Islanders advance to President Cup final

Embed from Getty Images

At long last, the Charlottetown Islanders have advanced to the President Cup final.

After coming up just short last season in the Quebec City bubble, the Islanders advanced to the QMJHL final for the first time in their history Monday night, defeating the Sherbrooke Phoenix 4-3 to win the semifinal series 3-1.

We've punched our ticket to the President Cup Final. pic.twitter.com/nzOcZcbLwa

— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) May 31, 2022

Charlottetown will play the winner of Wednesday's Game 5 between the Shawinigan Cataractes and Quebec Remparts. The Cataractes forced a fifth and final game with a 3-2 overtime victory on home ice Monday.

The Islanders carried a commanding 4-1 lead late into the second period - but then momentum changed. Charlottetown's Xavier Simoneau was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for a check from behind on Xavier Parent at 19:11 of the second, giving Sherbrooke a lengthy power play to start the third period with.

WoW lol … je serait gêner pic.twitter.com/dSE7Go7uBn

— Pascal Simoneau (@jexajo) May 31, 2022

Parent scored on the man advantage just 28 seconds into the third and scored another not long after even strength play resumed at 4:15, making it a 4-3 match. Charlottetown netminder Francesco Lapenna was sensational in a final frame that saw the Phoenix outshoot the Islanders 21-4.

Former Sea Dogs forward Dawson Stairs had one assist in the victory. Joshua Roy, meanwhile, had a goal, two assists and eight shots in the loss. The Montreal Canadiens prospect finishes the playoffs with eight goals and 15 assists in 11 games.

Chabot, Canada claim worlds silver

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Thomas Chabot and Team Canada are heading home with IIHF World Championship silver.

After defeating Czechia 6-1 in Saturday's semifinal, the Canadians fell 4-3 in overtime to host Finland in Sunday's gold medal contest. Chabot, unfortunately, was in the penalty box when Finland scored on a four-on-three power play to win the game in extra time.

It was an eventful gold medal match with Canada entering the third up 1-0. Finland scored three straight goals in the third - including two power play markers that came on a wrongly called high sticking penalty.

Miro Heiskanen high-sticked himself in the face, but Cole Sillinger gets a penalty. #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/wTkqryAwTu

— Steven Ellis (@StevenEllisTHN) May 29, 2022

Canada, who erased a 3-0 third period deficit to beat Sweden 4-3 in overtime in the quarterfinals, would tie the game at 3-3 by scoring two goals with their goaltender pulled, forcing overtime. Despite the loss, it was an impressive showing by the Canadians.

Chabot, Canada's captain, played 27:44 in the gold medal game, including 9:58 in the first period. He finished the tournament with four assists in 10 games.

This was Chabot's third World Championship appearance. The former Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman now has two goals and 10 assists in 26 career games at the event.

Kamloops to host 2023 Memorial Cup

CHL Twitter

The Memorial Cup is returning to Kamloops.

The Canadian Hockey League awarded the 2023 Memorial Cup hosting rights to the Kamloops Blazers on Friday. It'll be the second time the city has hosted the event and first since 1995.

“We are very excited to bring back the Memorial Cup to Kamloops after an almost 30-year hiatus,” said CHL president Dan MacKenzie in a news release. “The Blazers and the City of Kamloops put together a first class bid and will be outstanding hosts.”

The Blazers are currently playing in the Western Hockey League's Western Conference final and are projected to be a strong team again next season. The team's successful bid was announced before Game 5 of their series against the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Kamloops‼️

See you in 2023 for the #MemorialCup presented by @KiaCanada! pic.twitter.com/ZIapb4mbPw

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 28, 2022

The 2023 tournament will be (fingers crossed) the first time the WHL has hosted the event since Regina in 2018. Kelowna was supposed to host the 2020 Memorial Cup but that was cancelled by the pandemic.

Bulldogs advance to OHL final; Ice eliminated by Oil Kings

OHL website

The Hamilton Bulldogs are rolling into the Ontario Hockey League final while one of the Canadian Hockey League's top-ranked teams has had their season come to an end.

The Bulldogs completed a sweep of the North Bay Battalion Friday night, winning the OHL's Eastern Conference and earning a spot in the OHL final. The Bulldogs became just the third team in OHL history to start the playoffs with a perfect 12-0 record.

12-0
60 GOALS FOR
21 GOALS AGAINST
3 SHUTOUTS
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN FRANCHISE HISTORY, THE HAMILTON BULLDOGS ARE YOUR EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS!🎉🎉#DawgMentality | #BeTheHammer pic.twitter.com/2XEIHAcgeB

— Xyz - Hamilton Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) May 28, 2022

It's the second time the team has won the Eastern Conference since moving to Hamilton in 2015. The Bulldogs won the OHL title in 2018 and lost in the Memorial Cup semifinal to the Regina Pats.

The Bulldogs will face the winner of the Western Conference final which is tied 2-2 between the Windsor Spitfires and Flint Firebirds.

The OHL champion will play the Saint John Sea Dogs in the Memorial Cup opener on June 20.

Notebook: Sea Dogs opening new shop

SAINT JOHN - A new retail shop is in the works for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

It was announced Friday that the team will soon be opening a Sea Dogs Styles location at the new waterfront Area 506 Container Village.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by AREA 506 (@area506fest)

The area will be home to Bash on the Bay events during the 2022 Memorial Cup.

The Sea Dogs are looking to hire a retail sales representative to work at the location.

NOMINATED

Three Sea Dogs were nominated for league awards this week.

Team captain Vincent Sevigny was nominated for the QMJHL's best defensive defenseman award. Charlottetown's Noah Laaouan won the award.

