GAME DAY
WHO: Gatineau Olympiques vs Saint John Sea Dogs
WHEN: Tonight, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Harbour Station
VISITING TEAM: Gatineau Olympiques
Record: 19-8-2-2 (Tied 2nd in Telus West Division)
Last Game: 3-2 overtime win at Moncton yesterday
Leading Scorer: Jean-Gabriel Pageau (31GP-16G-15A-31Pts)
Notes: The Gatineau Olympiques arrive in Saint John with a record of 19-8-2-2 which places them in a tie for second in the tough Telus West Division with the Drummondville Voltigeurs. The two teams are six points back of the division leading Montreal Juniors. The Olympiques are tied for fifth overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League… Gatineau is coming off a 3-2 overtime win in Moncton against the Wildcats last night. Hugo Laporte and Philippe Halley scored in regulation while Adam Janosik scored at 4:11 of overtime on a power play to win the game for the ‘Piques. Former Cape Breton Screaming Eagles goaltender Francois Lacerte made 25 saves in the win. Gatineau scored two of their three goals on the man advantage… the Olympiques are streaking right now dispite some injuries to their squad. The team has won seven straight games and are 8-1-1-0 in their last 10 games… this is the third game of a four game road swing through Atlantic Canada for the Olympiques. Their trip started Wednesday with a 4-1 victory in PEI over the Rocket. The team then beat Moncton in overtime last night, play in Saint John this evening, and wrap things up tomorrow afternoon at Bathurst… on the road this year, Gatineau is 9-3-1-2 and have gained 21 of their 42 points away from home. They have outscored their opposition on the road 41-21… Gatineau’s power play is ranked tenth overall in the QMJHL with a rating of 0.206.Their rating slips to 0.200 on the road… the Olympiques’ penalty kill is ranked 13th in the league with a rating of 0.764. On the road, they are producing a penalty kill of 0.787… Jean-Gabriel Pageau leads the ‘Piques in scoring this season with 31 points in 31 contests. Pageau also leads the team in goals with 16 and assists with 15… Tommy Tremblay has a team best +19 rating… with Lacerte starting in goal last night, Maxime Clermont will likely get the call between the pipes this afternoon. The star netminder has a record of 14-4-1-2, a goals against average of 2.39, and a save percentage of 0.903. His last start was Wednesday in Charlottetown where he made 26 saves in a 4-1 Gatineau victory… Gatineau has taken the fourth most fighting majors of any team in the league this season with 35. They team is led by Scott Sandercock, who has five fighting majors to go along with his overall unreal name.
Record: 23-3-0-2 (1st in Maritime Division)
Last Game: 6-2 win vs Lewiston yesterday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (28GP-20G-24A-44Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs come into today’s action with a record of 23-3-0-2 which is good for first in the Maritime Division and are currently eight points up on the second place Moncton Wildcats. The Sea Dogs are tied with the Montreal Juniors for first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 48 points… the team was ranked second in this week’s edition of the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings… Saint John is coming off a rather solid win over a good team in the Lewiston Maineiacs last night at Harbour Station. Six different goal scorers - Jonathan Huberdeau, Danick Gauthier, Michael Kirkpatrick, Tomas Jurco, Simon Despres, and Mike Thomas - all scored for the winners. Goaltender Frederic Piche made 28 saves to pick up the win… the Sea Dogs continued their hot ways with a victory last night. Like Gatineau, Saint John has now won seven straight contests. They are 9-0-0-1 in their last 10 games and have picked 27 of a possible 28 points over the past 14 games. The squad has not lost in regulation since October 22nd in Bathurst… the team continues to lead the QMJHL in goals scored. They have now recorded 141 goals in 28 games for a per-game average of 5.03… Saint John continues to dominate at Harbour Station. The team is now 14-0-0-1 at home this season and have outscored their opposition by a whopping 80-29 margin. The Dogs are averaging 5.33 goals per-game at the Station in 15 matches… Saint John’s power play has been fairly solid over the past few games. The team now has a rating of 0.227 which places them seventh overall in the QMJHL… the Sea Dogs’ penalty kill is also ranked seventh with a rating of 0.807… Jonathan Huberdeau still leads Saint John in scoring with 44 points in 28 games… Huberdeau and Phillips both have a team high 20 goals. The two are tied with Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Ondrej Palat for second overall in league goal scoring with 20 markers each… Huberdeau also leads Saint John in helpers with 24, penalty minutes with 44, and has a league best +35 rating… 20-year old Jacob DeSerres will likely get the start in goal this evening. DeSerres has a record of 8-1-0-0, a goals against average of 2.66, and a save percentage of 0.902. His last start was Wednesday in Bathurst where he made 32 saves in a 7-2 Sea Dogs victory.
HARD TIMES
The Olympiques have managed to pull off seven straight wins without two of their best players.
Nicolas Deslauriers remains out of action with a knee injury he suffered in mid-November in a game against the Moncton Wildcats where he collided with Scott Trask. Deslauriers, who was a strong candidate to make Canada’s world junior team this year, had five goals and 13 assists in 19 games before going down.
Gatineau has also been without their captain, Hubert Labrie. “Labrie has been out of action since the second day of training camp in August, when he received a seemingly innocent check from teammate Jacob Conrad behind the net during a scrimmage,” reports the Ottawa Citizen. “Labrie's right skate caught in the ice and his knee twisted, rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament. “
He is expected to be out the ‘Piques lineup until February or March.
"When I watch a game, it's hard," Labrie says. "Every game, it's like I want to be on the ice to help my teammates, to be in the room and close to the guys. I'm there for everybody. I'm the captain and it's my job."
This will be the first meeting between these two teams since Game Four of the QMJHL Quarter-Finals.
Saint John dominated the series, winning it in four straight. It wasn’t just the playoffs, though, as the Sea Dogs had the Olympiques’ number last season.
From the SN Sea Dogs Post-Game Notebook following Game Four:
Regular season and post-season combined, Saint John finishes with a record of 7-0 against Gatineau this year. That includes a 4-0 record at the Robert Guertin Centre.We must not forget about our old friend, paper bag guy (pictured), who appeared in Gatineau at Game Four.
Saint John scored seven or more goals four times and shutout the ‘Piques three times.
Overall, Saint John outscored their Quebec opponent 41-13.
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, Le Droit, Ottawa Citizen
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 travel to Charlottetown on Tuesday to face the stalling Rocket at 7:00 pm.
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