POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 1, Tigres 2

A collection of recaps from last night’s 2-1 Saint John Sea Dogs loss to the Victoriaville Tigres…

Our recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs travelled to the Colisee Desjardins on Wednesday to face off against the Victoriaville Tigres.

The Telegraph-Journal’s recap (paywall). The Saint John Sea Dogs dropped a 2-1 decision to the Victoriaville Tigres in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action on Wednesday.

La Nouvelle Union’s recap. Sebastien Auger was good.

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

The Canadian Press’ recap. Philippe Maillet and Angelo Miceli each scored in the third period to lift the Victoriaville Tigres over the Saint John Sea Dogs 2-1 in Wednesday's Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs met the Victoriaville Tigres in a midweek road contest in Wednesday’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. The Tigres came out on top by a score of 2-1 at the Colisée Desjardins.

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without Jurij Repe (broken hand), Connor Donaghey (shoulder), Michael Abbott (lower body), and Brett Malone (healthy) on Wednesday night.

News 88.9 reported before the game that Repe could return to the Saint John lineup as early as Friday. He has not played since November 25 due the Division 1 world juniors where he broke his hand.

THE START: The Sea Dogs had a better first period then they did on Saturday against Sherbrooke, firing six shots on net. The Tigres were a bit sluggish at the start of the game but had some good pressure on late. They had 11 shots with seven of them being dangerous. The score was 0-0 after one.

RECAP: Close One. Dogs Lose 2-1.

FINAL: Saint John 1, Victoriaville 2

By Tim Lumsden

SN Staff

The Saint John Sea Dogs travelled to the Colisee Desjardins on Wednesday to face off against the Victoriaville Tigres.

It was the Sea Dogs’ Sebastien Auger who started in net for the visitors while Brandon Whitney took net for the Tigres.

FIRST PERIOD

Philippe Hudon started things off early on for Victo in the penalty department as he was ushered off at 1:16 for a boarding penalty.

Tripping was the call for Stephen Anderson at 2:08. He would send the Sea Dogs to the penalty kill, their first of the game.

Carl Chenier took a holding penalty at 5:46, sending the Tigres onto the defensive.

Matthew Highmore took the last penalty of the period at 18:05 as an unfortunate slashing call sent him to the box.

That would end the scoreless period. Shots on goal were 6 – 11 in favour of Victo.

SECOND PERIOD

It was confusion for the Sea Dogs at the start of the period as Andreas Tsogkas gets sent to the box to serve a “too many men on the ice” penalty at 1:16.

It was double penalties at the 4:12 mark as Maxime Villemaire got called for diving while Michael Rheaume headed off for interference.

Soon after, Philippe Halley, Victoriaville’s captain, was sent to the penalty box for tripping. This would again send Saint John on the offensive and back to the power play.

Sea Dogs fans cheered back at home as Stephen Anderson, assisted by Izacky and Weckworth, put the first point of the game up on the board at 16:20.

That would end the second period with a score of 1-0 for Saint John. Shots on goal were 9 – 14 for Victo.

GAMEDAY 48 - at Victoriaville

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Victoriaville Tigres

Tonight at 8:00pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live: @station_nation

Colisee Desjardins – Victoriaville, Que.

PREVIEW

VICTORIAVILLE, Que. – For the final time this regular season, the Saint John Sea Dogs travel to Quebec for a three-game road trip.

Their first stop is Victoriaville where they will face the Tigres this evening at 8pm. The Sea Dogs have a day off tomorrow to prepare for Friday’s tilt in Gatineau and Saturday’s matchup in Shawinigan.

For a team that sits 15^th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Sea Dogs have been decent on the road this year. They have a 9-14-0-0 record away from Harbour Station but have been outscored by a wide margin, 105-68.

Saint John enters action today with a 19-28-0-0 record which is good for 15^th overall and fifth in the Telus Maritimes Division. The Sea Dogs have lost three straight and are 2-8-0-0 in their last 10 games. They are coming off a 3-2 home loss to the expansion Sherbrooke Phoenix. Playing a full 60 minutes has been an issue for Saint John lately. You never really know what kind of performance this team will have.

With Jonathan Huberdeau gone, Jakub Izacky is the Sea Dogs’ leading scorer with 22 points in 42 games.

The Tigres enter play with a 19-21-3-5 record and sit fifth in the Telus East Division and 12^th overall in the league. They sit eight points ahead of Saint John. Victoriaville is 4-4-1-1 in their last 10 games.

Victoriaville is led by Philippe Maillet who has 17 goals and 39 assists for 56 points in 45 games this year.

The Dogs and Tigres met a couple weeks at Colisee Desjardins. Victoriaville won 6-4.

Sea Dogs Notebook

ROAD TRIP

The Sea Dogs begin their final Quebec road trip of the regular season in Victoriaville on Wednesday. Saint John battles the Tigres at 8pm to kick off a three-game trip.

The Dogs, losers of three straight, then travel to Gatineau to take on the Olympiques on Friday night. Saturday they visit the Shawinigan Cataractes for a rematch of the 2012 Memorial Cup semifinal.

The standings got a bit more interesting with Saint John losing to Sherbrooke on Saturday. The Phoenix – 16^th overall in the league (the final playoff spot) - are now just four points back of the Sea Dogs who sit 15^th. The Dogs do have two games in hand.

HUBERDEAU

The Florida Panthers announced yesterday that Jonathan Huberdeau will remain in the NHL for the season. He spoke to the Panthers website before the announcement was made.

"It's not like if I play six games, I can stop working and I'm on the team," said Huberdeau prior to finding out his fate. "I have got to keep working. I want to play the best as I can and that's what I'm going to try to do.

"Work hard and keep it simple."

Huberdeau played in his sixth NHL game tonight, kicking in his entry-level contract.

Puck Daddy named Huberdeau a candidate for the Calder Trophy yesterday.

SEED

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Jason Seed was named the Maritime Junior Hockey League’s first star of the week yesterday. The 20-year old, currently playing with the Summerside Western Capitals, registered seven points this past week.

From the MHL website:

Seed, an Ottawa native, first helped his team to a 5-3 win over Dieppe on Thursday night earning two assists. Then on Saturday night in Miramichi, he was the game's second star as he earned a goal and an assist in a 6-3 win over Miramichi. Finally on Sunday, Seed was again the game's second star in a 4-1 win over the Slammers as he earned a goal and two assists. Seed has 17 points in 16 games since joining the Caps.

Yarmouth Mariners forward Colin Campbell, who played six games with Saint John in 2011-12, was named the second star.

GRANT

Highland Park Hockey had an article on former Sea Dogs captain Alex Grant on Monday.

Grant was a victim of the NHL lockout, sliding down the depth charts of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He has played in just 19 games this season, recording two goals and three assists. With the lockout over, he should get more playing time.

Huberdeau Staying In NHL

The Florida Panthers announced this afternoon that Jonathan Huberdeau will remain in the National Hockey League for the rest of the season.

Congrats @jonnyhuby11! The #FlaPanthers have told him he's staying for the season.
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) January 28, 2013

The news comes as no surprise as it was either stay with the Panthers or return to junior where he has nothing left to prove. Even though this 48-game season will burn a year off his entry-level contract, this is probably the right move for his development.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs captain got off to a hot start offensively but - like the rest of the team – has slowed down over the past few games. Huberdeau is fourth on the team in scoring with a goal and two assists in five games. He is third on the team in shots with 13.

Florida had a great first game but have lost four straight since then. They are 1-4-0 and sit dead last in the Eastern Conference. They are in Tampa Bay to face the Lightning tomorrow night.

Even though Huberdeau hasn’t played a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game since early December, he is still Saint John’s leading scorer with 45 points in 30 games.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Please Change The Goal Song

By Fans Against The Big Bad Wolf

This has been the Sea Dogs goal song at Harbour Station for the past while.

This goal song is terrible (EDIT: maybe that's a little harsh. It's just not a good goal song). We’ve seen nothing but negative feedback about it on Twitter.

Fans cheer when a goal is scored. A goal song should be used to keep that going (note how some NHL goal songs have fans chanting and/or clapping to a beat). Currently, this goal song has fans stopping and wondering what in the world is going on.

Please consider changing it.

POSTSCRIPT: Phoenix 3, Sea Dogs 2

A collection of recaps from last night’s 3-2 Saint John Sea Dogs loss to the Sherbrooke Phoenix…

Our recap. The Sherbrooke Phoenix have had the Saint John Sea Dogs’ number this month.

The Telegraph-Journal’s recap (paywall). The Saint John Sea Dogs got better as the game went on, but their improvement couldn’t erase a brutal first period that led to a 3-2 loss to the Sherbrooke Phoenix Saturday night at Harbour Station.

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

The Canadian Press’ recap. Jacob Gervais-Chouinard stopped 32-of-34 shots and Denis Kamaev's goal at 4:09 of the third period stood up as the winner as Sherbrooke (14-28-6) handed the Sea Dogs (19-28-0) their fourth straight defeat.

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs hosted the Sherbrooke Phoenix at Harbour Station for the first time as the Phoenix took the contest 3-2 in front of 4,396 fans in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Saturday night.

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without the services of Jonathan Huberdeau (NHL – Florida Panthers), Connor Donaghey (shoulder), Michael Abbott (lower body), Jurij Repe (broken hand), and Justin Dickinson (healthy) on Saturday night. Also, News 88.9 reports that defenseman David Mosher has been sent back down to the MHL’s Truro Bearcats.

SCORING FIRST: Sherbrooke scored the opening goal as Carl Neill scored at 12:17 of the first period. It was just the 14^th time this season that the Phoenix had scored the opening goal of a game.

FIGHTS: After Vladislav Lysenko leveled Marcus Cuomo at the blue line, Stephen Anderson dropped the gloves with Lysenko at 13:49 of the first. Anderson, not surprisingly, also picked up an instigator penalty. It was Anderson’s first career QMJHL fight.

AFTER ONE: It wasn’t a great first period for Saint John. Sherbrooke led 2-0 after one and out shot Saint John 13-4. The Dogs just couldn’t get anything going offensively.

RECAP: Phoenix Rise. Dogs Lose 3-2.

FINAL: Sherbrooke 3, Saint John 2

SAINT JOHN – The Sherbrooke Phoenix have had the Saint John Sea Dogs’ number this month.

After beating the Sea Dogs 3-0 a couple weeks ago, the Phoenix came into Harbour Station on Saturday night and left with a 3-2 victory in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.

Carl Neill, Alexis Bernier, and Denis Kamaev all scored for Sherbrooke. Goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard made 32 stops for the win.

Saint John had goals from Jakub Izacky and Maxime Villemaire. Sebastien Auger made 18 saves in the loss.

Bizarre game. The Sea Dogs didn’t show up for the first period and were out shot 13-4 and found themselves down 2-0. In the second, Saint John out shot Sherbrooke 12-4 but really didn’t have many legit scoring chances.

