Notebook: Impressive rookie seasons

JaimeLee Gouthro/Cape Breton Eagles

Both Alexander Donovan and Alexis Joseph came up just short of tying the Sea Dogs franchise record for goals in a season by a rookie.

Donovan finished the year with 25 goals while Joseph posted 24. The team record is 26, which is held by Tomas Jurco (2009-10) and Ostap Safin (2017-18).

Joseph did set team records for most goals (24) and points (60) in a season by a 16-year-old. 

Jospeh's 60 points tie him with Stansislav Galiev (2009-10) for the second most in team history amongst all rookies. The overall rookie points record remains Chris DiDomenico's 75 in 2006-07)

BALDWIN'S NUMBERS

Everett Baldwin finishes the season with 15 goals, placing him in a tie with Charlottetown's Marcus Kearsey for the league lead in goals by defensemen.

Baldwin ties Alex Grant for the third most goals in a season by a Sea Dogs defenseman. Jeremie Poirier had 20 in 2019-20 and 16 in 2021-22.

Baldwin set the Sea Dogs franchise record for both goals (15) and points (44) by a rookie defenseman. 

UQTR wins University Cup; MHL playoffs update

HALIFAX - The UQTR Patriotes love playing in Nova Scotia.

The Patriotes captured their second University Cup title in five years with a 3-2 overtime win over the Saint Mary's Huskies on Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Centre. The last time the tournament was held in Nova Scotia – 2022 in Wolfville – the Patriotes defeated the Alberta Golden Bears 5-4 in double overtime.

Felix Lafrance, who played with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, Cape Breton Eagles, Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Acadie-Bathurst Titan, scored the overtime winner with 5:35 remaining in the first session of extra time.

While UQTR's roster is loaded with former QMJHL talent, none played for the Saint John Sea Dogs. The Huskies lineup featured former Sea Dog Connor Trenholm.

The Huskies were the tournament's hosts and, after being eliminated in the first round of the AUS playoffs, were the No. 8 seed. They upset No. 1 Saskatchewan in their opener on Thursday and then defeated Windsor 4-1 in the Saturday afternoon semifinal.

UQTR advanced to the championship game with a 7-4 win over the UNB Reds in Saturday night's semifinal. The Patriotes scored four times in the first period – including twice in the first 4:41 – to take control of the game.

The Reds were victorious in the bronze medal game, which took place at 9 a.m. (not a typo) at Scotiabank Centre. Former Sea Dogs forwards Nick Blagden and Leighton Carruthers both had assists in the 5-1 win. Peter Reynolds remained out of the lineup.

Playoff schedule, matchups released

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

HALIFAX - The Saint John Sea Dogs will begin the first round of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs on Friday in Moncton.

As expected, the first two games of Saint John's series with the Moncton Wildcats will take place Friday and Saturday at Avenir Centre, respectively. The series will then shift to Saint John.

Here is the full schedule:

The Sea Dogs have been locked into the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference for a couple weeks but had to wait until Saturday afternoon to have their opponent determined. The Wildcats secured top spot with a win over the Charlottetown Islanders, edging the Chicoutimi Sagueneens by a single point.

This is will be just the second playoff series between the Sea Dogs and Wildcats. They last met in the 2010 QMJHL final which Moncton took in six games.

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats also met in the opening round of the COVID impacted 2021 playoffs, which was a round robin format that also included the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

Sea Dogs to face Wildcats in first round

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

MONCTON - For just the second time, the Saint John Sea Dogs will face the Moncton Wildcats in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs.

The Wildcats secured the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference on Saturday, defeating the Charlottetown Islanders 6-1. The Sea Dogs have been locked into the No. 8 seed for a couple weeks now but have been waiting to see who would finish first: the Wildcats or the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

The Wildcats won nine straight games down the stretch to edge the Sagueneens in the standings. Moncton finishes as the QMJHL's top regular season team for a second straight year, posting a record of 50-10-2-2 for 104 points.

The playoff schedule has not been announced yet but the series will likely start Friday night at Avenir Centre. Games 3 and 4 will be played on Tuesday, March 31 and Wednesday, April 1 at TD Station, respectively.

The only other time the Sea Dogs played the Wildcats in a playoff series was the 2010 QMJHL final, which Moncton won in six games.

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats did technically meet in the playoffs during the 2021 COVID provincial tournament thing, which also included the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Saint John won two of the three meetings against Moncton.

Saint John will be major underdogs in this series, finishing 15th overall in the QMJHL with a 23-36-5-0 record for 51 points. The Sea Dogs were 1-7-0-0 against the Wildcats in the regular season.

This will be the Sea Dogs' first playoff appearance since the 2023-24 season. They have not won a playoff series since the 2017 QMJHL final.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 3-2

FINAL: Saint John 3, Cape Breton 2

JaimeLee Gouthro/Cape Breton Eagles

SYDNEY, NS - The Saint John Sea Dogs ended the regular season on a winning note on Saturday,

Angelo Fullerton scored a pair of goals against his former team to lead the Sea Dogs to a 3-2 win over the Cape Breton Eagles at Centre 200. Nolann Héroux scored Saint John's other goal while Rafael Courchesne made 24 saves in the win.

The Eagles opened the scoring but the Sea Dogs scored the next three to take a 3-1 lead in the third period. At 16:10 of the final frame, Reece Peitzsche scored to cut Saint John's lead to 3-2. Peitzsche had a couple other quality chances in the final couple minutes to net an equalizer but could not beat Courchesne.

