Notebook: Extra time has been extra kind

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs have really enjoyed playing beyond 60 minutes of hockey.

Five of Saint John's 18 games this season have required extra time – and the team has won all of them, taking three in overtime and two in a shootout. Saint John's three most recent wins have all come in overtime.

Only the Chicoutimi Sagueneens have needed extra time more this season. The Sags have gone to overtime or shootout an incredible eight times in 17 games.

The Sea Dogs went to extra time in 12 games last season. They were 2-5 in overtime and 1-4 in shootouts.

The franchise record for games that required overtime or shootout is 17, which was set during the 2008-09 season.

U17 UPDATE

Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard and Team Canada Red have secured a spot in the semifinals of the U17 World Challenge in Sarnia.

Team Canada Red finished the preliminary round 2-0, placing them atop Group A. They defeated Finland 3-1 on Sunday to open the tournament and then downed the United States 6-3 on Monday.

The semifinals take place on Friday with the bronze and gold medal games set for Saturday.

Red's roster includes 16-year-old defenseman Cameron Chartrand, who was a first-round pick of Saint John in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft. Chartrand, who is committed to Boston College, has an assist in two games at the tournament.

Sea Dogs make scouting changes

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs announced additions to their scouting department on Monday.

The moves come a few weeks after the Sea Dogs fired general manager Anthony Stella and gave the GM role to head coach Travis Crickard.

With Crickard doing both roles, the head scout position becomes much more pivotal to Saint John's hockey operations. That role will be filled by Nicolas Lepore, who has been a scout with the Quebec Remparts since 2015. Saint John's news release notes that "Lepore is also the owner and president of Triple Threat Hockey and the Hockey Program Director at Des Sources High School."

Lepore is just one of several additions to Saint John's scouting department. Below is a breakdown of how the team's scouting staff now looks.

• Head Scout — Nicolas Lapore
• Senior Advisor to the Head Scout & Quebec Regional Scout — Marc-Andre Roussel 
• Hockey Operations Assistant & Quebec Regional Scout — Chris Hatzitolios 
• Scouting Advisor — Wayne Mundey 
• Atlantic Canada Regional Scout — Rob Beatty 
• Atlantic Canada Regional Scout — Tim Smith 
• Quebec Regional Scout — Sean Mundey 
• Quebec Regional Scout & Prospect Development — Tim Archambault 
• United States Scout — Bob Beveridge 
• Ontario Scout — Tyler Brown

Roussel was a scout with the Sea Dogs from 2011 to 2014 before he joined the Remparts. He was part of the group that drafted the likes of Thomas Chabot, Matthew Highmore and Mathieu Joseph.

The Sea Dogs website has a more detailed look at the entire staff – which is much larger than what the team has had in recent seasons.

“Assuming the general manager position I felt it was necessary to be surrounded by a highly experienced and connected scouting staff,” said Crickard in a news release.

“Rob, Tim, Tyler, Sean, Wayne, Bob, Chris, and Tim are incredibly humble team first people who come with extensive experiences and connections,” Crickard added. “It is a tremendous honour to add these gentlemen to our organization to work toward building another championship Sea Dogs team.”

The first challenge for the new group will be preparing for December's QMJHL trade period, which will help shape Saint John's 2025 draft weekend. It's also going to be a much different world by week's end, with the NCAA likely to vote yes on allowing CHL players into the league as early as next season.

The Sea Dogs also confirmed that Marc-Olivier Heredia, Trevor Scott and Normand Poisson have been let go from the team's staff.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 4-3 (OT)

FINAL: Val-d'Or 3, Saint John 4 (OT)

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - It wasn't easy, but the Saint John Sea Dogs came away with a 4-3 overtime win over the Val-d'Or Foreurs on Sunday at TD Station.

Eriks Mateiko scored the overtime winner after the Sea Dogs tied the game late in the third period. Saint John led 2-0 in the second only to have the Foreurs storm back, taking a 3-2 lead into the third.

It wasn't the prettiest of wins for Saint John, especially against a Val-d'Or team that was playing its third game in three nights. Saint John simply didn't look their best for most of this game. It's been a bit of an odd stretch for the Sea Dogs with the team's last three victories all coming in overtime.

Mateiko scored twice for Saint John while Ben Cross and Nicolas Bilodeau added singles. Justin Robinson made 21 saves in the win.

Noah Reinhart, Samuel Fiala and Philippe Veilleux scored for Val-d'Or. Cedric Masse made 38 saves in the loss.

After a scoreless first period, Saint John opened things up at 6:59 of the second when Cross, from behind the goal line, banked a shot off Masse's pad and in. Then at 8:20, Mateiko was at the top of the crease and slid home his eighth of the season to make it 2-0.

The goals kept coming when Reinhart scored against his old club to make it a one-goal game at 9:57. Then at 14:28, Fiala converted to make it 2-2.

The Foreurs took their first lead of the game when a Veilleux wrist shot from the circle beat Robinson blocker side, making it 3-2.

The Sea Dogs had their chances in the first half of the third, hitting a couple posts. Finally, at 14:47, Bilodeau redirected an Olivier Duhamel point shot past Masse to make it a 3-3 game.

