2023-24 QMJHL schedule released

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs will open the 2023-24 season at the KC Irving Regional Centre in Bathurst.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League unveiled its schedule for the upcoming season on Wednesday and will feature the Sea Dogs visiting the Titan on Friday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. The contest is one of seven QMJHL games taking place opening night.

On Saturday, Sept. 23, the Sea Dogs will play their first home game of the year, hosting the Titan at 7 p.m.

The PDF released by the league on Wednesday is a bit messy to sort through, but here are a few takeaways on Saint John's schedule:

• The Sea Dogs travel into Quebec early this season, visiting Blainville-Boisbriand (Oct. 12), Val-d'Or (Oct. 14) and Rouyn-Noranda (Oct. 15) in mid-October.
• The defending QMJHL champions, the Quebec Remparts (or at least what is left of the roster), visit TD Station on Sunday, Oct. 29.
• The schedule has the Sea Dogs playing a rare Monday night game on Nov. 13 at TD Station, hosting the Cape Breton Eagles.
• The Sea Dogs will travel into Quebec three other times:
• Nov. 16 at Baie-Comeau, Nov. 17 at Chicoutimi and Nov. 19 at Rimouski.
• Jan. 26 at Shawinigan, Jan. 27 at Victoriaville and Jan. 28 at Gatineau.
• Feb. 23 at Quebec, Feb. 24 at Drummondville and Feb. 25 at Sherbrooke.
• The Sea Dogs play their final games before the holiday break on Dec. 15-16, visiting the Halifax Mooseheads.
• Saint John begins the second half on Thursday, Dec. 28 in Cape Breton. The Sea Dogs play in Moncton on Saturday, Dec. 30 and then host the Titan on New Year's Eve at 2 p.m.
• The Sea Dogs host the Eagles on Family Day Monday (Feb. 19) at 2 p.m.
• Saint John concludes regular season play at home at Saturday, March 23 against the Mooseheads. That game has a 4 p.m. start.

Saint John's pre-season schedule, which was released last week, begins Aug. 22.