Recap: Sea Dogs lose 5-3

FINAL: Halifax 5, Saint John 3

FREDERICTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs dropped their fourth straight game of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's pre-season on Friday in Fredericton, falling 5-3 to the Halifax Mooseheads.

The Sea Dogs, featuring a mix of veterans and rookies, put in a strong effort against a Mooseheads squad that has already finalized its roster for the upcoming season. Saint John lost another close game to Halifax a couple weeks ago in Dartmouth.

Halifax's top players came to play in this one with Attilio Biasca scoring a pair of goals and singles coming from Brody Fournier, James Swan and Markus Vidicek. Mathis Rousseau made 31 saves in the win.

Veteran forwards Marshall Lessard and Connor Trenholm, both playing in their first pre-season games of the year, and rookie import Eriks Mateiko scored for Saint John. Ventsislav Shingarov made 31 saves in the loss.

Fournier opened the scoring at 12:01 of the first by beating Shingarov five-hole down low. Then at 18:31 and Saint John on the power play, Biasca scored shorthanded to give the Mooseheads a 2-0 advantage after one.

After failing to score on their first power play opportunity in the second period, Lessard connected on the second, making it a 2-1 game at 11:34.

Halifax went on a man advantage at 13:30 where Biasca netted his second of the game to restore Halifax's two-goal lead.

Swan made it 4-1 at 2:49 of the third, coming down the wing and beating Shingarov blocker side. Trenholm quickly got Saint John back within two, redirecting a Vincent Despont point shot at 3:16.

Vidicek deflected a Mathieu Cataford shot at the side of the goal at 9:31 to make it 5-2. Saint John wouldn't go away though as Mateiko scored at 13:10, cutting Halifax's lead to 5-3.

The Sea Dogs pulled their goaltender late in the third but could not net another.

Pre-Season Game Day 6: vs Mooseheads

FREDERICTON - Pre-season hockey makes its return tonight.

For the first time since Aug. 26, the Saint John Sea Dogs will take to the ice. The team will likely have some new - yet familiar - faces in the lineup with veteran players reporting this past week.

Veterans that were expected to join the club this week include Brady Burns, Marshall Lessard, Cam MacDonald, Peter Reynolds, Connor Trenholm, Charlie DesRoches and Nikolas Hurtubise.

There are quite a few players remaining at Sea Dogs training camp, meaning there are still some battles for roster spots. Saint John has three exhibition games remaining before the start of the regular season, including tonight's against the Halifax Mooseheads.

Game time at the Aitken Centre this evening is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/None/None

Pre-Season Records: The Sea Dogs are 2-3-0-0 this pre-season while the Mooseheads are 2-1-0-0.

2021-22 records: The Sea Dogs finished with a record of 47-17-1-3 for 98 points (second Maritimes/third Eastern/third QMJHL) while the Mooseheads went 38-28-1-1 for 78 points (fourth Maritimes/fifth Eastern/eighth QMJHL). Saint John was eliminated in the opening round of the QMJHL playoffs and went on to win the Memorial Cup as the host team. The Mooseheads were eliminated in the first round.

Last games: The Sea Dogs and Mooseheads met on Aug. 26 in Dartmouth where the homeside earned a 3-2 win. Mathieu Cataford, Reece Peitzsche and Logan Crosby had Halifax goals. Tomasz Szczerba and Salvatore Bucaro scored for Saint John. Jack Milner and Mathias Rousseau teamed up to allow two goals on 30 shots in the win. Olivier Brideau allowed three goals on 29 shots in the loss.

Notebook: The Queen has died

A handful of rinks across the Canadian Hockey League still have portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, the most notable being in Sudbury.

The Wolves tweeted the below photo following her death on Thursday.

The Wolves mourn the passing of #QueenElizabethII. She held a special place in the hearts of our community over her 70-year-reign, a legacy framed at the Sudbury Arena. Seen & honoured by many at every game throughout our 50 years as Wolves & prior hockey history.🕊👑 pic.twitter.com/VxJkgbKLY5

— Sudbury Wolves (@Sudbury_Wolves) September 8, 2022

The Sea Dogs don't have any direct connections to the Queen or royal family that I can think of, but the club's Memorial Cup commemorative jersey was based off the HMCS Brunswicker badge.

NEW LOOK

The Sea Dogs' website got a fresh look as the 2022-23 season nears.

Featured are veteran Sea Dogs Charlie DesRoches, Brady Burns, Peter Reynolds and Cam MacDonald.

This year's CHL TV prices announced

Fans will be paying more for CHL TV subscriptions this season.

The Canadian Hockey League unveiled its streaming service packages on Tuesday. The full, regular season CHL package will cost $179.99 plus taxes and fees, a $20 increase from a year ago. League passes will cost $119.99, a $10 increase.

