Notebook: Lee (officially) joins Mooseheads

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

As reported a couple weeks ago, former Saint John Sea Dogs assistant coach Mark Lee has officially joined the Halifax Mooseheads.

Lee, who will be an assistant coach under Brad MacKenzie, was one of three coaching staff additions announced by the Mooseheads on Wednesday.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join the exceptional staff that Brad MacKenzie, Peter, and Sam Simon have assembled,” said Lee in a Mooseheads release. “Having known Josh Hepditch for a long time and competing against him as both a player and a coach, I know our coaching styles will complement each other perfectly. The Halifax Mooseheads are not just a phenomenal organization; they are an elite brand and a top-tier franchise in the CHL. I am eager to see what we can accomplish this season as we work collectively toward bringing a championship back to Halifax.” 

“Mark’s passion for the game combined with his ability to build relationships and connect with players makes him a great addition to our coaching staff,” said MacKenzie. “He brings with him a wealth of experience from his playing career as well as recent history coaching in the QMJHL. I’m looking forward to working alongside Mark and having him work closely with our players.”

Lee, who was sitting with the Mooseheads at this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, was an assistant coach with the Sea Dogs for four seasons. He departed the organization at the same time as Travis Crickard.

DRAFT RANKINGS

The 2026 NHL Draft is just over a week away.

Over at FloHockey, Chris Peters has released his final draft rankings. Sea Dogs forward Olivers Murnieks was ranked 50th.

"He’s a good two-way player with potentially limited offensive upside, but looks like he has the jam to play down the lineup if all works out," writes Peters.

The Hockey Writers, meanwhile, listed Murnieks as one of their "sleeper picks" for this year's draft.

"His offensive game isn’t particularly exciting, but he has a decent shot and can make reasonably clever passes under pressure," they write. "There’s certainly bottom-six potential for Murnieks and his late July birthday means he has lots of development still to come."

Notebook: Sea Dogs returning to St. Stephen

The Saint John Sea Dogs are returning to St. Stephen it appears.

St. Stephen's Garcelon Civic Center has shared on Facebook that the venue will host the Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats in a QMJHL pre-season game on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats faced off in St. Stephen last year as well. Moncton won the game 4-1.

The Sea Dogs are 1-2-0-0 in pre-season play at the Garcelon Civic Center.

TRADE PERIODS

From Jeremy Fraser of the Cape Breton Post, here's when you could see player movement this week.

QMJHL Trade Periods for Entry Draft Week:

- Tuesday, June 2 - 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

- Thursday, June 4 - 8:30-9:30 a.m.

- Friday, June 5 - During the draft.

- Saturday, June 6 - During the draft.

Note: The times indicated are Atlantic Time. #qmjhl #lhjmq

— Jeremy Fraser (@CBPost_Jeremy) May 30, 2026

LATVIA DONE IN QUARTERS

Olivers Murnieks and Team Latvia had their IIHF World Championship come to an end in the quarterfinals on Thursday, falling 2-0 to Norway.

Murnieks did not play in the game.

The Sea Dogs forward appeared in five of Latvia's eight games and was held pointless.

Finland will take on Switzerland in the gold medal game while Canada will play Norway for bronze.

Eagles upset Regiment in Game 1; MHL, NCAA updates

Jeff Parsons/Newfoundland Regiment

If night one is a sign of things to come, we could be in for quite a post-season in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.

The Cape Breton Eagles, who entered the playoffs having won just two games since Valentine's Day, opened their series against the Newfoundland Regiment with a 3-2 win at Mary Brown's Centre on Thursday night.

The Eagles, who are without one of their leading scorers in Roman Litalien, never led until 10:52 of the third period when Caden Kelly scored just his sixth goal of the entire year – which ended up being the game-winner.

The Regiment finished 11 points ahead of the Eagles in the standings but are considered heavy favourites given Cape Breton's injury woes and the way they finished the regular season.

Game 2 is Friday night before the series shifts to Sydney. This is a 2-3-2 series.

A few other news and notes from this Thursday night...

• The remaining playoff series get going Friday night, which includes the Saint John Sea Dogs visiting the Moncton Wildcats.
• Sea Dogs prospect Jase MacPherson made 37 saves to help the Kensington Wild defeat the Charlottetown Knights 3-2, winning the PEI under-18 championship in six games. The Wild advance to Atlantics, which will take place in Quispamsis from April 1-5.
• In the Maritime Junior Hockey League playoffs, the Summerside Western Capitals have forced a Game 7 in their first round series with a commanding 9-3 win over the Amherst Ramblers. Former Sea Dogs defenseman Matthew MacLean had two assists for the Western Capitals. Game 7 is Saturday night in Summerside.
• The NCAA men's hockey tournament began on Thursday and saw Nate Tivey and the Quinnipac Bobcats defeat Kale McCallum and the Providence Friars 5-2 in the Sioux Falls regional. Tivey was held off the score sheet while McCallum finished a -2 with three shots. The Bobcats will face the winner of the Merrimack/North Dakota game in Saturday's regional final – a game that will have a trip to the Frozen Four in Las Vegas on the line.

