Sea Dogs/Mooseheads - but not Classified - postponed to another day

SAINT JOHN - The good news is that Classified is still hitting the stage at TD Station tonight. The bad news is that there won't be any "real" Saint John Sea Dogs hockey to accompany it.

After announcing earlier in the day that this evening's 7 p.m. Sea Dogs game against the Halifax Mooseheads had been pushed ahead an hour due to travel conditions, the game has been officially postponed.

Classified will still perform at 8 p.m. followed by a Sea Dogs scrimmage. Typical ticketing conditions will apply.

Unfortunately tonight's game between the Sea Dogs and Mooseheads has been cancelled.

Classified will still be performing at 8pm followed by a blue/white game with the Sea Dogs roster.

Tickets for the game can be used for the rescheduled game date which will be announced soon.

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) February 7, 2020

The postponement was very odd by Quebec Major Junior Hockey League standards. Typically this news comes much earlier in the day - and when fans have not already started to come into the building (doors opened at 6 p.m. and the Mooseheads tweeted about the postponement around 6:50).

Tonight’s Mooseheads game in Saint John has been officially postponed due to poor travel conditions. We are safe in Moncton and will travel home to see you tomorrow night when we host Victoriaville. #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/kLz3S4FZHE

— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) February 7, 2020

Adding to the confusion was the Sea Dogs not making any kind of announcement until 30 minutes after the Mooseheads' tweet.

Game Day 52: vs Mooseheads

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs are back home to play one of their most hyped games of the season.

With Classified performing during both intermissions of tonight's Sea Dogs game against the Halifax Mooseheads, it appears as though the team will have its biggest home crowd of the season. Crowds have been light at TD Station most of the year with the club averaging 3,079 fans per game.

Game time tonight is 7 p.m.

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

Records: The Sea Dogs are 24-26-1-0 for 49 points (fourth Maritimes, seventh Eastern, 12th QMJHL) while the Mooseheads are 18-26-3-1 for 40 points (fifth Maritimes, ninth Eastern, 17th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 overtime win in Baie-Comeau on Saturday. Maxim Cajkovic, Charlie DesRoches, Julian Vander Voet and Brady Burns scored for Saint John. Noah Patenaude made 50 saves in the win. The Mooseheads are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss at home to the Charlottetown Islanders on Tuesday. Senna Peeters and Zack Jones had Halifax goals. Alexis Gravel made 38 saves in the loss.

2019-20 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 5-1-0-0 against the Mooseheads this season while Halifax is 1-5-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: New Year's Eve at Scotiabank Centre where the Sea Dogs defeated the Mooseheads 6-4. Jeffrey Durocher had a hat trick for Saint John with singles coming from Jordan Spadafore, Dawson Stairs and Brady Burns. Halifax had goals from Jeffrey Burridge, D'Artagnan Joly, Senna Peeters and Zack Jones. Noah Patenaude made 21 saves in the win. Alexis Gravel was pulled after allowing four goals on 24 shots in 40 minutes of play. Cole McLaren made seven saves in relief.

Poirier breaks team record

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Jeremie Poirier is now alone at the top.

Poirier netted his 16th goal of the season in the Saint John Sea Dogs' 5-4 shootout win in Chicoutimi on Friday night, setting a franchise record for goals in a single season by a defenseman.

The 17-year-old surpassed Alex Grant's long standing record of 15 goals, which was set way back in the 2007-08 season.

It's a bit surprising it took this long for Grant's record to fall considering the likes of Nathan Beaulieu, Thomas Chabot and other prominent offensive defensemen have developed through the Sea Dogs over the years.

Poirier is second in the league in defensemen goal scoring, sitting behind Victoriaville's Jerome Gravel who has 17. Poirier also sits second in defensemen points with 44.

While the offensive numbers are impressive, the knock on Poirier continues to be his defensive game, which will need to be a focus as he continues to develop. Currently projected to be a mid to late first round pick in June's NHL Draft, Poirier would likely be seeded higher if he was stronger defensively. Fortunately, he's only in his second season of major junior and has time to work on his all around game.

Meanwhile, Poirier's defensive partner, William Villeneuve, is nearing a team record. With 36 assists, Villeneuve is tied for third with Thomas Chabot for most assists in a season by a Sea Dogs defenseman. Nathan Beaulieu owns that record, registering 41 helpers in the 2011-12 season.

