A look back at Sea Dogs openers

SAINT JOHN - For a third straight season and for a fourth time in five years, the Saint John Sea Dogs will kick things off with a home game against the Halifax Mooseheads.

The Sea Dogs begin the 2019-20 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League campaign on Friday evening at 7 p.m. at the newly named TD Station. Saint John also plays on Saturday night, hosting the Moncton Wildcats.

This will be Saint John's 15th season opener and the ninth time they begin a campaign at home. They are 6-6-2 all-time in season openers.

Here's a look at Saint John's all-time season opener results:

Sept. 16, 2005: St. John's 3, Saint John 2
Sept. 15, 2006: Rimouski 2, Saint John 3 (OT)
Sept. 13, 2007: Saint John 1, Lewiston 4
Sept. 12, 2008: Saint John 3, Bathurst 2 (OT)
Sept. 11, 2009: Saint John 4, Bathurst 3 (SO)
Sept. 10, 2010: PEI 4, Saint John 6
Sept. 8, 2011: Moncton 3, Saint John 1
Sept. 20, 2012: Bathurst 3, Saint John 1
Sept. 13, 2013: Saint John 5, Moncton 3
Sept. 12, 2014: Saint John 2, Charlottetown 3 (SO)
Sept. 12, 2015: Halifax 2, Saint John 5
Sept. 23, 2016: Saint John 2, Charlottetown 6
Sept. 21, 2017: Halifax 4, Saint John 1
Sept. 21, 2018: Halifax 5, Saint John 4 (OT)
Sept. 20: 2019: Halifax, Saint John

A moment of silence for those we've lost along the way (the Fog Devils, Maineiacs and Rocket).

The Sea Dogs got off to a bad start last season, dropping seven of their first eight games. They'll obviously look to improve on that.

Pre-Season Game Day 7: vs Eagles

FREDERICTON - It's the final day of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs take on the Cape Breton Eagles tonight at 7 p.m. at Fredericton's Aitken Centre. Saint John is coming off a strong 7-2 win in Charlottetown last night and will look to build off that momentum this evening.

Brady Burns and Ben Badalamenti both scored two goals for Saint John last night while singles came from Alex Drover, Dawson Stairs and Jeremie Poirier. Noah Patenaude made 31 stops in the win.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/None/None

Records: The Sea Dogs are 3-3-0-0 this pre-season while the Eagles are 3-1-0-0. The Sea Dogs finished 13-49-2-4 for 32 points last season while the the Eagles were 40-22-1-5 for 86 points.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 7-2 win over the Charlottetown Islanders at Eastlink Centre last night. Brady Burns and Ben Badalamenti scored twice while singles came from Alex Drover, Dawson Stairs and Jeremie Poirier. Noah Patenaude made 31 stops in net. The Eagles have not played since Aug. 24 when they defeated the Moncton Wildcats 8-5 in Membertou. Felix Lafrance scored six goals (!) while Shawn Boudrias and Egor Sokolov added solo markers. William Grimard and Kenzie MacPhail split the win in net.

2018-19 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 1-8-0-0 against the Eagles last season while Cape Breton went 8-1-0-0 against Saint John.

Pre-Season Game Day 6: at Charlottetown

CHARLOTTETOWN – The Saint John Sea Dogs begin the final weekend of pre-season play tonight, taking on the Charlottetown Islanders at Eastlink Centre.

The Sea Dogs are in the midst of a rough stretch, dropping their last three Quebec Major Junior Hockey League exhibition contests. Saint John was missing several key regulars in those games, and tonight’s match should feature a mostly finalized roster.

Game time is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/None/None

Last games: The Sea Dogs and Islanders met last Friday in Grand Falls where Charlottetown blew out Saint John 9-2. Drew Johnston and Xavier Fortin each scored a pair of goals for Charlottetown while singles came from William Sirman, Brett Budgell, Patrick LeBlanc, Kevin Gursoy and Luke Wilson. Saint John goals came from Joona Lehmus and Kale McCallum. Mathias Savoie allowed eight goals on 25 shots before leaving the game with an injury late in the third. Noah Patenaude allowed a goal - a penalty shot goal - on two shots he faced. Nolan Boyd and Jacob Goobie split the night in net for the Isles.

