Notes: Seitz suspended for Friday's game

SAINT JOHN - Dylan Seitz will not be in the Moncton Wildcats lineup when his team faces the Saint John Sea Dogs on Friday night.

Seitz has been suspended one game by the QMJHL for a "late check to the head" in Sunday's contest at Harbour Station. The play saw Seitz get up high on Sea Dogs forward Maxim Cajkovic well after the puck had left his stick. Cajkovic was down on the ice for a few minutes and left the game for a couple shifts before returning.

Surprisingly, there was no penalty called on the play - especially rare in the QMJHL where a player's injury reaction typically has a significant impact on whether a call is made. Seitz was booed the rest of the game by the Sea Dogs faithful.

Seitz has two goals in two games with the Wildcats so far this season.

Some other news and notes...

• Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence is currently the league's leading goal scorer (four) and point getter (six). Not bad for a 16-year-old two games into his QMJHL career.
• Lawrence was named the QMJHL Player of the Week on Monday.
• Somewhat lost in the Lawrence hype this past weekend was the play of his linemates. Both William Poirier and Maxim Cajkovic ended the weekend with a goal and three assists each.
• Saint John returns to action tomorrow night, visiting the Charlottetown Islanders. Game time is 7 p.m. The Islanders hammered the Sea Dogs 7-0 in a pre-season game a couple weeks ago.
• Friday's Sea Dogs game at Moncton's new Avenir Centre is sold out. 8,800 people are expected, which will make this, presumably, the most attended hockey game in New Brunswick history.

Safin officially traded to Mooseheads

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs are getting a solid return for Ostap Safin.

The Sea Dogs officially traded Safin and a 2021 fourth-round pick to the Halifax Mooseheads in exchange for a 2020 first round pick.

Under normal circumstances, this return for Safin wouldn't be overly surprising. But given that Safin is an import and there are only a few teams that have room or are willing to make room, a first round pick in return is pretty good. Plus, the Mooseheads could be in rebuild mode in 2020, so that first could be quite high.

Safin, 19, had 26 goals and 31 assists in 61 games with the Sea Dogs last season. He has not appeared in any games this season due to Edmonton Oilers camp. The Oilers returned Safin to junior last week.

Safin joins Marcel Barinka as the Mooseheads' imports. Filip Zadina could still be returned to junior by the Detroit Red Wings, but Safin's spot is presumably secured.

It made sense for the Sea Dogs to move Safin thanks to a strong import draft this year, selecting forwards Maxim Cajkovic and Filip Prikryl. The Sea Dogs announced today that Prikryl has been signed by the club.

The Sea Dogs and Mooseheads, who met on opening night at Harbour Station, meet again on Oct. 12 in Saint John.

RECAP: Sea Dogs win 5-4

FINAL: Moncton 4, Saint John 5

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs played yet another back-and-forth game on Sunday afternoon - but this time they came out on the winning end.

Just like Friday night against the Halifax Mooseheads, the Sea Dogs got themselves into a hole in the first period, going down 2-0. But, like Friday, Saint John rebounded with a strong second period and straightened things out from there.

16-year-old rookie Josh Lawrence was the major story, recording a hat trick and an assist in just his second career QMJHL game. The Fredericton native now has four goals and two assists in two contests.

Jeremie Jacob and Maxim Cajkovic also scored for Saint John. William Poirier added three assists and Alex D'Orio made 34 saves in the win.

Moncton had a pair of goals from Elliot Desnoyers and singles from Jordan Spence and Dylan Seitz. Charles-Antoine Lavallee, in his first QMJHL start, allowed five goals on 35 shots in the loss.

Through two games, the Sea Dogs have shown that they can be competitive and very entertaining. They'll face a tough test on Wednesday in Charlottetown and then will play Moncton on Friday. The Dogs and 'Cats have played several times over the past month and most of those games have been very entertaining. Hopefully that will continue this week.

Game Day 2: vs Wildcats

SAINT JOHN - After a thrilling season opening game, the Saint John Sea Dogs will try to do one better this afternoon - and try and pick up their first win of the season.

The Sea Dogs host the rival Moncton Wildcats today at 2 p.m. at Harbour Station. The two teams met four times in the pre-season with each squad winning twice. All four games were fairly entertaining, and there is good reason to believe this could be a very fun season series.

