Friday, December 24, 2021

Notebook: Swiss game cancelled by COVID

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
Noah Patenaude, Vincent Despont and Team Switzerland will head into World Junior Hockey Championship action without any pre-tournament play.

Switzerland was scheduled to play the Czech Republic on Thursday in Red Deer but the game was cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols.
Switzerland's first game of the tournament is scheduled for Monday against Russia. They'll also play the United States (Dec. 28), Slovakia (Dec. 30) and Sweden (Dec. 31) in the preliminary round. All of those games will be played in Red Deer.

BIG JANUARY GAMES
If the QMJHL (including the three New Brunswick based clubs) does indeed resume play on Jan. 7, the Sea Dogs have some big games coming up.

Here's a look at some of January's marquee Sea Dogs games:

Jan. 8 vs Sherbrooke
Jan. 20 vs Quebec
Jan. 21 vs Gatineau
Jan. 27 at Charlottetown

If the league's pause goes further into January, those games against Quebec based clubs may be logistically challenging to reschedule for later in the year. Fingers crossed they happen as it would be great to see how Saint John's new lineup stacks up against some of the league's top teams.

The Sea Dogs venture to Quebec just one more time this season, visiting Baie-Comeau, Chicoutimi and Rimouski in early February.

MACDONALD INTERVIEW
Sea Dogs forward Cam MacDonald was recently a guest on the Halifax-based High Button Podcast.


TICKET UPDATE
According to the Telegraph-Journal (paywall), "around 80 per cent of tickets" have been sold for the 2022 Memorial Cup, which will be hosted in Saint John June 4-13.

Tickets went on sale to the general public on Dec. 6. Information on ticket packages is available on the CHL website.

VILLEMAIRE MAKES ECHL RETURN
Here's something you don't see everyday: Maxime Villemaire recently played in his first ECHL game in nearly a decade.

The Trois-Riviers Lions have been calling up several players from the LNAH to fill holes in their roster. Villemaire suited up for the Lions on Dec. 18 in their 5-2 home win over the Maine Mariners. He has since been released by the club.

Villemaire appeared in 15 ECHL games with the Gwinnett Gladiators in 2012-13, recording one assist. The 29-year-old has since been playing in the LNAH, mostly with Riviere-du-Loup. He has a goal and eight assists in nine games this season.

Villemaire spent parts of two seasons with the Sea Dogs, helping the team win the President Cup in 2012.

OTHER THINGS

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