GAME DAY
WHO: Baie-Comeau Drakkar vs Saint John Sea Dogs
WHEN: Tonight, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Harbour Station
VISITING TEAM: Baie-Comeau Drakkar
Record: 7-35-5-4 (6th in Telus East Division)
Last Game: 2-1 loss at Halifax yesterday
Leading Scorer: Raphael Bussieres (50GP-14G-21A-35Pts)
Notes: The Baie-Comeau Drakkar enter action this evening with a record of 7-35-5-4 which places them last in the six-team Telus East Division and 17th overall in the 18-team Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Drakkar join the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies as teams currently on the outside of the playoff picture. They are eight points behind the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles for the final playoff spot… the Drakkar are coming off a 2-1 loss against another cellar dwelling team in the Halifax Mooseheads. At the Halifax Metro Centre last night, Alexandre Durette scored the lone Drakkar goal in the loss. The visitors were able to fire only 16 shots on goal. Jason Missiaen and his large frame took the loss in goal by allowing two goals on 28 shots… 1-9-0-0 in their last 10 games and are currently on a four-game losing skid. They have been outscored 15-8 over those four matches… Baie-Comeau is 4-18-3-2 away from the Henry Leonard Centre this season. They have picked up three more points and one more win on the road than at home this season. They have been outscored 109-58 on the road in 27 contests… the Drakkar have the worst power play in the QMJHL with a rating of just 11%. On the road, they are an awful 10% on the man advantage… on the penalty kill, Baie-Comeau sits 11th with a rating of 78.4%. On the road, the team is operating at 77.3%... the Drakkar are averaging the fifth most penalty minutes per game with a an average if 16.4… if it wasn’t for the dreadful Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, the Drakkar would be the league’s worst goal scoring team. Baie-Comeau has scored 114 goals compared to the Huskies’ league low 104… the Drakkar and Huskies are the only teams in the QMJHL to have allowed over 200 goals against this season… Raphael Bussieres leads Baie-Comeau in point scoring with 35 points in 50 games. Teammate Lukas Cingel is a close second in team scoring with 34 points in 51 games. Cingel is an assist away from matching Bussieres’ totals… Bussieres and Cingel are tied for the team lead in goals with 14 each on the year… Bussieres leads the team in assists with 21 this season. Cingel and Hugo Laporte are second in helpers with 21 apiece… two of the Drakkar’s top-four scorers are defenseman… Jean Philippe-Caron is a team worst -35 this season… Jason Missiaen has played the most minutes in goal this season but he has started the last two games on this road trip, meaning we may see Simon Giroux instead. Missiaen, an Ontario Hockey League castoff, is 6-25-4-3 with a goals against average of 3.34 and a save percentage of 0.891. Giroux, a former Sea Dogs goaltending prospect, has a record of 0-3-0-0, a goals against average of 5.39, and a save percentage of 0.826… this is the third game of a Maritime road swing for the Drakkar. They fell 4-1 in Cape Breton on Wednesday night, lost a close 2-1 game against Halifax last night, and now play two straight in Saint John.
Record: 39-5-1-2 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 4-3 win at Moncton yesterday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (46GP-29G-42A-71Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs come into tonight’s match with a record of 39-5-1-2 which is good for first place in the Maritimes Division and top spot in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The team has a 14-point lead over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for first place in the division and are six-points up on the Quebec Remparts and Montreal Juniors for the No. 1 position in the QMJHL. The team has also played two fewer games than the Remparts and Juniors… in the latest edition of the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, the Sea Dogs were ranked No. 1 for a seventh straight week… the Sea Dogs are coming off a hard fought 4-3 road win in Moncton last night. Jonathan Huberdeau, sporting a full cage on his helmet, scored two goals while Zack Phillips and Nathan Beaulieu added single markers. Goaltender Mathieu Corbeil made 26 saves in the win, his first in regulation since joining the Sea Dogs. It was a pretty good game for Saint John who were able to kill off some key penalties to earn the victory… Saint John is coming in hot. Winners of four straight, the club is on a 10-0-1-0 stretch that has seen the team pick up at least a point in their last 11 games. Their last regulation loss came on January 30, 2010 in Bathurst. The Sea Dogs are also 9-0-1-0 in their last 10 games… the Dogs are kinda good on home ice. They have yet to lose in regulation at Harbour Station, sporting a record of 21-0-1-1 and have earned 44 points. They have outscored their opposition 114-50 at home this season. They are seven goals back of the Quebec Remparts for most goals at home this year… the Sea Dogs’ power play comes in ranked seventh on the league with a rating of 24.3%. At home, their man advantage is running at 20.7%... on the penalty kill side of things, Saint John is ranked sixth with a rating of 80.3%. At home, the clubs penalty kill is operating at 84%... Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team in points this season with 71 in 46 games… Huberdeau and Zack Phillips are tied for the team lead in goals with 29. They each scored in last night’s win in Moncton… Huberdeau leads the club in assists with 42 on the year… 20-year old Jacob DeSerres will likely start in net tonight for the Sea Dogs. The Western Hockey League castoff has a record of 18-2-0-0, a goals against average of 2.30, and a save percentage of 0.917. DeSerres has won six straight games and has not lost since January 30 in Bathurst. He owns the second best GAA and save percentage in the league…. Phillips is second in the league in power play goals scored with 13… Huberdeau is a league best +40… Phillips has recorded an assist in four straight games… Saint John is still averaging the most goals per game with an average of 4.66. They are also allowing the fewest goals per game with an average of 2.57… 29-2-0-1 when scoring the opening goal.
LAST MEETING
Despite these two teams being on the opposite end of the standings, the Drakkar gave the Sea Dogs a run for their money last weekend in Baie-Comeau. The Drakkar had a 2-1 lead in the second period before Danick Gauthier tied the match in the final minute of the frame. Steven Anthony scored the winner for Saint John at 16:39 of the third stanza.
Saint John outshot the Drakkar 32-23 in a game that saw only three penalties be called over the 60 minutes.
WHAT ABOUT JURCO
There is still no word on whether or not Tomas Jurco will be suspended for tonight’s game. Jurco gave Scott Trask a hit to the head while travelling across the blue line last night. Trask was okay.
Jurco was given a game misconduct and five-minute major for the hit.
LAPORTE IS BACK
Hugo Laporte returns to Saint John for the second time this season. If you are tweeting from the game tonight, please the hashtag #BooLaporte.
QUICK HITS
- Baie-Comeau goaltender Jason Missiaen is listed as 6’08” and 220 lbs.
- This is the second game of a three-in-three for Saint John, their second straight weekend in playing three straight in as many days.
- The Sea Dogs’ last home game was on January 15 where the club lost in overtime against the Drummondville Voltigeurs.
- Sea Dogs leading scorer Jonathan Huberdeau is expected to wear the full cage all weekend. He took a stick in the face in Saint John’s 4-2 win in Quebec City on Sunday.
- Saint John had the same lineup last night as they did in their game against Quebec. Jason Cameron, Aidan Kelly, and Jason Seed were the scratches.
OTHER GAMES TODAY
Montréal at Cape Breton - 7:00 PM AST
Halifax at Moncton - 7:00 PM AST
Acadie-Bathurst at Drummondville - 7:00 PM EST
Gatineau at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:30 PM EST
ARENA INFO
Venue: Harbour Station
Seating Capacity: 6,297
Average Attendance: 4,038
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
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 same Baie-Comeau Drakkar tomorrow afternoon at 4pm at Harbour Station. It’s ‘Francofan Day.’
Photo Credits: Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Mill Rats
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