GAME DAY
WHO: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
WHEN: Tonight, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Centre 200
VISITING TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 27-4-0-2 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 5-3 win vs Halifax Sunday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (33GP-24G-28A-52Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs enter action today with a 27-4-0-1 record which is good for first place in the Maritimes Division and 10-points up on the second place Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The Sea Dogs currently sit one point up on the Montreal Juniors for first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Saint John, however, has two games in hand over the Juniors… the Sea Dogs were ranked first in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings for a second straight week on Wednesday… Saint John is coming off a not-so-great game against the cellar dwelling Halifax Mooseheads Sunday afternoon at Harbour Station. The Sea Dogs managed to pull off a 5-3 win but were outshot by a wide margin all game with the Mooseheads finishing the contest with a 46-35 shots advantage. Jonathan Huberdeau had a pair of goals while Zach Phillips, Kevin Gagne, and Mike Thomas added the singles. Jacob DeSerres made 44 saves in the victory… the Dogs continue to lead the league in offense with 160 goals scored in 33 games. They are averaging 4.84 goals per game… Saint John has also given up the fewest goals this season with 87 against in 33 matches. They are averaging 2.63 goals against per game… the Sea Dogs’ penalty kill comes into tonight’s game ranked sixth overall in the QMJHL with a rating of 0.814. It was put to the test last Sunday as the Dogs were very undisciplined, allowing the Mooseheads to have eight power play opportunities. The Herd were able to capitalize on two of those chances… Saint John’s power play went 2/8 against Halifax on Sunday. This season, the team’s man advantage unit is ranked sixth overall with a 0.230 rating… 10-4-0-1 on the road this season and have outscored their opposition 66-49 along the way. The club is averaging 4.4 goals per game away from Harbour Station. Their last road game was a week ago in Lewiston… despite a loss last Friday in Lewiston that ended a long streak of point earning games, the Sea Dogs remain hot. They are 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 games and are 6-1-0-0 in the month of December… Saint John is 0-1-0-0 at Centre 200 this season and suffered a devastating 2-1 loss in the Cape Breton on October 3… this is the Sea Dogs' final road trip prior to the 10-day holiday break. These two teams play each other again tomorrow night before departing for vacation… Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Dogs in scoring with 52 points in 33 games this season. He also leads the team in goals with 24, one ahead of his linemate Zach Phillips who has 23 markers on the year… Huberdeau and Michael Kirkpatrick lead the club in assists with 28 each… Zach Phillips is tied for the league lead in power play goals with 10… Frederic Piche will likely start in net this evening. He has a record of 12-2-0-2, a 2.48 goals against average, and a 0.915 save percentage.
HOME TEAM: Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Record: 10-23-1-2 (6th in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 6-3 loss at Moncton Tuesday
Leading Scorer: Viktor Hertzberg (29GP-15G-18A-33Pts)
Notes: The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles come into tonight's game with a record of 10-23-1-2 which places them in a tie with the Halifax Mooseheads for fifth place in the Maritimes Division with just 23 points in 36 games. The Eagles are currently occupying the final playoff spot in the QMJHL, meaning they are in the league’s 16th overall spot. The Eagles have played one more game than the Mooseheads… the Eagles are coming off a 6-3 loss in Moncton on Tuesday night. Jean Kristoff Grenier, Logan Shaw, and Pier-Antoine Dion scored for the visitors in the loss. Andrew Hayes allowed four goals on seven shots in 20-minutes of play while Alexandre Veronneau made 20 saves in his 40-minutes of action… the Eagles have been struggling of late. They have lost five straight contests and are 2-7-0-1 in their last 10-games. Cape Breton has not won since December 3 when the team defeated the dreadful Baie-Comeau Drakkar 5-4 in the province of Quebec… Cape Breton is 5-8-1-1 at Centre 200 this season, one of the toughest buildings to play in in the Maritimes Division for opposing teams. They have been outscored 51-37 along the way. The Eagles have played seven more road games than home matches so far this year… the Eagles’ penalty kill has been awful this year. They are ranked 17th in the 18-team QMJHL with a rating of 0.698… Cape Breton’s power play is bit better than their penalty kill. They are ranked 14th in the league with a rating of 0.167. At home, their power play slips to 0.139… Viktor Hertzberg, the man who scored the game winning goal with just seconds left in a game earlier this season against Saint John, leads the Eagles in points this year with 33 in 29 matches. Hertzberg also leads the club in goals with 15 on the season… Hertzberg is currently tied with Cory MacIntosh for the team lead in assists with 18… not surprisingly, tough guy Spencer Matcalfe leads the Eagles in penalty minutes with 67… goaltender Andrew Hayes has seen the most ice this season for the Eagles. He has a record of 6-5-1-1, a goals against average of 3.55, and a 0.881 save percentage. Backup Alexandre Veronneau has a less-than-solid record of 0-12-0-0, a 4.72 goals against average, and a 0.834 save percentage… according to Tuesday’s Cape Breton Post, “Hertzberg (concussion) is still suffering headaches and is out indefinitely.”
DESPRES IS AWAY
Simon Despres will be unavailable to play in tonight’s match due to his duties with Team Canada. The defenseman currently sits third in scoring among QMJHL defenseman. Saint John has decided not to call-up another defenseman, so they are expected to play all six of their remaining defenders in each of the next two games.
Tomas Jurco is expected to play for Slovakia in this year’s world junior tournament while Stanislav Galiev was reportedly placed on Russia’s camp roster. No idea what is going on with them this weekend.
THIS SEASON VS CAPE BRETON
From the Sea Dogs website:
Saint John currently owns a two-wins-to-one lead in their season series with Cape Breton, having won a pair of games at Harbour Station and suffered a 2-1 defeat in Sydney back on October 3. The Sea Dogs have outscored the Screaming Eagles 15-6 overall thus far on the 2010-11 campaign. In their 18 total intradivisional games this year, the Port City’s major junior squad has amassed 16 victories versus only two losses.NOTES
- The Eagles are bidding for the 2012 Memorial Cup like the Sea Dogs are. They passed in some papers to the league the other day.
- Eagles forward Brad Cuzner will serve the final game of a two-game suspension tonight.
- The first 750 fans to visit the Home Depot Booth in the main concourse of Centre 200 will receive a free Home Depot toque.
- This is the Sea Dogs’ final game until December 28 when the team travels to Charlottetown to face the PEI Rocket.
- The QMJHL trade period opens on Sunday.
GOAL HORN
ARENA INFO
Venue: Centre 200
Seating Capacity: 4,670
Average Attendance: 2,896
Year Built: 1987
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
These two teams do battle in the same venue and at the same time tomorrow night.
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