WHO: Cape Breton Screaming Eagles vs Saint John Sea Dogs
WHEN: Tonight, 7:30 pm
WHERE: Harbour Station
VISITING TEAM: Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Record: 6-13-0-1 (5th in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 2-0 loss vs Chicoutimi Wednesday
Leading Scorer: Viktor Hertzberg (20GP-8G-9A-17Pts)
Notes: The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles come into today’s match with a 6-13-0-1 record, good for fifth in the Maritimes Division and 15th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. If the playoffs started today, they would face Saint John in the first round… the Eagles are coming off a 2-0 loss at the hands of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Wednesday night at Centre 200. Sags goaltender Christopher Gibson made 35 stops to shutout Cape Breton while Andrew Hayes made 30 stops at the other end. The Eagles went 0/5 on the power play. It was only the second time they had been shutout this season… 3-6-0-1 in their last 10 games and are coming off a loss… the Eagles are 3-7-0-1 on the road so far this year, meaning half of their wins have come at home while half have come on the road. While playing away from Centre 200, they have been outscored 29-41… they are the owners of the fourth worst power play in the QMJHL with a rating of 0.143%... they have the second worst penalty kill in the league and are running at 0.723%... Viktor Hertzberg leads the Eagles in scoring with 17 points, eight goals and nine assists, in 20 games this season. His eight goals lead the team in the goal scoring department while is nine assists are also a team high… from the Cape Breton Post on Wednesday’s game: “Cape Breton was without Taylor MacDougall (upper body). He’s going to be re-evaluated and is currently listed as day-to-day... Brad Cuzner (lower body) and Raman Hrabarenka (upper body) are both out four weeks, while Spencer Metcalfe is day-to-day after being hit by a puck during practice Monday”… Hayes will likely start in goal for the Eagles this evening. He has a record of 2-2-0-0, a league best 1.74 goals against average (although it isn’t officially counted), and a 0.924 save percentage since being picked up by Cape Breton from the Western Hockey League a short time ago.
Record: 15-3-0-1 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 7-0 win at Rouyn-Noranda Sunday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (19GP-13G-11A-24Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs enter play today with a 15-3-0-1 record which is good for first in the Maritimes Division and are currently tied with the Quebec Remparts for first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They have played one fewer game than the trailing Acadie-Bathurst Titan and Moncton Wildcats in the division and have played one more game than the Remparts… the Sea Dogs are coming off a 7-0 blowout win in Rouyn-Noranda on Sunday afternoon at Iamgold Arena. Stanislav Galiev and Michael Kirkpatrick led the way for Saint John producing two goals apiece. Gabriel Bourret, Mike Thomas, and Danick Gauthier also added goals. Steven Anthony and Stephen MacAulay both had two assists. Goaltender Frederic Piche was not tested too much, stopping 28 shots for the shutout victory… Saint John just completed a five day, six game road trip through northwestern Quebec where the team went a perfect 4-0-0-0… have won five straight games entering tonight’s contest with all of them being on the road. Wins came against Halifax and two in each Val-d’Or and Rouyn-Noranda… this will be the Sea Dogs’ first home game since October 17th where team defeated Victoriaville 4-2 at Harbour Station… the Sea Dogs have yet to lose on home ice this season and have a perfect 8-0-0-0 record. They have outscored their opposition 40-17 at Harbour Station. They are averaging five goals per home game… this is the first of four straight home matches for Saint John… 1-1-0-0 against Cape Breton this season. They have outscored the Eagles 8-4 in the two games… Jonathan Huberdeau continues to lead the way for Saint John in the scoring department. He has a team leading 24 points, 13 goals and 11 assists, in 19 games this season. He also leads the Dogs in goals with 13, plus/minus at +22, and penalty minutes with 27… Michael Kirkpatrick has a team leading 17 assists… the Sea Dogs have been excellent while shorthanded this season, scoring a league leading eight shorties. They have the fourth best penalty kill in the league at 0.842%... Ryan Tesink sits fourth in rookie scoring with five goals and nine assists in 17 games… Jacob DeSerres will likely get the call between the pipes this evening. He has a 3-1-0-0 record, a 2.73 goals against average, and a 0.903 save percentage. His last game was a 3-2 overtime victory in Rouyn-Noranda on Saturday.
EARLIER THIS SEASON…
From the Sea Dogs website:
Saint John is 1-1-0-0 versus Cape Breton thus far in 2010-11, having vanquished their divisional adversaries by a score of 7-2 at Harbour Station on September 11 prior to suffering a 2-1 setback at Centre 200 on October 3. In the all-time series between these two teams, the Screaming Eagles own a 21-15 wins advantage.NOVEMBER BLOWS IN
A home heavy month of November is ahead for the Sea Dogs. Of their nine games this month, seven of them will be at Harbour Station. The other two will be played within the confines of New Brunswick as they travel to Bathurst and Moncton.
November is also a special month for Saint John. Last season at this time, the team was in the middle of their epic 22-game winning streak and did not lose a single match in the 11th month of the year. Their last November loss came on November 30, 2008 when the Sea Dogs fell 8-4 in Rimouski.
It will be a 2009-10 Brandon Wheat King goaltenders reunion party tonight at Harbour Station. Both Jacob DeSerres, now with the Sea Dogs, and Andrew Hayes, now with the Screaming Eagles, helped guide the Wheat Kings into the MasterCard Memorial Cup Final last season.
Both saw playing time in the Memorial Cup as the host Wheat Kings fell to the powerhouse Windsor Spitfires.
DeSerres was picked up by Saint John off waivers a few weeks ago and Hayes was picked up the same way not long after. It was a bit of a strange move by Cape Breton, who appeared to have an already solid netminder in Francois Lacerte. Lacerte, 19, was picked up Gatineau earlier this week.
We doubt many people figured the two ex-Brandon goaltenders would be facing each other at Harbour Station this season.
ONE GOAL AWAY
Michael Kirkpatrick is one goal away from breaking Ryan Sparling's franchise record for career goals with 83.
ARENA INFO
Venue: Harbour Station
Seating Capacity: 6,297
Year Built: 1993
QMJHL Arena Guide
MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Live Blog: Station Nation
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Telegraph-Journal, Cape Breton Post
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 host the Chicoutimi Saguneens Saturday night at 7:00 pm.
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