Sunday, January 30, 2011

PRE-GAME: Baie-Comeau Drakkar vs Saint John Sea Dogs

By Station Nation Staff

GAME DAY
WHO: Baie-Comeau Drakkar vs Saint John Sea Dogs
WHEN: Today, 4:00 pm
WHERE: Harbour Station

VISITING TEAM: Baie-Comeau Drakkar
Record: 7-36-5-4 (6th in Telus East Division)
Last Game: 6-1 loss at Saint John yesterday
Leading Scorer: Lukas Cingel (52GP-15G-20A-35Pts); Raphael Bussieres (51GP-14G-21A-35Pts)
Notes: The Baie-Comeau Drakkar enter action today with a record of 7-36-5-4 which places them last in the six-team Telus East Division and 17th overall in the 18-team Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Drakkar join the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies as teams currently on the outside of the playoff picture. They are 10-points behind the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles for the final playoff spot… the Drakkar are coming off a tough 6-1 loss last night in Saint John against the Sea Dogs. Baie-Comeau got off to a pretty good start, scoring the first goal and keeping up with the top-ranked Sea Dogs. Lukas Cingel scored the lone goal for the visitors while Simon Giroux made 28 saves in net. They went a dreadful 0-for-7 on the power play… 1-9-0-0 in their last 10 games and are currently on a five-game losing skid. They have been outscored 21-9 over those five matches… Baie-Comeau is 4-19-3-2 away from the Henry Leonard Centre this season. They have picked up three more points and one more win on the road than at home this season. They have been outscored 115-59 on the road in 28 contests… the Drakkar have the worst power play in the QMJHL with a rating of just 10.6%. On the road, they are an awful 9.4% on the man advantage… on the penalty kill, Baie-Comeau sits 11th with a rating of 78.2%. On the road, the team is operating at 77%... the Drakkar are averaging the fourth most penalty minutes per game with a an average of 16.4… if it wasn’t for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, the Drakkar would be the league’s worst goal scoring team. Baie-Comeau has scored 115 goals compared to the Huskies who have scored a league low 108… the Drakkar and Huskies are the only teams in the QMJHL to have allowed over 200 goals against this season… Lukas Cingel and Raphael Bussieres are tied for the team lead in points this season with 35 each… after scoring last night, Cingel now leads the Drakkar in goals this year with 15 in 52 games… Bussieres has a team high 21 assists on the year. Defenseman Hugo Laporte is a close second with 20 on the year while Cingel has 20 helpers as well… Maxim Lamarche is a team worst -35 this season… Ontario native Jason Missiaen will likely get the start in goal today. The 6’08” netminder has a record of 6-25-4-3 with a 0.891 save percentage and a 3.34 goals against average. He is second in the league in saves made this season with 1137, nearly 100 saves behind PEI’s Evan Mosher for the league high… 5-10-2-2 when scoring the first goal… Baie-Comeau averages the fewest shots per game in the league with an average of 23.81… have lost three straight on the road.

HOME TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 40-5-1-2 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 6-1 win vs Baie-Comeau yesterday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (47GP-29G-42A-71Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs come into today’s match with a record of 40-5-1-2 which is good for first place in the Maritimes Division and top spot in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The team has a 16-point lead over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for first place in the division and are eight-points up on the Quebec Remparts and Montreal Juniors for the No. 1 position in the QMJHL… in the latest edition of the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, the Sea Dogs were ranked No. 1 for a seventh straight week… the Sea Dogs are coming off a 6-1 win against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar last night at Harbour Station. Danick Gauthier and Simon Despres scored twice while Steven Anthony and Eric Gelinas added singles. Jacob DeSerres made 17 saves for the win in net. The Sea Dogs played fairly well for most of the night but got into some penalty trouble throughout the contest, something they will look to correct this afternoon… Saint John has been red hot of late as they have won five straight games, picked up at least a point in their past 12, and are 9-0-1-0 in their last 10 games. Their last regulation loss came on January 30, 2010 in Bathurst… they have yet to lose in regulation at Harbour Station this season, sporting a record of 22-0-1-1 and have earned 46 points. They have outscored their opposition 120-51 at home this year. They are one goal back of the Quebec Remparts for most goals at home this year… the Sea Dogs’ power play comes in ranked seventh on the league with a rating of 24.4%. At home, their man advantage is running at 21.1%... on the penalty kill side of things, Saint John is ranked sixth with a rating of 81%. At home, the clubs penalty kill is operating at 85%... Jonathan Huberdeau, despite going pointless yesterday, still leads the Sea Dogs in points this season with 71 in 47 games… Huberdeau and Zack Phillips are tied for the team lead in goals with 29 apiece… Huberdeau leads the team in assists with 42… Mathieu Corbeil will likely get the start in net for the Sea Dogs this afternoon. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect has a record of 10-15-1-1, a goals against average of 3.58, and a save percentage of 0.871. With Saint John, he has a record of 3-0-1-0, a 2.65 GAA, and a 0.892 SV%. Corbeil’s last start was Friday in Moncton… Saint John is now averaging 4.69 goals per game. At home, they are averaging an insane five goals per game.

FRANCOFANS DAY
Today is the annual Francofans Day game where the Sea Dogs game day experience is converted into the French language. Live music from Tradition is beginning at 3 p.m., and 4-for-$44 ticket packages are available.

LAPORTE IS BACK
Hugo Laporte returns to Saint John for the third time this season. If you are tweeting from the game today, please use the hashtag #BooLaporte.

QUICK HITS
  • Jonathan Huberdeau wore a full cage on his helmet for the second straight game last night.
  • This is the final game of a three-in-three weekend for the Sea Dogs.
  • This is the final game of a four-game Maritime road swing for the Drakkar. They are 0-3-0-0 so far.
  • Today’s game will close out the January schedule for the Sea Dogs. It has been a good month.
  • The Sea Dogs became the first QMJHL team to reach the 40-win mark last night.

OTHER GAMES TODAY
Halifax at PEI - 3:00 PM AST
Montréal at Cape Breton - 4:00 PM AST
Victoriaville at Québec - 3:00 PM EST
Shawinigan at Drummondville - 4:00 PM EST
Chicoutimi at Lewiston - 4:00 PM EST
Gatineau at Val-d'Or - 4:00 PM EST

ARENA INFO
Venue: Harbour Station
Seating Capacity: 6,297
Average Attendance: 4,063
Year Built: 1993
QMJHL Arena Guide


MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Live Blog: Station Nation
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Telegraph-Journal

TWITTER
Follow Station Nation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/station_nation for in-game updates, scores, stats, and live coverage during tonight’s game.

AFTER THE BUZZER
The Sea Dogs host the second best team in the Maritimes Division – the Acadie-Bathurst Titan – Wednesday night at 7pm at Harbour Station.

Photo Credits: Google, David Connell Web Album, Saint John Sea Dogs

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