Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Notebook: Bezeau among AHL fight leaders

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Riley Bezeau is making a name for himself in the American Hockey League.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs forward is among the AHL leaders in fights this season, dropping the gloves five times in 26 games with the Charlotte Checkers. The league leader, Matthew Rempe of the Hartford Wolf Pack, has seven.
All five of Bezeau's fights have come on home ice. The 20-year-old has two goals, two assists and 52 penalty minutes in his first professional season.
Bezeau spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs, helping the club win the Memorial Cup last June.

ONE FOR ALL FESTIVAL
The Sea Dogs have announced details for the One For All Festival, which will take place Family Day Weekend at TD Station.

From the team's press release:

From Friday, February 17 to Monday, February 20 (Family Day), the One for All Festival will take over TD Station, with four days of events capturing the spirit of the 2022 Memorial Cup and building upon it. It will bring together and integrate arts, culture, and the entire community into the hockey experience.

The Sea Dogs will play three home games during that span and each will feature a musical performance. Full details can be found on the team's website.

WEEK OFF
The Sea Dogs - and the entire QMJHL - don't play again until Friday due to the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game taking place Wednesday night.

Saint John is back in action on Friday, visiting the Acadie-Bathurst Titan before travelling to Moncton on Saturday to take on the Wildcats. Both games are 7 p.m. starts.

This weekend's matches are the first of five straight road games for the Sea Dogs. Next week the team travels into Quebec for the final time in the regular season, visiting Val-d'Or, Rouyn-Noranda and Gatineau.

Saint John has a 14-27-1-1 record for 30 points. They are five points back of the final playoff spot.

NEW POD EP
This week on The Hockey News on the Q, Will MacLaren and I are joined by Eastlink QMJHL commentator Logan Delaney to discuss the latest news from around the league, Q players in the New York Rangers system and much more.
We also discuss the move by Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard to call a timeout with his team up 8-1 in the third period in Rimouski a couple weeks ago. Crickard defended the move at the time but, as Kevin Barrett of the Telegraph-Journal (paywall) later reported, the first-year head coach gave himself a one-period penalty during Saint John's next game after reflecting on his decision.

PATENAUDE UPDATE
Former Sea Dogs goaltender Noah Patenaude has joined a new club in Switzerland.

From Swiss Hockey News on Tuesday morning:

Patenaude will already practice with HC Ajoie today. He is a product of EHC Biel's organization and played three years of junior hockey in Canada in the QMJHL. In 2022, he then returned to Switzerland on loan from the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The 20-year-old went 4-7-2 with a 2.85 goals against average and a .925 save percentage in 14 games with the HCB Ticino Rockets this year, which is part of the tier-two Swiss League. HC Ajoie is part of the tier-one National League.

OTHER THINGS
  • CBC Nova Scotia has a story on the original Sea Dog, defenseman Alex Grant, who is playing with the KHL's Barys Astana in Astana, Kazakhstan. Grant, 34, is the oldest player on his team. He has six goals and 13 points in 22 games with Astana, where he was traded to earlier this season.
  • The CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game takes place Wednesday at 11 p.m. Atlantic in Langley, BC, home of the Vancouver Giants. The game can be seen on TSN.
  • The CHL website has some brief scouting reports on the QMJHL players that will be participating in the event.
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