The Dull Days Of Winter

By Andrew McGilligan

SN Staff

Do you know what the end of January/early February reminds me of hockey wise?

Absolutely nothing.

It’s a veritable wasteland for Canada’s favourite game.

At least the NHL has the All-Star game this time of year, for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League fan there’s not much to get excited about.

The World Junior tournament is long gone, the trade deadline is through and the playoffs are almost two months away.

So what can be done to get the competitive juices flowing during the grey days of winter?  Here are a few suggestions the league could adopt.

Two Fan Bus Trips Coming Up

Sea The Dogs Bus Tours has a couple of trips coming up. On February 25 they will travel to Moncton and on March 17 they will head to Cape Breton. Click the picture above for further information.

For more details on the trips, check out their website and fan their Facebook page.

Note: SN is not affiliated with Sea The Dogs Bus Tours so please direct all questions their way. 

POSTSCRIPT: Armada 3, Sea Dogs 6

A collection of recaps from yesterday’s 6-3 Saint John Sea Dogs win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada…

Our recap. The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada hung around but weren’t able to contain the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sunday afternoon in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League at Harbour Station.

The Telegraph-Journal’s recap. Paywalled.

News 88.9’s recap. Featuring Tim Roszell’s goal calls.

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. Mathieu Corbeil made 33 saves for the win as the Sea Dogs improved to 36-13-0-2 and moved back into first place overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

SN Live Blog Replay. Christopher Clapperton was missed on Sunday.

MISSING IN ACTION: The Sea Dogs were without forwards Stanislav Galiev and Maxime Villemaire along with defenseman Spencer MacDonald on Sunday afternoon.

WELCOME BACK: The Sea Dogs welcomed back forward Devon Oliver-Dares yesterday. Oliver-Dares was playing in his first game since suffering a head injury in Halifax on December 11. He started the game on the third line with Aidan Kelly and Ryan Tesink. Oliver-Dares had two hits in his return.

RECAP: Five Alive. Dogs Win 6-3.

FINAL: Blainville-Boisbriand 3, Saint John 6

SAINT JOHN – The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada hung around but weren’t able to contain the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sunday afternoon in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League at Harbour Station.

The Armada stayed within one of the Sea Dogs until Danick Gauthier scored twice late in third period to give Saint John a 6-3 victory. It was the Sea Dogs’ fifth straight win and pushed them back into first-place in the QMJHL standings.

Along with Gauthier’s two goals, Ian Saab, Zack Phillips, Tomas Jurco and Jonathan Huberdeau also scored for the winners. Jurco, Charlie Coyle and Charles Roussel each added two assists. Mathieu Corbeil made 33 saves to pick up his 28^th win of the season, a new team record.

The Sea Dogs’ power play was clicking on Sunday afternoon, scoring on all three of their attempts.

Cedric Paquette scored twice for the Armada while Jean-Christophe Laflamme added a solo marker. Storm Phaneuf and his awesome name allowed five goals on 38 shots. Saint John’s sixth goal was an empty netter.

The Armada led twice in this game and were within one entering the third period but were not able to make a comeback.

LIVE BLOG: Armada vs Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN – The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada make their first trip to Harbour Station this season as they take on Sea Dogs at 3pm. Follow along for updates.

Sunday Links

Here are a few links for you to enjoy on the final Sunday of January.

The first comes from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review which has a brief article on former Saint John Sea Dogs captain Alex Grant who has been on fire in the American Hockey League of late. The defenseman has three goals and 19 assists in 31 games with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins this year.

The second comes from the Wheeling newspaper “The Intelligencer” which has a column on former Sea Dogs forward Nick Petersen and his hopes of getting noticed by the Pittsburgh Penguins while playing in the East Coast Hockey League. Petersen is making the most of his demotion to the ECHL.

''I've been injured a lot this year and I definitely want to come down here and get my game back,'' Petersen told the newspaper. ''I want to have fun playing hockey.”

Lastly, according to the Sea Dogs website, Sea Dogs players will be at the new BMO branch at 45 Hubert Street Monday from 5 to 7 p.m. As part of the bank’s grand opening, and to showcase its new sponsorship of the Canadian Hockey League, the branch is hosting an “Ultimate Fan” competition.

The first 100 people to register on site will be entered in a trivia contest to prove who knows their favourite junior hockey team the best. The winner will be entered into a draw, along with winners from 40 other communities, to win a grand prize of a trip for two to the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Shawinigan, Que.

Saint John hosts the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada today at 3pm at Harbour Station. If you can't make, you can follow our live blog. 

GAMEDAY 51: vs Armada

GAMEDAY

Blainville-Boisbriand Armada vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Today at 3pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live Blog: SN

Harbour Station – Saint John, NB

PREVIEW

SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs host their expansion cousins this afternoon at Harbour Station as the St. John's Fog Devils Montreal Junior Blainville-Boisbriand Armada make their only trip to southwestern New Brunswick this season.

The Sea Dogs enter action today with a record of 35-13-0-2 for 72 points. They sit one-point back of the Shawinigan Cataractes for first-place in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Dogs are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 games and have won four straight contests.

Saint John is 21-4-0-1 at home this year and have outscored opponents 116-64.

The Armada enter today’s contest with a record of 27-19-2-1 for 57 points. They sit on top of the Telus West standings and are third overall in  the league because of that. Boisbriand is 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 and have won two straight.

Boisbriand is 14-9-0-1 on the road this season and have outscored opponents 87-81. Today’s game will be the Armada’s third in three days and fourth in five days.