Raoul Boilard scored Cape Breton's other goal. Connor Towle made 28 saves in the loss.

The victory ended a five-game losing streak for the Sea Dogs, who will begin post-season action on the road next weekend.

Sea Dogs still waiting on playoff opponent; University Cup, MHL updates

Mike Bernard/Charlottetown Islanders

MONCTON - It's the final day of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League regular season and the Saint John Sea Dogs won't know who their first round playoff opponent is until later today.

The Sea Dogs, who take on the Cape Breton Eagles at 3 p.m. in Sydney, are locked into the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, meaning they'll face the No. 1 seed. Who that No. 1 seed will be is the big question.

The Moncton Wildcats enter the day with 102 points while the Chicoutimi Sagueneens are right behind them with 101. The Wildcats host the Charlottetown Islanders at 4 p.m. while the Sags host the Quebec Remparts at 5 p.m.

Here are the scenarios:

• If Moncton wins today, they'll clinch first and face the Sea Dogs in the first round. The Sagueneens' result is not relevant.
• If Moncton loses and Chicoutimi wins, the Sagueneens clinch first and will face the Sea Dogs in the first round.
• If the two teams end up tied (Moncton loses in extra time and Chicoutimi wins or Moncton loses in regulation and Chicoutimi loses in extra time), the Sagueneens clinch first and will face the Sea Dogs in the first round. Chicoutimi has the tie-breaker.
• Of course, if both teams lose today, the Wildcats will clinch first and face the Sea Dogs in the first round.

Moncton enters today's game on an eight-game winning streak.

The Sea Dogs were 1-7-0-0 against the Wildcats in the regular season and, oddly, 2-0-0-0 against the Sagueneens.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 4-2

FINAL: Saint John 2, Cape Breton 4

JaimeLee Gouthro/Cape Breton Eagles

SYDNEY, NS - The losing streak continues for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs lost a fifth straight game on Friday night at Centre 200, falling 4-2 to the Cape Breton Eagles. The victory ended a six-game losing streak for the Eagles.

Saint John thought they had opened the scoring halfway through the first period when Bo Damphousse scored. But the goal was called back due to an offside – and the Eagles would take advantage, grabbing momentum and scoring twice to lead 2-0 after the first.

After a scoreless second period, Alexander Donovan scored on a power play at 6:59 of the third to get Saint John within one. The Eagles would respond with a man advantage goal of their own at 12:14, restoring Cape Breton's two-goal lead.

The Sea Dogs pulled goaltender Rafaël Courchesne with 3:34 left and the move paid off. At 17:00, Donovan netted his second of the game to get Saint John within one again. But the Eagles secured the win with an empty net goal at 18:14.

Shots in the third period were 14-2 in favour of Saint John.

Lucas Romeo scored twice for Cape Breton while Raoul Boilard and Eliot Litalien added singles. Felix Hamel made 35 saves in the win.

Courchesne made 19 saves in the loss.

These two meet again tomorrow afternoon at Centre 200 in the regular season finale for both teams.

Sea Dogs finally debut Under Armour jerseys

JaimeLee Gouthro/Cape Breton Eagles

It took until the final weekend of the regular season for the Saint John Sea Dogs to debut their new jerseys.

For the first time, the Sea Dogs wore their white Under Armour branded jerseys – which includes the team's updated logo – on Friday night in Sydney. 

The majority of teams across the CHL have been wearing Under Armour jerseys since opening night in September. Saint John announced on Sept. 18 that the new jerseys would be delayed. Not many expected correct versions to take until mid-March to arrive.

Two teams in the QMJHL – the Sea Dogs and Halifax Moosheads – have been wearing old CCM jerseys all season. The CCM logos were covered over.

JaimeLee Gouthro/Cape Breton Eagles

It was announced last May that Under Armour would replace CCM as the CHL's official jersey provider. The switch hasn't come without problems. A number of teams reportedly had errors with their new looks. 

The Sea Dogs unveiled their updated logo and mockups of the new jerseys at an event during the summer. The Sea Dogs had been wearing the same styled jersey since the 2009-10 season.

The Sea Dogs play their final regular season games on the road this weekend. They'll start the playoffs on the road before returning to TD Station for playoff games three and four on March 31 and April 1, where the team will presumably debut this new look for their home fans.

Game Day 63 & 64: at Cape Breton

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SYDNEY, NS - The regular season comes to a close this weekend for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs will play a pair of road games against the Cape Breton Eagles to close out the 2025-26 season. Saint John has qualified for the post-season and is locked into the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference – but it's still not known who they'll play in the first round.

The Eagles, meanwhile, could still move up or down the standings depending on how things play out this weekend. These games (or at least Friday's, for now) do have meaning.

Both teams are on losing streaks. Saint John has lost four straight while Cape Breton has lost six.

This is the first meeting between the two since late November.

Friday's game has a 7 p.m. start at Centre 200 while Saturday's will begin at 3 p.m.

Stream/TV/Radio: FloHockey/None/None

Records: The Sea Dogs are 22-35-5-0 for 49 points (eighth Eastern/15th QMJHL) while the Eagles are 27-22-4-9 for 67 points (sixth Eastern/11th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-1 loss in Charlottetown on Sunday. Angelo Fullerton scored Saint John's lone goal. Jase MacPherson made 34 saves in his first career QMJHL start. The Eagles are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss in Charlottetown last Friday. Reece Peitzsche scored Cape Breton's lone goal. Connor Towle made 27 saves in the loss. 

