Sunday, January 23, 2011

PRE-GAME: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Quebec Remparts

By Station Nation Staff

GAME DAY
WHO: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Quebec Remparts
WHEN: Today, 4:00 pm
WHERE: Pepsi Colisee

VISITING TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 37-5-1-2 (1st in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 4-3 overtime win at Chicoutimi yesterday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (44GP-27G-41A-68Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs enter Quebec City today with a record of 37-5-1-2 which is good for top spot on the Maritimes Division and first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Sea Dogs hold the division lead with comfort as they have a 12-point lead over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. After winning last night, Saint John is six points up on the Quebec Remparts for the overall lead in the QMJHL with one game in hand… in the latest edition of the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, the Sea Dogs were ranked first… Saint John is coming off a 4-3 overtime victory in Chicoutimi last night against the Sagueneens. Michael Kirkpatrick, Stanislav Galiev, and Stephen MacAulay all scored to give a Saint John a 3-0 lead. But in just over nine minutes in the third period, the Sags would carry the play and the tie the match, sending it into overtime. Eric Gelinas saved the Sea Dogs from embarrassment, scoring the game winner in extra time. Mathieu Corbeil made 23 saves in net. It was another case of the Dogs sitting back on a lead, something they can’t afford to do today… this is the third and final game of a three-in-three Quebec road swing for the Dogs. They are 2-0 so far after defeating Baie-Comeau Friday and Chicoutimi last night… 8-1-1-0 in their last 10 games and have picked up at least a point in their last nine outings. They are 8-0-1-0 over that stretch… the Sea Dogs are 16-5-0-1 away from home this season with all of their regulation loses coming while being on the road. The Dogs have outscored their opposition 97-66 on the road this season… Saint John is three goals away from the 100 goal mark on the. They would be the first team to reach the mark on the road this season… the Sea Dogs have the eighth best power play in the league with a rating of 23.7%. On the road, they are operating at 27.6%, which is the second best road power play in the league… on the penalty kill, Saint John is ranked seventh with a rating of 79.8%. On the road, they are running at 74.4%... Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Sea Dogs in points this season with 68 in 44 games… Zack Phillips and Huberdeau sit tied for the team high in goals with 27 on the year… Huberdeau leads the club in assists with 41 while Phillips is second with 38 and Michael Kirkpatrick is third with 33… Phillips is second in the league in power play goals with 12… Mike Thomas is fourth in the league in shorthanded goals with three… Phillips is third in the QMJHL in game winning goals with six… Steven Anthony is tied for top spot in the league in terms of insurance goals with five… Huberdeau is a league best +39… Kirkpatrick has taken the second most dangerous shots of any player in the league with 128… Jacob DeSerres will likely get the start in goal this afternoon. The 20-year old goaltender has a record of 17-2-0-0, a goals against average of 2.31, and a save percentage of 0.918. His GAA and save percentage are both good for second overall in the league… the Sea Dogs are 1-0-0-0 against the Remparts this season having beat them 6-0 earlier this year at Harbour Station… Saint John is averaging a league high 4.69 goals per game. They are also averaging a league low 2.58 goals against per game… Steven Anthony, who was a healthy scratch last night, is on a four game road goal scoring streak… Zack Phillips has an assist in five-straight road matches. Jonathan Huberdeau is on a four-game stretch.