THE NUMBERS

	Blainville-Boisbriand	Saint John
Record	27-19-2-1 (1st West)	35-13-0-2 (1st Maritimes)
Home Record	- - -	21-4-0-1
Road Record	14-9-1-0	- - -
Streak	2-0-0-0	4-0-0-0
Last 10	6-3-0-1	7-2-0-1
Goals For	176	205
Goals Against	163	143
Overall PP	19.1% (13th)	20.4% (10th)
Home PP	- - -	20.9% (12th)
Road PP	21.8% (9th)	- - -
Overall PK	76.1% (12th)	77.7% (8th)
Home PK	- - -	85.6% (3rd)
Road PK	75% (11th)	- - -
PIM/GAME	13.8 (16th)	15.6 (10th)

Memorial Cup Blowout Sale Today

Sea Dogs Styles is having some big time sale today and is giving fans a chance to get some autographs. From the Sea Dogs website.

Players will be on hand to sign books and other memorabilia at the Sea Dog Styles store in Harbour Station Saturday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. as the store hosts a one-day Memorial Cup Merchandise Blowout. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, the store will be offering two special deals on Memorial Cup souvenirs. 

Fans purchasing a copy of the book Hockey Heaven: A Look Inside the Saint John Sea Dogs, 2011 Memorial Cup champions, will receive a free upper-bowl ticket to Sunday’s game against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Fans can also receive a free ticket by purchasing the book as part of a package, along with a Memorial Cup Champions T-shirt and puck. A $100 value, this package will be available Saturday for just $77.11 (plus tax) in recognition of the team’s 77-11 overall record last season. The book alone retails for $58 in recognition of the team tying the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League record with 58 wins. 

A variety of players from the defending Memorial Cup champions will be available to sign items purchased Saturday, and fans are welcome to bring other previously purchased merchandise as well.

Saint John hosts the Armada tomorrow afternoon at Harbour Station in their only game of the weekend.  The Dogs will be looking to win a fifth straight contest. 

Some CIS Notes

FREDERICTON – Greetings from a cold and snowy Freddy Beach, where tonight the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds host the Acadia Axemen at 7pm.

The V-Reds have been hit hard with injuries of late and have lost four of their last five games. They have fallen to second in the Atlantic University standings and third in the national rankings. The Axemen currently sit first overall in the AUS and fifth nationally.

One of the players UNB has been missing is former Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender Travis Fullerton who, according to the Daily Gleaner, “has been fitted with a knee brace and started skating and taking some shots in practice last week.” The Reds have allowed a combined 13 goals in their past two games.

Acadia has just one former Sea Dog on their roster. Jonathan Laberge sits fourth in Axemen scoring with seven goals and 11 assists in 22 games this year.

Here are some other AUS notes:

• Michael Kirkpatrick is having a solid rookie season with the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. He has 19 points in 21 games and sits fourth on the team in points. He is tied for the team lead in goals with 12.
• Jordan Knox, who played two games with the Sea Dogs at the beginning of the 2007-08 season, is second in UPEI Panthers scoring and tied for fifth in AUS scoring. He has 10 goals and 16 assists in 21 games.
• The STU Tommies are having another rough season and sit last in the AUS standings with a record of 3-15-3. Two Ex-Sea Dogs – Alex Labonte and Christian Morin – are playing with the Tommies this season. Labonte has three goals and five assists in 16 games while Morin has three helpers in 20 contests.
• Out west, Jacob DeSerres is 0-3 with a 3.97 goals against average and 0.875 save percentage. The Dinos, who made nationals last season, are 10-11-1 and sit fifth in the Canada West standings. 
• The AUS playoffs start in just a few weeks. The first-round begins on February 15.

UNB is hosting the national championships again this year. The official game times for the tournament were released today. We recommend attending if you like hockey. 

POSTSCRIPT: Wildcats 0, Sea Dogs 1

A collection of recaps from last night’s 1-0 Saint John Sea Dogs win over the Moncton Wildcats…

Our recap. Roman Will was the story of this one. The Wildcats ‘tender made several terrific stops throughout the game to give his team a chance. The late-game goal had to be heartbreaking.

The Telegraph-Journal’s recap. Paywalled.

The Times & Transcript’s recap. Paywalled.

News 88.9’s recap. Featuring Tim Roszell’s goal call.

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs waited until the eleventh hour but finally came away with a 1-0 win over the Moncton Wildcats Thursday.

SN Live Blog Replay. The guy running the ice cream stand had a Jonathan Huberdeau Team Canada jersey on. Unreal.

MISSING IN ACTION: The Sea Dogs were without forwards Stanislav Galiev (wrist), Devon Oliver-Dares (head), and Maxime Villemaire (gone home).

WELCOME BACK: Forward Ryan Tesink returned to the Sea Dogs lineup on Thursday night. It was his first game action since November 26 due to a knee injury. His return was short lived as he was given a game misconduct for “abuse of officials” at 18:06 of the first period. He also picked up roughing and unsportsmanlike penalties on the same play that took place during a scrum in the corner. Some strange stuff.

RECAP: The Great Will Of Moncton. Dogs Win 1-0.

FINAL: Moncton 0, Saint John 1

SAINT JOHN – Tomas Jurco saved his best for last on Thursday night at Harbour Station.

The Detroit Red Wings prospect tipped a Nathan Beaulieu shot past Moncton Wildcats goaltender Roman Will with 8.5 seconds remaining in regulation time, giving the Saint John Sea Dogs a thrilling 1-0 victory over their provincial rivals.

Jurco had several scoring chances throughout the contest, firing seven shots on goal. Danick Guathier led the Dogs with eight shots. Saint John outshot Moncton 46-20 on Thursday night, including a 34-9 advantage through 40 minutes.

Roman Will was the story of this one. The Wildcats ‘tender made several terrific stops throughout the game to give his team a chance. The late-game goal had to be heartbreaking.

Will didn’t get a whole lot of support from his teammates. The Wildcats fired just 20 shots on goal with 11 of those coming in the third period. Moncton also went 0-for-6 on the power play.

