Recap: Sea Dogs lose 5-4

FINAL: Moncton 5, Saint John 4

WOODSTOCK, NB - A third period comeback came up short for the Saint John Sea Dogs on Friday.

Trailing 5-1 early in the third, Saint John scored three times in a span of just under seven minutes but couldn't net an equalizer, falling 5-4 to the Moncton Wildcats in Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League pre-season play at Woodstock's AYR Motor Centre.

The Sea Dogs remain winless this pre-season, falling to 0-3-2-0 with a tie. They'll play their final exhibition game on Saturday against the Charlottetown Islanders.

Zachary Morin scored a pair of goals for Saint John while Alexander Donovan and Vincent Croteau added singles. Justin Robinson had a busy night in net and made 36 saves in the loss.

Niko Tournas, Kuzma Voronin, Rian Chudzinski, Preston Lounsbury and Teddy Mutryn all scored for Moncton. Jacoby Weiner made 23 saves in the win.

The Wildcats led 3-1 after one and it wasn't until the second period when the Sea Dogs were able to get some sustained offensive zone pressure. But penalty troubles hurt Saint John's momentum and the Dogs were ultimately outshot 19-8 in the middle frame.

Moncton got off to a hot start in the third with Lounsbury and Mutryn scoring in the first two minutes. The Sea Dogs were able to catch the 'Cats snoozing a bit late in the third, scoring three times to make a game of it. A too many men call against Saint John with 58 seconds remaining pretty much secured a Moncton win.

Murnieks, Chartrand poised to debut

WOODSTOCK, NB - It looks like a few players could be making their pre-season debuts for the Saint John Sea Dogs tonight.

Highly touted defenseman Cameron Chartrand, who signed with the Sea Dogs a few months ago, and Latvian forward Olivers Murnieks, who was selected sixth overall in this year's CHL Import Draft, are both listed on Saint John's submitted lineup sheet.

It also appears that returning forward William Yared is also poised to make his 2025 pre-season debut.

Here's a look at Saint John's projected lineup for this evening's contest against the Moncton Wildcats.

Éthier - Murnieks - Morin

Rozzi - Groulx - Beveridge

Fullerton - Joseph - Donovan

Dubé - Yared - Krayer

Beaulieu

Croteau - Chartrand

Zubek - Drabczynski

Lacroix - Dunlap

Courchesne

Robinson

Forward Alexis Gauthier is listed as a healthy scratch while defensemen Olivier Duhamel and Everett Baldwin are listed as injured or sick. Duhamel appeared to suffer an arm/shoulder injury in the third period of Saint John's game against the Newfoundland Regiment last week.

With Baldwin and Duhamel out, the Sea Dogs have recalled affiliate players Jesse Dunlap and Julien Lacroix. Both were 2025 draft picks of Saint John.

Game time tonight is 7 p.m. at Woodstock's AYR Motor Centre. The game is listed as sold out.

Pre-Season Game Day 6: vs Wildcats

WOODSTOCK, NB - With two pre-season games remaining, the Saint John Sea Dogs are still looking for their first win.

The Sea Dogs are 0-2-2-0 with a tie heading into the final weekend of Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League exhibition play. Those five previous games featured plenty of players who won't be on this year's squad – but this weekend will be a different story with the team's roster pretty much set.

Saint John will host the Moncton Wildcats tonight at Woodstock's AYR Motor Centre before traveling to Charlottetown to face the Islanders tomorrow. Both games have 7 p.m. starts.

Tonight's contest will be just Saint John's second "home" game of the pre-season. The other was on Aug. 20 in St. Stephen where the Wildcats defeated the Sea Dogs 4-1.

This will be the Sea Dogs' first ever exhibition game in Woodstock, which is now home to the NCDC's Slammers. Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Travis Crickard played in 20 games with the Maritime Junior Hockey League's Slammers back in 2006-07.

Radio/TV/Stream: None/None/Maybe?

Pre-Season Records: The Sea Dogs 0-2-2-0 and have a tie this pre-season while the Wildcats are 2-0-0-0 with a tie.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 7-4 loss to the Newfoundland Regiment on Aug. 28. Everett Baldwin scored twice while Natan Éthier and Oskar Drabczynski added singles. Rafael Courchesne and Justin Robinson split the loss in net. The Wildcats haven't played since Aug. 22 when they defeated the Sea Dogs 4-3 in overtime. Teddy Mutryn scored twice for Moncton while Natan Grenier and Elliott Mullen also had goals. Jacoby Weiner made 20 saves in the win.

2024-25 records: The Sea Dogs finished 21-43-0-0 for 42 points (sixth Maritimes/10th Eastern/17th QMJHL) last season while the Wildcats were 53-9-2-0 for 108 points (first Maritimes/first Eastern/first QMJHL).

2024-25 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 2-6-0-0 against the Wildcats last season while Moncton went 6-1-1-0.

