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Thursday, March 23, 2023

Sea Dogs in control entering final weekend

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
SAINT JOHN - The final weekend of the regular season has arrived. The big question is: will the Saint John Sea Dogs be playing next weekend?

Things are looking good for the Sea Dogs. Saint John sits 15th in the overall standings with 53 points, one-point up on the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Val-d'Or Foreurs. The top-16 teams qualify for the playoffs.

The Sea Dogs have two games remaining - Friday in Charlottetown and Saturday at home against Bathurst. Blainville-Boisbriand has two games remaining - a home-and-home with Gatineau - while Val-d'Or plays their final game on Saturday at home against Rouyn-Noranda.
There are a number of scenarios for Saint John to clinch a playoff spot this weekend - and there are a few where they could miss. But, with a one-point lead and two games to play, the Sea Dogs control their own destiny.

Here are a few other things to note heading into the final couple games...

  • The Sea Dogs visit the Charlottetown Islanders on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Saint John is 11-17-4-1 on the road.
  • Saint John is 5-3-0-0 against Charlottetown this year, already clinching the season series.
  • Note that Saturday's home game against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan is a 4 p.m. start. All 18 teams are in action on Saturday afternoon.
  • The Sea Dogs are 4-3-3-0 in their last 10 games, a stretch that has put them into a playoff position. In the Telegraph-Journal (paywall), Kevin Barrett details how this recent run is a rare accomplishment for a rebuilding Sea Dogs team.
  • This will be the final weekend of regular season play for Sea Dogs overagers Brady Burns, Charlie DesRoches and Alex Drover. The departure of Burns and DesRoches, who were part of Saint John's big 2018 draft class, truly signals the end of an era.
  • Burns enters the weekend in a tie with Jonathan Huberdeau for the franchise record in career points with 257.
  • The Sea Dogs have technically not missed the playoffs since the 2018-19 season. There were no playoffs in 2019-20 but the team would have qualified. The 2020-21 COVID season had the provincial tournament thing which were classified as playoff games. Saint John has not won a playoff round, though, since lifting the President Cup in 2017.
  • If the Sea Dogs do qualify for the playoffs, they'll be crossing over to the Western Conference and play either Joshua Roy's Sherbrooke Phoenix or Cam MacDonald's Gatineau Olympiques. Not an easy task.
  • The Phoenix defeated the Olympiques 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday, ending Gatineau's 21-game winning streak. The two are tied atop the Western Conference with 101 points.
  • On this week's episode of The Hockey News on the Q, Will MacLaren and I are joined by Gatineau forward and world junior gold medalist Zach Dean. We also discuss the potential fighting ban and the league's playoff race.
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