Spirits high for Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs held their first official Memorial Cup practice on Sunday morning at TD Station.

Spirits appeared high during and after the high tempo practice held by new head coach Gardiner MacDougall and the rest of the coaching staff.

"We've been training and practicing for a month," said forward William Dufour after Sunday's practice. "We're always together and doing some activities outside the rink together. (Spirit is) very high. It's very nice right now.

"I can't wait for tomorrow."

Hear from William Dufour, Josh Lawrence and Vincent Sevigny after the @SJSeaDogs first practice at the 2022 #MemorialCup presented by @KiaCanada! pic.twitter.com/uF1xvLQtyW

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 19, 2022

Monday's game against the Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs will be Saint John's first since a 4-3 overtime setback to the Rimouski Oceanic on May 12. There is plenty of mystery surrounding the Sea Dogs given their long layoff and coaching change.

“It is a big challenge but it is the opportunity of a lifetime,” said MacDougall at Saturday night's coaches press conference. “The last month has been an exhilarating experience for everyone. (Our players) went through probably the most adversity they have had. They have proven that they can be very successful in the regular season. I give full credit to the players as they have been very receptive and the buy-in has been terrific.”

MacDougall played up Saint John's underdog storyline during the press conference. The veteran coach and the team's roster have had a positive mindset about the lengthy layoff.

"We've kind of embraced what we've been going through with the hard workouts and the hard skates and just having fun with it, sticking together," said forward Josh Lawrence. "Hopefully it will pay off this week."

A few other notes from TD Station...

• MacDougall joked during Sunday's press conference that after seeing that Saint John would play the OHL champion in the first game, he asked the team's staff to order new skates with faster blades and longer sticks to better block lanes.
• The Hamilton Bulldogs have been without their captain since Game 2 of the OHL final. "We will miss Colton Kammerer and we are banged up in other areas but most teams here are," said Bulldogs head coach Jay McKee. "That's part of the game and part of what makes winning that so challenging but also rewarding."
• The Sea Dogs had all three goaltenders on the ice before the full team practice. Noah Patenaude, who hasn't played since suffering an injury in December, left before the full practice started and returned at the end.
• Saint John, Hamilton and Edmonton were practicing at TD Station Sunday. Shawinigan was at the qplex.