Draft takes place virtually July 23-24.

Notebook: QMJHL retires the No. 4

The No. 4 will no longer be worn in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The league announced last week that the number will be retired league-wide beginning in 2021-22 to honour Guy Lafleur, who was named the QMJHL's greatest player of all-time a couple years ago.

Lafleur's No. 4 will join Sidney Crosby's No. 87 as the only numbers retired across the league. 

The number has been worn by quite a few Saint John Sea Dogs players over the years, including this past season by Brandon Casey. Here's the list of all the Sea Dogs who have worn No. 4:

Ryan Sparling

Guillaume Cloutier

Eric Gelinas

Ian Saab

Ryan Kelly

Michael Abbott

Will Thompson

Braydon Blight

Shayne Dominie

Vincent Martineau

Simon Bourque

Tyler Smith

Nicolas Kakouras

Benjamin Gagne

Matt Gould

Brandon Casey

Sparling is the only Sea Dog to wear No. 4 in more than 100 games (265).

CAJKOVIC SIGNS

Former Sea Dogs forward Maxim Cajkovic has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, it was announced Sunday.

Cajkovic was a third-round pick of the Lightning in the 2019 NHL Draft.

The lone former Sea Dog remaining in the QMJHL playoffs recorded six goals and eight assists in 12 regular season games with the loaded Val-d'Or Foreurs. He's added seven goals and five helpers in nine playoff games - all wins for the Foreurs.

Cajkovic will likely join the Benoit Groulx-led Syracuse Crunch of the AHL for the 2021-22 season.

Tigres move on to President Cup final

Jonathan Roy/QMJHL

The President Cup final is set.

The Victoriaville Tigres have advanced to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship series following a 2-0 victory over the Charlottetown Islanders on Tuesday night in Quebec City, winning the best-of-five semifinal series 3-2.

The Tigres will take on the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the league final.

Shawn Element scored what proved to be the game-winner at 15:52 of the second period. Benjamin Tardif added an empty net goal.

Shawn Element intercepte le disque et inscrit le premier but du match ! #GoTigresGo pic.twitter.com/Uhx0k5uk1o

— Tigres de Victoriaville (@TigresVicto) May 26, 2021

Charlottetown's Colten Ellis was excellent in net, making 21 stops. That included a huge save in the third period to keep it a one-goal game.

Game saver.#GoldRush pic.twitter.com/ZvP5WWMum7

— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) May 26, 2021

The Islanders have been one of the QMJHL's most consistent teams over the past five years but they have now lost three semifinal playoff series since 2017. They've yet to play in a President Cup final despite being painfully close a few times. That's tough.

Saturday News & Notes: Foreurs advance

Jonathan Roy/QMJHL

Maxim Cajkovic and the Val-d'Or Foreurs have advanced to the President Cup final.

The Foreurs completed a sweep of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Thursday night, winning Game 3 by a final of 6-3. Second-seeded Val-d'Or outscored third-seeded Chicoutimi 15-7 in the best-of-five series.

Val-d'Or is now a perfect 9-0 this post-season. This is the club's first trip to the QMJHL final since winning the President Cup in 2014.

One team that has never appeared in the President Cup final is the Charlottetown Islanders. The top-seeded Isles are one win away from making the trip following a 4-3 victory over the Victoriaville Tigres on Friday, giving the Maritimes Division champions a 2-1 series lead heading into Sunday's Game 4.

Game 5, if needed, will take place on Tuesday.

All semifinal games and the President Cup final are being played at Quebec City's Videotron Centre.

