GAME DAY
WHO: Moncton Wildcats vs Saint John Sea Dogs
WHEN: Today, 4:00 pm
WHERE: Harbour Station
VISITING TEAM: Moncton Wildcats
Record: 27-20-2-4 (3rd in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 3-2 win at Cape Breton Wednesday
Leading Scorer: Alex Saulnier (53GP-21G-46A-67Pts)
Notes: The Moncton Wildcats enter Harbour Station this afternoon with a record of 27-20-2-4 which is good for third in the Maritimes Division and tenth overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Wildcats are just barely hanging on to the third spot in the division as the PEI Rocket have closed the gap to just three points… the Wildcats are coming off a 3-2 victory in Cape Breton over the Screaming Eagles on Wednesday. Daniel Pettersson, Simon Jodoin, and Thomas Flynn each scored for the winners who were outshot 30-24 by the Eagles. Steve Gleeson made 28 stops for the win… 5-5-0-0 in their last 10 games and are coming off a win… 15-9-0-1 on the road this season and have been outscored 85-82 by the opposition. They have earned 31 of their 60 points on the road this season and have the divisions second best winning percentage away from home at 0.620… 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 games away from the Moncton Coliseum… Moncton enters action today with the fourth best power play in the league with a rating of 26%. On the road they are running at 25.5% which is also good for fourth in the league… on the penalty kill side, the Wildcats are ranked tenth with a rating of 78.8%. On the road they are operating at 80.4%, good for third overall in the QMJHL amongst road teams… Moncton is currently averaging 14.6 penalty minutes per game which places them eighth overall in the league… Alex Saulnier leads the Wildcats in scoring this season with 67 points in 53 games. He has taken a seven-point lead over his twin brother, Allain, who sits second in team scoring… Allain Saulnier leads the club in goals on the year with 25 in 53 games… Alex Saulnier leads the club in helpers with 46 on the year… rookie defenseman Daniel Milan is a team worst -23 this year… Daniel Pettersson and Alex Saulnier are a team best +2… Allain Saulnier is second in the league in power play goals with 14… Alex Saulnier is third in power play assists with 24 this season… Steve Gleeson will likely start in goal today. The goaltender has a record of 12-5-2-1, a goals against average of 3.55, and a save percentage of 0.888… it is worth noting that backup netminder Jordan Kennedy has some brutally awful numbers. Kennedy has a record of 0-1-0-0, a goals against average of 13.11, and a save percentage of 0.692… Moncton is allowing the most shots against per game with an average of 33.74… 21-5-0-1 when scoring first… Marek Hrivik has gotten an assist in nine straight games. He is on a 10 game point scoring streak… Olivier Daoust has taken a penalty in five straight road games.
Record: 45-5-1-2 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 4-1 win at PEI Friday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (52GP-35G-46A-81Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs enter play today with a record of 45-5-1-2 which is good for first in the Maritimes Division and first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Sea Dogs have a 21-point lead for top spot in the division over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and a nine-point lead over the Montreal Juniors for first overall in the league. The Sea Dogs have played two fewer games than the Juniors and three fewer than the Titan… in this week’s BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, Saint John was ranked No. 1 for a ninth consecutive week… the Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-1 win in Charlottetown over the Prince Edward Island Rocket on Friday night. Jason Cameron, Steven Anthony, Michael Kirkpatrick, and Jonathan Huberdeau each scored for the Dogs. Tomas Jurco added three assists. Goaltender Mathieu Corbeil made 20 saves in the win… Saint John enters today’s game on a 10-game winning streak. A win will give them the longest winning streak in the QMJHL so far this season. The Sea Dogs won 10 straight earlier this season as did Quebec and Lewiston… 10-0-0-0 in their last 10 games and are on a stunning run of 16-0-1-0. They have not lost a regulation game in the new year… with eight home games remaining, the Dogs are