Notebook: Talking tacos

SAINT JOHN - There was a nice little surprise for fans at TD Station this weekend.

"Taco Boyz Express" has opened beside the Moosehead Lounge (where Tim Hortons used to be located) on the TD Station concourse. The menu includes tacos, burritos and a few dessert options like churros and deep fired cheesecake.

It's a nice addition to the building's very ordinary concession lineup.

NEW PARTNERSHIP

The Sea Dogs and the Saint John Firefighters announced a new partnership on Friday. From Facebook:

Your Saint John Firefighters were on Saint John's beautiful boardwalk today to announce our new partnership with the Saint John Sea Dogs. President Tyler Embree had the honor of announcing the first annual "Battle of The Badges" hockey tournament. This event will take place on February 6th, 7th, and 8th at TD Station!

This tournament will consist of 8 teams. 4 teams of firefighters, and 4 teams of police officers.

Your Saint John Firefighters are excited to take the new trophy home! With many of our players having been drafted to, or played in leagues such as the QMJHL, CHL, AUS, Senior A, Prep School Hockey, and Vito's "AAA", you know that the action will be intense!

We would like to thank the Saint John Sea Dogs for continuing to be an excellent partner in both our charity endeavours, and the Battle of the Badges.

A special thanks to Andy Childs and Trevor Georgie for their unwavering support.

The Sea Dogs will play home games the nights of Feb. 6-7.

Georgie, Joseph join "The Sheet"

SAINT JOHN - Jeff Marek brought his program, "The Sheet," to TD Station on Friday.

Marek was joined by Saint John Sea Dogs president Trevor Georgie and rookie forward Alexis Joseph.

Georgie touched on a few interesting topics. When asked to recall some trades that the Sea Dogs attempted but couldn't quite pull off, Georgie brought up Yakov Trenin (2017), Zachary Bolduc (2022) and Hendrix Lapierre (2022).

The NCAA rule change was discussed quite a bit (19:30 mark). Georgie said the Sea Dogs are taking a player first approach, and they'll support players no matter the path they choose. 

Georgie also mentioned something that isn't said out loud too often, explaining that he believes the Atlantic-based QMJHL teams – given that they are English speaking markets – will have a big advantage in attracting American players compared to most of the QMJHL's Quebec-based squads.

"I think the Maritimes Division is going to be the toughest division in the CHL over the next 10 years," Georgie added.

On the 2022 Memorial Cup coaching change, Georgie said there were "half a dozen" candidates the team looked closely at. Georgie said the team reached out to Bob Hartley, Dom Ducharme and Travis Green before ultimately landing on Gardiner MacDougall – the only candidate without NHL coaching experience. 

Joseph, meanwhile, discussed his road to the QMJHL, his size and showed off some juggling skills.

Two years since the DuFOUR game

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Edmonton Oilers' 3-0 series comeback in the Stanley Cup Final came up short against the Florida Panthers on Monday night.

One comeback that didn't come up short? The Saint John Sea Dogs erasing a three-goal first period deficit at the 2022 Memorial Cup and defeating the rival Shawinigan Cataractes 5-3, earning them a bye to the tournament final. 

Tuesday marks the two-year anniversary of the game, one of the greatest in team history. The comeback was highlighted by William Dufour netting four goals, one of the top single game performances in Memorial Cup history.

Dufour netted a natural hat trick in the second period to tie the game. The now 22-year-old forward, who was the Memorial Cup MVP and leading scorer, had a remarkable 15 shots in the game.

Notebook: Veterans finish hot

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Veteran players carried the Saint John Sea Dogs in the last five games of the regular season.

Overage forwards Brody Fournier and Drew Elliott each had strong offensive outputs to end the year while Tyler Peddle turned it on as well. Here's what all three produced in Saint John's final five games.

Tyler Peddle: six goals and three assists

Drew Elliott: four goals and one assist

Brody Fournier: six goals and three assists

Fournier enters the playoffs with goals in five straight games.

