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| Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs |
The Sea Dogs enter the season with a lot of hype around them. They are ranked seventh in the CHL Top-10 pre-season rankings and most predict the team to be a top-four club in the QMJHL. Tonight, the team will start to try and live up to that hype – and they'll do so in a building they struggled in last season.
Saint John went 0-6-2-0 against the Newfoundland Regiment last season, which included going 0-4-0-0 in St. John's. The Sea Dogs and Regiment will play tonight and tomorrow with both games starting at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic.
The Regiment are flying under the radar a bit this season thanks to Atlantic Canada being so loaded with contenders this season. That's a bit dangerous, especially when you consider the likes of Benjamin Veitch, Quinn Norman and Louis-Antoine Denault taking steps forward this season.
Stream/TV/Radio: FloHockey/None/None
2026-27 regular season records: These are the first games of the regular season for both the Sea Dogs and Regiment.
2026 pre-season records: The Sea Dogs were 2-2-0-0 for four points while the Regiment went 3-2-0-0 for six points.
Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 7-3 pre-season loss to the Halifax Mooseheads on Sept. 4. Alexander Donovan, Zachary Morin and Oliver Ozogany scored for Saint John. Samuel Meloche made 19 saves in the loss. The Regiment are coming off a 5-1 pre-season win over the OHL's Saginaw Spirit on Aug. 31. Louis-Francois Belanger scored twice for Newfoundland while Benjamin Veitch, Matthew Frost and Ryan Dwyer added singles. Louis-Antoine Denault made 34 stops in the win.
2025-26 regular season records: The Sea Dogs were 23-36-5-0 for 51 points (eighth Eastern/15th QMJHL) while the Regiment were 38-22-3-1 for 80 points (third Eastern/sixth QMJHL).
2025-26 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 0-6-2-0 against the Regiment last season while Newfoundland went 8-0-0-0 against Saint John.
Last meeting: Feb.12 in St. John's where the Regiment defeated the Sea Dogs 5-1. Benjamin Veitch, Blake Pilgrim-Edwards, Justin Larose, Maddex Marmulak and Louis-François Bélanger had Newfoundland goals. Alexis Joseph scored for Saint John. Louis-Antoine Denault made 27 stops in the win. Arseni Radkov made 25 stops in the loss.
Ex-Sea Dogs on the Regiment: None.
Regiment to watch: Benjamin Veitch, who was a breakout performer at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last month, recently committed to Boston College. He posted a goal and five assists in eight games against Saint John last season.
Random stat: Alexis Joseph had more points (six goals and eight assists for 14 points) against the Regiment than any other opponent last season.
Notes: Alexander Donovan, Jamie Glance and Olivier Groulx each had a Saint John high three points in the pre-season... Donovan was the only Sea Dog to net two goals in the pre-season... Glance, Groulx, Julien Lanthier and Matyas Cancik each had two assists... Liam Arsenault, Louis-Francois Belanger and Alexis Michaud each had a Newfoundland high five points in pre-season play... Arsenault and Belanger each had three goals... Michaud had five assists... the Regiment were 21-9-2-0 at home last season... the Sea Dogs were 12-17-3-0 on the road... the Sea Dogs are 2-13-0-0 all-time at Mary Brown's Centre... the Sea Dogs will start the season with a 24-man roster... the Regiment will start with a 23-man roster.... this will be the regular season debut for Jim Hulton and the new Saint John coaching staff... the Regiment are once again led behind the bench by former Sea Dogs head coach Gordie Dwyer.
Out of town Friday:
Halifax at Cape Breton - 7:00 PM ADT
Moncton at Charlottetown - 7:00 PM ADT
Rimouski at Baie-Comeau - 7:00 PM EDT
Rouyn-Noranda at Blainville-Boisbriand - 7:00 PM EDT
Shawinigan at Chicoutimi - 7:00 PM EDT
Québec at Sherbrooke - 7:00 PM EDT
Val-d'Or at Victoriaville - 7:00 PM EDT
Out of town Saturday:
Rimouski at Baie-Comeau - 4:00 PM EDT
Val-d'Or at Blainville-Boisbriand - 4:00 PM EDT
Rouyn-Noranda at Gatineau - 4:00 PM EDT
Drummondville at Sherbrooke - 4:00 PM EDT
Moncton at Halifax - 7:00 PM ADT
Next game: Following this two-game set in Newfoundland, the Sea Dogs return home to host the Moncton Wildcats next Friday at 7 p.m.
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