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| Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs |
The Sea Dogs will play in the league's season opener – officially game No. 1 – on Friday, Sept. 18 when they visit the Newfoundland Regiment at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic. The Sea Dogs and Regiment will also battle the following night at Mary Brown's Centre.
The Sea Dogs will play their first home game on Friday, Sept. 25 when they host the Moncton Wildcats. The next day, the Cape Breton Eagles will visit TD Station for a 4 p.m. start.
That 4 p.m. start time is notable because all of Saint John's Saturday home games will begin at that time. The team had a few 4 p.m. Saturday home games last year and obviously liked what they saw.
While Saturday nights are always associated with hockey, afternoon Saturday starts are becoming more common across North America. Many Quebec-based teams have been doing this for years.
According to a Saint John news release release, "of the Sea Dogs’ 32 home games during the 2026-27 regular season, 21 will be played on weekends, with three additional games scheduled on holidays: Thanksgiving Monday, New Year’s Eve, and Family Day."
The Sea Dogs will make four trips to Quebec, including one very late in the season: Oct. 23-25 (Gatineau, Blainville-Boisbriand and Drummondville), Nov. 26-29 (Val-d'Or, Rouyn-Noranda and Victoriaville), Jan. 14-17 (Shawinigan, Chicoutimi and Baie-Comeau) and March 11-14 (Sherbrooke, Quebec and Rimouski).
Jim Hulton's return to Charlottetown will be Nov. 8. Saint John is scheduled to play an 11 a.m. game in Charlottetown on Dec. 16.
Saint John's longest homestand will be six games from Oct. 4-18. The team's longest stretch away from home will be five games from Jan. 7-17.
The QMJHL's regular season ends March 20.
The Sea Dogs' full regular season schedule can be found here. The team's pre-season schedule was released last week.
Of note, both the Drummondville Voltigeurs and Shawinigan Cataractes will start their seasons with lengthy stretches away from home due to arena renovations.
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