The QMJHL and the team made the announcement Tuesday afternoon – one day prior to the league's full schedule being released. The games have been labelled the "Capital City Series."
The following three games will be played at UNB Fredericton's Aitken Centre.
Sunday, Nov. 30 at 3 p.m. vs Cape BretonThursday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. vs GatineauSunday, Feb. 1 at 3 p.m. vs Baie-Comeau
“There is a tradition and connection between the Sea Dogs and the City of Fredericton,” said Sea Dogs president Trevor Georgie in a news release. “We have had many great players from Fredericton and have deep connections to UNB. There are also many fans from the area who regularly make the drive down Highway 7 to TD Station to support the Sea Dogs. They obviously have a strong hockey history with the Reds men’s and women’s programs, but also dating all the way back to the AHL’s Fredericton Express and Canadiens.”
According to the news release, the "Sea Dogs will pay tribute to one of those historic Fredericton franchises with a special theme jersey to be revealed later this year."
No regular season QMJHL game has ever been played at the Aitken Centre. The Moncton Wildcats did, however, host a playoff game in the building during the 2015 post-season due to a scheduling conflict at the Moncton Coliseum.
The Sea Dogs and UNB have gotten closer and closer over the past few years. Along with sending a number of players to the Reds program, the Sea Dogs have regularly played pre-season games at the Aitken Centre plus there's what happened with Gardiner MacDougall temporarily joining the team for the 2022 Memorial Cup.
The Sea Dogs are scheduled to play at the Aitken Centre again this pre-season, hosting the Moncton Wildcats on Aug. 22.
According to the team, "Season Ticket Members will receive tickets to all three Capital City Series games and have the opportunity to register for a complimentary bus trip available for those games. For those who do not wish to attend these games, they will have the option to instead get flex tickets that can be used for any game at TD Station."
This is not a move you see teams willingly make too often. It's a bit surprising the Sea Dogs are legally allowed to do this and there isn't some sort of clause in their lease with TD Station that stops them from playing home games elsewhere. Speaking of that lease, it's believed the Sea Dogs are negotiating a new one, and this is the type of move you often hear threatened in those negotiations – but, again, it's rare a team actually goes through with moving home games.
As has been written about a lot, Saint John's attendance figures have been nothing to brag about post-pandemic and creating some excitement and intrigue around three games – and, let's face it, games that would likely be very lowly attended at TD Station – isn't a bad idea.
As mentioned, the QMJHL's full regular season schedule is expected to drop on Wednesday.
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