A CHL All-Access Pass, which will include all regular season and playoff games, will be available for $279.99.

From the CHL:

New for this season, fans can now purchase a CHL All-Access Pass which includes all 2022-23 Regular Season plus the 2023 Playoffs for $279.99 plus applicable taxes and fees. Additionally, fans can choose a CHL Regular Season All-Access Pass, covering all three Member Leagues, available for $179.99 plus applicable taxes and fees.

Lastly, fans can opt for an individual Member League Regular Season Pass. For $119.99 plus applicable taxes and fees, fans can choose to follow one of the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, or Western Hockey League. Monthly Member League Passes are also available for $29.99 plus applicable taxes and fees as well as Daily Member League Passes for $7.99 plus applicable taxes and fees.

Many season ticket members across the country will receive discount codes again this season.

CHL TV will be available on the CHL mobile app, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and online at watch.chl.ca.

CHL TV launched last season, marking the first time all three leagues were housed under one streaming platform. There were some hiccups throughout the year (especially for Saint John home games) but it improved as the year went along and, all things considered, had a solid showing. Hopefully further improvements can be made this year and beyond.

An updated look at Sea Dogs' camp roster

James West

With the second half of Saint John Sea Dogs training camp getting underway, here's a quick look at the team's updated roster.

As of the last camp update, the Sea Dogs had 19 forwards and nine defensemen remaining. There are also three goaltenders still around, but the team has already announced that it will begin the season with the trio.

Another name has been added to Saint John's online pre-season roster: 18-year-old defenseman Ryan Pryce, who recorded four assists in 43 games with the OHL's Sarnia Sting last season. He's been added to the below list of players.

Four overage players remain in goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise; defenseman Charlie DesRoches; and forwards Brady Burns and Marshall Lessard. Given the shape of Saint John's backend, Hurtubise and DesRoches are likely locks, leaving Burns and Lessard to battle for the final spot.

Forwards (19)

Player (Age)	Acquired
Danny Akkouche (18)	Trade
Alpha Barry (18)	Trade
Jacob Beaulieu (16)	2022 draft (7th round)
Cole Burbidge (17)	2021 draft (2nd draft)
Brady Burns (20)	Returnee
Reid Calder (16)	2022 draft (7th round)
Alexis Cournoyer (19)	Invitee
Vince Elie (17)	2021 draft (2nd round)
Nico Laforge (18)	Returnee
Marshall Lessard (20)	Returnee
Cam MacDonald (19)	Returnee
Eriks Mateiko (17)	2022 Import Draft (2nd round)
Jack O’Blenis (17)	2021 draft (7th round)
Noah Reinhart (18)	Invitee
Peter Reynolds (19)	Returnee
Tomasz Szczerba (18)	Invitee
Pavel Simek (17)	2022 Import Draft (1st round)
Sam-Luca Thifault (17)	Trade
Connor Trenholm (19)	Returnee

Notebook: Memorial Cup content wanted

The Saint John Sea Dogs want your Memorial Cup content.

The Sea Dogs are asking fans to send in any Memorial Cup photos and video they have - whether it be from inside the arena, at home, the Container Village or anywhere else.

From the team:

The 2022 Memorial Cup theme was One For All, and we want to showcase our community, our fans, and our fan-created content.

We may use your photos and footage to share with our players, and use in upcoming marketing campaigns. You may see yourself and your content online, on the big screen at TD Station, or even on TV one day.

If you would like to participate and share how you experienced and captured history, it’s simple. Just follow the below. Please send the highest-resolution versions of your photos or videos.

Please send any photos and videos from the 2022 Memorial Cup, Parade, or surrounding events to MemorialCupVideo@sjseadogs.com

Thank you for participating and sharing how you captured history. We look forward to seeing it through your eyes!

A number of fans have been asking if a commemorative book will be made, which was done following the team's 2011 Memorial Cup championship. In a response to a Facebook comment, the Sea Dogs said "that’s being discussed for sure! We’ve had a lot of fan interest in a book."

UP NEXT

The Sea Dogs return to pre-season action on Friday in Fredericton, hosting the Halifax Mooseheads a 7 p.m.

Saint John's final two pre-season contests will be against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan: Sunday, Sept. 11 at 3 p.m. at the Aitken Centre and Sunday, Sept. 18 at 4 p.m. in Lameque, NB.

The CHL announced Friday that 25 pre-season games from across the country will be broadcast for free on CHL TV over the next couple weeks. One of those games is the Sept. 18 contest between the Sea Dogs and Titan in Lameque.

The Sept. 11 match will be the first of four straight meetings between the Sea Dogs and Gordie Dwyer's Titan. Saint John will also play their first two regular season games against Bathurst.