In the third, Kamaev beat Auger top corner at 4:09 to make it 3-0 Phoenix. Welp. But then, the Sea Dogs started to turn it on. Izacky scored a great goal at 9:27. Then Villemaire made it a one-goal game at 14:38. Saint John had some pressure on in the final minutes but could not net the equalizer.

Shots were 18-4 in favour of the Sea Dogs in the third and 34-21 overall.

The Sea Dogs’ power play was lifeless and went 0-for-4. The Phoenix went 1-for-5.

This loss was Saint John’s third straight. They fall to 19-28-0-0.

NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow on SN.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs are in Victoriaville Wednesday night.

Sea Dogs Lineup vs Phoenix

SAINT JOHN – Welcome to Harbour Station where the Sea Dogs will be taking on the Sherbrooke Phoenix this evening.

Here are the Sea Dogs’ listed lines and defense pairings:

Villemaire – Tsogkas – Izacky

Cooper – Smallman – Zilbert

Malone – Cameron – Brown

Cuomo – Highmore – Anderson

LeBlanc – Durepos

Saab – Weckworth

Doucet – Duda

Auger

Fournier

Sea Dogs scratches are: Jonathan Huberdeau, Connor Donaghey, Michael Abbott, Jurij Repe, and Justin Dickinson.

As always, follow @station_nation on Twitter for in-game updates.

GAMEDAY 47 - vs Phoenix

GAMEDAY

Sherbrooke Phoenix vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight at 7:00pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live: @station_nation

Harbour Station – Saint John, NB

PREVIEW

SAINT JOHN – The Sherbrooke Phoenix make their first ever visit to Saint John tonight as they take on the Sea Dogs at 7pm at Harbour Station.

The expansion franchise is 1-1-0-0 against the Sea Dogs this season with both of those games being played in Sherbrooke. Their last meeting was on January 13 where the Phoenix shutout the Dogs 3-0. Saint John will look to get some revenge tonight.

Sherbrooke got off to a bad start but they have improved as the season has gone on. If the playoffs started today, they would be in them. They sit 16^th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League standings with a 13-28-2-4 record.

This is the second game of a three-in-three Maritime road trip for Sherbrooke. They lost 7-2 in Halifax last night, play in Saint John tonight, and travel to Bathurst tomorrow.

Michael McNamee leads the Phoenix in scoring with 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points in 45 games.

The Sea Dogs enter play today with a 19-27-0-0 record and sit fifth in the Telus Maritimes Division and 15^th overall in the league. Saint John has lost two straight and are 3-7-0-0 in their last 10 games.

Jakub Izacky is Saint John’s active leading scorer with 14 goals and seven assists for 21 points in 41 games.

Pretty big game for the Sea Dogs tonight. Saint John hits the road for Quebec this week and doesn’t play at Harbour Station again until February 7.

Phoenix In Town Tomorrow

The Sherbrooke Phoenix make their first ever visit to Saint John tomorrow when they take on the Sea Dogs at 7pm at Harbour Station.

The Phoenix begin a three-in-three Maritime road swing tonight in Halifax. They play in Saint John tomorrow and in Bathurst on Sunday. Sherbrooke sits 16^th overall in the league – the final playoff spot – with a 13-27-2-4 record. They’re four points up on the 17^th-place Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and have two games in hand.

The Sea Dogs sit six points ahead of the Phoenix in the standings with a 19-27-0-0 record.

Sherbrooke beat Saint John 3-0 on January 13. The Sea Dogs are 1-1-0-0 against the Phoenix this season.

The Sea Dogs hit the road for Quebec next week. They won’t play again at the Station until February 7 against the PEI Rocket.

Not a whole lot going on today. Here’s some random stuff:

• Jonathan Huberdeau’s fifth NHL game will be tomorrow night against the Philadelphia Flyers. If he plays a sixth (Tuesday against Tampa Bay), a year of his entry-level contract will be burned.
• Zack Phillips was a healthy scratch for the AHL’s Houston Aeros the other night. Hockey Wilderness breaks down what this may mean. Phillips is having a decent rookie pro year, registering two goals and 11 assists in 37 games.
• Simon Despres could be on the trading block, writes Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
• Yann Sauve was sent down to the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings on Wednesday from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Sauve hasn’t played with the Wolves since December 7 because of an injury. He’ll join Steven Anthony on the K-Wings.
• If you’re looking for some hockey to watch tonight, there is a big game in Fredericton between the UNB Varsity Reds and the Saint Mary’s Huskies. With just five games left in the regular season, UNB is first in the AUS with 36 points while Saint Mary’s is second with 34. Game time is 7pm at the Aitken Centre.
• Remember to use your season ticket holder Sea Dogs Styles gift card this weekend if you haven’t already. It expires January 31.

Gerard Gallant Fist Pump

Saw this on TSN this morning. Gerard Gallant showing some excitement with a fist pump following a Montreal Canadiens goal last night. He's probably still fired up as the Habs beat the Washington Capitals 4-1.

Habs are off to a 2-1 start.

Use Your Gift Card

Passing this info along. If you don’t use your season ticket holder gift card by January 31, then you will not be able use your season ticket holder gift card.

Season Ticket Gift Card

This is a reminder to Season Ticket Holders that your $10 Gift Cards to Sea Dog Styles expire on January 31st, 2013. (This applies to the first 2000 Season Ticket Holders that received the $10 gift cards).  Make sure to use your gift card at Sea Dog Styles before the end of this month or at the game on Saturday. Season Ticket Holders also receive 10% off at Sea Dog Styles.