The Wildcats opened up the year with a win on Thursday night in Bathurst and have not played since.

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/Sea Dogs Radio/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 0-0-1-0 this season (5th Maritimes, 13th overall) while the Wildcats are 1-0-0-0 (second Maritimes, seventh overall).

2017-18 records: Saint John finished last overall in the QMJHL standings with a 14-43-9-2 record for 39 points while Moncton finished 14th overall with a 27-33-5-3 record for 62 points.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday night at Harbour Station. Robbie Burt, Brady Burns, Josh Lawrence and William Poirier scored for Saint John. Alex D'Orio made 31 stops in the loss. The Wildcats are coming off a 3-1 win in Bathurst on Thursday night. Dylan Seitz, Tristan DeJong and Mika Cyr scored for Moncton. Francis Leclerc made 33 saves in the win.

2017-18 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 3-4-2-0 against the Wildcats last season while Moncton went 6-1-1-1 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Sept 16 in pre-season play where the Wildcats defeated the Sea Dogs 7-3 in Bouctouche. Maxim Cajkovic scored all three Saint John goals. Elliot Desnoyers and Nicolas Kingsbury-Fournier scored twice for Moncton while singles came from Jeremy McKenna, Dylan Seitz and Brady Pataki. Stewart Bagnell allowed seven goals on 39 shots in the loss. Francis Leclerc allowed three goals on 28 shots in the win.

Report: Dogs to trade Safin to Mooseheads

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SAINT JOHN - Ostap Safin is headed to the Halifax Mooseheads, reports TVA Sports.

Mikael Lalancette reports that the Sea Dogs forward, who was sent back to junior by the Edmonton Oilers last week, will be traded to the Memorial Cup hosts in a deal that has not yet been confirmed.

Un autre gros coup des hôtes du tournoi de la Coupe Memorial 2019: j’ai appris que les Mooseheads mettront mis la main sur Ostap Safin des Sea Dogs. Transaction à être confirmée. #tvasports

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MLalancetteTVA) September 22, 2018

Safin, 19, had 26 goals and 31 assists in 61 games with the Sea Dogs last season. He would have been a big help to the Sea Dogs this season - but trading him makes much more sense. The Dogs drafted two quality imports this year who fit their rebuild much better (and if the Dogs had kept Safin, they would have had to let one go). The return Safin will get - even if it isn't a whole lot - is better than nothing.

What the Sea Dogs get in return is the big question. The team doesn't have a lot of options as there are few teams with vacant - or willing to make vacant - import spots.

The Mooseheads have made the most sense as a trading partner for some time. Halifax has one official import on their active roster - forward Marcel Barinka. If Filip Zadina is returned by the Detroit Red Wings, he and Safin would make a solid duo (the two have played together with the Czech Republic national junior team in the past).

The Sea Dogs host the Moncton Wildcats tomorrow at 2 p.m. Their next meeting with the Mooseheads is on Oct. 12 at Harbour Station.

RECAP: Sea Dogs lose 5-4 (OT)

FINAL: Halifax 5, Saint John 4 (OT)

SAINT JOHN - If anything, the Saint John Sea Dogs proved they'll be entertaining to watch this season.

The Sea Dogs opened the 2018-19 season with a back-and-forth, hard fought 5-4 overtime loss to the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday night at Harbour Station. Sure, the Mooseheads were missing several regulars, but this young Sea Dogs team showed that they'll be able to give some teams a good run.

Saint John looked a bit unorganized and nervous in the first period and trailed 2-0. But the Sea Dogs turned things around at intermission and the remainder of the game was fairly evenly played. The point was well deserved.

The Sea Dogs' youth had a good night with Josh Lawrence putting up a goal and an assist; Brady Burns recording a goal; and Jeremy Poirier looking like a veteran on the blue line. Returnees William Poirier and Robbie Burt scored Saint John's other goals. Alex D'Orio made 31 saves in the loss.

Arnaud Durandeau scored twice for Halifax while singles came from Gavin Hart, Justin Barron and Patrick Kyte. Alexis Gravel made 34 saves in the win.