GAME DAY
WHO: Saint John Sea Dogs vs PEI Rocket
WHEN: Tonight, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Charlottetown Civic Centre
VISITING TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 44-5-1-2 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 4-3 win at Halifax Saturday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (51GP-34G-46A-80Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs enter action this evening with a record of 44-5-1-2 which is good for first in the Maritimes Division and first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Sea Dogs have all but locked up the division as they have a 21-point lead over the second-place Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Saint John has an eight-point lead over the Montreal Juniors in the overall standings… for the ninth straight week, the Sea Dogs are the top-ranked junior hockey team in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings… the Dogs are coming off a close call against the Halifax Mooseheads Saturday at the Metro Centre. A four-goal second period by Saint John propelled the Sea Dogs past the Herd in a penalty filled affair for Halifax. The Sea Dogs had a pair of goals from Michael Kirkpatrick while the dynamic duo of Jonathan Huberdeau and Zack Phillips each scored singles. Mathieu Corbeil got the win in goal, making 21 stops to beat his former team… Saint John has been on a tear of late, picking up at least a point in their past 16-games. They have not lost a regulation match in the year 2011… 9-0-1-0 in their past 10 games and have won nine straight. They are on a 15-0-1-0 run… 20-5-0-1 when playing away from Harbour Station. The Sea Dogs have outscored their opponents 120-76 on the road in 26 games. They are averaging 4.6 goals per road contest… 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 road games. Their last road loss was January 30 in Bathurst… Saint John has the seventh best power play with a rating of 24.9%. On the road they are operating at 28.8%, which is second best amongst road teams in the QMJHL… on the penalty kill side, the Sea Dogs come in ranked fifth with a rating of 81.2%. On the road, they are running at 76.6%, which places them all the way down in the 13th spot among road penalty kill… Saint John is averaging the 14th most penalty minutes per game in the 18-team QMJHL with an average of 12.8… Jonathan Huberdeau continues to lead the Sea Dogs in scoring with 80 points in 51 contests. Huberdeau is now third in league scoring, one-point back of the second place Gabriel Levesque and seven-points back of point leader and overall beast Philip-Michael Devos… Huberdeau has now taken a good sized lead over Phillips for the team lead in goal scoring. Huberdeau currently has 34 on the year to Phillips’ 30… Huberdeau also leads the Dogs in assists this year with 46. Phillips is a close second with 45 while Michael Kirkpatrick is third with 40… Phillips is third in power play goals with 13… Phillips is tied for second in game winning goals with seven… Huberdeau is a league best +47… Jacob DeSerres will likely get the start in goal tonight. He has a record of 21-2-0-0, a goals against average of 2.21, and a save percentage of 0.918. He sits second in the league in both save percentage and goals against average… Simon Despres sits third amongst defenseman in shorthanded points with three… Nathan Beaulieu has the fourth best plus/minus rating amongst defenseman with a rating of +38. Kevin Gagne is fifth at +34… 31-2-0-1 when scoring first… Saint John is averaging a league high 4.85 goals per game and allowing a league low of 2.52 goals against per game… Michael Kirkpatrick is on an eight-game point streak… Zack Phillips is on a nine-game road point scoring streak.
Record: 25-22-2-5 (4th in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 2-1 win vs Bathurst Wednesday
Leading Scorer: Ben Duffy (54GP-27G-30A-57Pts)
Notes: The Prince Edward Island Rocket enter action today with a record of 25-22-2-5 which is good for fourth in the Maritimes Division and 11th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Rocket have closed the gap between them and the Moncton Wildcats over the past few weeks and are only three points back for the No. 3 slot in the division. It’s a typical year of PEI Rocket hockey… PEI is coming off a 2-1 win at home over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Wednesday. Alex Noel and Ben Duffy each scored for the Rocket. Evan Mosher made 22 stops in the win… the Rocket are 13-11-2-2 at the Charlottetown Civic Centre this season. They have scored 81 while allowing 81 against… 4-4-0-2 in their last 10 home games… 4-4-0-2 in their last 10 games and have won two straight. They have won three of their past four games… PEI has the 12th best power play in the QMJHL with a rating of 18.5%. At home, they are operating at 20.4%... on the penalty kill, the Rocket are in the upper tier of the league. They have seventh best penalty kill in the league with a rating of 80.6%. At home, they are running at 79.6%... the Rocket do not take a whole lot of penalties. They are averaging 12.3 penalty minutes per game which is the third lowest amount in the league this season… Ben Duffy leads the Rocket in scoring this season with 57 points in 54 games… Duffy leads the team in goals with 27 on the year… Andrej Nestrasil leads the Rocket in assists on the year with 37… Philippe Paradis is a team best +16 this season… Paradis is sixth in the league in shorthanded goals with three… Paradis is third in the league in first goals with seven… Adam Polasek leads the league in shorthanded assists with five… Evan Mosher will likely get the start in goal this evening. He has a record of 17-19-2-5, a goals against average of 2.81, and a save percentage of 0.916… PEI is allowing the second most shots on goal in the league with a per game average of 33.61.
MOSHER THE GREAT
Rocket goaltender Evan Mosher made 65 saves in his last game versus Saint John. Video evidence:
ON PLAYING THE DOGS
“We don’t have to change much,” said Rocket forward Ben Duffy after Wednesday's 2-1 victory over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at the CCC to The Guardian. “Play (hard), play 60 minutes.”
“‘I think they play solid defensively,” said Duffy, who leads the Rocket is scoring with 57 points. “Offensively, they're hard to contain.”
NOTES
- Both defenseman Simon Despres and forward Alexandre Beauregard missed last weekend’s games with minor lower body injuries.
- Jason Cameron is the Sea Dogs’ lone PEI native.
- Tonight’s contest is the Rocket’s last home game this month as the team makes way for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts national women’s curling championship, Feb. 19 to 27, at the Civic Centre.
- Mike Thomas was booed when he touched the puck the last time the Sea Dogs played in Charlottetown.
- The Civic Centre sucks.
ARENA INFO
Venue: Charlottetown Civic Centre
Seating Capacity: 3,690
Average Attendance: 1,741
Year Built: 1990
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, The Guardian
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 Moncton Wildcats on Sunday afternoon at 4pm at Harbour Station.
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