2023-24 QMJHL schedule released

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs will open the 2023-24 season at the KC Irving Regional Centre in Bathurst.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League unveiled its schedule for the upcoming season on Wednesday and will feature the Sea Dogs visiting the Titan on Friday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. The contest is one of seven QMJHL games taking place opening night.

On Saturday, Sept. 23, the Sea Dogs will play their first home game of the year, hosting the Titan at 7 p.m.

The PDF released by the league on Wednesday is a bit messy to sort through, but here are a few takeaways on Saint John's schedule:

• The Sea Dogs travel into Quebec early this season, visiting Blainville-Boisbriand (Oct. 12), Val-d'Or (Oct. 14) and Rouyn-Noranda (Oct. 15) in mid-October.
• The defending QMJHL champions, the Quebec Remparts (or at least what is left of the roster), visit TD Station on Sunday, Oct. 29.
• The schedule has the Sea Dogs playing a rare Monday night game on Nov. 13 at TD Station, hosting the Cape Breton Eagles.
• The Sea Dogs will travel into Quebec three other times:
• Nov. 16 at Baie-Comeau, Nov. 17 at Chicoutimi and Nov. 19 at Rimouski.
• Jan. 26 at Shawinigan, Jan. 27 at Victoriaville and Jan. 28 at Gatineau.
• Feb. 23 at Quebec, Feb. 24 at Drummondville and Feb. 25 at Sherbrooke.
• The Sea Dogs play their final games before the holiday break on Dec. 15-16, visiting the Halifax Mooseheads.
• Saint John begins the second half on Thursday, Dec. 28 in Cape Breton. The Sea Dogs play in Moncton on Saturday, Dec. 30 and then host the Titan on New Year's Eve at 2 p.m.
• The Sea Dogs host the Eagles on Family Day Monday (Feb. 19) at 2 p.m.
• Saint John concludes regular season play at home at Saturday, March 23 against the Mooseheads. That game has a 4 p.m. start.

Saint John's pre-season schedule, which was released last week, begins Aug. 22.

Remparts earn bye to Memorial Cup final

Candice Ward/CHL

For a fourth straight tournament, a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team will play in the Memorial Cup final.

The Quebec Remparts earned a bye straight to Sunday's championship game with a 3-1 victory over the Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds on Monday night in Kamloops.

Quebec has one preliminary round game remaining — Tuesday night against the winless Peterborough Petes — but that game will have no impact on the Remparts.

The Remparts will look to win the QMJHL's fourth straight national championship on Sunday, following in the footsteps of the Saint John Sea Dogs (2022), Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (2019) and Acadie-Bathurst Titan (2018).

Theo Rochette scored a pair of goals for Quebec on Monday while Charle Truchon secured the victory with an empty net goal. William Rousseau was strong in net once again, making 35 saves. Former Sea Dogs forward Charles Savoie assisted on Quebec's first goal, which came just 54 seconds into the game.

Quebec was outshot 36-22 by the high-powered Thunderbirds — the team many considered the favourite to win this year's Memorial Cup. The Remparts, who hammered the host Kamloops Blazers on Friday and then downed the Thunderbirds in a tight game, have certainly sent a statement that they are capable of beating any team in junior hockey.

Following Tuesday's Remparts-Petes game, the Blazers (1-1) take on the Thunderbirds (1-1). A tie-breaker game, if needed, would be Thursday followed by the semifinal on Friday. The Memorial Cup final takes place Sunday at 8 p.m. Atlantic.

Memorial Cup off to lopsided start

Candice Ward/CHL

The 2023 Memorial Cup has gotten off to a lopsided start.

The first three games of the tournament have all been decided by three or more goals, highlighted by the Kamloops Blazers hammering the Peterborough Petes 10-2 on Sunday.

Here's a look at the results from the opening three games:

Game 1: Quebec 8, Kamloops 3

Game 2: Seattle 6, Peterborough 3

Game 3: Kamloops 10, Peterborough 2

It's a significant difference from last year's tournament in Saint John where only one game — the championship match — was decided by three goals or more.

Game 1: Hamilton 3, Saint John 5

Game 2: Shawinigan 4, Edmonton 3

Game 3: Saint John 3, Edmonton 4 (OT)

Game 4: Shawinigan 3, Hamilton 2

Game 5: Edmonton 2, Hamilton 4

Game 6: Saint John 5, Shawinigan 3

Semifinal: Hamilton 4, Shawinigan 3 (OT)

Final: Hamilton 3, Saint John 6

The lopsided start to year's event could easily turn around this week (and likely will now that I've spent the time writing this). We were blessed with a few incredible games last year, so hopefully we get at least a couple this year.

The Quebec Remparts, who are looking to bring the Memorial Cup to the QMJHL for a fourth straight tournament, have two intriguing games remaining in the preliminary round: Monday night against the Seattle Thunderbirds and Tuesday against the Peterborough Petes. Most have the Thunderbirds as the favourites to win the event while the Petes must win to stay alive.

Team Canada wins gold at IIHF men's worlds

Embed from Getty Images 

Team Canada captured gold on Sunday at the 2023 IIHF World Championship in Finland.

While he did not play in Sunday's championship game — or in any of Canada's final five games at the tournament — former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Joe Veleno was on the ice in full equipment to accept his medal.

Veleno received a five-game suspension for a stomp he put on Switzerland's Nino Niederreiter in a preliminary round game on May 20. The ban made the Detroit Red Wings forward ineligible to play for the rest of the tournament.

Veleno had been playing on Team Canada's top line with Sammy Blais and Milan Lucic. He finished the tournament with two goals and three assists in five games.

The loss of Veleno didn't seem to hurt Canada too much who, after finishing second in Group B behind Switzerland, went on to defeat Finland in the quarterfinals and Latvia in the semis. On Sunday, Blais, a former member of the Victoriaville Tigres and Charlottetown Islanders, scored twice to help Canada defeat Germany 5-2 to win gold.

Other QMJHL alumni on Team Canada included goaltender Samuel Montembeault along with defensemen Justin Barron, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and MacKeznie Weegar. Andre Tourigny was the team's head coach.

Other Sea Dogs alumni who played in this year's tournament included Swiss netminder Robert Mayer and Czechia defenseman Jakub Zboril.

QMJHL Entry Draft getting closer

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The 2023 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft takes place in two weeks.

The QMJHL website has confirmed the draft order for this year's event, which will take place in Sherbrooke on Saturday, June 10 beginning at 11 a.m. Atlantic. The first-round will be broadcast by Eastlink TV and streamed on CHL TV. 