A few other bits of news:

• Maxim Cajkovic, the lone former Sea Dog remaining the QMJHL playoffs, recorded three goals and an assist in Val-d'Or's series win over Chicoutimi. The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect now has seven goals and five assists in nine playoff games.
• Even if the Islanders don't make it out of this round, what a run this franchise is having. This is the club's third trip to the semifinals since the 2017 playoffs. They were eliminated in both the 2017 and 2018 semis by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.
• If you thought this year's QMJHL calendar was funky: the ECHL is still playing regular season games until June 5. Former Sea Dog Cedric Pare, playing with the Utah Grizzlies, sits sixth in ECHL rookie scoring with 14 goals and 34 points in 59 games.
• Gerard Gallant, Mike Kelly and Team Canada are off to a rough start at the IIHF World Championship, falling 2-0 to host Latvia on Friday. Canada faces the United States on Sunday.
• The Fredericton Red Wings clinched the MHL's Eastlink North Division title on Wednesday, defeating the Miramichi Timberwolves 3-2 in overtime. That's as far as the MHL playoffs will go this season due to COVID reasons.
• Vladislav Kotkov did not dress in the San Jose Barracuda's Pacific Division semifinal Game 1 loss to the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday. Tomas Jurco had an assist for the Knights. Game 2 is on Sunday.
• In the other Pacific Division semifinal, Ostap Safin had one shot in the Bakersfield Condors 5-3 Game 1 loss to the San Diego Gulls. Game 2 is on Sunday.
• Some big WHL news: Garry Davidson is out as general manager of the Everett Silvertips in what sounds like a cost cutting move. Everett has been one of the CHL's most consistent franchises over the past decade. "In the past seven regular seasons, Everett has finished atop the U.S. Division on five occasions and has been second twice," writes Gregg Drinnan. "The Silvertips lost out in the WHL’s championship final in 2018."
• Get the vaccine.

Kotkov, Villeneuve appear in AHL games

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Two members of the Saint John Sea Dogs' 2020-21 squad skated in the American Hockey League this week.

With their junior hockey seasons (or in Kotkov's case, junior hockey career) over, forward Vladislav Kotkov and defenseman William Villeneuve have joined their respective NHL club's AHL affiliate.

Villeneuve made his AHL debut with the Toronto Marlies on Monday, recording one shot in a 2-0 victory over the Laval Rocket at the Bell Centre. It was far from an ordinary AHL game with the Rocket lineup featuring Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher who joined the club on a conditioning stint ahead of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Villeneuve did not play in Toronto's 6-4 loss to the Belleville Senators in Ottawa on Wednesday. He returned to the lineup on Thursday but did not record any points or shots in the Marlies 6-3 win over the Sens at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Thursday's Marlies game was the final regular season contest in the AHL this year.

Villeneuve, who turned 19 in March, is not eligible to play in the AHL next season. He must be returned to junior unless he surprisingly cracks the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup.

Kotkov recorded two shots in the San Jose Barracuda's 2-1 victory over the Tucson Roadrunners in the first play-in game of the Pacific Division playoffs on Tuesday. It was Kotkov's second career AHL contest after playing in one match with the Barracuda at the end of the 2018-19 season.

Kotkov did not play in San Jose's second play-in game, which was a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Eagles. The win advances the Barracuda into a best-of-three semifinal series against the top-seeded Henderson Silver Knights.

The other semifinal series has the San Diego Gulls taking on Ostap Safin's Bakersfield Condors. 

The Pacific Division is the only AHL division holding a playoff tournament. The playoff is, however, controversial.

Notebook: OHL announces start date

The OHL is planning on starting its 2021-22 regular season on Thursday, Oct. 7.

The league was the only CHL circuit not to play in 2020-21 but it's the first to announce a start date for this coming season. Both the WHL and QMJHL have previously said they are aiming at beginning regular season games the first week of October, which is a week or two later than usual.

The OHL also announced that its regular season will end on Sunday, April 3, 2022. The playoffs will begin on Thursday, April 7 and run no later than Monday, May 30.

The league also announced that the 2022 Memorial Cup will take place June 2-12. The tournament, which has been cancelled the past two seasons, is expected to be hosted by a QMJHL club.

We're still in COVID times - which means things can change quickly - but here's what several hockey leagues have announced (or have been reported) as regular season start dates this fall.