Sea Dogs goaltender Mathieu Corbeil had to be sharp to pick up the win. Although he wasn’t tested a lot, he did make several quality saves, including a big one in the third period. The netminder deserves some credit as these are challenging games to play in.

This was the second straight low scoring Moncton/Saint John. On January 2 at the Station, the Dogs needed a shootout to beat the ‘Cats 2-1. Both regulation time goals came in the third period.

Saint John has now won four straight games heading into Sunday’s contest against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. They improved their record to 35-13-0-2, putting them in a tie once again with the Shawinigan Cataractes for first-place in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

LIVE BLOG: Wildcats vs Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Sea Dogs host the Moncton Wildcats tonight at 7pm. Follow along for updates.

GAMEDAY 50: vs Wildcats

GAMEDAY

Moncton Wildcats vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight at 7pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live Blog: SN

Harbour Station – Saint John, NB

PREVIEW

SAINT JOHN – The Moncton Wildcats are in town this evening to take on the Saint John Sea Dogs in another instalment of the Brunswick News Rivalry Cup. Game time this evening is 7pm at Harbour Station. Upper bowl tickets can be purchased for just $10.

The Sea Dogs enter tonight’s game on a three-game winning streak and a 6-3-0-1 record in their last 10 games. Overall, Saint John has a record of 34-13-0-2 for 70 points and sit two points back of the Shawinigan Cataractes for first-place in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Cataractes, who beat the red hot Victoriaville Tigres 6-0 last night, don’t play until tomorrow.

At home this season, the Sea Dogs are 20-4-0-1 and have outscored opponents 115-64. They have the most home wins of any team in the league.

The Wildcats enter this evening’s game with a record of 22-20-3-2 for 49 points. They are fourth in the Maritimes Division and 11^th overall in the league standings. The ‘Cats are 5-2-1-2 in their last 10 and are coming off a win.

Moncton is 8-14-0-2 on the road and have been outscored 94-61.

JEANS

From the Sea Dogs website:

In addition, the Sea Dogs are accepting donations in partnership with Aeropostale for the fifth annual Teens For Jeans campaign. Fans can donate any brand or size of gently worn jeans, which will be given to local charities that serve homeless teens. Fans making a donation will receive a coupon for 25 per cent off a pair of new Aero jeans at Aeropostale, and a chance to win a pair of Aero jeans signed by the Sea Dogs.

THE NUMBERS

	Moncton	Saint John
Record	22-20-3-2 (4th Maritimes)	34-13-0-2 (1st Maritimes)
Home Record	- - -	20-4-0-1
Road Record	8-14-0-2	- - -
Streak	1-0-0-0	3-0-0-0
Last 10	5-2-1-2	6-3-0-1
Goals For	138	204
Goals Against	154	143
Shots/Game	29 (13th)	31.39 (4th)
SA/Game	30.2 (11th)	26.78 (2nd)
Overall PP	27.8% (3rd)	20.9% (9th)
Home PP	- - -	21.9% (11th)
Road PP	27.2% (2nd)	- - -
Overall PK	84.7% (1st)	77% (10th)
Home PK	- - -	84.6% (3rd)
Road PK	81.4% (4th)	- - -
PIM/GAME	14.3 (14th)	15.6 (8th)

Sea Dogs Returning To Sportsnet

SAINT JOHN – Jonathan Hoobadoo, Nathan Bowl-yeah, Tomas Jerko and Gerald Gallant are returning to Sportsnet next month.

For the first time since the Memorial Cup final, the Saint John Sea Dogs will be broadcast live coast-to-coast on national television. The Sea Dogs made the announcement earlier today in an email sent out to season ticket holders.

The game on Friday, February 17th vs Quebec Remparts will now be an 8pm start time, doors open at 7pm, as this game will be televised live on Rogers Sportsnet.

Sportsnet started “Friday Night Hockey” this season, which sees a Canadian Hockey League game get national coverage each Friday. As usual, there have been hardly any games featuring Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams.

They made the right call on selecting this game to air. The Remparts and Sea Dogs have been top teams in the league and entire CHL this season and both squads have plenty of highly touted NHL prospects.

RJ Broadhead, Sam Cosentino and good old Rob Faulds will likely be in Saint John for the broadcast. Jeff Marek and Damien Cox have been running the intermission segments this year.

Of all the memorable moments about last year’s Memorial Cup, to Sea Dogs fans, Sportsnet’s broadcasts were right up there. They constantly pointed out that they were a young team, they mispronounced just about every player’s name (something team resident Wayne Long even brought up while speaking on the boardwalk on parade day), and Nick Kypreos was there being Nick Kypreos. Ugh.

But hey, let’s end this post on a positive note. It’s national TV. On a Friday night. At Harbour Station. Against Patrick Roy and the Remparts. Should be fun.

Sea Dogs Ranked 5th In Top 10

SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs moved up to fifth in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings this week. The latest edition of the rankings were released this afternoon.

The Sea Dogs played two games this past week, winning both and outscoring their opponents 12-5. Saint John beat the Halifax Mooseheads 7-3 on Saturday night at Harbour Station and then  travelled to Bathurst to beat the Titan 5-2 on Sunday afternoon.

Saint John now has a record of 34-13-0-2 for 70 points. They are tied with the Shawinigan Cataractes for first-place in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Cats have played one fewer game.

Two other QMJHL teams made this week’s rankings. The Cataractes came in at No. 4 while the Quebec Remparts were placed ninth. The Victoriaville Tigres, who have won six straight, were an honourable mention.

The weekly rankings of the Canadian Hockey League’s Top 10 teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts.

Here are the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings for week 18.

