Saturday, February 5, 2011

PRE-GAME: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Halifax Mooseheads

By Station Nation Staff

GAME DAY
WHO: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Halifax Mooseheads
WHEN: Tonight, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Halifax Metro Centre

VISITING TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 43-5-1-2 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 11-2 win at Moncton yesterday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (50GP-33G-44A-77Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs enter play tonight with a record of 43-5-1-2 which is good for first place in the Maritimes Division and first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. With a win last night, the Sea Dogs now have a 21-point lead over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for the top spot in the division. They own a 10-point lead over the Montreal Juniors for first in the QMJHL standings… Saint John is the nationally top-ranked in the country according to the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings. They have now been ranked first for eight straight weeks… the Sea Dogs are coming off a blowout win in Moncton last night against the Wildcats. Saint John found the net 11 times in the 11-2 rout over the ‘Cats. Saint John had a hat trick from Tomas Jurco, two goals from Jonathan Huberdeau, and single markers from Stephan MacAulay, Aidan Kelly, Gabriel Bourret, Jason Cameron, Michael Kirkpatrick, and Stanislav Galiev. Jacob DeSerres was not tested too much, making 28 saves in the victory. It was complete domination and one of the best Sea Dogs road games of the year… Saint John has now won eight straight games and are on a 14-0-1-0 run. In their last 10 games, the club is 9-0-1-0… they are 19-5-0-1 on the road this season and have outscored their opposition 116-73. They are one of only two clubs in the QMJHL to have scored over 100 goals on the road this season. All five of Saint John’s regulation loses have come on the road… 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 road games… the team has yet to lose in the regulation in the year 2011. Their last loss was on January 30 in Bathurst… Saint John has the seventh best power play in the QMJHL at the moment with a rating of 24.8%. On the road, they are running at 28.9% which is the third best road power play in the league… the Sea Dogs have the seventh best penalty kill in the league with a rating of 80.9%. On the road, the team is operating at 75.6%... yesterday in Moncton, Saint John went 1-for-2 on the power play while they allowed one power play goal on two chances… the Sea Dogs are serving the 14th most penalty minutes per game with an average of 12.7… Jonathan Huberdeau is still leading the Sea Dogs in scoring with 77 points in 50 games. Zack Phillips sits second with 73 points… Huberdeau leads the club in goals with 33 on the year. He had two last night… Phillips and Huberdeau are tied for the team lead in assists with 44 each. Phillips and Steven Anthony each had thee helpers last night… former Mooseheads goaltender Mathieu Corbeil is expected to get his first start against his former team tonight. Corbeil has a record of 11-15-1-1, a goals against average of 3.52, and a save percentage of 0.871. Since joining the Sea Dogs, Corbeil is 4-0-1-0 with a 2.52 GAA and save percentage of 0.893... Michael Kirkpatrick and Tomas Jurco are on three game goal scoring streaks. Jurco has scored seven goals in his past three games… Kirkpatrick is on a seven game point scoring streak… Zack Phillips is on an eight game road assist scoring streak.

HOME TEAM: Halifax Mooseheads
Record: 17-31-1-2 (5th in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 5-2 win vs Drummondville Wednesday
Leading Scorer: Carl Gelinas (51GP-23G-23G-46Pts)
Notes: The Halifax Mooseheads enter action this evening with a record of 17-31-1-2 which places them fifth in the Maritimes Division and 15th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They have gained a bit of ground on the 16th placed Cape Breton Screaming Eagles as they have a three point lead and two games in hand. It will take quite a collapse for the Moose to miss the playoffs as the Baie-Comeau Drakkar are 12 points back of the Herd… it was the game that nobody saw on Wednesday night at the Halifax Metro Centre. With a winter storm wrecking havoc, the Mooseheads pulled off a huge upset win by beating the Drummondville Voltigeurs 5-2. Gerrad Grant, Trey Lewis, Darcy Ashley, and Carl Gelinas (2) scored for the Herd. Former Sea Dogs goaltender Frederic Piche made 22 saves in the win… 3-6-0-1 in their last 10 games and have won two straight. Over their past two games, the Moose have outscored their opposition 10-6… 9-15-1-2 at the Metro Centre this season and have been outscored 109-82. They have picked up 21 points at home this season compared to 16 on the road… in their last 10 home matches, the Mooseheads are 3-5-1-1… Halifax’s penalty kill isn’t the greatest story of the season. Their PK comes in ranked 16th in the league with a rating of 74.3%. At home, the team is running at 77.3%... the Mooseheads’ power play is ranked 13th in the league with a rating of 19%. At home, the team is operating at 19.2%, good for 11th among home teams in the league… Halifax is currently serving the fifth most penalty minutes per game with an average of 16.1 per game… Carl Gelinas currently leads the team in scoring with 46 points in 51 games. Import star Maryin Frk is second on the team in points with 39… Gelinas leads the club in goals with 23 on the year. Charles Bety is second with 19… Frk leads the team in assists with 25 this season. Gelinas is a close second with 23 on the year… Anthony Terenzio is expected to get the start in goal this evening. The American has a record of 9-11-1-0, a goals against average of 3.80, and a save percentage of 0.872… Frk is 11th in the league in first goals with five… Sawyer Hannay leads the league in penalty minutes with 126 minutes served in 42 games. He is averaging three penalty minutes per game… Matthew Boudreau is 2-for-2 in the shootout… Frk is fourth in rookie scoring with 39 points while Ashley is fifth with 36 points… Gelinas has taken the fifth most dangerous shots in the league this season with 115… Gelinas is on a four-game goals scoring streak.

HOCKEY DAY IN MOOSE COUNTRY
Today is Hockey Day in Moose Country. From the Mooseheads website:

The Mooseheads will be hosting 16 Atom and PeeWee House League teams from across the Province who will be playing games all day at the Metro Centre as part of the festivities. The Mooseheads will also introduce the Halifax Hawks PeeWee AAA team representing the Mooseheads at the Quebec International PeeWee Tournament next week in Quebec City. Fans going to the game are encouraged to wear their favourite hockey jersey for a chance to win great prizes.

The Mooseheads will also recognize 13-year old Michael Rumsby, the Captain of the Bantam AA Cole Harbour Wings, who will perform the official puck drop for the event. Rumsby, recently featured on CBC during the NHL Winter Classic, is battling brain cancer.
NOTES
  • Frédéric Piché earned his first victory with the Mooseheads Wednesday night vs. Drummondville.
  • From the Mooseheads Twitter: Crazy stat of the day: If Corbeil starts tonite for SJ, it'll be the 2nd home game in a row where AT faces a goalie 1ft taller than him.
  • This is the Sea Dogs’ last game in Halifax this season.
  • Should be interesting to see how the Mooseheads play against Mathieu Corbeil tonight.

ARENA INFO
Venue: Halifax Metro Centre
Seating Capacity: 10,500
Average Attendance: 5,170
Year Built: 1978
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, Chronicle Herald, Metro Halifax, 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
Saint John travels to Charlottetown to face the PEI Rocket on Friday night at 7pm.

Photo Credits: Mooseheads website, Moose Maniac, Drummondville radio

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