OHL: Oct. 7

QMJHL: First week of October

WHL: First week of October

NHL: Oct. 12

AHL: Oct. 15

ECHL: Oct. 21

QMJHL PLAYOFFS
The President Cup semifinals are set.

With the Victoriaville Tigres eliminating the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Saturday, the final four teams remaining in the QMJHL playoffs are now confirmed. Here's what the matchups will be.

Charlottetown (1) vs Victoriaville (6)

Val-d'Or (2) vs Chicoutimi (3)

The semifinals begin Monday. All games will be played at Quebec City's Videotron Centre.

Val-d'Or's Maxim Cajkovic is the only remaining former Sea Dog in this year's playoffs.

RISING NHL CANDIDATES
Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie was listed in ESPN's list of "the top rising candidates for NHL coach, GM jobs."

"When Georgie joined the Sea Dogs in 2016, he was 28, the youngest club president in the CHL," writes Emily Kaplan. "He also holds the title of general manager, and in the CHL, it's rare to have someone oversee both the business and hockey operations side. But Georgie has previous experience in agency work, taking the job after a stint with Wasserman as a senior manager of consulting out of their Toronto office. Though he's still young, Georgie is polished -- and someone to keep an eye on."

The list included a number of other names QMJHL followers will be familiar with.

Alumdate: NHL playoffs set to begin

Embed from Getty Images

Mathieu Joseph became the first Saint John Sea Dogs alumnus to lift the Stanley Cup last year. Could another ex-Dog hoist the Cup this year?

Several former Sea Dogs will be in action this weekend as the NHL playoffs begin. That includes the highly anticipated Florida/Tampa Bay matchup that will see Jonathan Huberdeau and the Panthers go up against Joseph and defending champs.

Huberdeau (Florida), Joseph (Tampa Bay), Charlie Coyle (Boston), Jakub Zboril (Boston) and Mike Hoffman (St. Louis) should all see action this post-season. Tomas Jurco (Vegas) and Alex D'Orio (Pittsburgh) will likely be on taxi squads.

Nathan Beaulieu remains out of the Winnipeg Jets lineup following shoulder surgery. Matthew Highmore and the Vancouver Canucks have a few regular season games remaining but will not qualify for the playoffs.

Here's a look at how Sea Dogs alumni performed during the NHL's abbreviated regular season (Highmore's numbers obviously aren't final).

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Jonathan Huberdeau	FLA	55	20	41	61
Mike Hoffman	STL	52	17	19	36
Thomas Chabot	OTT	49	6	25	31
Mathieu Joseph	TBL	56	12	7	19
Charlie Coyle	BOS	51	6	10	16
Jakob Zboril	BOS	42	0	9	9
Julien Gauthier	NYR	30	2	6	8
Matthew Highmore	CHI/VAN	38	1	4	5
Joe Veleno	DET	5	1	0	1
Tomas Jurco	VGK	8	0	1	1
Nathan Beaulieu	WPG	25	0	1	1

Jurco (Vegas), D'Orio (Pittsburgh), Boko Imama (Los Angeles), Spencer Smallman (Carolina), and Callum Booth (Boston) have all spent the majority of their seasons in the minors but have been placed on NHL taxi squads at times.

One ex-Sea Dog remains in QMJHL playoffs

Olivier Croteau/QMJHL

And then there was one.

Maxim Cajkovic of the Val-d'Or Foreurs is the only Saint John Sea Dogs alumni still playing in the 2021 QMJHL President Cup playoffs. The Foreurs are 6-0 this post-season following sweeps of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Rimouski Oceanic.

Cajkovic has four goals and four assists in six playoff games. The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect has been playing on the team's decent top line that also features Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Samuel Poulin and Calgary Flames pick Jakob Pelletier.

The Foreurs will face the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the President Cup semifinals. The Sags finished third overall in the QMJHL standings and could put up a hard fight against a loaded Val-d'Or team.

