Saint John Sea Dogs vs Moncton Wildcats

Saint John controlled the game from the opening faceoff. Jabez Seymour opened the scoring at 4:10 of the first period, converting on feeds from Dante Rozzi and Jacob Lacroix to put the Sea Dogs up 1-0.

The Sea Dogs doubled their lead on the power play at 10:37 of the first, when Madison Bouchard cut through the crease and slid the puck between Moncton goaltender Jacoby Weiner’s outstretched leg and the post. Brock Lyons was credited with both assists.

Period 1 ended 2-0, and the Sea Dogs extended the margin in the second. At 18:13, L. Williams scored shorthanded on a breakaway, with Thomas Charbonneau drawing the lone assist, making it 3-0 after 40 minutes.

Saint John made it 4-0 just 2:52 into the third period when Kaiden Sahajpal broke in alone and deked Nathan Chenier for the finish. Alexis Gauthier and Matyas Cancik assisted.

Moncton finally broke through at 14:55 of the third when Brody Leet scored from Evan Foiles and Max Stonacek to spoil Pitcher’s shutout attempt. The Wildcats pulled no closer, finishing 0-for-6 on the power play.

The shorthanded goal by Williams late in the second period effectively killed any Moncton momentum. Already trailing 2-0 and set to start the third period on the power play if they could have held Saint John scoreless, the Wildcats instead saw the deficit swell to 3-0 against a team that had barely touched the puck in their own zone. Moncton never recovered, managing just six shots in the third period.

Sam Pitcher (Saint John) — 17 saves on 18 shots. Recorded 54:55 of shutout hockey in a near-flawless pre-season debut. His composure under limited pressure — the Wildcats managed only 18 total shots — allowed the Sea Dogs to play freely in front of him.

Kaiden Sahajpal (Saint John) — One goal (the 4-0 dagger early in the third), plus steady two-way play centering the third line alongside Gauthier and Riendeau.

Madison Bouchard (Saint John) — One goal (power play), active on the forecheck. His crease-drive goal at 10:37 of the first doubled the lead and showcased the offensive creativity Hulton’s system aims to unlock.

Jabez Seymour (Saint John) — One goal, three hits. Set the tone physically and scored the opener.

For Moncton, Jacoby Weiner allowed three goals on 13 shots across two periods, while Nathan Chenier stopped seven of eight in the third.

The shot count tells the story: Saint John generated 21 shots on goal to Moncton’s 18, a relatively even total, but the quality gaps were wider. Saint John converted 1-of-3 power plays (33.3%), while the Wildcats went 0-for-6 — a missed opportunity that looms large for a team that finished 2025-26 with the QMJHL’s best regular-season record. Moncton’s power-play inefficiency (six opportunities, zero goals) reflected a disjointed attack still finding its rhythm with training-camp lineups.

The H2H widget on this page shows Moncton leads the all-time series 35-14-1 in 50 meetings, but the Wildcats managed just one goal after winning 7-of-8 regular-season meetings in 2025-26 and sweeping Saint John in the first round of the playoffs last April.

Saint John opens its pre-season at 1-0-0-0 — a sharp start for a club that finished 23-36-5-0 (51 points) last season, 14th in the 18-team QMJHL. Moncton falls to 1-2-0-0 in pre-season after beating Newfoundland 6-4 last Friday and losing 8-2 to Charlottetown on Saturday.

The wider context: Moncton’s 50-10-2-2 regular season in 2025-26 was the best record in the league, but their training-camp roster has been in flux. Several key players from last season have aged out or moved on.

• Saint John Sea Dogs: vs. Moncton Wildcats (Aitken Centre, Fredericton) — Friday, 28 August 2026, 23:00 UTC
• Moncton Wildcats: at Saint John Sea Dogs (Aitken Centre, Fredericton) — Friday, 28 August 2026, 23:00 UTC

A clinical pre-season opener from Saint John, who bossed special teams (1-for-3 on the PP, a shorthanded goal, perfect PK) and rode a composed goaltending performance from Pitcher. For Moncton, the 0-for-6 power play and disjointed offensive structure suggest this camp roster still needs time to gel. The rematch in Fredericton on Friday will test whether the Wildcats can adjust or whether the Sea Dogs have genuinely closed the gap on their Maritime rivals.