Cataractes return to Saint John

Vincent Ethier/CHL

The stakes were just a little bit higher the last time the Shawinigan Cataractes took on the Saint John Sea Dogs at TD Station.

The long-time rivals met in the final game of the round-robin portion of the 2022 Memorial Cup with a bye to the championship game on the line. The Cataractes led 3-0 after the first period but the Sea Dogs, led by a four-goal performance from William Dufour, went on to earn a 5-3 victory.

The Cataractes fell in the Memorial Cup semifinal to the Hamilton Bulldogs while the Sea Dogs went on to beat the Ontario Hockey League champions in the final.

Very few players from that Cataractes-Sea Dogs game will be in either lineup Wednesday night when the two meet at TD Station. Game time is 7 p.m.

Peter Reynolds, Brady Burns and Charlie DesRoches are the only Sea Dogs who played in that game who are still with the team.

Shawinigan, the defending QMJHL champions, are having a respectable season given their roster turnover. The Cataractes sit 10th overall in the league with a 20-19-1-2 record.

The Sea Dogs sit 17th overall with a 14-24-1-1 record.

A few other notes...

• The Sea Dogs play their next three games at home. Following Wednesday's match against Shawinigan, Josh Lawrence and the Halifax Mooseheads visit Saint John for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday.
• Lawrence was named to the QMJHL's Team of the Week. With 64 points in 41 games, the 20-year-old sits in a tie for third in league scoring.
• The Mooseheads have earned points in 16 straight games (14-0-2-0). The Moose host the Cataractes on Thursday before travelling to Saint John.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Dawson Theede is back playing with the National Lacrosse League's Halifax Thunderbirds. Theede had two goals in Halifax's 17-8 loss to the Toronto Rock in Hamilton on Saturday.
• Due to arena scheduling issues, it looks like the OHL's Ottawa 67's will play their first-round playoff games at Gatineau's Slush Puppie Centre, according to Le Driot.