PRE-GAME: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Montreal Junior

Game Day
Saint John Sea Dogs vs Montreal Junior
Today, January 23, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Auditorium - Verdun

Visiting Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 39-7-1-0 (1st in Atlantic division)
Last Game: 5-4 shootout win at Quebec last night
Leading Scorer: Michael Kirkpatrick: 46 GP – 18 G – 42 A – 60 Pts
NHL Draft Picks: Yann Sauve (Vancouver), Marco Cousineau (Anaheim), Simon Despres (Pittsburgh), Steven Anthony (Vancouver), Mike Hoffman (Ottawa), and Nicholas Petersen (Pittsburgh).
Notes: Nicholas Petersen will return today from his one game automatic suspension that he got last Sunday in a fight against Chicoutimi. He has not scored a point in his last two games… Christian Morin got leveled in the third period of yesterday’s game and did not return after the hit. In five games against the Junior this season, he has two goals… coming off a thrilling come-from-behind victory in Quebec City last night. The Sea Dogs were trailing 4-2 in the second period but fought back to take the game to a shootout. In the shootout, Mike Hoffman, Tomas Jurco, and Jonathan Huberdeau scored to give Saint John the win… this is the second game of a three-in-three Quebec road swing for the Dogs. After today’s game, they travel to Gatineau… sit first in the Atlantic division, first overall in the QMJHL, and are ranked number one in Canada for the first time in franchise history this week… Saint John has scored the most goals of any team in the QMJHL this season with 210. They are second in fewest goals allowed with 125… owners of the seventh ranked power play in the league with a rating of 21.8%. They went 0/5 last night against the Remparts… the Sea Dogs’ penalty kill has improved since the last time these two teams met. It now sits 14th in the league with a rating of 76.3%... 9-1-0-0 in their last games and have won five straight. One of those five games includes a victory over the Junior at Harbour Station two weeks ago… have the best road record in the league at 19-3-1-0 – six points ahead of second place Drummondville with four games in hand. 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 road games and have won four straight away from home… Michael Kirkpatrick leads the way in scoring against Montreal. In two games, he has one goal and three assists.

Home Team: Montreal Junior
Record: 23-20-0-3 (3rd in Telus Western Division)
Last Game: 5-1 Win vs Val-d'Or last night
Leading Scorer: Jeremy Gouchie: 46 GP – 14 G – 26 A – 40 Pts
NHL Draft Picks: Jean-Francois Berube (Los Angeles)
Notes: Montreal did some shopping and selling during the holiday trading period. The Junior acquired Marc-Andre Levasseur from Chicoutimi for a third rounder… the Junior traded defenseman Alex Wall to the Moncton Wildcats and a third round pick for Dillon Donnelly and a European draft pick… one of the biggest deals of the entire deadline was the Jake Allen trade. Montreal traded the star goaltender to Drummondville for two first round picks… Montreal traded Pierre-Antoine Dion to Cape Breton for Patrick Lapostolle and a second round pick… J.F. Berube, the teams only NHL draft pick, is now the team’s starting goaltender after the Allen trade… Nicolas Chouinard leads the Junior in scoring against the Sea Dogs this season. In two games, he has scored one goal and three assists… Eliezer Sherbatov and Loik Poudrier have both scored two goals against Saint John this season… Guillaume Asselin is team high +4 versus the Dogs this season… they are one of the few teams who can say they have defeated Saint John on the road this season. They won 7-4 over the Dogs in October… Montreal is 12th overall in the league. In their last 10 games they are 7-3-0-0 and are coming off a victory… the Junior are tied with Victoriaville for the best penalty kill in the league with a rating of 84.8%... they have the second worst power play with a rating of 14.8%... 14-10-0-1 at home this season and are 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 home games… their penalty kill is ranked second among home statistics with a rating of 84.7%... averaging 2,849 fans per game this season.

Saint John vs Montreal:
This Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
2-1-1-0-0-2
Home: 1-1-0-0-0-2
Road: 1-0-1-0-0-0
Goals For: 8
Goals Against: 9

Last Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
3-1-2-0-0-2
Home: 2-1-1-0-0-2
Road: 1-0-1-0-0-0
Goals For: 8
Goals Against: 9

All-Time-Not including this season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
As Montreal and St. John’s
23-8-15-0-0-16
Home: 11-6-5-0-0-12
Road: 12-2-10-0-0-4
Goals For: 73
Goals Against: 86

As St. John’s
20-7-13-0-0-14
Home: 9-5-4-0-0-10
Road: 11-2-9-0-0-4
Goals For: 65
Goals Against: 77

Station Nation Facts:

• This is the third and final game between the two. Saint John is 1-1-0-0 against the Junior this season.
• Tonight’s game will feature former Sea Dog captain David Stich, who was traded to the Junior earlier this season. The trade had to happen because Stich takes up both a European spot and overage spot. Stich was drafted in the 2006 CHL Import Draft. He played 172 games with Saint John and recorded 14 goals and 46 assists. His point total had nothing to do with his success as he was a fan favourite because of shot blocking and rough play.
• The Montreal Junior and Saint John Sea Dogs are 2005 expansion cousins after they broke into the league as the St. John’s Fog Devils. During the 3rd season of their history, the Fog Devils, property of the Dobbin Family, were sold to Mr Farrel Miller. The new owner of the franchise transfers the team in Montreal (QC) for the start of the 2008-09 season. The Montreal Junior Hockey Club will play its home games at the Verdun Auditorium.
• On October 2, the Sea Dogs fell 7-4 to the Junior in Montreal. The Sea Dogs had a 2-1 lead early in the first period but allowed three Montreal goals in under two minutes, causing Marc-Antoine Gelinas to get the pull in net. Yann Sauve, Alexandre Leduc, Zach Phillips, and Steven Anthony all had goals for Saint John. The Dogs outshot Montreal 34-25.
• The Junior have been ridiculed at times for their high ticket prices: VIP (around the red lines): $50, Prestige (first few rows around the rest of the building): $28, Classic (all others): $17.

Important Info:
Venue: Auditorium - Verdun
Capacity: 3,780
Arena Guide Info: http://www.qmjhlarenaguide.com/juniors.htm

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/

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