Saturday, October 30, 2010

PRE-GAME: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

GAME DAY

WHO: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Rouyn-Noranda
WHEN: Tonight, 8:30 pm
WHERE: Iamgold Arena

VISITING TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 13-3-0-1 (2nd in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 7-3 win at Val-d’Or yesterday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (17GP-12G-9A-21Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs come into today’s game with a 13-3-0-1 record which places them second in the Maritimes Division and third overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They sit behind the second place Moncton Wildcats by a single point – but the ‘Cats have played two more games than Saint John. The Sea Dogs were an honourable mention in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings this week… the Sea Dogs are coming off a dominating performance against the Foreurs in Val-d’Or last night, winning the match 7-3 to make it a two straight wins in Val-d’Or for the club. Stanislav Galiev had a pair of goals while single markers were recorded by Gabriel Bourett, Zach Phillips, Jonathan Huberdeau, Mike Thomas and Simon Despres. Frederic Piche faced just 16 shots on the night… a couple of things to note from last night’s win on the health front. Simon Despres has had a bit of nagging lower body injury but played both Wednesday and Friday night. He was hit hard in the first period last night and was seen gripping his shoulder but stayed in the game. Aidan Kelly also left the game for a brief period after taking a big hit and Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant was not behind the bench because he was feeling under the weather… Saint John is 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games and won three straight – all on the road. Their three consecutive victories came last Saturday in Halifax, Wednesday in Val-d’Or, and last night’s match… 5-3-0-1 on the road this season. They have now outscored their opponents 35-31 along the way… this is the third game of a massive four game road trip through northern Quebec and the sixth straight game away from Harbour Station… Jonathan Huberdeau leads Saint John in points with 21 this season, goals with 12, penalty minutes with 23, and is a team best +20… Michael Kirkpatrick sits second in team scoring and has a team best 15 assists… Tomas Jurco has still not taken a penalty this season after 17 games played… Jacob DeSerres will likely get the call between the pipes this evening. He played his first career QMJHL game against the Huskies back at Harbour Station two weeks ago today, shutting them out 2-0. He has a 3.00 goals against average, a 0.889 save percentage, and a 2-1-0-0 record. His last game was on Wednesday in a 5-4 win over the Foreurs.

EARLIER THIS SEASON
From the Sea Dogs’ website:

Saint John defeated Rouyn-Noranda earlier this season, with overage goaltender Jacob DeSerres having blanked the Huskies 2-0 in his QMJHL debut back on October 16. Vancouver Canucks prospect Steven Anthony and Washington Capitals prospect Stanislav Galiev both found the back of the net for the home team in that match, while Team Captain Mike Thomas led all Sea Dogs skaters with three hits on the night.
KIRKPATRICK LOOKING TO MAKE HISTORY
Veteran centre Michael Kirkpatrick has accumulated 19 points this season on four goals and 15 assists. Kirkpatrick enters this weekend's action needing two goals to tie fellow Cape Bretoner Ryan Sparling for the all-time Sea Dogs record with 83 career markers.

HOME TEAM: Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Record: 4-12-0-1 (6th in Telus West Division)
Last Game: 9-4 loss vs Val-d’Or Saturday
Leading Scorer: Robbie DeFulviis (15GP-6G-5A-11Pts)
Notes: The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies enter tonight’s affair with a 4-12-0-1 record which places them last in the Telus West Division and 17th overall in the 18-team Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They sit four points ahead of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar for last place and are two points behind the 16th ranked Halifax Mooseheads. They are the definition of a rebuilding team… the Huskies are coming off a 9-4 home loss against the Val-d’Or Foreurs last Saturday. Jessyko Bernard had two goals while Jason Houde and Maxim Kazakov added singles. Goaltenders Mickael Audette and Jeffery Noonan combined to allow nine goals on 34 shots. The Huskies actually outshot the Foreurs 40-34 in the game… 1-8-0-1 in their last 10 games and have lost six straight games, picking up a point in just one of them… they are 2-6-0-0 at home this season and have been outscored 44-19 along the way… the Huskies have the 16th best power play with a rating of 0.123%... owners of the 14th best penalty kill with a rating of 0.756%... Robbie DeFulviis leads the Huskies in scoring with 11 points in 15 games… Jessyko Bernard leads the team in goals with seven… Jerome Raymond has a team high six assists… former Sea Dogs defenseman Robert McEwan has two assists, four penalty minutes, and a -9 rating in nine games with Rouyn-Noranda… Rouyn-Noranda is the 11th youngest team in the QMJHL with an average age of 17.89 years… the club has an average height of 181.52 cm which places them 15th in the league… the Huskies are the 10th heaviest club with an average weight of 80.78 kg… this is the 501st home game for the Huskies franchise. They celebrated their 500th home game last Saturday… Jason Kelly leads the Huskies in fights with five this season. The team has 18 fights overall this year compared to the Sea Dogs’ seven – the second lowest in the league.

ARENA INFO
Venue: Iamgold Arena (formerly known as Dave Keon Arena)
Seating Capacity: 2,850 (2,150 seated)
Year Built: 1951
Ice Dimensions: 190’ X 85’
QMJHL Arena Guide


A video tour of the facility:



GOAL HORN
This is the best video we could find, featuring the start of warm-up from the Sea Dogs - Huskies 2008 playoff series. For some reason it can't be embeded

MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Live Blog: Station Nation
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Le Citoyen

TWITTER
Follow Station Nation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/station_nation for in-game updates, scores, stats, and live coverage during tonight’s game.

AFTER THE BUZZER
The Sea Dogs end their road trip tomorrow at 5:00 pm in Rouyn-Noranda.

Photo Credits: Marc Henwood photography, QMJHL Arena Guide

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