SAINT JOHN, N.B. — Jeremie Poirier and Riley Bezeau each had a goal and an assist as the Saint John Sea Dogs opened up the 2021 President's Cup Series with a 6-2 win over the Moncton Wildcats on Tuesday.

Brady Burns and Leighton Carruthers scored 21 seconds apart in the second period to help Saint John take a 4-2 lead.

Nicholas Girouard and Peter Reynolds also found the back of the net for the Sea Dogs (1-0-0), who got 22 saves from Zachary Emond.

Jacob Hudson and Francis Langlois had a goal and an assist apiece for the Wildcats (0-1-0).

Moncton netminder Vincent Filion stopped 27-of-33 shots.

The 2021 President's Cup Series is a nine-game round-robin tournament featuring the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Wildcats and Sea Dogs, replacing the typical Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff format for New Brunswick clubs due to the pandemic limiting travel between provinces. The winner will face the Charlottetown Islanders in the Maritimes Division final.

The 12 Quebec-based teams will be playing best-of-five series in four hub cities.

The Canadian Hockey League announced last week that the Memorial Cup tournament has been cancelled for 2021.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2021.