1. London Knights (35-9-0-1)
2. Kamloops Blazers (34-10-1-2)
3. Tri-City Americans (34-11-0-1)
4. Shawinigan Cataractes (33-11-2-2)
5. Saint John Sea Dogs (34-13-0-2)
6. Edmonton Oil Kings (32-11-1-4)
7. Plymouth Whalers (31-12-2-1)
8. Ottawa 67's (29-11-4-1)
9. Quebec Remparts (30-11-4-2)
10. Kitchener Rangers (30-13-1-0) 

Honourable Mention:
Portland Winterhawks (31-14-2-1)
Victoriaville Tigres (32-15-0-2)
Niagara IceDogs (28-14-0-3)

In Buzzing The Net’s Dynamic Dozen this week, the Sea Dogs were ranked third.

Saint John plays two games this week, hosting the Moncton Wildcats on Thursday and the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Sunday. 

Sea Dogs Notebook

MAGAZINE

As tweeted by RDS’ Stephane Leroux, Jonathan Huberdeau is the cover boy for a new addition of LHJMQ MAG.

THURSDAY’S GAME

Next up for the Sea Dogs is a Thursday night matchup with the Moncton Wildcats. Game time is 7pm at Harbour Station. Upper bowl tickets can be purchased for just $10.

The Sea Dogs will be accepting donations in partnership with Aeropostale for the fifth annual Teens For Jeans campaign on Thursday night. Fans can donate any brand or size of gently worn jeans, which will be given to local charities that serve homeless teens. Fans making a donation will receive a coupon for 25 per cent off a pair of new Aero jeans at Aeropostale, and a chance to win a pair of Aero jeans signed by the Sea Dogs.

“Two years ago we partnered with the Sea Dogs and had our most successful year to date, bringing in 1,588 pairs. Our goal this year is to collect 2,500 pairs and we are so excited to again have the Sea Dogs on board,” said Julie Allen, manager of Aeropostale Saint John, in a team release. “Our goal is quite high this year but I know that together with the Sea Dogs fans and our community support we can make this our biggest year yet.”

SAUVE

The Sea Dogs website had an article on former ex-Dog Yann Sauve last week. In it, the defenseman talks about his NHL debut, his season so far, and has some comments from his old billet family.

“How much could he eat? Holy Dear God, the kid would get up, have at least two bowls of cereal, four things of yogurt, and toast. Then he would take probably three sandwiches for lunch with him and then whatever else he ate out there I don’t know,” Karen Losier, his billet mother, said. “He’d have at least two plates of supper, then four more yogurt, a couple apples and oranges, then dessert and then he’d come back up and eat before he’d go to bed.”

Big Weekend For Alex Grant

It was an eventful week for former Saint John Sea Dogs captains.

On Thursday, the American Hockey League’s Springfield Falcons traded Mike Thomas to the Grand Rapids Griffins. Then over the weekend, Alex Grant ripped up the AHL by recording two goals six assists over three games.

Grant, who captained the Sea Dogs through the 2007-08 season and part of the 2008-09 campaign, registered an assist on Friday in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ 4-1 win over the Manchester Monarchs. Then on Saturday, the defenseman went into beast mode, scoring twice and adding three assists in the Baby Pens’ 6-2 victory over the Syracuse Crunch.

"It's awesome," said Grant of his performance to the Citizen’s Voice. "Sold-out barn and being able to play that well at home, back-to-back wins, is pretty special. That's what we've been trying to do for a while now. We haven't been the best at home. We've been hearing it. It's good to give a sold-out crowd a night like that."

Grant’s five points all came on the power play. According the Citizen’s Voice, it was only the seventh time in WB/S history that a player recorded five points in a game.

Then on Sunday, the Antigonish native added two more power play helpers in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 4-3 win in Syracuse.

Grant now has three goals and 18 assists in 23 games this season in his third year of professional hockey.

In 222 games in three-and-a-half seasons with Saint John, the first overall pick in the 2005 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft recorded 40 goals and 84 assists.

POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 5, Titan 2

Billy Cundiff… yikes, man.

A collection of recaps from yesterday’s 5-2 Saint John Sea Dogs win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan…

Our recap. The Sea Dogs got off to a rough start as the Titan scored two power play goals in the opening 4:37 of the game.

The Telegraph-Journal’s recap. Paywalled.

News 88.9’s recap. Featuring Tim Roszell’s goal calls.

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. Zach O’Brien and Mirko Hoefflin scored for the Titan, and Robert Steeves made 18 saves in the loss as Bathurst fell to 23-20-2-3.

SN Live Blog Replay. Shout out to the folks who made the trek to Bathurst on the fan bus.

MISSING IN ACTION: Forwards Stanislav Galiev (wrist), Ryan Tesink (knee), Devon Oliver-Dares (head), and Maxime Villemaire (gone home) were all scratches for Saint John yesterday afternoon.

RECALLED: Affiliate Forward Mackenzie Brown played his second straight game with the Sea Dogs on Sunday. He finished the contest with no points and two shots.

RECAP: Fall Of The Titan. Dogs Win 5-2.

FINAL: Saint John 5, Bathurst 2

BATHURST, NB –Two of the league’s top offensive teams went head-to-head on Sunday afternoon at the KC Irving Regional Centre, and it was the Saint John Sea Dogs coming out on top over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

Saint John’s top line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Zack Phillips, and Charlie Coyle combined for three goals and five assists in the 5-2 win over the Titan. Bathurst’s top line of Sebastien Trudeau, Zach O’Brien and Matthew Bissonnette recorded a goal, two assists and were each a -4.

The Sea Dogs got off to a rough start as the Titan scored two power play goals in the opening 4:37 of the game. But Saint John quickly recovered, scoring five unanswered goals – including three in the opening frame – en route to their 34th Quebec Major Junior Hockey League win of the season.