The Sea Dogs are currently scheduled to make their first pick in the second-round, 30th overall. Saint John, at this moment, only has three picks in the first four rounds.

Here's where Saint John is currently picking - which could obviously change come draft day.

Round 2, 30th overall (via Baie-Comeau)

Round 2, 33rd overall (via Moncton)

Round 4, 72nd overall (via Victoriaville)

Round 6, 98th overall

Round 10, 170th overall

Round 11, 188th overall

Round 13, 224th overall

Round 14, 242nd overall

American Draft - Round 1, 4th overall

American Draft - Round 2, 22nd overall

Sea Dogs general manager Anthony Stella recently told the Telegraph-Journal (paywall) that his goal "is to acquire as many picks as possible."

Saint John has had quite a bit of success with second-round picks over the years, especially in recent times where the team has been able to sway NCAA-focused players to take the major junior route.

The Moncton Wildcats own the first overall pick. Forward Caleb Desnoyers is widely considered to be the best player available.

Sea Dogs pre-season schedule released

UNB Reds

The Saint John Sea Dogs will play six games during the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's pre-season.

The QMJHL's pre-season schedule was released on Friday and will include three home and three away games for the Sea Dogs. Play begins with Saint John visiting the Charlottetown Islanders in Cornwall, PEI on Aug. 22 and ends with the Dogs hosting the Isles on Sept. 15.

The biggest change this year compared to recent "normal" training camps: the Sea Dogs are back on TD Station ice. The team has held "home" exhibition games at Fredericton's Aitken Centre each of the past two years.

The Sea Dogs last played home pre-season games at TD Station during the 2020 COVID year. They haven't played a "normal" exhibition game in Saint John since 2018.

Here's a look at Saint John's full pre-season schedule:

Tues., Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. - Saint John at Charlottetown (Cornwall, PEI)

Wed., Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. - Charlottetown at Saint John (TD Station)

Fri., Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. - Bathurst at Saint John (TD Station)

Fri., Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. - Saint John at Bathurst (Saint-Quentin, NB)

Sun., Sept. 10 at 3 p.m. - Saint John at Charlottetown (UPEI)

Fri., Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. - Charlottetown at Saint John (TD Station)

The Sea Dogs have previously played pre-season games at both the APM Centre in Cornwall and UPEI's MacLauchlan Arena. This will be their first voyage to the Centre Culturel de Saint-Quentin in northern New Brunswick.

With pre-season play ending Sept. 15 for Saint John, the team will presumably begin the regular season one week later on Friday, Sept. 22.

Notebook: Sea Dogs promote Hansen

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs promoted Jeff Hansen to the position of associate coach this week.

Hansen, who joined the Sea Dogs last August as an assistant coach, oversaw the team's defense and did a solid job given the group's lack of major junior experience.

“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to grow within such a great organization” said Hansen in a news release. “I’m very fortunate to work with such a great, hard working staff that challenges and makes each other better daily. Working towards bringing another championship to Saint John is a vision that we all share and I’m honoured to be able to play a key part in that.”

Before joining the Sea Dogs, the Calgary native spent nine years in the Western Hockey League split between the Calgary Hitmen and Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Hansen joined head coach Travis Crickard and assistant coach Mark Lee behind the Saint John bench last season.

OTHER MOVES

It's been an eventful few days and weeks for the QMJHL coaching circuit.

• The Gatineau Olympiques and Louis Robitaille have "parted ways," the team announced Tuesday. It was a surprising move given that all indications were that Robitaille would return as head coach and general manager for at least one more season. The Olympiques were swept by the Quebec Remparts in the semifinals and are likely heading into a rebuild.
• Martin Dagenais has been named to the new head coach of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Dagenais has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the OHL's Ottawa 67's where he worked under Dave Cameron. He's also spent the past couple years as governor and director of hockey operations of the CCHL's Ottawa Junior Senators who recently competed at the Centennial Cup. Dagenais is the former head coach and general manager of the Junior Senators.
• The Rimouski Oceanic are still looking to replace Serge Beausoleil. Le Journal de Quebec has reported that the team has interest in both Guy Boucher and Dominque Ducharme, so they are taking some big swings as they hope to host the 2025 Memorial Cup.
• Boucher has since told JF Plante of le Driot that he is not interested in returning to junior hockey.
• Will the Memorial Cup be Patrick Roy's final few games as the head coach of the Quebec Remparts? That will likely be a big storyline in Kamloops - especially with Roy's name circulating as a head coaching candidate in a few NHL markets.
• It's not a coaching move, but Cape Breton Eagles president Gerard Shaw has stepped down from his role and will become a special advisor to the team's owner. The team will not be replacing Shaw's role.

2023 Memorial Cup begins Friday

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

The Quebec Remparts have departed for Kamloops, BC where they'll try and win a fourth straight Memorial Cup championship for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The Remparts earned their spot in the four-team tournament with 5-4 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads on Sunday, taking the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final in six games. They did so while staying fairly healthy, which should be beneficial heading into their tournament opener.

Quebec will be thrown into a hostile environment immediately, taking on the host Kamloops Blazers on Friday night at 10 p.m. Atlantic. The Blazers were eliminated in the third round of the Western Hockey League playoffs and haven't played since May 8.

The Remparts finished the QMJHL playoffs with an impressive 9-0 record on the road. Quebec will be the home team for their other two preliminary round games: May 29 against the Seattle Thunderbirds and May 30 against the Peterborough Petes.

Will MacLaren and I discussed the QMJHL final and the Remparts' Memorial Cup hopes on this week's episode of The Hockey News on the Q.

.@willmacwriter and @station_nation recap the @QMJHL final, preview the Quebec Remparts' #MemorialCup pursuit, discuss Guy Boucher to Rimouski rumors, #GoHabsGo prospects and more: https://t.co/oGtMwUpKfX

— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) May 24, 2023

The Petes and Remparts met at the 2006 Memorial Cup in Moncton. Quebec, led by Patrick Roy behind the bench, went on to win the national championship that year, defeating the QMJHL champion and host Wildcats in the final.

Host teams have had a good run of late at the Memorial Cup, appearing in the championship game in each of the past four tournaments. Saint John won last year and Windsor did the same in 2017. The Blazers have an impressive roster and are certainly a worthy and capable host.

Savoie lifts Gilles-Courteau Trophy; junior career ends for Lawrence

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Charles Savoie is a Gilles-Courteau Trophy champion.