The Sea Dogs won three of their final six games and lost another in a shootout to clinch a playoff spot. 20-year-old goaltender Patrick Leaver played the entirety of those games.

It's worth noting that Coen Miller had quite an end to his regular season as well, posting a goal and seven assists in his past five games.

HOME RECORD

After much talk about Saint John's home woes all year, the Sea Dogs finish the regular season with an 11-17-3-3 record at TD Station.

It's the sixth fewest wins the Sea Dogs have had on home ice in one season in team history. The record low is eight which was set in 2017-18 and the COVID year of 2020-21.

Only the last-place Val-d'Or Foreurs had fewer home wins than Saint John this season. Val-d'Or had a 10-21-3-0 record on home ice.

PLAYOFF FOES

The Sea Dogs will face the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the playoffs for the first time.

With Drummondville crossed off the list, the only teams the Sea Dogs haven't faced in post-season play are the Sherbrooke Phoenix and Quebec Remparts. It's worth noting that Saint John has never played the Charlottetown Islanders either but did play the PEI Rocket twice.

Some Leap Day news & notes

Eduardo Ibarra/Saint Mary's Huskies

HALIFAX - It'll be an all-New Brunswick affair in the Atlantic University Sport men's hockey championship.

The best-of-three series will feature the undefeated UNB Reds going up against the Universite de Moncton Aigles Bleus. The series begins on Saturday in Fredericton.

The Reds, who went 30-0 in the regular season and swept the Saint Mary's Huskies in their lone playoff series, feature former Saint John Sea Dogs Kale McCallum and Nick Blagden. The Reds are, of course, coached by Gardiner MacDougall, who led the Sea Dogs to the 2022 Memorial Cup championship.

UdeM finished second in the AUS standings but were 25 points back of UNB with a 16-11-3-0 record. They swept StFX in their lone playoff series. The Aigles Bleus feature former Sea Dogs forward Jeremie Jacob.

Both teams have automatically qualified for this year's University Cup, which will be held March 14-17 in Toronto.

The teams for the 2024 University Cup in Toronto are set!

- UNB Reds
- Moncton Aigles-Bleus
- UQTR Patriotes
- McGill Redbirds
- TMU Bold
- Brock Badgers
- Calgary Dinos
- UBC Thunderbirds

Conference winners will be seeded 1-3.

Puck drop March 14 on @cbcsports pic.twitter.com/PVg1411z20

— Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) February 28, 2024

A few other things...

• It's Feb. 29, a day the Sea Dogs have played only once on in franchise history. Just a couple weeks before the COVID shutdown in 2020, the Sea Dogs defeated the Cape Breton Eagles 5-4 on Leap Day at TD Station.
• The Baie-Comeau Drakkar, who will take on the Sea Dogs on Friday at TD Station, are ranked No. 1 in this week's CHL Top 10 rankings.
• With six home games remaining, the Sea Dogs are averaging 2,747 fans per game. A disappointing number no doubt, but a big final few games could still get them at or above last year's mark of 2,957.
• QMJHL Central Scouting has unveiled its second rankings for this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, which will take place June 7-8 at Moncton's Avenir Centre. The list of 90 players are projected to be picked in the first five rounds.
• 20-year-old defenseman Artem Grushnikov, the prospect involved in Wednesday's Chris Tavev deal between Calgary and Dallas, played with the Hamilton Bulldogs at the 2022 Memorial Cup in Saint John.
• Via HockeyFights.com, here's the fight between Reid Calder and Lukas Landry last Saturday in Drummondville.

Notebook: Cajkovic traded to Pens

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Maxim Cajkovic was involved in a minor NHL trade on Thursday.

The Minnesota Wild traded Cajkovic to the Pittsburg Penguins in exchange for defenseman Will Butcher.

The Penguins have acquired forward Maxim Cajkovic from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for defenseman Will Butcher.

Cajkovic is signed through the 2023.24 season and his contract carries an average annual value of $925,000 at the NHL level.