Notebook: Fullerton's impressive season

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Angelo Fullerton is ending his junior career on a high note.

The 20-year-old forward has scored nine goals in his past nine games to give him 25 of the season, which is currently the Saint John Sea Dogs team lead. He's also posted 18 assists in the 59 games he has appeared in.

Fullerton spent the previous three seasons with the Cape Breton Eagles, who he and the Sea Dogs will visit for a pair of games this weekend. His previous career high for points in a season was 16. His previous high for goals was nine.

The Quispamsis native has more goals and points this season than his previous three seasons combined.

He's offensive contributions have likely exceeded expectations. Fullerton attended Sea Dogs training camp on a loan from the Eagles and was later acquired for a sixth-round pick.

Fullerton and fellow overagers Julien Wasmer and Maxime Côté were honoured before Saint John's final regular season home game this past Saturday.

ATTENDANCE IS IN

Saint John's final attendance figures are in – and they're positive.

Saint John will finish the regular season with an average attendance of 3,273 fans per game, a significant increase over last season's average of 2,811. This is Saint John's best attendance figure since the 2019-20 season when the team averaged 3,345 fans per game.

The Sea Dogs currently own the sixth best average attendance in the QMJHL. They haven't finished higher than fifth since the 2021-22 season.

Saint John had two big home crowds to end the season. Announced attendance for last Friday's game was 5,093 while Saturday's was 6,150 – which was a sell out. The Saturday crowd was the largest since the 2017-18 season (6,165).

The team is inching closer to those pre-pandemic totals, which is good news.

Former Sea Dogs to play in University Cup; Couture named goaltender of the year

A number of Saint John Sea Dogs alumni will be returning to the Scotiabank Centre ice this week for the University Cup.

The annual eight-team event begins Thursday afternoon in Halifax and will conclude with the championship game on Sunday. All games can be watched on CBC Gem and YouTube while the final will air on CBC TV.

Three teams from Atlantic University Sport are competing: the host Saint Mary's Huskies, conference champion UNB Reds and conference finalist Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus.

They'll be joined by OUA champion UQTR Patriotes; OUA finalist Windsor Lancers; OUA bronze medalist Queen's Gaels; Canada West champion Saskatchewan Huskies; and Canada West finalist Mount Royal Cougars.

Here are the former Sea Dogs who are on tournament rosters.

UNB: Nick Blagden, Peter Reynolds and Leighton Carruthers

UdeM: Jeremie Jacob and Justin Gendron

SMU: Connor Trenholm

Reynolds, who was seen with his arm in a sling during the AUS final, is presumably unlikely to play. UNB is hurting, which will be a storyline during this tournament – especially with the Reds getting a not-so-favourable schedule.

Here's a look at the quarterfinal schedule:

Thursday, 1 p.m.: No. 5 Mount Royal vs. No. 4 Windsor 

Thursday, 7 p.m.: No. 1 Saskatchewan at No. 8 Saint Mary’s 

Friday, 1 p.m.: No. 6 Moncton vs. No. 3 UQTR 

Friday, 7 p.m.: No. 7 Queen’s vs. No. 2 UNB

The semifinals take place Saturday with the bronze and gold medal games happening on Sunday. That means UNB will have to play – and win – three games in three days if they want to bring the University Cup back to Fredericton.

A lot to figure out in final weekend

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It will take the final weekend of the regular season to determine who the Saint John Sea Dogs will play in the first round of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs.

The Sea Dogs, who are locked into the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, will play the team that finishes first. That will be either the Moncton Wildcats or the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

Heading into this weekend's action, the Wildcats will play the Charlottetown Islanders twice while the Sagueneens will take on the Quebec Remparts.

The Wildcats have won seven straight games after a weekend sweep in Newfoundland. They'll now face an Islanders team that has won three straight.

The Wildcats are 4-1-0-1 against the Islanders this season but both losses came in their most recent meetings. Charlottetown defeated Moncton 6-5 in a shootout on Feb. 20 and 2-0 the next day. The Wildcats have lost just one time since then.

Chicoutimi, who have just one loss in their past eight games, is 6-0-0-0 against Quebec this season.

These weekend sets have meaning for the Islanders and Remparts as well as they continue to battle for positioning. The games Friday, at least, shouldn't feature any load management situations. We could certainly see that on Saturday depending on Friday results.

Robinson makes MHL playoff debut

AMHERST, NS - In his first playoff start with the Summerside Western Capitals, former Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender Justin Robinson made 32 saves in a 4-2 loss to the Amherst Ramblers on Monday.

The Western Capitals had a bad start, getting outshot 21-9 in the first period and trailed 3-0 halfway through the second period. Summerside turned things around in the second half and made a game of it, but it was too late to complete a comeback.

Robinson was named the game's third star. He did not start Game 1 on Saturday in Summerside, which the Western Capitals won 3-2.

Still wearing Sea Dogs gear (even though he is Moncton Wildcats property now), Robinson posted a 4-3-1 record with Summerside in the regular season along with a 2.93 goals against average and a .890 save percentage.

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Matthew MacLean was also in the Capitals lineup. On the Amherst side, former Sea Dogs Darien Reynolds and Jeremie Richard both dressed. Reynolds left the game in the second period after taking a bit hit along the boards.

