Playoffs end and begin for ex-Dogs in college hockey

Providence College

For some former Saint John Sea Dogs, their first seasons of NCAA hockey have ended.

For a few others, conference playoffs are just getting started.

Let's start with Mercyhurst, where former Sea Dogs goaltender Charles-Edward Gravel stole the show in Game 1 of the best-of-three AHA playoff series against top-seeded Bentley, making 65 saves in a 4-3 triple overtime loss.

Gravel, understandably, did not play in Game 2, which took place less than 24 hours later. The Lakers couldn't keep the magic going, falling 6-0 to Bentley to end their season.

Gravel finishes the season with a 3-21-2 record to go along with a 3.22 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.

In the NCHC, Matteo Mann and Colorado College were swept in the opening round by defending national champion Western Michigan.

At the inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Cup, a tournament that included all the independent schools, Charles Savoie and host Lindenwood fell 4-3 in overtime to Alaska in the championship game.

In more positive news, Noah Reinhart and Michigan Tech have advanced to the CCHA semifinals following a sweep of Bowling Green. Reinhart had a goal for Tech, becoming the first former Sea Dog to score in a college hockey conference playoff game.

Noah Reinhart on the power-play! Huskies lead 3-2 in the 2nd period. #mtuhky #FollowTheHuskies pic.twitter.com/u82bIx9eTi

— Michigan Tech Hockey (@mtuhky) March 7, 2026

Michigan Tech will face Minnesota State in the semifinals.

Saint John's playoff opponent still TBD

Daniel St Louis/Moncton Wildcats

Who will the Saint John Sea Dogs play in the opening road of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs?

With two weeks of regular season play remaining, it's still to be determined.

The Sea Dogs are now locked into eighth in the Eastern Conference, meaning they'll face the conference's top-ranked team. The Chicoutimi Sagueneens currently sit first with 95 points while the Moncton Wildcats are a close second with 94.

Both Chicoutimi and Moncton have five regular season games remaining. Here's a look at their schedules:

Chicoutimi: at Shawinigan, at Sherbrooke, vs Rimouski, at Quebec, vs Quebec

Moncton: vs Cape Breton, at Newfoundland, at Newfoundland, at Charlottetown, vs Charlottetown

Chicoutimi has won five straight games while Moncton has won four. Given how these two have been playing recently, there's a very real chance the Sea Dogs may not know their first-round opponent until the final day of the regular season, which is March 21.

If the playoffs started today, here's what the first-round matchups would look like.

Eastern Conference

1) Chicoutimi vs 8) Saint John

2) Moncton vs 7) Halifax

3) Newfoundland vs 6) Cape Breton

4) Charlottetown vs 5) Quebec

Western Conference

1) Drummondville vs 8) Gatineau

2) Blainville-Boisbriand vs 7) Victoriaville

3) Rouyn-Noranda vs 6) Val-d'Or

4) Shawinigan vs 5) Sherbrooke

A reminder that, new this year, teams are reseeded based off the overall standings beginning in the second-round rather than the third-round.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 6-3

FINAL: Saint John 3, Moncton 6

MONCTON - The Moncton Wildcats scored six unanswered goals in a 6-3 win over the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sunday at Avenir Centre.

The Sea Dogs scored three times in the opening 9:47 of the first period but it wasn't enough against one of the top teams in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.

The Wildcats slowly took the game over in the second half of the opening frame and trailed 3-1 entering the second. In that second period, Moncton dominated most of it, scoring four times and outshooting Saint John 14-6.

Niko Tournas scored twice for Moncton while Kuzma Voronin, Tommy Bleyl, Caleb Desnoyers and Preston Lounsbury added singles. Jacoby Weiner made 21 saves in the win.

This was a key win for the Wildcats as they continue to battle with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens for top spot in the QMJHL standings. The team that finishes first overall will likely face Saint John in the opening round of the playoffs.

Zachary Morin, Alexis Joseph and Nolann Héroux scored for Saint John. Arseni Radkov made 42 stops in the loss.

Notebook: Joseph signs with Kings

Embed from Getty Images

MONCTON - Mathieu Joseph is now a member of the Los Angeles Kings.