Toronto Maple Leafs prospect William Villeneuve was nominated for the league's top defenseman award. Charlottetown's Lukas Cormier took home the honour.

Lastly, forward Nicholas Blagden was nominated for the QMJHL's Humanitarian of the Year award for his involvement in raising awareness around mental health issues. Charlottetown's Brett Budgell won the award.

MORE ON MACDOUGALL

A few more notes on the Gardiner MacDougall hire:

• MacDougall and team president and general manager Trevor Georgie were on CBC Radio's Information Morning Thursday.
• The UNB Reds have commented on MacDougall joining the Sea Dogs temporarily. "The Reds and the University of New Brunswick wish Coach MacDougall, the Sea Dogs and Sea Dogs’ fans all the best during the upcoming Canadian Hockey League championship tournament," reads the Reds website. Associate coach Rob Hennigar will run the Reds in MacDougall's absence.
• Bill Hunt has a column on the MacDougall news in the Daily Gleaner (paywall) and asks a few critical questions on the unexpected hiring.
• In the Sea Dogs' Tuesday press release that made the MacDougall hiring official, Georgie said that the team "identified a small group of winning coaches with experience having won tournaments. There are no active coaches in Canada that have prepared teams for and won more tournaments than Gardiner." On the Monday edition of Sportsnet's 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman said that he "heard they took some big swings at some other coaches." Jeff Marek added that "there were some names out there."

Sea Dogs believe coaching change gives them best opportunity to win

The Saint John Sea Dogs made it quite clear at Wednesday's press conference: they want to win the Memorial Cup. And they want to win it badly.

Following a wild weekend that saw the team fire head coach Gordie Dwyer and replace him with (for the next few weeks, anyways) Gardiner MacDougall of the UNB Reds, Sea Dogs management detailed further why they made the stunning move.

"It wasn't an easy decision," Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie said. "It was a really difficult decision because you're talking about a good human being who lost his job. Overall, we just looked at the group and we looked at what gives us the best chance to win a Memorial Cup. We've put a lot into this group and we want to give them the best opportunity. The best opportunity for us was having Gardiner as our head coach. That's why we went that direction."

After flipping a significant portion of its roster during the holiday trade period, the Sea Dogs had one of the best records in the Canadian Hockey League in the second half and entered the playoffs on a 15-game winning streak. The playoffs were a different story. The Sea Dogs were upset in the opening round by a young Rimouski Oceanic squad, losing the best-of-five series in five games.

The team quickly changed its focus to putting themselves in the best position possible to win the Memorial Cup on home ice in June.

"We took the time to decompress after a pretty emotional loss at the end of the playoffs and then assessed what we thought the team needed, how to move forward and give us the best chance to win," said Georgie. 

"We spent the past week really assessing and evaluating how to give our guys the best opportunity and we felt that these changes gave us the best opportunity."

Will Islanders finally reach QMJHL final?

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Is this the year the Charlottetown Islanders finally break through?

The Islanders have consistently been one of the best teams in the QMJHL over the past several seasons. This year the team will be making their fourth appearance in the league's semifinals since 2017 - but they've yet to reach a President Cup final.

The Charlottetown Islanders have now made it to the third round of the QMJHL playoffs in four of their past five playoff opportunities (not including the 19-20 season with no playoffs)

What an incredible run for the organization. Happy for everyone involved!

— Aidan Northcott (@AidanNorthcott) May 20, 2022

The Islanders appeared poised to reach the final last season in the Quebec City bubble but fell in the semis to the eventual champion Victoriaville Tigres. Standing in the Islanders' way this season in the Sherbrooke Phoenix, a team that defeated Charlottetown twice during the regular season.

The Phoenix, who have been around since 2012-13, will be making their first appearance in the semifinals. Sherbrooke had a 51-8-3-1 record in 2019-20 when the season was cancelled by COVID. It's good to see the franchise rebound quickly from that disappointment.

The other semifinal features the Quebec Remparts taking on the Shawinigan Cataractes. Despite having lots of star power over the years and winning the Memorial Cup in 2006, this version of the Remparts franchise has never won a President Cup. The Cataractes franchise, which has been around since 1969, has never won a league title either

Both semifinal series begin tonight (Wednesday).

MacDougall officially named Dogs' coach

The Coaches Site

Gardiner MacDougall has officially been named the new (temporary) head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs made the move official on Tuesday afternoon via press release. The team will hold a news conference Wednesday at noon at the Delta Brunswick.

The surprising news of Gordie Dwyer's firing and MacDougall's hiring broke on Sunday by both national and Quebec media. The Sea Dogs had not made any official comment until Tuesday.

From the press release:

“After our upset loss in the first round, we took a step back and saw a need to support our players and staff differently in preparing for, and competing in the Memorial Cup tournament” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie. “We identified a small group of winning coaches with experience having won tournaments. There are no active coaches in Canada that have prepared teams for and won more tournaments than Gardiner. He’s a motivator and has coached in high pressure situations.”

MacDougall, the long-time head coach of the highly successful University of New Brunswick men's hockey program, will return to his role with the Reds following the conclusion of the Memorial Cup.

The Sea Dogs and MacDougall have less than a month to get acquainted and prepare for their Memorial Cup opener on June 20. The team tweeted that Tuesday marked MacDougall's third day with the club.

Working hard 💪

Third day on the job for Coach MacDougall! pic.twitter.com/XGTEzmvG1Y

— x - Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) May 24, 2022

The staff section of the Sea Dogs' website has been updated to reflect the MacDougall hiring. The rest of Saint John's existing coaching staff remains intact.

