February Fever

The Saint John Sea Dogs are entering February on a high note. The team has won five straight games and are 8-2-0-0 in their last 10, placing them first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League standings with a 36-13-0-2 record.

Overall, January was a good month for the Sea Dogs. In nine games, they had a record of 8-1-0-0 and outscored opponents 34-18. Their lone loss was a 4-1 defeat against the Shawinigan Cataractes, the team that sits just one-point back with a game in-hand on the Saint John in the standings.

Now, it’s time to take a look at February. Here is the Sea Dogs’ schedule with the winning percentage of each opponent on the far right.

Date	Opponent	Time	Win Pct
Fri Feb 3	at Drummondville	08:00 AST	0.462
Sat Feb 4	at Shawinigan	05:00 AST	0.730
Sat Feb 11	at PEI	04:00 AST	0.340
Sun Feb 12	vs Bathurst	03:00 AST	0.520
Wed Feb 15	at PEI	07:00 AST	0.340
Fri Feb 17	vs Quebec	08:00 AST	0.700
Tue Feb 21	vs Halifax	07:00 AST	0.615
Sat Feb 25	at Moncton	07:00 AST	0.500
Sun Feb 26	vs Cape Breton	03:00 AST	0.429
Tue Feb 28	vs Moncton	07:00 AST	0.500

Saint John will play six of their 10 games this month against opponents who currently have winning percentages at or above .500. Only three – Shawinigan, Quebec, and Halifax – sit above .600. Unless something bizarre happens, there is really no reason why the Sea Dogs shouldn’t get 16-20 points this month.

The Dogs will play five road games in February with three of them being in played within the division. They kick off the month with back-to-back contests in Quebec.

As for the standings go, it’s basically coming down to Saint John, Shawinigan, Quebec, and Victoriaville to battle it out for top spot in the league. Working in the Sea Dogs’ favour is that the Cataractes, Remparts, and Tigres all play within the ridiculously tough Telus East Division, meaning their schedules down the stretch will be a lot tougher.

Here’s a look at the standings.

With the division winners being placed first through third, it will take quite a collapse for Saint John not to finish first or second overall.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation