Sea Dogs to play Oceanic in first round

The Saint John Sea Dogs will face the Rimouski Oceanic in the opening round of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs.

The Oceanic were slotted into the 16th and final playoff spot yesterday, meaning they will have the pleasure of facing the top-seeded Sea Dogs in the first round.

The league released its full schedule last night. As expected, this will be a 2-2-1-1-1 scheduling format with Saint John hosting the first two games along with games five and seven, if needed.

Single game tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at the usual outlets.

Rimouski finished the regular season with a record of 26-35-6-1 for 59 points. Saint John finished with a 48-14-5-1 record for 102 points.

The Sea Dogs won both of the regular season meetings between the two. Saint John defeated Rimouski 5-1 on the road in November and then blew out the Oceanic, 9-3, in March at Harbour Station.

Some former teammates will go head-to-head in this series. The Sea Dogs feature former Oceanic captain Simon Bourque while Rimouski has former Saint John forward Nico Blachman and defenceman Vincent Martineau.