Recap: Sea Dogs lose 5-1

FINAL: Saint John 1, Charlottetown 5

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

CHARLOTTETOWN - The Saint John Sea Dogs got roughed up on the road once again on Saturday.

After falling 6-3 to the Charlottetown Islanders on Friday, the Sea Dogs were once again downed by the PEI side 24 hours later, this time falling 5-1.

Benjamin Amyot scored Saint John's lone goal in the loss, which is the club's fourth straight overall and seventh straight on the road.

Saint John once again allowed two goals in both the first and second periods and were, like Friday, heavily outshot in the middle frame, this time 13-4.

Charles-Edward Gravel was pulled after allowing a pair of goals on six shots in the first 8:25 of the game. Justin Robinson allowed three goals on 23 shots in relief.

Marcus Kearsey, Maxwell Jardine, Jabez Seymour, Simon Hughes and Nathan Leek all scored for Charlottetown. Nicolas Ruccia made 22 saves in the win.

With this pair of wins over Saint John, the Islanders are now just one point back of the Sea Dogs in the standings.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 6-3

FINAL: Saint John 3, Charlottetown 6

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

CHARLOTTETOWN - The Saint John Sea Dogs dropped a sixth straight road game on Friday at Eastlink Centre, falling 6-3 to the Charlottetown Islanders.

The Islanders scored two goals in every period in the victory. The teams were tied 2-2 and 3-3 in the second period before the Islanders pulled away thanks to another second period marker and two goals late in the third.

Ethan Montroy scored a pair for Charlottetown while singles came from Simon Hughes, Marcus Kearsey, Anthony Flanagan and Ross Campbell. Matthew Butler added a pair of assists. Donald Hickey made 24 stops in the win.

Dylan Rozzi, Tyler Peddle and Reid Calder all scored for Saint John. Charles-Edward Gravel made 35 stops in the loss.

The Sea Dogs have now dropped three straight games overall and have fallen three games below .500. Saint John and Charlottetown meet again on Saturday night at Eastlink Centre.

Krayer signs with Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs announced yet another signing on Friday afternoon.

The Sea Dogs have inked American forward Matthew Krayer, who was a 14th-round pick of the team in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft.

“We are very excited to add Matthew as he is very hungry to continue his development as a player in our program and become a part of the City of Saint John,” said Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Travis Crickard in a news release. “Matthew comes highly regarded from Mount St. Charles in Rhode Island. His former coach Cody Wild spoke volumes about Matthew’s character as a person and abilities as a player.”

Krayer, 16, has posted an impressive 23 goals and 36 assists in 35 games with the under-16 squad at Mount St. Charles this season. He had 32 goals and 79 points in 56 games with the under-15 team last year.

According to the team's news release, "Krayer attended USA Hockey’s National 16 Player Development Camp this summer finishing with five goals and one assist in five games for Team Navy Blue."

Listed at 5'10" and 170 lbs, Krayer could be a key piece of Saint John's offense in the coming seasons. The team has, as expected, struggled to consistently produce goals this season and will likely lose a key piece up front in captain Eriks Mateiko in the coming days.

Krayer, from Concord, Massachusetts, joins Egan Beveridge of New Hampshire as the only Americans on Saint John's active roster.

A 14th-round pick, the Sea Dogs no doubt thought Krayer reporting was a long shot. He did not attend training camp in August. But things have really changed with the new NCAA rules. He has not publicly committed to a NCAA team at this time.

Krayer is expected to make his QMJHL debut on Friday night in Charlottetown. The line chart shows him on the team's third line with Tyler Peddle and Ben Cross.

Game Day 35 & 36: at Charlottetown

CHARLOTTETOWN - The Saint John Sea Dogs will look to turn some road woes around this weekend in Charlottetown.

The Sea Dogs will play back-to-back games against the Islanders on Friday and Saturday at Eastlink Centre. Both games start at 7 p.m.

The Sea Dogs have lost five straight road games heading into this weekend, including a New Year's Eve matinee in Bathurst. Saint John is now 6-11-0-0 on the road this season.

Saint John will be facing an Islanders team that has lost four straight games and sits five points below them in the standings. The Dogs have won three of the four meetings between the two this year.

TV/Radio/Stream: None/None/CHL TV

2024-25 regular season records: The Sea Dogs are 16-18-0-0 for 32 points (fourth Maritimes/seventh Eastern/12th QMJHL) while the Islanders are 12-19-2-1 for 27 points (fifth Maritimes/ninth Eastern/14th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-2 loss in Bathurst on Tuesday. Olivier Groulx and Dylan Rozzi scored for Saint John. Justin Robinson made 31 saves in the win. The Islanders are coming off a 5-1 loss in Moncton on Tuesday. Matthew Butler scored Charlottetown's lone goal. Nicolas Ruccia made 23 saves in the loss.

Sea Dogs sign Lumsden

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The Saint John Sea Dogs have made another addition to their lineup as the QMJHL's trade deadline approaches.

The Sea Dogs announced Thursday the signing of 17-year-old defenseman John Lumsden. A Stittsville, ON native that has family connections in Saint John, Lumsden has spent this season and last with the CCHL's Nepean Raiders.

“I can’t wait to get started here in Saint John,” Lumsden said in a news release. “Growing up a Sea Dogs fan and spending summers in the city with much of my extended family, it definitely makes it even more special.”

Lumsden leaves the CCHL sitting third in defensemen scoring with two goals and 27 assists in 31 games. He's already nearly doubled his point total from last season. 

