Game Day 38: at Moncton

MONCTON - Even though there are a few months of season remaining, the Saint John Sea Dogs will play their final regular season game ever at the Moncton Coliseum today.

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats square off in a New Year's Eve matinee at 2 p.m. The two teams met on Friday night at Harbour Station.

The Dogs and 'Cats meet a few more times this season, but those games will be held in Saint John. The Wildcats will leave the Coliseum at the end of this campaign and move to a new arena downtown.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 11-19-5-2 for 29 points (6th Maritimes, 17th QMJHL) while the Wildcats are 15-16-3-3 for 36 points (4th Maritimes, 12th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs and Wildcats met on Friday night at Harbour Station with Saint John winning 4-3 in a shootout. Robbie Burt, Matt Green and Kevin Gursoy scored in regulation while Anthony Boucher scored the lone goal of the shootout. Jeremy McKenna, Daniil Miromanov and Alexander Khovanov scored for Moncton. Alex D'Orio made 43 saves in the win. Mark Grametbauer was pulled after allowing three goals on eight shots. Matthew Waite stopped all 16 shots he faced in relief.

2017-18 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 3-2-1-0 against the Wildcats this season while Moncton is 3-1-1-1 against Saint John.

Last meeting: See above.

Safin, Salda back in action today

BUFFALO - The World Junior Hockey Championship continues today in Buffalo.

Ostap Safin, Radim Salda and the Czech Republic take on Belarus this afternoon at 1 p.m., which is a game they should win.

The Czechs, after opening the tournament with a 5-4 upset win over Russia, lost 3-1 to Sweden on Thursday, pushing their record to 1-1.

Through two games, Safin has a goal and an assist while Salda has been held pointless. Salda has been used in more of a defensive role than he has been in Saint John this season. He blocked quite a few shots in Thursday's game.

Other games today have Sweden taking on Switzerland, Finland facing Slovakia and Canada taking on Denmark.

RECAP: Sea Dogs win 4-3 (SO)

FINAL: Moncton 3, Saint John 4 (SO)

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs survived a scare to end the 2017 portion of their schedule on a winning note.

The Sea Dogs blew a 3-0 lead but ultimately went on to defeat the Moncton Wildcats 4-3 in a shootout on Friday night at Harbour Station.

Robbie Burt, Matt Green and Kevin Gursoy all scored for Saint John. Anthony Boucher scored the only goal of the shootout.

Once again, the Sea Dogs allowed nearly 50 shots on net but got excellent goaltending. Alex D'Orio made 43 stops in 65 minutes of action and stopped all three shootout attempts he faced.

Jeremy McKenna, Daniil Miromanov and Alexander Khovanov scored for the Wildcats. Mark Grametbauer got the start but was pulled early in the second period after allowing a third Sea Dogs goal on just eight shots. Matthew Waite stopped all 16 shots he faced.

Saint John is now 3-0-1-0 in their past four games.

Game Day 37: vs Wildcats

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs play their final home game of 2017 tonight at Harbour Station.

The Moncton Wildcats are in town this evening to play the Sea Dogs at 7 p.m. It's the first of back-to-back games between the two, with a rematch taking place on Sunday at the Moncton Coliseum.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 10-19-5-2 for 27 points (6th Maritimes, 17th QMJHL) while the Wildcats are 15-16-3-2 for 35 points (5th Maritimes, 13th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles last night at Harbour Station. Cedric Pare scored Saint John's lone goal while Matt Williams made 45 saves in the loss. The Wildcats are coming off a 4-3 overtime win in Bathurst last night. Adam Capannelli, Jakob Pelletier, Julien Tessier and Anderson MacDonald all scored for Moncton. Mark Grametbauer made 25 saves in the victory.

2017-18 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 2-2-1-0 against the Wildcats this season while Moncton is 3-1-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Dec. 15 at the Moncton Coliseum where the Sea Dogs defeated the Wildcats 4-3 in overtime. Robbie Burt had two goals for Saint John while singles came from William Poirier and Cedric Pare. Dylan Seitz, Mika Cyr and Julien Tessier scored for Moncton. Alex D'Orio made 25 saves in the win. Mark Grametbauer made 21 stops in the loss.

RECAP: Sea Dogs lose 2-1 (OT)

FINAL: Cape Breton 2, Saint John 1 (OT)

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs opened up the second half of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season with a 2-1 loss to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Thursday night.

Phelix Martineau scored 1:36 into overtime to give the Screaming Eagles the extra point. The goal ended Cape Breton's five-game losing streak.

Martineau scored the Screaming Eagles' other goal as well, a second period marker that tied the game at 1-1. Kevin Mandolese made 20 stops in the victory.

Cedric Pare scored Saint John's lone goal in the first period. Matt Williams had a busy night in his first star performance, making 45 stops in the loss.

The loss ended Saint John's two-game winning streak.

HIGHLIGHTS

Game Day 36: vs Screaming Eagles

SAINT JOHN - The holiday break is over and the Saint John Sea Dogs return to action this evening.

Tonight's home game against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles will be the first official match of the "post-Joe Veleno era." The Sea Dogs captain was officially traded to the Drummondville Voltigeurs last week.

Game time this evening is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are 10-19-4-2 for 26 points (6th Maritimes, 17th QMJHL) while the Screaming Eagles are 15-16-2-1 for 33 points (4th Maritimes, 12th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 overtime win over the Charlottetown Islanders on Dec. 16 at Harbour Station. Brendan O'Reilly, Cole Reginato, Nathan Larose and Daniel Hardie scored for Saint John. Alex D'Orio made a career high 55 saves in the win. The Screaming Eagles are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads on Dec. 16 in Halifax. Peyton Hoyt and Jordan Ty Fournier scored for Cape Breton. Kyle Jessiman made 25 saves in the loss.

2017-18 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 2-1-1-0 against the Screaming Eagles this season while Cape Breton is 2-2-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Nov. 22 at Centre 200 where the Sea Dogs defeated the Screaming Eagles 5-4. William Poirier scored twice for Saint John while singles came from Samuel Leblanc, Matt Green and Thomas Ashe. Brooklyn Kalmikov scored twice for Cape Breton while solo markers came from Jordan Ty Fournier and Leon Gawanke. Matt Williams made 27 stops in the win. Kyle Jessiman was pulled after allowing five goals on 15 shots. Kevin Mandolese made seven saves in relief.