Recap: Sea Dogs lose 7-3

FINAL: Halifax 7, Saint John 3

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - With two weeks to go until the regular season begins, the Saint John Sea Dogs have plenty to work on.

That was evident on Friday night at TD Station as the Sea Dogs struggled in a 7-3 pre-season loss to the Halifax Mooseheads. Both teams dressed close-to-final rosters.

Saint John especially struggled defensively, allowing the Mooseheads to score seven times on 26 shots. Several Halifax goals were one-time shots by a Moosehead that was left wide open.

On offense, the Sea Dogs were able to generate 42 shots on goal but couldn't find enough finish. Halifax goaltender Jack Fichthorn was excellent in the first half of game, making 21 stops before leaving late in the second period.

Malik L'Italien scored twice for Halifax while singles came from Quinn Kennedy, Nathan Langlois, Mateo Nobert, Oleg Kulebiakin and Shawn Carrier. Fichthorn allowed two goals while Carson Mertz allowed a goal on 19 shots.

Saint John had goals from Alexander Donovan, Zachary Morin and Oliver Ozogany. Samuel Meloche, in his first game of the pre-season, allowed seven goals on 26 shots.

Pre-Season Game Day 4: vs Mooseheads

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs make their return to TD Station tonight.

While this will officially be Saint John's third home game of the pre-season, it will be their first inside their actual home. The Sea Dogs played "home" games in St. Stephen and Woodstock last week.

Tonight will see the Sea Dogs take on the Halifax Mooseheads for the first time in exhibition play. Game time is 7 p.m.

The Sea Dogs are 2-1-0-0 this pre-season and are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Rimouski Oceanic last Sunday.

Saint John's roster is now down to 24 players following reassignments earlier this week.

Radio/TV/Stream: None/None/Sea Dogs YouTube (probably?)

Pre-Season Records: Saint John is 2-1-0-0 for four points this pre-season while Halifax is 3-1-0-0 for six points.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Rimouski Oceanic in Woodstock on Sunday. Jamie Glance scored Saint John's lone goal on a penalty shot. Rafaël Courchesne allowed three goals on 10 shots while Sam Pitcher stopped all 12 shots he faced. The Mooseheads are coming off a 3-2 win over the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday. Mateo Nobert scored twice for Halifax while Daniel Walters added a single. Carson Mertz made 37 stops in the win.

Murnieks officially joins Boston College

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It's officially official: Olivers Murnieks will play college hockey this fall.

The Boston College Eagles officially named Murnieks a member of the team's freshmen class on Thursday. 

Our next freshman is Olivers Mūrnieks!

Olivers spent last season playing the Saint John Sea Dogs in the QMJHL! pic.twitter.com/0gCXTPKLVH

— BC Men's Hockey (@BC_MHockey) September 3, 2026

The Eagles begin play a month from now, visiting the USNTDP in Plymouth. The team's first NCAA game is Oct. 9 at home against Alaska.

Murnieks does have junior hockey eligibility remaining. Given that he was left off the Saint John Sea Dogs' training camp roster, it was expected that the Latvian would be playing NCAA hockey this fall.

The 18-year-old committed to Boston College in January. Murnieks was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in June's NHL Draft and, since then, it has looked like he'd be heading to the NCAA rather than back to the QMJHL.

"But we’re excited to see what he does," said Jerry Forton, Buffalo's assistant general manager, in July. "It was a big step for the Boston College staff – who we put a lot of faith in, we’re very close with – to bring him in this fall."

Murnieks was selected by Saint John in the first-round, sixth overall of the 2025 CHL Import Draft. He appeared in just 31 games with the Sea Dogs due to injuries last season, posting seven goals and 13 assists.

Murnieks played for Latvia at the IIHF World Junior Championship for a second straight year this past winter, recording a goal and three assists in five games. He also played in this year's men's IIHF World Championship.

It looks like the Sea Dogs will start the season with two imports on their roster: Czech forward Matyas Cancik and Slovakian forward Oliver Ozogany, who were both selected in this year's CHL Import Draft. The team also picked Finnish defender Vertti Svensk, who appears set to start the season in Finland.

