If The QMJHL Draft Was Today...

Updated #QMJHLdraft order as of today pic.twitter.com/LsvxUcnf5P
— Jérôme Bérubé (@Jerome_Berube) February 23, 2015

If the 2015 QMJHL Entry Draft was today, the Sea Dogs would be in pretty good shape.

If Drummondville finishes in the bottom two, that would get the Sea Dogs into the coin flip for the first overall selection. The Voltigeurs are currently tied with the Gatineau Olympiques with 51 points.

Although it should be the last thing on everyone’s mind right now, the league’s investigation into an incident involving six Olympiques players could play a major role in who gets into the coin toss.

RECAP: Sea Dogs Win 4-1

FINAL: Bathurst 1, Saint John 4

Lorne Webster | SN Staff

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs (29-20-3-6) turned in their most complete 60-minute effort in a few weeks and were rewarded with a decisive 4-1 victory over the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan (15-37-4-2) Sunday afternoon at Harbour Station.

The win ended a recent four-game winless streak and also snapped a three game home winless streak against Bathurst. The win was critical in the Sea Dogs’ efforts to earn home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, especially as they look forward to important games this week against division rivals Cape Breton (Tuesday) and Charlottetown (Friday).

Jakub Zboril, Mathieu Joseph, Spencer Smallman and Sam Dove-McFalls scored for the Sea Dogs while Egor Popov replied for Bathurst.

The fans were buzzing prior to puck drop about the return of Zboril to the line-up and he showed why he is viewed as a likely first round NHL draft choice. On a power play at 2:01, Zboril unleashed a laser from the point that went right through a screened Reilly Pickard to open the scoring. Just past the ten minute mark, Joseph completed a nice give-and-go with Dove-McFalls as he beat Pickard over the glove to make it 2-0 for Saint John. The Sea Dogs also led 11-6 on the shot clock.    

On another power play at 14:22 of the second, Smallman carried the puck to the high slot, faked a pass and wired a wrist shot to the top corner past a screened Pickard to extend Saint John's lead to 3-0. However, on the next shift, Sea Dog nemesis Andrew Ryan muscled his way to the front of the net and his wrist shot banked off Popov and past Sebastien Auger to bring the Titan back within two. Saint John outshot the Titan 16-5 in the second period.

The Sea Dogs continued their strong play to start the third period and, at 1:28, Dove-McFalls banged in the rebound of a Thomas Chabot point shot to reestablish Saint John's three goal lead at 4-1. Saint John’s onslaught of rubber resulted in another 17 shots on Pickard versus four for Bathurst in the third to end the game up 44-15 overall.

GAME DAY 58: vs Titan

A preview of today’s game between the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and Saint John Sea Dogs…

When and where: Today at 3 p.m., Harbour Station

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Titan are sixth in the Maritimes Division and last overall in the QMJHL with a 15-36-4-2 record for 36 points. The Sea Dogs are second in the Maritimes and eighth overall with a 28-20-3-6 record for 65 points.

Last games: The Titan are coming off a 7-0 loss in Rimouski on Thursday. Reilly Pickard and Daniel Vautour combined to make 27 saves in the loss. The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-2 loss in Charlottetown on Friday night. Nathan Noel and Spencer Smallman had goals for Saint John while Sebastien Auger made 30 saves in the loss.

2014-15 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 3-2-1-1 against the Titan this season while Bathurst is 4-3-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Feb. 13 at the KC Irving Regional Centre where the Titan defeated the Sea Dogs 3-2 in overtime. Andrew Ryan, Aaron Kerr and Christophe Boivin scored for Bathurst while Saint John goals came from Daniel Del Paggio and Adam Marsh. Reilly Pickard made 38 saves in the win while Sebastien Auger made 17 stops in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Titan: None

Random stat: In the bizarre season series between the two, the Titan have won three straight games at Harbour Station. Bathurst has five road wins all year.

RECAP: Sea Dogs Lose 4-2

FINAL: Saint John 2, Charlottetown 4

Lorne Webster | SN Staff

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI - The Charlottetown Islanders (28-24-1-3) came out firing on all cylinders and beat the visiting Saint John Sea Dogs (28-20-3-6) 4-2 on Friday evening at Eastlink Centre. 

In a battle of division rivals pushing for home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, the Islanders managed to end a three game losing streak and get within five points of Saint John - with one game in hand. The loss extends Saint John's winless streak to four games, which includes two overtime losses. 

Bradley Kennedy, Ross Johnston, Oliver Cooper and Filip Chlapik scored for the Islanders while Nathan Noel and Spencer Smallman replied for Saint John.

