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Sea Dogs seek to finish Memorial Cup journey

DEREK VAN DIEST dvandiest@postmedia.com twitter: @DerekVanDiest

A little more than a month ago, it would have been difficult for the Saint John Sea Dogs to see themselves in the 2022 Memorial Cup final.

As hosts of the tournament, the Sea Dogs were eliminated in the first round of the QMJHL playoffs and looking at nearly a 40-day layoff before opening the four-team tournament at Harbour Station.

A coaching change and three games later, the Sea Dogs have an opportunity to win its second Memorial Cup when they host the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs in today's final (3 p.m., TSN).

“One month ago, who knows what people were saying about us,” said Sea Dogs head coach Gardiner MacDougall. “People weren't sure if we would be a good representative of the tournament and we would play only three games and wouldn't be able to compete. So, it's nice to still be here.”

The Sea Dogs earned a berth into the final by finishing first in the four-team round robin. They defeated the Bulldogs in their opener, lost to the Edmonton Oil Kings in overtime and then beat the QMJHL champion Shawinigan Cataractes, battling back from a three-goal first period deficit.

The Sea Dogs will have the hometown crowd behind them against the Bulldogs, who outlasted the Cataractes 4-3 in overtime in the semifinal Monday.

“When we lost in the first round, we for sure thought we weren't going to be able to get here,” said Sea Dogs forward William Dufour, who scored four goals against the Cataractes in their 5-3 comefrom-behind win. “Losing in the first round, it was probably the worst feeling I've ever felt in my life. For a team that is supposed to go to the Memorial Cup and have a chance to win everything, to get eliminated in the first round, that was shocking for us”

The Sea Dogs were built to compete in the first Memorial Cup tournament since the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 and 2021 events. Saint John won 47 games this season and finished third in the QMJHL's Eastern Conference standings.

With delays in the season because of the pandemic, however, the first three rounds of the QMJHL playoffs were reduced to best-of-five series and it bit the Sea Dogs. They were upset by the Rimouski Oceanic, who finished 23 points lower in the standings, losing Game 5 in overtime.

After being eliminated, the Sea Dogs turned to MacDougall for help. The legendary coach at the University of New Brunswick has won seven national championships in 22 years at the helm of the men's hockey program.

“This last month was as busy as I've been as a coach in the last 39 years,” MacDougall said. “We did a lot of stuff on the ice, we did a lot of stuff off the ice. I had an hour and 10-minute drive in the morning and an hour and 10-minute drive in the afternoon. It was a busy month, but it paid some dividends.”

The Bulldogs may be somewhat of a beat up group, with star defenceman Nathan Staios ailing along with a number of other players.

And they'll be a different team than they were in the opening game of the tournament where they were down 4-0 before mounting a third-period comeback in a 5-3 loss to the Sea Dogs.

“We played Saint John once and they certainly didn't see the best version of the Hamilton Bulldogs, and I expect they will (Wednesday),” said Bulldogs head coach Jay McKee.

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2022-06-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

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