Thursday, October 31, 2019

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 6-1

FINAL: Rimouski 6, Saint John 1

SAINT JOHN - Penalties are proving to be a problem for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

After allowing four power play goals in Sunday's loss, the Sea Dogs allowed another five in a 6-1 loss to the Rimouski Oceanic on Halloween night at TD Station.

The Sea Dogs allowed the Victoriaville Tigres to go perfect 4/4 on the man advantage in their last game. Saint John was apparently unable to fix their penalty kill woes between then and Thursday, giving up five power play goals on nine chances to the high powered Oceanic.

Saint John's penalty kill, which sat third overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League just a few weeks ago, now sits last with a rating of 63.2%.

Former Sea Dog Cedric Pare led the way for Rimouski, scoring three goals and adding three assists. Isaac Belliveau, Dmitry Zavgorodniy and Adam Raska also scored. Backup goaltender Raphael Audet made 15 stops in the win.

Joona Lehmus scored for Saint John. Zachary Bouthillier made 50 stops in the loss.

While the Sea Dogs managed to hang around most of the game, the Oceanic dominated puck possession. Shots ended 56-16 in favour of the visitors with Saint John unable to generate much of anything offensively. Giving Rimouski nine power plays didn't help, either.

The Sea Dogs website has a full game recap.

Game Day 17: vs Oceanic

SAINT JOHN - Alexis Lafreniere and the Rimouski Oceanic make their lone visit of the season to TD Station tonight.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's leading scorer will appear at TD Station again this year - just with a different team. Lafreniere, who is basically a lock to go first overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, will captain Team QMJHL in next week's Canada Russia Series.

Game time tonight is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/Sea Dogs Radio Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 5-10-1-0 for 11 points (fifth Maritimes, ninth Eastern, 15th QMJHL) while the Oceanic are 9-4-1-2 for 21 points (second East, fifth Eastern, sixth QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-2 home loss to the Victoriaville Tigres on Sunday. Nicolas Guay and Brady Burns scored for Saint John. Zachary Bouthillier made 29 stops in the loss. The Oceanic are coming off a 5-4 shootout loss at home to the Shawinigan Cataractes on Sunday. Isaac Belliveau, Dmitry Zavgorodniy, Alexis Lafreniere and Nathan Ouellet scored for Rimouski. Colten Ellis allowed four goals on 12 shots. Raphael Audet stopped all 10 shots he faced in relief.

2019-20 head-to-head: This is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

2018-19 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 0-2-0-0 against the Oceanic last season while Rimouski went 2-0-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Jan. 5 at TD Station where the Oceanic defeated the Sea Dogs 4-3. Anthony D'Amours, Charle-Edouard D'Astous, Cedric Pare and Jimmy Huntington scored for Rimouski. Saint John had goals from Filip Prikryl, Jeremie Jacob and Brady Burns. Tristan Berube made 27 stops in the win. Mikhail Denisov made 34 saves in the loss.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 5-2

FINAL: Victoriaville 5, Saint John 2
SAINT JOHN - Just when it looked like the Saint John Sea Dogs were gaining momentum and starting to play consistently okay - Sunday happened.

The Sea Dogs fell 5-2 to the lowly Victoriaville Tigres at TD Station. After back-to-back solid games - including a 4-1 win over the Halifax Mooseheads the night before - this was a disappointing performance.

The Tigres entered the game with just three wins this season and had lost four straight. This was also the third game of a three-game Maritime road trip. Despite that, the visitors rolled into Saint John and scored the game's first five goals en route to the win.

Saint John has, as we all know, struggled with consistency this season. But a worrying trend (one of them, anyways) has been the Dogs' struggle to beat teams they should be beating. As previously mentioned, Saint John plays in a very tough division this season, and picking up points against lower seeds in other divisions could be vital in determining where the club finishes in the standings this year.

On Sunday, Saint John's penalty kill proved to be a problem with the Tigres scoring on all four of the power plays they were handed. The non-power play goal came while shorthanded. Maxime Pellerin, Vincent Sévigny, Jérôme Gravel, Zackary Riel and Mikhail Abramov scored for the Tigres. Tristan Côté-Cazenave made 43 saves in the win.

Nicolas Guay and Brady Burns scored for Saint John. Zachary Bouthillier made 29 stops in the loss.