Savoie helped the Quebec Remparts lift the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship trophy with a thrilling 5-4 win over the Halifax Mooseheads on Sunday night at Scotiabank Centre, taking the series in six games.

Savoie, his Saint John billet family and the Gilles-Courteau Trophy. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/PhuXzeCyQz

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) May 22, 2023

The gritty forward - who was a second-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft - finished the playoffs with two goals and six assists in 18 games. Savoie spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs before being dealt to the Cape Breton Eagles during the 2021-22 season.

Savoie and the Remparts will now travel to Kamloops, BC to take part in the 2023 Memorial Cup. The team's first game is this Friday against the host Blazers.

Savoie wasn't the only former Sea Dog playing in the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final. Josh Lawrence of the Halifax Mooseheads finished in a tie with teammate Alexandre Doucet for the QMJHL's playoff scoring lead with 31 points. Lawrence had a league best 19 assists.

Doucet and Lawrence appreciation post. 💚

The two in-season acquisitions largely contributed to the @HFXMooseheads’ success, finishing atop the #QPlayoffs scoring race with 31 points each!https://t.co/TUGBukhJfv pic.twitter.com/GN1QMXn3fY

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) May 22, 2023

Sunday's loss ended an impressive junior hockey career for Lawrence. A first-round pick of Saint John in 2018, the Fredericton native leaves the QMJHL with 131 goals and 218 assists for 349 points in 320 regular season and playoff games combined.

Remparts win Gilles-Courteau Trophy

HALIFAX - The Quebec Remparts are Gilles-Courteau Trophy champions.

Pier-Olivier Roy scored on a two-on-none with 58.5 seconds remaining in the third period to give the Remparts a 5-4 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads at Scotiabank Centre on Sunday, taking the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship series 4-2.

It's the first QMJHL championship for a Quebec City team since the old version of the Remparts in 1976.

The Remparts are Gilles-Courteau Trophy champions. pic.twitter.com/aYZT6LTMvg

— Jamie Tozer (@station_nation) May 21, 2023

Along with Roy, Evan Nause, James Malatesta, Zachary Bolduc and Kassim Gaudet scored for Quebec. William Rousseau made 21 saves in the victory.

Jack Martin, Alexandre Doucet, Josh Lawrence and Zachary L'Heureux scored for Halifax. Mathis Rousseau made 31 saves in the loss.

Veleno suspended at IIHF worlds

Embed from Getty Images

The IIHF World Championship is over for Joe Veleno.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs forward received a five-game suspension for a stomp he put on the leg of Nino Niederreiter in Team Canada's 3-2 loss to Switzerland on Saturday.

Nino Neiderreiter got a penalty here for roughing, but Joe Veleno got away with that stomp. The Swiss fans were furious.

You can't do that. #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/g5NYvpNJRE

— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) May 20, 2023

From the IIHF:

The 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Disciplinary Panel has issued a 5-game suspension to Canadian Forward Joe Veleno for violating Official Playing Rule 49 (Kicking). The incident occurred at 28:21 in the 2nd period of Game #40 (CAN v. SUI).

“I have been notified of the five-game suspension imposed by the IIHF for my actions in our game against Switzerland," said Veleno in a Hockey Canada news release. "I accept the sanction from the IIHF and apologize for my actions."

Canada has two preliminary round games remaining followed by - if all goes well - a quarterfinal, semifinal and either a gold or bronze medal game. Veleno will miss each of those games.

The 23-year-old had been playing on Canada's top line with Milan Lucic and Sammy Blais. In five games at the tournament, Veleno recorded two goals and three assists.

Canada is back in action on Monday against Norway.

Also on Sunday at the worlds, Robert Mayer made 20 saves in Switzerland's 4-3 win over Jakub Zboril and Czechia. Zboril played 18:18 in the loss.

Notebook: Lawrence, Mooseheads look to force a Game 7 in QMJHL final

HALIFAX - The Gilles-Courteau Trophy will be in the building once again as the Quebec Remparts try and close out the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship series against the Halifax Mooseheads.

The Mooseheads forced a Game 6 back in Halifax with a 3-2 win in Game 5 on Friday in Quebec City. The Remparts now lead the series 3-2.

Game time Sunday at Scotiabank Centre is 5 p.m. A Game 7, if needed, would be Monday night at 8:30 p.m. back in Quebec City.

Tickets for this series have proven to be a hot commodity in both markets. Tickets for Sunday's match sold out within a few hours, reports Global Halifax.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence continues to lead the QMJHL in playoff scoring with 30 points. He has, however, been held pointless over the last two games.

The winner of this series advances to the 2023 Memorial Cup in Kamloops, which begins Friday.

THUNDERBIRDS ADVANCE

The Seattle Thunderbirds are Western Hockey League champions.

The Thunderbirds defeated the Winnipeg Ice 3-1 on Friday to take the WHL championship series 4-1. While Winnipeg was the No. 1 seed, the Thunderbirds, who loaded up at the trade deadline, have arguably the best roster in junior hockey (on paper).

Seattle will join representatives from the QMJHL, OHL and the host Kamloops Blazers at the 2023 Memorial Cup. The Thunderbirds' last trip to the Memorial Cup came in 2017 where they went 0-3 - which included a 7-0 loss to the Sea Dogs.

Seattle's roster includes forward Dylan Guenther and defenseman Luke Prokop who were members of last year's Edmonton Oil Kings squad that played in the 2022 Memorial Cup in Saint John. Guenther did not play in the tournament due to an injury.

Former Sea Dogs eliminated from AHL's Calder Cup Playoffs

Calgary Wranglers

The playoffs are over for former Saint John Sea Dogs defensemen Jeremie Poirier and Yan Kuznetsov.

The Calgary Wranglers had their Calder Cup run end Friday night in Palm Desert, falling 6-5 in overtime to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in a winner-take-all Game 5. Four of the five games in the Pacific Division final were decided by a single goal.

Poirier scored in what was a six-goal third period between the two squads. The 20-year-old finishes his first professional playoff run with two goals and six assists in nine games.

💥JÉRÉMIE POIRIER! We are tied #Flames pic.twitter.com/wDeIflwyTP

— Flames Prospects (@BlastyProspects) May 20, 2023

It was a solid rookie year for Poirier who also registered nine goals and 32 assists in 69 regular season games. The Calgary Sun had a story on the offensive defenseman this week.