The decision to fire a head coach this close to the start of the Memorial Cup is a highly unusual move. Something like this hasn't been done since 2000 - but in that case, an associate coach was promoted to head coach.

It will be interesting to hear more from Sea Dogs management at Wednesday's news conference. Georgie and MacDougall will both be present.

The Sea Dogs have also confirmed that former Windsor Spitfires head coach and Saint John Flames great Rocky Thompson has been added to the coaching staff as a "Memorial Cup advisor."

Notebook: Dogs' move nearly unprecedented

Embed from Getty Images

The Saint John Sea Dogs' decision to fire their head coach this close to the start of the Memorial Cup is nearly unprecedented - but it has happened before.

Way back in 2000, the Memorial Cup host Halifax Mooseheads were swept out of the second round of the President Cup playoffs by Brad Richards and the Rimouski Oceanic. Less than two weeks after their playoff exit, the Mooseheads fired head coach and director of hockey operations Bob Mongrain and named associate Shawn MacKenzie the interim head coach.

From CBC News on April 21, 2000:

"This wasn't done lightly," said team president Ken Mounce, who added it's a move that may have been long overdue.

"This was thought of for a few months and we looked at every possible avenue and we were very sensitive to the timing," Mounce continued.

The 2000 Memorial Cup began on May 20, so these timelines are quite similar to what the Sea Dogs are working with.

The Mooseheads finished 2-1 in round-robin play and were eliminated in the semifinals.

A few people have also pointed out that the BCHL's Chilliwack Chiefs fired their head coach less than two weeks before hosting the RBC Cup in 2018. The Chiefs went on to win the national championship.

Reports: UNB's MacDougall named interim Sea Dogs head coach

U Sports

A coach with plenty of national championship experience will reportedly guide the Saint John Sea Dogs into the Memorial Cup next month.

Just a few hours after news broke that the Sea Dogs had fired Gordie Dwyer, reports have surfaced saying that Gardiner MacDougall of the University of New Brunswick men's hockey program will take over head coaching duties on an interim basis.

Also, Rocky Thompson joins the Sea Dogs in an advisory role. Thompson is a former Saint John Flame who went through the same situation the Sea Dogs are in when he coached the Windsor Spitfires in '17.

— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) May 23, 2022

Craig Eagles reported this news in a blog post earlier today. Mikael Lalancette along with Sportsnet's Jeff Mark have also reported the MacDougall news.

As Marek tweeted, the expectation is that this is a temporary hire by the Sea Dogs for the Memorial Cup and then MacDougall will resume his role at UNB.

This has been, to put it lightly, a stunning turn of events.

MacDougall has been the head coach of UNB's men's program for the past 22 seasons, winning seven national championships. There's an argument to be made that he's had a career worthy of a placement in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

MacDougall and the Sea Dogs have less than a month to get familiar with each other and be ready for the team's first Memorial Cup game on June 20. MacDougall is likely quite familiar with Saint John's roster given that he has no doubt been scouting the team for recruiting purposes.

UNB is famous for its intense practices - which the Sea Dogs will be doing nothing but between now and June 20. UNB is also famous for getting players to buy into a system and work harder than the opposing team, a trait the Sea Dogs have struggled with in recent years. That lack of intensity hurt them in the opening round of the playoffs against the Rimouski Oceanic.

Bringing in Thompson as an advisor is a much more common move for a Memorial Cup host in this sort of position. Thompson was recently an associate coach with the San Jose Sharks but stepped down from the role in September because of a medical exemption that did not allow him to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Reports: Dwyer out as Sea Dogs head coach

Gordie Dwyer has reportedly been fired from his position as head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The news was first reported by TSN's Darren Dreger and later confirmed by Quebec media.

Surprising news from the @SJSeaDogs. Sources say head coach Gordie Dwyer has been let go. Saint John is hosting the Memorial Cup next month.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) May 22, 2022

Dwyer joined the Sea Dogs in the off-season and coached the team to a 47-17-1-3 record in the regular season. After a less-than-inspiring first half, the Sea Dogs revamped their roster with trades over the holidays. Dwyer and the team really hit their stride a few weeks into the second half, ending the regular season on a 15-game winning streak.

But things went off the rails quickly in the playoffs. The Sea Dogs were heavy favourites to win their opening round series against the Rimouski Oceanic (23 points separated the teams in the standings) but ultimately lost the best-of-five series in five games. The first round loss included the Sea Dogs blowing a 2-1 series lead where the team got shutout in Game 4 and then lost the decisive Game 5 in overtime on home ice.

Despite the rather disastrous playoff result, not many would have predicted Dwyer's firing less than a month before the team's first Memorial Cup game. The Sea Dogs host the Ontario Hockey League champion on June 20.

This is about as bold as bold moves can get for a Memorial Cup host team in this position.

President Cup semifinal series set

Islanders Facebook

Two former Saint John Sea Dogs will meet in the President Cup semifinals.

Dawson Stairs and the Charlottetown Islanders will face Joshua Roy and the Sherbrooke Phoenix in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's final four. The other series will see the top-seeded Quebec Remparts take on the Shawinigan Cataractes.

Both best-of-five series begin Wednesday. The winners will advance to the best-of-seven President Cup final with a berth in the Memorial Cup on the line.

Roy, who won the regular season scoring title, sits in a tie with teammate Xavier Parent for the playoff points lead with 16. Stairs, meanwhile, has a goal and four assists in five games with the 6-0 Islanders.

Former Sea Dog Alex Drover had his season come to an end on Friday when the Rimouski Oceanic were eliminated by the Remparts in four games. Drover had three goals in nine playoff games.