Details: https://t.co/6OKKAyRBkW pic.twitter.com/dJSsBmkGmw

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 25, 2024

According to the Penguins, "Cajkovic is signed through the end of the 2023-24 season and his contract carries an average annual value of $925,000 at the NHL level." The 23-year-old has yet to appear in an NHL game and has split his pro career bouncing between the AHL and ECHL,

In 20 games with the ECHL's Iowa Heartlanders this season, Cajkovic has 12 goals and six assists. He's also recorded two goals and an assist in five games with the AHL's Iowa Wild.

Cajkovic spent the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons with the Sea Dogs before playing his final year of junior with the Val-d'Or Foreurs.

REYNOLDS INJURED

Former Sea Dogs forward Peter Reynolds was injured in Friday's Halifax Mooseheads game.

Forward Peter Reynolds is officially out for the game with an upper body injury. #GoMooseGo

— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) January 27, 2024

Reynolds left the ice with an apparent arm/shoulder injury and did not return. He did not dress for Sunday's game and the Mooseheads have him listed as "week-to-week" with a return possible in mid-February.

The overage forward has a goal and seven assists in 10 games with the Mooseheads.

Saint John's 2022 Memorial Cup championship now one year old

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It's been one year since the Saint John Sea Dogs lifted the Memorial Cup on home ice.

Captain Vincent Sevigny scored just 2:35 into the first period to help lead the Sea Dogs to a 6-3 victory over Mason McTavish, Arber Xhekaj and the Hamilton Bulldogs in the championship game on June 29, 2022.

Along with Sevigny, Cam MacDonald, Riley Bezeau, William Dufour, Josh Lawrence and Peter Reynolds scored. Nikolas Hurtubise made 25 saves in the win.

The victory finished off a spectacular tournament inside TD Station and some fantastic community events outside. The 2022 Memorial Cup will not be forgotten in this city for some time.

One year since The DuFOUR Game

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

QUISPAMSIS, NB - Friday's Saint John Sea Dogs Hall of Fame ceremony was a reminder that the franchise has had quite a few memorable championship runs.

With those championship runs come great games — and perhaps the greatest game in Sea Dogs franchise history was played on this day one year ago.

It's been one year since The DuFOUR Game, which saw the Sea Dogs erase a three-goal first period deficit and defeat the rival Shawinigan Cataractes 5-3 to earn a bye straight through to the 2022 Memorial Cup final.

William Dufour had one of the greatest performances in Memorial Cup history, scoring four goals — which included a natural hat trick in the second period to tie the game. Dufour, the Memorial Cup MVP and leading scorer, had a remarkable 15 shots in the game.

"After the first period we just talked to ourselves in the locker room," Dufour said after the game. "After killing the penalty, the breakaway, I said no, I won't miss more chances like that. I can't. I buried one right after, almost on the penalty kill, and then right after on a faceoff. It was just amazing with the crowd and everything it was just, wow."

William Dufour was the ⭐️ Saturday as he powered the @SJSeaDogs to the final of the 2022 #MemorialCup presented by @KiaCanada after a FOUR-goal performance! pic.twitter.com/UNMdWWTMuX

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 26, 2022

"It's pretty special wasn't it," Sea Dogs head coach Gardiner MacDougall said of Dufour's performance.

Notebook: Memorial Cup began a year ago

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Saint John was a little bit livelier at this time a year ago.

On June 20, 2022, the first game of the Memorial Cup was played at TD Station with the Saint John Sea Dogs edging the Hamilton Bulldogs 5-3. It was the start of a tremendously entertaining tournament that ended with those two teams facing off again — and with Saint John winning 6-3 the second time around.

It was a memorable couple weeks in Saint John that really kicked off on June 18 with the grand opening of the ball hockey pad and had its storybook ending on June 30 with a championship parade through the uptown.

MORE GUESTS

Some of the guests who were in attendance for last year's Memorial Cup will be in town again this week for the Sea Dogs Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The team tweeted that former Sea Dogs Michael Kirkpatrick, Jeremie Poirier, Zack Phillips and Nathan Beaulieu will all be in attendance on Friday at the Imperial Theatre.

Don't miss the 2023 Sea Dogs Hall of Fame induction ceremony this Friday night!

A number of Sea Dogs alumni will be in attendance including Michael Kirkpatrick, Jeremie Poirier, Zack Phillips, and Nathan Beaulieu.

📍@ImperialTheatre
📅 Friday, June 23rd
⏰ 7:00pm#SeaDogsHOF pic.twitter.com/HHl7tUkZxq

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) June 19, 2023

Former Sea Dogs coaches Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly, who led the team to the 2011 Memorial Cup championship, will both be inducted, joining Jonathan Huberdeau and Mike Thomas.

Notebook: Laforge Memorial Cup jersey up for sale

An interesting find on eBay recently: someone is selling a Nico Laforge jersey from Saint John's first game of the 2022 Memorial Cup. The asking price is just under $1,400 Canadian.

Laforge did not play in that game or in any games at last year's Memorial Cup.

"Not worn by player but appears to have been washed by the team," notes the seller.

LAWRENCE HONOURED

Former Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence was named to the CHL's second all-star team on Thursday.

Here's your CHL Second All-Star Team! #CHLAwards pic.twitter.com/9R6DZkGeOc

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 1, 2023

Lawrence posted 50 goals and 119 points (his second straight season of 100+ points) in 69 games split between the Halifax Mooseheads and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He added 12 goals and 31 points in 21 playoff games.

Lawrence's teammates were also honoured. Jordan Dumais was named a first team all-star while Alexandre Doucet was on the third all-star squad.

Memorial Cup off to lopsided start

Candice Ward/CHL

The 2023 Memorial Cup has gotten off to a lopsided start.

The first three games of the tournament have all been decided by three or more goals, highlighted by the Kamloops Blazers hammering the Peterborough Petes 10-2 on Sunday.

Here's a look at the results from the opening three games:

Game 1: Quebec 8, Kamloops 3

Game 2: Seattle 6, Peterborough 3

Game 3: Kamloops 10, Peterborough 2

It's a significant difference from last year's tournament in Saint John where only one game — the championship match — was decided by three goals or more.

Game 1: Hamilton 3, Saint John 5

Game 2: Shawinigan 4, Edmonton 3

Game 3: Saint John 3, Edmonton 4 (OT)

Game 4: Shawinigan 3, Hamilton 2

Game 5: Edmonton 2, Hamilton 4

Game 6: Saint John 5, Shawinigan 3

Semifinal: Hamilton 4, Shawinigan 3 (OT)

Final: Hamilton 3, Saint John 6

The lopsided start to year's event could easily turn around this week (and likely will now that I've spent the time writing this). We were blessed with a few incredible games last year, so hopefully we get at least a couple this year.

The Quebec Remparts, who are looking to bring the Memorial Cup to the QMJHL for a fourth straight tournament, have two intriguing games remaining in the preliminary round: Monday night against the Seattle Thunderbirds and Tuesday against the Peterborough Petes. Most have the Thunderbirds as the favourites to win the event while the Petes must win to stay alive.

2023 Memorial Cup begins Friday

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

The Quebec Remparts have departed for Kamloops, BC where they'll try and win a fourth straight Memorial Cup championship for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The Remparts earned their spot in the four-team tournament with 5-4 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads on Sunday, taking the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final in six games. They did so while staying fairly healthy, which should be beneficial heading into their tournament opener.

Quebec will be thrown into a hostile environment immediately, taking on the host Kamloops Blazers on Friday night at 10 p.m. Atlantic. The Blazers were eliminated in the third round of the Western Hockey League playoffs and haven't played since May 8.

The Remparts finished the QMJHL playoffs with an impressive 9-0 record on the road. Quebec will be the home team for their other two preliminary round games: May 29 against the Seattle Thunderbirds and May 30 against the Peterborough Petes.

Will MacLaren and I discussed the QMJHL final and the Remparts' Memorial Cup hopes on this week's episode of The Hockey News on the Q.

.@willmacwriter and @station_nation recap the @QMJHL final, preview the Quebec Remparts' #MemorialCup pursuit, discuss Guy Boucher to Rimouski rumors, #GoHabsGo prospects and more: https://t.co/oGtMwUpKfX

— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) May 24, 2023

The Petes and Remparts met at the 2006 Memorial Cup in Moncton. Quebec, led by Patrick Roy behind the bench, went on to win the national championship that year, defeating the QMJHL champion and host Wildcats in the final.

Host teams have had a good run of late at the Memorial Cup, appearing in the championship game in each of the past four tournaments. Saint John won last year and Windsor did the same in 2017. The Blazers have an impressive roster and are certainly a worthy and capable host.

Notebook: Oceanic fire Beausoleil

Embed from Getty Images

The Rimouski Oceanic made a major move Monday, firing head coach and general manager Serge Beausoleil.

Beausoleil led the Oceanic to nearly 500 wins over his 12 years in Rimouski and won the President Cup in 2015. The Oceanic fell to the Saint John Sea Dogs in the 2012 President Cup final and then pulled off a shocking upset over the Sea Dogs in the opening round of the 2022 playoffs.

The often vocal Beausoleil also got into it with Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard earlier this season after the Sea Dogs took a late-game timeout in a blowout win.

Beausoleil was named the QMJHL's general manager of the year in 2018.

The Oceanic announced that Danny Dupont will be the club's interim general manager. The QMJHL Entry Draft is roughly six weeks away.

Beausoleil's impressive resume with the Oceanic will likely make him a wanted man around the QMJHL. There is already speculation of him taking the reins of the Quebec Remparts if Patrick Roy chooses to move on.

MORE CAMERAS INCOMING?

Le Journal de Quebec is reporting that the QMJHL may require teams provide more camera angles in their home arenas to assist with video replay.

The news comes after a couple controversial calls this post-season - most notably the Baie-Comeau Drakkar's overtime goal in Game 7 of the first round that was not allowed. The Moncton Wildcats went on to win the game and advance to the second round.

Il y en avait des vidéo, voici le but refusé du Drakkar. Tranquillement les vidéos commence à sortir. C’est un vol pic.twitter.com/eOOIQ45fTI

— Sébastien Chouinard (@sebchou1) April 24, 2023

Drakkar, Wildcats heading to Game 7

Blizzard Facebook

The Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Moncton Wildcats have had an excellent first round playoff series - and it's not over yet.

The Drakkar forced a Game 7 with a 4-3 overtime win over the Wildcats on Monday at Avenir Centre. Matyas Melovsky scored just 23 seconds into the extra frame to secure the Drakkar the victory.

It wasn't looking like the game would even need overtime. The Drakkar held a 3-2 lead into the final minute when Vincent Labelle scored from a bad angle to tie things up. The goal came at five-on-five but with Moncton on a penalty kill and their goaltender pulled.

Labelle sends it to OT with a late shortie! https://t.co/UYssA7EM2x pic.twitter.com/paVZfBSbTM

— Moncton Wildcats (@monctonwildcats) April 11, 2023

Earlier in the third period, former Sea Dogs forward Marshall Lessard was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for boarding. Baie-Comeau killed off that penalty though.

This was the fourth game of this series that required overtime.

Game 7 will take place Tuesday night at Avenir Centre. It's the only first round series still going in the QMJHL.

A few other notes...

• Brandon Casey and the Edmundston Blizzard will face Benjamin Roode and the Yarmouth Mariners in the Maritime Hockey League final (a very long distance one at that). The Blizzard completed a sweep of the Summerside Western Capitals on Monday.
• No teams from the 2022 Memorial Cup are still alive in the CHL playoffs. The Hamilton Bulldogs blew a 3-0 lead and fell 5-4 to the Barrie Colts on Monday, dropping the series in six games. The Edmonton Oil Kings missed the WHL post-season while the Sea Dogs and Shawinigan Cataractes were eliminated in the first round of the QMJHL playoffs.
• This was the final Bulldogs game in Hamilton for at least the next three seasons. The Bulldogs will be relocating to Brantford while the FirstOntario Centre undergoes massive renovations.
• The Prince George Cougars have advanced to the second round of the WHL playoffs for the first time since 2007. The Cougars eliminated the Tri-City Americans in six games in the opening round. Former Sea Dogs head coach Josh Dixon is an associate coach with the Cougars.
• Worth nothing as well that the Spokane Chiefs did not make the WHL playoffs. Former Sea Dogs assistant coach Stefan Legein is an associate coach with the Chiefs.

Notebook: McCluskey pushes Bearcats to first round MHL series win

UNB Athletics

HALIFAX - Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Carter McCluskey played a key role in getting the Truro Bearcats into the second round of the Maritime Hockey League playoffs.

McCluskey, who appeared in 22 games with the Cape Breton Eagles earlier this season, recorded four goals and two assists in just three games, helping lift the Bearcats to a 4-2 series win over the Valley Wildcats.

Those numbers included scoring the overtime winner in Game 5 on Sunday.

Carter McCluskey with a statement in his return with a first star performance(2G 1A) which included this overtime winner in front of 1200 strong at the RECC! We can close out the series Tuesday night in Berwick! #ExpectToWin pic.twitter.com/SCBbhpGNeK

— Truro Junior ‘A’ Bearcats (@trurobearcats) March 27, 2023

McCluskey, Cael MacDonald and the Bearcats will face Ben Roode and the Yarmouth Mariners in the next round.

The other series will feature the Edmundston Blizzard (Brandon Casey) facing either the Summerside Western Capitals or Campbellton Tigers (Connor Richard and Dawson Stairs). The Capitals host the Tigers in a Game 7 on Friday.

FINAL RANKINGS

The Gatineau Olympiques finished the regular season fourth in the QMJHL standings but have been ranked No. 1 in the final edition of the CHL Top 10.

Three other QMJHL teams were ranked as well.

The @OlympiquesGAT finish 🔝 of the @KiaCanada CHL Top 🔟 rankings!

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) March 28, 2023 

Notebook: One For All Festival this weekend in Saint John

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It's a big week on and off the ice for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs host Joshua Roy and the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Friday before taking on the Charlottetown Islanders for a pair of games on Saturday and holiday Monday. The Sea Dogs are chasing the Islanders for one of the QMJHL's final playoff spots.

All three games will be part of the Sea Dogs' "One For All Festival," which will try and recapture some of the excitement from the 2022 Memorial Cup. Like Saint John's New Year's Eve game, all three matches will feature musical performances.

This weekend will be unforgettable at TD Station with the first ever One for All Festival presented by TD!

🎟️ https://t.co/ERAebF1fgv
🎟️ https://t.co/BMabXSht0F
🎟️ https://t.co/ioOSpSGQbi#OneforAll #OneforAllFestival pic.twitter.com/3oLr3WEqSA

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) February 14, 2023

Friday's contest will feature an Elton John tribute; Saturday's will be a Tina Turner tribute; and Monday's will have a Lady Gaga tribute. Each show begins 30 minutes prior to puck drop.

According to the team's press release, "three performers from Legends in Concert, the longest running show in Las Vegas history, will entertain the crowd at TD Station. Acts in tribute to Elton John, Tina Turner, and Lady Gaga, will perform on the TD Stage before the game and during both intermissions. These three performers were selected for not only their iconic music, but for the important social impact that they have made."

More details on the One For All Festival can be found here.

ATTENDANCE WATCH

The Sea Dogs are no doubt hoping for some big crowds this weekend at TD Station.

Saint John is averaging 2,673 fans per game this season, good for seventh in the QMJHL. That number will likely grow as teams typically experience their largest crowds of the year in the second half. Saint John has eight home games remaining.

