Game Day 16: at Bathurst

BATHURST, NB - After nearly a four-month wait, the Saint John Sea Dogs are set to resume Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game action.

The Sea Dogs' last regular season game was on Nov. 18 in Sydney. It was the team's 15th game of the year. Now, after a COVID shutdown, an extended holiday break and more COVID related problems, Saint John is set to resume their season.

Tonight's game has the feeling of a season opener - not just because of the lengthy break but because of a number of new faces who should be in the lineup. The most notable are forwards Vladislav Kotkov and Ryan Francis, two experienced point producers who should help out Saint John's offense.

Of course, the big question will be Saint John's defense. The team's defensive struggles over the past couple seasons are well documented and they didn't have a great "first half." But the club has had plenty of time to practice over the past month and hopefully this is when the Sea Dogs' d-core finally finds their groove.

Saint John was 5-6-3-1 before the shutdown and 0-4-2-1 on the road. It's been over a calendar year since the club won a road game - something they'll try and accomplish tonight.

Game time at the KC Irving Regional Centre is 7 p.m.

Alumdate: Ex-Dogs in the QMJHL

Iften Radjah/QMJHL

It's been quite a start for Dawson Stairs with his new team.

After scoring just three times in 13 games with the Saint John Sea Dogs during the "first half" of the season, Stairs has recorded goals in seven of the 10 games he has appeared in with the Cape Breton Eagles. The Fredericton native has eight goals and six assists with the Eagles.

“I’ve been happy with my start,” Stairs told the Cape Breton Post on Feb. 25.

“Coming here, I realized everyone works hard and that’s the main focus for the team and I feel like I’ve bought into it and everything is turning out well.”

The Eagles have struggled with injuries over the past few weeks and getting a break due to COVID-19 restrictions in Halifax and PEI may have been a blessing. Cape Breton is 11-15-1-0 and sit last in the Maritimes Division based on points percentage.

Cape Breton, along with the Mooseheads and Islanders, resumes play this week.

The Sea Dogs traded Stairs to the Eagles in the deal that saw Ryan Francis come back the other way. Francis, who had six goals and 15 assists in 15 games with Cape Breton before being traded, is set to make his Saint John debut this week.

Notebook: Rogers TV releases schedule

Rogers TV is set to broadcast nearly every New Brunswick based QMJHL game this month.

The station announced earlier this week that it will broadcast 10 games this month (with one of those being in French). Unfortunately for Sea Dogs fans, the two games Rogers TV will not be airing involve the team: Sunday, March 14 against Bathurst and Sunday, March 21 against Moncton.

A small number of tickets are available for purchase in all three New Brunswick markets. The Sea Dogs averaged 1,444 fans in their eight home games this fall.

ROAD WOES

The Sea Dogs will try and do something they haven't done in over a year on Tuesday night: win a road game.

Saint John is 0-4-2-1 away from home this season and have been outscored 34-22. Going back to last season, the Sea Dogs have now lost 10 straight road games with their last win coming on Feb. 16, 2020 in Halifax - a wild 9-7 win over the Mooseheads.

The Sea Dogs will play four road games this month: two in Bathurst and two in Moncton.

NS teams, Islanders returning to play

All six Maritimes Division teams will be in action much sooner than expected.

The Nova Scotia government announced Thursday an easing of the COVID-19 restrictions that were put in place in the Halifax area last week. Those restrictions will loosen on Friday and will allow the Halifax Mooseheads to resume game action.

The province originally said the restrictions could be in place until March 26, so this is certainly welcome news.

With the Mooseheads back, the Cape Breton Eagles have someone to play - and the Charlottetown Islanders, with PEI moving out of lockdown mode, will be joining them just like the good ol' days (a.k.a. a couple weeks ago).

From a QMJHL news release:

With the Nova Scotia Health Authorities easing COVID-19 restrictions earlier this morning, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced today a schedule for the upcoming two weeks that includes home games for its Nova Scotian teams.

The league has scheduled four games involving the three teams for next week. All four games will be played in Sydney or Halifax. 

With those three teams back and the three New Brunswick clubs returning next week (fingers crossed), the big question becomes when does the Atlantic Bubble reopen? It's certainly possible some sort of arrangement is worked out to allow the teams to travel in-and-out of the three provinces without needing to quarantine... but it's difficult to feel too optimistic about that scenario given what the three New Brunswick clubs went through over the past several weeks. 

CBC New Brunswick reports that Premier Blaine Higgs said that talks about reopening the Atlantic Bubble will likely happen in April.

Sea Dogs scheduled to return March 9

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs will play their first Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game in nearly four months next Tuesday (fingers crossed) when they visit the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

The Sea Dogs have not played since Nov. 18 due to COVID-19 restrictions limiting sporting events and travel throughout New Brunswick. Tuesday's contest will be the first of eight games the team is scheduled to play in March.

Saint John will also be in action on Saturday, March 13 in Moncton and at home on Sunday, March 14 against Bathurst.

Here's a look at Saint John's schedule, which features four home and four away games:

Tuesday, March 9 at 7 p.m. at Bathurst

Saturday, March 13 at 7 p.m. at Moncton

Sunday, March 14 at 3 p.m. vs Bathurst

Wednesday, March 17 at 7 p.m. vs Moncton

Friday, March 19 at 7 p.m. at Bathurst

Sunday, March 21 at 3 p.m. vs Moncton

Friday, March 26 at 7 p.m. at Moncton

Saturday, March 27 at 7 p.m. vs Bathurst

The Sea Dogs, Wildcats and Titan are the only three Maritimes Division teams currently permitted to play. The Charlottetown Islanders are unable to play games until at least March 14 while the Halifax Mooseheads are out of action until at least March 26.

Saint John's news release notes that the "schedule is subject to change depending on Nova Scotia and PEI’s evolving situation as some games can be postponed and/or added to the schedule should they obtain Public Health approval."

The Sea Dogs have played just 15 games this season. Even if all eight of these games are able to go ahead as planned, Saint John will still have six fewer games under their belts than the Mooseheads, who have played a division-leading 29.

Saint John is 1-1-1-0 against Bathurst this season and 2-2-0-0 against Moncton. They are 0-4-2-1 on the road.

Notebook: Quiet week ahead in the Maritimes

There will not be any QMJHL games played in the Maritimes this weekend.

The three New Brunswick teams won't resume action until next week (again, fingers crossed) while the Halifax Mooseheads are out of action until late March due to COVID restrictions in the HRM. On Sunday, the Charlottetown Islanders joined the Mooseheads on the shutdown list.

From the league:

The Government of Prince Edward Island announced (Saturday) new COVID-19 measures to control the current outbreak. These include restrictions on hockey games that won’t be permitted until March 14th. 

Therefore, the Charlottetown Islanders will not be able to compete for the upcoming two weeks. With Charlottetown and Halifax on pause, the Cape Breton Eagles will also have to take a break from competition for the same period of time.

The Islanders, Mooseheads and Eagles had been playing each other for several weeks with no disruptions. If there's any positive out of this break it's that the three New Brunswick teams should be able to gain a bit of ground in terms of games played.

It's still unclear when - or even if - all six Maritimes Division teams will be able to travel freely around the three provinces.

CAJKOVIC DEBUTS

Maxim Cajkovic recorded an assist in his Val-d'Or Foreurs debut on Saturday.

The former Sea Dogs forward, who spent the first half of the season in his home country of Slovakia, appeared in his first QMJHL game since March 7 of last year. The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect added five shots in the Foreurs' 4-3 overtime win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

The Sea Dogs traded Cajkovic to the Foreurs during last summer's QMJHL Entry Draft. Entering play Monday, Val-d'Or had a record of 19-2-2-2 and had won eight straight.