Notebook: Beaulieu on Swift Current pre-season roster

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

A familiar name is on the Swift Current Broncos' pre-season roster.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Jacob Beaulieu was among the 34 players named to Swift Current's roster for the Western Hockey League's pre-season. The Broncos head coach and general manager is Travis Crickard, who obviously knows Beaulieu quite well.

Beaulieu, an overager, spent parts of four seasons in Saint John. He was a seventh-round pick of the team in the 2022 QMJHL Entry Draft.

The Sea Dogs traded Beaulieu to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada during last season's holiday trade period. He appeared in 32 regular season games with the Armada and another 17 playoff contests

In 210 career QMJHL games, Beaulieu posted 16 goals and 10 assists. He also had 249 penalty minutes – and was known more for his physical presence.

The Broncos continue pre-season play on Friday when they host Saskatoon Blades.

VILEN RETURING TO WILDCATS

The Sea Dogs will be seeing a lot of Max Vilen this season.

The Moncton Wildcats announced on social media that Vilen will return to the club for another season, occupying both an overage and import slot. The Wildcats acquired Vilen from the Sea Dogs during last season's holiday trade period.

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A post shared by Moncton Wildcats (@monctonwildcats)

Vilen recorded a goal and 12 assists in 27 games with the Wildcats in the second half. He added three goals and nine assists in 21 playoff games.

Over the summer, the Swedish defenseman was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the seventh-round of the NHL Draft.

Vilen was selected in the third-round of the 2025 CHL Import Draft by Saint John. He posted two goals and 12 assists in 27 games with the Sea Dogs in the first half.

Sea Dogs acquire Delarosbil; three more released

Sherbrooke Phoenix

The Saint John Sea Dogs defense core is starting to take shape.

The Sea Dogs acquired 18-year-old defenseman Brandon Delarosbil from the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Wednesday. In exchange, Saint John dealt defenseman Vincent Croteau, the team's 2027 first-round pick and Drummondville’s 2028 second-round pick.

Later in the day, the team released free agent defensemen Jayden Connors and Joe Mense from the training camp roster. Forward Felix Pronovost was also released.

The Sea Dogs now have 24 players on their camp roster, which includes 12 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders.

The nine defensemen are Delarosbil, Thomas Charbonneau, Cameron Chartrand, Bo Damphousse, Oskar Drabczynski, Olivier Duhamel, Jesse Dunlap, Julien Lanthier and Lawrence Williams. Duhamel is expected to start the season on the injured list.

Delarosbil, a second-round pick of the Phoenix in the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft, posted eight goals and 14 assists in 60 games with Sherbrooke last season, his first full year in the league. He's committed to the NCAA's University of Nebraska-Omaha following his junior career.

“Brandon is a player that we have coveted for a while,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a news release. “He has offensive tools and instincts, and he competes. He fits with our age group and will grow with our core over the next two seasons.”

Mense, an overager, appeared in all three of Saint John's pre-season games. Pronovost also appeared in all three exhibition games. Connors, who was the Maritime Junior Hockey League's playoff MVP this past season, did not appear in any pre-season games but did play in intra-squad contests.

The Sea Dogs are back in action on Friday night when they host the Halifax Mooseheads in pre-season play at TD Station. Game time is 7 p.m.

It's September

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

September is here – which means regular season hockey is near.

The Saint John Sea Dogs will open up the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season on Friday, Sept. 18 when they visit the Newfoundland Regiment at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic. They'll also face the Regiment the following night.

The Sea Dogs will play their first home game of the season on Friday, Sept. 25 when they host the Moncton Wildcats. The next day – note the 4 p.m. puck drop – they'll host the Cape Breton Eagles.

A few other early season scheduling notes:

• The Sea Dogs were 0-6-2-0 against the Regiment last season, which included going 0-4 at Mary Brown's Centre. They've not won in St. John's since the Fog Devils days.
• There's going to be a lot of talk about how good the competition will be amongst the Atlantic-based teams this season. The Sea Dogs will see all five of them within the first eight games of the season.
• Saint John will play eight of their first 11 games at TD Station. That includes a stretch of six straight home games in October.
• In case you were wondering, the opening week of the QMJHL season is sponsored by Nissan.

The Sea Dogs still have two pre-season games remaining before putting their focus on the regular season. The team will host the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday night at TD Station and visit the Moose next Friday, Sept. 11 at Dartmouth's RBC Centre.

Tickets for Friday's game are general admission.