The team averaged 2,643 fans per game last season, although that included three games with capacity restrictions due to COVID.

The Sea Dogs never averaged fewer than 3,300 fans per game before the pandemic.

Cataractes return to Saint John

Vincent Ethier/CHL

The stakes were just a little bit higher the last time the Shawinigan Cataractes took on the Saint John Sea Dogs at TD Station.

The long-time rivals met in the final game of the round-robin portion of the 2022 Memorial Cup with a bye to the championship game on the line. The Cataractes led 3-0 after the first period but the Sea Dogs, led by a four-goal performance from William Dufour, went on to earn a 5-3 victory.

The Cataractes fell in the Memorial Cup semifinal to the Hamilton Bulldogs while the Sea Dogs went on to beat the Ontario Hockey League champions in the final.

Very few players from that Cataractes-Sea Dogs game will be in either lineup Wednesday night when the two meet at TD Station. Game time is 7 p.m.

Peter Reynolds, Brady Burns and Charlie DesRoches are the only Sea Dogs who played in that game who are still with the team.

Shawinigan, the defending QMJHL champions, are having a respectable season given their roster turnover. The Cataractes sit 10th overall in the league with a 20-19-1-2 record.

The Sea Dogs sit 17th overall with a 14-24-1-1 record.

A few other notes...

• The Sea Dogs play their next three games at home. Following Wednesday's match against Shawinigan, Josh Lawrence and the Halifax Mooseheads visit Saint John for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday.
• Lawrence was named to the QMJHL's Team of the Week. With 64 points in 41 games, the 20-year-old sits in a tie for third in league scoring.
• The Mooseheads have earned points in 16 straight games (14-0-2-0). The Moose host the Cataractes on Thursday before travelling to Saint John.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Dawson Theede is back playing with the National Lacrosse League's Halifax Thunderbirds. Theede had two goals in Halifax's 17-8 loss to the Toronto Rock in Hamilton on Saturday.
• Due to arena scheduling issues, it looks like the OHL's Ottawa 67's will play their first-round playoff games at Gatineau's Slush Puppie Centre, according to Le Driot. 

2022 had just about everything

Vincent Ethier/CHL

HALIFAX - If you've followed the Saint John Sea Dogs since day one, you've seen some wild calendar years. But none of them compare to the craziness that was 2022.

Remember, the Sea Dogs weren't even allowed to play hockey when the year began, playing their first game on Feb. 4 because of COVID restrictions. They opened the 2022 portion of the season with a rebuilt roster, trading just about everything for everyone. Then they suffered the most devastating playoff series loss in franchise history. Fired their head coach. Hired a new one. Hosted an incredible Memorial Cup. Won the Memorial Cup with four electric home games. Half the city got COVID from the Memorial Cup (unconfirmed). And then started the roster tear down and rebuild in the summer (and also named a new head coach).

It was a wild 12 months. It was also an unforgettable 12 months. As we start a new year, here's a look back at 2022's most read Station Nation posts.

10. Sea Dogs, Oceanic playoff series confirmed; Dufour wins goal scoring race

9. Notebook: COVID and the Cup

8. Saye suspended for high stick

7. Recap: Sea Dogs lose 6-3

6. President Cup semifinal series set

5. Breaking down Saint John's camp roster

4. Burns suspended five games

3. Notebook: Dogs' move nearly unprecedented

2. Reports: UNB's MacDougall named interim Sea Dogs head coach

1. Reports: Dwyer out as Sea Dogs head coach

To give you a sense of how big the Gordie Dwyer news was, the post about his firing is the fourth most read post in Station Nation history. This blog has been around since 2009.

Some Wednesday night notes

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It's been a rollercoaster of a couple weeks for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Two weeks ago, the Sea Dogs pulled off an upset win over the Gatineau Olympiques and followed that up with a strong 6-1 victory over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan one night later. They then held a 2-0 lead on the road against the Moncton Wildcats before falling in a shootout.

Things were looking good - but injuries to key players led the Sea Dogs into a rough week.