In the Ontario Hockey League semifinals, the Hamilton Bulldogs lead the North Bay Battalion 1-0 following a 5-2 win on Friday. The other series will see the Windsor Spitfires take on the Flint Firebirds.

Over in the Western Hockey League, the Edmonton Oil Kings lead the Winnipeg Ice 1-0 while the Kamloops Blazers are up 1-0 on the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Memorial Cup one month away

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

A year ago at this time, the idea of Saint John hosting the 2022 Memorial Cup was filled with uncertainty. 

Fast forward to present times and the start of the Memorial Cup in Saint John is just one month away.

On June 20, the Sea Dogs will host the Ontario Hockey League champion to open the tournament. It will be the first Memorial Cup game played since 2019 in Halifax.

The tournament schedule will follow a different calendar format than usual with the first game being played on a Monday and the final happening on a Wednesday. Weeknight games will be 7 p.m. Atlantic starts and weekend contests 5 p.m.

While the games begin June 20, the event itself will start on Saturday, June 18 with ball hockey, a mural unveiling, concert and fireworks. The full event schedule can be found on the CHL website.

Ticket packages to the tournament are still available.

The Memorial Cup trophy has been making the rounds throughout the city - and the legislature - the past few weeks.

Three teams complete series sweeps

Three of the four teams that will play in the President Cup semifinals are now known.

The Charlottetown Islanders, Sherbrooke Phoenix and Shawinigan Cataractes all completed series sweeps on Thursday night, earning spots in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's final four. The Quebec Remparts currently lead the Rimouski Oceanic 2-1 in the other quarterfinal series and can close it out on Friday night.

The Islanders defeated the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 3-1 in Thursday's Game 3. Charlottetown, now 6-0 in the playoffs, outscored Bathurst 12-3 in the three-game sweep (and one of those goals against was an own-goal by the Islanders).

Former Sea Dog Dawson Stairs had two assists in the series. He now has a goal and four helpers in six playoff games with the Islanders.

In Boisbriand, the Phoenix eliminated the Armada with a 7-5 victory. Former Sea Dog Joshua Roy had a goal and an assist in the game to give him five goals and 11 assists in seven playoff games.

In Shawinigan, the Cataractes closed out the Gatineau Olympiques with a 1-0 victory.

Lastly, in Rimouski, former Sea Dog Alex Drover was a -2 with two shots in the Oceanic's 4-1 loss to the top-seeded Remparts. Drover has three goals in eight playoff games this year.

If Quebec moves in, the Remparts would play Shawinigan and Charlottetown would take on Sherbrooke. In Rimouski advances, the Oceanic would face Charlottetown and Sherbrooke would battle Shawinigan.

Notebook: Titan in trouble (again)

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan once again find themselves in a 2-0 hole.

The Titan dropped games one and two of their second round series against the Charlottetown Islanders by a combined score of 9-2. One of Bathurst's goals came courtesy of Charlottetown scoring on their own net during a delayed penalty call.

The Titan trailed their opening round series against the Halifax Mooseheads 2-0 before rattling off three straight wins to advance. But most would argue that the Islanders, 5-0 so far in these playoffs, are a superior opponent to the Mooseheads. This will be a tough task for a Titan team that seems to be feeling some fatigue after a rough stretch run.

The Rimouski Oceanic, meanwhile, continue to do Rimouski Oceanic things. After dropping the series opening 4-0 to the top-seeded Quebec Remparts, the Oceanic rebounded with a 4-1 victory. The next two games of the series will be in Rimouski.

The other series have the Sherbrooke Phoenix leading the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 2-0 and the Shawinigan Cataractes up 2-0 on the Gatineau Olympiques.

All four series resume Thursday.

ATHLETIC ARTICLE

By now you've probably checked out Scott Wheeler's excellent piece on the Sea Dogs' on- and off-ice Memorial Cup preparations. If you haven't read it, you should definitely do that.

A few of the tidbits from the piece that stood out:

• The Athletic confirmed what had been assumed (and I don't think ever publicly stated) what Saint John's plan was at the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft: draft defensemen and smaller forwards who would a) be in their primes when hosting the Memorial Cup and b) not jump to the NHL early.
• The Sea Dogs have had Charlie Coyle call up NCAA committed players and pitch Saint John to them.
• The Athletic also reported that it was McCain who stopped the Sea Dogs from dealing two first round picks to the Moncton Wildcats for Brandon Gormley during the 2012 trade period. Wheeler writes that McCain now "believes the Sea Dogs would have won the Memorial Cup with Gormley and argues Gormley put the Cataractes, who made the trade when Saint John wouldn’t, over the edge."

LONG LAYOFF

The Sea Dogs will have 38 days between games. That's a lot - but, as Mikael Lalancette breaks down, that's a fairly average amount.

C'est 38 jours de congé que les Sea Dogs auront d'ici le début de la coupe Memorial.

C'est... beaucoup, mais c'est dans la moyenne.

Saskatoon, 2013, 50 jours
Windsor, 2017, 44 jours
Regina 2018, 45 jours
London 2014, 34 jours
Shawinigan 2012, 31 jours
Red Deer, 2016, 20 jours https://t.co/lLGZPpuVQM

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) May 13, 2022

Another random thought on this: there's likely never been a generation of players more experienced in handling lengthy breaks between games (thank you for your service, COVID). Plus, unlike many COVID breaks of the past, the Sea Dogs have a definite date (fingers crossed) of when they'll be returning to game action. Maybe it won't help at all, I don't know, but it's something to consider.

Ex-Dogs remain in President Cup hunt

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

While current members of the Saint John Sea Dogs will not be lifting the President Cup in June, a few former Dogs still have a shot.