The pews are nearly full on a Monday night in Amherst. I don’t come here enough. Such an awesome barn. pic.twitter.com/tatbiqcJNk

— Jamie Tozer (@station_nation) March 16, 2026

Summerside is the top seed in the South Division but finished just seven points ahead of the Ramblers.

Game 3 is Thursday back in Summerside.

The other South Division playoff series has the Truro Bearcats up 2-0 on Mitchell Wagner and the Pictou County Weeks Crushers. The Bearcats have outscored the Crushers 11-1 so far.

In the North Division, the top seeded Grand Falls Rapids trail the Chaleur Lightning 2-0. With a goal and two assists, former Sea Dogs forward Ben Cross was named the third star in Chaleur's 6-3 win over Grand Falls on Sunday.

The Rapids feature former Sea Dogs Reid Calder, Coen Miller and Jonah Leard.

The other series has the Edmundston Blizzard leading the West Kent Steamers 1-0.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 5-1

FINAL: Saint John 1, Charlottetown 5

Noah Murray/Charlottetown Islanders

CHARLOTTETOWN - The Saint John Sea Dogs lost a fourth straight game on Sunday at Eastlink Centre.

Playing their third game in three days, the Sea Dogs fell behind in the first period and were never able to get back into the game, falling 5-1 to the Charlottetown Islanders.

The Sea Dogs just didn't seem to have the same level of energy we've seen from them in recent games, which is understandable given this was the club's third game in as many days and second in less than 24 hours. Saint John struggled to create quality scoring chances, registering just nine dangerous shots.

Angelo Fullerton scored Saint John's lone goal, which came in the third period with the Sea Dogs trailing 4-0. Affiliate goaltender Jase MacPherson made his QMJHL debut in the Saint John net, making 34 stops in the loss.

William Shields scored four goals for Charlottetown while Owen Conrad added a single. Donald Hickey made 21 stops in the win.

Game Day 62: at Charlottetown

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

CHARLOTTETOWN - While the Saint John Sea Dogs have been entertaining to watch of late, wins have remained hard to come by.

The Sea Dogs carry a three-game losing streak into this afternoon's contest with the Charlottetown Islanders. Game time is 2 p.m. at Eastlink Centre.

This will be the third game in three days for Saint John and the second in less than 24 hours. The Sea Dogs allowed three third period goals in a 4-2 home loss to the Halifax Mooseheads yesterday at TD Station.

The Sea Dogs, who have just three regular season games remaining, will try and turn things around today. This will be the final meeting of the regular season between the Dogs and Isles. Saint John is 3-2-2-0 in the season series.

PEI native Jase MacPherson is expected to make his QMJHL debut in net for Saint John with Arseni Radkov suspended and Rafaël Courchesne having appeared in back-to-back games.

Stream/TV/Radio: FloHockey/None/None

Records: The Sea Dogs are 22-34-5-0 for 49 points (eighth Eastern/15th QMJHL) while the Islanders are 32-21-2-6 for 72 points (fourth Eastern/seventh QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-2 home loss to the Halifax Mooseheads yesterday at TD Station. Nolann Héroux and Alexis Joseph had Saint John goals. Rafaël Courchesne made 25 saves in the loss. The Islanders are coming off a 2-1 overtime win over the Cape Breton Eagles on Friday. Nathan Leek and Ross Campbell had Charlottetown goals. Donald Hickey made 39 saves in the win.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 4-2

FINAL: Halifax 4, Saint John 2

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - A three-goal third period lifted the Halifax Mooseheads past the Saint John Sea Dogs on Saturday at TD Station.

Quinn Kennedy scored 2:07 into the third period while Shawn Carrier and Liam Kilfoil followed up with goals to lift the Mooseheads to a 4-2 victory. Caylen Blake scored Halifax's other goal.

Alexis Joseph scored in the final minute of the third but that was as close as Saint John could get. Nolann Héroux netted Saint John's other goal.

It was another fairly even game played between the two. This was the final meeting of the season series, which saw the Moosehead win five of the eight contests.

There were no goalie fights in this game – or any real carryover from that incident. Nicolas Gillham-Cirka made 34 saves in the win while Rafaël Courchesne made 25 stops in the loss.

The Sea Dogs have now lost three straight games.

Radkov, Bresson suspended; MacPherson recalled

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - Goaltenders Arseni Radkov and Owen Bresson have both been suspended following their Friday night fight.

The roster sheet for Saturday's rematch between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Halifax Mooseheads lists both goaltenders out of the lineup with suspensions – but no lengths were included. We'll have to wait for confirmation by the league on if the suspensions are more than a game.

UPDATE March 15: Radkov and Bresson have both been suspended five games by the QMJHL for a "fight involving a goaltender."

The fight took place during the second period of Friday's 5-4 Mooseheads win over the Sea Dogs at TD Station. The altercation began when Alexis Gauthier went hard to the net, which led to Bresson giving the Sea Dogs forward a few shots with his blocker. Radkov then made his way to his own blue line and was soon met in the neutral zone by Bresson.

Both were given two game misconducts: one for fighting and another for removing their own helmets/masks.

This was the first goalie fight in Sea Dogs franchise history.

With Radkov out, the Sea Dogs have recalled Jase MacPherson from the under-18 Kensington Wild. The Sea Dogs are lucky with the timing. The Wild are playing in the provincial final but have no games scheduled for Saturday or Sunday.

