Game Day 28: vs Titan

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs will look to get back to the .500 mark tonight against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

The Sea Dogs are coming off a 3-2 loss in Halifax on Saturday that saw them blow a 2-1 lead in the third period. Saint John was without Eriks Mateiko, Tyler Peddle and Olivier Duhamel due to injuries and had a few players get banged up during the game.

Saint John will try and get back on track against a Titan team they've battled hard with this season. Three of the five previous meetings were decided by a goal.

Game time tonight at TD Station is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Stream: None/Sea Dogs Radio/CHL TV

2024-25 regular season records: The Sea Dogs are 13-14-0-0 for 26 points (third Maritimes/sixth Eastern/11th QMJHL) while the Titan are 16-10-0-0 for 32 points (second Maritimes/fifth Eastern/seventh QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 3-2 loss in Halifax on Saturday. Jacob Beaulieu and William Yared scored for Saint John. Justin Robinson made 21 stops in the loss. The Titan are coming off a 4-2 home loss to the Cape Breton Eagles on Saturday. Dawson Sharkey and Tyson Goguen scored for Bathurst. Joshua Fleming made 35 stops in the loss.

Tuesday night news and notes

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs have just five games remaining before the Christmas break.

The Sea Dogs will play five contests between Dec. 4 and Dec. 14. The team won't return to action until Dec. 28.

Saint John begins this final stretch on Wednesday night when they host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at 7 p.m. The Titan sit six points ahead of Saint John in the standings and are 3-2 against the Sea Dogs this year.

On Friday the Sea Dogs will travel to Cape Breton for a single matchup with the Eagles. They'll return home to host the Eastern Conference leading Moncton Wildcats on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.

Saint John will close out the "first half" next weekend when they host the Eagles on Friday night and the Titan on Saturday afternoon. Note the 3 p.m. start time for the Dec. 14 contest.

Simek gets Czechia invite; Canada camp roster unveiled

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Pavel Simek has been named to Czechia's preliminary roster for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa.

Simek has posted six goals and seven assists in 27 games with the Rimouski Oceanic this season. He spent the two previous seasons with the Sea Dogs.

The 19-year-old has played with Czechia a number of times on the international stage.

Cape Breton Eagles goaltender Jakub Milota was also included on Czechia's roster.

Czech U20 nomination for WJC in Ottawa.

Adam Jiricek is only among the substitutes, due to injury . A question mark hangs over Šalé's participation. It will be decided before the WJC. If Šalé goes, one of the forwards won't be joining in.

6 players won 🥉 at last year's… pic.twitter.com/B2YzViw5Sk

— Honza Zoufal (@HZoufal) December 2, 2024

Czechia will play their first game of the world juniors on Boxing Day against Switzerland.

Team Canada, meanwhile, unveiled its selection camp roster on Monday. Only two players from the QMJHL were included: Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Ethan Gauthier and Oceanic forward Mathieu Cataford.

Bradly Nadeau of Saint-François-de-Madawaska, who has been playing with the AHL's Chicago Wolves, was also named to the camp. Nadeau turned pro this season after playing with the University of Maine.

Canada's selection camp begins Dec. 10 in Ottawa.

Eriks Mateiko is likely to be the lone Sea Dog taking part in this year's world juniors. The 19-year-old recorded one goal in five games with Latvia at last year's tournament.

Latvia opens the tournament on Dec. 27 against Canada.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 3-2

FINAL: Saint John 2, Halifax 3

HALIFAX - Two third period goals by the Halifax Mooseheads were the difference in a 3-2 victory over the Saint John Sea Dogs on Saturday at Scotiabank Centre.

The Mooseheads entered the third period trailing 2-1 – but they quickly flipped the script. Quispamsis native Liam Kilfoil scored on a shorthanded penalty shot at 1:33 and then Lou Levesque sniped what would prove to be the game-winner at 6:20.

Jan Sprynar also scored for Halifax. Mathis Rousseau made 35 saves in the win – Halifax's second against Saint John this season.

The Sea Dogs let this one slip away as they had a slight edge in play a lot of the night. Shots ended 37-24 in favour of Saint John but their struggling power play – which went 0/5 – was a factor in the defeat. The loss pushes the club back below the .500 mark with a 13-14-0-0 record.

Jacob Beaulieu and William Yared had Saint John goals. Justin Robinson made 21 saves in the loss.

The Mooseheads opened the scoring at 8:47 of the first when Sprynar's shot hit Robinson in the mask and produced a rebound. Sprynar put in his own rebound to make it 1-0.

Saint John tied the game at 15:26. After the Sea Dogs successfully killed a penalty, Beaulieu, fresh out of the box, beat Rousseau upstairs on a breakaway.

Yared gave Saint John a 2-1 advantage 5:36 into the second period when, after the puck bobbled around a bit, the rookie forward had an open net to score his seventh of the season.

In the third and with Saint John on a power play, Kilfoil was hooked up/interfered with and was awarded a penalty shot. On his free attempt at 1:33, he made no mistake beating Robinson to make it a 2-2 game.

Not long after at 6:20, the puck came to Levesque in the circle and he ripped a perfect shot over the shoulder of Robinson to make it 3-2 for the Mooseheads.

Saint John pulled Robinson in the final minute and had some offensive zone pressure but could not generate any great chances.

Game Day 27: at Halifax

HALIFAX - The Saint John Sea Dogs will look to make it three straight wins tonight at Scotiabank Centre.

The Sea Dogs defeated the Charlottetown Islanders 2-0 last Saturday and followed that up with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Gatineau Olympiques last night. Saint John will try and keep this run going tonight when they visit the Halifax Mooseheads at 7 p.m.

The Mooseheads, a bit like the Sea Dogs, have cooled down after a good start. Halifax is just 2-7-1-0 in their last 10 games and sit eighth in the 10-team Eastern Conference.

TV/Radio/Stream: Eastlink TV/None/CHL TV

2024-25 regular season records: The Sea Dogs are 13-13-0-0 for 26 points (third Maritimes/sixth Eastern/11th QMJHL) while the Mooseheads are 9-12-3-0 for 21 points (fourth Maritimes/eighth Eastern/13th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Gatineau Olympiques last night at TD Station. Matteo Mann, William Yared and Zachary Morin all scored for Saint John. Charles-Edward Gravel made 33 stops in the win. The Mooseheads are coming off a 7-3 loss last Saturday in Cape Breton. Antoine Fontaine, Logan Crosby and Liam Kilfoil all scored for Halifax. Mathis Rousseau and Jack Milner split the loss in net.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 3-2 (OT)

FINAL: Gatineau 2, Saint John 3 (OT)

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs stayed perfect in extra time on Friday.

The Sea Dogs improved to 6-0 in games that needed overtime or shootout with a 3-2 overtime win over the Gatineau Olympiques at TD Station. Saint John never led in the game until Zachary Morin netted the game-winner at 3:46 of extra time while on a power play.

Morin, Matteo Mann and William Yared scored in the victory. Charles-Edward Gravel made 33 saves in the win.

Saint John rebounded from a rough first period that saw Gatineau outshoot the Sea Dogs 16-3. The Dogs flipped the script in the second though, outshooting the Olympiques 16-9.

The Sea Dogs' power play, which has struggled mightily this season, went a solid 2/3 in this game.

Julien Paille scored both Gatineau goals as the Olympiques continue to search for their second road win of the season. Nathan St-Pierre made 31 stops in the loss.