Val-d'Or eliminated former Sea Dogs goaltender Creed Jones and forward Alex Drover of the Oceanic to reach this stage. Jones, like most goaltenders in the league, couldn't contain the Foreurs offense, allowing five goals on 29 shots in 40 minutes of play in game one and six goals on 23 shots in 28:20 minutes of action in game three. He was excellent in game two though, allowing just two goals on 47 shots.

Jones, who was a key component in Rimouski's first-round upset of the Shawinigan Cataractes, finished the playoffs - the last one of his junior career - with a 3-5 record to go along with a 3.83 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.

Drover, meanwhile, recorded two goals and an assist in eight playoff games.

The Charlottetown Islanders swept the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the Maritimes Division final. The Isles outscored the Titan 12-6 in the three games, all of which were played in Shawinigan.

The Islanders, who are the league's top seed, will play the winner of the Victoriaville/Blainville-Boisbriand series in the semifinal. The Tigres currently lead that series 2-1.

The league's semifinal and final will all take place inside Quebec City's Videotron Centre.

Remembering "The Bob"

The longest game in Saint John Sea Dogs history took place 10 years ago tonight.

Ryan Tesink scored with 44 seconds remaining in the second overtime period to give the Sea Dogs a 4-3 victory over the Gatineau Olympiques and a 3-1 series lead in the 2011 President Cup final. Saint John went on to win their first QMJHL league championship in six games.

That game was one of three played at the historic Robert Guertin Centre in this series. Game six ended up being the second-longest game in Sea Dogs history with Alexandre Beauregard scoring the President Cup-winning goal at 15:45 of the second overtime frame.

"The Bob" has a long history of being a challenging and intimidating building to play in come playoff time - but you wouldn't know that by looking at Saint John's franchise history.

The Sea Dogs went 3-0 at "The Bob" during that classic 2011 series. The year before, in the second-round of the playoffs, Saint John went 2-0 to complete a sweep, giving the team a 5-0 playoff record all-time in the building.

Notebook: Richard, Canada win U-18 gold

Hockey Canada/IIHF

Two Saint John Sea Dogs draft picks met in the gold medal game of this year's IIHF Under-18 World Championship on Thursday in Frisco.

Defenseman Guillaume Richard, a fourth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in last year's QMJHL Entry Draft, helped Team Canada to a 5-3 win over Fyodor Svechkov, a first-round pick of Saint John in last year's CHL Import Draft, and the Russians.

Richard, who was apparently dealing with a minor injury, was held pointless in six games. Svechkov, meanwhile, had four goals and six assists in seven games.

It's looking unlikely that either will report to Saint John. Richard is expected to play for the University of Maine this fall while Svechkov, projected to be a first-round pick in this summer's NHL Draft, will likely stay in Russia.

Richard, who appeared in 46 games with the USHL's Tri-City Storm this season, was amongst Future Considerations top-10 NHL Draft prospects for the month of April.

"The lone USHL player on Team Canada in the World U18s, Guillaume Richard has shown big improvements in his game over the season," writes Josh Bell. "The defender won’t be an NHLer that racks up the points, but he can contribute as he’s shown with 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) through 46 games. Through the year, FCHockey’s scouts have seen improvement in the Storm defender’s decision making and defensive awareness, which should bode well for his draft projection."

Draft guru Chris Peters praised Svechkov in his newsletter (which you should subscribe to) last week.

"I think he’s been Russia’s best player start to finish because he impacts the game in so many ways," writes Peters. "He’s heavy, he is physical and his strength has been too much for some of his opponents to handle. Svechkov is a very smart player who is committed to being active in all three zones. He’s a really good transitional player, everywhere defensively and already has seven points in the tournament. He’s a great set-up man, but has good finish around the net, too."

KOTKOV BACK IN AHL

Unsurprisingly, now-former Sea Dogs forward Vladislav Kotkov has rejoined the AHL's San Jose Barracuda with his junior hockey season - and career - finished.

