The Saint John Sea Dogs entered their Sunday, Oct. 22 game tied for last in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with just eight points in their 10 games played after getting shelled 5-1 by their New Brunswick rival Moncton Wildcats the night before. Despite the lowest fan attendance at TD Station so far this season, the Sea Dogs were finally able to collect a win on home ice against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the fourth meeting between the two teams already this season. The Maritimes Division of the QMJHL looks like it could provide some solid competitors this season, and the Sea Dogs will have to use the win as a launching point if they plan on keeping up.
Catching Up With the Sea Dogs
The Sea Dogs’ back-to-back this weekend was preceded by a three-game road trip to Quebec that for the first time in the 2023-24 season, saw them face off against a trio of outer-divisional opponents in the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, the Val-d’Or Foreurs, and finally the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
Their initial contest against the Armada was a very close game despite the 4-1 outcome thanks to some heroics from Patrick Leaver that have alarmingly been required in most of their games so far. A late goal from captain Peter Reynolds brought the game within one in the third period, but a late shorthanded tuck from the Armada deflated any hopes of a comeback before they added one more for good measure.
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In their game against the Foreurs, Vince Elie decided at the start of the third period that he wanted to win and collected two goals and an assist in approximately three minutes to put the game well out of reach of the competition. The young Justin Robinson reminded the coaches that the Sea Dogs have more than one proficient goaltender with a 24-save performance.
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The win against the Foreurs still stands as the Sea Dogs’ only victory this season against a team other than the Titan, as the next night on Oct. 15 they ran into the Huskies’ brick wall in net, William Rousseau. Rousseau had an answer for all 39 shots the Sea Dogs managed to fire, handing them their first scoreless contest of the season.
Wildcats Spoil Kardinal Offishall Weekend
With Kardinal Offishall in the house, someone must have forgotten to warn the Sea Dogs that the Wildcats are indeed dangerous, as their inter-provincial rivals are easily a top-five team in the league so far this season. They looked a considerable step better than the Sea Dogs in almost every area of the game, especially when it came to the 2023 first-overall draft pick Caleb Desnoyers who collected three points to close in on a point-per-game pace.
Philadelphia Flyers draft pick Matteo Mann finally suited up for his first game as a Sea Dog after being injured in the Flyers’ training camp earlier this year. The giant right-handed defenseman is not known for his offence by any means, but he had a major part to play in a goal in the first period that would have tied the game at one if it hadn’t been disallowed. Unfortunately, it was all downhill for the Sea Dogs from that point forward.
Mann slid right up to the first defensive pair as part of a major line shakeup for their Oct. 22 matinee that saw them face the Titan for what would be the fourth time this season. The new lines looked much improved from the previous night’s and it helped that Robinson was once again a game-saver in the net. The rookie improved his season stats to three wins, a .950 save percentage, and just a 1.57 goals-against average in his four games played.
Despite the win, the Sea Dogs already find themselves in a very important juncture in their season as seven of their 10 points have come from beating up the Titan. They have the lowest number of goals scored in the league and part of it stems from their lack of power play production, as they have converted just 15.8 percent of chances into a goal, good for third last in the league. They will have to string a couple of victories together if they want to avoid falling too far behind in their division.
Next on the Dockett
The Sea Dogs have a shot at collecting six points over the next week as they head to Charlottetown to face the Islanders on Oct. 26, get a chance at revenge against the Wildcats on Oct. 27 in Moncton, and then welcome the reigning Memorial Cup champion Quebec Remparts to TD Station for another Sunday matinee on Oct. 29. A win against the Islanders would bring the Sea Dogs back into play in the Maritimes Division as part of a three-way tie before the last place Remparts come to town a couple of days later.
