PRE-GAME: Moncton Wildcats vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Game Day
Brunswick News Rivalry Cup
Moncton Wildcats vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Today, September.27, 2009 @ 4:00 pm
Harbour Station

Visiting Team: Moncton Wildcats
Record: 4-1-0-0 (Tied 1st in Atlantic)
Last Season Record: 48-14-2-4 (1st Atlantic)
Last Game: 4-1 win @ Cape Breton on Friday
Leading Scorer: Scott Brannon: 3-3-2-5
Notes: The Wildcats are predicted to win the Atlantic division… Moncton has three NHL drafted players: Randy Cameron (Detroit), Mark Barberio (Tampa Bay), and David Savard (Columbus)… they selected highly touted Russian Kirill Kabanov in the 2009 CHL Import Draft with the seventh overall pick. Kabanov has been with the club for a few weeks but is still waiting clearance to play by the IIHF… Brandon Gormley is expected to be a top ten selection in the 2010 NHL entry draft… the Cats won both games of the 2008-09 Brunswick News Rivalry Cup… head coach Danny Flynn is a former assistant coach with the New York Islanders.

Home Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 4-2-0-0 (Tied 1st in Atlantic)
Last Season Record: 34-30-2-2 (3rd Atlantic)
Last Game: 5-2 loss vs Victoriaville on Friday
Leading Scorer: Kevin Gagne: 6-0-7-7
Notes: 0-2 all-time in Rivalry Cup games… coming off back-to-back home loses… the Sea Dogs have yet to play Moncton this season, including pre-season play… this is the last game of a five game home stand… Mike Hoffman is questionable for the game due to a lower body injury. He is listed as day-to-day… as of Saturday night, Saint John has the worst penalty kill in the league with a 53.6% rating. The Sea Dogs had the third best last season… Mike Thomas is serving the third game of a six game suspension.

Saint John vs Moncton:
Last Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
8-2-6-0-0-4
Home: 4-1-3-0-0-2
Road: 4-1-3-0-0-2
Goals For: 19
Goals Against: 31

All-Time (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
32-11-19-2-0-24
Home: 16-7-8-1-0-15
Road: 16-4-11-1-0-9
Goals For: 96
Goals Against: 139

Station Nation Facts:

• The Wildcats franchise is 15 years old this season. They were awarded the expansion Alpines in 1995. The team was sold the following season and changed its name to the Wildcats.
• Moncton won the league title in 2006. They hosted the Mastercard Memorial Cup and lost in the final to the Quebec Remparts.
• The team’s notables over the years include: Sébastien Roger, Jean-François Damphousse, Steve Bernier, Corey Crawford, Ted Nolan and Nicola Riopel.

Station Nation Rivalry Cup Facts

• Point Format:
  Head-to-head on ice: Two points for a regulation, overtime or shootout win. One point for an overtime or shootout loss. Each team can total a maximum of 16 points.
  Box office: The attendance for all eight games between the Wildcats and Sea Dogs will be calculated. Teams are awarded a half point for 70 per cent building capacity, one point for 80 per cent, two points for 90 per cent and three points for 100 per cent. Each team can earn a maximum of 12 points.
  Holiday food drive: Five points are awarded to the city that collects the most non-perishable food items during a food drive that will take place during home games against each other on New Year's Eve and Jan. 2.
  Mascot challenge: Each club will host two intermission events featuring the mascots. One point is awarded for a victory. Four total points are up for grabs in this category.
  Road trip challenge: Two points are awarded for the team that has the most fans show up at the opposition's arena wearing Wildcats or Sea Dogs apparel. These fans will parade onto the ice to be counted. It's for one designated game in each city with the dates to be announced.
• The challenge was issued by Saint John last season. The Sea Dogs gave fans the return of Chris DiDomenico while Wildcats fans got a large amount of giveaways.
• The Wildcats won the inaugural Brunswick News Rivalry Cup last season, selling out the game. The new format includes more than just attendance.
• The following are attendance percentage figures for Harbour Station:
  100%- 6,297+ (3 points)
  90%- 5,667+ (2 points)
  80%- 5,037+ (1 point)
  70%- 4,407+ (0.5 point)
• Rivalry Cup schedule: Moncton visits Saint John today at 4 p.m., Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. and March 5 at 7 p.m. The Wildcats host the Sea Dogs on Dec. 13 at 4 p.m., Dec. 31 at 7 p.m., Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. and March 14 at 4 p.m.

Important Info:
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297

Saint John Media: Radio- News 88.9 FM (http://www.news889.com/)
Live Video Streaming: http://www.qmjhl.mytelus.com/
Post-Game Coverage: http://www.stationnation.blogspot.com/, Telegraph-Journal, Times & Transcript
Post-Game Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/user/seadogstv