Lumsden attended Sea Dogs training camp but departed after 48 hours, presumably to maintain his NCAA eligibility. 

 “We have been following John the entire first half of the season and he has progressed nicely with Nepean,” said Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Travis Crickard. “Sea Dogs fans can expect John to bring a blue collar work ethic and strong willingness to learn.”

Listed at 5'9" and 181 lbs, Lumsden was a draft pick of the OHL's Ottawa 67's in 2023.

On Monday, the Sea Dogs signed another Ontario free agent, inking forward Parker Forlin from the OJHL's Niagara Canucks.

Mateiko scores two more in Latvia loss

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OTTAWA - Eriks Mateiko is leaving the IIHF World Junior Championship as one of the tournament's leading goal scorers.

The Latvian forward scored another pair of goals on Thursday, giving him five in five games and placing him in a tie for the tournament lead. That doesn't include the shootout goal he scored against Canada, either.

The Saint John Sea Dogs captain scored both of Latvia's goals in a 3-2 quarterfinal loss to Sweden at TD Place, ending what has to be considered a successful tournament for the underdogs, who many thought would end up playing in the relegation game.

Not sure if TSN showed this but Latvia did a couple laps of the ice before leaving. #CanadasTeam pic.twitter.com/olhS7jZgqo

— Jamie Tozer (@station_nation) January 2, 2025

Mateiko played a pivotal role in Latvia's success, pulling the team into games at times. He was, unsurprisingly, named one of the team's top three players at the tournament and has made a strong case for the event's all star team.

The Washington Capitals prospect finished with four shots in 18:51 of ice time on Thursday. The Swedes outplayed the Latvians for most of the game – shots were 50-13 Sweden – but netminder Linards Feldbergs of the Sherbrooke Phoenix once again kept his team in it.

Mateiko had one of the best world junior performances by any Sea Dog in the club's history – but he's likely played his final game for Saint John. The import forward is expected to be dealt prior to Monday's QMJHL trade deadline.

Le meilleur buteur du Mondial junior 2025, Eriks Mateiko, passera des Sea Dogs à l'Océanic de Rimouski lors de la date limite des transactions. #LHJMQ

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) January 2, 2025

Sweden will play Finland in Saturday's first semifinal followed by the United States taking on Czechia. 

Czechia defeated Canada 4-3 on Thursday night in what was another disastrous game by the Canadians. Former Sea Dogs forward Pavel Simek did not play for Czechia.

New Brunswick's Bradly Nadeau scored his second goal of the tournament in the loss. He finishes as Canada's leading goal scorer.

Quarterfinals set for WJC

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OTTAWA - The quarterfinals are set at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

All four quarterfinal games will take place Thursday in Ottawa, setting up Saturday's semifinals. The gold and bronze medal games will be played on Sunday.

Here's the schedule for the quarters (all times Atlantic):

1 p.m. - Sweden vs Latvia

3:30 p.m. - United States vs Switzerland

6 p.m. - Finland vs Slovakia

8:30 p.m. - Czechia vs Canada

Eriks Mateiko and Latvia finished fourth in Group A following a 3-0 loss to Finland on Tuesday. Mateiko finished the contest with 11 shots on goal in 17:01 of ice time, earning player of the game honours. He was responsible for 11 of Latvia's 28 shots.

Preliminary round shots leaders at the World Juniors:
1. Axel Sandin Pellikka (DET): 25
T2. Eriks Mateiko (WSH), Ryan Leonard (WSH): 22
T4. Eduard Sale (SEA), Easton Cowan (TOR): 19

— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) January 1, 2025

The Saint John Sea Dogs captain had three goals in four games during the preliminary round.

Team Canada, meanwhile, will have a tough quarterfinal matchup against Pavel Simek and Czechia. Canada was eliminated by Czechia in the quarterfinals of last year's tournament.

Canada's offensive troubles continued in a frustrating 4-1 loss the United States on Tuesday night. New Brunswick's Bradly Nadeau scored Canada's lone goal on a power play in the third period.

Sea Dogs drop prices for second half

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs are lowering ticket prices for the second half of the season.

The team made the announcement on Wednesday morning. Tickets have been showing at the reduced price on the TD Station website for a couple weeks.

From the team's news release:

In celebration of 20 seasons in Saint John and as a thank you to the community, we are happy to announce that adult tickets will be just $20 all in (taxes and fees included). This $20 ticket in honour of 20 seasons, is available for fans to enjoy for all remaining home games this season. This is the most affordable ticket in all of the Maritimes! 

Additionally, we are going to kick off every home game with a special Happy Hour at TD Station. Come early and enjoy $6 beer, wine, coolers, and singles from when the doors open right up until puck drop. It is the perfect way to get your game night started!

The Sea Dogs have 15 home games remaining this regular season. They are 10-7-0-0 at home.

Adult tickets were previously set at $25 plus taxes and fees.

While it's being branded as a nice gesture by the team, this is no doubt a move to try an increase what has been a woeful season attendance wise. Saint John is currently averaging 2,434 fans per game, the sixth fewest in the QMJHL. The largest home crowd of the season was just 3,191, which was the team's season opener.

Many have been asking for lower ticket prices, so it will be interesting to see how much of an impact this has. The team has had a number of discounted ticket nights this year but did not see big bumps in attendance.

The Sea Dogs averaged 2,760 fans per game last year, the lowest in the club's history for a season that was not impacted by COVID-19 capacity restrictions.