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.

On Wednesday, U Sports handed out its awards for men's hockey. Former Sea Dogs goaltender Thomas Couture was named goaltender of the year.

From U Sports:

Thomas Couture delivered one of the top goaltending seasons in the country in 2025-26, earning First Team All-Canadian honours while leading U SPORTS in total saves with 861.

The Axemen netminder ranked third nationally and first in the AUS with a .927 save percentage. He also finished sixth in U SPORTS in wins with 14, while posting a 2.49 goals-against average, the third-best mark in the AUS.

Couture started all six playoff games for Acadia, helping lead the Axemen to a 2-1 series victory over STFX in the AUS quarterfinal round to advance to the conference semifinal against Moncton. 

The recognition adds to Couture’s growing list of conference honours after previously being named both an AUS First Team All-Star and a member of the AUS All-Rookie Team in 2023-24. He is the first Acadia goaltender to win the national award.

Couture spent the second half of the 2021-22 season with the Sea Dogs, appearing in 22 regular season games and five playoff contests.