Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Notebook: What a weekend for NB hockey

Maine Black Bears
It was quite the weekend for New Brunswick hockey.

Not only did the UNB Reds win a 10th University Cup title, but the Maine Black Bears — who have been led by three New Brunswickers all season long — have advanced to the Hockey East semifinals this Friday at Boston's TD Garden.

On the strength of two goals each from brothers Bradly and Josh Nadeau of Saint-François de Madawaska, the Black Bears shutout the rival UNH Wildcats 5-0 in quarterfinal play on Saturday.


Bradly, a Carolina Hurricanes prospect, has posted 19 goals and 26 assists in 35 games to lead the Blacks Bears in scoring while Josh has 18 goals and 27 assists to place second. Lynden Breen of Grand Bay-Westfield, a draft pick of Saint John in 2017, is third in team scoring with eight goals and 21 assists.

Maine, ranked No. 7 nationally, will face No. 2 Boston University in the semifinals with the winner playing in Saturday's Hockey East championship against Boston College or UMass. No matter the result this weekend, Maine is a lock to advance to NCAA hockey's version of the sweet 16, which will determine who makes the Frozen Four.

CRICKARD COULD RETURN
Kevin Barrett of Postmedia reports that Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard could be back behind the bench on Wednesday at TD Station.
Crickard hasn't been coaching since he suffered a medical emergency in the third period of Saint John's game on March 9 in Sydney. Jeff Hansen has acted as the team's head coach in the games since.

The QMJHL has confirmed that the third period of the March 9 game will not be played. The game is officially official, going down as a 6-0 Cape Breton Eagles win.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY RESULTS
The Sea Dogs played on St. Patrick's Day for the eighth time in team history on Sunday, recording just the second win on this "holiday" in franchise history.

The Sea Dogs are now 2-6-0-0 all-time on St. Patrick's Day thanks to an 8-4 victory over the Charlottetown Islanders, a wild score that falls in line with a lot of the previous finals.

Here's a look at the Sea Dogs' year-by-year results on March 17.

2006: 6-1 loss at Lewiston
2007: No game
2008: No game
2009: No game
2010: No game
2011: No game
2012: 7-4 win at Cape Breton
2013: 8-5 loss at PEI
2014: No game
2015: No game
2016: No game
2017: 6-3 loss at Charlottetown
2018: 8-3 loss at Cape Breton
2019: No game
2020: No game
2021: 6-2 loss vs Moncton
2022: No game
2023: 4-3 loss vs Halifax
2024: 8-4 win vs Charlottetown

Sunday's game was just the third time the Sea Dogs have played at home on St. Patrick's Day. March 17 falls on a Monday next year, so the Sea Dogs are unlikely to be playing.

ROAD WOES
Saint John will end the regular season on a 13-game road losing streak.

The Sea Dogs played their final road game of the campaign this past Saturday in Charlottetown, falling 6-2. Saint John's last road win was Jan. 27 in Victoriaville. The team has just two road wins since Christmas.

The 13-game road losing skid will go down as the fifth longest in franchise history. The record is 17 set in 2006-07.

Saint John's road record ends at 9-22-3-1. The nine road victories ties this year's team with 2013-14 squad for the sixth fewest in team history.
The Val-d'Or Foreurs have the QMJHL's worst road record this year sitting at 5-27-0-2.

U CUP AFTERMATH
A few more things on UNB's University Cup victory on Sunday.

The CHL website has an article on the Reds' win and includes a couple lines from former Sea Dogs defenseman Kale McCallum.

“It’s just a surreal feeling,” said McCallum after the 4-0 victory over UQTR in the championship game. “It was such a blessing to come here and win a championship. 

“We’re a part of history now. No one can take that away from us.”

Premier Blaine Higgs (who was oddly at the game?) specifically called out McCallum in the longest Twitter post in provincial history.
Gardiner MacDougall: still very good at coaching in the University Cup. Will he become the first person with Sea Dogs connections inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame?
And for former Sea Dogs forward Nick Blagden, this is three national titles in three years: 2022 Memorial Cup, 2023 University Cup and 2024 University Cup.

OTHER THINGS
  • Wednesday's Sea Dogs game at TD Station features $15 tickets and BOGO hot dogs.
  • Disappointing that the Sea Dogs didn't wear green jerseys for St. Patrick's Day on Sunday.
  • The Sea Dogs have just five wins since Christmas. The game winning goal scorers: Drew Elliott (two), Tyler Peddle (2) and Nate Tivey.
  • The Cape Breton Eagles have won seven straight games. They could finish as high as third in the Eastern Conference if some things fall their way this week.
  • The poor Val-d'Or Foreurs, who have just 15 wins this season, have lost 12 straight games.
  • Charlottetown rookie Matthew Butler finishes the season with three goals and six assists in nine games against Saint John.
  • 17-year-old Justin Poirier of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar became the QMJHL's first (and likely only) 50 goal scorer this season over the weekend. Poirier is the younger brother of former Sea Dogs defenseman Jeremie Poirier and is eligible for this year's NHL Draft.
  • 23-year-old forward Justin Hryckowian, an 11th-round pick of Saint John in the 2017 QMJHL Entry Draft, led Northeastern University in scoring this season with 13 goals and 30 assists in 32 games.
  • 21-year-old defenseman Guillaume Richard, a fourth-round pick of Saint John in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft, had three goals and 15 assists in 35 games with Providence College.
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