Former Sea Dogs Joshua Roy (Sherbrooke Phoenix), Alex Drover (Rimouski Oceanic) and Dawson Stairs (Charlottetown Islanders) remain in the President Cup playoffs.

Roy, who won the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's regular season scoring race, entered action Monday in a tie for the playoff points lead (13 points). Drover had a goal in five first round games to help the Oceanic upset his former club. Stairs, meanwhile, has been on the Islanders' top line and had a goal and three assists in four games entering play Monday.

A number of ex-Dogs had their seasons come to a conclusion in the opening round. They include Christopher Inniss (Chicoutimi Sagueneens), Evgeny Sapelnikov (Baie-Comeau Drakkar), Jonathan Lemieux (Moncton Wildcats), Kale McCallum (Val-d'Or Foreurs), Simon Hughes (Drummondville Voltigeurs) and Leighton Carruthers (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies).

Carter McCluskey, Charles Savoie and Nicholas Girouard, all members of the Cape Breton Eagles, did not make the playoffs.

Inniss, Lemieux and Girouard were all overagers and have played their final games in the QMJHL.

Here's a look at how all these former Sea Dogs performed in the regular season.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Joshua Roy	SHE	66	51	68	119
Kale McCallum	VdO	68	19	50	69
Nicholas Girouard	CAP	48	20	20	40
Dawson Stairs	CAP CHA	68	16	31	47
Alex Drover	RIM	44	14	23	37
Simon Hughes	DRU	60	8	13	21
Carter McCluskey	SNB CAP	55	13	7	20
Evgeny Sapelnikov	SNB BAC	34	11	7	18
Leighton Carruthers	ROU	68	10	8	18
Christopher Inniss	SNB CHI	62	2	12	14
Charles Savoie	SNB CAP	49	3	7	10
Connor Richard	BLB	9	0	2	2

Lemieux, meanwhile, finished the regular season with a 16-19-2-2 record to go along with a 3.76 goals against average and a .894 save percentage. He appeared in 45 games split between the Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats.

It's worth noting that Sapelnikov, who missed much of the second half with an injury, led the Drakkar in playoff scoring with three goals and six points in three games.

Two 2021 draft picks of the Sea Dogs, Natan Grenier (Moncton Wildcats) and Francis Woods (Val-d'Or Foreurs), also made their QMJHL debuts with their new clubs during the regular season.

Titan advance to play Islanders

Halifax Mooseheads website

The matchups for the second round of the QMJHL's President Cup playoffs are set.

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan secured the final spot in the second round by defeating the Halifax Mooseheads 2-1 in Game 5 on Friday night, taking the series 3-2. The Titan trailed 2-0 in the series and needed triple overtime on Wednesday to force a winner-take-all Game 5.

ALLLLLLLLLL THE WAY BACK!!!!!!!!

VICTOIREEEEEEEE!!!!#GoTitanGo⚔️ pic.twitter.com/n23rhfLDrq

— Titan d'Acadie-Bathurst (@ABTitan) May 14, 2022

The Titan will face the Charlottetown Islanders in the second round, which is also a best-of-five. That series begins Sunday afternoon at Eastlink Centre.

The Islanders won five of the nine regular season meetings against the Titan.

Here's how the next round will shake down:

Eastern Conference

1) Quebec vs 6) Rimouski

2) Charlottetown vs 4) Bathurst

Western Conference

1) Sherbrooke vs 5) Blainville-Boisbriand

2) Gatineau vs 3) Shawinigan

Over in the Ontario Hockey League, the Hamilton Bulldogs were the first team to advance to the conference finals, completing a sweep of the Mississauga Steelheads.

In the Western Hockey League, the Eastern Conference final is set - and it's what we all expected. The Edmonton Oil Kings and Winnipeg Ice, who have been near the top of the CHL Top 10 rankings all season, will meet in a conference final showdown.

What just happened?

SAINT JOHN - It was a night to forget for the Saint John Sea Dogs but one that will no doubt be remembered for some time.

For a franchise that's been blessed with playoff success throughout its history, Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Rimouski Oceanic was one of the lowest points. Losing in the first round of the President Cup playoffs in a "go for it" season is never good, but losing in the opening round when you're the Memorial Cup host is pretty much a worst case scenario.

There's a strong argument to be made that this lengthy break could give the Sea Dogs an advantage at the Memorial Cup, which we saw in 2012 with Shawinigan and 2017 with Windsor. Many of the Spitfires said at the 2017 tournament that they were in the best shape of their careers. But let's be real: it's hard to view this first round loss as a good thing right now. There's not a single player, coach or fan that headed into this series saying, "in the long run, we'd be better off losing this."

The Sea Dogs did not look like the Sea Dogs we saw down the stretch, a team that ended the regular season on a 15-game winning streak. Saint John struggled to click offensively throughout the series and had breakdowns defensively that cost them - especially in the decisive Game 5.

A lot of credit has to be given to Oceanic head coach Serge Beausoleil, who put on a masterclass in pulling off a playoff upset. Rimouski shutdown Saint John's top offensive players, got good (and often great) goaltending and took advantage of the scoring chances they were given. The Oceanic, who also played the final three games of this series without two of their top players in Xavier Cormier and Julien Beland, deserved this series win.