Forward Vladislav Kotkov added to the Barracuda roster after finishing up his QMJHL season w/ @SJSeaDogs.

The 21-year-old Russian had 9G, 10A in 16GP this year. Scored in his first and only AHL game 4/6/19. Signed ELC w/ #sjsharks back 2018.

— Brian Truong (@_BrianTruong) May 8, 2021

The Barracuda only have one regular season game remaining on their schedule but they will be part of the Pacific Division playoff - the only division in the AHL holding any kind of playoff. San Jose is one of the bottom four teams in the Pacific so they will take part in the play-in series that begins May 18.

Kotkov appeared in one AHL game at the end of the 2018-19 season, scoring a goal. He took part in the team's training camp this season before joining the Sea Dogs.

The Russian forward registered nine goals and 10 assists in 16 regular season games with Saint John in the restart. He added four assists in five playoff games.

Video: Veleno scores first NHL goal

Detroit Red Wings Twitter

Joe Veleno scored his first National Hockey League goal on Friday night.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs captain scored on a power play at 13:50 of the second period in the Detroit Red Wings' 5-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Veleno, playing in his fifth game with the Red Wings since joining the club a couple weeks ago, also had three shots on goal in 14:50 of ice time.

"I just tried to find an open lane and it was a hell of a pass and I was able to get it on and off my stick really quick," Veleno told media after the game, via the Detroit Free Press.

The Red Wings play their final game of this shortened season tonight in Columbus.

Veleno spent most of the 2020-21 season on loan with Sweden's Malmo Redhawks where he registered 11 goals and nine assists in 46 games. He made his NHL debut on April 27.

Notebook: Remparts will bid to host 2022 Memorial Cup tournament

The Quebec Remparts confirmed Thursday that the club will bid to host the 2022 Memorial Cup.

QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau recently confirmed that his league will host next year's tournament. The event has not been held since 2019 due to the pandemic.

This version of the Remparts franchise will celebrate its 25th anniversary this coming season. The team is well built to contend for the 2022 title and they obviously have the facility to host the event.

Details on the bidding process have not been released, reports le Journal de Quebec.

The Remparts previously hosted the event at Colisee Pepsi in 2003 and 2015.

It's not clear if any other QMJHL team plans to bid on the tournament. The pandemic may have thrown a wrench into the Saint John Sea Dogs' plans. 

"We certainly have interest in hosting but given all that has gone on in the last 12 months, the landscape has changed considerably," said Sea Dogs President and General Manager Trevor Georgie in an interview a couple weeks ago.

Le Journal de Quebec also reports that the tournament will begin on June 2, 2022, which is a week or two later than usual.

Q PLAYOFFS CONTINUE

The second round of the QMJHL playoffs begin Friday in Quebec.

Next stop: Shawinigan. pic.twitter.com/ef8b8yIUyU

— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) May 6, 2021

Only a few former Sea Dogs remain in the post-season and they'll clash in this round. Alex Drover, Creed Jones and the Rimouski Oceanic will be major underdogs when they face Maxim Cajkovic and the powerhouse Val-d'Or Foreurs.

Former Sea Dogs Joshua Roy (Sherbrooke), Isiah Campbell (Shawinigan) and Connor Richard (Moncton) were all eliminated in the previous round.

The other series will see Quebec face rival Chicoutimi; Blainville-Boisbriand take on Victoriaville; and Bathurst battle Charlottetown. The six remaining Quebec-based clubs will play in Quebec City while Bathurst and Charlottetown will play in Shawinigan.

Maritime final moved to Shawinigan

The Maritimes Division final will not take place in the Maritimes.

In a move that doesn't come as a huge surprise, the Charlottetown Islanders and Acadie-Bathurst Titan will now face-off in Shawinigan beginning this Saturday.

From the Charlottetown Islanders:

As COVID-19 cases around the Maritime provinces continue to climb, both New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island’s Chief Public Health Offices have agreed that it is in the best interest of all parties to limit non-essential travel between the two provinces. Therefore, the Maritimes Division Final between the Charlottetown Islanders and Acadie-Bathurst Titan will take place in Shawinigan, Quebec beginning this weekend.

