Notebook: Schedule getting busier

MONCTON - The schedule is picking up and it's not slowing down for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Beginning Tuesday night in Moncton, the Sea Dogs will play four games over a six day period. The following week they'll play three games.

Tuesday, March 30 at 7 p.m. at Moncton

Thursday, April 1 at 7 p.m. at Bathurst

Friday, April 2 at 7 p.m. vs Wildcats

Sunday, April 4 at 3 p.m. vs Titan

Wednesday, April 7 at 7 p.m. at Moncton

Thursday, April 8 at 7 p.m. vs Titan

Sunday, April 11 at 4 p.m. at Moncton

Tuesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. at Bathurst

Friday, April 16 at 7 p.m. vs Titan

Saturday, April 17 at 7 p.m. vs Wildcats

The Sea Dogs have had a busy but manageable pace of games over the past few weeks. In normal times you'd typically see busy weeks followed by a light week or two - but that's not happening this year. This upcoming schedule will certainly test the Dogs and the other New Brunswick teams as they inch closer to the playoffs.

Saint John and Bathurst have both played 23 games each while Moncton has played the fewest in the league at 21. Victoriaville has played 24 games, the fewest of the Quebec-based clubs.

STANDINGS

The Sea Dogs go into action Tuesday sitting third in the Maritimes Division with an 11-8-3-1 record for a .565 points percentage. They've yet to catch the Titan who sit in second with a 13-8-1-1 record for a .609 points percentage.

As the schedule above shows, the Sea Dogs play the Titan five times over the next few weeks, which will be crucial games if Saint John wants to move into second.

The top three teams in the Maritimes Division will avoid the single elimination knockout games scheduled for early May.

The Charlottetown Islanders, winners of 13 straight games, sit comfortably in first with a 28-4-0-0 record for a .875 points percentage.

ROGERS TV ADDITIONS

More games have been added to the QMJHL schedule in New Brunswick which means more games have been added to the Rogers TV broadcast schedule.

The three Sea Dogs games not included in the broadcast schedule are: April 4 vs Bathurst; April 8 vs Bathurst; and April 11 at Moncton.

BURNS CELLY

I feel like we didn't talk enough about this Brady Burns goal celebration.

🔥GOAL🔥

🎻Burns strikes up the orchestra and we're in front 2-1.

🍎| Lawrence
🍏| Poirier pic.twitter.com/F5uwpSLYM7

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) March 26, 2021

MURPHY MAKES AHL DEBUT

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Matt Murphy made his American Hockey League debut this past weekend.

Murphy appeared in two games with the Chicago Wolves when they took on the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday and Sunday. The d-man recorded an assist in Chicago's 5-4 win on Sunday.

The 25-year-old had been playing with the ECHL's Fort Wayne Komets where he registered a goal and three assists in 11 games.

Murphy spent the second half of the 2015-16 season with Saint John, recording 29 points in 37 regular season games and another nine points in 17 playoff contests.

BENT SIGNS

Former Sea Dogs forward/enemy Kelly Bent has signed with the ECHL's Kansas City Mavericks. The Mavs are affiliated with the Calgary Flames.

Congrats to @DalTigers alumni, Kelly Bent on signing his first professional contract with the @kc_mavericks in the @ECHL #PSAHockey pic.twitter.com/riDKYlfPqj

— Project Sports Agency (@PSAHockey) March 30, 2021

Bent spent the past four seasons with the Dalhousie Tigers where he recorded 10 goals and 16 assists in 116 career AUS games. He had 101 penalty minutes in 28 games in 2019-20.

Bent spent the 2013-14 season with the Sea Dogs where he recorded four goals and two assists in 56 games. The pesky forward will always be remembered for his role in the infamous Boko Imama/Joe Veleno incident in 2015.

RANDOM NOTES AND THINGS

• Worth mentioning again: the Charlottetown Islanders have now won 13 straight games. The team extended its win streak with a 3-2 overtime win over the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday.
• Sunday's Eagles/Islanders game was cancelled due to "a few" Cape Breton players experiencing flu-like symptoms. Wednesday's game has also been postponed - although all Eagles players have tested negative, according to the league.
• The NCAA's Frozen Four is set: it'll be Minnesota Duluth vs UMass and Minnesota State vs St. Cloud State. Not a single No. 1 seed survived the regional tournaments this past weekend. The semifinals take place April 8 in Pittsburgh.
• Some bad news for the Rimouski Oceanic: Zachary Bolduc will miss the next 6-8 weeks with a lower body injury.
• The WHL's Kelowna Rockets have suspended team activities due to a positive COVID-19 test.