Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Sea Dogs slash ticket prices for playoffs

The Saint John Sea Dogs will offer the lowest playoff ticket prices in the CHL for their first round series against the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

The Sea Dogs announced Monday that single game playoff tickets for the general public will be just $10 while season ticket members can purchase $7 tickets, plus taxes and fees.

“We appreciate the support from our season ticket members and the region, and this is a small way for us to say thanks", said Sea Dogs president Trevor Georgie in a release. “We want to make it easy for everyone to come and support and be part of Sea Dogs playoff hockey.”

The Sea Dogs begin the playoffs in Drummondville with Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Saturday night. The series shifts to Saint John for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Saint John will be massive underdogs in this series — even more than last year when they went up against the Gatineau Olympiques, a series they did win one game in. The Sea Dogs haven't won a playoff series since 2017.

The Sea Dogs made tickets $7 for Game 5 against Gatineau last year, attracting 4,796 fans. Games 3 and 4 at TD Station featured crowds of 1,487 and 1,568, respectively.

The cheap tickets come after another rough season for the Sea Dogs at the box office. Saint John averaged 2,760 fans per game this season, which is down nearly 200 fans per game from last year. It's the lowest average the team has had in a season with no COVID restrictions.

SeasonTotalAverage
2005-06156,6944,477 (4th)
2006-07134,3543,839 (6th)
2007-08139,2143,978 (5th)
2008-09133,6133,930 (5th)
2009-10140,7794,141 (4th)
2010-11152,2374,478 (4th)
2011-12155,0604,561 (3rd)
2012-13135,7323,992 (4th)
2013-14116,3803,423 (5th)
2014-15121,7823,582 (5th)
2015-16123,3993,629 (4th)
2016-17142,8294,201 (3rd)
2017-18144,7234,257 (4th)
2018-19116,5113,427 (5th)
2019-20107,0423,345 (6th)*
2020-2125,1231,478 (3rd)**
2021-2289,8462,643 (5th)***
2022-23100,5362,957 (7th)
2023-2493,8502,760 (8th)
*Final two home games cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
**All 17 home games played under COVID-19 capacity restrictions
***Three home games played under COVID-19 capacity restrictions

The attendance numbers can't be good financially for the team and they certainly aren't fun for fans who sit in a building that is more than half empty most nights. Saint John is one of the few QMJHL teams that hasn't had the big bounce back from COVID.

Saint John finished eighth in QMJHL average attendance, the lowest the team has ever placed. The Charlottetown Islanders are slowly creepy up on them (2,680) which would have been unfathomable a decade ago.

Monday, March 25, 2024

Some numbers from the season that was

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
It was a tale of two teams for the Saint John Sea Dogs in 2023-24.

The rebuilding Sea Dogs entered the Christmas break — and the trade period — with a respectable 13-15-3-2 record. They went 7-24-2-2 the rest of the way, with three of those victories coming in the month of March to clinch the QMJHL's 16th and final playoff spot.

The situation is what it is. The Sea Dogs dealt many of their top, older players for assets that should help the team contend in a few years. It's short-term pain (in theory) for long-term gain (in theory) and it's the plan the franchise has executed — mostly with success — time and time again.

Saint John struggled at both ends of the ice this year. The team allowed a league worst 35.56 shots against per game which led to the second most goals against per game (4.26). They also recorded the fourth fewest shots per game (27.08) which led to the third fewest goals per game (2.69).

Here's a look at some other team stats from the season that was.