Val-d'Or went to a power play late in the third but couldn't score. Saint John had a couple chances late, including a Zachary Morin breakaway that was denied. 

It was a back-and-forth session of overtime. At 4:04, and after the Sea Dogs circled the puck around for a bit, Mateiko ripped a wrist shot past Masse and just inside the post to give Saint John the win.

Game Day 18: vs Foreurs

SAINT JOHN - It's been an interesting few days for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The team had one of its biggest wins of the season on Thursday, upsetting the top-ranked Moncton Wildcats 3-2 in overtime. But the Sea Dogs followed that up with one of their worst performances of the season on Saturday, falling 5-0 to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in a game Saint John struggled from start to finish.

What Sea Dogs team will we see this afternoon? The Dogs host the Val-d'Or Foreurs at 3 p.m. today at TD Station.

The Foreurs have just nine points on the year and sit 17th overall in the 18-team QMJHL. They've lost three straight games and will be playing their third game in three days.

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

2024-25 regular season records: The Sea Dogs are 9-8-0-0 for 18 points (fourth Maritimes/seventh Eastern/10th QMJHL) while the Foreurs are 4-11-1-0 for nine points (third West/seventh Western/17th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-0 loss to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies last night. Charles-Edward Gravel made 32 saves in the loss. The Foreurs are coming off a 7-4 loss in Moncton last night. Noah Reinhart, Philippe Veilleux, Nathan Brisson and Nathan Baril scored for Val-d'Or. David Di Girolamo allowed five goals on 21 shots while Cedric Masse allowed two goals on 21 shots.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 5-0

FINAL: Rouyn-Noranda 5, Saint John 0

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - Coming off an upset win over the Moncton Wildcats on Thursday, the Saint John Sea Dogs were brought back to reality on Saturday by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

The Huskies showed why they're one of the top teams in the Western Conference, outshooting the Sea Dogs 24-7 in the opening 40 minutes in a 5-0 win. It was the third game in four days for Rouyn-Noranda, who completed a Maritime road trip in Saint John.

Rouyn-Noranda had a strong forecheck and seemed to win every puck battle. When Saint John was able to get the puck, the Huskies were quick to get it back. It wasn't until the third period – and already down 5-0 – that the Sea Dogs were able to get some sustained offensive pressure going.

Antonin Verreault scored a pair of Rouyn-Noranda while singles came from Ty Higgins, Benjamin Brunelle and Lars Steiner. Samuel Meloche made 20 saves in the shutout win.

Charles-Edward Gravel made 32 saves in the loss.

The Huskies led 2-0 after the first period thanks to a pair of power play goals. With Tyler Peddle serving a four-minute penalty for holding and unsportsmanlike conduct, Higgins scored on a point shot at 15:25 and then Brunelle scored on a one-time shot from the high slot at 15:53.

Saint John didn't record their first shot on goal until Darien Reynolds fired a wrist shot at Meloche's blocker at 16:24. Shots were 11-1 Rouyn-Noranda in the opening frame.

The Huskies made it 3-0 at 6:23 of the second period. After Saint John lost a puck battle behind their own net, Bill Zonnon fed an open Steiner in front who added to Rouyn-Noranda's lead.

Rouyn-Noranda then made it 4-0 when Verreault scored at 15:26.

The Huskies made it 5-0 just 58 seconds into the third. Axel Dufresne threw the puck on net where Verreault grabbed it and put it past Gravel.

Shots ended 37-20 in favour of the Huskies.

Notebook: First era night happens Saturday

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The Sea Dogs will hold their first championship era night of the season on Saturday when they host the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at TD Station.

The team will honour the 2011 and 2012 Sea Dogs championship teams, which saw the club win back-to-back QMJHL titles and a Memorial Cup championship.

Former players Mike Thomas, Zack Phillips, Kevin Gagne, Ryan Tesink, Pierre Durepos, Jason Cameron, Aidan Kelly and Spencer MacDonald will all be in attendance. Former head coach Gerard Gallant will be in town as well.

First 1000 fans at tonight's game will receive a limited edition 2011/2012 Championship Era Poster. 🙌

Plus, get it signed by #SJSeaDogs alumni during the first intermission autograph session!

🎟️ » https://t.co/Lv9oltkgiG#GoDogsGo pic.twitter.com/18lBPthvNJ

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) November 2, 2024

An autograph session will be held during the first intermission. Fans can also take photos will the Gilles-Courteau Trophy.

The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a poster honouring the teams.

This is the first of three championship era nights this season. On Jan. 19 the 2017 President Cup team will be honoured while on Feb. 17 the 2022 Memorial Cup squad will be honoured.

HALLOWEEN FUN

Following their 3-2 overtime win over the Moncton Wildcats on Thursday, the Sea Dogs are now 5-2-0-0 all-time in Halloween games. They've won the last three they'e played.

2010-11: 7-0 win at Rouyn-Noranda

2012-13: 2-1 loss vs Blainville-Boisbriand

2015-16: 5-3 win vs Val-d'Or

2019-20: 6-1 loss vs Rimouski

2020-21: 5-3 win vs Cape Breton

2021-22: 4-3 win vs Halifax

2024-25: 3-2 win vs Moncton (OT)

Six of the seven games the Sea Dogs have played on Halloween have been at TD Station.