Things won't get any easier for the Sea Dogs with the Rimouski Oceanic coming to town on Halloween night. Saint John will play six straight road games following that match.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Rimouski Oceanic on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Game Day 16: vs Tigres

SAINT JOHN - The Victoriaville Tigres make their only visit of the season to TD Station today.

The Saint John Sea Dogs are coming off a couple off strong performances - including a 4-1 win over the Halifax Mooseheads last night - and will look to carry that momentum into today's match against a team playing the final game of a three-game road trip.

Game time for Military Appreciation Day is 3 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/Sea Dogs Radio Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 5-9-1-0 for 11 points (fifth Maritimes, eighth Eastern, 14th QMJHL) while the Tigres are 3-10-0-3 for nine points (fourth Central, seventh Western, 16th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-1 win over the Halifax Mooseheads last night at TD Station. Brady Burns scored twice while Matt Gould and Dawson Stairs added singles. Zachary Bouthillier made 25 stops in the win. The Tigres are coming off a 4-2 loss in Moncton last night. Felix Pare and Vincent Sevigny scored for Victoriaville. Fabio Iacobo made 36 stops in the loss.

2019-20 head-to-head: This is the first meeting of the season between the two.

2018-19 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 0-2-0-0 against the Tigres last season while Victoriaville went 2-0-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: March 3 in Saint John where the Tigres defeated the Sea Dogs 7-2. Mikhail Abramov scored two goals for the Tigres while singles came from Zackary Riel, Sean Larochelle, Mathieu Sévigny, Tyler Boivin and Conor Frenette. Maxim Cajkovic and Aiden MacIntosh scored for Saint John. Tristan Côté-Cazenave made 25 saves in the win. Zachary Bouthillier and Tommy DaSilva took the loss.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 4-1

FINAL: Halifax 1, Saint John 4
SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs seem to have the Halifax Mooseheads' number this season.

The Sea Dogs picked up their second win of the season over the Mooseheads on Saturday night at TD Station, earning a 4-1 victory. Saint John improved to 2-1 against Halifax - with their lone loss coming after blowing a 4-2 lead.

The win comes after a solid showing in a 4-1 loss to the league leading Sherbrooke Phoenix on Wednesday night. The victory also ends a three-game losing streak.

Brady Burns scored twice for Saint John while Matt Gould and Dawson Stairs added singles. Zachary Bouthillier made 25 stops in the win.

Sonny Kabatay scored Halifax's lone goal. Cole McLaren made 32 stops in the loss.

The Sea Dogs website has a full recap.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Victoriaville Tigres on Sunday at 3 p.m.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Game Day 15: vs Mooseheads

SAINT JOHN - A five-game home stretch continues tonight for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs welcome the Halifax Mooseheads to TD Station this evening. This is the third meeting of the year between the two and each team has won once.

Game time is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/Sea Dogs Radio Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 4-9-1-0 for nine points (fifth Maritimes, ninth Eastern, 15th QMJHL) while the Mooseheads are 7-6-1-0 for 15 points (fourth Maritimes, seventh Eastern, 12th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-1 home loss to the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Wednesday night. Nicolas Guay scored Saint John's only goal. Zachary Bouthillier made 27 stops in the loss. The Mooseheads are coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to the Moncton Wildcats last night at Scotiabank Centre. Maxim Trepanier scored twice while singles came from Cameron Whynot and Samuel Dube. Alexis Gravel made 34 stops in the loss.

2019-20 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 1-1-0-0 against the Mooseheads this season while Halifax os 1-1-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Oct. 10 at Scotiabank Centre where the Mooseheads defeated the Sea Dogs 6-5. Maxim Trepanier and Senna Peeters each scored twice for Halifax while Walter Flower and Justin Barron added singles. Joshua Roy, Brady Burns, Ben Badalamenti, Charlie DesRoches and Jeremie Poirier scored for Saint John. Cole McLaren made 19 stops in the win. Zachary Bouthillier made 29 saves in the loss.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 4-1

FINAL: Sherbrooke 4, Saint John 1
SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs held their own against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's top team on Wednesday night.

The red-hot Sherbrooke Phoenix defeated the Sea Dogs 4-1 at TD Station, giving the visitors their eighth straight victory. Saint John has now lost three straight.