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.

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.

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.

Notebook: Coyle plays 1,000th NHL game

Charlie Coyle became the first former Saint John Sea Dog to play in 1,000 NHL games this week.

Coyle played his 1,000 game on Thursday when the Columbus Blue Jackets took on the Dallas Stars.

all eyes on #3! pic.twitter.com/cDP3cXQK5Y

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 22, 2026

FanDuel Sports Network had a feature on Coyle's milestone this week.

The 33-year-old has split his NHL career between the Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and now the Blue Jackets. Coyle has 11 goals and 22 assists in 51 games with Columbus this season, his first year with the club.

Coyle left Boston University and joined the Sea Dogs for the second half of the 2011-12 season, helping the club win the President Cup. He posted 15 goals and 23 assists in 23 regular season QMJHL games and added 15 goals and 19 assists in 17 playoff games. He was named QMJHL playoff MVP.

COMING UP

After playing just one game last week, the Sea Dogs have a much busier week coming up.

On Thursday the Sea Dogs will travel to Moncton to face a hot Wildcats team. Moncton will be coming off a three-game road trip in Quebec, one that saw them earn wins in Baie-Comeau, Chicoutimi and Quebec City.

After a day off Friday, the Sea Dogs will travel to Charlottetown to take on the Islanders on Saturday night. 

The Sea Dogs will return "home" on Sunday, hosting the Baie-Comeau Drakkar at 3 p.m. in Fredericton. This will be Saint John's third and final game at the Aitken Centre this season.

Notebook: Murnieks, Latvia almost upset Canada again

Tim Austen/IIHF

On the one-year anniversary of Eriks Mateiko's shootout winner against Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship, Team Latvia almost pulled off another massive upset.

The Latvians pushed the Canadians as much as they could, sending the match into overtime where Michael Hage scored the winner on a power play, giving Canada a 2-1 win.

The Latvians did an excellent job at limiting quality scoring chances. Like last year, Latvia hung around and scored late in the third period to send the match into extra time. This year though, they didn't have quite enough to get the win.

As expected, Saint John Sea Dogs forward Olivers Murnieks was Latvia's top line centre. He played 19:38, recording one shot and going 15-15 in the faceoff circle.

Despite the loss, this result will no doubt give the Latvians some confidence. They play Finland on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Atlantic.

BEVERIDGE TRADE

The Sea Dogs made their second deal of the trade period on Saturday, sending forward Egan Beveridge to the Quebec Remparts in exchange for forward Félix Pronovost and a 2027 sixth-round pick.

Here's what team president and general manager Trevor Georgie had to say about the trade in a news release.

“We are sad to see Egan go but are excited for him to get a fresh start in Quebec,” said Georgie. “He is an outstanding young man and he will be missed around the team and in the community. We wish him the very best.”

The Sea Dogs do not play the Remparts again this season.

Joseph named to Team of the Week

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Alexis Joseph was named to the QMJHL Team of the Week of Monday.

Joseph recorded three goals and three assists in Saint John's three road games last week, helping the club go 2-1-0-0 on their Quebec road trip.

Here they are! Your members on the latest Team of the Week!

STATS 📊: https://t.co/v4eMcEQh5Y@FloHockey | #TOTW pic.twitter.com/zL14motKs1

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) December 15, 2025

The 16-year-old has four goals and four assists in five games this month. He now sits sixth in QMJHL rookie scoring with 26 points (12 goals and 14 assists) in 24 games.

It's the second week in a row a Sea Dog has made the QMJHL Team of the Week. Last week, Sea Dogs captain Olivier Groulx earned the honour.

Dogs look to turn things around vs 'Cats

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs will look to turn things around on Thursday night against the Moncton Wildcats.

While it's a mismatch on paper – the Wildcats are 16-6-2-1 overall and sit second in the Eastern Conference – the Sea Dogs, 10-14-1-0, have had recent success at Avenir Centre. Saint John is 1-0 in Moncton this season and are an impressive 10-7-1-1 over the past five seasons.

Saint John will need all the positivity and good vibes they can generate given their recent struggles. The Sea Dogs head into Thursday's game on a four-game losing streak and went a disappointing 3-8-0-0 in November. Eight of their 11 games last month were played at TD Station/Aitken Centre.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, have been heading in the opposite direction. They are 8-1-0-1 in their last 10 games and have collected points in each of their past six games.

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats meet Thursday night in Moncton and Sunday afternoon in Saint John. This will certainly be a challenging couple games for the Dogs but, at the same time, there is an opportunity here to really turn their momentum around.