The goal that knocked out the Sea Dogs 👀

Rimouski's Alexander Gaudio with the GM5 winner just 30 seconds into OT. Sending the hottest team heading into the playoffs home.@oceanicrimouski | #RoadtoMemorialCup pic.twitter.com/rHTnz7tbUy

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 13, 2022

It was an odd series, perhaps made stranger by the best-of-five format. If the Sea Dogs had showed up to play in Game 1, they could have, in theory, swept this series. Now the team has to deal with a nearly 40-day layoff from game action. Lapses like that Game 1 loss proved costly in this series - and they'll prove costly again in June if the team doesn't clean things up. They've got plenty of time to figure things out - but there are plenty of things to figure out.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 4-3 (OT)

FINAL: Rimouski 4, Saint John 3 (OT)

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - And just like that, the Saint John Sea Dogs' President Cup playoff run is over.

Alexander Gaudio scored just 30 seconds into overtime to give the Rimouski Oceanic a 4-3 victory on Thursday at TD Station, completing a stunning 3-2 first round series win over the Memorial Cup hosts. The victory pushes the Oceanic into the second round where they'll face the top-seeded Quebec Remparts.

This do-or-die Game 5 was simply a mess for the Sea Dogs right from the start. They struggled defensively, allowing quite a few odd man rushes and were burned by the speed of the Oceanic a number of times. On offense, like much of this series, Saint John just couldn't get things going. Rimouski, once again, did a good job at clogging up the neutral zone and getting sticks in shooting lanes.

The Oceanic, who played the underdog role to perfection, were certainly worthy of this series win. Rimouski also completed this upset missing three regulars - including their leading scorer. Impressive stuff.

Along with Gaudio, William Dumoulin scored a pair of goals while Mathis Gauthier added a single. Patrik Hamrla, who looked more human in this game compared to Tuesday, made 26 saves in the win.

Ryan Francis, Cam MacDonald and Riley Bezeau scored for Saint John. Thomas Couture was pulled early in the first period after allowing two goals on four shots. Nikolas Hurtubise was terrific in relief, allowing two goals on 23 shots.

Despite the loss, the season will continue for the Sea Dogs - but they'll have to wait over a month until their next game. The Sea Dogs are back in action on June 20 when they host the OHL champion in the Memorial Cup opener.

Notebook: Titan force Game 5

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It took some time, but the Acadie-Bathurst Titan have forced a Game 5 in their best-of-five first round series against the Halifax Mooseheads.

After dropping the first two games of the series on home ice, the Titan hammered the Mooseheads 8-1 on Monday and then earned a 4-3 triple overtime victory on Wednesday to tie the series at 2-2.

#QPlayoffs #SeriesLHJMQ #BATvsHAL: @ABTitan Riley Kidney is the hero as he ends the 4th longest game in QMJHL history 16:14 into triple overtime. 2nd goal of postseason to match last year's total. 8th career multipoint game in 13 all-time playoff games.

— Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) May 12, 2022

Riley Kidney scored the game-winner at 16:14 of the third overtime - or around 11:50 p.m. in real time. The Titan outshot the Mooseheads 72-46 in the game and were the better team for much of overtime. Ben Allison appeared to win the contest earlier in the third extra frame but, after a review, the goal was called off due to a high stick.

His guys were so fired up for 45 seconds they then needed a Papal Conclave to decide what to do with the stick.

Old boy Alec Cook getting the video by the way, you should see what he does with real cameras@CameraGuyCook (put him on NHL games, handheld corner camera, legit) https://t.co/iUiOhw8THI pic.twitter.com/znmbrEAYGM

— Mavs Gillis (@eastlinkmavs) May 12, 2022

The game will also be remembered for this moment from Thomas Belgarde.

La série n’est pas finie, mais le #Titan va certainement célébrer cette victoire marathon.

Thomas Belgarde lance les hostilités de belle façon avec l’aide d’un partisan 😂😂😂 #LHJMQ pic.twitter.com/uShmdaArQB

— Pierre-Olivier Poulin (@P_OPoulin) May 12, 2022

Game 5 of the series was supposed to be Thursday all the way back in Bathurst but the league has made the wise decision to push the game to Friday.

Game Day: Round 1, Game 5 vs Oceanic

SAINT JOHN - One team's season will end tonight at TD Station.

The Saint John Sea Dogs will host the Rimouski Oceanic in a winner-take-all Game 5 tonight at 7 p.m. The Oceanic forced a final game with a 1-0 win on Tuesday in Rimouski, evening the best-of-five series up at 2-2.

The game plan for Saint John seems fairly simple: they need to find a way to score. Oceanic netminder Patrik Hamrla had a performance for the ages on Tuesday, stopping all 40 shots he faced. Saint John's offense hasn't been firing on all cylinders in this series, averaging 2.50 goals per game compared to 4.54 in the regular season.

After a shaky first period Tuesday, the Sea Dogs controlled much of the play and allowed just 14 shots. Hamrla will need to have another spectacular performance if tonight's game plays out the same way.

The pressure is certainly on the Sea Dogs tonight. An Oceanic series win would be a major upset and would force the Sea Dogs to have a lengthy layoff while they wait to host the Memorial Cup in late June.

If the Sea Dogs win, they'll move on to face the Charlottetown Islanders in the second round. If the Oceanic win, they'll face the Quebec Remparts.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/93 CFBC/CHL TV

Capacity/Proof of Vaccination/Masks: 100%/None/Not mandatory

Series status: The best-of-five first round series is tied 2-2.

Series schedule/results:

Game 1 - May 5 Rimouski 3, Saint John 1
Game 2 - May 6 Rimouski 2, Saint John 4
Game 3 - May 9 Saint John 5, Rimouski 2
Game 4 - May 10 Saint John 0, Rimouski 1
Game 5 - May 12 Rimouski at Saint John 7 p.m.

Playoff records: The Sea Dogs are 2-2-0 this post-season while the Oceanic are 2-2-0.