HOME TEAM: Quebec Remparts
Record: 34-9-1-2 (1st on Telus East Division)
Last Game: 4-3 loss at Rimouski Friday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Audy-Marchessault (46GP-27G-40A-67Pts)
Notes: The Quebec Remparts enter action today with a record of 34-9-1-2 which is good for first place in the Telus East Division and second overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League standings. The Remparts hold a nine-point lead over the Lewiston MAINEiacs for the division lead and sit six points back of the Saint John Sea Dogs for tops in the QMJHL… in this week’s edition of the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, Quebec was ranked third. They are the second highest QMJHL team to be ranked behind the top squad Sea Dogs… the Remparts are coming off a 4-3 loss in Rimouski on Friday night. After Rimouski took a 3-0 lead into the early parts of the second period, Mikael Tam, Mirko Hoefflin, and Ryan Bourque all scored to tie the match up at 3-3. The Oceanic would score at 9:25 of the third to secure the win. Former Wildcat Louis Domingue made eight saves on 11 shots while Jimmy Appleby allowed a goal on 14 shots… Quebec is 7-2-1-0 in their last 10 games and are coming off a loss… the Remparts have the second best home record in the QMJHL with a record of 20-2-0-0. They have outscored their opposition 110-49 in 22 games at the Pepsi Colisee. Their impressive home record is second only to the Sea Dogs’ 21-0-1-1 record… Quebec is dangerous on the power play with a rating of 29.7% which is good for tops in the league. At home, the team is running at 31.1%... on the penalty kill side of things, Quebec has a rating of 79.4 which is eighth in the league. At Pepsi Colisee, they are operating at 85.2% which is the second best home penalty kill in the league… the Remparts are very disciplined as they take the fewest amount of penalty minutes per game of any team with an average of 9.5… Jonathan Audy-Marchessault leads the team in scoring with 67 points in 46 games played this year… Audy-Marchessault also leads the club in goals with 27 and assists with 40… Joel Champagne is a close second in assists with 39… Vincent Barnard has scored the third most power play goals in the league this season with 11… Martin Lefebvre is tied for fourth in QMJHL power play assists with 18… Audy-Marchessault has scored the most game winning goals in the league with 10… Ryan Bourque is tied with Saint John’s Zach Phillips in first goals scored with seven… Bourque is tied with Saint John’s Steven Anthony for most insurance goals scored this season with five… Alex Wall is second in the league with a +38 rating… Tomas Filippi sits second in rookie scoring with 40 points in 41 games… Louis Domingue has played the most minutes in net for Quebec this season. He has a record of 28-7-1-1, a goals against average of 2.65, and a save percentage of 0.890… Champagne and Audy-Marchessault are both on a four-game assist scoring streak… Bourque is on a nine-game point scoring streak… the Remparts allow the fewest shots per game with an average of 24.3 against.

LOOKING FOR REVENGE
You know that the Quebec Remparts have had this game circled on their calendar for some time. Saint John embarrassed the Remparts earlier this season at Harbour Station, defeating Patrick Roy’s club 6-0. Like Saint John is today, Quebec was on the final game of a road trip.

"This is the first time we saw a team that moved the puck so fast,'' Remparts head coach Patrick Roy said when comparing Sunday's outcome to his team's previous two tilts to the Telegraph-Journal. "Their intensity was something we had a hard time adjusting to. Normally, we are the ones who impose the tempo of the game. But today they did and we just couldn't follow that pace.''

Tomas Jurco, Stanislav Galiev, Pierre Durepos, Jonathan Huberdeau, Mike Thomas, and Stephen MacAulay all scored for the Sea Dogs. Jacob DeSerres made 22 saves for Saint John.

BIG CROWD
A huge crowd is expected today at Pepsi Colisee as two of the best junior hockey clubs in the country do battle. Currently, the Remparts are averaging a league high 11,018 fans per game. According to ESPN’s NHL attendance numbers, that average is higher than the New York Islanders’ and Phoenix Coyotes’.

Sea Dogs equipment manager David Kelly tweeted yesterday (if you are not following him on Twiter, you should probably get on that) that they are filming some hockey reality show after the game.

NOTES

ARENA INFO
Venue: Pepsi Colisee
Seating Capacity: 11,018
Average Attendance: 15,176
Year Built: 1949
QMJHL Arena Guide


GOAL HORN
This video says this is the Remparts' goal horn:



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, le Journal de Quebec

TWITTER
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
For some reason the QMJHL has scheduled the Sea Dogs to play a Thursday night game in Moncton. Game time is 7:00 pm.

Photo Credits: le Journal de Quebec, Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Marc Henwood/Station Nation

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