The Sea Dogs put in a strong performance, keeping a solid offensive team to just four goals on 31 shots. Despite this game being a loss, this seemed to be one of Saint John's better performances this year.

A few penalties proved costly for the Dogs as the Phoenix showed why they have the league's best power play. Sherbrooke scored twice on the man advantage - one of which came during a five-on-three - in the win.

Bailey Peach scored two goals for Sherbrooke while Yann-Felix Lapointe and Felix Robert added singles. Samuel Hlavaj made 21 saves in the win.

Nicolas Guay scored for Saint John. Zachary Bouthillier made 27 stops in the loss.

The Sea Dogs website has a full game recap.

Game Day 14: vs Phoenix

SAINT JOHN - The league-leading Sherbrooke Phoenix make their only visit of the season to TD Station tonight.

The Phoenix have lived up to the hype so far this year and sit first overall with a record of 11-1-1-0 for 23 points. Tonight's match will be a good measure to see just how the Saint John Sea Dogs stack up against one of the league's heavyweights.

Game time tonight is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/Sea Dogs Radio Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 4-8-1-0 for nine points (fifth Maritimes, eighth Eastern, 14th QMJHL) while the Phoenix are 11-1-1-0 for 23 points (first Central, first Western, first QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday at TD Station. Nicolas Guay scored both of Saint John's goals. Zachary Bouthillier made 20 stops in the loss. The Phoenix are coming off a 9-4 win in Shawinigan on Sunday. Felix Robert scored three goals for Sherbrooke; Samuel Poulin scored two; and singles came from Nathael Roy, Alex-Olivier Voyer, Bailey Peach and Yann-Felix Lapointe. Thomas Sigouin made 20 saves in the win.

2019-20 head-to-head: This is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

2018-19 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 0-2-0-0 against the Phoenix last season while Sherbrooke went 2-0-0-0 against Saint John.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 4-2

FINAL: Charlottetown 4, Saint John 2
SAINT JOHN - For the second straight game, the Saint John Sea Dogs tried to make a comeback against the Charlottetown Islanders. This time though, there were unable to get a point out of it.

After erasing a third period deficit on Friday night to ultimately lose in overtime, the Sea Dogs fell behind 4-0 in Saturday's game at TD Station but couldn't get any closer than 4-2.

Brett Budgell, Drew Johnston, Nikita Alexandrov and Thomas Casey all scored for the Islanders. Matthew Welsh made 23 stops in the victory.

Nicolas Gauy scored both of Saint John's goals - both of which came on the power play. Zachary Bouthillier made 20 stops in the loss.

It looked like Saint John got within goal in the third period, but the Josh Lawrence marker was disallowed due to a kicking motion.
The Islanders are now an impressive 9-1-3-0 on the year and sit second overall in the QMJHL standings.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the league leading Sherbooke Phoenix on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Game Day 13: vs Islanders

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs and Charlottetown Islanders meet again tonight.

The Sea Dogs scored four goals in the third period last night to send the game into overtime. The Islanders eventually won the match in overtime by score of 7-6 - but the Dogs did get an earned road point out of it.

Game time tonight is 7 p.m. at TD Station.

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/Sea Dogs Radio Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 4-7-1-0 for nine points (fifth Maritimes, eighth Eastern, 13th QMJHL) while the Islanders are 8-1-3-0 for 19 points (first Maritimes, first Eastern, second QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs and Islanders met last night at Eastlink Centre where the home side won 7-6 in overtime. Kevin Gursoy scored three goals for Charlottetown while Brett Budgell had two goals and Nikita Alexandrov and Lukas Cormier added singles. Josh Lawrence and Jeremie Poirier each scored twice for Saint John while Nicholas Deakin-Poot and Joshua Roy also connected. Rookie Jacob Goobie allowed six goals on 31 shots in the win. Noah Patenaude allowed seven goals on 32 shots in the loss.

2019-20 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 0-2-0-0 against the Islanders this season while Charlottetown is 2-0-0-0 against Saint John.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 7-6 (OT)

FINAL: Saint John 6, Charlottetown 7 (OT)
CHARLOTTETOWN - An uncharacteristically strong third period got the Saint John Sea Dogs a point on Friday night at Eastlink Centre.

The Sea Dogs scored four goals in under five minutes in the third period to send the match to overtime where Brett Budgell scored 1:05 in to give the Charlottetown Islanders a 7-6 victory.

Saint John never led in this game and have to be happy with the road point. The team has struggled mightily in third periods this season, and to see them make this kind of comeback - especially on the road against one of the league's best defensive teams - is an encouraging sign.

The Sea Dogs continue to struggle defensively, allowing another seven goals on Friday. Rookie goaltender Noah Pateneaude also continues to struggle, allowing six or more goals in each of his four starts. He now has a goals against average of 6.69 (which isn't nice).

Former Sea Dog Kevin Gursoy predictably scored three goals and added three assists for Charlottetown. Brett Budgell had two goals while Nikita Alexandrov and Lukas Cormier had singles. Rookie Jacob Goobie allowed six goals on 31 shots.

Josh Lawrence and Jeremie Poirier each scored twice for Saint John while Nicholas Deakin-Poot and Joshua Roy also connected. Patenaude allowed seven goals on 32 shots.

The Sea Dogs website has a full game recap.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Islanders tonight at 7 p.m.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Game Day 12: at Charlottetown

CHARLOTTETOWN - The Saint John Sea Dogs are back in action tonight, visiting the Charlottetown Islanders at 7 p.m.

The Sea Dogs ended a four-game losing streak last night, edging the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 in a shootout.

Game time tonight is 7:30 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/Sea Dogs Radio Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 4-7-0-0 for eight points (fifth Maritimes, eighth Eastern, 13th QMJHL) while the Islanders are 7-1-3-0 for 17 points (first Maritimes, first Eastern, second QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 2-1 shootout win in Bathurst last night. Brady Burns scored Saint John's only regulation time goal. Zachary Bouthillier made 29 saves in the win. The Islanders are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss in Cape Breton on Wednesday. Nikita Alexandrov scored both of Charlottetown's goals. Matthew Welsh made 27 stops in the win.

2019-20 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 0-1-0-0 against the Islanders this season while Charlottetown is 1-0-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Oct. 3 at Eastlink Centre where the Islanders defeated the Sea Dogs 5-1. Cole Edwards, Noah, Laaouan, Kevin Gursoy, Brett Budgell and Nikita Alexandrov scored for Charlottetown. Nicholas Deakin-Poot scored Saint John's only goal. Matthew Welsh made 23 stops in the win. Zachary Bouthillier made 36 saves in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Islanders: Forward Kevin Gursoy

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Recap: Sea Dogs win 2-1 (SO)

FINAL: Saint John 2, Bathurst 1 (SO)
BATHURST - Brady Burns led the Saint John Sea Dogs to their first road victory of the season on Thursday night.

Burns scored in regulation and again in the shootout to give the Sea Dogs a 2-1 victory over the still winless Acadie-Bathurst Titan at the KC Irving Regional Centre. The win ended a four-game losing streak for Saint John.

With six goals ands six assists in 11 games, Burns continues to lead the Sea Dogs in points. He's showing plenty of style with his goal celebrations - and he showed some style again with his shootout move, which won the game in the fourth round.
Zachary Bouthillier made 29 saves in the victory. This was just the second time all season that Saint John outshot an opponent.

Shawn Element scored Bathurst's lone goal. Tristan Berube made 35 stops in the loss.

The Sea Dogs website has a full game recap.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs visit the Charlottetown Islanders tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.

Game Day 11: at Bathurst

BATHURST - The Saint John Sea Dogs will look to end another losing streak against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's only winless team.

The Sea Dogs enter play tonight having lost four straight games while the Titan are 0-6-1-2 this season. One of those losing skids will come to an end this evening at the KC Irving Regional Centre.

Game time tonight is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/Sea Dogs Radio Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 3-7-0-0 for six points (fifth Maritimes, ninth Eastern, 16th QMJHL) while the Titan are 0-6-1-2 for three points (sixth Maritimes, 10th Eastern, 18th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off an ugly 9-0 loss in Moncton on Sunday. Zachary Bouthillier allowed nine goals on 41 shots while Noah Patenaude made nine stops in just 11 minutes of action. The Titan are coming off a 2-1 shootout loss in Charlottetown on Saturday. Shawn Element scored Bathurst's lone goal. Tristan Berube made 30 stops in the loss.

2019-20 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 1-0-0-0 against the Titan this season while Bathurst is 0-1-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Oct. 5 at TD Station where the Sea Dogs defeated the Titan 4-2. Ben Badalamenti, Brady Burns, Joshua Roy and Nicholas Deakin-Poot scored for Saint John. Logan Chisholm and Evan MacKinnon scored for Bathurst. Zachary Bouthillier made 32 stops in the win. Tristan Berube made 28 stops in the loss.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Recap: yikes

FINAL: Saint John 0, Moncton 9
MONCTON - There's no nice way of saying it: the Saint John Sea Dogs got wrecked on Sunday.

The Sea Dogs lost their fourth straight game - and this one was by far the ugliest - falling 9-0 to the Moncton Wildcats at Avenir Centre. Saint John's defensive struggles were the storyline once again with the Dogs allowing 50 shots against.

The Sea Dogs have now allowed a wild 29 goals against during this four-game skid. That's a lot of goals - too many goals. This is still a rebuilding year, but the Dogs need to find/make some adjustments. It's early, but this is going to be a long season if some things aren't improved. Allowing a half dozen goals against in every game isn't good for anyone's development.

The Sea Dogs website has a game recap.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs visit the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Game Day 10: at Moncton

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs will look to earn their first road win of the season this afternoon at the Avenir Centre.

The Sea Dogs are 0-4 away from TD Station this season and have been outscored 25-14. They'll look to correct some of those issues this afternoon against the Moncton Wildcats, playing in a building they had some success in last year.

Game time is 4 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/Sea Dogs Radio Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 3-6-0-0 for six points (fifth Maritimes, ninth Eastern, 15th QMJHL) while the Wildcats are 6-3-0-0 for 12 points (third Maritimes, fifth Eastern, eighth QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 7-5 home loss to the Val-d'Or Foreurs on Friday night. Brady Burns had two goals while singles came from Ben Badalamenti, Jeremie Poirier and Matt Gould. Noah Patenaude made 37 stops in the loss. The Wildcats are coming off a 4-2 home loss to the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday. Jacob Hudson and Elliot Desnoyers scored for Moncton. Olivier Rodrigue made 18 stops in the loss.

2019-20 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 1-0-0-0 against the Wildcats this season while Moncton is 0-1-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Sept. 21 at TD Station where the Sea Dogs defeated the Wildcats 4-3. William Villeneuve, Josh Lawrence, Nicolas Guay and Joshua Roy scored for Saint John. Moncton goals came from Alexandre Parent, Mika Cyr and Christian Huntley. Zachary Bouthillier made 32 stops in the win. Charles-Antoine Lavallee made 21 stops in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Wildcats: Radio broadcaster Tim Roszell.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Hoyt suspended indefinitely

Embed from Getty Images

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has announced that Val-d'Or Foreurs forward Peyton Hoyt has been suspended indefinitely following Friday night's incident against the Saint John Sea Dogs.

From the league:

Val-d'Or Foreurs forward Peyton Hoyt (#7) has been suspended indefinitely by the QMJHL’s Director of Player Safety, Éric Chouinard, for a hit from behind on Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman, Kale MacCullum (#21). The incident occurred during yesterday's game between Saint John and Val-d’Or.

The disciplinary process will follow the existing protocol. The Director of Player Safety will collect the testimonies of the on-ice officials, the players and the members of both organizations. He will then analyze the facts and review the clips with the Disciplinary Sanctions Committee before making a final decision. No timetable has been set at this moment.  
The Director of Player Safety will not be available for comment during the process.

The hit can be seen at the 3:33 mark of the video below.



McCallum was taken out of the game on a stretcher following the hit from behind by Hoyt, which left a significant amount of blood on the ice. No update has been given on his status.

Sea Dogs head coach Josh Dixon told the Telegraph-Journal (paywall) that McCallum lost consciousness on the ice but regained it before the athletic staff came out. He was taken to hospital.

Hoyt, an overager with the Foreurs, has a goal and two assists in eight games this season.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 7-5

FINAL: Val-d'Or 7, Saint John 5
SAINT JOHN - It was more of the same for the Saint John Sea Dogs on Friday night.