No New Brunswick QMJHL team has played the Islanders since November due to travel restrictions between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Both the QMJHL and the Islanders recently seemed confident that the final would be able to take place on the Island even with restrictions tighter now than at any other point during the pandemic. The Isles even began selling tickets.

This best-of-five Maritime series will now take place at the Gervais Auto Centre, which has housed a few of the QMJHL's protected environments this season. Here's the series schedule:

Saturday, May 8 at 5 p.m.: Bathurst vs Charlottetown

Sunday, May 9 at 5 p.m.: Bathurst vs Charlottetown

Tuesday, May 11 at 8 p.m.: Charlottetown vs Bathurst

Thursday, May 13 at 8 p.m.: Charlottetown vs Bathurst*

Saturday, May 15 at 5 p.m.: Bathurst vs Charlottetown*

The six remaining Quebec teams will play all of their games at Quebec City's Videotron Centre. The matchups will be:

Val-d'Or vs Rimouski

Chicoutimi vs Quebec

Victoriaville vs Blainville-Boisbriand

The league's semifinals and final will take place in Quebec City as well.

Notebook: More from Courteau's interview

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

A few other points of interest from QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau's interview on Sportsnet's 31 Thoughts podcast last week.

• On the six Maritimes Division teams not receiving government financial support like the 12 Quebec-based clubs: "the (Maritime) governments have not been as responsive as the Quebec (government). The six owners, they knew at that time that the Maritime provinces were not that high to contribute financially. The consequences for the Maritimes Division this year, that's going to be a big hit financially and it's going to be a big loss."
• "We'll see what's going to happen for years to come with our league and what's going to be the real financial impact on our situation," said Courteau, adding that there is still uncertainty over attendance limits and sponsorships next season.
• Courteau said that the league is currently planning to begin it's 2021-22 regular season the first week of October. That aligns with what the WHL has said.
• Why didn't the QMJHL allow players to join Team Canada for the IIHF World Under-18 Championship? Courteau said he wanted to maintain the league's usual policy of only allowing players to attend if their team has been eliminated from the playoffs. He brought up a few reasons for this, including the fact that it didn't seem right/fair that the teams/owners put in all this work to get the league going only to lose their best players down the stretch and into the playoffs - which is a fair point.
• Courteau himself brought up the idea of interleague games between the three CHL leagues: "from a marketing point of view, the CHL is going to have to be able to bring the three leagues closer together. Market the CHL better. Not only for CHL events or Memorial Cup but market the CHL. Last year we were talking a lot about interlocking games between the three leagues. We have to bring something new to our fans. We have to bring something new to our sponsors. We have to be creative."
• As mentioned previously, Courteau said that the QMJHL will host the 2022 Memorial Cup.

FINAL PLAYOFF NUMBERS

Ryan Francis finished the post-season as Saint John's leading scorer, recording four goals and six assists for 10 points. His six assists were also a team high.

Brady Burns led the team in playoff goals with five.

Cam MacDonald's four goals leads all rookies in playoff markers at this time. He currently sits second in rookie scoring (five points) while Riley Bezeau is third (five points as well).

Jeremie Poirier currently leads all QMJHL defensemen in playoff points with nine and goals with four.

IRONMEN

The Sea Dogs played a total of 39 games this season: 33 in the regular season and six in the post-season.

Only five players dressed for all 39 Sea Dogs games: defensemen Jeremie Poirier and William Villeneuve along with forwards Peter Reynolds, Josh Lawrence and Riley Bezeau.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 6-5 (OT)

FINAL: Saint John 6, Moncton 5 (OT)

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs ended the most bizarre season in team history with 6-5 overtime victory over the Moncton Wildcats on Sunday night at Avenir Centre.