Kuznetsov, meanwhile, hasn't appeared in every Wranglers playoff game but did play in Friday's, recording an assist. The 21-year-old had two helpers in five playoff games to go along with five goals and 14 assists in 63 regular season contests.

The Wranglers were the top-ranked team in the American Hockey League's regular season, finishing with 106 points. The Firebirds, the Seattle Kraken's top affiliate, were second with 103 points.

The Firebirds will play the winner of the Texas/Milwaukee series in the Western Conference final. The Eastern Conference final will feature the Rochester Americans taking on the Hershey Bears.

The Americans advanced after sweeping the Toronto Marlies in the North Division final. Former Sea Dogs defensemen William Villeneuve did not suit up in any of Toronto's playoff games. Villeneuve appeared in 54 regular season matches, posting three goals and 22 assists.

Mooseheads force a Game 6

RDS

The Halifax Mooseheads cancelled the Quebec Remparts' party on Friday night.

Mathis Rousseau made 35 saves to lead the Mooseheads to a 3-2 win over the Remparts in front of a packed house at Videotron Centre, staving off elimination. Quebec, now leading the best-of-seven QMJHL championship series 3-2, will once again try to lift the Gilles-Courteau Trophy on Sunday.

Markus Vidicek, Evan Boucher and Zachary L'Heureux scored for the Mooseheads while defenseman Brady Schultz added a pair of assists. L'Heureux, who has been an important piece for Halifax this post-season, missed Wednesday's Game 4 with an injury.

The Mooseheads were missing defenseman David Moravec for a second straight game Friday while captain Attilio Biasca was also out of the lineup after suffering an injury in the first period on Wednesday.

James Malatesta and Jeremy Langlois scored for Quebec. William Rousseau made 19 saves in the loss.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence was held pointless for a second straight game but did win 14 of 29 faceoffs in the victory. Charles Savoie, meanwhile, had five hits for the Remparts.

Game 6 will be Sunday evening at 5 p.m. Atlantic at Scotiabank Centre. A Game 7, if needed, will be Monday night back in Quebec City at 8:30 p.m. Atlantic.

The winner of this series will represent the QMJHL at the 2023 Memorial Cup in Kamloops. The QMJHL champion will face the host Blazers in the tournament's opening game next Friday, May 26.

Some other Friday notes...

• The Videotron Centre has been sold out (18,259) for every Remparts home game in this series.
• In the OHL final, the London Knights forced a Game 6 with a 4-1 win over the Peterborough Petes on Friday. The Petes lead the series 3-2.
• On Thursday at the IIHF World Championship, Jakub Zboril and Czechia defeated Slovenia 6-2. Zboril had an assist and a +1 rating in 15:17 of ice time. Czechia is back in action on Saturday against Norway.
• Also on Thursday, Robert Mayer only faced 13 shots in Switzerland's 4-2 victory over Slovakia. It was Mayer's second start of the tournament. The Swiss return to action on Saturday when they take on Joe Veleno and Team Canada.
• The Swiss currently lead Group B with 12 points; Canada is second with 11 points; and Czechia third with 10 points.
• The Toronto Marlies had their playoffs come to an end on Wednesday, losing 8-4 to the Rochester Americans and dropping the best-of-five North Division final 3-0. William Villeneuve, who appeared in 54 regular season games with the Marlies, did not play in any playoff contests.

Remparts a win away from QMJHL title

Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Mooseheads

HALIFAX - The Quebec Remparts will have the chance to lift the Gilles-Courteau Trophy on home ice Friday night.

The Remparts took a 3-1 series lead in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's championship series on Wednesday at Scotiabank Centre, defeating the Halifax Mooseheads 2-1. The best-of-seven series now shifts back to Quebec City for Game 5 on Friday.

Zachary Bolduc scored what proved to be the game-winner at 13:11 of the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie. Theo Rochette scored Quebec's other goal while William Rousseau made 26 saves in the win.

Rochette ➡️ Bolduc = 🚨.
Quebec takes a 2-1 lead with under 7 minutes to play!#QPlayoffs | @quebec_remparts pic.twitter.com/MwPnDWFr3Z

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) May 18, 2023

Evan Boucher scored Halifax's lone goal while Mathis Rousseau stoped 30 shots in the loss. The Mooseheads played without forward Zachary L'Heureux and defenseman David Moravec due to injuries and lost captain Atillio Biasca with an injury in the first period.

Remparts take series lead with OT win

Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Mooseheads

HALIFAX - James Malatesta scored 4:25 into overtime to give the Quebec Remparts a 5-4 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads in Game 3 of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Centre.

The win gives the Remparts a 2-1 series lead over the Mooseheads in the best-of-seven championship series. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday night at 8 p.m. in Halifax.

It was a fairly evenly played first two periods with the score 3-3 heading into the third. Josh Lawrence scored just 14 seconds into the third to give Halifax a 4-3 lead - but that would be one of the very few scoring chances for Halifax in the final frame. The Remparts tied the game on a Daniel Agostino goal at 4:30 and controlled the play for much of the frame.

Malatestsa also scored in the second period while Justin Robidas and Pier-Olivier Roy also scored. William Rousseau made 22 saves in the victory.

Along with Lawrence, Alexandre Doucet, Mathieu Cataford and Jordan Dumais scored for Halifax. Dumais was a game-time decision, playing in his first contest since suffering an upper body injury in Game 2 of the semifinals against the Sherbrooke Phoenix.

Josh Lawrence has speed to burn.

🚨 Lawrence (11) 0:14 3rd period
🍎 Doucet, Dumais | #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/7mFGmyDmAo

— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) May 17, 2023

Lawrence also had an assist, eight shots and went 15/34 in the faceoff circle.

Gilles Courteau Trophy final set to resume

HALIFAX - Greetings from downtown Halifax, where the floor that Megadeth is performing on Monday night will host Games 3 and 4 of the Gilles Courteau Trophy final.

The Halifax Mooseheads and Quebec Remparts head into Tuesday night's Game 3 tied 1-1 in the best-of-seven series. The Remparts took Game 1 by a score of 5-1 but the Mooseheads rebounded in a big way in Game 2, skating to a 6-3 result.

One of the biggest questions heading into Tuesday's game is how will the Remparts rebound from their first loss of the playoffs. In the semifinals, the Sherbrooke Phoenix really struggled to rebound and, after the winning the first two games, lost four straight to the Mooseheads.

Note that Games 3 of 4 will start at 8 p.m. with TSN broadcasting both.

A few other Monday notes...

