Thursday, May 8, 2025

Notebook: Mateiko lone ex-Dog in QMJHL final

Eriks Mateiko scored one of the biggest goals of his career on Wednesday night.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs captain scored late in double overtime to give the Rimouski Oceanic a 4-3 Game 7 victory over the Shawinigan Cataractes, a win that sent the Oceanic to the QMJHL final. The Oceanic play Game 1 of the QMJHL championship series against the Moncton Wildcats on Saturday night at Avenir Centre.
Mateiko has appeared in just 12 of Rimouski's 17 playoff games due to injury. He's posted six goals and three assists, placing him in a tie for second in team goal scoring.

In the regular season and playoffs combined, Mateiko has now scored 16 game-winning goals in his 175-game QMJHL career.

Mateiko will be the lone former Sea Dog skating in the series. Behind the Moncton bench will be Gardiner MacDougall, who guided Saint John to the 2022 Memorial Cup title. Moncton's staff also includes former Sea Dogs assistant coach Paul Boutilier, who is a defensive coordinator with the Wildcats this season.

There would have been a former Sea Dog in the QMJHL final no matter who won the Oceanic/Cataractes series. Vince Elie recorded six goals and six assists in 16 playoff games with Shawinigan, placing him third in team scoring.

LAFORGE COMMITS TO LAKERS
Nico LaForge has committed to the Nipissing University Lakers men's hockey team for the 2025-26 U Sports season.

The former Sea Dogs forward spent this past season with the OJHL's Coburg Cougars where he recorded 15 goals and 23 assists in 52 games. He added a goal and two assists in five playoff contests.

LaForge is the second Sea Dogs alumnus to commit to Nipissing recently. Forward Danny Akkouche will also be joining the North Bay, ON based school for this coming season.

"I'm a two-way forward with strong work ethic," LaForge explained in a Lakers news release. "I expect our team to be in an underdog position and surprise some teams this year. Nipissing is a good place to play with some great opportunities and it is close to home."

LaForge, who played some U18 and U15 hockey in North Bay, spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs and was part of the 2022 Memorial Cup team.

ANSONS RE-SIGNS
Despite playing in just nine games this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed forward Raivis Ansons to an AHL contract for the 2025-26 season. 

According to a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins press release, Ansons "posted one goal in nine games with the Penguins this past year before suffering an injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season."

This was Ansons third season of pro hockey. He's never played more than 44 games in an AHL season. In 87 career AHL games, Ansons has posted five goals and nine assists.

Ansons has had a number of injury problems over the years. 

The 23-year-old spent part of the 2021-22 season with the Sea Dogs, helping the club capture the Memorial Cup. He recorded 36 points in 37 regular season games and was a big offensive contributor in the playoffs (five points in five games) and Memorial Cup (five points in four games).

GLANCE IS BU BOUND
Forward Jamie Glance, a sixth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in last year's QMJHL Entry Draft, has committed to Boston University for the 2027-28 season.
The West Newbury, MA native spent last season with the US national team development program. He spent the previous two seasons at Mount St. Charles Academy.

Players rarely depart the USNTDP before college, so it looks like it's a long shot that Glance reports to Saint John.

MHL NUMBERS
Some interesting attendance numbers were shared by the Edmundston Blizzard recently. Click the images to enlarge.

Here's a look at this year's MHL average attendance.
The Blizzard led the entire CJHL in average attendance.
If the Blizzard were a QMJHL team, they would have finished 14th in average attendance.
OTHER THINGS
  • Stadium Journey reviews TD Station, giving it a total score of 3.43/5. It lost some points on food/drink, neighbourhood and fans.
  • The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada fired head coach Mathieu Turcotte on Monday. Turcotte just helped Team Canada win gold at the IIHF U18 Men's World Championship as an assistant coach. He worked alongside Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Travis Crickard at the tournament.
  • The three CHL league finals have been spread out nicely for TV.
  • All three league finals and the entire Memorial Cup will be streamed for free on Victory+ in the United States. The WHL previously moved all of their playoff streaming over to Victory+. These will be the first OHL and QMJHL games to air on the platform.
  • Miramichi native Brad Malone is the head coach of the Oshawa Generals. His brother, Brett, played in 23 games with the Sea Dogs (and three playoff games) over two seasons.
  • It doesn't sound like Calgary Flames prospect Matvei Gridin will return to the QMJHL next season, which is a big loss for the Cataractes.
  • As expected, Maddox Schultz was selected first overall by the Regina Pats in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft. The 15-year-old forward spent this past season with the Regina Pat Canadians, recording over two points per game.
  • The WHL held an expansion draft for the Penticton Vees on Wednesday. The Vees are still playing in the BCHL playoffs and currently trail the Brooks Bandits 3-1 in their best-of-seven semifinal series.
  • The OHL's Niagara IceDogs have cleaned house following an organizational review by the league.
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