The Sea Dogs once again let a third period lead slip away and dropped yet another close, high scoring game - this time by score of 7-5 to the Val-d'Or Foreurs at TD Station.

The trend continues to be concerning for a couple reasons. For starters, the Sea Dogs can't seem to solve their early season defensive struggles, allowing over 40 shots against on most nights. The other is that the Sea Dogs are wasting strong offensive performances, which could drop off given they've been benefiting from some "puck luck" (scoring a lot on an average amount of shots and have been connecting a lot on power plays).

Saint John let a 4-2 lead slip away in Friday's game. The Dogs erased a 2-0 deficit and then scored two power play goals to take a two-goal lead. Saint John spent much of the second on the man advantage after Peyton Hoyt was given a five-minute major and match penalty for an ugly hit from behind on Kale McCallum. McCallum was taken out on a stretcher.

The game was tied 2-2 entering the third and then Matt Gould gave Saint John the lead again. But the Foreurs went on to score three unanswered goals and win 7-5.

Game Day 9: vs Foreurs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs' road woes continued last night in Halifax.

The Sea Dogs fell to 0-4 on the road this season with yet another close, high scoring loss, falling 6-5 to the Halifax Mooseheads. The good news: the Sea Dogs return home, where they are 3-1, to host the Val-d'Or Foreurs this evening.

Game time is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/Sea Dogs Radio Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 3-5-0-0 for six points (fifth Maritimes, eighth Eastern, 13th QMJHL) while the Foreurs are 1-4-2-0 for four points (fourth West, eighth Western, 17th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 6-5 loss to the Mooseheads last night in Halifax. Ben Badalamenti scored twice while Joshua Roy, Charlie DesRoches and Jeremie Poirier added singles. Zachary Bouthillier allowed six goals on 35 shots. The Foreurs are coming off a 2-1 home loss to the Moncton Wildcats on Saturday. David Noel scored Val-d'Or's lone goal. Jonathan Lemieux made 30 stops in the loss.

2019-20 head-to-head: This is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

2018-19 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 1-1-0-0 against the Foreurs last season while Val-d'Or went 1-0-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Jan. 19 in Val-d'Or where the Foreurs defeated the Sea Dogs 4-2. Nicolas Ouellet scored twice for the Foreurs while Jeremy Michel and Felix Boivin added singles. Aiden MacIntosh and Maxim Cajkovic scored for Saint John. Jonathan Lemieux made 30 stops in the win. Mikhail Denisov made 41 stops in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Foreurs: None.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 6-5

FINAL: Saint John 5, Halifax 6
HALIFAX - The defensive struggles continued for the Saint John Sea Dogs on Thursday night.

The Sea Dogs allowed 2-1 and 4-2 leads slip away in a 6-5 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads at Scotiabank Centre. Saint John dropped to 0-4 on the road this season with the loss.

Saint John has now allowed a league high 40 goals against in eight games this season. Only one game - against the winless Acadie-Bathurst Titan - have they not allowed three or more goals against. The defensive struggles are a shame given that the team's offense has been pretty good - the Dogs are fifth in goals scored with 31.

Ben Badalamenti scored twice for Saint John while Joshua Roy, Charlie DesRoches and Jeremie Poirier added singles. William Villeneuve registered four assists. Zachary Bouthillier allowed six goals on 35 shots.

Maxim Trepanier and Senna Peeters both scored twice for Halifax while Walter Flower and Justin Barron added singles. Cole McLaren made 19 saves in the win.

The Sea Dogs website has a full game recap.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs host the Val-d'Or Foreurs on Friday at 7 p.m.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Game Day 8: at Halifax

HALIFAX - Still looking for their first road win of the season, the Saint John Sea Dogs travel to Halifax today for a 7 p.m. meeting with the Mooseheads.

The Sea Dogs defeated the Mooseheads 4-3 on opening night at TD Station. Halifax and Saint John have identical 3-4 records heading into play tonight.