• Tickets to Friday's Game 5 of the Gilles Courteau Trophy final at Videotron Centre sold out in 18 minutes on Sunday. 18,259 fans packed the building for both Games 1 and 2 on the weekend.
• In the OHL final on Monday, the Peterborough Petes needed overtime to defeat the London Knights 6-5 and take a 2-1 series lead.
• At the Centennial Cup on Sunday, the Terrebonne Cobras picked up a 2-1 win over the Timmins Rock. Nikolas Hurtubise did not play in this one as Alexandre Marchand made 25 saves in the victory. The Cobras are back in action on Tuesday against the No. 1 ranked Brooks Bandits.
• Ben Roode had a pair of assists on Monday as the Yarmouth Mariners fell 4-3 to the Ottawa Jr. Senators. The Mariners return to action on Wednesday when they face the Cobras.
• At the IIHF World Championship on Monday, Team Canada needed a shootout to edge Slovakia 2-1. Playing once again on a line with Sammy Blais and Milan Lucic, Joe Veleno was held without a shot in 11:12 of ice time.
• On Sunday at the worlds, Canada defeated Slovenia 5-2. Veleno had two shots in 14:47 of ice time. Former Halifax Mooseheads defenseman MacKenzie Weegar had a goal and two assists in the win.
• Team Canada is back in action on Wednesday when they take on Kazakhstan.
• Also on Sunday, Robert Mayer stopped all 14 shots he faced in Switzerland's 3-0 win over Norway. The Swiss shutout Slovenia 7-0 in their tournament opener. The team is back in action on Tuesday against Kazakhstan.
• Jakub Zboril and Czechia fell 4-3 in overtime to host Latvia on Monday. On Sunday, Czechia defeated Kazakhstan 5-1 where Zboril was named the team's best player with a one-goal and four-shot performance in 12:16 of ice time.

Notebook: Lawrence takes over scoring lead

CHL TV

Following a three-point performance on Saturday, former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence now leads the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in playoff scoring.

After being held pointless in Game 1, Lawrence recorded a goal and two assists in the Halifax Mooseheads' 6-3 win over the Quebec Remparts at Videotron Centre. The victory evens up the best-of-seven Gilles Courteau Trophy final at 1-1.

The 20-year-old now has 10 goals and 18 assists in 17 games this post-season. Lawrence also continues to take the majority of important faceoffs for the Mooseheads, taking 30 in Game 1 and 29 in Game 2.

Josh Lawrence takes the lead in the playoff scoring race with his 10th! 🔥 That’s five unanswered for the Moose! #QPlayoffs | @HFXMooseheads pic.twitter.com/Hzm5FGkHsy

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) May 14, 2023

Lawrence finished the regular season with 119 points - second only to his teammate, Jordan Dumais. With Dumais out of the lineup since Game 2 of the semifinals, much of the Mooseheads offence has been led by Lawrence and Alexandre Doucet.

The league final now shifts to Halifax where Games 3 and 4 will be played Tuesday and Wednesday night, respectively. All remaining games of the series will be broadcast by TSN.

WHO'S LEFT?

Of the four teams who played in the QMJHL semifinals, two of them have never faced the Sea Dogs in the playoffs.

The Sea Dogs have never faced the Quebec Remparts or the Sherbrooke Phoenix in the Gilles Courteau Trophy playoffs. The Remparts are the lone Eastern Conference franchise the Sea Dogs have never met in the post-season. Saint John has never played the Charlottetown Islanders either, but they did meet twice when the franchise was known as the PEI Rocket.

In the Western Conference, the Sea Dogs have never played the Phoenix of the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

Mooseheads even up series with Remparts

CHL TV

The Halifax Mooseheads are up to their old tricks again.

Just like in the semifinals against the Sherbrooke Phoenix, the Mooseheads dropped Game 1 of the Gilles Courteau Trophy final and Friday and that play carried over into the first period of Game 2. But then things took a turn in the second period.

Halifax scored four times in the middle frame on Saturday, stunning a soldout Videotron Centre and handing the Quebec Remparts a 6-3 loss - the No. 1 seed's first defeat in these playoffs.

Halifax has lost the first game in three of their of four playoff series. In that series against Sherbrooke, the Mooseheads lost Game 2 in overtime despite playing very well in the second and third periods. They went on to win the next four games - three of which were played in Sherbrooke.

The Mooseheads trailed 2-0 in the first period and were struggling to stay disciplined and create scoring chances. A late power play goal from Alexandre Doucet gave the Moose some life heading into the first intermission and that seemed to be the push they needed.

Halifax scored four times in the middle frame to take a commanding 5-2 lead into the third. It was the first time in these playoffs that Quebec trailed after two periods. 

Justin Robidas scored at 15:21 of the third with the goaltender pulled but that would be as close as Quebec would get. Doucet iced it with an empty netter at 18:36.

Remparts take Game 1 of QMJHL final

It was a rough start to the Gilles Courteau Trophy final for the Halifax Mooseheads.

Justin Robidas scored a pair of goals to help the Quebec Remparts earn a 5-1 Game 1 victory over the Mooseheads in front of a packed house at Videotron Centre on Friday. Theo Rochette and Zachary Bolduc each had a goal and two assists while Pier-Olivier Roy also scored.

William Rousseau won the much hyped goaltending battle, making 26 saves in the win. Mathis Rossueau mad 28 stops in the loss.

The Mooseheads had difficulty creating quality chances, recoding just eight dangerous shots. Markus Vidicek scored Halifax's lone goal, which made it 3-1 in the second period at the time.

C’est l’heure de la finale de la #LHJMQ devant une salle comble au Centre Videotron! pic.twitter.com/sGsnh55m3A

— Guillaume Lepage (@GLepageLNH) May 12, 2023

Former Sea Dogs forward Charles Savoie had an assist, three shots and four hits in the win while Josh Lawrence had three shots and went 16/30 on faceoffs in the loss.

The Mooseheads were once again without the services of forward Jordan Dumais and defenseman Cameron Whynot due to injuries. Dumais has been practicing with the Moose and could play at some point in this series, according to reports.

The Remparts, meanwhile, were without defenseman Charle Truchon because of injury. D-man Vsevolod Komarov, a Buffalo Sabres prospect, got banged up in the second period after taking what appeared to be a routine hit along the boards. 

The good news for Halifax: losing a Game 1 hasn't proven to be a problem in these playoffs. The Moose lost Game 1 in both the second round against Moncton (a 4-1 loss) and third round against Sherbrooke (a 5-2 loss). Of course, they went on to win both of those series.