Store Hours
Monday-Friday: Sea Dogs Staff can open the store from 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Saturday: 12 Noon - 4 p.m. (Hockey Season Only)
Game days - Two hours prior to start of the game

For more information call 506-632-9269 or email store@saintjohnseadogs.com.

You can see all the products available at Sea Dogs Styles HERE.

The Sea Dogs host the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Saturday night at Harbour Station.

Sea Dogs Notebook

AUGER

After getting 62% of votes on a poll posted on the Sea Dogs Facebook page, goaltender Sebastien Auger will be the next player to get his own jersey t-shirt.

According to the Sea Dogs Styles website, “T-Shirts will be available for pick up at the Sea Dogs home game on February 7, but you can pre-order yours online today.”

T-shirts will be made in both youth and adult sizes.

HUBERDEAU

After getting his NHL career off to a hot start, Jonathan Huberdeau and the Florida Panthers have gone cold the past couple games. Huberdeau was a combined -1 and recorded two shots in loses to the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens. He had just under 16 minutes of ice time in each game.

“He’s pretty good kid,” Alex Kovalev told The Canadian Press about his linemate. “He’s a good playmaker.

“But there’s still a long way for him to go to learn to play at this level and be consistent. We had a good first game and [Monday] night we didn’t show up. That could be from having it too easy the first game and then moving up to a harder game. But our line was completely off.”

The Panthers take on the Senators Thursday night.

CALDER

And speaking of Huberdeau, he is one of the players mentioned as a Calder Trophy candidate by Hockey’s Future. Former Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres, playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins, is also discussed in the article.

OKE

After missing over a month of action due to an injury, former Sea Dogs forward Scott Oke returned to the Rimouski Oceanic lineup on January 18. He recorded an assist in his return.

On January 20, Oke netted a hat trick against Acadie-Bathurst Titan. He now has 21 goals and 28 assists in 36 games this season.

Oke, Kevin Gagne, and the Oceanic sit second overall in the league with a 31-11-1-4 record.

LEBLANC

Sea Dogs defenseman Olivier LeBlanc caught the eye of Future Considerations during the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

“Leblanc was a strong skating, puck moving blue liner who finished the tournament third in team scoring for a plucky Quebec squad,” writes Dan Stewart. “His poise, energy and ability to handle the puck were impressive traits as he liked the puck on his stick and to start the offensive rush. His shot was dangerous as was his ability to snake through traffic.”

Also noted in the article is Cape Breton’s Clark Bishop. LeBlanc and Bishop dropped the gloves last night in Sydney. Via HockeyFights.com:

POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 1, Eagles 2

A collection of recaps from last night’s 2-1 Saint John Sea Dogs loss to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles…

Our recap. Saint John travelled to Centre 200 to take on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Tuesday evening as fans braved the storm and icy roads to watch the teams battle it out.

The Telegraph-Journal’s recap (paywall). The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles snapped a 10-game losing skid with a 2-1 win over the Saint John Sea Dogs Tuesday night at Centre 200 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.

The Cape Breton Post’s recap. The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles turned the tables on the visiting Saint John Sea Dogs, and put their 10-game losing streak on ice in the process.

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

The Canadian Press’ recap. Charles-Eric Legare and Justin Hache both scored as Cape Breton (10-29-8) fended off Saint John (19-27-0).

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs were at Centre 200 in Sydney to take on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in Tuesday’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action with the Screaming Eagles taking the contest 2-1.

CapeBretonEagles.com’s recap. Justin Haché's goal at 8:37 of the second period proved to be the game winner, as the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles hung on to defeat the Saint John Sea Dogs 2-1 in front of 1,855 fans on hand on a stormy Tuesday night at Centre 200.

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without Jonathan Huberdeau (NHL – Florida Panthers), Michael Abbott (lower body), Stephen Anderson (flu), Jurij Repe (broken hand), David Weckworth (knee), and Connor Donaghey (shoulder) on Tuesday night.

RECAP: Eagles Win. Dogs Lose 2-1.

FINAL: Saint John 1, Cape Breton 2

By Tim Lumsden

SN Staff

Saint John travelled to Centre 200 to take on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Tuesday evening as fans braved the storm and icy roads to watch the teams battle it out.

Alex Fournier took the net for Saint John while David Honzik stood in net for Cape Breton.

FIRST PERIOD

Cape Breton kicked off the penalties for the night when Nick Marois took an unfortunate tripping call at 5:59. It was unfortunate for them because Pierre Durepos scored and put the Sea Dogs up on the board, just 17 seconds into the penalty. Jakub Izacky and Olivier LeBlanc assisted on that goal.

Oliver Cooper and Raphael Corriveau dropped the globes at 14:38, resulting in each of them spending five minutes in the box.

Charles-Eric Legare scored the first Eagles goal, to tie the game, at 15:16.

Ian Saab took an interference penalty at 15:30 and that would be the last penalty of the period.

The first period ended with a shots on goal total of 13-8 in favour of Cape Breton.

SECOND PERIOD

The first half of the period continued the energy of the first. Both teams found it hard to keep the puck in their respective scoring ends for long before it was stolen back. That being said, Justin Hache broke the tie at 8:47 with his rocket of a goal. That brought the score up to 2-1 for the Eagles.

Out of nowhere, Olivier LeBlanc and Clark Bishop erupted into a brawl which ended with LeBlanc landing on top of Bishop. They would be sent off to serve their five minutes while Justin Dickinson was handed a game misconduct and sent off for not clearing the area of a fight. All of this happened at 10:38

Bronson Beaton was sent off at 13:43 to spend some time in the box for slashing while Ian Saab was sent off just over a minute later at 14:56 to serve a hooking penalty.