Cam MacDonald scored at 7:19 of the first overtime frame to give Saint John the victory. Playing continuous overtime in a meaningless playoff game seemed like an oddly fitting way to end this extremely odd season of Sea Dogs hockey.

Both the Sea Dogs and Wildcats had already been eliminated from playoff contention the night before. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan won the New Brunswick round-robin playoff tournament and advance to play the Charlottetown Islanders in the Maritimes Division final.

While Sunday's game was essentially meaningless, it was definitely played with some heart. It wasn't the most intense game of the year but it was far from a pre-season type feel.

The game itself felt like the entire Saint John/Moncton season series compiled into one game. There were leads gained, leads lost, momentum swings, good special teams, and bad special teams. The game left you scratching your head at times - just like most meetings between these two this season.

MacDonald, William Villeneuve, Brady Burns, Ryan Francis, Jeremie Poirier and Charles Savoie all scored for Saint John. Zachary Emond made 31 saves in the win.

Maxim Barbashev, Charles-Antoine Pilote, Mathis Cloutier, Alexis Daniel and Gabriel Bernier scored for Moncton. Dakota Lund-Cornish made 40 saves in the loss.

Playoff Game Day 6: at Moncton

MONCTON - The curtain will close on the Saint John Sea Dogs' 2020-21 season tonight at Avenir Centre.

With the Acadie-Bathurst Titan's win last night, the Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats have both been eliminated from playoff contention. The two will meet tonight in what is - in the standings, at least - a meaningless game to close out this funky yet wildly entertaining New Brunswick round-robin playoff tournament.

It'll be interesting to see what kind of energy these two teams bring tonight. You know the overagers will be looking to go out with a bang - and hopefully everyone else on the ice feels the same way.

Game time tonight is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/93 CFBC/QMJHL Live

Playoff Standings:

1. Bathurst: 4-2; 8 points

2. Saint John: 2-3; 4 points

3. Moncton: 2-3; 4 points

Records: The Sea Dogs finished the regular season with a 15-14-3-1 record for a .515 points percentage (third Maritimes) while the Wildcats finished with a record of 11-17-2-1 for a .403 points percentage (fifth Maritimes).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss in Bathurst on Friday. Ryan Francis scored a pair of goals while Brady Burns added a solo marker. Zachary Emond made 38 stops in the loss. The Wildcats are coming off a 5-4 double-overtime loss in Bathurst last night. Francesco Iasenza scored twice while singles came from Thomas Darcy and Anthony Hamel. Dakota Lund-Cornish made 38 saves in the loss.

2020-21 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 8-5-0-0 against the Wildcats during the regular season while Moncton went 5-7-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: April 24 at Avenir Centre where the Wildcats defeated the Sea Dogs 4-2. Maxim Barbashev, Connor Richard, Alexis Daniel and Jacob Hudson all scored for Moncton. Saint John goals came from Riley Bezeau and Cam MacDonald. Dakota Lund-Cornish made 22 saves in the win. Zachary Emond made 25 stops in the loss.

Titan advance to Maritime final

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Acadie-Bathurst Titan are provincial champions.

The Titan clinched their spot in the Maritimes Division final with a 5-4 double-overtime victory over the Moncton Wildcats on Saturday night at the KC Irving Regional Centre. The victory comes a night after the Titan needed overtime to edge the Saint John Sea Dogs 4-3.

🚨: @Benallison02 (3)
🍎: Cole Larkin
⏱️: 13:46 (2OT) pic.twitter.com/NEGWgqOXgu

— Acadie-Bathurst Titan (@ABTitan) May 2, 2021

The victory improved the Titan to 4-2 in the New Brunswick round-robin playoff tournament. The Sea Dogs and Wildcats both sit a 2-3 heading into Sunday's finale at Avenir Centre - but not matter who wins, neither can catch the Titan in the standings.

Bathurst advances to play the Charlottetown Islanders in Maritime final. The winner advances to the league semifinals which will be played at Quebec City's Videotron Centre.

