The Saint John Sea Dogs return to action after more than a month off to host the opening game of the 2022 Memorial Cup tournament. And they'll do so with a new head coach.
The mystery surrounding Saint John's play has made this a highly anticipated match. New head coach Gardiner MacDougall likes speed and he expects his players to play hard every shift. If the team's practices are any indication, we'll see some of that on display tonight.
The Sea Dogs seem upbeat and prepared for this moment after a devastating first round loss to the Rimouski Oceanic, which ended on May 12 at TD Station. That Game 5 loss was a mess. They can certainly erase a lot of those bad memories with a strong performance this week.
The Dogs open the tournament against the 'Dogs - the Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs. Hamilton cruised through the first three rounds of the OHL playoffs, going 12-0. They hit some bumps in the final though, needing seven games to eliminate the Windsor Spitfires.
The Bulldogs have had just four days away from game action to prepare for this match. They'll play without their captain, defenseman Colton Kammerer, and a few others are believed to be banged up (as you would expect).
Game time tonight at TD Station is 7 p.m.
TV/Radio/Webcast: TSN & RDS/93 CFBC/TSN.ca
Capacity/Proof of Vaccination/Masks: 100%/None/Not mandatory
Tournament records: This is the first game of the 2022 Memorial Cup for both clubs.
Tournament records: This is the first game of the 2022 Memorial Cup for both clubs.
Regular season records: The Sea Dogs finished with a record of 47-17-1-3 for 98 points (second Maritimes/third Eastern/third QMJHL) while the Bulldogs went 51-12-3-2 for 107 points (first East/first Eastern/first OHL).
Playoff records: The Sea Dogs were 2-3 in the QMJHL playoffs and were eliminated in the first round by the Rimouski Oceanic. The Hamilton Bulldogs were 16-3 in the OHL playoffs en route to a championship, defeating Peterborough (4-0), Mississauga (4-0), North Bay (4-0) and Windsor (4-3).
Memorial Cup all-time head-to-head: This is the first ever meeting between the Sea Dogs and Bulldogs.
Ex-Bulldogs on the Sea Dogs: Athletic therapist JP Laciak.
Bulldog to watch: Mason McTavish has played pretty much everywhere this year. He's seen action in the NHL (Anaheim Ducks), AHL (San Diego Gulls), world juniors (Canada), Olympic Games (Canada) and now will play in the Memorial Cup.
Random stat: The Sea Dogs are 1-2 all-time in Memorial Cup openers. Including this year's, the Sea Dogs have opened every Memorial Cup tournament against an OHL team (2011 - Mississauga; 2012 - London; and 2017 - Windsor).
Notes: William Dufour led Saint John in regular season scoring with 116 points and goals with 56... Josh Lawrence had a team high 70 assists... Ravis Ansons led Saint John in playoff scoring with five points... Logan Morrison led the Bulldogs in playoff points (39), goals (17) and assists (22)... Morrison was named the OHL's playoff MVP... Arber Xhekaj led all OHL defenseman in scoring with 16 points... the Sea Dogs were 1-2 at home during the playoffs and 23-9-0-2 during the regular season... the Bulldogs were 7-2 on the road in the playoffs... Hamilton had a 31.8% power play in the playoffs and a penalty kill of 85.5%... the Bulldogs are 1-0 all-time against QMJHL teams at the Memorial Cup, defeating Bathurst 3-2 in 2018... Saint John will wear commemorative jerseys tonight... this will be the first Memorial Cup game played since May 26, 2019 in Halifax.
Next game: The Sea Dogs face the Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at TD Station.
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