Phillips scored twice for the Sea Dogs while Coyle, Danick Gauthier and Charles-Olivier Roussel added singles. Jonathan Huberdeau had three assists. Sebastien Auger had another strong game in net, making 30 saves for the win.

Bathurst had goals from O’Brien and Mirko Hoefflin. Robert Steeves allowed five goals on 23 shots in the loss.

The win puts Saint John into a tie for first-place overall in the league with the Shawinigan Cataractes with 70 points each. Shawinigan has however played one fewer game.

The victory was also significant because it was the Sea Dogs’ first win in Bathurst this season. They have struggled against the Titan this year, winning just two of the six head-to-head meetings. This was the final meeting between the two that will be played in northern New Brunswick.

LIVE BLOG: Sea Dogs vs Titan

BATHURST – The Saint John Sea Dogs look to finally get a win in Bathurst this season when they take on the Titan this afternoon at 4pm. Follow along for updates.

GAMEDAY 49 - at Bathurst

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Acadie-Bathurst Titan

Today at 4pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live Blog: SN

KC Irving Regional Centre – Bathurst, NB

PREVIEW

BATHURST – After defeating the Halifax Mooseheads by score of 7-3 last night at Harbour Station, the Saint John Sea Dogs look to continue their winning ways on the road this afternoon. The Sea Dogs are in Bathurst today for a 4pm tilt against the Titan.

The Titan have given the Sea Dogs a lot of trouble this season. Bathurst has won four of the five meetings between the two clubs this year while Saint John has managed to grab just three of possible 10 points against them.

Saint John enters today’s game with a record of 33-13-0-2 and sit just two points back of the Shawinigan Cataractes for top spot in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 66 points. The Sea Dogs have won two straight and are 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 games.

On the road this year, the Dogs are 13-9-0-1 and have outscored opponents 84-77.

The Titan currently sit third in the Maritimes Division and ninth overall in the league with a record of 23-19-2-3 for 51 points. They have picked up at least a point in each of their past four games and are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10.

Bathurst is 15-7-1-2 at home this season and have outscored opponents 108-89.

THE NUMBERS

	Saint John	Bathurst
Record	33-13-0-2 (1st Maritimes)	23-19-2-3 (3rd Maritimes)
Home Record	- - -	15-7-1-2
Road Record	13-9-0-1	- - -
Streak	2-0-0-0	3-0-0-1
Last 10	6-3-0-1	7-2-0-1
Goals For	199	182
Goals Against	141	175
Overall PP	20.9% (9th)	28% (2nd)
Home PP	- - -	31.9% (1st)
Road PP	19.8% (10th)	- - -
Overall PK	77.2% (8th)	77.2% (10th)
Home PK	- - -	78.8% (9th)
Road PK	70.4% (17th)	- - -
PIM/GAME	15.5 (10th)	16.1 (6th)

About Last Night...

The Sea Dogs won big last night, defeating the Halifax Mooseheads 7-3. Here some more stuff about the game.

• The Chronicle Herald’s recap. "You’ve got to minimize your mistakes against a team like that," said Mooseheads head coach Dominique Ducharme.
• Through the magic of News 88.9’s new Sea Dogs blog, you can listen to Tim Roszell call each of the Sea Dogs' seven goals last night.
• Here are the highlights, courtesy of SeaDogsTV.

• Sir Charles Coyle – four goals in his first three QMJHL games. He had three in 16 games Boston University this season before leaving. What a pickup he’s been.
• Last night’s game was the first sell-out of the year at Harbour Station. It was the team’s first capacity crowd since Game Five of the President’s Cup Final last May. It's a good time to be alive.
• Sea Dogs are in Bathurst today to play the Titan at 4pm. 

RECAP: Shooting Down The Herd. Dogs Win 7-3.

FINAL: Halifax 3, Saint John 7

SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs have done most of their scoring in second periods this season. But on Saturday night at Harbour Station, the Sea Dogs exploded in the third period en route to a 7-3 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads.

The Sea Dogs scored four times in the final frame to pick up their 33^rd win of the season and second straight. Saint John had scored 53 goals and allowed 56 in third periods this season entering the game, a far cry from their +39 second period goal differential.

Saint John played a pretty solid game on Saturday, showing off a lot of offensive skill in an entertaining contest. Their top line, which struggled last Saturday against Drummondville, was clicking. Five players had two more or points for Saint John.

Charlie Coyle and Tomas Jurco each scored twice for the Sea Dogs. Stephen MacAulay, Danick Gauthier and Aidan Kelly added solo markers. Jonathan Huberdeau and Grant West both had two assists. In goal, Mathieu Corbeil didn’t have his greatest performance but still made 29 saves to pick up the win.

The Mooseheads, who are now 4-5-0-1 in their last 10 games, had goals from Darcy Ashley, Martin Frk and Konrad Abeltshauser. Zachary Fucale allowed seven goals on 37 shots before getting pulled. Backup Marc-Olivier Daigle stopped all four shots he faced in relief.

LIVE BLOG: Mooseheads vs Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN – The Sea Dogs haven’t played in a while, but they return to action tonight when they host the Halifax Mooseheads at 7pm. Follow along for updates.

GAMEDAY 48: vs Mooseheads

GAMEDAY

Halifax Mooseheads vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight at 7pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live Blog: SN

Harbour Station – Saint John, NB

PREVIEW

SAINT JOHN – After a week off, the Saint John Sea Dogs return to action tonight when they host the Halifax Mooseheads at 7pm at Harbour Station. There are a limited amount of tickets remaining for the contest.

Tonight’s match will see the two best teams in the Quebec Major Hockey League’s Maritimes Division go head-to-head. The Sea Dogs enter action tonight with a record of 32-13-0-2 for 66 points. They sit second overall in the league, four points back of the Shawinigan Cataractes who beat the Quebec Remparts 5-1 last night. Saint John is 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 games and are coming off a win.

