PRE-GAME: Moncton Wildcats vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Game Day
Moncton Wildcats vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Friday, March 5, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Harbour Station

Visiting Team: Moncton Wildcats
Record: 44-13-1-4 (2nd in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 2-0 Win at Cape Breton on Tuesday
Leading Scorer: Nicolas Deschamps: 58 GP-39 G-54 A-93 Pts
NHL Draft Picks: Nicola Riopel (Philadelphia), Randy Cameron (Detroit), Mark Barberio (Tampa Bay), Nicolas Deschamps (Anaheim), David Savard (Columbus), Gabriel Bourque (Nashville), and Kelsey Tessier (Colorado).
Notes: The Wildcats sit second in the Atlantic division, third overall in the QMJHL, and are ranked number four in the CHL Top 10 this week… 8-1-0-1 in their last 10 games and have won eight straight games. It is only the second longest active streak as Drummondville has won 11 in a row… Moncton won 12 games straight earlier this season… Moncton has scored the fourth most goals in the league this season with 257 goals in 62 games… have allowed the fewest amount of goals against this season with 149 against in 62 games… have the best power play in the league at 27.5%. They have scored 94 goals on the power play this year… have the second best penalty kill in the league with a rating of 83.8%. Only Victoriaville has a better penalty kill… have scored the most shorthanded goals this season with 15. They are very dangerous on the penalty kill and have an easy time breaking away on bad passes by the opposing team at the point… have the second best road record at 21-8-1-2. They are 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 games away from the Moncton Coliseum and have won five straight… have the best road power play in the league with an efficiency just under 30%... the Wildcats have struggled with their penalty kill on the road. They sit seventh in the league with a P.K. rating of 80.9%... Nicolas Deschamps leads the league in scoring with 93 points (39 goals and 54 assists) in 58 games played. He does not lead the league in goals or assists however… David Savard leads the Wildcats in assists with 62 in 59 games. He has scored nine helpers against the Sea Dogs… Marek Hrivik and Daniel Pettersson both have a team high four goals against Saint John this year… Pettersson is a team high +6 against the Dogs while Ted Stephens is a team worst -5… Olivier Daoust leads the Cats with 14 penalty minutes against the Sea Dogs in six games.

DESCHAMPS NAMED OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE MONTH
PRESS RELEASE
Nicolas Deschamps is the award-winner on offence. In eleven games, the Moncton Wildcats forward registered eight goals, including three game-winners, and added fourteen assists. Moreover, he posted a +7 rating. His offensive output, which reached two points per game, certainly played an important role in the team’s record as the Wildcats collected points in nine of their eleven contests.

FAN CHALLENGE TONIGHT
MONCTON-WILDCATS.COM
The Wildcats take a 4 point lead into Harbour Station for tomorrow night’s Rivalry Cup Round 7 contest with the puck dropping at 7:30. The game is the first part of a two part Fan Challenge worth 2 points. The team with the most fans wearing the team colors in the opposition’s rink, gets the points, so we want Wildcats colors to fill Harbour Station. There’s a limited number of Ambassador Loyalty passes with a reduced price for the game at the Wildcats office, get yours today.

If you want to make a mini-vacation of the game, stay at Chipman Hill Suites, just five minutes from Harbour Station. 10% of the room rate with the code Wildcats will be donated to season ticket holder Kevin Rickard who is waging a fight against cancer. The offer is good for either game night or the night before or after the big game.

Home Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 51-11-1-0 (1st in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 3-1 loss vs PEI on Wednesday
Leading Scorer: Mike Hoffman: 52 GP-43 G-37 A-80 Pts
NHL Draft Picks: Yann Sauve (Vancouver), Marco Cousineau (Anaheim), Simon Despres (Pittsburgh), Steven Anthony (Vancouver), Mike Hoffman (Ottawa), and Nicholas Petersen (Pittsburgh).
Notes: Saint John is first in the Atlantic division, first overall in the QMJHL, and are ranked second in country for the second straight week… coming off a rough outing against PEI on Wednesday at Harbour Station. The Dogs could not get anything going all game and fell 3-1 to a team they will face in the first round of the playoffs. One more win will clinch the Sea Dogs their first ever regular season crown… the Sea Dogs lead the league in goals scored this year with 292… 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 games and are coming off a loss. Before Wednesday’s loss, the Dogs had won four straight, which includes three in-a-row on the road… 25-7-0-0 in their last 10 games and are coming off a loss. They are 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 games at Harbour Station… seven of the Sea Dogs’ 11 losses have come on home ice… two of Saint John’s losses this season have been against Moncton... the Sea Dogs sit tied with Quebec for third in the league in goals scored at home with 142… Stanislav Galiev still sits second in rookie scoring behind Petr Straka of the Rimouski Oceanic. Galiev has 15 goals and 44 assists in 62 games this season… Mike Hoffman had a three game point streak snapped on Wednesday. He had seven shots in the game… Michael Kirkpatrick has a team high seven points (two goals and five assists) against Moncton this season… Yann Sauve and Mike Hoffman both have a team high three goals against the Wildcats this season… Simon Despres leads the team in penalty minutes against Moncton with 18 in six games… Yann Sauve and his blue line partner Nathan Beaulieu along with Tomas Jurco are a team high +5 against Moncton. Despres is a team worst -3… the Sea Dogs are 1-1 all-time in regular season sold-out games and 1-1 in playoff games… Saint John’s power play against Moncton this season has only worked at 6.9%.

READY TO CLINCH FIRST PLACE
SAINTJOHNSEADOGS.COM
Saint John needs one more victory to clinch the first division title in franchise history. Two more points will also be enough to secure the Sea Dogs the 2009-10 Jean Rougeau Trophy as the QMJHL’s regular season champions, an achievement which affords the club home ice throughout the playoffs. Five of the past six Jean Rougeau Trophy winners have gone on to capture the President’s Cup and represent the Q at the MasterCard Memorial Cup Tournament.

Saint John vs Moncton
This Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
5-4-2-0-0-8
Home: 3-2-1-0-0-4
Road: 3-2-1-0-0-4
Goals For: 22
Goals Against: 24

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- Not Including This Season (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

PAST RESULTS THIS SEASON
Sep 27, 2009: Moncton Wildcats 3 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 4 in SO
Oct 17, 2009: Moncton Wildcats 2 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 3 in OT
Dec 13, 2009: Saint John Sea Dogs 3 @ Moncton Wildcats 7
Dec 31, 2009: Saint John Sea Dogs 4 @ Moncton Wildcats 3 in SO
Jan 06, 2010: Moncton Wildcats 5 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 3
Feb 06, 2010: Saint John Sea Dogs 5 @ Moncton Wildcats 4 in SO

Four of the six games between the two teams have gone to extra time with Saint John coming out on top each time.

TALE OF THE TAPE
HOCKEYFIGHTS.COM
Jan 06, 2010: Scott Trask vs Mike Thomas

Only one fight has taken place between the two despite the increasing tension between them. The much talked about Tyler Howe vs Mike Thomas fight has still not taken place.

STATION NATION FACTS

• Fans attending Friday’s contest are encouraged to wear green on the Sea Dogs' first annual Irish Night, with non-perishable food items set to be collected as part of the Brunswick News Rivalry Cup Challenge. Five points will be rewarded to the winner.
• Moncton leads the season-long competition 14.5 – 10.5 with two matches remaining in the eight-game series. With a sell-out already announced, Moncton now leads 14.5 – 13.5.
• There are 13 NHL drafted players and three potential first round picks set to play in this game.
• After the horn, the Sea Dogs take on the Halifax Mooseheads Sunday at Harbour Station at 4:00 pm.

THE RINK
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297
Average Attendance: 3,994
Arena Guide Info: http://www.qmjhlarenaguide.com/seadogs.htm

MEDIA
Saint John Media: Radio- News 88.9 FM (www.news889.com)
Live Video Streaming: www.qmjhl.mytelus.com
Post-Game Coverage: www.stationnation.blogspot.com, Telegraph-Journal, Times & Transcript, L’Acadie Nouvelle

TWITTER
Not one of the lucky fans with tickets to tonight’s game? Follow Station Nation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/station_nation for in game updates from tonight’s game.