MacPherson, who turned 17 on Thursday, made 38 saves in Kensington's 3-2 win over the Charlottetown Knights in Game 1 of the provincial final on Friday.

MacPherson, a second-round pick of Saint John in last year's QMJHL Entry Draft, has been recalled previously to be a backup but has not seen any game action with the Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs are also in action on Sunday when they visit the Charlottetown Islanders.

MHL playoffs underway for ex-Dogs

Summerside Western Capitals

The Maritime Junior Hockey League playoffs are underway.

On Friday, the Truro Bearcats defeated the Pictou County Weeks Crushers 6-0 while the Chaleur Lightning edged the Grand Falls Rapids 4-3. Former Saint John Sea Dogs forwards Jonah Leard and Coen Miller scored for the Rapids in the loss.

On Saturday, the other two series begin. The Amherst Ramblers will take on the Summerside Western Capitals while the Edmundston Blizzard will face the West Kent Steamers.

There are a number of former Sea Dogs on MHL playoff rosters.

Amherst Ramblers: Darien Reynolds and Jeremie Richard

Chaleur Lightning: Ben Cross and Jesse Dunlap (affiliate)

Edmundston Blizzard: None

Grand Falls Rapids: Coen Miller, Jonah Leard and Reid Calder

Pictou County Weeks Crushers: Mitchell Wagner

Summerside Western Capitals: Matthew MacLean and Justin Robinson

Truro Bearcats: None

West Kent Steamers: None

The Rapids are coached by former Sea Dogs coaches Greg Leland and Jeff Cowan. The Rapids finished first in the North Division and are making their first playoff appearance.

The Western Capitals, who are hosting the Centennial Cup national championship in May, finished first overall in the league standings.

Ben Cross, who played 60 games with the Sea Dogs last season, finished second in MHL scoring with 78 points in 51 games. He led the league in goals with 42.

Coen Miller, who appeared in 23 games with Saint John last season, finished 10th in league scoring with 67 points (28 goals and 39 assists) in 42 games.

Teams not making the playoffs include the Yarmouth Mariners, Campbellton Tigers, Miramichi Timberwolves and Valley Wildcats.

The MHL playoffs can be watched on FloHockey.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 5-4

FINAL: Halifax 5, Saint John 4

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs came up just short against the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday.

The Sea Dogs trailed 3-0 in the first period but made a game of it, ultimately falling 5-4 in an entertaining contest at TD Station.

Saint John trailed 3-0 and 4-1 but managed to pull within a goal in the second period. Saint John had a great chance to tie things up late in the third, going to a five-on-three power play with 1:25 remaining. The Sea Dogs were able to generate some strong pressure in the offensive zone but could not net an equalizer.

The Mooseheads dominated most of the first period but the rest of the game was fairly even. Halifax has now won four of the seven games between the two this season with one more meeting to come – which will happen Saturday at TD Station.

This game will be remembered for some time because of the second period goalie period fight between Arseni Radkov and Owen Bresson. It wasn't an overly nasty game before or even after the fight, but it was a spirited tilt between the two netminders in the neutral zone.

Caylen Blake, Samuel Rousseau, Oleg Kulebiakin, Liam Kilfoil and Owen Phillips all scored for Halifax. Bresson allowed three goals on 15 shots before being tossed from the game. Nicolas Gillham-Cirka allowed a goal on 11 shots in relief.

Angelo Fullerton netted a pair of goals for Saint John while singles came from Everett Baldwin and Dylan Rozzi. Radkov allowed four goals on 23 shots while Rafaël Courchesne allowed a goal on 16 shots.

Video: Goalie fight in Saint John

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - What just happened?

Goaltenders Arseni Radkov and Owen Bresson dropped the gloves during the second period of Friday's Saint John Sea Dogs home game against the Halifax Mooseheads.

Things truly escalated quickly. After what had been a mild game in terms of rough stuff, Bresson gave Sea Dogs forward Alexis Gauthier a punch with his blocker. Soon after, Radkov skated to his own blue line and, soon enough, the two netminders started throwing punches in the neutral zone.

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Game Day 60 & 61: vs Mooseheads

Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Mooseheads

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs will play their final home games of the regular season this weekend.

The Sea Dogs will host the Halifax Mooseheads tonight at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. The team will play three games on the road to finish the regular season, but this weekend's contests will be the team's final matches at TD Station until the playoffs.

Halifax sits one spot ahead of Saint John in the standings. But the Moose have an 11-point lead with five games to play, so the Sea Dogs won't be able to catch them. Saint John is locked into the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Sea Dogs will look to try and improve their home record in these final games. The team is 11-17-2-0 at TD Station this season.

Stream/TV/Radio: FloHockey/None/Sea Dogs Audio Network

Records: The Sea Dogs are 22-32-5-0 for 49 points (eighth Eastern/15th QMJHL) while the Mooseheads are 27-27-3-3 for 60 points (seventh Eastern/12th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 6-3 loss in Moncton on Sunday. Zachary Morin, Alexis Joseph and Nolann Héroux scored for Saint John. Arseni Radkov made 42 saves in the loss. The Mooseheads are coming off a 3-2 overtime in win Cape Breton on Sunday. Quinn Kennedy, Connor MacPherson and Oleg Kulebiakin scored for Halifax. Owen Bresson made 19 saves in the win.