  • Saint John finished the regular season with a 20-39-5-4 record for 49 points, which is four fewer wins and five fewer points than they had last season.
  • The Sea Dogs went 11-17-3-3 at home and 9-22-2-1 on the road. Only the Val-d'Or Foreurs had fewer home wins.
  • Saint John finished ninth in penalty minutes per game (9.85). The league leader? The first-place Baie-Comeau Drakkar (12.03).
  • The Sea Dogs went 1-4 in shootouts.
  • Saint John was 13-7-4-0 when scoring first.
  • The Sea Dogs against each division:
    • Maritimes:14-24-2-4
    • East: 2-4-2-0
    • Central: 2-6-0-0
    • West: 2-5-1-0
  • The Sea Dogs had winning records against Bathurst (5-3-0-1), Val-d'Or (2-0-0-0) and, weirdly, Victoriaville (2-0-0-0).
  • Saint John had the third worst power play (17.1%) and the worst home power play (14.8%). They also had the fourth worst penalty kill (74%) and second worst road penalty kill (70.7%).
  • The team scored five shorthanded goals and allowed eight.
  • Saint John was outscored a combined 82-56 in first periods, 96-58 in second periods and 106-68 in third periods.
  • The Sea Dogs when leading after one? 10-4-2-0. When trailing after one? 2-27-2-1.
  • Saint John had the longest road losing streak at 13 games. Although it officially won't count, they carry that streak into the playoffs.
  • Saint John recorded 11 shots on March 9, which is officially a league low for a single game this year. That record is misleading though as this was the game where head coach Travis Crickard collapsed, leading to the cancellation of most of the third period.
  • The Sea Dogs had just four fights this season according to HockeyFights.com.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Notebook: Veterans finish hot

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
Veteran players carried the Saint John Sea Dogs in the last five games of the regular season.

Overage forwards Brody Fournier and Drew Elliott each had strong offensive outputs to end the year while Tyler Peddle turned it on as well. Here's what all three produced in Saint John's final five games.

Tyler Peddle: six goals and three assists
Drew Elliott: four goals and one assist
Brody Fournier: six goals and three assists

Fournier enters the playoffs with goals in five straight games.

The Sea Dogs won three of their final six games and lost another in a shootout to clinch a playoff spot. 20-year-old goaltender Patrick Leaver played the entirety of those games.

It's worth noting that Coen Miller had quite an end to his regular season as well, posting a goal and seven assists in his past five games.

HOME RECORD
After much talk about Saint John's home woes all year, the Sea Dogs finish the regular season with an 11-17-3-3 record at TD Station.

It's the sixth fewest wins the Sea Dogs have had on home ice in one season in team history. The record low is eight which was set in 2017-18 and the COVID year of 2020-21.
Only the last-place Val-d'Or Foreurs had fewer home wins than Saint John this season. Val-d'Or had a 10-21-3-0 record on home ice.

PLAYOFF FOES
The Sea Dogs will face the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the playoffs for the first time.

With Drummondville crossed off the list, the only teams the Sea Dogs haven't faced in post-season play are the Sherbrooke Phoenix and Quebec Remparts. It's worth noting that Saint John has never played the Charlottetown Islanders either but did play the PEI Rocket twice.

Sea Dogs, Voltigeurs series begins Friday

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
For the first time, the Saint John Sea Dogs will face the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the playoffs.

The Sea Dogs locked up the QMJHL's 16th and final playoff spot on Saturday, meaning they will crossover into the Western Conference and play the No. 1 seeded Voltigeurs. The series, which will be a 2-3-2 scheduling format, begins Friday at the Marcel Dionne Centre.

The series will shift to Saint John for Game 3. Here's a look at the full schedule.

Game 1: Friday, March 29 at Drummondville
Game 2: Saturday, March 30 at Drummondville
Game 3: Tuesday, April 2 at Saint John
Game 4: Wednesday, April 3 at Saint John
Game 5: Friday, April 5 at Saint John*
Game 6: Monday, April 8 at Drummondville*
Game 7: Tuesday, April 9 at Drummondville*
*if necessary

All games in Drummondville begin at 8 p.m. Atlantic. The games in Saint John begin at 7 p.m.

The Sea Dogs will be massive underdogs in this series. The Voltigeurs finished 53 points ahead of the Sea Dogs in the standings and are serious contenders to lift the Gilles Courteau Trophy in May. This will be an even tougher challenge than what Saint John faced last year when they took on the Gatineau Olympiques in the opening round — where the Sea Dogs did manage to win one game.