Beaulieu owns the Sea Dogs record for points in a season by a defenseman, recording 52 in 2011-12. Poirier and Villeneuve each have 44 points with 17 regular season games remaining.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 4-3 (OT)

FINAL: Saint John 4, Baie-Comeau 3 (OT)

BAIE-COMEAU, Que. - For a second straight game, goaltending led the Saint John Sea Dogs to an overtime win.

Noah Patenaude made 50 saves on Saturday to guide the Sea Dogs to a 4-3 overtime victory over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. It was the team's second straight road win following a 5-4 shootout victory in Chicoutimi last night.

Brady Burns netted the overtime winner at 3:44 of the extra frame, giving the Sea Dogs the added point and a split in their four-game road trip.

The OT winner from @bradyburns20🦂#SeaDogs15 pic.twitter.com/woNxOrlC05

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) February 2, 2020

Maxim Cajkovic, Charlie DesRoches and Julian Vander Voet scored in regulation time. Patenaude made 50 stops to earn the win - some of which were highlight worthy.

Brandon Frattaroli, Nathan Légaré and Valentin Demchenko scored for Baie-Comeau. Lucas Fitzpatrick made 24 saves in the loss.

The Sea Dogs website has a full game recap.

Game Day 51: at Baie-Comeau

BAIE-COMEAU, Que. - Coming off one of their biggest wins of the season, the Saint John Sea Dogs will look to keep the momentum going today in Baie-Comeau.

After a disappointing 0-2 start to this four-game Quebec road trip, the Sea Dogs pulled out a 5-4 shootout win over the Eastern Conference leading Chicoutimi Sagueneens. The victory ended a three-game losing streak for Saint John.

Game time today against the Drakkar is 5 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/Sea Dogs Live/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 23-26-1-0 for 47 points (fourth Maritimes, sixth Eastern, 11th QMJHL) while the Drakkar are 19-20-6-2 for 20 points (third East, seventh Eastern, 11th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-4 shootout win in Chicoutimi last night. Josh Lawrence, Charlie DesRoches, Jeremie Poirier and Brady Burns scored for Saint John. Zachary Bouthillier made 45 stops in the win. The Drakkar are coming off a 7-4 home loss to the Sherbrooke Phoenix last night. Raivis Kristians Ansons, Brandon Frattaroli, Etienne Arseneau and Jordan Brière scored for Baie-Comeau. Lucas Fitzpatrick allowed seven goals on 31 shots through 40 minutes of play. Daniel Moody stopped all five shots he faced in the third.

2019-20 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 1-0-0-0 against the Drakkar this season while Baie-Comeau is 0-1-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Jan. 12 at TD Station where the Sea Dogs defeated the Drakkar 3-0. Dawson Stairs, Josh Lawrence and Brady Burns all scored for Saint John. Zachary Bouthillier made 32 stops in the shutout win. Lucas Fitzpatrick made 32 saves in the loss.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 5-4 (SO)

FINAL: Saint John 5, Chicoutimi 4 (SO)

CHICOUTIMI, Que. - The Saint John Sea Dogs picked up a significant win on Friday night in Quebec.

Zachary Bouthillier made 45 saves in 65 minutes of action and stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout to lead the Sea Dogs to a 5-4 win over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens - Bouthillier's old club and the top team in the Eastern Conference - at the Georges Vezina Centre.

Josh Lawrence, Charlie DesRoches, Jeremie Poirier and Brady Burns scored for Saint John, who recorded just 20 shots in the win. Burns, the team's leading scorer who hadn't scored since Jan. 12, netted the only goal of the shootout to give the Sea Dogs the extra point.

The Sags, who loaded up during the holiday trade period, are going through a rough stretch. After losing to Rimouski and Sherbrooke last weekend, this loss to a much lower seeded team was certainly not what they were looking for.

Dawson Mercer, Justin Ducharme, Xavier Labrecque and Raphael Lavoie scored for Chicoutimi. Carmine-Anthony Pagliarulo was pulled early in the third after giving up two quick goals. He made 14 saves. Alexis Shank allowed two goals on three shots in relief.

The Sea Dogs website has a full game recap.