Some bad news for Halifax: the Remparts still haven't lost in these playoffs. Quebec is now a perfect 13-0.

Game 2 of this series takes place Saturday night at Videotron Centre.

A few other Friday night notes...

• Joe Veleno and Team Canada opened up the 2023 IIHF World Championship with a 6-0 victory over host Latvia. Veleno, playing on Canada's top line with Milan Lucic and Sammy Blais, had a goal and four shots in 15:58 of ice time. Canada returns to action on Sunday against Slovenia.
• Jakub Zboril and Team Czechia kicked off worlds with a 3-2 victory over Slovakia. All five goals were scored in the first period. Zboril, playing on Czechia's third defense pairing, had three shots in 10:36 of ice time. Czechia is back in action on Sunday against Kazakhstan.
• Ben Roode and the Yarmouth Mariners are off to an 0-1-1 start at the Centennial Cup following a 7-2 loss to the No. 1 ranked Brooks Bandits on Thursday and a 4-3 overtime loss to the Timmins Rock on Friday. Roode had an assist in both games. Yarmouth is back in action on Monday against the Ottawa Jr. Senators.
• The Terrebonne Cobras dropped their Centennial Cup opener on Friday, falling 2-1 to Ottawa in overtime. Nikolas Hurtubise got the start for the Cobras and made 24 saves in the loss. The Cobras face Timmins on Sunday.
• In the OHL, the London Knights shutout the Peterborough Petes 3-0 on Thursday to take a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-seven league final.
• In the WHL, the Winnipeg Ice defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-2 in Game 1 of the league final. That game was played in front of 5,531 fans at Canada Life Centre, the home of the Winnipeg Jets.

Three former Sea Dogs named to IIHF World Championship rosters

The 2023 IIHF World Championship begins Friday and three former Saint John Sea Dogs will be taking part.

Forward Joe Veleno of Canada, defenseman Jakub Zboril of Czechia and goaltender Robert Mayer of Switzerland will all take part in the annual event, this year taking place in Finland and Latvia.

It's the first world championship for Veleno, who has played for Hockey Canada at the under-17, under-18 and under-20 levels. The 23-year-old appeared in 81 games with the Detroit Red Wings this season, recording nine goals and 11 assists.

The former Sea Dogs captain spent parts of three seasons in Saint John - which included a President Cup championship with Zboril in 2017.

Team Canada's first game is on Friday afternoon against host Latvia.

Zboril will also be taking part in his first world championship after the Boston Bruins were eliminated in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The 26-year-old had a goal and three assists in 22 regular season games with the league-leading Bruins.

Like Veleno, Zboril has played for Czechia at every level except the senior level. He'll get that experience over the next couple weeks.

The Czechs begin the tournament on Friday afternoon against Slovakia.

The 33-year-old Mayer will be playing in his fourth world championship with Switzerland. He went 17-5-2 with a 2.31 goals against average and a .913 save percentage in 25 games with the National League's Genève-Servette HC this year.

Mayer, the third overall pick in the 2007 CHL Import Draft, spent the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons with the Sea Dogs.

The Swiss play their first game on Saturday against Slovenia.

The men's worlds take place May 12-28. All games are being broadcast by TSN.

Burns joining Acadia Axemen

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

In a not-so-surprising move, Brady Burns has committed to join the Acadia Axemen men's hockey team for the 2023-24 season.

The Saint John Sea Dogs' all-time leading scorer knows Acadia University quite well having grown up in the area. His father, Darren Burns, has been part of the Axemen coaching staff since the 1995-96 season and has been the team's head coach since 2001-02.

Darren Burns has been a regular attendee at Sea Dogs games - home and away - over the past five years. Former Dogs netminder Thomas Couture, who was part of last year's Memorial Cup championship team, has also committed to Acadia for the 2023-24 season.

“Playing at home, in the Valley, is very exciting for me; to get the chance to come home after a long time away and play in front of fans, that I grew up watching games with, is a surreal feeling as a local player," said Burns in an Axemen hockey release.

The 20-year-old Burns had 33 goals and 71 points in 61 regular season games with Saint John during his overage season. He ends his junior career with 116 goals and 258 points, both franchise bests.

Burns was a second-round pick of Saint John in the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft.

"We are excited to add Brady to our program," said Darren Burns. "We feel he fits what we need to help us build for the upcoming season. He brings many intangibles we want in our lineup. His passion for the game is at an extremely high level. He’s grown up watching this league, so he is aware of what he needs to improve on, in his game, to make the jump to the AUS. We want players that are loyal and understand commitment, and we feel he can bring that here to Acadia. We like the fact that he went to Saint John and targeted the Sea Dogs and the QMJHL as the place he wanted to be at a very young age. He was part of a group that experienced a special time there. He has also benefited from the experience of the struggles of a rebuild, with success, as the team finished the year exceeding expectations. The passion for hockey is second to none in Saint John, and playing for a prestigious program like the Sea Dogs has pressure and expectations with it. We want these types of players, who are accustomed to playing where hockey is high profile and there is pressure to win.”

The Axemen finished fifth in the always challenging Atlantic University Sport conference last season. Acadia's roster included former Sea Dogs forward Nick Deakin-Poot.

Burns was perhaps hoping for an opportunity to play pro hockey next season, but playing in the AUS certainly leaves that door open. The conference regularly delivers players into the pro ranks in North America and Europe.

Alex Drover, also an overage forward with the Sea Dogs last season, has committed to play at Ontario Tech next season. There has been no official word on where captain Charlie DesRoches plans to play next year.

Centennial Cup begins for two former Dogs

Cobras Facebook

The 2023 Centennial Cup begins this week for two former Saint John Sea Dogs.

Goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise of the Terrebonne Cobras and defenseman Ben Roode of the Yarmouth Mariners will both compete for the national junior A championship May 11-21 in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

Hurtubise will be looking to add another championship to his already impressive resume. Along with helping the Cobras win this year's QJHL title, the overage netminder helped backstop the Sea Dogs to a Memorial Cup championship last year and the Victoriaville Tigres to a President Cup title the year before.

Despite his impressive resume, Hurtubise will likely be splitting the crease with Alexandre Marchand, who was named the Canadian Junior Hockey League goaltender of the year on Wednesday.

The Cobras, who finished third in the final CJHL rankings, advanced to the Centennial Cup after defeating the Cegep Beauce-Appalaches Condors in seven games in the league final. This is Terrebonne's first trip to nationals since 2017 where they finished third.