The Dogs are 19-4-0-1 at Harbour Station this year and have outscored opponents 108-61.

Saint John played okay in their last game, beating the Drummondville Voltigeurs 3-0 one week ago. But anybody who watched that game will tell you that the Dogs can play a lot better. They’ll look to make some improvements tonight and get on a roll as they enter the stretch run.

Halifax enters play tonight with a record of 26-15-1-3. They sit second in the Maritimes Division and sixth overall in the league with 56 points. They are 4-5-0-1 in their last 10 games and are coming off a loss.

The Mooseheads are 9-9-0-2 on the road this season and have been outscored 77-64.

THE NUMBERS

	Halifax	Saint John
Record	26-15-1-3 (2nd Maritimes)	32-13-0-2 (1st Maritimes)
Home Record	- - -	19-4-0-1
Road Record	9-9-0-2	- - -
Streak	0-1-0-0	1-0-0-0
Last 10	4-5-0-1	6-3-0-1
Goals For	169	192
Goals Against	162	138
Overall PP	25.2% (5th)	21.2% (9th)
Home PP	- - -	22.5% (10th)
Road PP	24.2% (4th)	- - -
Overall PK	77% (11th)	77.5% (7th)
Home PK	- - -	85.4% (3rd)
Road PK	73.7% (13th)	- - -
PIM/GAME	14.2 (15th)	15.6 (9th)

Sea Dogs Weekend Preview

SAINT JOHN – After a week off, hockey returns to Harbour Station tomorrow night as the Saint John Sea Dogs host the Halifax Mooseheads at 7pm. The Dogs also play on Sunday afternoon as they travel to Bathurst to take on the Titan at 4pm.

The Sea Dogs enter action this weekend with a record of 32-13-0-2 and sit two points back of the Shawinigan Cataractes for top spot in the league. The Cataractes play the Quebec Remparts tonight in a marquee matchup.

Saint John is 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 games and are coming off a 3-0 win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs last Saturday at Harbour Station. The Dogs weren’t firing on all cylinders last Saturday, but after a week off, hopefully they have a better showing this weekend. 

Here are some things to watch for heading this weekend.

Thomas Traded to Grand Rapids

Former Saint John Sea Dogs captain Mike Thomas was involved in an American Hockey League trade today.

The Springfield Falcons, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, shipped Thomas to the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Detroit Red Wings’ farm team, in exchange for defenseman Greg Amadio. The Falcons signed Thomas as a free agent back in June.

The New Maryland native had a goal, three assists, 16 penalty minutes and a -6 rating in 25 games with the Falcons this season. He also played in two games with the East Coast Hockey League’s Chicago Express, recording four penalty minutes and a -1 rating.

Springfield sits last in the AHL’s Northeast Division and 13^th overall in the Eastern Conference with a record of 18-17-1-2. The Griffins sit last in the North Division and 14^th in the Western Conference with a record of 15-16-4-3.

Thomas captained Saint John to the President’s and Memorial Cup last year. In 288 games played with the Dogs, he recorded 37 goals and 83 points, to go with 470 penalty minutes. In 55 playoff contests he added nine goals, 11 assists, and 43 penalty minutes. 

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Sea Dogs Slip To No. 6

SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs slipped to sixth in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings this week. The latest edition of the rankings were released today.

The Sea Dogs had a bit of a rough week, going 1-1. They played an ugly game on Thursday night at Harbour Station, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Memorial Cup hosting Shawinigan Cataractes. The Sea Dogs then beat the Drummondville Voltigeurs 3-0 on Saturday night but their offense didn’t have a great game.

Saint John is now 32-13-0-2 and sit second in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 66 points. They are 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 contests.

Other QMJHL teams on this week’s list include the Cataractes at No. 3 and Quebec Remparts at No. 7. The Victoriaville Tigres were an honourable mention.

The weekly rankings of the Canadian Hockey League’s Top 10 teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts.

Here are the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings for week 17.

1. Tri-City Americans (34-10-0-0)
2. London Knights (32-9-0-1)
3. Shawinigan Cataractes (32-10-2-2)
4. Kamloops Blazers (31-10-1-2)
5. Plymouth Whalers (30-10-2-1)
6. Saint John Sea Dogs (32-13-0-2)
7. Quebec Remparts (29-9-4-2)
8. Portland Winterhawks (30-12-2-1)
9. Edmonton Oil Kings (29-11-1-4)
10. Kitchener Rangers (28-12-1-0) 

Honourable Mention:
Ottawa 67's (26-11-4-1)
Victoriaville Tigres (29-15-0-2)
Niagara IceDogs (26-13-0-3)

In Buzzing The Net’s weekly Dynamic Dozen, the Sea Dogs were ranked sixth as well.

Saint John plays two games this week. They host the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday night at the Station and then travel to Bathurst to play the Titan on Sunday afternoon.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

VIDEO: Theo Fleury at Sea Dogs Practice

SAINT JOHN – Theo Fleury was in town today and made a visit to Harbour Station for Sea Dogs practice this afternoon. Fleury is in Saint John this evening speaking at the Muriel McQueen Fergusson 2012 Gala Dinner presented by Scott McCain and Margaret McCain.

Here’s SeaDogsTV’s feature on Fleury’s visit to Harbour Station today.

"Beauregard's Biggest Battle"

If there is anything on the internet you should read today, it’s Patrick King’s column on Alexandre Beauregard over at Sportsnet.ca.

In it, King discusses Beauregard’s playoff heroics last spring, his current fight with cancer, and speaks with Chicoutimi head coach Marc-Étienne Hubert and former teammate Jonathan Huberdeau.