The setup for the Maritime final has not been announced by the league and, although QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau is confident he'll have the approvals, it won't be an easy task given travel restrictions. Rogers TV commentators said Saturday that the entire series will be played at Eastlink Centre but that has not been confirmed.

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats will play their final game of the season on Sunday night at 7 p.m. in Moncton.

Alumdate: Ex-Dogs playing in the QMJHL's President Cup playoffs

Olivier Croteau/QMJHL

The fate of the Saint John Sea Dogs' season will be determined tonight when the Acadie-Bathurst Titan host the Moncton Wildcats. For a few former Sea Dogs players in the QMJHL, their seasons have already come to an end.

Joshua Roy and the Sherbrooke Phoenix were swept away by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in their opening round playoff series. The Phoenix were outscored 17-8 in the three games.

Roy recorded a goal and three assists in the series, placing him in a tie for the team's playoff point lead.

Isiah Campbell's junior career came to an end last night with the Shawinigan Cataractes being upset by the Rimouski Oceanic. Campbell had three goals in the series that went the full five games.

One of the major reasons why the Oceanic were able to pull off an upset was because of the play of Creed Jones. The overager, who rejoined the Oceanic for the restart, posted two shutouts along with a 2.79 goals against average and a .916 save percentage in the series. Jones made 26 saves in Rimouski's 2-0 win over Shawinigan in last night's deciding game.

Alex Drover, meanwhile, had one goal in the series.

The Oceanic will face the loaded Val-d'Or Foreurs in the next round. Val-d'Or had little trouble in the opening round, sweeping the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

Maxim Cajkovic currently sits third in Foreurs scoring with two goals and three assists.

Chicoutimi, Victoriaville and Quebec are awaiting the winner of the Gatineau/Blainville-Boisbriand series to see who plays who in the quarters. All Quebec-based quarterfinal games - along with the league's semifinals and final - will be played at Quebec City's Videotron Centre.

A team from the Maritimes will head to Quebec City for the semifinals. The winner of the New Brunswick round-robin tournament will face the Charlottetown Islanders in the Maritimes Division final with the winner moving on.

The only ex-Dog still playing in the Maritimes is Wildcat Connor Richard, who has two goals and an assist in four games.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 4-3 (OT)

FINAL: Saint John 3, Bathurst 4 (OT)

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

BATHURST - The Saint John Sea Dogs will need some help from their closest rival to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The Sea Dogs fell 4-3 in overtime to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Friday night at the KC Irving Regional Centre. The loss pushes the Sea Dogs to 2-3 in the round-robin playoff tournament while the Titan improve to 3-2.

Bathurst hosts the 2-2 Moncton Wildcats on Saturday. A Titan win would clinch a round-robin tournament victory and a spot in the Maritimes Division final while a Wildcats win would create further drama, setting up a huge game between Moncton and Saint John Sunday night.

In short: the Sea Dogs need a Wildcats win on Saturday to stay alive this post-season.

Jaxon Bellamy scored the overtime winner in what was an emotional rollercoaster of a game. Bellamy scored the winner at 11:10 of the extra frame. The goal came on a power play that was the result of a five-minute major and game misconduct for kneeing handed to Cam MacDonald.

For a while, it looked as though Bellamy might be the exact opposite of a hero in this game. Saint John entered the third period down 3-0 but scored twice to make it 3-2. Bellamy then took a four-minute penalty for checking from behind at 15:12 of the third, setting up Ryan Francis' game-tying goal at 16:56.

It was a hard fought, fairly even game on Friday. Unfortunately for the Sea Dogs, the Titan controlled much of overtime and took advantage of an opportunity - a lengthy power play - they were given. Bathurst is now in the driver's seat of this tournament.

Bellamy, Ben Allison, Bennett MacArthur and Riley Kidney all scored for Bathurst. Jan Bednar made 41 saves in the win.

Francis scored twice for Saint John while Brady Burns added the other. Zachary Emond made 38 saves in the loss.