Shots on goal were at 15-11 Cape Breton in the middle frame.

GAMEDAY 46 - at Cape Breton

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

Tonight at 7:00pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live: @SeaDogsLive

Centre 200 – Sydney, NS

PREVIEW

SYDNEY, NS – For the second time in four days, the Saint John Sea Dogs will battle the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Game time is 7pm at Sydney’s Centre 200.

The Sea Dogs and Screaming Eagles met at Harbour Station just this past Saturday. Cape Breton led for much of the game but Saint John tied it in the third period and eventually won in a shootout.

Cape Breton has lost 10 straight games entering this evening’s contest. They sit last in the Telus Maritimes Division and 17^th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with a 9-29-3-5 record. They are four points back of the Sherbrooke Phoenix who hold the league’s final playoff spot.

This has been a bad, bad season in Cape Breton. From firings to players asking for trades to injuries, nothing has gone right for the Eagles.

William Carrier leads the Eagles in scoring with 42 points in 34 games this season. The draft eligible forward has not played since December 14 because of an injury.

Saint John enters play today with a 19-26-0-0 record. They sit fifth in the Telus Maritimes Division and 15^th overall in the QMJHL. The Dogs are 3-7-0-0 in their last 10 games and are coming off a rough 7-0 loss to the Moncton Wildcats on Sunday afternoon.

The Dogs are three points back of 14^th, four back of 13^th, and five back of 12^th. They are in a crucial stretch of games if they hope to move up the standings.

Jakub Izacky is Saint John’s active leading scorer with Jonathan Huberdeau gone. He has 20 points in 40 games this season.

POSTSCRIPT: Wildcats 7, Sea Dogs 0

A collection of recaps from yesterday’s 7-0 Saint John Sea Dogs loss to the Moncton Wildcats…

Our recap. Saint John returned to Harbour Station for their second game of the weekend on Sunday afternoon. They faced off against the Moncton Wildcats.

The Telegraph-Journal’s recap (paywall). Saint John Sea Dogs head coach and general manger Mike Kelly could live with the call, but what happened shortly after had him fuming during Sunday’s 7-0 setback to the Moncton Wildcats.

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

The Canadian Press’ recap. Alex Saulnier and Ross Johnston each had two goals and an assist and Alex Dubeau stopped 23 shots as Moncton (28-16-1) blanked the Sea Dogs (19-26-0).

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs and the Moncton Wildcats met for the second time in a week, with the Moncton Wildcats shutting out the Sea Dogs in front of 3,867 fans at Harbour Station in Sunday’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.

Moncton-Wildcats.com’s recap. The Moncton Wildcats used a 5 goal 2nd period to power them to a 7-0 shutout of the Saint John Seadogs Sunday at Harbour Station.

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers), Jurij Repe (broken hand), Connor Donaghey (shoulder), David Weckworth (knee), and Stephen Anderson (flu) on Sunday afternoon.

THE START: For the first time in what feels like forever, the Sea Dogs got off to a really good start. They had a solid first period and had the better of the scoring chances. They out shot Moncton 13-8 but could not beat Alex Dubeau.

RECAP: Ouch. Sea Dogs Lose 7-0.

FINAL: Moncton 7, Saint John 0

By Tim Lumsden

SN Staff

Saint John returned to Harbour Station for their second game of the weekend on Sunday afternoon. They faced off against the Moncton Wildcats.

Sebastien Auger took net for the Sea Dogs while Alex Dubeau skated out as Moncton's goaltender.

FIRST PERIOD

Penalties started early for Saint John as Jason Cameron took an early interference penalty at 1:48.

8:55 saw some excitement as the gloves were dropped and Kyle Haas and Justin Dickinson each headed to the box to serve five for fighting.

It was fast paced first period with Saint John getting the better of the scoring chances. Shots were 13-8 in favour of Saint John.

SECOND PERIOD

Ross Johnston kicked off the second period with a Wildcats goal at 1:44. That made it 1-0 Moncton.

Next came Oliver Cooper's very questionable kneeing penalty where he also received a game misconduct. Fans in Saint John were quite loud in response to that one as Jonathan Narbonne had to be helped off the ice only to return a few moments later. Noah Zilbert also skated off with Cooper at the 2:34 mark. His penalty was for high sticking.

Phillip Danault scored the second Wildcats' goal at 3:17 followed by Christophe Lalonde at 4:33. That quickly made it 3-0 Wildcats.

With the third Moncton goal, Maxime Villemaire headed to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Alex Saulnier scored the fourth ‘Cats goal at 5:06. 4-0 Moncton.

Ivan Barbashev headed to the box at 5:57 for holding.

The score rose to 5-0 with Ryan Penny's goal at 8:38.

James Melindy was sent off for interference at 10:36.

The disastrous second period ended with shots in favour of Moncton, 13-3.

More On Huberdeau's Debut

Some more links and stuff from yesterday’s Florida Panthers game, a game that saw Jonathan Huberdeau record a goal and two assists in his NHL debut…

This is pretty cool.

@station_nation @jonnyhuby11 has arrived! twitter.com/pappadaddy_/st…
— Marty Beckwith (@pappadaddy_) January 19, 2013

The Panthers website has a picture of Huberdeau wearing a big time hat as he speaks to the media after the game. ESPN has a big photo gallery from the game.

GAMEDAY 45 - vs Wildcats

GAMEDAY

Moncton Wildcats vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Today at 3:00pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live: @station_nation

Harbour Station – Saint John, NB

PREVIEW

SAINT JOHN – Phillip Danault and the Moncton Wildcats are in town this afternoon to take on the Saint John Sea Dogs. Game time is 3pm at Harbour Station.