Reds win AUS title again; standings update

Atlantic University Sport Facebook

They've done it again.

For an eighth straight season, the UNB Reds are Atlantic University Sport men's hockey champions.

The Reds clinched the best-of-three final with a 4-1 victory over the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus on Thursday night at the Aitken Centre. Moncton won the Game 1, 4-3, in Fredericton on Sunday but UNB took Game 2, scoring in the final second of overtime to earn a 4-3 win.

Moncton scored first in Thursday's deciding game only for UNB to net four unanswered goals.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs Nick Blagden and Leighton Carruthers were in the UNB lineup on Thursday. Peter Reynolds, meanwhile, has not played since January due to an injury.

Former Sea Dog Jeremie Jacob dressed for the Aigles Bleus. Justin Gendron did not play for a second straight game.

By UNB standards, this was an odd season. The team struggled at times during the regular season and were six points back of first with a month to go – yet they still pulled it off, finishing in top spot. In the playoffs, they trailed the AUS final 1-0 but still pulled off the series win. In short, a season that didn't feel like a UNB season ends... just like a UNB season.

The season isn't over for UNB or UdeM. They've both qualified for the University Cup tournament, which begins next Thursday at Halifax's Scotiabank Centre. The tournament is being hosted by Saint Mary's University.

Notebook: Regular season nearing an end

Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Mooseheads

Just five regular season games remain for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs will play their final home games this weekend, hosting the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday and Saturday. Note that the Saturday game has a 4 p.m. start.

After that, the Sea Dogs will play their final three games of the regular season all on the road. They visit the Charlottetown Islanders on Sunday and then travel to Cape Breton for games March 20-21.

Saint John has respectable records against all three opponents remaining on their schedule:

vs Halifax: 3-2-1-0

vs Charlottetown: 3-2-2-0

vs Cape Breton: 3-3-0-0

The Sea Dogs have qualified for the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs, so they'll play at least four more games after the regular season ends. Saint John will play whichever team finishes first in the Eastern Conference – either the Chicoutimi Sagueneens or Moncton Wildcats.

SPLITS VS MONCTON
Check out these home/away splits for the Sea Dogs when facing the Moncton Wildcats over the past five seasons.

Sea Dogs vs Wildcats at Moncton: 10-10-1-1

Sea Dogs vs Wildcats at Saint John: 3-17-0-1

Sunday was the final regular season meeting between the Sea Dogs and Wildcats. Saint John went 1-7-0-0 against Moncton this year with their lone win coming at Avenir Centre.

Playoffs end and begin for ex-Dogs in college hockey

Providence College

For some former Saint John Sea Dogs, their first seasons of NCAA hockey have ended.

For a few others, conference playoffs are just getting started.

Let's start with Mercyhurst, where former Sea Dogs goaltender Charles-Edward Gravel stole the show in Game 1 of the best-of-three AHA playoff series against top-seeded Bentley, making 65 saves in a 4-3 triple overtime loss.

Gravel, understandably, did not play in Game 2, which took place less than 24 hours later. The Lakers couldn't keep the magic going, falling 6-0 to Bentley to end their season.

Gravel finishes the season with a 3-21-2 record to go along with a 3.22 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.

In the NCHC, Matteo Mann and Colorado College were swept in the opening round by defending national champion Western Michigan.

At the inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Cup, a tournament that included all the independent schools, Charles Savoie and host Lindenwood fell 4-3 in overtime to Alaska in the championship game.

In more positive news, Noah Reinhart and Michigan Tech have advanced to the CCHA semifinals following a sweep of Bowling Green. Reinhart had a goal for Tech, becoming the first former Sea Dog to score in a college hockey conference playoff game.

Noah Reinhart on the power-play! Huskies lead 3-2 in the 2nd period. #mtuhky #FollowTheHuskies pic.twitter.com/u82bIx9eTi

— Michigan Tech Hockey (@mtuhky) March 7, 2026

Michigan Tech will face Minnesota State in the semifinals.

Saint John's playoff opponent still TBD

Daniel St Louis/Moncton Wildcats

Who will the Saint John Sea Dogs play in the opening road of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs?

With two weeks of regular season play remaining, it's still to be determined.

The Sea Dogs are now locked into eighth in the Eastern Conference, meaning they'll face the conference's top-ranked team. The Chicoutimi Sagueneens currently sit first with 95 points while the Moncton Wildcats are a close second with 94.

Both Chicoutimi and Moncton have five regular season games remaining. Here's a look at their schedules:

Chicoutimi: at Shawinigan, at Sherbrooke, vs Rimouski, at Quebec, vs Quebec

Moncton: vs Cape Breton, at Newfoundland, at Newfoundland, at Charlottetown, vs Charlottetown

Chicoutimi has won five straight games while Moncton has won four. Given how these two have been playing recently, there's a very real chance the Sea Dogs may not know their first-round opponent until the final day of the regular season, which is March 21.

If the playoffs started today, here's what the first-round matchups would look like.

Eastern Conference

1) Chicoutimi vs 8) Saint John

2) Moncton vs 7) Halifax

3) Newfoundland vs 6) Cape Breton

4) Charlottetown vs 5) Quebec

Western Conference

1) Drummondville vs 8) Gatineau

2) Blainville-Boisbriand vs 7) Victoriaville

3) Rouyn-Noranda vs 6) Val-d'Or

4) Shawinigan vs 5) Sherbrooke

A reminder that, new this year, teams are reseeded based off the overall standings beginning in the second-round rather than the third-round.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 6-3

FINAL: Saint John 3, Moncton 6

MONCTON - The Moncton Wildcats scored six unanswered goals in a 6-3 win over the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sunday at Avenir Centre.