These are the first two of 10 games the Sea Dogs will play in December. Just four of those 10 games will be played at TD Station.

Some other news and notes...

• The Sea Dogs are now averaging nearly four goals against per game (3.96) and have allowed five or more goals in each of their past four games. 
• Saint John has allowed the first goal in each of their past three games.
• The Wildcats currently sit third overall in the league with 35 points. Only Chicoutimi and Blainville-Boisbriand – who each have 37 points – have better records.
• Wildcats captain Caleb Desnoyers enters play Thursday on a six-game point streak. He posted two goals and three assists during Moncton's three-in-three Quebec road trip last weekend. With Team Canada's world junior selection camp roster expected to be announced next week, Desnoyers is likely a little extra motivated to have a strong few games.
• After lighting up the Sea Dogs last weekend, Cape Breton Eagles forward Romain Litalien was named the QMJHL 's player of the week. Litalien now has four goals and seven assists in six games against Saint John this season.
• Newfoundland's Justin Larose continues to lead the QMJHL in scoring with 43 points (17 goals and 26 assists) in 26 games. His 26 assists leads the league.
• Shawinigan's Felix Lacerte has scored a league high 22 goals in 23 games.
• There will be four outdoor QMJHL games played this week at a racetrack in Trois-Rivieres. Victoriaville, Sherbrooke, Drummondville and Shawinigan will each play two games between Thursday and Sunday.

Notebook: The Beaulieu/Murphy fight

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Jacob Beaulieu is getting plenty of praise for his fight against Will Murphy during Saturday's game against the Cape Breton Eagles.

Beaulieu, listed at 5'9" and 175 lbs, dropped the gloves with Murphy, listed at 6'4" and 211 lbs, during the first period. Both players were given fighting majors and game misconducts.

The game was 1-1 at the time and the Saint John Sea Dogs went on to lose the game 7-3. Saint John allowed four goals in the second period and were outshot 17-8.

After the game, the fight brought this interesting response from Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard, calling his team's response "sad."

Really interesting comments from Travis Crickard on Jacob Beaulieu’s fight with Will Murphy.

Calls his team’s response to the fight “sad.” pic.twitter.com/nT3hf5nXoz

— Jamie Tozer (@station_nation) November 30, 2025

DUFOUR DEBUTS

William Dufour made his Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins debut on Friday.

Dufour had one shot and was a +1 in the Penguins' 4-1 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He played on the team's third line with Aidan McDonough and Gabe Klassen. 

Former Sea Dogs forward Boko Imama was also in the Penguins' lineup. Raivis Ansons did not dress.

On Saturday, Dufour posted three shots and was a -2 in the Penguins' 6-2 loss to the Hershey Bears. Imama also played in that game, recording 14 penalty minutes.

Dufour has been on a professional tryout with the Penguins for a few weeks. These were his first AHL games since last season's Calder Cup Playoffs.

GLANCE SCORES VS CHL

17-year-old forward Jamie Glance, a sixth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft, scored twice in the USNTDP's victory over Team CHL in this year's CHL USA Prospects Challenge.

Glance had an empty net goal in the United States' 4-2 win over Team CHL in the opening game and then scored again as the Americans fell 4-3 in the second game. The USA won the event by scoring in "super overtime."

Jamie Glance gives USA a 3-1 lead on the power-play! pic.twitter.com/uQwoeKRI23

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 27, 2025

Glance is in his second year with the USNTDP and is committed to Boston University for the 2027-28 season.

A month to forget for Sea Dogs

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs began November one game over .500, sitting 11th overall in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and were coming off a two-game sweep of the Cape Breton Eagles.

A month later, the Sea Dogs are leaving November four games below .500, sitting second-last in the QMJHL and were swept on home (sort of) ice by the Eagles.

It was a brutal month for the Sea Dogs to say the least. Let's look at some numbers.

• Saint John went 3-8-0-0 during November, a disappointing record any month, but especially this one given that the team played eight of their 11 games on home ice (when you include the Fredericton game).
• The Sea Dogs are now 5-9-0-0 at home this season after going 2-6 at TD Station/Aitken Centre in November. 
• The Sea Dogs entered November with a respectable -2 goal differential. It's now at -15 after getting outscored 45-32 during the month. That's a goals per game average of 2.91 and a goals against per game average of 4.09. The last-place Baie-Comeau Drakkar are currently averaging 4.26 goals against per game.

If the QMJHL playoffs started today, the Sea Dogs would not be in them. They have the second fewest points (21) and second worst winning percentage (.420).

This team is struggling big time right now. The numbers show it. The eye test shows it.

The fan frustration with this team's recent results is nothing like I've seen since, well, ever. And it makes sense. A reminder that this franchise has not won a playoff series since 2017. A reminder that this franchise has delivered only a few months of success since 2017. The Sea Dogs have finished above .500 just twice since 2017 – and one of those seasons was the weird COVID year of 2020-21 when they finished one game over.