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats met just this past Wednesday with Moncton winning 7-1 in a lopsided affair. The Wildcats’ offense of Dmitrij Jaskin, Ivan Barbashev, and the newly acquired Phillip Danault dominated the Sea Dogs for the majority of the game.

Moncton enters today’s game on a three-game winning streak. They are 27-16-1-0 and sit second in the Telus Maritimes Division and sixth overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The ‘Cats are hanging with the pack of teams in the upper half of the league who are all fighting for positioning.

Jaskin is having quite a season with the Wildcats. He leads the team in scoring with 28 goals and 35 assists in 34 games this year.

Saint John enters plays today with a 19-25-0-0 record. They sit fifth in the Telus Maritimes Division and 15^th overall in the league. They are 3-7-0-0 in their last 10 games and ended their five-game losing streak yesterday with a 2-1 shootout win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

With Jonathan Huberdeau gone, Jakub Izacky is Saint John’s active scoring leader. He has 14 goals and six assists for 20 points.

POSTSCRIPT: Eagles 1, Sea Dogs 2

A collection of recaps from last night’s 2-1 Saint John Sea Dogs shootout win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles…

Our recap. Saint John returned to Harbour Station on Saturday evening to take on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

The Cape Breton Post’s recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs needed extra time and a shootout to down the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles by a 2-1 count in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play in New Brunswick on Saturday.

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

The Canadian Press’ recap. Jakub Izacky scored once in regulation and the shootout winner while Sebastien Auger made 32 saves as the Sea Dogs (19-25-0) halted their five-game winless streak by edging Cape Breton (9-29-8).

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs met the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles at Harbour Station on the stormy Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. The Sea Dogs took the contest with a 2-1 shootout win.

CapeBretonEagles.com’s recap. Shootout goals by MacKenzie Brown and Jakub Izacky led the Saint John Sea Dogs to a 2-1 shootout victory over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in front of 3,584 fans on hand at Harbour Station on Saturday night.

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers), Jurij Repe (broken hand), Connor Donaghey (upper body), David Weckworth (lower body), and Steven Duda (flu) on Saturday night.

Saint John dressed 13 forwards and five defensemen.

FIRST PERIOD: Saint John has struggled in first periods over the past few weeks but had an okay one on Saturday. They were out shot 13-5 but Cape Breton had three power play opportunities including a five-on-three advantage. The Eagles led 1-0 after one.

SCORING FIRST: The Sea Dogs have scored first in just 13 games this season. Only the Sherbrooke Phoenix (11) have done it less.

What A Debut

What a night for Jonathan Huberdeau.

The former (it’s probably safe to call him former now) Saint John Sea Dogs captain was named first star in his first National Hockey League game. Huberdeau scored and added two assists as he helped the Florida Panthers defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 on opening night in Sunrise.

Huberdeau needed just 3:37 to score his first NHL goal.

Huberdeau also assisted on Scottie Upshall’s goal at 17:27 of the first to make it 4-0 Panthers. The Florida rookie headed into intermission with a goal, an assist, five shots, and 5:17 of ice time. He also took a holding penalty.

At 3:35 of the second, he helped set up an Alex Kovalev goal. The second line of Huberdeau, Kovalev, and Peter Mueller was solid all game.

Huberdeau finished the game with a goal, two assists, a +2 rating, two penalty minutes, five shots, two hits, a 100% faceoff percentage, and was on the ice for 14:25. Not bad for a pro debut.

Yann Sauve, Simon Despres, and Mike Hoffman are the only other Sea Dogs players to ever play in a NHL game. Of those players, only Despres has recorded a point.

Up next for the Panthers is a Monday visit to Ottawa to take on the Senators.

Elsewhere, Despres helped the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1. He had one hit, two penalty minutes, and 10:26 of ice time.

Also, Gerard Gallant made his return to the NHL coaching ranks. His Montreal Canadiens last 2-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

RECAP: Shooting Down The Eagles. Dogs Win 2-1.

FINAL (SO): Cape Breton 1, Saint John 2

By Tim Lumsden

SN Staff

Saint John returned to Harbour Station on Saturday evening to take on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

Sebastien Auger surprised fans by starting in net while David Honzik went on guard for Cape Breton.

FIRST PERIOD

Jakub Izacky took a hooking call at 10:05. This gave the Eagles the advantage they were waiting for as they went on the power play.

Justin Hache found Auger’s weak spot as he slipped one by the Saint John goaltender at 10:48. That would put the Eagles up on the board 1-0.

Oliver Cooper took a checking from behind penalty at 15:25. Less than a minute later at 16:40, Maxime Villemaire headed off to the box for a roughing penalty. The Dogs pushed forward however and prevented any further scoring by Cape Breton.

Shots on goal for that period were 5-13 in favour of Cape Breton.

SECOND PERIOD

A tripping penalty t 3:18 for Cole Murphy sent the Sea Dogs to their first power play of the night. Unfortunately they were unable to tie the game while on the advantage.

Oliver Cooper took his second penalty of the game, this time for tripping at 12:54.

The second period was over without further incident.  This was a much better period for Saint John as they were able to increase their shots on goal for the period to lead in the second 12-7. Total shots on goal after 40 minutes were 17-20 for the Eagles.

VIDEO: Huberdeau Scores First NHL Goal

Well, it didn’t take long for Jonathan Huberdeau to score his first National Hockey League goal.

