Anticipation and excitement are building ahead of the opening game of the Memorial Cup.
It will be a battle of the dogs on Monday night as the Saint John Sea Dogs face the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Trevor Georgie, president and GM of the Sea Dogs, said the team has been working hard and is ready to get back on the ice.
“Very few times you get a second chance in life and this is one of those times and we want to make it count,” Georgie said in an interview last week.
The Sea Dogs entered the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs coming off a 15-game winning streak.
However, the excitement quickly came to an end as they were eliminated in a first-round loss to Rimouski.
In the days that followed, the team cut ties with head coach Gordie Dwyer and replaced him with Gardiner MacDougall.
MacDougall, the head coach of the University of New Brunswick’s men’s hockey team, will coach the team through the end of the tournament before resuming his duties at UNB.
“Gardiner has been tremendous. He’s an expert at getting teams ready and winning tournaments,” said Georgie, pointing to the seven national titles MacDougall has led UNB to since the 2006-07 season.
With the Sea Dogs not having played any games in more than five weeks, Georgie said there are both advantages and disadvantages.
“It’s very hard to replicate the intensity of playoff hockey, so that’s one I’d say disadvantage,” he said.
But Georgie said the silver lining has been the much-needed rest and recovery, along with added preparation for the tournament.
Game one of the Memorial Cup goes Monday night at 7 p.m. at TD Station.
Follow