This is the first of a three games in four nights stretch for the Sea Dogs.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/Sea Dogs Radio Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 3-4-0-0 for six points (fifth Maritimes, eighth Eastern, 13th QMJHL) while the Mooseheads are 3-4-0-0 for six points (fourth Maritimes, seventh Eastern, 12th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 7-5 home loss to the Quebec Remparts on Sunday. Nicholas Deakin-Poot scored twice while singles came from Nicolas Guay, Jeremie Poirier and Brady Burns. Noah Patenaude made 31 stops in the loss. The Mooseheads are coming off a 4-3 overtime win in Baie-Comeau on Saturday. Raphael Lavoie, Cole Stewart, Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Maxim Trepanier scored for Halifax. Cole McLaren made 28 stops in the win.

2019-20 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 1-0-0-0 against the Mooseheads this season while Halifax is 0-1-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Sept. 20 at TD Station where the Sea Dogs defeated the Mooseheads 4-3. Nicholas Deakin-Poot, Ben Badalamenti, William Villeneuve and Dawson Stairs scored for Saint John. Marcel Barinka, Raphael Lavoie and Senna Peeters scored for Halifax. Zachary Bouthillier made 40 stops in the win. Alexis Gravel made 21 saves in the loss.

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 7-5

FINAL: Quebec 7, Saint John 5
SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs have proven that they are able to score goals this season - it's keeping them out that continues to be an issue.

The Sea Dogs fell 7-5 to the Quebec Remparts on Sunday afternoon at TD Station, dropping them back below the .500 mark with a 3-4 record. This was the second time this young season that the Sea Dogs scored five goals in a loss.

Saint John led 5-4 with under eight minutes to play in the third. Quebec's Derek Kielb scored two goals in just over two minutes to put the Remparts in front. Then with just over a minute to play, Felix Bibeau scored on a power play to make it a 7-5 final.

Kielb had a hat trick for Quebec while singles came from Bibeau, Colton O'Brien, Nathan Gaucher and James Malatesta. Carmine-Anthony Pagliarulo made 36 stops in the loss.

Nicholas Deakin-Poot scored two goals for Saint John while singles came from Nicolas Guay, Jeremie Poirier and Brady Burns. Noah Patenaude, who allowed eight goals against Cape Breton last weekend, allowed seven goals on 38 shots in the loss.

The Sea Dogs website has a full game recap.

Game Day 7: vs Remparts

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs will look to keep their winning ways going at home this afternoon.

The Sea Dogs are a perfect 3-0 on TD Station ice this season following a 4-2 win over the last-place Acadie-Bathurst Titan last night.

Today's game against the Quebec Remparts will be Saint John's first test against a non-Maritimes Division opponent. Game time is 3 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/Sea Dogs Radio Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 3-3-0-0 for six points (fourth Maritimes, seventh Eastern, 11th league) while the Remparts are 4-2-0-0 for eight points (third East, sixth Eastern, ninth league).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-2 home win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan last night. Ben Badalamenti, Brady Burns, Joshua Roy and Nicholas Deakin-Poot all scored in the victory. Zachary Bouthillier made 32 stops in the win. The Remparts are coming off a 5-4 overtime win in Charlottetown on Friday. James Malatesta and Anthony Gagnon both scored twice while Edouard St-Laurent added a single. Emerik Despatie made 26 saves in the win.

2019-20 head-to-head: This is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

2018-19 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 1-1-0-0 against the Remparts last season while Quebec went 1-0-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Feb. 1 at Videotron Centre where the Remparts edged the Sea Dogs 1-0. Andrew Coxhead scored the game's only goal. Carmine-Anthony Pagliarulo made 16 saves in the win. Zachary Bouthillier made 24 saves in the loss.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 4-2

FINAL: Bathurst 2, Saint John 4
SAINT JOHN - The losing streak is over for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs ended a three-game losing skid on Saturday night at TD Station, defeating the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 4-2. Rookie forward Joshua Roy scored the game-winner late in the third period.

Ben Badalamenti, Brady Burns and Nicholas Deakin-Poot also scored for Saint John. Zachary Bouthillier was strong in net - and not as busy as he has been of late - making 32 stops in a first star performance.

The story of Saturday's game was Saint John's power play, which went 3/6 on the night. The Sea Dogs' power play is off to a good start, posting a 29.2% rating through six games, which is good for fourth in the league.

The Titan have lost all six games they have played so far this season, earning just a single point along the way. Logan Chisholm and Evan MacKinnon scored for the Titan. Tristan Berube made 28 stops in the loss.