Huberdeau scored at 3:37 of the first period, giving the Florida Panthers an early 1-0 lead over the Carolina Hurricanes.

What a moment.

Huberdeau joins Simon Despres has the only former Sea Dogs to score a NHL goal.

More to come. Everything is happening.

The NHL Returns Tonight

There won’t be many places in Canada interested in watching tonight’s Florida/Carolina game, but Saint John will certainly be watching it closely.

Tonight, Sea Dogs star Jonathan Huberdeau will play in his first National Hockey League game as his Florida Panthers host the Carolina Hurricanes. Game time is 8:30pm Atlantic and most people should be able to watch it thanks to Centre Ice being on free preview.

Huberdeau tweeted this last night:

Well good night tweeps . Believe it or not its my first pro game tomorrow ! #dreamcometrue let's make it a memories #FlaPanthers
— Jonathan Huberdeau (@JonnyHuby11) January 19, 2013

It’ll be interesting to see how Huberdeau does at the NHL level. A third overall pick of the Panthers in 2011, there is certainly some hype surrounding him.

USA Today calls Huberdeau one of the rookies to watch this season and is an early candidate for the Calder Trophy.

"Based on what I've seen, he's ready," Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said.

Some other links:

• Panthers website: Game Preview
• Panthers Parkway: Your 2013 Florida Panthers: Forwards Edition
• Litter Box Cats: LBC's Florida Panthers 2013 Season Preview - Part 1: The Forwards
• On Frozen Pond: Meet the 2013 Panthers

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres will start the season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens take on the Philadelphia Flyers today at 4pm Atlantic on NBC.

GAMEDAY 44 - vs Screaming Eagles

GAMEDAY

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight at 7:00pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live: @station_nation

Harbour Station – Saint John, NB

PREVIEW

SAINT JOHN – Two struggling teams meet tonight at 7pm at Harbour Station.

The Saint John Sea Dogs, losers of five straight, take on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, losers of nine straight, this evening. A win would obviously be huge for either team tonight.

                                                                                                                                                      

Saint John enters play with an 18-25-0-0 record and sit 15^th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Along with losing five straight, the Dogs are just 2-8-0-0 in their last 10 games.

The Sea Dogs are likely to make the playoffs, but where they finish is still up in the air. Saint John currently sits five points back of the 14^th-place Gatineau Olympiques and six points ahead of the 16^th-place Sherbrooke Phoenix. As we wrote yesterday, tonight’s game kicks off a key stretch of matches.

With Jonathan Huberdeau gone, Jakub Izacky leads the Dogs in scoring with 19 points in 38 games.

Not much has gone right for Cape Breton this season. They’ve fired people. Players have asked for trades. They’ve been hit with injuries. And now they sit in last place in the QMJHL with a 9-29-3-4 record. They are the only team that has not reached double digit wins.

The Eagles have lost nine straight and are 1-8-1-0 in their last 10. They are five points back of Sherbrooke for the final playoff spot.

William Carrier leads Cape Breton in scoring with 42 points in 34 games. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Carrier has not played since December 14 due to an injury.

Sea Dogs Notebook

MILLEN

Remember Charlie Millen? He played three games with Saint John in 2011-12, going 0-2-0-0 with a 5.38 goals against average and a 0.831 save percentage. He’s played for a bunch of teams over the past year and is currently with the Ottawa Jr. Senators of the Central Canada Hockey League.

An unreal save Millen made the other day is making its rounds round the interweb. Via Buzzing The Net:

Millen is the son of Hockey Night in Canada’s Greg Millen.

THE WEEKEND

The Sea Dogs play their first home game since January 5 tomorrow night when they host the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles at 7pm. The Eagles currently sit out of the playoff picture in 17^th place overall.

On Sunday, the Sea Dogs take on the Moncton Wildcats at 3pm at the Station. Saint John is 4-1-0-0 against Moncton this season but got blasted 7-1 on Wednesday at the Coliseum.

Saint John enters action this weekend on a five-game losing streak and are 2-8-0-0 in their last 10.

NO TRADE

Another good read over at Buzzing The Net – this time on why the Sea Dogs didn’t trade Jonathan Huberdeau’s QMJHL rights.

“Nobody was close,” Mike Kelly said about the offers he got for Huberdeau. Kelly added that it was quite complicated getting the compensation part of a possible deal worked out.

Kelly also talks about the Sea Dogs rebuild and how that is going.

Big Stretch Of Games Begins Tomorrow

Looking at the Saint John Sea Dogs' upcoming schedule, the next couple weeks could play a major factor in where the club finishes in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League standings.

Saint John sits 15^th overall in the league with an 18-25-0-0 record. The top 16 teams will make the playoffs while the bottom two will have their seasons end early and get entered into the draft lottery for the first overall pick.

Sherbrooke (16^th), Cape Breton (17^th), and Shawinigan (18^th) all sit below Saint John. Over the next couple weeks, the Dogs will play four games against these teams.

A look at the Sea Dogs upcoming schedule:

	Record	SJ record VS
Jan 19 vs Cape Breton	9-28-3-4 (17th)	3-1-0-0
Jan 20 vs Moncton	26-16-1-0 (6th)	4-1-0-0
Jan 22 at Cape Breton	9-28-3-4 (17th)	3-1-0-0
Jan 26 vs Sherbrooke	12-25-2-4 (16th)	1-1-0-0
Jan 30 at Victoriaville	18-19-2-5 (12th)	0-1-0-0
Feb 1 at Gatineau	18-22-1-2 (14th)	1-0-0-0
Feb 2 at Shawinigan	9-28-3-2 (18th)	0-1-0-0

The Dogs host the Cataractes and Screaming Eagles later on in February as well.

POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 1, Wildcats 7

A collection of recaps from last night’s 7-1 Saint John Sea Dogs loss to the Moncton Wildcats…

Our recap. The Sea Dogs ventured out into the snow to take on the Moncton Wildcats in their own rink on Wednesday night. This was a rescheduled game, the original game being cancelled due to a severe snowstorm at the end of 2012.

The Telegraph-Journal’s recap (paywall). The Moncton Wildcats and Saint John Sea Dogs are two different teams going in two different directions.

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

SaintJohnSeaDogs.com’s recap. The Saint John Sea Dogs dropped their first game against the Moncton Wildcats 7-1 in a make-up contest in Wednesday’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.

SCRATCHES: The Sea Dogs were without Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers camp), David Weckworth (lower body), Connor Donaghey (upper body), Jurij Repe (broken hand), and Spencer Smallman (healthy) on Wednesday night.

HIGHMORE: Matthew Highmore scored his first QMJHL goal in the first period last night. It would be Saint John’s only goal of the game. Highmore, playing in his first game since December 21 because of the World Under-17 Challenge and a death in his family, has a goal and three assists in 13 games this season. Hopefully it is the first of the many.

OUTPLAYED: The Sea Dogs were out shot 21-11 in the first and 21-5 in the second and trailed 7-1 after two. Those ain’t pretty numbers. Saint John did out shoot Moncton 8-6 in an uneventful third period.

GOALTENDING Although he faced just six shots, Alex Fournier did not allow a goal in the third period after coming in to replace Sebastien Auger. Hopefully that is a confidence booster. Auger allowed seven goals on 42 shots through two periods of play.

RECAP: Winless Wednesday. Dogs Lose 7-1.

FINAL: Saint John 1, Moncton 7

By Tim Lumsden

SN Staff

The Sea Dogs ventured out into the snow to take on the Moncton Wildcats in their own rink on Wednesday night. This was a rescheduled game, the original game being cancelled due to a severe snowstorm at the end of 2012.

Once again, Sebastien Auger stepped into net for Saint John while Alex Dubeau took the net for Moncton.

FIRST PERIOD

Saint John started off with a penalty at 1:35 as Steven Duda was sent off for hooking. This penalty opened the way for Moncton to score their first goal at 2:23 as Jonathan Racine shot one past Auger.

Matthew Highmore was handed a high sticking penalty at 7:10. Moncton once again went on the attack, but this time however they could not turn their advantage into points on the board.

Moncton’s first penalty came from Alex Saulnier as he was called for interference at 10:30. Saint John went on the power play, but the team couldn’t pull it together to tie the game.

Sea Dog newcomer Brett Malone was the next skater to the box, this time for hooking at 12:54. This time, Moncton snagged their next point thanks to Phillip Danault. His goal put the Wildcats up 2-0.

Matthew Highmore closed the gap 2-1 as he scored on Dubeau with a nice assist from Marcus Cuomo at 16:08. Just moment later, Ivan Barbashev of the Wildcats, returned Moncton’s two point lead with his goal at 16:29.

Jonathan Racine took the last penalty of the first period at 19:18 as he was directed to the box as a result of a rogue high stick. The period ended 3-1 in favour of Moncton. The Wildcats also dominated the shots on goal total of 21-11.

SECOND PERIOD

Dmitrij Jaskin kicked off the scoring at 4:34. His goal lifted Moncton to 4-1. Ivan Barbashev’s goal just a few minutes later at 7:23 would continue the flood of pucks being set towards Sebastien Auger. Barbashev brought the score 5-1.

Yannick Veilleux sent one through Auger’s defenses at 12:08 making it 6-1 for Moncton just over the halfway point of the game. Things were not looking good for the visiting Sea Dogs.

Ian Saab returned Saint John to the penalty kill as he was sent off for hooking at 14:19. Moncton jumped on the chance to score again on Saint John. Dmitrij Jaskin slipped one by Auger to make the score 7-1.

Saint John only had five shots in total on goal in the second period. In comparison, Moncton had 21 shots on goal.

GAMEDAY 43 - at Moncton

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Moncton Wildcats

Tonight at 7:00pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live: @station_nation

Moncton Coliseum – Moncton, NB

PREVIEW

MONCTON – The Saint John Sea Dogs will put their perfect 4-0 record against the Moncton Wildcats on the line tonight. The Dogs and ‘Cats clash this evening at 7pm at the Moncton Coliseum to make up the cancelled December 30 game.

While the Sea Dogs have had success against the Wildcats this season, they haven’t had much success over their past few weeks of Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Saint John has lost four straight and are just 2-8-0-0 in their last 10 games.

The Sea Dogs’ latest rough patch came this past weekend in Quebec. Saint John lost all three games on their road trip and were outscored 18-5.

Saint John enters action today with an 18-24-0-0 record. They sit fifth in the Telus Maritimes Division and 15^th overall in the league.

The Wildcats enter play today with a 25-16-1-0 record. They sit second in the Telus Maritimes Division and seventh overall in the QMJHL.

Despite being 22 points back of the league leading Halifax Mooseheads, the Wildcats opted to buy during the trading period. They landed the big fish, acquiring Chicago Blackhawks prospect Phillip Danault in a big time deal on deadline day. He’ll play his second game for the Wildcats this evening.

Tonight’s game kicks off a busy stretch for the Sea Dogs. They play two home games this weekend and travel to Cape Breton next Tuesday.