PRE-GAME: Acadie-Bathurst Titan vs Saint John Sea Dogs

By Station Nation Staff

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: 33-16-0-1 (2nd in Maritime Division)
Last Game: 8-1 loss at Drummondville Saturday
Leading Scorer: Gabriel Levesque (50GP-28G-45A-73Pts)
Notes: The Acadie-Bathurst Titan enter action today with a record of 33-16-0-1 which is good for second in the Maritimes Division and sixth overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Titan face a stiff test if they want to finish atop the division as the Saint John Sea Dogs have an 18-point lead. Bathurst has 18 games remaining on their schedule… the Titan are coming off an 8-1 loss in Drummondville Saturday against the Voltigeurs. Gabriel Levesque scored Bathurst’s lone goal late in the third period in the blowout loss. Sean Couturier torched the Titan with two goals and three assists. Olivier Roy allowed four goals on 16 shots while Robert Steeves let in four on 31 shots… Bathurst is currently on a two-game losing skid after a hot stretch. They are 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games… on the road this season, the Titan are 14-10-0-1 and have outscored their opposition 79-73 in the 25 outings. They have earned 29 points on the road compared to the 38 they have gotten at the KC Irving Regional Centre… the Titan’s power play comes in ranked eighth in the league with a rating of 23.3%. On the road, they are operating at 20.4%... Bathurst’s penalty kill is something to watch for this evening. The Titan enter tonight’s game with a rating of 83.2%, good for second in the league. On the road, the squad is running at 85.6%, giving them the best road penalty kill in the QMJHL… Bathurst is averaging the third most penalty minutes per game with an average of 17… Gabriel Levesque is playing quite well this season. The centre leads the Titan in scoring and is tied for second in league scoring with 73 points… Levesque also leads the club in both goals with 28 and assists with 45… Vincent Arseneau leads the club in penalty minutes with 113… Levesque sits third among QMJHL assist leaders with 45 on the year… Jonathan Lessard has scored the fifth most power play goals in the league this year with 11… Levesque sits second in power play assists with 22… Lessard is tied with Saint John’s Zack Phillips for second in the league in game winning goals with seven… Sebastien Trudeau is tied for the league lead in first goals with seven… Zack O’Brien is technically a rookie this season. He leads the league in rookie scoring with 45 goals in 45 games… Olivier Roy will likely start in net for the Titan. The world junior silver medalist has a record of 19-11-0-0, a goals against average of 3.03, and a save percentage of 0.903… Roy is third in the league in shootout wins with three… 20-5-0-1 when scoring first… Trudeau is on an 11-game scoring streak… Levesque is on an eight game scoring streak… Garrett Clarke has taken at least a penalty minute in nine straight game.

HOME TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 41-5-1-2 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 5-2 win vs Baie-Comeau Sunday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (48GP-29G-44A-73Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs come into tonight’s contest with a record of 41-5-1-2 which is good for first place in the Maritimes Division and first in the entire Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Saint John has an 18-point lead in the division over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and an eight-point lead over the Montreal Junior for top spot overall… in last week’s BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, the Sea Dogs were ranked first… the Dogs are coming off a 5-2 victory over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar Sunday afternoon at Harbour Station. Despite some nervous moments in the second period, the Sea Dogs played fairly well against one of the worst teams in the league. Tomas Jurco scored a pair while Nathan Beaulieu, Michael Kirkpatrick, and Danick Gauthier added singles…. The Sea Dogs have been hot of late, winning six straight and earning at least a point in their last 13 games. They are 9-0-1-0 in their last 10 games… Saint John continues to amaze at home as they are now 23-0-1-1 at Harbour Station this year. They have outscored their opponents by the wide margin of 125-53. They are an averaging an unreal five goals per home game… the Sea Dogs’ power play is ranked seventh in the league with a rating of 24.1%. At home, they are running at 20.7%... on the penalty kill side of things, the Dogs are ranked sixth in the QMJHL with a rating of 81.1%. At home, the team is operating at 85%, good for third among home team’s penalty kills… Saint John has been struggling with discipline over the past few games. The team has risen to 13th in the league in average penalty minutes per game with 13… Jonathan Huberdeau continues to light the league up. He now has 73 points in 48 games which ties him for second overall in league scoring… Huberdeau and Zack Phillips are tied for the team high in goals with 29 on the year… Huberdeau leads the squad in assists with 44… Alexandre Beauregard leads the team in penalty minutes with 104 on the year. Since joining Saint John, he has 24 in 13 games… Phillips sits second in power play goals scored in the league this year with 13… Phillips is also tied for second in game winning goals this season with seven… Steven Anthony is tied for second in insurance goals with five… Huberdeau is a league best +41… Michael Kirkpatrick has taken the second most dangerous shots this year with 137… goaltender Jacob DeSerres will likely get the start in net tonight. He has a record of 19-2-0-0, a goals against average of 2.23, and a save percentage of 0.918. The 20-year old has the second best GAA and save percentage in the league.

SNOW SUCKS
It’s snowing a lot in Saint John but the game will be played. That is all you need to know.

RALLY
A reminder that the 2012 Memorial Cup Bidding Rally will be held tonight at Centre Court at Brunswick Square beginning at 5:30pm. Fans attending are asked to wear Sea Dogs gear or blue.

TITAN HURTING
The Acadie-Bathurst Titan have been hit hard with injuries recently. From today’s Telegraph-Journal:

No fewer than seven players are battling injuries. Forwards David Gilbert and Christophe Losier are at least two weeks away from returning to action with upper-body injuries, while defenceman Mario Kuralli won't be back until the start of the playoffs after having surgery to repair a broken wrist last Friday.

Defenceman Jeremie Fraser is sidelined with a nagging upper-body injury that will see him off the ice for at least another week, while forwards Zach O'Brien and Vincent Arseneau along with defenceman Garrett Clarke will all be game time decisions tonight as Acadie-Bathurst travels to Saint John to face the Sea Dogs at 7 p.m.

QUICK HITS

• Saint John has not lost a regulation game in the New Year. The Sea Dogs’ last regulation loss was January 30 in Bathurst against the Titan.
• For the final time this season, upper bowl tickets are available for just $6. This is the Sea Dogs’ last Wednesday home game of the year.

OTHER GAMES TODAY
Drummondville at Halifax - 7:00 PM AST
Québec at Victoriaville - 7:00 PM EST
Rimouski at Chicoutimi - 7:30 PM EST

ARENA INFO
Venue: Harbour Station
Seating Capacity: 6,297
Average Attendance: 4,094
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

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
The Sea Dogs travel to Moncton to face the Wildcats on Friday at 7:30pm.