The Sea Dogs website has a full game recap.

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Game Day 6: vs Titan

SAINT JOHN - Two teams on early season losing skids meet tonight at TD Station.

The Saint John Sea Dogs - losers of three straight - host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan - winless in five games so far this season - tonight. It is the first meeting of the year between the two squads.

If the Maritimes Division is as tough as some are predicting, Sea Dogs and Titan matchups could prove to be pivotal for both teams' point totals as the season progresses.

Game time tonight is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/Sea Dogs Radio Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 2-3-0-0 for four points (fourth Maritimes, eighth Eastern, 13th overall) while the Titan are 0-4-0-1 for one point (sixth Maritimes, 10th Eastern, 18th overall).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-1 loss in Charlottetown on Thursday night. Nicholas Deakin-Poot scored Saint John's lone goal. Zachary Bouthillier made 36 stops in the loss. The Titan are coming off a 3-1 home loss to the Quebec Remparts on Thursday. Jeremy Diotte scored Bathurst's lone goal. Tristan Berube made 24 stops in the loss.

2019-20 head-to-head: This is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

2018-19 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 5-4-0-0 against the Titan last season while Bathurst finished 5-3-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Aug. 20 where the Sea Dogs defeated the Titan 4-1 in pre-season play. Jeremie Jacob, James White, Josh Lawrence and Maxim Cajkovic scored for Saint John. Cole Rafuse scored for Bathurst.

Friday, October 4, 2019

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 5-1

FINAL: Saint John 1, Charlottetown 5
CHARLOTTETOWN - The defensive struggles continued on Thursday night for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs once again allowed over 40 shots on goal and allowed five goals in a 5-1 loss to the Charlottetown Islanders at Eastlink Centre. Saint John has now lost three straight games - all of which have been on the road.

Nicholas Deakin-Poot scored Saint John's lone goal. Zachary Bouthillier made 36 stops in the loss. Only Rouyn-Noranda's Zachary Emond - who has made two more starts than Bouthillier - has faced more shots than the Sea Dogs 'tender this season.

The Islanders are cruising right now and improved to 4-0-1-0 this early season. The team's depth was on display with five different players scoring: Cole Edwards, Noah Laaouan, Kevin Gursoy, Brett Budgell and Nikita Alexandrov. Matthew Welsh made 23 stops in the victory.

The good news for the Sea Dogs is that they return home to host the winless Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Saturday, which will hopefully put an end to this skid. The past few games have showed that the Maritimes Division could live up to the hype and be very good this season. If that's the case, games like Saturday's against Bathurst are must-wins for the Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs website has a full game recap.

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Game Day 5: at Charlottetown

CHARLOTTETOWN - The Saint John Sea Dogs are back in action tonight, facing off against the Charlottetown Islanders for the first time this season.

After winning their first two games of the year, the Sea Dogs fell twice to the Cape Breton Eagles last weekend in Sydney. Defense has been a struggle with Saint John allowing over 40 shots a game.

Game time this evening is 7 p.m. at Eastlink Centre.

Records: The Sea Dogs are 2-2-0-0 for four points (fourth Maritimes, seventh Eastern, 11th league) while the Islanders are 3-0-1-0 for seven points (second Maritimes, third Eastern, fifth league).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off an 8-3 loss in Sydney on Sunday. Joshua Roy, Jeremie Poirier and Nicholas Guay all scored for the Sea Dogs. Noah Pateneaude made 37 stops in the loss. The Islanders are coming off a 5-3 win in Moncton on Sunday. Gaetan Jobin, Liam Peyton, Xavier Bernard, Nikita Alexandrov and William Trudeau all scored for Charlottetown. Jacob Goobie made 29 stops in the win.

2019-20 head-to-head: This is the first meeting of the season between the two.

2018-19 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 2-5-0-2 against the Islanders last season while Charlottetown went 7-1-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Sept. 13 in Charlottetown where the Sea Dogs hammered the Islanders 7-2 in pre-season action. Brady Burns and Ben Badalamenti both scored twice for Saint John while singles came from Alex Drover, Dawson Stairs and Jeremie Poirier. Patrick LeBlanc and Noah Laaouan scored for Charlottetown. Noah Patenaude made 31 saves in the win. Jacob Goobie made 31 stops in the loss.