Sea Dogs prepare for game two of Memorial Cup

The Saint John Sea Dogs continue their championship journey on Monday night as they play the Erie Otters in their second round robin game of the Memorial Cup. 

The Sea Dogs lost their first game against the host team, the Windsor Spitfires. Sea Dogs' Sam Dove-McFalls said the team has to get back to what brought them to the Memorial Cup if they want to win. 

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"We have to get back to playing our game. I don't think we were as good as we wanted to be Friday night," said Dove-McFalls. 

"We're a skilled team but we also have good grit and we have to work hard and keep it simple."

Success long time coming

The Sea Dogs qualified to play for the Canadian Hockey League championship after winning the championship in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. 

Dove-McFalls, who started playing for the Saint John Sea Dogs four years ago, this success has been a long time coming. 

"It means a lot," said Dove-McFalls.

"I started here when I was 16 and we weren't very good at the start so I've been through the whole rebuild phase and it's exciting to finally be on a good team. We've been building towards this year, and it's exciting to be here."

Must win

To guarantee themselves a spot in the semifinals, the Sea Dogs must win the game on Monday, along with their game against the Seattle Thunderbirds on Tuesday. Otherwise they could end up having to play a tiebreaker to make it. 

Both the Erie Otters and the Seattle Thunderbirds won their league to qualify for the Memorial Cup, while the undefeated Windsor Spitfires got their spot for hosting the championship. 

"They've all earned their spot here in this tournament and you know even the host team Windsor, they've done really well so far, they won their first two games so every game is a challenge and every game is important enough to bring your A game every night," said Dove-McFalls.