Notebook: Big crowd expected Saturday

Vincent Ethier/CHL

A big crowd is expected for the Saint John Sea Dogs' home opener on Saturday night.

The TD Station website has ticket availability listed as "limited" for Saturday's home game against the Moncton Wildcats. 

The contest will be Saint John's first game at TD Station since lifting the Memorial Cup in June. The championship banner will be raised to the rafters before the game. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. but that will likely be delayed due to the ceremony.

The Sea Dogs were scheduled to hold their home opener last Saturday but the game was postponed by Hurricane Fiona. The team always planned on raising the banner before this Saturday's contest.

OVG TAKING OVER?

There's a lot to take in from this Telegraph-Journal article (paywall) on the Sea Dogs and their lease arrangement with TD Station. It's worth a read.

The most newsworthy tidbit is that Oak View Group is in discussions to take over managing TD Station. The Harbour Station Commission is reportedly waiting on a final proposal from the company.

OVG, co-founded by former MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke, has become a major player in the arena industry in recent years. OVG and Spectra merged in 2021, meaning this company currently manages CHL arenas in Spokane, Windsor, Oshawa, Moose Jaw, Hamilton, Everett and London.

OVG recently built the new homes for the New York Islanders and Seattle Kraken. The company is currently overseeing a renovation of Hamilton's arena.

The finances of such a deal - assuming one gets done - will be up for debate, but an OVG takeover would likely be positive from an entertainment standpoint. 

Sea Dogs impressing in NHL pre-season

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Willam Dufour made a strong impression in his pre-season debut with the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

Dufour setup Nikita Soshnikov in the first period to open the scoring. The Islanders went on to lose the game 4-1 to the New Jersey Devils.

Soshnikov on the breakaway 🤩 pic.twitter.com/2TtPgNzb0D

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) September 27, 2022

Dufour played 14:31 and recorded one shot on goal to go along with his assist. He also saw 4:15 of ice time on the power play.

“He played well,” Islanders head coach Lane Lambert told the New York Post. “He made a great pass on the first goal. I thought he moved pretty well, used his body and he made some plays.”

The Memorial Cup MVP played on a line with Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin.

“He’s a big body that moves really well,” Cizikas told the Post before the game. “He has a good shot. He proved that in junior and he’s gonna do that here tonight. Marty and I, we’re gonna help him out there. We’re gonna tell him play your game, do the things you’re capable of.”

New York Hockey Now has a further breakdown of Dufour's performance.

The 20-year-old remains at NHL camp even after 15 players were assigned to AHL Bridgeport. Among those sent to Bridgeport was former Sea Dogs captain and Dufour's Saint John teammate Vincent Sevigny.

Friday's Sea Dogs game postponed

Eastlink Centre Facebook

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has officially postponed Friday's Saint John Sea Dogs game in Charlottetown.

The Sea Dogs were scheduled to visit the Islanders for the club's home opener on Friday evening at Eastlink Centre. But with Prince Edward Island continuing to recover from Hurricane Fiona, the game has been postponed to Wednesday, Nov. 2.

Many parts of PEI are still without power. Power has been restored at Eastlink Centre, but the arena lost its ice during the outage. The building is currently reinstalling its ice from scratch.

Buckle up…day 1 #TheBigChill2 Thanks to all who assisted removing the ice & helping remove extra water from the floor…ice back on today @mitchcormierCBC @JWayneCBC @JpsportsJason @PEIGuardian @TheHOT1055 @Ocean100 @cfcy @SportPEI @HockeyPEI @SpeedSkatePEI @SkateCanadaPEI pic.twitter.com/sJeBTH9pHU

— Eastlink Centre Charlottetown (@EastlinkCtrPEI) September 27, 2022

The Islanders, who have yet to play a regular season game, are scheduled to visit Bathurst on Saturday. The team's first home game will be Oct. 8.

Friday's Cape Breton Eagles home game against the Halifax Mooseheads has also been postponed as the Sydney area continues to recover from Fiona. The Eagles are scheduled to play in Halifax on Saturday and, at this time, will play their first home game on Oct. 5.