It was apparent at the outset that a difficult drive, through high winds and snow-covered roads, had an adverse affect on the Sea Dogs. On a power play at 1:39, Kennedy banged in a rebound off a goal mouth scramble to open the scoring. Nearly four minutes later, Johnston deflected Guillaume Rioux-Legault's point shot past Sebastien Auger to make it 2-0. Then, at 12:23, Cooper showed soft hands and long reach when he corralled his own rebound and deked Auger to extend the Islanders' lead to 3-0. The Sea Dogs fired 16 shots at Mason MacDonald but only four were classed as dangerous. The Islanders ended the first period with 13 shots on Auger.  

The Sea Dogs came out much stronger to start the second period, determined to fire as many shots on net as possible. At 8:48, Noel picked up the puck along the right wing boards, flashed around the net and beat MacDonald on a wrap-around to get Saint John on the scoreboard. At 15:07, Thomas Chabot's point shot off the end boards eluded MacDonald and Smallman swatted the puck into an empty net to make it 3-2. In a case of turn about is fair play, Chlapik one-timed a lovely feed from Cooper after Auger mishandled a dump in to restore Charlottetown's two goal lead at 4-2. Saint John out shot the Islanders 23-12 in the second period.

There was no scoring in an entertaining and somewhat chippy third period, including a fight between David Henley and Sam Dove-McFalls. Saint John led on the shot clock 13-9 in the third and 52-34 overall.

GAME DAY 57: at Charlottetown

A preview of tonight’s game between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Charlottetown Islanders…

When and where: Tonight at 7 p.m., Eastlink Centre

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are second in the Maritimes Division and seventh overall in the QMJHL standings with a 28-19-3-6 record for 65 points. The Islanders are fourth in the division and 10^th overall with a 27-24-1-3 record for 58 points.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Victoriaville Tigres on Wednesday at Harbour Station. Daniel Del Paggio, Adam Marsh and Nathan Noel scored for Saint John while Sebastien Auger made 35 saves in the loss. The Islanders are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Shawinigan Cataractes on Saturday at Eastlink Centre. Spenser Cobbold scored Charlottetown’s lone goal while Mason McDonald made 29 saves in the loss.

2014-15 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 2-2-1-1 against the Islanders this season while Charlottetown is 4-1-0-1 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Jan. 4 in Charlottetown where the Islanders defeated the Sea Dogs 5-4. Olivier LeBlanc, Nathan Noel, Justice Dundas and Matthew Highmore had Saint John goals. Alexandre Goulet, Spenser Cobbold, Filip Chlapik, Oliver Cooper and Daniel Sprong scored for the Isles. Alex Bishop made 25 saves in the loss while Mason McDonald made 24 stops in the victory.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Islanders: Oliver Cooper and Will Thompson

Random stat: Both the Sea Dogs and Islanders are on three-game losing streaks.

Thursday News & Notes

Two teams on three-game losing streaks meet tomorrow night at Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown.

The Sea Dogs, 0-1-2 in their past three games, are coming off a disappointing overtime home loss to Victoriaville Tigres last night. The Islanders, meanwhile, have slid to fourth in the division thanks to their recent 0-3 skid.

With 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Sea Dogs sit sixth overall in the QMJHL with 65 points. The top eight teams have home ice during the first round of the playoffs. The team that currently sits in 9^th, the Halifax Mooseheads, have 59 points.

Here are some news and notes:

• Former Sea Dog Stephen MacAulay had a goal and an assist in Saint Mary’s double overtime victory over Acadia in game one of their AUS semifinal playoff series last night in Wolfville.
• Tonight, Michael Kirkpatrick and the StFX X-Men begin their playoff series against the UNB Varsity Reds in Fredericton.
• Here’s a real nice story from Michael George who’s family visit to Harbour Station was a very positive experience.
• In Craig Button’s February draft rankings, Thomas Chabot was ranked 22^nd, Jakub Zboril 23^rd, Nathan Noel 59^th, Adam Marsh 64^th, Spencer Smallman 80^th, Samuel Dove-McFalls 92^nd and Mathieu Joseph 94^th.
• The Hockey Writers released some draft rankings last week. Jakub Zboril was ranked 25^th.
• Willy Palov of the Chronicle Herald has an article on Olivier LeBlanc who is helping turn things around in Cape Breton this second half.
• As of yesterday:

1st RD pick update for the Sea Dogs - Now have picks #3, #9, and #12 never to early for draft junkies :)
— Kevin Chambers (@HCCanucklehead) February 18, 2015