If there is any fan base in junior hockey that understands the highs and lows of the junior hockey cycle, it's Sea Dogs fans. When this fan base is losing patience, that says something. 

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 5-2

FINAL: Cape Breton 5, Saint John 2

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

FREDERICTON - It was a new location but the same struggles for the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sunday.

The Cape Breton Eagles scored three times in the first period and outplayed the Sea Dogs for much of the night, earning a 5-2 win at Fredericton's Aitken Centre. This was the first of three "home" games the Sea Dogs will play on the UNB campus this season.

The Sea Dogs once again made too many defensive errors and struggled to generate quality scoring chances. Even when Saint John got back within two goals late in the second period, it still felt like a huge mountain to climb given the team's recent struggles. 

Saint John was outshot 39-30 – and 19-8 in the second period – with only nine of their shots being considered dangerous. The Sea Dogs also went 0/5 on the power play. 

The loss was Saint John's fourth straight, dropping them to 10-14-1-0 on the season. The Eagles, thanks to back-to-back wins over the Sea Dogs, are now four points up on Saint John in the standings.

Reece Peitzsche scored a hat trick for Cape Breton while Maxime Sauthier and Rory Pilling added singles. Connor Towle made 28 saves in the win.

Alexis Joseph and Angelo Fullerton scored for Saint John. Rafaël Courchesne was pulled early in the second after allowing four goals on 12 shots. Justin Robinson stopped all 26 shots he faced in relief.

Game Day 25: vs Eagles

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

FREDERICTON - Perhaps of change of scenery is just what the Saint John Sea Dogs need.

The Sea Dogs will play the final game of a seven-game homestand this afternoon against the Cape Breton Eagles – in Fredericton. It's the first of three "home" games the Sea Dogs will play at the Aitken Centre this season, marking the first time regular season Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League games will be played in the city.

Game time this afternoon is 3 p.m.

The Sea Dogs are 2-4 during this stretch of home games and things could not be going much worse than they have over the past three games. Saint John has been outscored 23-9 in those games, which includes a 7-3 loss to the Eagles last night at TD Station.

The losing streak combined with this being Saint John's third game in three days combined with the commute to Fredericton does not seem like a recipe for success – but we'll see what happens. Maybe the change of scenery is just what the Sea Dogs need.
 

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

Records: The Sea Dogs are 10-13-1-0 for 21 points (ninth Eastern/17th QMJHL) while the Eagles are 9-9-1-4 for 23 points (eighth Eastern/14th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs and Eagles met last night with Cape Breton earning a 7-3 win. Romain Litalien led the way for the Eagles with a hat trick and two assists. Noah Jettelson, Aidan McCullough, Reece Peitzsche and Adam Klaus also scored for Cape Breton. Alexander Donovan, Elliot Dubé and Oskar Drabczynski scored for Saint John. Felix Hamel made 21 stops in the win. Justin Robinson made 26 stops in the loss.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 7-3

FINAL: Cape Breton 7, Saint John 3

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - It's been a brutal stretch for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs dropped their third straight game on Saturday at TD Station, falling 7-3 to the Cape Breton Eagles. They've been outscored 23-9 during this losing skid.

The loss drops the Sea Dogs to 10-13-1-0 on the year. They are three games below .500 for the first time this season and currently sit 17th overall – outside of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoff picture.

If that seems like a lot of negatives, well, there aren't a whole lot of positives right now. Saturday's game continued the same trend: the Sea Dogs are struggling at both ends of the ice. They're making a lot of defensive mistakes and they haven't been able to get much of anything going offensively for any significant amount of time.

It seemed like just a few weeks ago this year's team was moving in the right direction. This stretch has been a major bump in the road – and they don't have much time to work on improvements. They play their third game in three days in less than 24 hours.

The Sea Dogs got off to a rough start in the first period on Saturday, allowing Cape Breton to score on their first shot. But Saint John settled in and took a 1-1 tie into intermission.

The wheels fell off in the second period with Cape Breton grabbing a 5-2 lead and outshooting Saint John 17-8. It was an ugly and disappointing showing given that the Sea Dogs were very much in this game entering the period.

Despite outshooting the Eagles 10-6 in the third, the Sea Dogs were never able to get back into the game. 

Romain Litalien led the way for the Eagles with a hat trick and two assists. Noah Jettelson, Aidan McCullough, Reece Peitzsche and Adam Klaus also scored for Cape Breton. Lewis Gendron posted four assists. 

The Eagles entered the game averaging 2.26 goals per game, the second fewest in the QMJHL.

Felix Hamel made 21 stops in the win.

Alexander Donovan, Elliot Dubé and Oskar Drabczynski scored for Saint John. 

Justin Robinson made 26 stops in the loss.