Terrebonne begins the tournament on Friday afternoon against the Central Canada Hockey League's Ottawa Jr Senators.

Friday, May 12 - Ottawa (CCHL) vs Terrebonne (QJHL)

Sunday, May 14 - Terrebonne (QJHL) vs Timmins (NOJHL)

Tuesday, May 16 - Terrebonne (QJHL) vs Brooks (AJHL)

Wednesday, May 17 - Yarmouth (MHL) vs Terrebonne (QJHL)

Roode, a co-captain, and the Mariners will be tested right out of the gate, facing the defending champion and the No. 1 ranked Brooks Bandits on Thursday. Most of the Bandits' roster has committed to D1 NCAA programs.

Thursday, May 11 - Yarmouth (MHL) vs Brooks (AJHL)

Friday, May 12 - Timmins (NOJHL) vs Yarmouth (MHL)

Monday, May 15 - Ottawa (CCHL) vs Yarmouth (MHL)

Wednesday, May 17 - Terrebonne (QJHL) vs Yarmouth (MHL)

The Mariners went a perfect 12-0 in the playoffs to win the MHL championship. This will be the franchise's first trip to nationals. While a couple have come close (Woodstock in 2012 and Summerside in 2013), no Maritime team has won the national junior A championship since the Halifax Oland Exports did so in 2002.

QMJHL Entry Draft a month away

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft is just one month away.

On Saturday, June 10, all 18 franchises will gather in Sherbrooke to hold the first in-person Entry Draft since the pandemic. The Moncton Wildcats currently have the first overall pick followed by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

Ahead of the draft, QMJHL Central Scouting has unveiled its final rankings. As expected, forward Caleb Desnoyers of the Saint-Hyacinthe Gaulois was ranked first following by his teammate, forward Emile Guite. Forward Zachary Morin, who has signed a tender agreement with the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms for next season, rounds out the top-three.

Morin spent this past season playing in the United States and his USHL signing certainly gives a strong indication that he is favouring the NCAA route. It will be interesting to see where he - and other high end players that are considering college hockey - end up going in the draft.

The top-ranked Maritimer is Nova Scotia's Cole Chandler of the Dartmouth Steele Subaru under-18 squad. Chandler, also a forward, was ranked seventh.

The top-ranked New Brunswicker was Quispamsis forward Liam Kilfoil at No. 13. Like Morin, Kilfoil played in the US this past season and has already signed with the USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints for next season.

The Saint John Sea Dogs currently aren't scheduled to pick until the second round. Via the French fan boards, here are Saint John's current bank of picks: 

2Mon-2BC-4Vic-6-10-11-13-14

The Sea Dogs have had plenty of success with second-round picks in the past and new general manager Anthony Stella will be hoping for more of that luck this year.

The QMJHL announced Wednesday that the league's Hall of Fame Ceremony will take place June 8 in Sherbrooke while new commissioner Mario Cecchini will hold at press conference on the afternoon of June 9.

The first-round of this year's draft will be broadcast by Eastlink TV and streamed on CHL TV.

League championship series are set

Seattle Thunderbirds

The Memorial Cup host team has once again come up short in winning their league championship.

The Kamloops Blazers, who will host the Canadian Hockey League's championship tournament later this month, fell in six games to the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League's Western Conference final. The Thunderbirds and their stacked lineup will face the Winnipeg Ice, the CHL's No. 1 ranked team for much of the season, in the WHL final.

The past 13 Memorial Cup host teams have come up short in winning their league championship. The last team to do it were the 2008 Kitchener Rangers, who went on to lose to the Spokane Chiefs in the national final.

The last host team to win both their league championship and the Memorial Cup were the 2005 London Knights, arguably the best junior hockey team of all-time.

The Blazers, who dropped Game 6 on home ice Monday night, won't play again until May 26 when they host the QMJHL champions to open the tournament. Kamloops' break is significantly shorter than what the Saint John Sea Dogs went through last year after losing in the first round.

The Blazers, led by the likes of Logan Stankoven and Olen Zellweger, have a team that is certainly capable of winning the Memorial Cup on home ice. The Sea Dogs (2022), Windsor Spitfires (2017) and Shawinigan Cataractes (2012) have all done so recently as host teams - and all three missed out on playing in their league final.

The WHL final between the Thunderbirds and Ice begins Friday in Winnipeg - but not at the 1,400-seat Wayne Fleming Arena. The Ice announced Monday that their home games for the championship series will be played at the Canada Life Centre, home of the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose. Both the Jets and Moose have been eliminated from the playoffs.

Fan survey asks wide range of questions

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs sent out a customer experience survey to season ticket members and fans on Monday morning. The link to the survey was also shared on Facebook and can be viewed here.

Most of the questions were about off-ice activities - but there were a few about the on-ice product. Here are few of the questions that stood out:

• 3. Does the on-ice performance of the Sea Dogs influence your decision to attend games?
• 4. Do you feel that the Saint John Sea Dogs are moving in the right direction in terms of player development and team success as we start this rebuild process? Please answer yes or no with a brief explanation.
• 5. How would you rate the coaching staff’s performance this season.
• This question asked fans to select a rating ranging from very good to very poor.
• The team asked fans how interested they would be in the following theme nights, many of which have never been held at TD Station before: Canadiana, Casino Night, Country Night, Cultural Festival Night, End of Summer Bash, Family Day, Fan Appreciation, Fright Night, Heritage (Legacy) Game, Military Appreciation, Next Generation/Kids Day, Oktoberfest, Pride Day and Superhero Night.
• The Heritage (Legacy) Game is an intriguing one. It's described as "throwing it back to the early days of Sea Dogs, we are honouring the legacy of hockey in Saint John. Enjoy throwback music, retro merchandise, alumni players, and more."
• 12. One a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the current concession stands at TD Station?

The survey also asked fans to recall sponsors and the current in-game activations.

You have to wonder if we'll see some new off-ice activities at TD Station this season given where the club is at in the rebuild cycle and following a rough year attendance wise. The Sea Dogs averaged 2,957 fans per game this season, a drop of nearly 400 fans per game from the pre-pandemic 2019-20 campaign.

While it wasn't a great year overall at the gate, there were some successes. The concerts the team hosted before games and at intermissions proved to be quite popular. The survey asked a number of music-related questions.

TD Station is also under new management, which could create further off-ice changes.

Mooseheads to play in QMJHL final

The Halifax Mooseheads have done it.

