GAMEDAY 15 - at Halifax

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Halifax Mooseheads

Tonight, October 21, 2011 at 7pm

Halifax Metro Centre

PREVIEW

HALIFAX – It’s test time for the Halifax Mooseheads.

After three straight years of icing terrible hockey teams, the Mooseheads are moving in the right direction this season. Off to an 8-4-0-0 start, Halifax sits second in the Maritimes Division and seventh overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Winners of five straight, the Moose will try to keep their streak going tonight against the Saint John Sea Dogs. Game time is 7pm at the Halifax Metro Centre.

Halifax will use this weekend as a measuring stick to see just how good they really are. They host the fifth ranked team in Canada tonight and sixth ranked team – the Quebec Remparts – tomorrow.

“It’s definitely going to be a test for us,” said forward Travis Randell to the Chronicle Herald. “Quebec (was) in first place in the league and Saint John is probably the favourite to win our league again and maybe even another Memorial Cup. It’s definitely going to be a challenge and for the younger guys, it will be a good learning experience as well. Hopefully it pulls us even closer and who knows what can happen. If we come out the way we feel we’re capable of playing, I think we can beat anyone in this league.”

Tonight is the first meeting of the season between the Sea Dogs and Mooseheads. Saint John went 8-0-0-0 against the Herd last year.

Saint John has a record of 9-5-0-0 and sit second overall in the QMJHL with 18 points. They are 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games and have won two straight.

The Dogs are 5-1 on home ice this season but have been average on the road. Away from Harbour Station they are 4-4-0-0 and have been outscored 36-27. Six of those eight road contests have been played in unfamiliar Quebec arenas.

Despite playing two Quebec road swings already, this is the first three-in-three for the Sea Dogs. They host the PEI Rocket tomorrow night and the Quebec Remparts on Sunday.

NOTES: Zack Phillips leads Saint John in scoring with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in just nine games. Danick Gauthier is second on the team in points with 10 goals and four assists… Gauthier leads the team in goals with 10. Phillips is second with seven while Ryan Tesink, Tomas Jurco and Oliver Cooper each have four… Phillips leads the team in assists with eight. Tesink, Stephen MacAulay, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nathan Beaulieu and Pierre Durepos each have six… Gauthier, Kevin Gagne and Charles-Olivier Roussel are all a team high +11. Phillips is a +10… Jason Seed is a team worst -5… Ian Saab is the Sea Dogs’ penalty leader having served 41 penalty minutes in just six games… Phillips has a team high three power play goals… Gauthier has taken a Sea Dogs high 35 shots on goal… Phillips is fourth in the league in game winning goals with two… Phillips is fifth in the league in first goals with two… Phillips is third in the league in insurance goals with two. Gauthier is sixth with two as well… Huberdeau leads the league in shorthanded assists with two… their power play is operating at 17.1% which is good for 15^th in the league… Saint John’s penalty kill is last in the league with a rating of 68.6%.

IN NET: Mathieu Corbeil will likely get the start in goal tonight against his former team. Corbeil, who was recalled by the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this work on an emergency basis, has a record of 7-2-0-0 to go with a goals against average of 2.61 and a save percentage of 0.899.

STILL HURT: Stanislav Galiev will miss tonight’s game because of a broken wrist. He is out indefinitely.

LAST GAME: Saint John is coming off a 4-1 win in Val-d’Or last Saturday. Zack Phillips scored twice for the Dogs while Stephen MacAulay and Jason Cameron each had a goal. Mathieu Corbeil made 14 saves for the win.

NOTES: Some guy named Nathan MacKinnon leads the Mooseheads in scoring with five goals and 14 assists for 19 points. Darcy Ashley is second on the team in points with nine goals and eight assists for 17 points… Ashley’s nine goals are a team high. Matthew Boudreau is second on the team in goals with six while MacKinnon and Luca Ciampini each have five… Brent Andrews is a Mooseheads best +8… Gabriel Desjardins is a team low -4… Ashley has served a team high 25 penalty minutes in 12 games… Boudreau has a team high three power play goals… MacKinnon has taken a team high 47 shots… MacKinnon’s 14 assists place him sixth in the league… Desjardins is fifth in the league in game winning goals with two. Boudreau is seventh with two as well… Ashley is seventh in the league in first goals with two… Brad Cuzner has two insurance goals, placing him fifth in the league… MacKinnon’s 19 points place him third in rookie scoring behind Quebec’s Mikhail Grigorenko and Rouyn-Noranda’s Denis Kamaev… Halifax has won five straight and are 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 games… 6-1-0-0 at the Metro Centre this season. They have outscored their opposition 32-21 in seven games… Halifax has the ninth best power play with a rating of 21.2%... their penalty kill is running at 68.6% - the same as Saint John’s – which places them 16^th in the league.

IN NET: Anthony Terenzio will likely get the start in net tonight for Halifax. He is 5-3-0-0 with a goals against average of 3.79 and a save percentage of 0.870.

HURTING: According to Metro Halifax, the Mooseheads will be without Steve Gillard and Martin Frk tonight as they recover from concusions. Andrew Ryan has a broken ankle.

LAST GAME: The Moose are coming off a 4-3 win over Drummondville last Saturday at the Halifax Metro Centre. Alexandre Grenier, Joshua Desmond, Darcy Ashley and Brent Andrews all scored for the Herd. Zachary Fucale made 21 stops for the win.

Best Mooseheads Video We Could Find On YouTube: Martin Frk goes to the dentist.

PINK ICE

The Halifax Metro Centre ice will be pink tonight as part of the Mooseheads’ ‘Pink In The Rink’ promotion. The Herd will be wearing pink jerseys as well.

A guy that makes the ice explains in this video from 2009:

The Sea Dogs will wear pink jerseys tomorrow night at Harbour Station. They will be auctioned off with proceeds going to breast cancer research.

OTHER GAMES

P.E.I. at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:30 PM ADT
Val-d'Or at Drummondville - 7:00 PM EDT
Gatineau at Baie-Comeau - 7:30 PM EDT
Cape Breton at Blainville-Boisbriand - 7:30 PM EDT
Moncton at Chicoutimi - 7:30 PM EDT
Rimouski at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:30 PM EDT
Victoriaville at Shawinigan - 7:30 PM EDT

THE RINK
Venue: Halifax Metro Centre
Capacity: 10,500
Average Attendance: 5,759
QMJHL Arena Guide

MEDIA GUIDE

Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Telegraph-Journal, Metro Halifax, Chronicle Herald
Live Coverage: Follow Station Nation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/station_nation) for live in game coverage. All tweets will also appear in the SN Live Blog that is posted on this site.

AFTER THE BUZZER

The Sea Dogs host the PEI Rocket tomorrow night at Harbour Station on ‘Pink In The Rink’ night. Game time is 7pm.