Must-win Game 5 awaits Sea Dogs

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - There is a lot on the line for the Saint John Sea Dogs on Thursday.

After ending the regular season on a 15-game winning streak, the Sea Dogs have dropped two of their four games so far this post-season, setting up a winner-take-all Game 5 on Thursday night at TD Station.

It's been a disappointing start to the playoffs for the Sea Dogs, a team most predicted would have a fairly easy time with a young Rimouski Oceanic squad. That hasn't been the case as Serge Beausoleil's team has looked very much like a Serge Beausoleil coached team, running with strong goaltending and good defensive structure.

A Sea Dogs loss Thursday would mean more than a month of nothing but practices ahead of the Memorial Cup. While teams have figured out how to use the break as an advantage heading into the tournament, every team would prefer to go through the front door as league champion.

Perhaps the Sea Dogs being put into this must-win position will be a positive moving forward. This is a team - thanks to the pandemic - with limited playoff experience and even less "big game" experience. Maybe being pushed into the fire this early in the playoffs will give the team some good learnings and momentum heading into what should be an even more difficult second round.

Let's not forget that this isn't the first time a QMJHL Memorial Cup host has had to fight through the first round. The 2019 and 2015 Memorial Cup hosts needed seven games to advance to the second round - and both those teams made it to the President Cup final.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 1-0

FINAL: Saint John 0, Rimouski 1

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

RIMOUSKI, Que. - Patrik Hamrla and the Rimouski Oceanic have forced a Game 5.

Hamrla stopped all 40 shots he faced to lead the Oceanic to a 1-0 win over the Saint John Sea Dogs in Game 4 of their opening round playoff series Tuesday night. The result ties the series up at 2-2 and sets up a winner-take-all Game 5 on Thursday night at TD Station.

The story of the night was the Rimouski goaltender. Making his first start of the series, Hamrla was fantastic, especially in the second half of the game.

With the Oceanic up 1-0, the Sea Dogs started to press midway through the second period. Late in the frame, Charles Cote was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for a check to the head on William Villeneuve. The Sea Dogs applied some strong offensive zone pressure during the man advantage but could not connect.

The Sea Dogs came out flying in the third, leading 8-0 in shots at the first commercial break. Saint John generated some quality looks and chances throughout the third, outshooting Rimouski 19-3, but simply could not beat the Oceanic netminder.

Shots in the game ended 40-14 with Saint John registering 23 dangerous shots.

While Hamrla was good, Saint John's offensive attack continued to look a bit off - especially during a shaky opening period that saw William Dumoulin score the game's lone goal. The Sea Dogs had the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's best offense during the regular season.

Thomas Couture made 13 stops in the loss.

Game Day: Round 1, Game 4 at Rimouski

RIMOUSKI, Que. - The Saint John Sea Dogs can secure a spot in the second round of the President Cup playoffs with a win tonight.

The Sea Dogs grabbed a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five first round series against the Rimouski Oceanic thanks to a 5-2 win last night. The score stayed close for much of the game but the Sea Dogs certainly carried more of the play and were worthy of the win.

The Oceanic, who were already underdogs heading into this series, have been hit hard with injuries. Two of their top forwards - Xavier Cormier and Julien Beland - missed last night's game. Beland will be unavailable for tonight's game along with defenseman Luke Coughlin. We'll wait and see on Cormier.

A win tonight would push the Sea Dogs into the second round of the playoffs where they would play the Charlottetown Islanders.

Game time tonight at Colisee Financiere Sun Life is 8:30 p.m. Atlantic.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/93 CFBC/CHL TV

Capacity/Proof of Vaccination/Masks: 100%/None/Not mandatory

Series status: The Sea Dogs lead the best-of-five first round series 2-1.

Series schedule/results:

Game 1 - May 5 Rimouski 3, Saint John 1
Game 2 - May 6 Rimouski 2, Saint John 4
Game 3 - May 9 Saint John 5, Rimouski 2
Game 4 - May 10 Saint John at Rimouski 8:30 p.m.
Game 5 - May 12 Rimouski at Saint John 7 p.m.*
*If necessary

Playoff records: The Sea Dogs are 2-1-0 this post-season while the Oceanic are 1-2-0.

Notebook: Remparts, Islanders advance

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The top two teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Eastern Conference standings have earned spots in the second round of the President Cup playoffs.

The Quebec Remparts and Charlottetown Islanders both finished off first round sweeps on Monday night. The Remparts doubled up the Chicoutimi Sagueneens 6-3 while the Islanders allowed just 13 shots in a 5-0 win over the Moncton Wildcats.

The Remparts, the No. 1 seed, will face the lowest Eastern Conference seed that advances to the next round. If the Saint John Sea Dogs defeat the Rimouski Oceanic Tuesday night, that would lock in a Sea Dogs-Islanders second round series while the Remparts would face the winner of the Halifax-Bathurst series.

Over in the Western Conference, the Shawinigan Cataractes were the lone team to complete a first round sweep, eliminating the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

Here's a look at the remaining series heading into action Tuesday.

Eastern Conference

Rimouski (6) vs Saint John (3): Sea Dogs lead 2-1

Halifax (5) vs Bathurst (4): Mooseheads lead 2-1

Western Conference

Baie-Comeau (8) vs Sherbrooke (1): Phoenix lead 2-1

Val-d'Or (7) vs Gatineau (2): Olympiques lead 2-1

Blainville-Boisbriand (5) vs Drummondville (4): Armada lead 2-1

SUSPENSION

Rimouski's Alexandre Lefebvre has been suspended two games by the QMJHL for his knee on Saint John's Jeremie Poirier in Friday's game at TD Station.