Records: The Sea Dogs are 2-3-0-0 this pre-season while the Islanders are also 2-3-0-0. The Sea Dogs finished 13-49-2-4 for 32 points last season while the Islanders finished 40-21-4-3 for 87 points.
2018-19 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 2-5-0-2 against the Islanders last season while Charlottetown went 7-1-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Last Friday. See above.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 9-2

FINAL: Charlottetown 9, Saint John 2

GRAND FALLS, NB - The Saint John Sea Dogs' first ever appearance in Grand Falls was a memorable one - but for all the wrong reasons.

The Sea Dogs, who were the home team, were smoked by the visiting Charlottetown Islanders, falling 9-2 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season play at the E.&P. Sénéchal Center. Saint John recorded just 14 shots on goal.

While this is still the pre-season and the Sea Dogs were missing some key regulars - particularly on the backend with Jeremie Poirier and Charlie DesRoches both out - Saint John did not look good. This was the team's first pre-season game in two weeks - and it looked like the team's first game action in two weeks. The Dogs were sluggish all game long and were never in control of the game.

Making the night even worse was former Sea Dogs Luke Wilson and Kevin Gursoy both scoring for the Isles. Drew Johnston and Xavier Fortin each scored a pair of goals while singles came from William Sirman, Brett Budgell and Patrick LeBlanc. Nolan Boyd and Jacob Goobie split the night in net.

Saint John goals came from Joona Lehmus and Kale McCallum. Mathias Savoie allowed eight goals on 25 shots before leaving the game with an injury late in the third. Noah Patenaude allowed a goal - a penalty shot goal - on two shots he faced.

Pre-Season Game Day 5: vs Islanders

GRAND FALLS, NB - The Saint John Sea Dogs are back in action tonight after a two-week hiatus, hosting the Charlottetown Islanders in Grand Falls.

The Sea Dogs are 2-2 so far this pre-season after winning their first two games then dropping their last two. Saint John's roster will look different than it did in those games with it being very close to completion. Only a few spots remain up for battle.

This will be Saint John's first contest since Aug. 23. The team has three pre-season games remaining.

Game time tonight is 7 p.m. at Grand Falls' E.& P. Sénéchal Center. This will be the first QMJHL pre-season match to be held in the building, which is home to the MHL's Rapids.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/None/None

Records: The Sea Dogs are 2-2-0-0 this pre-season while the Islanders are 1-3-0-0. The Sea Dogs finished 13-49-2-4 for 32 points last season while the Islanders finished 40-21-4-3 for 87 points.

2018-19 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 2-5-0-2 against the Islanders last season while Charlottetown went 7-1-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: The Sea Dogs and Islanders met on Aug. 18 in Quispamsis where Saint John edged Charlottetown 6-3. Alexis Belisle had two goals for the Dogs while singles came from Connor McCluskey, Charles Savoie, Charles-Antoine Dumont and Carter McCluskey. Charlottetown goals came from Justin Gill, Cameron Brown and Charles-Olivier Nadeau.

CHL unveils new uniforms

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs will have a new look this season.

The Canadian Hockey League announced on Tuesday that all 60 teams across the country will sport new jerseys/sweaters/uniforms this season. The league will be using the CCM QuickLite uniform, which comes with fresh designs for all clubs.

According to a news release, "the CCM QuickLite concept modernizes the hockey uniform and provides players with a lighter jersey, enhanced range of motion, and the comfort to further improve performance."

Introducing @CCMHockey #QuickLite:

For the first time since 2009-10 all 60 #CHL teams across @TheWHL, @OHLHockey, and @QMJHL will have redesigned uniforms to open the season.

MORE 📰: https://t.co/MNP02U6LXj pic.twitter.com/WesRrzCIie

— CanadianHockeyLeague (@CHLHockey) September 3, 2019

This is the first league wide uniform change since the 2009-10 season. Several teams went for huge redesigns back then, but this time around many of the changes are much more low key.