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STANDINGS UPDATE
Who will take the final playoff spot in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League? It's like it will be a race between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Quebec Remparts.

With 11 games to play, both teams have 42 points and sit in a tie for 16th overall. The top-16 teams in the QMJHL standings qualify for the playoffs.

It may not be the prettiest race to the finish line for the Sea Dogs and Remparts. Both clubs are just 1-7-2-0 in their last 10 games. It's not impossible for the Val-d'Or Foreurs to get back into the race, but being seven points back at this stage is a big hill to climb.

The Sea Dogs will face the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Halifax Mooseheads this week while the Remparts will take on the Victoriaville Tigres and Rimouski Oceanic.

DOGS/VOLTS IN PLAYOFFS?

The good news? The Sea Dogs won't see the Drummondville Voltigeurs again in the regular season. Saint John dropped both games in the season series and were outscored a combined 15-3.

The bad news? If the Sea Dogs make the playoffs, they'll likely face the Voltigeurs in the first round.

The way things are shaping up, the 16th-place team will crossover into the Western Conference and be the No. 8 seed. The Voltigeurs look poised to be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, which would setup a first round meeting with the No. 8 seed.

The Sea Dogs crossed over into the Western Conference last season where they played the Gatineau Olympiques in the opening round.

Saint John and Drummondville have never met in the playoffs.

ROAD WOES

Much has been made about Saint John's troubles on home ice this season, but the Sea Dogs have been struggling on the road of late.

The Sea Dogs lost their eighth straight road game on Sunday in Sherbrooke. The team is now 9-16-2-1 on the road.

Five of Saint John's 11 remaining games will be on the road: two games in Cape Breton and one game in each of Halifax, Moncton and Charlottetown.

AUS ALL-STARS

Two former Sea Dogs have been named Atlantic University Sport men's hockey all-stars.

Goaltender Thomas Couture of the Acadia Axemen and defenseman Kale McCallum of the UNB Reds were both named first-team all-stars. Couture was also named to the rookie team.

Couture went 7-15 along with a 2.76 goals against average and a .915 save percentage in 24 games with Acadia in the regular season. The Axemen were eliminated in the first round of the AUS playoffs by StFX — a series that included a triple overtime game and a four overtime game.

In his first full season of AUS hockey, McCallum registered an impressive 11 goals and 31 assists in 30 games as a defenseman. He finished third in AUS scoring and helped the Reds post a perfect 30-0 record in the regular season.

MAYER WINS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Former Sea Dogs goaltender Robert Mayer and Genève-Servette HC won the Champions Hockey League last Tuesday, defeating Skellefteå AIK of Sweden 3-2 in the championship game.

Mayer was the backup goaltender in the game but did appear in six Champions League games earlier on.

The 34-year-old is 7-9-1 with a 3.47 goals against average and a .869 save percentage in 22 National League games this season.

POIRIER BACK

Some positive news for former Sea Dogs defenseman Jeremie Poirier, who has been sidelined most of the season recovering from a laceration.

Good news — #Flames defence prospect Jeremie Poirier, who hasn't played since October due to a skate laceration on his arm, returned to practice today with the AHL's Wranglers.

— Wes Gilbertson (@WesGilbertson) February 26, 2024

DUMAIS BACK IN HALIFAX

There's still no concrete timeline set for his return to play, but Jordan Dumais heading back to Halifax is certainly a positive sign for the Mooseheads with the playoffs a month away.

Mooseheads star and Columbus Blue Jackets prospect will return to Halifax tomorrow to continue his rehab following lower abdominal surgery in January.

It’s still unknown of a potential date to return to game action. #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/9j5lUWjlLR

— Scott MacIntosh (@scottmacintosh4) February 25, 2024

The Sea Dogs play the Mooseheads three more times in the regular season, including next Saturday in Halifax.

OTHER STUFF

• A nice initiative to help keep the Titan in Bathurst here, but it doesn't seem like buyers are lining up to purchase the team.
• 25-year-old defenseman Marshall Rifai recently made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Rifai, a Beaconsfield, QC native, was an eighth-round pick of the Sea Dogs way back in 2014. Rifai played college hockey at Harvard.
• Pierrick Dube made his NHL debut with the Washington Capitals last week. Dube was part of Shawinigan's President Cup championship team in 2022 and was a key contributor during that run. The 23-year-old was never drafted into the NHL and was playing ECHL games just last season.
• Zachary Bolduc, who was a key player with last year's Memorial Cup champion Quebec Remparts, made his NHL debut with the St. Louis Blues last week — and scored his first NHL goal.
• In geo-political news, the federal government announced further sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine. There's been talk about the CHL allowing Russians to be included in this year's Import Draft but... this may not be the time.