Lefebvre was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for his actions, which took place midway through the first period. He'll miss games three and four of the first round series between the Oceanic and Sea Dogs.

Poirier was helped off the ice and to the dressing room but returned later in the period.

Lefebvre, 18, had six assists in 34 games with Rimouski during the regular season.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 5-2

FINAL: Saint John 5, Rimouski 2

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

RIMOUSKI, Que. - The Saint John Sea Dogs are a win away from advancing to the second round of the President Cup playoffs.

Philippe Daoust scored two shorthanded goals to lead the Sea Dogs to a 5-2 win over the Rimouski Oceanic on Monday at Colisee Financiere Sun Life. The victory gives the Sea Dogs a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five first round series heading into Tuesday's Game 4.

The Sea Dogs got off to a less-than-ideal start, allowing the Oceanic to open the scoring just 2:13 in. Daoust tied the match on a shorthanded breakaway at 10:52 of the opening frame and then Cam MacDonald scored at 15:24 to make it 2-1 Saint John at intermission.

Saint John dominated the second period at times, carrying the play for most of the frame. The Oceanic got back within one in the third period but Saint John quickly added on a couple more insurance goals to secure the win.

Along with Daoust and MacDonald, William Dufour and Raivis Ansons also scored. Riley Bezeau and Charlie DesRoches each had a pair of assists.

Thomas Couture, who has started all three games of this series, made 22 stops in the win.

The Oceanic, who were missing two of their top forwards due to injury, had goals from Luka Verreault and Alex Drover. Gabriel Robert, who was pulled in Game 2, made 32 saves in the loss.

Game Day: Round 1, Game 3 at Rimouski

RIMOUSKI, Que. - A pivotal Game 3 takes place tonight at the Colisee Financiere Sun Life.

The Saint John Sea Dogs and Rimouski Oceanic change venues after splitting the first two games of this first round, best-of-five series at TD Station. The winner of tonight's contest will have a chance to secure a spot in the second round Tuesday night.

The Sea Dogs had a much better showing in Friday's Game 2 after an ugly performance in the opener. The Oceanic scored a couple goals in the later half of the third period to make things interesting Friday, but the game was never really in doubt.

Saint John will look to get their offense running a bit better over these next two games. The team averaged 4.54 goals per game in the regular season but have only scored a total of five goals in this series so far.

Game time tonight is (unfortunately) 8:30 p.m. Atlantic.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/93 CFBC/CHL TV

Capacity/Proof of Vaccination/Masks: 100%/None/Not mandatory

Series status: The best-of-five first round series is tied 1-1.

Series schedule/results:

Game 1 - May 5 Rimouski 3, Saint John 1
Game 2 - May 6 Rimouski 2 at Saint John 4
Game 3 - May 9 Saint John at Rimouski 8:30 p.m.
Game 4 - May 10 Saint John at Rimouski 8:30 p.m.
Game 5 - May 12 Rimouski at Saint John 7 p.m.*
*If necessary

Playoff records: The Sea Dogs are 1-1-0 this post-season while the Oceanic are 1-1-0.

First round hasn't been easiest for hosts

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

BRUNSWICK, ME - Should we have seen the struggles coming for the Saint John Sea Dogs in their playoff opener? History tells us... maybe?

As brought up on the Wildcast Podcast last week (you should listen to that!), the first round hasn't been the easiest for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey's League's Memorial Cup hosting teams in recent years. The past two host teams - the Halifax Mooseheads in 2019 and the Quebec Remparts in 2015 - needed seven games to win their first round series. Both clubs also dropped their playoff opener.

Here's a quick breakdown of how Memorial Cup hosting teams from the QMJHL have performed in the first round since 2000.

2019: The host Halifax Mooseheads (49-15-2-2) needed seven games to defeat the Quebec Remparts (27-28-7-6) in the first round. The Remparts won the first two games of that series. The Mooseheads went on to lose in the President Cup final to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

2015: The host Quebec Remparts (40-25-1-2) needed seven games to defeat the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (31-31-3-3) in the first round. The Screaming Eagles won the first game of that series. The Remparts went on to lose in the President Cup final to the Rimouski Oceanic.

2012: The host Shawinigan Cataractes (45-16-3-4) swept their first round series against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (24-36-4-4). The Cataractes were eliminated in the second round by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 4-2

FINAL: Rimouski 2, Saint John 4

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs looked much more like the Saint John Sea Dogs on Friday night at TD Station.

After a disappointing 3-1 loss in Game 1 on Thursday, the Sea Dogs rebounded with a fairly solid 4-2 win over the Rimouski Oceanic, tying the best-of-five first round playoff series up at 1-1. The series now shifts to Rimouski for the next two games.

Saint John couldn't get much of anything going offensively in Game 1 but had a much better showing Friday. After a bit of a nervous start, the Sea Dogs opened the scoring at 11:43 of the first. They then went to a five-minute power play and generated quite a few quality chances - but couldn't score. Despite the disappointment of not converting on the lengthy man advantage, the Sea Dogs continued to press as the game went along.

The Sea Dogs made it 2-0 in the second period and delivered some strong penalty kills in the frame. In the third, Saint John started to get rolling, scoring twice. The Oceanic scored two goals in the later half of the period to make it interesting but the result was never in doubt.

Connor Trenholm scored a pair of goals for Saint John while singles came from Raivis Ansons and William Dufour. Thomas Couture made several key saves throughout the game, finishing the night with 22 stops.

Mathis Gauthier and Louis Robin scored for Rimouski. Gabriel Robert allowed four goals on 32 shots before being pulled after the fourth goal. Patrik Hamrla made nine saves in relief.