Last meeting: Aug. 22 at the Aitken Centre where the Wildcats defeated the Sea Dogs 4-3 in overtime. Teddy Mutryn scored twice for Moncton while Natan Grenier and Elliott Mullen also had goals. Dylan Rozzi, Natan Éthier and Everett Baldwin scored for Saint John. Jacoby Weiner made 20 saves in the win. Justin Robinson and Rafael Courchesne split the loss in net.

Sea Dogs resume pre-season Friday

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs are back in pre-season action Friday night.

The Sea Dogs will host the Moncton Wildcats at 7 p.m. at Woodstock's AYR Motor Centre. It will be Saint John's first trip to Woodstock for a Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League exhibition game.

The Sea Dogs are still looking for their first win of the pre-season. They're 0-2-2-0 with a tie through five games.

This will be the fourth and final meeting between the Sea Dogs and Wildcats. Moncton has won two of them with the third ending in a tie after overtime.

Saint John will play one more pre-season game before the real stuff begins Sept. 19. On Saturday, the Sea Dogs will travel to PEI to play the Charlottetown Islanders at UPEI's MacLauchlan Arena. Puck drop is 7 p.m.

The Sea Dogs and Islanders have yet to meet this year. Charlottetown is also winless with a 0-3-0-0 record.

A few other news and notes...

• Guelph and Kitchener are the finalists to host the 2027 Memorial Cup, the CHL announced Thursday. The winner will be announced "between late November and early December 2025." Kingston and Niagara were also in the running. The 2026 tournament will be held in Kelowna. 
• Kubota has been named the presenting partner of the Memorial Cup. Shout out to tractors.
• Quebec City and Trois-Rivieres will host the 2029 IIHF World Junior Championship, Hockey Canada announced Thursday.
• Former Sea Dogs defenseman Giuliano Caputo has been named captain of the QJHL's Terrebonne Cobras. Caputo appeared in 16 games with Saint John last season.
• It could be a challenging first year of NCAA hockey for former Sea Dogs goaltender Charles-Edward Gravel. College Hockey Insider Mike McMahon projects Mercyhurst University to be the second worst team in college hockey this season – but also believes Gravel has a strong shot at being the team's No. 1 goaltender as a freshman.
• The QMJHL uploaded this video featuring some of Saint John's best plays from last season.

Notebook: Tickets now available

Single-game tickets to Saint John Sea Dogs home games (the ones at TD Station, at least) went on sale Tuesday.

The biggest change, obviously, is that Sea Dogs tickets are now purchased through Ticketmaster. With that move, the team announced last week that it was lowering the base cost of tickets to account for the additional fees Ticketmaster is famous for.

Going through the checkout process, after taxes and fees, a single adult ticket will cost $24.81.

A single adult ticket was priced at $25 last season – before taxes and fees.

Notably, the "prime" seating sections in the lower bowl currently have no seats available. The Sea Dogs explained the reasoning in a Facebook comment.

"Those sections are in high demand among our Season Ticket Members, so availability there is very limited," the Sea Dogs wrote. "At this time, we’ve reserved the remaining seats in those sections for potential Season Ticket Membership purchasers."

Upper bowl sections 5-11 are also not available nor are the top few rows of most other upper bowl sections. This is common practice for larger arenas, and those seats will presumably become available when demand requires it.

PRE-SEASON FINALE

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League pre-season comes to a close this week.

The Sea Dogs have two exhibition matches remaining. This Friday they'll host the Moncton Wildcats in Woodstock before travelling to PEI on Saturday to face the Charlottetown Islanders on the UPEI campus.

Both games have 7 p.m. starts.

Friday's contest will be Saint John's first in Woodstock. Tickets can be purchased here.

The Sea Dogs have played five pre-season games so far and are still looking for their first win. They've played Moncton three times already while they have yet to see Tyler Peddle and Charlottetown.

The final games of the QMJHL's pre-season will take place Sunday. The regular season begins on Sept. 18.

Sea Dogs release Daviault, Tatomir

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The Saint John Sea Dogs' overage situation has taken another turn.

The Sea Dogs announced Tuesday that 20-year-old defenseman Alexis Daviault – who signed with the club on Aug. 23 – has been released. It was also announced that 18-year-old free agent defenseman Ethan Tatomir has been released.

With Daviault gone, the Sea Dogs once again have an open overage spot. Veteran QMJHL forwards Angelo Fullerton and Natan Éthier have seemingly secured spots on the squad.

Daviault has spent his entire junior career in the OHL. In 259 career OHL games, he recorded 22 goals and 94 assists. Last season with the Erie Otters, the 6'0", 185 lbs d-man recorded five goals and 31 assists in 64 games.

Daviault appeared in Saint John's most recent pre-season game – his only one with Saint John. He recorded two shots, two penalty minutes and a -3 rating in the 7-4 loss to the Newfoundland Regiment.

With Daviault and Tatomir gone, the Sea Dogs have seven defensemen remaining on their training camp roster. That includes Swedish defenseman Max Vilén, who the Sea Dogs remain optimistic will join the club.

Saint John's final two pre-season games are this weekend when they take on the Moncton Wildcats on Friday in Woodstock and the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday at UPEI.