Last Friday's postponed Sea Dogs game at TD Station will now take place Sunday, Feb. 12.

Saint John returns to action on Saturday, hosting the Moncton Wildcats at 7 p.m.

The full list of rescheduled games can be found on the QMJHL website.

Fiona wrecks Eastlink Centre ice

Eastlink Centre Facebook

The ice at Charlottetown's Eastlink Centre was a victim of Hurricane Fiona this weekend.

The home of the QMJHL's Islanders lost its ice during the power outage that stretched across Prince Edward Island. Photos shared on the arena's Facebook page also showed some flooding on the main concourse.

Missed it by that much…Power just on Thank you to all working so hard to restore. Ice is no different than most anything. When not healthy it shows through colour. Once it lifts it lifts. While disappointed thoughts are with all who lost personal/business property 💔#BigChill2 pic.twitter.com/ym5dz9beWR

— Eastlink Centre Charlottetown (@EastlinkCtrPEI) September 26, 2022

"Similar to most every Island household, business and institution, Fiona has left her mark," reads a post on the arena's Facebook page. "Sadly we have lost our ice. We most certainly appreciate the efforts of all involved restoring power, we just came up a bit short. Thankfully power has just been restored and we start the process of ice making later tonight when the old ice will be removed, slab floor cleaned of excess water by early morning and the ice plant starts to chill.

"Fortunately the ELC ice making team has tons of years of experience and we will rise again."

Recap: Sea Dogs win 4-3

FINAL: Saint John 4, Bathurst 3

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

BATHURST - Special teams guided the Saint John Sea Dogs to a season opening victory on Sunday.

The Sea Dogs scored twice on the power play and then produced a timely penalty kill in the final two minutes to earn a 4-3 win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at the KC Irving Regional Centre. It was the first game of the 2022-23 regular season for both clubs.

Saint John's veteran players led the way. Brady Burns scored twice and added an assist while Marshall Lessard and Peter Reynolds also scored. Reynolds and captain Charlie DesRoches each added two assists.

Ventsislav Shingarov, who got the start with Nikolas Hurtubise nursing an injury, made 21 saves in the win. It was the netminder's first regular season victory since Feb. 23, 2020 when he was a member of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

The Sea Dogs had a rough start, falling behind 2-0 less than four minutes into the game. But the team really settled in as the period moved along and seemed to get better as the game pushed forward.

Saint John tied the game early in the second only to allow another Titan goal just over four minutes later. But this inexperienced Sea Dogs group never panicked and looked impressive at times, led by their returning veterans.

Reynolds tied the game again at 6:54 and then at 10:09, just as a two-man advantage was ending, Burns scored what proved to be the winner after the Sea Dogs were buzzing in the offensive zone.

The Sea Dogs killed off a Nate Tivey slashing penalty late in the game - the only power play Saint John allowed - to secure the win.

Markas Samenas, Ben Allison and Cameron MacLean scored for Bathurst. Sergei Litvinov made 30 saves in the loss.

Notebook: Banner's up in Shawinigan

Shawinigan Cataractes Twitter

BATHURST - There's a new jumbo banner hanging in Shawinigan.

The Cataractes unveiled their 2022 President Cup championship banner before their season opener on Thursday. This is Shawinigan's first QMJHL title, and the large banner is hanging beside the equally large 2012 Memorial Cup championship banner.

The Cataractes defeated the Gatineau Olympiques 4-3 in overtime on Thursday.

The Edmonton Oil Kings, meanwhile, raised their 2022 WHL championship banner this weekend.

We love the view. #TheKingdom | #CaughtTheCrown pic.twitter.com/Jh8dY4qsHg

— Edmonton Oil Kings (@EdmOilKings) September 24, 2022

The Saint John Sea Dogs will hold a banner raising ceremony to celebrate their Memorial Cup victory prior to Saturday's home game against the Moncton Wildcats.