still unbeaten in regulation at Harbour Station. They now have a record of 24-0-1-1 on home ice and have outscored their opposition 132-55… 9-0-1-0 in their last 10 home games… the Sea Dogs’ power play comes into today’s game ranked seventh in the league with a rating of 24.6. At home they are running at 21.7%... on the penalty kill, the Dogs are ranked fourth overall in the QMJHL with a rating of 81.1%. At home they are operating at 85.1%, which is good for second in the league amongst home teams… the Sea Dogs are averaging 13 penalty minutes per game which places them 13th in the league… Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Dogs in scoring with 81 points in 52 games. He is now 10 points back of league point leader Philip-Michael Devos… Huberdeau leads the team in goals with 35 this season. Zack Phillips is second on the team with 30… Huberdeau and Phillips are tied for the team lead in assists with 46 each. Michael Kirkpatrick sits third on the team with 41… Jacob DeSerres will likely get the start in goal this afternoon. The 20-year old has a record of 21-2-0-0, a goals against average of 2.21, and a save percentage of 0.918… Kirkpatrick is on a five-game goal scoring streak. He has gotten a point in nine straight… Huberdeau is on a four-game goal scoring streak… Phillips is on a four-game assist scoring streak.
Today’s match at Harbour Station has been sold out since Friday afternoon but a limited number of standing room tickets still remained at last check.
This will be the Sea Dogs second packed house of the season. The New Year’s Eve game, which also featured the Wildcats, had 6,488 fans attend.
RIVALRY CUP STANDINGS
Today is the seventh installment of the 2010-11 Brunswick News Rivalry Cup. With a sellout crowd on hand today at Harbour Station, the Sea Dogs will clinch their first Rivalry Cup.
Here is this year’s point system:
(1) Head-to-head on-ice results: Three (3) points awarded to a team for a regulation win, two (2) points awarded for an overtime/shootout victory, and one (1) point awarded for an overtime/shootout loss.Saint John currently leads the challenge 22-9.
(2) Head-to-head attendance figure (per game): Three (3) points awarded for 6,000 fans, two (2) points for 5,000 fans, and one (1) point for 4,000 fans.
(3) EA Sports NHL 11 Fan/Player Video Game Challenge: Saint John and Moncton will each select one fan to participate in an online video game series (best two-out-of-three) using the virtual versions of the Sea Dogs and Wildcats. The winning fan will collect five (5) points for his team/city. In addition, the Sea Dogs and Wildcats will select one player from their current roster to compete in a single-game competition, with the winner set to earn three (3) points for his side. More details regarding this portion of the challenge will be announced at a later date.
ON PLAYING SAINT JOHN
Moncton defenseman Brandon Gormley on playing the Sea Dogs:
"It's a great rivalry," said Wildcats defenceman Brandon Gormley. "They kind of rubbed it in our face the last time, but the boys remember that and we'll be ready go to on Sunday.
"They've got a great team with four solid lines, but we've played some close games against them this season. We've shown that when we play our type of game we're capable of competing with them." [Times & Transcript]
NOTES
- Today is the Sea Dogs’ 400th regular season game in the QMJHL.
- Saint John is a perfect 6-0-0-0 against Moncton this season and are 2-0-0-0 against the Wildcats at Harbour Station.
- This is the first game of a four-game homestand for the Dogs.
- The last time these two teams met, Saint John destroyed the Wildcats by score of 11-2.
- This is the second-to-last meeting between these two rivals. The last meeting is Friday, March 4 at Harbour Station.
- Kevin Gagne left Friday’s game with an injury in the first period and never returned. Alexandre Beauregard has missed the past few games with a knee injury.
ARENA INFO
Venue: Harbour Station
Seating Capacity: 6,297
Average Attendance: 4,052
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, Times & Transcript, 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 host the Val-d’Or Foreurs on Friday at 7:30 pm at Harbour Station.
Photo Credits: Times & Transcript, Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Google, David Connell Web Album
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