GAME DAY
WHO: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Halifax Mooseheads
WHEN: Tonight, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Halifax Metro Centre
VISITING TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 32-5-0-2 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 4-3 shootout win vs Bathurst Tuesday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (39GP-25G-34A-60Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs travel to Halifax today with a record of 32-5-0-2 which is good for first place in the Maritimes Division and sit first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 66 points. Saint John has a 17-point lead in the division and a single point lead over the Quebec Rempaprts for first in the QMJHL. Quebec has played three more games than Saint John… the Sea Dogs are the No. 1 team in the country again this week according to the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings… the Sea Dogs are coming off a not-so-great effort against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Tuesday night at Harbour Station. Despite that, the Sea Dogs were able to pull off a come-from-behind shootout victory. Mike Thomas, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Alexandre Beauregard scored for the Sea Dogs in regulation. Saint John just didn’t have a whole lot of their usual offensive dominance on the night. Goaltender Jacob DeSerres made 20 saves in the win… 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games and have won three straight contests. Two of their past three wins have come in overtime or shootout… Saint John is 13-5-0-1 on the road this season, earning 27 of their 66 points away from Harbour Station. They are tied with four other teams with 19 road games played, the second fewest in the QMJHL. The Dogs have outscored their opposition 81-59 in enemy territory… Saint John has the league’s sixth best power play with a 24% rating. On the road, they are running at 25.3%, good for fourth in the QMJHL… the Sea Dogs have the fifth best penalty kill with a rating of 81.6%. On the road, the penalty kill falls all the way down to 77.3%... Jonathan Huberdeau leads the club in points with 60 in 39 games played this season… Zach Phillips and Huberdeau are tied for the team lead in goals with 26 each… Huberdeau leads the Sea Dogs in assists with 34. Michael Kirkpatrick led the team in helpers for much of the first half but sits third behind Huberdeau and Phillips… Huberdeau also leads the squad and sits second in the QMJHL with a +33 rating… Phillips and Huberdeau are tied for fifth in the QMHJL in goals with 26… Phillips sits second in the league in power play goals with 12… Phillips is tied for second in the league in game winning goals with six… Alexandre Beauregard is fifth in the league among penalty minutes leaders… Kirkpatrick is second in the league in dangerous shots taken with 108… it isn’t clear if 20-year old Jacob DeSerres or newly acquired 19-year old Mathieu Corbeil will get the start in goal tonight. If the season long goaltending rotation holds true tonight, it would be Corbeil getting the call in net. DeSerres has a record of 14-2-0-0, a goals against average of 2.24, and a save percentage of 0.919. Former Halifax Mooseheads goaltender Mathieu Corbeil has a record of 7-15-0-1, a SV% of 0.867, and a GAA of 3.76… Saint John is 5-0-0-0 against Halifax this season.
Record: 14-25-1-1 (5th in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 5-1 loss vs Moncton last night
Leading Scorer: Carl Gelinas (41GP-17G-17A-34Pts)
Notes: The Halifax Mooseheads enter action today with a record of 14-25-1-1 which is good for fifth place in the six-team Maritimes Division and 15th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Herd have only a three point lead over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the battle of the basement in the division. Only nine points separate the Mooseheads from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar who are currently out of the playoff picture… Halifax is coming off a 5-1 loss to the Moncton Wildcats last night at the Metro Centre. Matthew Boudreau scored the lone goal for the Mooseheads in the second period. Rookie netminder Anthony Terenzio played well in net but still allowed five goals on 37 shots. The game also saw the return of star rookie Martin Frk who has been away at the World Junior Hockey Championships representing the Czech Republic. He had an assist in the game… 4-5-1-0 in their last 10 games and are coming off a loss… the Moose are 7-13-1-1 at the Halifax Metro Centre this season and have been outscored on home ice 85-67 along the way. 16 of their 30 points have been earned at home… Carl Gelinas leads the Mooseheads in points with 34 in 41 games played… Gelinas also leads the team in goals with 17… Martin Frk leads the club in assists with 21 on the year. He sat first in team scoring prior to leaving for the world juniors. He currently sits third on the team… Frk is tied with teammate Darcy Ashley for third overall in league rookie scoring with 32 points… Gelinas is tied for fourth in the league with five first goals… Sawyer Hannay of the Mooseheads is tied with Rouyn-Noranda Husky Jason Kelly for the league lead in penalty minutes with 103… former Saint John Sea Dogs netminder Frederic Piche is expected to make his debut this evening against his old club. Piche has a record of 14-2-0-2, a goals against average of 2.56, and a save percentage of 0.910. Piche has the league’s fourth best GAA and sixth best save percentage. He is also tied with his former teammate, Jacob DeSerres, for seventh in the league in the wins department… the Mooseheads have yet to beat the Sea Dogs in five trys this season but have given the top team in the country some troubles.
SAINT JOHN DEBUTS AND RETURNS
Some new faces are expected to be inserted into the Sea Dogs lineup this evening. Defenseman Eric Gelinas is likely to make his debut while fellow defenseman Jason Seed could as well. It is not known at this time if former Mooseheads netminder Mathieu Corbeil will get the start in goal for Saint John.
Simon Despres, fresh off the heartbreaking collapse with Team Canada at the world juniors, could get the night off. The Mooseheads website says “Saint John is expected to be without star defenceman Simon Despres who was representing Canada at the World Juniors.”
Tomas Jurco was the other Sea Dog playing at the world junior tournament in Buffalo. Also, Kevin Gagne has missed the last two games with an upper body injury but could return tonight.
MOOSEHEADS AD
This epic Mooseheads commercial that has been playing all over the place.
ON PLAYING THE DOGS
“We can’t let up one shift against Saint John,” Steve Gillard said to Metro Halifax yesterday about playing Saint John. “They’re the top team in Canada and we have to hit ’em, get our forecheck going and limit as many chances for them to score as possible.
“We know what we did wrong (against Moncton) and we have to come out better tomorrow.”
NOTES
- The first 2,000 fans at this game will receive a free Home Depot tuque.
- The Mooseheads parted ways with Alex Lemieux, Jamie Bishop, and Mathieu Corbeil during the holiday trading period. They brought in Anthony Goulet and Frederic Piche.
- This is a rarity, but Saint John only plays one game this weekend.
- Saint John leads season series 5-0. The Sea Dogs have won by scores of 5-2, 5-3, 7-1, 4-3 and 5-3.
ARENA INFO
Venue: Halifax Metro Centre
Seating Capacity: 10,500
Average Attendance: 5,133
Year Built: 1978
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, Chronicle Herald, Metro Halifax, 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 PEI Rocket Tuesday night at Harbour Station at 7:00 pm.
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