Tuesday, February 28, 2012

GAMEDAY 61: vs Wildcats

GAMEDAY
Moncton Wildcats vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Tonight at 7pm
Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live Blog: SN
Harbour Station – Saint John, NB


PREVIEW
SAINT JOHN – Two rivals meet for the final time this regular season tonight at Harbour Station as the Saint John Sea Dogs host the Moncton Wildcats. Game time for game eight of the 2011-12 Brunswick News Rivalry Cup is 7pm.

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats met on Saturday at the Moncton Coliseum with Saint John winning 3-2 in a shootout. With the win, the Dogs trail Moncton 20.5-16.5 heading into tonight’s final Rivalry Cup matchup.

Saint John enters play tonight with a record of 44-14-0-2 for 90 points. They sit first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, one-point up on the Shawinigan Cataractes. The Sea Dogs also have one game in hand.

The big story heading into tonight’s game is the Sea Dogs’ 14-game winning streak. They have not lost since January 12, meaning a win this evening would give them a perfect record in the month of February.

The Dogs are 25-5-0-1 at Harbour Station this season and have outscored their opponents 146-74.

Moncton enters play tonight with a record of 27-26-3-3 and sit fourth in the Maritimes Division and 11th overall in the QMJHL with 60 points. Just six points separate ninth and 14th place in the league.

The Wildcats are 11-16-0-2 on the road and have been outscored by their opponents 105-76.

THE NUMBERS

MonctonSaint John
Record27-26-3-3 (4th Maritimes)44-14-0-2 (1st Maritimes)
Home Record- - -25-5-0-1
Road Record11-16-0-2- - -
Streak0-2-0-114-0-0-0
Last 105-4-0-110-0-0-0
Goals For162258
Goals Against188159
Overall PP25.1% (4th)23% (8th)
Home PP- - -23.8% (7th)
Road PP25.2% (4th)- - -
Overall PK82.2% (3rd)79.5% (6th)
Home PK- - -83.6% (4th)
Road PK80% (5th)- - -
PIM/GAME14.6 (14th)16.5 (5th)

LAST GAMES
The Sea Dogs are coming off a 9-1 victory over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Sunday afternoon at Harbour Station. Jonathan Huberdeau and Maxime Villemaire each had two goals while singles came from Charlie Coyle, Tomas Jurco, Danick Gauthier, Ryan Tesink and Nathan Beaulieu. Tesink and Stephen MacAulay each had three assists. Sebastien Auger made 15 saves for the win.

The Wildcats are coming off a 6-0 loss to the Shawinigan Cataractes on Sunday afternoon at the Moncton Coliseum. Roman Will faced 61 shots, allowing six goals in the loss. The Cataractes went 3/4 on the power play.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Saint John is 5-2-0-0 against Moncton this season while the Wildcats are 2-2-1-2 against the Sea Dogs.

Their last meeting was on Saturday at the Moncton Coliseum when the Sea Dogs needed a shootout to defeat the Wildcats 3-2. Charles Roussel and Stanislav Galiev scored for Saint John in regulation while Jonathan Huberdeau and Tomas Jurco netted shootout goals. Moncton, who was barely able to ice a team, had goals from Scott Trask and Marek Hrivik. Mathieu Corbeil made 25 saves for the win while Roman Will made 51 in the loss.

LEADING SCORERS
Saint John is led by Zack Phillips who has 76 points (28G, 48A) in 53 games this season. Danick Gauthier has a team high 41 goals while Phillips leads the squad in assists with 48.

Alex Saulnier leads Moncton in scoring with 72 points (28G, 44A) in 50 games this year. Alex Saulnier has a team high 28 goals while he and his twin brother, Allain, each have a team leading 44 assists.

PROBABLE GOALTENDERS
Mathieu Corbeil (33-9-0-0, 2.28 GAA, 0.914 SV%) for Saint John and Roman Will (26-20-3-3, 2.63 GAA, 0.916 SV%) for Moncton.

NOTES
  • The Sea Dogs are averaging 4,429 fans per game this season at Harbour Station, good for third in the league.
  • Including tonight’s game, Saint John has just three home games remaining in the regular season.
  • Danick Gauthier is second in the league in goals with 41.
  • Zack Phillips is sixth in assists with 48. Alex and Allain Saulnier are 12th and 13th, respectively, with 44 helpers.
  • Alex Saulnier is 11th in power play goals with 11.
  • Allain Saulier is 13th in power play assists with 20.
  • Gauthier is third in game-winning goals with seven.
  • Alex Saulnier is seventh in first goals with six. Phillips is eighth with six as well.
  • Ian Saab is second in penalty minutes with 150.
  • Phillips is a league best +44. The top four plus/minus players are all Sea Dogs.
  • Jonathan Huberdeau has a league best five shorthanded assists.

OTHER GAMES
Val-d'Or at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:30 PM EST

NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs host the PEI Rocket this Friday at 7:30pm at Harbour Station.

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