RECAP: Nine Straight. Dogs Lose 6-2.

FINAL: Moncton 6, Saint John 2

SAINT JOHN – Ugh.

The Saint John Sea Dogs lost their ninth straight Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game on Friday night at Harbour Station, falling 6-2 to the Moncton Wildcats.

The Sea Dogs allowed five unanswered goals, four of which were surrendered in the third period. Moncton scored two power play markers, an even strength goal, and a shorthanded goal – which was the game-winner – in the third.

Mistakes and undisciplined play cost the Sea Dogs in this one. It was certainly not the result fans wanted to see following the coaching change made this week.

Spencer Smallman and Oliver Cooper scored for the Dogs. Sebastien Auger made 36 saves in the loss.

JC Campagna scored twice for the Wildcats while singles came from Garrett Johnston, Mathieu Olivier, Ivan Barbashev, and Christophe Lalonde. Alex Dubeau made 26 saves for the win.

Saint John is now 5-11-0-2 on the season and remain 17^th overall. Yeah.

QUICK CAP: Dogs Lose 6-2.

FINAL: Moncton 6, Saint John 2

SAINT JOHN – The Ross Yates head coaching era got off to a rough start on Friday night at Harbour Station.

The Saint John Sea Dogs allowed four goals in the third period – two on the power play, one shorthanded, and one at even strength – in a 6-2 loss to the Moncton Wildcats.

The loss was Saint John’s ninth straight and dropped them to 5-11-0-2 on the season.

Spencer Smallman and Oliver Cooper had goals for Saint John while Sebastien Auger made 36 saves in the loss.

JC Campagna had a pair of goals while Mathieu Olivier, Christophe Lalonde, Ivan Barbashev, and Garrett Johnston scored singles for Moncton. Alex Dubeau made 26 saves for the win.

More to come…

Sea Dogs Foundation Calendars Are Back

The very awesome Sea Dogs Foundation calendars are back for another year. Calendars are $10 each. Proceeds from calendar sales will go to the Empty Stocking Fund.

The Sea Dogs Foundation website has some pictures of this year’s edition. It looks sweet.

The Sea Dogs website has more details, including where you can purchase the 2014 calendars around the city.

Sea Dogs Recall Brett Malone

SAINT JOHN – The Sea Dogs have announced that forward Brett Malone has been recalled by the team.

Malone, acquired by the Sea Dogs last season, had two goals and an assist in 22 regular season games with Saint John in 2012-13. In 13 games with the Maritime Junior Hockey League's Miramichi Timberwolves this season the 19-year old has two goals and 11 assists for 13 points.

He has nine goals and 15 points in 131 QMJHL regular season games during stops with the Sea Dogs, Moncton Wildcats, and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

The Sea Dogs press release says “he will be in the lineup tonight when the Sea Dogs host Moncton at 7:30 p.m. at Harbour Station.” Not sure who is replacing but the Dogs have been battling a few injuries of late.

Saint John also hosts the Charlottetown Islanders tomorrow night at the Station.

A few other notes...

• Willy Palov of the Halifax Chronicle Herald has a good article on the Mike Kelly firing.
• Spencer Smallman has two goals and two assists over his last five games.
• Former Sea Dog Charlie Coyle is expected to return to the Minnesota Wild lineup tonight.

GAMEDAY 18 - vs Wildcats

GAMEDAY

Moncton Wildcats vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight at 7:30pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live: @station_nation

Harbour Station – Saint John, NB

PREVIEW

SAINT JOHN – The Ross Yates head coaching era begins tonight.

The Saint John Sea Dogs play their first game since the firing of head coach and general manager Mike Kelly this evening at Harbour Station. Yates and the Sea Dogs host the rival Moncton Wildcats at 7:30pm.

The timing of Kelly’s firing certainly came as a surprise. Sure, the Sea Dogs have lost eight straight but have been playing decent hockey of late. This is the second year of Saint John’s rebuild and expectations aren’t too high for the club. But the firing happened. Now let’s see what Yates can do with this team.

The Sea Dogs are a quarter of the way through their schedule and have a 5-10-0-2 record, placing them last in the Telus Maritimes Division and 17^th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Saint John has gone 0-7-0-1 during this losing skid but their last four games have all been decided by one goal.

Scoring has been an issue for the Sea Dogs over the past few weeks. Maybe Yates can get the team going offensively a bit more than Kelly. Michael Abbott, Olivier LeBlanc, and Oliver Cooper all have 12 points to lead the team in scoring. Nathan Noel has a team best six goals.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats enter action tonight with a 7-11-0-1 record and sit fourth in the Maritimes Division and 14^th overall. The ‘Cats have lost three straight and are 4-5-0-1 in their last 10 games.

Christopher Caissy leads Moncton in scoring with six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 19 games. Ivan Barbashev, who was hurt in the Wildcats’ last trip to Harbour Station, is expected to return to action tonight reports the Times & Transcript.

This is the third meeting of the year between the Sea Dogs and Wildcats. Each team has won once.

Good Luck To The Mill Rats

Best of luck to the Saint John Mill Rats who begin their season tonight in Halifax. We don’t know much about the team or the league or basketball in general but it does seem like they have loaded up for this season.

The Mill Rats play a ridiculous amount of home games in December and January.