Saint John dropped all three games they played last week, falling 7-3 in Charlottetown before being shutout by both the Cape Breton Eagles and Halifax Mooseheads. The Sea Dogs were outscored 18-3 last week.

The Sea Dogs now sit last overall in the QMJHL standings with a 4-10-0-1 record. Although they'll still be missing some key players, Saint John will look to turn things around this week on home ice when they host the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Thursday and Drummondville Voltigeurs on Saturday.

Saint John has not faced either team so far this season - but Quebec opponents have not been kind. The Dogs are 1-5-0-0 against teams from outside the Maritimes with their lone victory being that 6-5 home win over the Olympiques.

A few other notes...

• This week on The Hockey News on the Q, Will MacLaren and I discuss some recent jersey retirements; QMJHL alumni in the Edmonton Oilers system; Halifax's Mathieu Cataford is in the 2023 NHL Draft spotlight; and we go over some of the top performers from the past week.
• Saint John's next five home games are all against Quebec-based teams.
• Tuesday was an odd night in the QMJHL: Cape Breton won a third straight game; Halifax blew-out Moncton; Rimouski scored 12 goals on Chicoutimi; and Shawinigan upset Sherbrooke.
• The Cape Breton Eagles have now won three straight games, defeating Halifax, Saint John and Bathurst.
• The Quebec Remparts, 15-1-0-1, are on pace for a QMJHL record 124 points in the regular season.
• Former Sea Dog Josh Lawrence had a hat trick and one assist in the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada's 8-5 loss in Moncton on Sunday.
• Halifax's Jordan Dumais had a goal and five assists in Halifax's 8-3 win over Moncton on Tuesday. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect now leads the league in scoring with 38 points in 16 games. He's on pace for 162 points.
• Teams that competed at the 2022 Memorial Cup as of Wednesday night: Saint John is 4-10-0-1 (last overall in the QMJHL); Hamilton is 4-7-1-0 (last overall in OHL); Shawinigan is 6-10-0-2 (15th overall in QMJHL); and Edmonton is 2-13-1-0 (last overall in WHL).

Notebook: Lots of Sea Dogs in AHL

Vincent Ethier/CHL

13 Saint John Sea Dogs alumni have already skated in American Hockey League games this season.

Among those who have appeared in a game is Memorial Cup champion Philippe Daoust, who is off to a hot start with a goal and three assists in three games with the Belleville Senators. The Sens also feature former Dogs forward Cedric Pare, who has a goal and two assists.

Other former Sea Dogs who have skated in the AHL this season include Matthew Highmore (Springfield), Samuel Dove-McFalls (Bakersfield), Jeremie Poirier (Calgary), Julien Gauthier (Hartford), William Villeneuve (Toronto), Matt Murphy (Iowa), Spencer Smallman (Colorado), Riley Bezeau (Charlotte), William Dufour (Bridgeport), Yan Kuznetsov (Calgary) and Raivis Ansons (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton).

Brett Gallant (Cleveland), Bokondji Imama (Tucson), Vincent Sevigny (Bridgeport), Zachary Emond (San Jose) and Callum Booth (Coachella Valley) have started the season on AHL rosters but have not appeared in a game.

COMING UP

The Sea Dogs return home for a pair of games this weekend.

The Moncton Wildcats visit TD Station on Saturday for a 7 p.m. puck drop. This is the second meeting of the regular season between the two following Moncton's 4-1 win in Saint John on Oct. 1. The two meet again next Sunday, Oct. 30 at Avenir Centre.

On Sunday, the Sea Dogs host the Quebec Remparts in a 3 p.m. contest. The Remparts downed the Sea Dogs 7-2 this past Saturday at Videotron Centre thanks to a huge game from their top line, which combined for 16 points. This will be the final meeting of the season between Saint John and Quebec.

After dropping all three games of their challenging Quebec road trip, the Sea Dogs carry a four-game losing streak into the weekend. They are 1-2-0-0 on home ice this season.