GAME DAY
WHO: Drummondville Voltigeurs vs Saint John Sea Dogs
WHEN: Tonight, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Harbour Station
VISITING TEAM: Drummondville Voltigeurs
Record: 27-12-5-1 (3rd in Telus West Division)
Last Game: 7-4 loss at Saint John yesterday
Leading Scorer: Ondrej Palat (38GP-26G-33A-59Pts)
Notes: The Drummondville Voltigeurs enter action tonight with a record of 27-12-5-1 which is good for a tie for second place in the tough Telus West Division and sixth overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Voltigeurs have 60 points on the year and are tied with the ever improving Gatineau Olympiques for second spot on the Telus West and are seven back of the division leading Montreal Juniors… the Volts were an honourable mention in this week’s edition of the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings… Drummondville is coming off a 7-4 loss last night in Saint John against the Sea Dogs. The Volts had a pair of goals from Andre Bouvet-Morrissette and singles from Maxime Villemaire and Pier-Antoine Dion. Starter Guillaume Nadeau allowed four goals on 18 shots before getting the hook. His replacement, Domenic Graham, allowed two goals on 13 shots… this is the third game of a Maritime road swing for the Volts. After playing in Cape Breton Wednesday, and Saint John last and tonight, they visit the Moncton Wildcats on Sunday afternoon to close it out… 5-3-2-0 in their last 10 games and had earned at least a point in their last three contests until last night’s loss… the team is 12-8-2-0 away from the Marcel Dionne Centre this season. They have outscored their competition 75-63 in their 22 road contests… Drummondville has the league’s fourth best power play with a rating of 26.9%. On the road, the power play is operating at 27.5% which places them as the third best road team on the man advantage… the Voltigeurs penalty kill is the best in the QMJHL with a rating of 83.5%. On the road though, their penalty kill slips down to sixth in the league with a percentage of 81.2%... Ondrej Palat leads the Volts in scoring this season with 59 points in 38 games. Superstar Sean Couturier is a close second with 58 points in 35 matches… Palat leads the team in goals with 26 on the year… Couturier leads the club in assists with 41 on the year… Palat’s 26 goals place him seventh in the league… Couturier sits tied for second in the league in assists… Palat is four-for-four in the shootout this year… Guillaume Nadeau has played the most minutes in net for the Volts this season. He has a record of 17-5-5-1, a goals against average of 2.82, and a save percentage of 0.888. He was pulled last night in favour of Domenic Graham in the second period. Graham has a record of 10-7-0-0, a GAA of 2.61, and a save percentage 0.887…. the Volts are tied with the woeful Baie-Comeau Drakkar for the league high in overtime loses with five… Couturier has a point in nine straight games. He also has a nine game assist getting streak… Couturier also has a five game road assist earning streak.
Record: 35-5-0-2 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 7-4 win vs Drummondville yesterday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (42GP-27G-40A-67Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs come into this evening’s match with a record of 35-5-0-2 which is good for first in the Maritimes Division and tops in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Sea Dogs have a 17-point division lead and a one point lead over the Quebec Remparts for first place in the league… in this week’s BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, Saint John was once again ranked first… Saint John is coming off a 7-4 victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs last night at Harbour Station. Michael Kirkpatrick and Stanislav Galiev each had two goals while Gabriel Bourret, Jason Cameron, and Steven Anthony had singles. Goaltender Jacob DeSerres made 23 saves in net to pick up the victory. Alexandre Beauregard, Danick Gauthier, and Jason Seed were the scratches… Saint John has been hot of late, winning six straight. Three of those six wins have come in either a shootout or overtime. The Dogs are 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 games… the Sea Dogs are still without a regulation loss on home ice this season. They sit at 21-0-0-1 at Harbour Station this year and have outscored the opponents 112-47. They are one of three teams to have scored over 100 goals on home ice this season... the Dogs have the sixth best power play in the league with a rating of 24.7%. At home, they are operating at 21.9%... Saint John’s penalty kill is also ranked sixth in the league with a rating of 81%. At home, they are running a penalty kill of 84.4%, which is the third best penalty kill among teams playing on home ice… Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team in points with 67 in 42 contests… Huberdeau and Zack Phillips are tied for the team high in goals with 27… Huberdeau leads the club in assists with 40 on the year… Huberdeau and Phillips are tied for third overall in the QMJHL for goals scored… Huberdeau sits fourth overall in the league in assists… Phillips has the second most power play goals in the QMJHL this season with 12… Steven Anthony is tied for the league high in insurance goals with five… Alexandre Beauregard is tied for sixth in penalty minutes with 87… Ryan Tesink sits 11th in rookie scoring with 23 points… if the goaltending rotation continues tonight as it has all season, Mathieu Corbeil will get the start. Corbeil has a record of 8-15-0-1, a goals against average of 3.67, and a save percentage of 0.876. His last and only start as a Sea Dogs was Tuesday night when the Sea Dogs defeated the PEI Rocket 3-2 in a shootout… Saint John is averaging a league high 4.81 goals per game and have allowed a league low 2.57 goals per game… the Sea Dogs lead the league in shots per game. They have an average of 36.76 shots per match.
LAST NIGHT
Last night’s game at Harbour Station between these two teams got rather nasty and feisty as the game grew on. It started when Voltigeurs captain Marc-Olivier Vachon was given a game misconduct and five-minute major for checking Michael Kirkpatrick from behind in the first period.
There were also two spirited fights in the game. The first being Scott Oke vs Marc-Oliver Brouillard and the second was short scrap between Mike Thomas and Pier-Antoine Dion. The Sea Dogs could add another tough guy, Alexandre Beauregard, to their lineup tonight as well.
QUICK HITS
- The Sea Dogs are now 1-0-0-1 against the Voltigeurs this season. They are outscoring them 13-11.
- The winner of both games between these two teams has scored seven goals.
- Five players in this game will play in Wednesday's CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Toronto.
- News 88.9 said that there were roughly 40-50 scouts in the building last night. Many of them will likely return again tonight.
ARENA INFO
Venue: Harbour Station
Seating Capacity: 6,297
Average Attendance: 3,980
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, The Guardian
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 Baie-Comeau on Friday for a 8:30 pm tilt against the Drakkar.
FAN BUS
A Sea Dogs fan bus is hoping to make a trip to Halifax on February 5 to see the Dogs face the Mooseheads. More information can be found HERE.
Photo Credits: David Connell Web Album, David Connell Web Album, Victoriaville Tigres
someoen should tell jeff hopkins to focus on officiating the game rather that posting on twitter.
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