The Sea Dogs scored three times in the opening 9:47 of the first period but it wasn't enough against one of the top teams in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.

The Wildcats slowly took the game over in the second half of the opening frame and trailed 3-1 entering the second. In that second period, Moncton dominated most of it, scoring four times and outshooting Saint John 14-6.

Niko Tournas scored twice for Moncton while Kuzma Voronin, Tommy Bleyl, Caleb Desnoyers and Preston Lounsbury added singles. Jacoby Weiner made 21 saves in the win.

This was a key win for the Wildcats as they continue to battle with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens for top spot in the QMJHL standings. The team that finishes first overall will likely face Saint John in the opening round of the playoffs.

Zachary Morin, Alexis Joseph and Nolann Héroux scored for Saint John. Arseni Radkov made 42 stops in the loss.

Notebook: Joseph signs with Kings

Embed from Getty Images

MONCTON - Mathieu Joseph is now a member of the Los Angeles Kings.

Joseph, who had his contract with the St. Louis Blues terminated earlier in the week, signed "a one-year contract through the remainder of the 2025-26 season" with the Kings, the team announced Friday.

Mathieu Joseph, whose contract with STL was terminated today, signs with LA for one year at a pro-rated $900K

Played for DJ Smith in Ottawa

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 6, 2026

Joseph was scratched for the Kings' Saturday night game against the Montreal Canadiens.

The 29-year-old posted two goals and nine assists in 39 games with St. Louis this season. He was recently put on waivers and assigned to the American Hockey League where he recorded a goal in two games with the Springfield Thunderbirds.

This was Joseph's second season with the Blues. He's an NHL veteran at this point, playing in 459 games with the Blues, Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. He won two Stanley Cups with the Lightning.

Joseph appeared in 201 games with the Sea Dogs over four seasons, helping the team win the President Cup in 2017.

BURNS JOINS STAFF

The Sea Dogs announced Sunday that long-time Acadia Axemen head coach Darren Burns has joined the team as a "senior advisor, hockey operations and assistant coach."

“Darren brings decades of hockey experience to the team,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a news release. “He has been a coach, an NHL scout, and he knows our organization well as the father of Memorial Cup champion and franchise leading scorer Brady Burns. He is passionate and will add a lot to our group.”

Burns is the father of former Sea Dogs forward Brady Burns, who currently plays at Acadia. Burns has recruited a number of Sea Dogs to Acadia over the years.

The Axemen confirmed on Facebook that Burns will return as Acadia's head coach in the fall.

COMING UP

The Sea Dogs have just six regular season games remaining – including one this Sunday against the Moncton Wildcats at Avenir Centre.

This will be the eighth and final meeting of the regular season between Saint John and Moncton – although they could meet in the opening round of the QMJHL playoffs.

The Sea Dogs are 1-6-0-0 against the Wildcats this season with their only win coming back on Oct. 4 at Avenir Centre.

Following Sunday's game, the Sea Dogs will play their final home games of the regular season March 13-14 against the Halifax Mooseheads. They'll then play three road games to close out the season: March 15 at Charlottetown and March 20-21 at Cape Breton.

Game Day 59: at Moncton

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats meet one final time in regular season play today.

The Sea Dogs have won three of their past four games, which includes a big 5-3 upset win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Wednesday. 

The Wildcats, meanwhile, are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 games as they continue to try and keep pace with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens for first-place in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League standings. The Wildcats enter play today one-point back of the Sags. Both teams have six games remaining.

The Sea Dogs, who clinched a playoff spot on Saturday night, are likely to play whichever teams finishes first overall. Today's game could be a playoff preview.

Game time at Avenir Centre is 3 p.m.

Stream/TV/Radio: FloHockey/None/None

Records: The Sea Dogs are 22-31-5-0 for 49 points (eighth Eastern/15th QMJHL) while the Wildcats are 44-10-2-2 for 92 points (second Eastern/second QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-3 home win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Wednesday. Dylan Rozzi scored twice for Saint John while singles came from Olivier Groulx, Everett Baldwin and Angelo Fullerton. Arseni Rakov made 41 stops in the win. The Wildcats are coming off a 4-1 home win over the Armada on Friday. Niko Tournas, Alex Mercier, Kuzma Voronin and Preston Lounsbury all scored for Moncton. Rudy Guimond made 23 saves in the win.

Sea Dogs clinch playoff spot

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs are returning to the post-season.

For the first time since the 2023-24 season, the Sea Dogs will play in the Gilles-Courteau Trophy playoffs. The team's spot was secured on Saturday night.

The Sea Dogs currently sit 15th overall in the QMJHL standings with a 22-31-5-0 record for 49 points and can no longer be caught by either the 17th-place Rimouski Oceanic or the 18th-place Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

The Sea Dogs could still move up or down in the overall standings but are likely to finish eighth in the Eastern Conference, meaning they'll play whichever team finishes first – either the Chicoutimi Sagueneens or Moncton Wildcats.

No matter the opponent, the Sea Dogs will begin the playoffs on the road and will be major underdogs. That series is likely to begin the weekend of March 27-28.

