Sea Dogs Weekend Preview

SAINT JOHN – After a week off, hockey returns to Harbour Station tomorrow night as the Saint John Sea Dogs host the Halifax Mooseheads at 7pm. The Dogs also play on Sunday afternoon as they travel to Bathurst to take on the Titan at 4pm.

The Sea Dogs enter action this weekend with a record of 32-13-0-2 and sit two points back of the Shawinigan Cataractes for top spot in the league. The Cataractes play the Quebec Remparts tonight in a marquee matchup.

Saint John is 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 games and are coming off a 3-0 win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs last Saturday at Harbour Station. The Dogs weren’t firing on all cylinders last Saturday, but after a week off, hopefully they have a better showing this weekend. 

Here are some things to watch for heading this weekend.

1. MacKINNON: Future/current superstar Nathan MacKinnon comes to town tomorrow night. The Mooseheads forward enters action tonight with 22 goals and 55 points in 36 games, good for second in rookie scoring. Saturday’s game will be just the second time he has appeared at Harbour Station with the Herd. He recorded two goals back on November 12 in Saint John.

2. CORBEIL: Sea Dogs goaltender Mathieu Corbeil is closing in on some statistical milestones. From the QMJHL website’s weekly numbers rundown.

Mathieu Corbeil (SNB) – He needs only 2 wins away from the team record of 27 wins in a season for a Sea Dogs’ goaltender established by Jacob DeSerres in 2010-11. In addition, his next score-less game he wins will allow him to set a new Sea Dogs’ record; currently at 4, he shares the re-cord with Jacob DeSerres who himself set the record a year ago.

3. GOALS: Three of the league’s top goal scorers will meet on Sunday in Bathurst. The Titan’s Zach O’Brien leads the league in goals with 37 while teammate Matthew Bissonnette is second with 33. Saint John’s Danick Gauthier is tied for second with 33 as well.

4. STRUGGLES: The Titan have had the Sea Dogs’ number this season. Bathurst has taken four of the five head-to-head matches this year. Saint John has picked up just three of a possible 10 points against the Titan. Their last meeting came on December 28 when the Titan snuck past the Sea Dogs with a 4-3 win at the KC Irving Regional Centre.

5. BIG CROWD: Tomorrow’s game against Halifax could be the Sea Dogs’ first sell-out of the season. There are a limited amount of tickets remaining. The Sea Dogs are averaging 4,117 fans per game this year, good for third in the league behind the Remparts and Mooseheads. The Dogs have just 10 regular season home games remaining.

STAT OF THE WEEK: The Sea Dogs are 16-7-0-2 against Maritimes Division opponents this season.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation