Sea Dogs to make first Quebec trip

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs will make their first trip into Quebec this week.

The Sea Dogs will make four trips to Quebec this season, playing three games against three different opponents each time. All four trips are formatted the same with Saint John playing back-to-back games followed by an off-day before the third and final game.

The Sea Dogs will begin this three-game trek on Thursday when they visit the Rimouski Oceanic. On Friday they'll travel to Drummondville to face the Voltigeurs and close out the trip with a Sunday contest in nearby Victoriaville.

Here's a cleaner look at the schedule.

Thursday at 8 p.m. - at Rimouski (7-7-0-1)

Friday at 8 p.m. - at Drummondville (9-4-1-1)

Sunday at 5 p.m. - at Victoriaville (6-7-2-0)

The Sea Dogs are 4-3-1-0 on the road this season. They recently won back-to-back games in Cape Breton after a rough couple outings in Newfoundland.

The Voltigeurs and Tigres both play in the Western Conference. The Sea Dogs are 1-1-0-0 against teams from the west this season.

The Sea Dogs will play their next five games against non-Atlantic teams. After this road trip, the Sea Dogs will host the Quebec Remparts on Nov. 15 and the Voltigeurs on Nov. 16.

A few other news and notes...

• Olivier Groulx leads Saint John in points (14) and assists (10). Dylan Rozzi has a team high seven goals.
• Rozzi leads the league in game-winning goals with four. Saint John has seven wins this season, meaning Rozzi has scored the winner in over half of them.
• The Sea Dogs will be without forward Alexis Joseph on this road trip due to the U17 World Challenge. Forward Angelo Fullerton should return to the lineup after serving a one-game suspension on Sunday.
• Speaking of Joseph, he had a goal and two assists in Team Canada Red's 6-5 shootout loss to the United States on Tuesday night in Truro.
• The Charlottetown Islanders currently sit first overall in the league although three teams – the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Chicoutimi Sagueneens – have better winning percentages.
• One of the biggest surprises in the league so far has been the Halifax Mooseheads, who own a 10-5-1-0 record. They had a home heavy start to the year, so we'll see how things unfold in the coming weeks.