PRESIDENT'S CUP PRE-GAME: Game Five vs Moncton Wildcats

GAME DAY
2010 Presidents Cup Final
Game Five: Moncton Wildcats vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Friday, May 8, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Harbour Station

SERIES STATUS
The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2.

PRE-GAME PREVIEW
Just under a week ago, many people were talking about the Moncton Wildcats sweeping the Saint John Sea Dogs in the President’s Cup Final. The Wildcats dominated the Sea Dogs in the first two games, outscoring the league’s best offensive team 14-4.

Then the tide shifted.

Saint John hung on for a critical 6-4 win on Tuesday before winning 3-2 in overtime last night. Although Moncton had complete control of the second half of last night’s game, momentum is clearly in Saint John’s favour.

The Sea Dogs have dropped two games at Harbour Station in this post-season including a 5-1 loss to the Wildcats in Game One. But the Dogs jumped out to an early lead in Game Three and were energized by the rocking home crowd.

Of course, tonight’s game will likely have the best atmosphere of the series at the Station if it does not go to seven games. The game sold out in just 31 minutes, so having a ticket is similar to winning the lottery.

Saint John has regained home ice advantage after their dramatic Game Four victory at the Moncton Coliseum. With that win, the best-of-seven series is all of a sudden a best-of-three affair.

It’s an all new series, and it begins tonight.

GET TO KNOW THE WILDCATS
Visiting Team: Moncton Wildcats

Playoff Record: 14-5
Record at Home: 7-3
Record on Road: 7-2
Power Play: 26.4%
Penalty Kill: 81.3%
Playoff Leading Scorer: Kelsey Tessier (15GP-10G-11A-21Pts)
All-Time Playoff Record: 72-52

Reg. Season Record: 48-14-2-4 (2nd Atlantic, 3rd QMJHL)
Record vs Saint John: 4-0-1-3
Record at Home: 26-6-0-2 (2nd)
Record on the Road: 22-8-2-2(2nd)
Power Play: 27.0%
Penalty Kill: 83.0%

Reg. Season Leading Scorer: Nicolas Deschamps (64GP-39G-57A-96Pts)

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).

GET TO KNOW THE SEA DOGS
Home Team: Saint John Sea Dogs

Playoff Record: 14-5
Record at Home: 8-2
Record on Road: 6-3
Power Play: 28.8%
Penalty Kill: 81.3%
Playoff Leading Scorer: Michael Kirkpatrick (14GP-10G-13A-23Pts)
All-Time Playoff Record: 21-15

Reg. Season Record: 53-12-1-2 (1st Atlantic, 1st QMJHL)
Record vs Moncton: 4-3-0-1
Record at Home: 26-7-0-1 (3rd)
Record on Road: 27-5-1-1 (1st)
Power Play: 24.3%
Penalty Kill: 78.8%

Reg. Season Leading Scorer: Mike Hoffman (56GP-46G-39A-85P)

NHL Draft Picks: Yann Sauve (Vancouver), Marco Cousineau (Anaheim), Simon Despres (Pittsburgh), Steven Anthony (Vancouver), Mike Hoffman (Ottawa), and Nicholas Petersen (Pittsburgh).

HEAD-TO-HEAD THIS SEASON
Season series tied 4-4

2009/09/27: Moncton Wildcats 3 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 4 SO
2009/10/17: Moncton Wildcats 2 @ Saint John 3 OT
2009/12/13: Saint John Sea Dogs 3 @ Moncton Wildcats 7
2009/12/31: Saint John Sea Dogs 4 @ Moncton Wildcats 3 SO
2010/01/06: Moncton Wildcats 5 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 3
2010/02/06: Saint John Sea Dogs 5 @ Moncton Wildcats 4 SO
2010/03/05: Moncton Wildcats 4 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 3 SO
2010/03/14: Saint John Sea Dogs 2 @ Moncton Wildcats 5

Saint John leading scorer vs Moncton: Tomas Jurco (8GP-5G-4A-9Pts)
Moncton leading scorer vs Saint John: David Savard (7GP-0G-10A-10Pts)

SERIES RESULTS/SCHEDULE
The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2

GAME 1: Friday, April 30 – Moncton Wildcats 5 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 1
GAME 2: Sunday, May 2 – Saint John Sea Dogs 3 @ Moncton Wildcats 9
GAME 3: Tuesday, May 4 – Moncton Wildcats 4 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 6
GAME 4: Friday, May 7 – Saint John 3 @ Moncton Wildcats 2 (OT)

GAME 5: Saturday, May 8 - 7pm @ Harbour Station
GAME 6: Monday, May 10 - 7pm @ Moncton Coliseum
*GAME 7: Tuesday, May 11 - 7pm @ Harbour Station
*if necessary

CRAZY FACT
Saint John’s epic 22-game winning streak began after a 3-2 overtime victory over the Moncton Wildcats; the same score as last evening’s game.

WHAT TO WEAR
Fans attending Game Five are encouraged to wear their Bell Aliant FibreOP QMJHL Finals t-shirts or another piece of team apparel as a sign of support for the Port City’s major junior squad.

FIRST GOAL IS KEY
The winner of each game in this series has scored the first goal.

ROCKING THE ROAD
After a 3-2 overtime win last night, the Sea Dogs are 3-3 at the Moncton Coliseum this year. All three of their wins came in overtime or shootout.

ON THE TUBE
Tonight’s game can be seen on Rogers TV (channel 10) across the province.

WHO TO WATCH
Moncton – Gabriel Bourque
The Nashville Predators prospect was held without a goal for the first time in the series last night. Bourque did, however, miss several solid scoring chances.

Saint John – Jonathan Huberdeau
The rookie sensation played an excellent game last night and had several chances. Huberdeau is tied with Mike Hoffman for second on the Sea Dogs with 11 goals.

THE RINK
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297
Playoff Average Attendance: 4,797
Reg. Season Average Attendance: 4,140

MEDIA RELATIONS
Newspapers: Telegraph-Journal, Times & Transcript, Journal de Quebec, and L’Acadie Nouvelle
Television: Rogers TV
Radio: Saint John- News 88.9; Moncton- News 91.9
Video: Telus Webcast
Post-Game Highlights: SeaDogsTV

TWITTER
Follow Station Nation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/station_nation for in game updates from tonight’s game.

AFTER THE BUZZER
Game Six is Monday night at 7:00 pm at the Moncton Coliseum.