UNB takes AUS title again

MONCTON — The UNB Reds are Atlantic University Sports champions once again.

The Reds won their sixth straight AUS men's hockey title with a 3-0 victory over the Universite de Moncton Aigles Bleus on Tuesday night, taking the best-of-three championship series 2-0.

Both the Reds and Aigles Bleus had already qualified for the University Cup in Toronto. UNB, who has not lost a game all season, will likely be the No. 1 seed.

The Reds feature former Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Kale McCallum and forward Nick Blagden. They are also coached by Gardiner MacDougall, who led the Sea Dogs to the 2022 Memorial Cup championship.

Low key celebration for the Reds as usual. Nationals or bust. pic.twitter.com/VUsZiaoT3z

— Jamie Tozer (@station_nation) March 6, 2024

UdeM finished second in the AUS regular season standings and signs continue to point towards this program having a resurgence. A once dominant hockey program, the Aigles Bleus have fallen on tough times over the past decacde.

UdeM features former Sea Dogs forward Jeremie Jacob.

The University Cup takes place March 14-17 in Toronto. Host TMU will be joined by UNB, UdeM, UBC, Calgary, McGill, UQTR and Brock.

UNB will be looking to win a second straight national title.

The UNB Reds women's team, meanwhile, also won an AUS title on Tuesday, defeating StFX in double overtime to sweep the series.

Notebook: Reds a win away

James West/UNB Reds

MONCTON - The UNB Reds are one win away.

The Reds took a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-three Atlantic University Sport men's hockey championship series against the Universite de Moncton Aigles Bleus with a 3-1 win on Saturday in Fredericton. The series now shifts to Moncton for Game 2 on Tuesday.

The Reds, who went 30-0 in the regular season and swept the Saint Mary's Huskies in their lone playoff series, feature former Saint John Sea Dogs Kale McCallum and Nick Blagden. The Reds are, of course, coached by Gardiner MacDougall, who led the Sea Dogs to the 2022 Memorial Cup championship. 

UdeM finished second in the AUS standings but were 25 points back of UNB with a 16-11-3-0 record. They swept StFX in their lone playoff series. The Aigles Bleus feature former Sea Dogs forward Jeremie Jacob.

A Game 3, if needed, would be Thursday back at the Aitken Centre. Both teams have already qualified for the University Cup tournament in Toronto.

RISING TIDE

The latest episode of the Sea Dogs' season long docu-series, Rising Tide, has been released. This episode focuses on goaltending.

COMING UP

Despite losing five straight, the Sea Dogs are still very much alive in the playoff race. Saint John still holds the 16th and final playoff spot with 42 points — but the Quebec Remparts also have 42 points. Both teams have nine games remaining.

Here's Saint John's schedule for the week:

Wednesday, March 6 at Moncton

Friday, March 8 at Cape Breton

Saturday, March 9 at Cape Breton

And here's Quebec's. The back-to-back against Gatineau (23-30-4-4) is a big opportunity for the Remparts to pick up some points.

Wednesday, March 6 vs Victoriaville

Friday, March 8 vs Gatineau

Saturday, March 9 vs Gatineau

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 7-1

FINAL: Saint John 1, Halifax 7

HALIFAX - The Saint John Sea Dogs lost a fifth straight game on Saturday night, falling 7-1 to the Halifax Mooseheads at Scotiabank Centre.

The Sea Dogs managed to stay in the game through 20 minutes, trailing just 2-1 despite being outshot 21-7. Halifax added another goal in the second period but exploded for four goals in the third to cruise to a win.

Jan Sprynar scored a pair of goals while Markus Vidicek, Luke McPhee, Jack Martin, Mathieu Cataford and Logan Crosby added singles for Halifax. Mathis Rousseau made 29 saves in the win.

Tyler Peddle scored Saint John's lone goal, which came on a breakaway in the first period just after he stepped out of the penalty box. Justin Robinson, who had a few bounces not go his way, made 34 saves in the loss.

Along with dropping five straight overall, Saint John's road woes continue. The team has now lost nine consecutive games away from TD Station.

Game Day 59: at Halifax

HALIFAX - Coming off a respectable 5-2 loss to the league-leading Baie-Comeau Drakkar last night, the Saint John Sea Dogs will look to get back into the win column tonight at Scotiabank Centre.

The Sea Dogs will face a Halifax Mooseheads team that, despite being 7-3 in their last 10 games, isn't quite clicking right now. The team is coming off a disappointing 2-0 home loss to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Thursday.

This will be Saint John's final visit to Halifax this season. Game time is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Stream: None/None/CHL TV

2023-24 regular season records: The Sea Dogs are 17-33-5-3 for 42 points (sixth Maritimes/ninth Eastern/16th QMJHL) while the Mooseheads are 38-15-7-1 for 84 points (first Maritimes/second Eastern/third QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-2 home loss to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar last night. Coen Miller and Tyler Peddle scored for Saint John. Patrick Leaver made 34 saves in the loss. The Mooseheads are coming off a 2-0 home loss to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Thursday. Mathis Rousseau made 32 saves in the loss.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 5-2

FINAL: Saint John 2, Baie-Comeau 5

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - All things considered, the Saint John Sea Dogs put in a strong and respectable performance against the CHL's No. 1 ranked team on Friday at TD Station.

The Sea Dogs, playing without their leading scorer in Eriks Mateiko, fell 5-2 to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. While the Drakkar came out on top, it was a tighter game than most would have expected, and the Sea Dogs should be fairly pleased with their performance. 

QMJHL leading goal scorer Justin Poirier netted a pair of goals for Baie-Comeau while Julien Paille, Justin Gill and Isaac Dufort added singles. Dufort secured the win with an empty net goal at 18:38 of the third.

Lucas Beckman made 18 saves in the win.

Coen Miller and Tyler Peddle scored for Saint John. Patrick Leaver made 34 stops in the loss.

Game Day 58: vs Drakkar

SAINT JOHN - On paper, it doesn't get any harder than this for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs will face the CHL's No. 1 ranked team tonight at TD Station when they host the Baie-Comeau Drakkar at 7 p.m. The Drakkar have sat atop the QMJHL standings all season long and will likely surpass the 50-win mark.

If there is any good news for the Sea Dogs it's that the Drakkar played last night, defeating the Moncton Wildcats 5-1. The Sea Dogs have not played since Sunday in Sherbrooke.

TV/Radio/Stream: None/Sea Dogs Radio/CHL TV

2023-24 regular season records: The Sea Dogs are 17-32-5-3 for 42 points (sixth Maritimes/ninth Eastern/16th QMJHL) while the Drakkar are 47-8-2-1 for 97 points (first East/first Eastern/first QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 3-0 loss in Sherbrooke on Sunday. Justin Robinson made 43 saves in the win. The Drakkar are coming off a 5-1 win in Moncton last night. Matyas Melovsky scored twice while singles came from Julien Paille, Felix Gagnon and Justin Poirier. Charles-Edward Gravel made 26 saves in the win.