Saint John has not won a playoff series since 2017. They've qualified for the playoffs four times since then but have not advanced past the opening round.

Yared commits to Penn State

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

William Yared has committed to the NCAA's Penn State University Lions, the Saint John Sea Dogs confirmed Saturday.

The 18-year-old is in his second season with the Sea Dogs and has 10 goals and 15 assists in 46 games. He posted 30 points in 58 games a year ago.

It was not announced what season his commitment is expected to begin.

#SJSeaDogs forward William Yared has committed to play Division 1 hockey at Penn State University following the completion of his QMJHL career.

Congratulations, Will!#GoDogsGo pic.twitter.com/W7WIh9hmoU

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) March 7, 2026

Penn State, who play in the Big Ten conference, have been in the news a lot over the past year after they landed Gavin McKenna. The school hasn't been a big landing spot for QMJHL players yet. The team's roster only includes one former QMJHLer in goaltender Josh Fleming while their current list of commitments doesn't have any.

Yared joins a lengthy list of current Sea Dogs players who are committed to NCAA programs.

2026-27 Commits 

Alexander Donovan - Denver (NCHC) 

Zachary Morin - Boston University (Hockey East) 

Everett Baldwin - Providence (Hockey East) 

Julien Wasmer - Maine (Hockey East)

Carl-Otto Magnusson - Connecticut (Hockey East)

Arseni Radkov - Massachusetts (Hockey East)

Olivier Duhamel - Clarkson (ECAC)

2027-28 Commits 

Cameron Chartrand - Boston College (Hockey East) 

Olivers Murnieks - Boston College (Hockey East)

Oskar Drabczynski - Harvard (ECAC)

The timing of these commitments could always change, so some of the players who are currently listed as leaving this off-season could stick around longer. We'll have to wait and see how things play out.

Wildcats defeat Armada; NCAA conference playoffs begin

Daniel St. Louis/Moncton Wildcats

MONCTON - The Moncton Wildcats picked up a key win on Friday night at Avenir Centre.

Moncton scored three times in the final 5:16 to defeat the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 4-1. The win moves the Wildcats into first-place in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League standings – for now at least. They have a one-point lead over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens but the Sags have played one less game.

While still not official, the Saint John Sea Dogs will very likely play whoever finishes first overall in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Wildcats host the Sea Dogs on Sunday. The Sagueneens, meanwhile, host the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday and the Victoriaville Tigres on Sunday.

The Armada, who are in a race with the Drummondville Voltigeurs for top spot in the Western Conference and third overall in the league, head home having lost three of four games on the Maritime portion of their road trip. They lost in Charlottetown, Saint John and Moncton but did win in Halifax, a game that saw both Elliot Dubé and Jacob Beaulieu score.

A few other news and notes from Friday night...

• In that Armada/Wildcats game, Moncton's Kuzma Voronin was given a game misconduct late in the third period after throwing his stick into the crowd during a goal celebration.
• The Rimouski Oceanic lost their 20th straight game, falling 9-2 to the Sherbrooke Phoenix. They only have six games remaining, so even if they lose out, they will not reach the league record of 27 straight losses.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Charles Savoie had an assist and three shots in Lindenwood's 5-4 win over Long Island in the United Collegiate Hockey Cup on Thursday. Lindenwood will play Alaska on Saturday in the championship game.
• Matteo Mann and Colorado College fell 5-2 to Western Michigan in the opening game of their best-of-three NCHC quarterfinal playoff series. Game 2 is Saturday.
• Noah Reinhart scored as Michigan Tech defeated Bowling Green 5-3 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three CCHA quarterfinal playoff series. Game 2 is Saturday.

  Noah Reinhart on the power-play! Huskies lead 3-2 in the 2nd period. #mtuhky #FollowTheHuskies pic.twitter.com/u82bIx9eTi

  — Michigan Tech Hockey (@mtuhky) March 7, 2026

• Charles-Edward Gravel made 65 saves as Mercyhurst fell 4-3 in triple overtime to Bentley in Game 1 of the best-of-three AHA quarterfinal playoff series. Shots were 68-26 in favour of Bentley, who are the top seed in the AHA. Game 2 is Saturday.

NCAA playoffs begin for ex-Dogs

Michigan Tech

The NCAA hockey conference playoffs have barely started and there's already been one upset led by a former Saint John Sea Dog.

Former Sea Dogs goaltender Charles-Edward Gravel made 47 saves to help the Mercyhurst Lakers defeat the Canisius Golden Griffins 5-2 in the single-game elimination first round of the Atlantic Hockey America playoffs on Tuesday.

The victory advances the Lakers, who finished last in the AHA regular season with a 5-18-3 record, to the quarterfinals. Mercyhurst will face the top-seeded Bentley Falcons in a best-of-three series that begins on Friday.

Out of the 63 teams in college hockey, the Lakers were ranked 62nd by the NPI rankings with an overall record of 6-26-3. Only Alaska-Anchorage was worse.

Gravel went 3-20-3 with a 3.29 goals against average and a .904 save percentage in the regular season.

A number of other conferences begin their playoffs on Friday.

In the NCHC, Matteo Mann and Colorado College will face defending national champion Western Michigan in the first round. In the CCHA, Noah Reinhart and Michigan Tech will take on Bowling Green. 

Over in the ECAC, Nate Tivey and Quinnipiac have a bye through to the quarterfinals after winning the regular season. The Bobcats are ranked seventh in the NPI.