Pre-Season Game Day 6 (for real this time): at Moncton

DIEPPE, NB - The Saint John Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats will try, once again, to return to pre-season action today.

The two teams were scheduled to play in Fredericton on Friday night but the game was cancelled due to a bomb threat on the UNB campus. Hopefully that doesn't happen this afternoon in Dieppe where the Sea Dogs will play their first ever game at the new UNIplex.

It's been a long break for both teams. The Sea Dogs have not played since Aug. 28 while the Wildcats haven't seen action since Aug. 27.

A number of regulars will be out of the lineup due to NHL rookie camps kicking off this weekend.

Puck drop this afternoon is 4 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/None/Wildcats YouTube?

Pre-season records: The Sea Dogs are 4-1-0-0 this pre-season while the Wildcats are 2-3-0-0.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 6-5 loss in Bathurst on Aug. 28. William Dufour had a pair of goals while singles came from Charles Savoie, Peter Reynolds and Brady Burns. Jonathan Lemieux allowed six goals on 20 shots in the first half of the game while Noah Patenaude stopped all 13 shots he faced in the second half. The Wildcats are coming off a 7-4 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads in Dartmouth on Aug. 27. Charles-Antoine Pilote scored two Moncton goals while singles came from Alexis Daniel and Thomas Auger. Giovacchino DiMattia allowed four goals on 18 shots while Nicholas Sheehan allowed three goals on 22 shots.

2021 pre-season head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 2-0-0-0 against the Wildcats this pre-season while Moncton is 0-2-0-0 against Saint John.

Sea Dogs pre-season game cancelled

FREDERICTON - Tonight's pre-season game between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats in Fredericton has been cancelled - not postponed. The game will not be rescheduled.

The UNB Reds, who are hosting Saint John's pre-season games this year, tweeted that ticket information will be communicated on Monday.

The cancellation comes after UNB campuses in Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton had been evacuated for unknown reasons.

We will continue to follow the direction of local police authorities. The situation is continuously being reassessed. Further details will be provided as soon as they become available.

— UNB (@UNB) September 10, 2021

UNB later tweeted that "at this time, there is no immediate threat. We have no updates to report, but will communicate the most up-to-date information through the UNBsafe app. The safety of our UNB community is our number one priority and access to the UNB campuses is restricted until further notice."

The Sea Dogs have played two games at the Aitken Centre already this pre-season, winning both. They host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the building next Saturday.

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats play each other on Sunday afternoon in Dieppe.

Pre-Season Game Day 6: vs Wildcats

FREDERICTON - Saint John Sea Dogs hockey is still a thing!

After a nearly two week break, the Sea Dogs are back in pre-season action this evening, hosting the Moncton Wildcats at Fredericton's Aitken Centre. Game time is 7 p.m.

Saint John is 4-1 in exhibition action with their only loss coming on Aug. 28 in Bathurst, a game that saw them lose 6-5 after trailing 6-1.

A few regulars will presumably be out of the lineup due to NHL rookie camps getting underway.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/None/None

Pre-season records: The Sea Dogs are 4-1-0-0 this pre-season while the Wildcats are 2-3-0-0.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 6-5 loss in Bathurst on Aug. 28. William Dufour had a pair of goals while singles came from Charles Savoie, Peter Reynolds and Brady Burns. Jonathan Lemieux allowed six goals on 20 shots in the first half of the game while Noah Patenaude stopped all 13 shots he faced in the second half. The Wildcats are coming off a 7-4 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads in Dartmouth on Aug. 27. Charles-Antoine Pilote scored two Moncton goals while singles came from Alexis Daniel and Thomas Auger. Giovacchino DiMattia allowed four goals on 18 shots while Nicholas Sheehan allowed three goals on 22 shots.

2021 pre-season head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 2-0-0-0 against the Wildcats this pre-season while Moncton is 0-2-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Aug. 20 in Moncton where the Sea Dogs defeated the Wildcats 7-2. Vince Elie scored three goals while Saint John had solo markers from Cam MacDonald, Brandon Casey, Jack O'Blenis and Peter Reynolds. Luke McPhee and Alex Mercier scored for Moncton. Ventsislav Shingarov allowed two goals on 15 shots while Olivier Brideau stopped all 21 shots he faced in the Saint John net. For Moncton, Dawson Rowe allowed six goals on 12 shots while Thomas Couture allowed a goal on 15 shots.

