GAME DAY
WHO: Acadie-Bathurst Titan vs Saint John Sea Dogs
WHEN: Tonight, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Harbour Station
VISITING TEAM: Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Record: 24-14-0-0 (2nd in Maritime Division)
Last Game: 5-4 win vs Saint John Thursday
Leading Scorer: Gabriel Levesque (38GP-17G-36A-53Pts)
Notes: The Acadie-Bathurst Titan come into tonight’s match with a record of 24-14-0-0 which places them second in the Maritimes Division and 16 points back of the first place Saint John Sea Dogs. The Titan currently sit seventh overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League… Bathurst has not played since last Thursday when they downed the Sea Dogs 5-4 at the KC Irving Regional Centre. The Titan came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Dogs. Gabriel Levesque, Jonathan Lessard, Jeremie Blain, David Gilbert, and Jeremie Malouin all scored for the home team. Robert Steeves was solid in net, making 32 saves on the night… 6-4-0-0 in their last 10 games and are coming off a win… 11-8-0-0 on the road this season and have outscored their opposition 56-47 in their 19 contests… Bathurst has the seventh best power play in the league with a rating of 23%. On the road, their power play improves to 23.8%... the Titan continue to be great on the penalty kill. They are ranked second in the league with a rating of 82.7%. On the road, their kill off percentage improves to an impressive 87.5%, which is the best road penalty kill in the QMJHL… Bathurst is averaging the sixth most penalty minutes per game with 15.6 minutes… Gabriel Levesque still leads the Titan in scoring by a wide margin with 53 points in 38 games. He is 20 points ahead of the next closest team scorer… Levesque, Sebastien Trudeau, and Jonathan Lessard are all tied for the team high in goals with 17… Levesque leads the squad in assists with 36 in 38 matches… pest Vincent Arseneau leads Bathurst in penalty minutes with 94 served in 37 games… goaltender Robert Steeves will likely get the start in net with Olivier Roy still away with Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships. Steeves has some impressive numbers with a record of 8-2-0-0, a goals against average of 1.96, and a save percentage of 0.933. He has not played enough minutes to be considered in the leagues statistical categories… Levesque’s 36 helpers on the year is good for a tie for second in the league. 19 of them have come on the man advantage… Lessard is tied with Saint John’s Zack Phillips for second overall in the QMJHL with six game winning goals… Zach O’Brien is technically a rookie and sits fifth overall in first year player scoring with 29 points. O’Brien leads all rookies in shots on goal with 68… 14-5-0-0 when scoring first… Bathurst is allowing the fourth fewest goals against per game with an average of 2.79.
Record: 31-5-0-2 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 3-2 overtime at Moncton Sunday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (38GP-25G-34A-59Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs enter action tonight with a record of 31-5-0-2 which places them first in the Maritimes Division and first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Sea Dogs sit 16 points ahead in the division and are one point up on the Quebec Remparts for tops in the league. They have played two fewer games than the Remparts… in the last BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, Saint John was placed in the No. 1 spot… the Sea Dogs are coming off an okay performance against the Moncton Wildcats on Sunday at the Coliseum. The Sea Dogs defeated the ‘Cats, who had a depleted lineup, 3-2 in overtime. Steven Anthony and Michael Kirkpatrick scored for the Sea Dogs in regulation while Stephen MacAulay scored the overtime winner following a faceoff win. Goaltender Frederic Piche had to make some solid and timely saves to pick up the victory… 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games and have won two straight – both against the Wildcats. Their last loss was Thursday in Bathurst against the Titan… Saint John looks to continue their phenomenal home ice dominance with a win against the Titan tonight. They are 18-0-0-1 at Harbour Station this year and have outscored their opposition 98-38 in the 19 contests. Their winning percentage at home (0.974) is 0.069 better than the Quebec Remparts, who have the second best home winning percentage. With two goals, Saint John can get reach the 100 goal mark at home this season… the Sea Dogs have the sixth best power play in the QMJHL with a rating of 24.1%. At home, their power play is running at 23.2%... the Dogs' penalty kill is operating at 81.5%. At home, the team is running their penalty kill at 84.6%... Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team in points with 59. He also leads Saint John in assists with 34 and is a league best +35… Zach Phillips is first on the team in goals with 26. Huberdeau is a close second with 25… if the goaltending rotation holds true, Jacob DeSerres will get the start in goal. DeSerres has a record of 13-2-0-0, a goals against average of 2.20, and a save percentage of 0.922. His GAA is second overall in the QMJHL and his save percentage is also second… Phillips sits third in the league in goals scored with 26. The Fredericton native is tied for the league high in power play goals with 12. He is also tied for league high in first goals.
LINEUP NOTES
Defenseman Simon Despres and forward Tomas Jurco are still away representing their countries at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo.
Defenseman Kevin Gagne missed Saint John’s last game with an upper body injury. Spencer MacDonald was recalled from junior ‘A’ Summerside for the match.
Saint John also made a trade yesterday, acquiring defenseman Jason Seed from the Gatineau Olympiques. The Sea Dogs’ website said he will be in town for tomorrow’s practice.
QUICK HITS
- This is the Titan’s first game of the New Year. This will be Saint John’s first home game of 2011.
- Two of Saint John’s five regulation loses have been against Bathurst. Both were at the KC Irving Regional Centre.
- All 18 QMJHL teams play tonight.
- This is the final game for both teams prior to the holiday trade deadline, which is on Thursday.
Venue: Harbour Station
Seating Capacity: 6,297
Average Attendance: 3,990
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, L’Acadie Nouvelle
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 Halifax to face the Mooseheads on Saturday night.
Photo Credits: Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Harbour Station
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