GAME DAY
WHO: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Chicoutimi Sagueneens
WHEN: Today, 5:00 pm
WHERE: Georges Vezina Centre
VISITING TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 36-5-1-2 (1st in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 3-2 win at Baie-Comeau yesterday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (43GP-27G-40A-67Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs enter Chicoutimi today with a record of 36-5-1-2 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 four points up on the Quebec Remparts for the overall lead in the QMJHL with two games 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 3-2 win in Baie-Comeau last night against the cellar dwelling Drakkar. The Sea Dogs had a good first but the game slip away in the second period, allowing the Drakkar to take a 2-1 lead. But Saint John would battle back in the third and pull off a victory thanks to Steven Anthony’s game winner. Also scoring for Saint John was Danick Gauthier and Mike Thomas. Goaltender Jacob DeSerres played quite in goal, making some big saves to propel the Dogs to victory… 8-1-1-0 in their last 10 games and have picked up at least a point in their last eight outings. They are 7-0-1-0 over that stretch… the Sea Dogs are 15-5-0-1 away from home this season with all of their regulation loses coming while being on the road. The Dogs have outscored their opposition 93-63 on the road this season… the Sea Dogs have the seventh best power play in the league with a rating of 23.8%. On the road, they are operating at 28%, which is the second best road power play in the league… on the penalty kill, Saint John is ranked sixth with a rating of 80.5%. On the road, they are running at 75.7%... Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Sea Dogs in points this season with 67 in 43 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 40 while Phillips is second with 37 and Michael Kirkpatrick is third with 32… 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 126… Mathieu Corbeil will likely start in goal for Saint John this afternoon. Corbeil has a record of 8-15-1-1, a goals against average of 3.63, and a save percentage of 0.869. Since moving to Saint John, he is 1-0-1-0 with a GAA of 2.38 and a save percentage of 0.894… both games Corbeil has played in since joining the Sea Dogs have gone to extra time… Eric Gelinas is third in the league among defenseman in shots taken this season with 133… Saint John is 26-2-0-1 when scoring first… the Sea Dogs are averaging a league high in shots per game with an average of 36.55… Steven Anthony has scored in four straight games… Zack Phillips has gotten an assist in four straight games on the road.
Record: 16-21-3-6 (5th in Telus East Division)
Last Game: 3-2 loss vs Shawinigan yesterday
Leading Scorer: Guillaume Asselin (46GP-21G-30A-51Pts)
Notes: The Chicoutimi Sagueneens enter action today with a record of 16-21-3-6 which places them fifth in the Telus East Division and 13th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Sags are 34 points back of the league leading Saint John Sea Dogs and are 30 points back of the division leading Quebec Remparts… Chicoutimi is coming off a 3-2 loss against the Shawinigan Cataractes last night. Dominic Poulin and Charles Hudon each scored for Chicoutimi who were outshot 27-24 by the Cataractes. Goaltender Christopher Gibson made 24 saves in the loss… 2-5-0-3 in their last 10 games and have lost four straight. On their current losing skid, they have managed to pick up just one point… this will be the Sagueneens final home game of the month as they do not play at the Georges Vezina Centre again until February 2. Over that time, the team will play three road games… the Sags are 10-8-2-2 at home this season and have outscored their opposition by a single goal – 67-66. Chicoutimi has earned 24 points at home this season in 22 games… Chicoutimi has the third worst power play in the league with a rating of 15.9%. At home, they are operating at 11.9%... on the flip side, the Sags’ penalty kill is ranked 13th on the league with a rating of 76.9%. At home, they are running at 76.5%... Chicoutimi averages the second fewest penalty minutes per game in the league. They are averaging just 11.3 minutes per game… Chicoutimi has a league high six shootout loses this year. They have participated in a league leading eight breakaway contests this year, going 2-6… Guillaume Asselin leads the club in points this season with 51 on the year in 46 contests. He has a big lead on Charles Hudon, who is second on the team in points with 37… Asselin also leads the team in goals with 21 and assists with 30. Despite all that, he is a -2 on the year… former Sea Dogs defenseman Guillaume Cloutier is a team high +21. Since joining the Sagueneens, he is a -2… Hudon sits fourth in rookie scoring with 37 points in 41 games. He is six points back of the rookie scoring lead… Christopher Gibson will likely get the start in net for Chicoutimi today. The Top Prospects Game participant is 9-9-1-5 this year with a goals against average of 2.11 and a save percentage of 0.928. Gibson has the best GAA and save percentage in the league… Nicolas Therrien is fifth among defenseman in the QMJHL with 12 power play assists… 13-4-2-2 when scoring first… Hudon is on a 14-game point scoring streak that goes all the way back to November 24.
Yesterday, the Sea Dogs coaching staff gave defenseman Nathan Beaulieu and forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Tomas Jurco that night off after playing in Wednesday’s Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Toronto.
Zack Phillips also played in the match on Wednesday but did appear in Saint John’s lineup last night. He could get tonight off.
WELCOME BACK
It will be a homecoming for Eric Gelinas who was traded from the Sagueneens to the Sea Dogs at the holiday trading period. In exchange for the New Jersey Devils prospect, Chicoutimi received defenseman Guillaume Cloutier.
In 63 career games with the Sags, Gelinas recorded 12 goals and 24 assists. Since joining the Sea Dogs, he has four assists in five games. On the other side, Cloutier has one goal and one assist in five matches with his new club.
OUT FOR REVENGE
One of the more memorable games of the season was played between these two teams on November 6 at Harbour Station. Down by two goals in the final minute, the Sea Dogs stormed back to tie the game at 3-3 with just seconds remaining.
The Sagueneens would pull off the win in a shootout, though, giving the Sea Dogs their first loss of any kind at Harbour Station this season. Saint John will look to avenge that loss this afternoon.
NOTES
- This is basically a trap game as the Sea Dogs face one of the country’s best teams in the Quebec Remparts tomorrow afternoon. The Dogs will have to be sharp and try not to look past this match.
- This is the second game of a Quebec three-in-three trip for the Dogs. They close it out tomorrow afternoon.
ARENA INFO
Venue: Georges Vezina Centre
Seating Capacity: 4,651
Average Attendance: 3,025 (7th on QMJHL)
Year Built: 1949
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 travel to Quebec City tomorrow in what should be an epic tilt at the Pepsi Colisee against the league’s best. Note that this game is a 4:00 pm Atlantic start.
Photo Credits: Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Saint John Sea Dogs, CHL Images, QMJHL Arena Guide
No comments:
Post a Comment