On the strength of a 42-save shutout from Mathis Rousseau, the Mooseheads defeated the Sherbrooke Phoenix 1-0 on Sunday evening, winning the semifinal series 4-2 and booking a trip to the Gilles Courteau Trophy final.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence scored the game's only goal. He also had six shots and went an impressive 26/34 in the faceoff circle in a second star performance.

The Mooseheads will play the Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL final, which begins Friday in Quebec City.

Things certainly weren't looking good for Halifax early on in this series when they dropped the first two games on home ice and lost regular season leading scorer Jordan Dumais to an injury. But the Dumais injury seemed to flip a switch for the Mooseheads, who stepped up their game defensively and won the next four matches to advance to the final.

Halifax kept Sherbrooke's high powered offense to just four goals in the final four games combined, which included back-to-back shutouts by Rousseau. Former Sea Dogs forward Joshua Roy had just one point - a goal - in the final four contests.

Gallant, Rangers part ways

Embed from Getty Images

Former Saint John Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant and the New York Rangers have mutually agreed to part ways, the club announced Saturday.

From the news release:

"I want to first thank Gerard for his work and commitment to the Rangers during his time as head coach," said Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury. "I have a ton of respect for Gerard as both a coach and person and truly appreciate everything he did for us on and off the ice these last two seasons. After my evaluation of the season and discussions with Gerard, we mutually came to the conclusion that a change would be beneficial for both parties. I wish he and his family all the best in the future. Our search for a new head coach will begin right away."

"I would like to thank Mr. Dolan, Chris and the Rangers organization for giving me the opportunity to be their head coach these last two seasons," said Gallant. "The experience of coaching an Original Six franchise with such rich history and an incredibly passionate fanbase is something I will never forget. After conversations with my family and Chris, it became clear that this was the right decision for both myself and the Rangers at this time."

The move doesn't come as a surprise given the Rangers' disappointing first round loss to the much younger and less experienced New Jersey Devils.

Gallant, 59, spent two years behind the Rangers bench. Prior to that he was the head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights for parts of three seasons after leading the Florida Panthers for parts of three seasons as well. He was an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens for two years following his departure from the Sea Dogs in 2012.

Former Sea Dogs coaches Mike Kelly and Jim Midgley (pictured above) were assistants with Gallant in New York. Kelly was part of Gallant's staff in Florida and Vegas as well.

There are now five coaching vacancies in the NHL: New York (Rangers), Anaheim, Calgary, Columbus and Washington.

Gallant landing in Calgary would certainly be intriguing given his history coaching Jonathan Huberdeau in Saint John and Calgary. Columbus would be interesting as well given that Gallant previously worked with the Blue Jackets as both an assistant and head coach in the early 2000s.

Gallant coached the Sea Dogs for three seasons from 2009-2012, leading the team to three Maritime Division championships, three QMJHL final appearances, two President Cup titles and a Memorial Cup championship. The Summerside native was named the CHL coach of the year in 2010 and 2011.

Mooseheads one win away from QMJHL final

The Halifax Mooseheads are a win away from the Gilles Courteau Trophy final.

The Mooseheads earned a third straight victory over the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Saturday afternoon at Scotiabank Centre, posting an impressive 5-0 win. Halifax now leads the best-of-seven semifinal series 3-2.

Just like Games 3 and 4 in Sherbrooke, the Mooseheads started strong and rode the momentum to a 4-0 lead. But unlike those previous two games, the Phoenix never really felt in this one even though shots on goal stayed relatively close.

This was the first home victory for either team in this series. The Mooseheads have looked like a different squad since regular season scoring champion Jordan Dumais went down with an injury in the second period of Game 2. Now, after dropping the first two games on home ice, they're just one win away from the league final.

That’s a 3-2 Mooseheads series lead!

Final score from Moose Country 5-0.
Game 6 tomorrow evening in Sherbrooke. #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/6GYRpISZ0k

— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) May 6, 2023

David Moravec scored a pair of goals for Halifax on Saturday while Evan Boucher, Attilio Biasca and Zachary L'Heureux added singles. Mathis Rousseau, who has been excellent for Halifax, got a well deserved shutout with a 26-save performance.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence had one assist, eight shots and went 17/28 in faceoffs in the win. On the Sherbrooke side, Joshua Roy has now been held pointless twice in this series.

Sherbrooke netminder Oliver Adam was pulled in the second period after allowing three goals on 14 shots. Samuel St-Hilaire allowed a pair of goals on 12 shots in relief.

Notebook: Three ex-Dogs remain in race for Gilles Courteau Trophy

Gatineau Olympiques

Only three former Saint John Sea Dogs remain in the Gilles Courteau Trophy playoffs.

Josh Lawrence of the Halifax Mooseheads and Joshua Roy of the Sherbrooke Phoenix are currently in a battle to grab the second spot in the QMJHL championship series. The winner will face Charles Savoie and the Quebec Remparts in the final round.

The Remparts eliminated Cam MacDonald and the Gatineau Olympiques earlier this week. MacDonald, who the Sea Dogs dealt to Gatineau during the holiday trade period, had five goals and three assists in 13 playoff games.

A fifth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021, MacDonald remains unsigned by the NHL club, meaning he could return to the QMJHL as an overager next season.

Here's an updated look at how former Sea Dogs have performed in the QMJHL playoffs so far.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Joshua Roy	SHE	12	12	12	24
Josh Lawrence	HAL	13	8	15	23
Cam MacDonald	GAT	13	5	3	8
Charles Savoie	QUE	12	2	5	7
Marshall Lessard	BAC	6	1	2	3
Connor Trenholm	MON	12	0	3	3
Leighton Carruthers	ROU	8	0	0	0
Simon Hughes	CHA	4	0	0	0

Rouyn-Noranda goaltender Thomas Couture finished 4-5 with a 3.93 goals against average and a .883 save percentage in nine playoff games.

VELENO HEADED TO WORLDS

Former Sea Dogs forward Joe Veleno has been named to Hockey Canada's roster for the upcoming IIHF World Championship in Finland and Latvia.

This will be the first time Veleno has played for Canada at the men's worlds. The 23-year-old has represented Canada at the under-20, under-18 and under-17 levels.

The former Sea Dogs captain appeared in 81 games with the Detroit Red Wings this past season, recording nine goals and 11 assists. Detroit's general manager, Steve Yzerman, is an associate general manager with Team Canada.

Canada begins the tournament May 12 against Latvia.