Anthony Marcotte, who covers the Sagueneens for a Chicoutimi radio station, also has a solid read up at AOWELL.ca en francais. Buzzing The Net also has an article. 

If you haven’t already, you can send Beauregard a message on Twitter @AlexBo125. 

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Sea Dogs Notebook

DOGS JERSEY IN C-BUS

Here’s friend-of-the-blog @CBJProspects sporting his new Mathieu Corbeil jersey at Nationwide Arena in Columbus over the weekend.

BEAUREGARD

Alexandre Beauregard has received an outpouring of support on Twitter since it was announced that he had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. From Simon Despres to Nathan MacKinnon, several QMJHL players, teams and fans have tweeted their well wishes to the former Sea Dog. The messages sent to him can be read here.

ROSZELL ON TWITTER

The biggest Sea Dogs related news of the week came when the legendary Tim Roszell joined Twitter. He gained nearly 100 followers in his first day and that number has since grown to 135. You can follow the Sea Dogs’ play-by-play man by clicking here.

For historical purposes, here’s a screen shot of his first tweet.

Also, we discovered this week – completely by accident – that News 88.9 finally has a Sea Dogs blog. Each game recap features Roszell's goal calls. Unreal.

FOOD DRIVE

The results of the New Year’s Rivalry Cup food drive are finally in. The teams will split the points because the two used different weighing methods.

“Generous Moncton fans piled food high at the Coliseum on New Year's Eve and the Wildcats were able to secure an industrial scale to actually weigh each food item, for a grand total of 1,911 pounds,” states a release. “Saint John raised a similar amount of food at its home game Jan. 2, with a total determined based on a national formula for calculating food bank donations.”

The real winners are New Brunswick food banks. That’s what it’s all about.

Moncton remains in the lead in the overall Rivalry Cup standings, holding an 11.5-10.5 edge in the competition.

Beauregard Diagnosed With Thyroid Cancer

Alexandre Beauregard, the tough-as-nails forward who scored one of the biggest goals in Saint John Sea Dogs franchise history last year, has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. The Chicoutimi Sagueneens, his current team, made the announcement today on their website.

Beauregard, 20, played just 41 career games with Saint John but was always a fan favourite because of his gritty and tough play. He scored in double-overtime of Game Six of the President’s Cup final, sending the Sea Dogs to the Memorial Cup for the first time in team history.

Here’s what Beauregard said in a Sagueneens statement, as translated by Google.

"The announcement was a shock, for sure. I do not think it is the end of the world, however. My goal is to return the game to help Saguenéens in the playoffs. "

Sea Dogs captain Jonathan Huberdeau tweeted this to Beauregard today.

@AlexBo125 will be fine !! He is a strong guy #seadogsforlife ! Love my saint-Jerome boy ! #missyou we are all with you !! #goodluckmylove

You can send Beauregard a message on twitter by tweeting @AlexBo125.

We don’t even know what to say. From all of us at SN, get well soon Alexandre Beauregard.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Who is the Top (former) Dog?

By Andrew McGilligan

SN Staff

With Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Simon Despres notching the first-ever NHL goal and point by a former Saint John Sea Dog player, it begs the question: Who is the most successful Sea Dog?

First let’s set some ground rules.

The player can’t currently be on the team and only the accolades while not in a Dogs uniform will be considered.

Not an easy question to answer and one that everyone will have a different opinion on.

Despres, Yann Sauve, Mike Hoffman and Mathieu Corbeil have all suited up for an NHL game. That puts them high on the list, given the goal of many young Canadians is to someday play in the NHL.

However, current players can’t be considered, so that takes care of Corbeil leaving the two former Port City blueliners and Hoffman.

By virtue of his NHL goal and point, Despres is ranked ahead of the other two.

Past graduates have gone on to play in the minors such as the AHL and ECHL. While others have elected to play in the CIS.

POSTSCRIPT: Voltigeurs 0, Sea Dogs 3

A collection of recaps from last night’s 3-0 Saint John Sea Dogs win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs…

Our recap. Sebastien Auger stopped all 28 shots he faced on Saturday night to pick up his first Quebec Major Junior Hockey League shutout.

L’Express’ recap. Despite the loss, the Voltigeurs were pretty happy with their performance.

The Canadian Press’ recap. At Saint John N.B., Sebastien Auger earned his first QMJHL shutout, and first star of the game, turning aside 28 shots as the Sea Dogs (32-13-2) blanked Drummondville (17-24-5).

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. Domenic Graham made 19 saves in the loss as the Voltigeurs dropped to 17-24-2-3.

SN Live Blog replay. Domenic Graham was robbed of Top Dog honours. 

MISSING IN ACTION: Forwards Devon Oliver-Dares (head), Ryan Tesink (knee), Stanislav Galiev (wrist), and Maxime Villemaire (gone home) were Saint John's scratches. Dylan McGuigan was sent back down to the Maritime Junior Hockey League.

AUGER: Sebastien Auger stopped all 28 shots he faced on Saturday night, earning his first Quebec Major Junior Hockey League shutout. It wasn’t like the Sea Dogs were dominating Drummondville either, making Auger’s performance a key part in the victory.

He made quite a few big saves throughout the contest. The Volts, who have struggled offensively this season with the loss of Sean Couturier and Ondrej Palat to the pro ranks, outshot the Sea Dogs 28-22.

The rookie goaltender is now 7-2-0-2 with a 3.26 goals against average and a 0.875 save percentage.

RECAP: Goose Egg. Dogs Win 3-0.

FINAL: Drummondville 0, Saint John 3

SAINT JOHN – Sebastien Auger stopped all 28 shots he faced on Saturday night to pick up his first Quebec Major Junior Hockey League shutout.

