Memorial Cup Game Day: Final vs Bulldogs

SAINT JOHN - It all comes down to this.

For the second time in Saint John Sea Dogs history, the club will play in the Memorial Cup final. Just like in 2011, they'll play a team from southern Ontario, this time the Hamilton Bulldogs, with a national championship on the line. Game time is 7 p.m. at TD Station.

Winning a Memorial Cup is a rare and difficult opportunity. Winning a Memorial Cup on home ice is an even rarer opportunity. The Sea Dogs have a chance to do that tonight, which would go down as one of the greatest sports moments in this city's history.

The players know what is on the line. Most will not get this close to winning the Memorial Cup again in their careers. And this is certainly the only chance for this group of Sea Dogs to win a championship together.

It's been quite a journey for this core group of Sea Dogs. They had a few rough seasons (to put it lightly), were put through several coaching changes, dealt with the impacts of COVID and then suffered a first-round loss in the playoffs ahead of hosting the Memorial Cup. It hasn't been easy reaching this point. But here they are, one win away from reaching their goal.

The Sea Dogs defeated the Bulldogs in the opening game of the round-robin. Hamilton has gotten better as the tournament has gone on though and could bring their best game tonight. Saint John will need to be ready, and falling down 3-0 in the first period like they did against Shawinigan would not be ideal.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, will be looking to win their first Memorial Cup in their first final appearance. The last Ontario Hockey League team to lift the trophy was the 2017 Windsor Spitfires.

TV/Radio/Webcast: TSN & RDS/93 CFBC/TSN.ca

Capacity/Proof of Vaccination/Masks: 100%/None/Not mandatory

Tournament records: The Sea Dogs are 2-0-1 at this year's Memorial Cup while the Bulldogs are 2-2-0.

Regular season records: The Sea Dogs finished with a record of 47-17-1-3 for 98 points (second Maritimes/third Eastern/third QMJHL) while the Bulldogs went 51-12-3-2 for 107 points (first East/first Eastern/first OHL).

Playoff records: The Sea Dogs were 2-3 in the QMJHL playoffs and were eliminated in the first round by the Rimouski Oceanic. The Hamilton Bulldogs were 16-3 in the OHL playoffs en route to a championship, defeating Peterborough (4-0), Mississauga (4-0), North Bay (4-0) and Windsor (4-3).

Memorial Cup all-time head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 1-0-0 against the Bulldogs in Memorial Cup play while Hamilton is 0-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: June 20 at TD Station where the Sea Dogs defeated the Bulldogs 5-3. Ryan Francis scored a pair of goals for Saint John while singles came from Yan Kuznetsov, William Dufour and Peter Reynolds. Ryan Winterton scored twice for Hamilton while Avery Hayes added a solo marker. Nikolas Hurtubise made 17 saves in the win. Marco Costantini made 30 stops in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Bulldogs: Athletic therapist JP Laciak.

Bulldog to watch: Logan Morrison had three assists in the Bulldogs' 5-3 loss to Saint John last Monday. He has seven points (one goal and six assists) in four Memorial Cup games and has a 27-game point streak going.

Random stat: This will be just the third "winner-take-all" game for the Sea Dogs on TD Station ice. They defeated the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 6-2 in Game 7 of the second-round of the QMJHL playoffs in 2016 and lost 4-3 in overtime to the Rimouski Oceanic in Game 5 of the first-round this year.

Notes: William Dufour leads Saint John in tournament scoring with six points - all of which are goals... Philippe Daoust has a team high five assists... Logan Morrison leads Hamilton in points with seven and assists with six... Mason McTavish leads Hamilton in goals with four... Marco Costantini has played every second in net for the Bulldogs, posting a 2-2 record with a 2.91 GAA and .918 SV%... Nikolas Hurtubise has played every second for the Sea Dogs, posting a 2-0-1 record with a 3.19 GAA and .875 SV%... Hamilton's power play is 5/11 in the tournament while Saint John's is 1/11... Hamilton has killed off 8/11 power plays against while Saint John has killed off 6/10... the Sea Dogs will look to become the third straight QMJHL team to win the Memorial Cup.

Next game: The pre-season begins Thursday, Aug. 18 with the Sea Dogs hosting the Moncton Wildcats at Gardiner MacDougall's House (the Aitken Centre).