The Saint John Sea Dogs are undoubtedly the underdogs in the Memorial Cup tournament.
The Memorial Cup is the annual championship tournament between the three major junior ice hockey leagues in Canada -- the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL. The four-team tournament is rounded out with an automatic bid to the team from the host city.
With this year's tournament held in Saint John, the Sea Dogs' inclusion in the tournament was a given. They had a strong finish to the end of the QMJHL's season, winning 26 of their last 28 games to finish with the third-best record in the QMJHL.
Their QMJHL playoff run was brief, though, losing in five games to the Rimouski Oceanic in the first round. They haven't played a game since May 12, and they're playing in a tournament against the WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings, QMJHL champion Shawinigan Cataractes, and OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs.
Saint John opened round-robin play on Monday with a strong 5-3 win over Hamilton, and Penguins forward prospect Raivis Ansons was a key part of the Sea Dogs' win.
Ansons, the Penguins' 2020 fifth-round pick, was the No. 2 star in the win with three primary assists.
Ansons set up Saint John's opening goal of the tournament:
After Hamilton responded with a power play goal to tie the game, Ansons took a shot that beat Hamilton goaltender Marco Costantini. The goal was initially awarded to Ansons, but was later given to Ansons' teammate Ryan Francis, who tipped it in, giving Ansons another primary assist:
Ansons' third assist came on the Sea Dogs' fourth goal of the game, a play off of a faceoff win:
Ansons, who is listed at 6 foot 1 and 191 pounds, also played on Saint John's top penalty-killing unit in the game and worked in the net-front role on the top power play unit. He skated on the left side of the Sea Dogs' second line.
Ansons, 20, was acquired by Saint John in a midseason trade with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. After scoring six goals and 18 assists in 19 games with Baie-Comeau to start the season, Ansons recorded 12 goals and 24 assists in 37 games with Saint John after the trade.
This is Ansons' third year in the QMJHL, and first time making an appearance in the Memorial Cup.
Saint John's next games in round-robin play will be against the Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday and the Shawinigan Cataracts on Saturday. The playoff round begins on Sunday.
Ansons will likely make his professional debut with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton next year after signing his three-year entry-level contract with the Penguins last month.