Auger backstopped the Saint John Sea Dogs to a 3-0 victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs at Harbour Station. The backup ‘tender put in a strong performance in goal, making several big stops throughout the contest.

Auger had to be good, too, because this was not a blowout by any means. Saint John’s offence just couldn’t kick it into high gear, firing just 22 shots on goal compared to Drummondville’s 28. It’s the second straight game the Sea Dogs’ offence, featuring three first-rounders on their top line, looked off.

Zack Phillips, Charlie Coyle, and Pierre Durepos were the only ones who could find the back of the net for Saint John. Danick Gauthier was the only Sea Dog with multiple points, recording two assists.

Drummondville goaltender Domenic Graham allowed three goals on 22 shots. He had a rough first period as both goals he allowed were banked off him. His worst goal against came when Coyle, parked behind the goal, was able to sneak the puck off his leg and in.

Saint John improved to 32-13-0-2 but still sit two points back of the Shawinigan Cataractes for top spot in the league.

LIVE BLOG: Voltigeurs vs Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN – The Drummondville Voltigeurs come to town tonight to take on the Sea Dogs at 7pm. Follow along for updates.

GAMEDAY 47: vs Voltigeurs

GAMEDAY

Drummondville Voltigeurs vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight at 7pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live Blog: SN

Harbour Station – Saint John, NB

PREVIEW

SAINT JOHN –Coming off a disappointing loss on Thursday night, the Saint John Sea Dogs look to get back on track this evening at Harbour Station. The Dogs, who saw their three-game winning streak come to end against the Shawinigan Cataractes, host the Drummondville Voltigeurs at 7pm.

The Sea Dogs are now two-points back of Shawinigan for first-place in the league with a record of 31-13-0-2. They are two points back of Shawinigan and have played one more game. Saint John is just 5-4-0-1 in their last 10 games.

Saint John is 18-4-0-1 at Harbour Station this year and have outscored opponents 105-61. Their 105 home goals are good for second in the league.

Drummondville enters play tonight with a record of 17-23-2-3 and sit fourth in the awful Telus West Division and 14^th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Volts have lost two straight and are 4-6-0-0 in their last 10.

The Voltigeurs are 6-15-1-1 on the road this year and have been outscored 89-67.

NUMBERS

	Drummondville	Saint John
Record	17-23-2-3 (4th West)	31-13-0-2 (1st Maritimes)
Home Record	- - -	18-4-0-1
Road Record	6-15-1-1	- - -
Streak	0-2-0-0	0-1-0-0
Last 10	4-6-0-0	5-4-0-1
Goals For	146	189
Goals Against	167	138
Overall PP	13.1% (17th)	21.4% (9th)
Home PP	- - -	23% (10th)
Road PP	11.9% (16th)	- - -
Overall PK	81.6% (5th)	77.2% (7th)
Home PK	- - -	84.9% (4th)
Road PK	85% (2nd)	- - -
PIM/GAME	16.9 (3rd)	15.8 (7th)

Sags vs Moose Tonight on Sportsnet

Tonight at 8pm, Sportsnet is actually airing an actual QMJHL game being played in an actual Atlantic Canadian city that may actually be entertaining. Friday the 13^th really does bring out the weird stuff.

This evening at the Metro Centre, the Halifax Mooseheads host the revamped Chicoutimi Sagueneens. The Herd sit sixth overall in the league with a record of 25-13-1-3 while the Sags sit eighth with a record of 21-14-3-5. Only four points separate the two teams.

Chicoutimi made a big splash during the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s trading period, acquiring the likes of Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Mathieu Gagnon and Christian Ouellet. The Sags also feature two former Saint John Sea Dogs defensemen in Gabriel Bourret and Guillaume Cloutier. Bourret is having a solid season having recorded four goals and 23 assists in 43 games. Another ex-Dog, forward Alexandre Beauregard, also calls Chicoutimi home now but hasn’t played since December 28 due to an injury.

Halifax, of course, features current/future superstar Nathan MacKinnon and a bunch of other legit prospects. The Moose travel to Saint John next Saturday to face the Sea Dogs at Harbour Station.

Patrick King has a full game preview up over at Sportsnet.ca.

In other key matchups in the Q tonight, the Shawinigan Cataractes, who are currently tied with Saint John for top spot in the league with 64 points, visits PEI to play the last-place Rocket. Also, the fifth-place Victoriaville Tigres take on the Val-d’Or Foreurs. The Quebec Remparts have the night off. 

POSTSCRIPT: Cataractes 4, Sea Dogs 1

A collection of recaps from last night’s 4-1 Saint John Sea Dogs loss to the Shawinigan Cataractes…

Our recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs’ power play went 0-for-6 on Thursday night at Harbour Station as the Memorial Cup champions fell 4-1 to the Memorial Cup hosting Shawinigan Cataractes. It was Shawinigan’s final visit to Saint John this regular season.

The Telegraph-Journal’s recap. Paywalled.

La Nouvelliste’s recap. The Sea Dogs pretty much played one period of hockey against one of the best teams in the country.

L’Hebdo du St. Maurice’s recap. Saint John’s power play was pretty bad.

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. Peter Sakaris had two goals, and Michael Chaput and Michael Bournival also tallied for the Cataractes. Gabriel Girard stopped 29 shots for the win as Shawinigan climbed to 30-10-2-2 and evened the season series at a game apiece.

The Canadian Press’ recap. Saint John (31-13-2) had the best record in the QMJHL until Shawinigan's (30-10-4) win helped them tie in points at 64.

SN Live Blog replay. Sir Charles Coyle had the lone Saint John goal.

MISSING IN ACTION: The Sea Dogs were without forwards Ryan Tesink (knee), Stanislav Galiev (wrist), and Devon Oliver-Dares (head) due to injuries on Thursday night. Maxime Villemaire has left the team to think about his playing future.