Joseph, who had his contract with the St. Louis Blues terminated earlier in the week, signed "a one-year contract through the remainder of the 2025-26 season" with the Kings, the team announced Friday.

Mathieu Joseph, whose contract with STL was terminated today, signs with LA for one year at a pro-rated $900K

Played for DJ Smith in Ottawa

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 6, 2026

Joseph was scratched for the Kings' Saturday night game against the Montreal Canadiens.

The 29-year-old posted two goals and nine assists in 39 games with St. Louis this season. He was recently put on waivers and assigned to the American Hockey League where he recorded a goal in two games with the Springfield Thunderbirds.

This was Joseph's second season with the Blues. He's an NHL veteran at this point, playing in 459 games with the Blues, Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. He won two Stanley Cups with the Lightning.

Joseph appeared in 201 games with the Sea Dogs over four seasons, helping the team win the President Cup in 2017.

BURNS JOINS STAFF

The Sea Dogs announced Sunday that long-time Acadia Axemen head coach Darren Burns has joined the team as a "senior advisor, hockey operations and assistant coach."

“Darren brings decades of hockey experience to the team,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a news release. “He has been a coach, an NHL scout, and he knows our organization well as the father of Memorial Cup champion and franchise leading scorer Brady Burns. He is passionate and will add a lot to our group.”

Burns is the father of former Sea Dogs forward Brady Burns, who currently plays at Acadia. Burns has recruited a number of Sea Dogs to Acadia over the years.

The Axemen confirmed on Facebook that Burns will return as Acadia's head coach in the fall.

COMING UP

The Sea Dogs have just six regular season games remaining – including one this Sunday against the Moncton Wildcats at Avenir Centre.

This will be the eighth and final meeting of the regular season between Saint John and Moncton – although they could meet in the opening round of the QMJHL playoffs.

The Sea Dogs are 1-6-0-0 against the Wildcats this season with their only win coming back on Oct. 4 at Avenir Centre.

Following Sunday's game, the Sea Dogs will play their final home games of the regular season March 13-14 against the Halifax Mooseheads. They'll then play three road games to close out the season: March 15 at Charlottetown and March 20-21 at Cape Breton.

Game Day 59: at Moncton

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats meet one final time in regular season play today.

The Sea Dogs have won three of their past four games, which includes a big 5-3 upset win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Wednesday. 

The Wildcats, meanwhile, are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 games as they continue to try and keep pace with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens for first-place in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League standings. The Wildcats enter play today one-point back of the Sags. Both teams have six games remaining.

The Sea Dogs, who clinched a playoff spot on Saturday night, are likely to play whichever teams finishes first overall. Today's game could be a playoff preview.

Game time at Avenir Centre is 3 p.m.

Stream/TV/Radio: FloHockey/None/None

Records: The Sea Dogs are 22-31-5-0 for 49 points (eighth Eastern/15th QMJHL) while the Wildcats are 44-10-2-2 for 92 points (second Eastern/second QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-3 home win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Wednesday. Dylan Rozzi scored twice for Saint John while singles came from Olivier Groulx, Everett Baldwin and Angelo Fullerton. Arseni Rakov made 41 stops in the win. The Wildcats are coming off a 4-1 home win over the Armada on Friday. Niko Tournas, Alex Mercier, Kuzma Voronin and Preston Lounsbury all scored for Moncton. Rudy Guimond made 23 saves in the win.

Sea Dogs clinch playoff spot

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs are returning to the post-season.

For the first time since the 2023-24 season, the Sea Dogs will play in the Gilles-Courteau Trophy playoffs. The team's spot was secured on Saturday night.

The Sea Dogs currently sit 15th overall in the QMJHL standings with a 22-31-5-0 record for 49 points and can no longer be caught by either the 17th-place Rimouski Oceanic or the 18th-place Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

The Sea Dogs could still move up or down in the overall standings but are likely to finish eighth in the Eastern Conference, meaning they'll play whichever team finishes first – either the Chicoutimi Sagueneens or Moncton Wildcats.

No matter the opponent, the Sea Dogs will begin the playoffs on the road and will be major underdogs. That series is likely to begin the weekend of March 27-28.

Saint John has not won a playoff series since 2017. They've qualified for the playoffs four times since then but have not advanced past the opening round.