At minimum, this will give Saint John's rookies and younger players some insights into the level they'll need to reach to become a championship caliber team down the road.

Drummondville won both games in the season series, defeating Saint John 6-1 on Dec. 6 and 9-2 on Feb. 24.

There are a couple familiar names on the Voltigeurs. Noah Reinhart will make his return to TD Station while Sam Oliver will face his hometown team. The Sea Dogs, meanwhile, feature former Voltigeurs Tyler Peddle and Drew Elliott.

Saturday, March 23, 2024

First round playoff matchups confirmed

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
With the regular season completed, the matchups for the first round of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs have been locked in.

Here's who will be facing who in the opening round.

Eastern Conference
1. Baie-Comeau vs 8. Charlottetown
2. Halifax vs 7. Bathurst
3. Moncton vs 6. Chicoutimi
4. Cape Breton vs 5. Rimouski

Western Conference
1. Drummondville vs 8. Saint John
2. Rouyn-Noranda vs 7. Gatineau
3. Victoriaville vs 6. Shawinigan
4. Sherbrooke vs 5. Blainville-Boisbriand

All eight series get rolling on Friday.

The first round of the QMJHL playoffs is often full of blowouts and sweeps — but there are at least a few series to keep an eye on. There's lots of intrigue around how Halifax and Moncton will perform in these playoffs given their hot-and-cold second halves. The Mooseheads really struggled against the Titan down the stretch while the Wildcats will be facing one of the league's hottest teams over the past couple months.

The Baie-Comeau Drakkar, with a 53-12-2-1 record for 109 points, were the regular season champions and will be the No. 1 seed throughout the playoffs.

The only teams to miss the playoffs were the Val-d'Or Foreurs and Quebec Remparts. This is the first time the Remparts franchise has missed the playoffs since 1992-93 when they were the Beauport Harfangs.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 7-4

FINAL: Halifax 7, Saint John 4
Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs are heading to the playoffs.

The Sea Dogs secured the QMJHL's 16th and final playoff spot thanks to the Quebec Remparts falling 7-3 to the Rimouski Oceanic on Saturday. Saint John could have clinched the spot about an hour earlier but were unable to get a point in a 6-3 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads at TD Station.

Saint John will face the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the opening round of the playoffs. That series will likely start on Friday in Drummondville. 

Markus Vidicek scored twice for Halifax while singles came from Mathieu Cataford, Dylan MacKinnon, Jan Sprynar, Jack Martin and Logan Crosby. Mathis Rousseau made 32 saves in the win. The Mooseheads once again sat out several regulars. 

Things were looking promising for Saint John in this one but the wheels fell off in a third period that saw the Mooseheads score five times. Brody Fournier scored twice for the Sea Dogs while Tyler Peddle and Drew Elliott also converted. Patrick Leaver made 34 saves in the loss. 

The Mooseheads led 2-1 after the opening period thanks to a late goal from MacKinnon. Just 21 seconds into the second, Elliott got Saint John within one and then, at 1:24, Fournier scored to quickly put the Sea Dogs up 3-2.

It looked like the Mooseheads had tied the game on a point shot from MacKinnon that beat Leaver with 5:57 remaining. But after review, the goal was called off due to goaltender interference. Not long after that, it looked like Pavel Simek had scored on a power play to make it 4-2 Saint John. But after a lengthy offside review, that goal was called back as well.

Just 25 seconds into the third period and the Moose on a power play, Sprynar wired a shot from the circle past Leaver to tie things up at 3-3. Then at 5:35, Martin scored on a point shot to put Halifax back in front, 4-3.

With 5:27 remaining, Vidicek scored following a faceoff win. Just 16 seconds later, Crosby redirected a Martin point shot to quickly put Halifax up 6-3.

With Leaver pulled, Fournier scored his second of the game to make it 6-4 at 17:20. Vidicek secured the win with an empty netter at 18:38.