CHL TV prices seem pretty good

While the Canadian Hockey League has yet to make any official announcement, it appears streaming junior hockey online just became much more affordable.

All three CHL leagues will be part of CHL TV this season. This week, pricing was posted on the streaming service, with league season passes costing $109.99 while a full CHL all-access pass will cost $159.99. Those prices do not include taxes and other fees.

Each pass is good for live and archived games.

Many season ticket members across the league have been sent discount codes for the streaming service.

Last season, a monthly pass to watch QMJHL games through Neulion's QMJHL Live was $39.99 while individual games were $7.99.

The WHL used the CHL TV service last season. There were some bumps along the way, but overall it was a pretty good. The expectation is that many of the hiccups and complaints from last season were resolved over the summer.

The QMJHL has been using Neulion since the 2014-15 season. The league was expected to make the switch to Verizon - the host of CHL TV - last season, but it all fell apart late in the process. The new webcasts were expected to have a higher minimum standard in each rink, giving fans a much better broadcast experience.

Along with a new streaming platform, CHL games will also be broadcast nationally on TSN, CBC and RDS this season instead of Sportsnet and TVA Sports. Rogers TV is not expected to be broadcasting games locally in New Brunswick this season, but that has not been officially announced.

Roode returns to Yarmouth

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Benjamin Roode is back with the Yarmouth Mariners.

The Mariners tweeted that Roode, who played 23 games with the Maritime Hockey League club last season, has rejoined the team after taking part in Saint John Sea Dogs training camp.

We are proud to welcome back @Benroode18 after a strong showing at @SJSeaDogs camp. Welcome back Ben! pic.twitter.com/PygXMg2eBA

— Yarmouth Mariners (@MarinersHockey) September 2, 2021

Roode appeared in two games with Saint John last season. The 19-year-old would have been used sparingly if he cracked the Sea Dogs lineup this year, likely sitting as the seventh defensemen on most nights. He'll see significantly more ice time with the Mariners.

The Dartmouth native recorded two goals and 13 assists in his 23 MHL games last season.

With Roode departed, that seemingly leaves 17-year-old Hunter Gartley and 19-year-old Brandon Casey as the remaining two d-men fighting for a roster spot.

The team's top six will presumably be made up of William Villeneuve, Jeremie Poirier, Charlie DesRoches, Christopher Inniss, Nathan Drapeau and Vincent Despont.

The Sea Dogs return to pre-season action on Friday, hosting the Moncton Wildcats at the Aitken Centre.

Notebook: Less than one month away

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League regular season is less than a month away.

The regular season begins on Thursday, Sept. 30 with the President Cup champion Victoriaville Tigres hosting the Shawinigan Cataractes. The following night, Friday, Oct. 1, is when the season really gets going with all 18 teams in action - including the Sea Dogs hosting the Charlottetown Islanders at TD Station.

The Sea Dogs and Islanders meet again the following night at Eastlink Centre.

Before the regular season gets going, the Sea Dogs still have four pre-season games remaining. They'll take on the Moncton Wildcats in Fredericton on Friday, Sept. 10; travel to Dieppe to face the Wildcats on Sunday, Sept. 12; host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at the Aitken Centre on Saturday, Sept. 18; and close out exhibition play on Friday, Sept. 24 in Halifax.

STATS AND STUFF

Here's a quick look at some pre-season stats as the QMJHL enters the Labour Day break.

• Saint John has scored a league high 33 goals in five pre-season games. A lot of that may have to do with the defensive units their opponents dressed - but it's still a positive sign.
• Carter McCluskey and Nico Laforge each have a team high eight points.
• Vince Elie, who has been cut from the team's camp roster, still leads the team in goals with five. McCluskey, Josh Lawrence and Peter Reynolds each have four.
• Laforge leads the team in assists with five.
• Noah Patenaude has allowed just one goal on 41 shots. Olivier Brideau (four goals against on 52 shots) and Ventsislav Shingarov (five goals against on 63 shots) also had strong performances before departing.

MACARTHUR VS SJ

Bennett MacArthur's three-point performance against Saint John last Saturday in Bathurst was a reminder of just how good he's been against the Sea Dogs over the past year.

2020-21 regular season: 12GP, 11G, 3A

2021 playoffs: 3GP, 3G, 1A

2021 pre-season: 1GP, 2G, 1A