GAME DAY
Saint John Sea Dogs vs Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Today, March 13, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Centre 200
SYDNEY, NS – The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles will be wearing Irish themed green jerseys this afternoon against the Saint John Sea Dogs. With the way the Eagles’ season has gone, they’ll need all the Irish luck they can get today against the nation’s top-ranked team.
Cape Breton just clinched a playoff spot last night thanks to a Baie-Comeau Drakkar loss in Drummondville. Unfortunately for Cape Breton, they will likely be the 16th seed in the playoffs and will be forced to face the mighty Sea Dogs in round one.
The Eagles sit last in the Maritimes Division with a record of 17-43-1-4 and are five points back of the Halifax Mooseheads with three games to play. Although mathematically possible, it will take a miracle for Cape Breton to pass their provincial rivals.
Although they have been battling for playoff positioning for several weeks now, the Eagles haven’t been playing their best hockey of the season. The team has lost four straight games and are just 2-7-0-1 in their last 10 games.
Over their four-game losing skid, they have been outscored 28-3. That includes an 8-0 loss in Saint John last Sunday, something the Eagles will surely look to improve on this afternoon.
The Eagles have played the Sea Dogs tough this season at times. On October 3, Cape Breton stunned Saint John with a 2-1 regulation win thanks to a late third period goal. The loss would be one of only six the Sea Dogs have suffered so far this regular season. Then on December 18 at Centre 200, Stephen MacAulay scored at the 19:59 mark of the third period to give Saint John a 2-1 win.
With this likely a first round playoff matchup, both teams will be looking to send a message. The Sea Dogs and Eagles meet one more time before the regular season ends which goes next Friday at Harbour Station.
THE NUMBERS
| Saint John | Cape Breton | |
| Record | 55-6-1-2 (1st Maritimes) | 17-43-1-4 (6th Maritimes) |
| Home Record | - - - | 10-20-1-2 |
| Road Record | 25-6-0-1 | - - - |
| Streak | 5-0-0-0 | 0-4-0-0 |
| Last 10 | 9-1-0-0 | 2-7-0-1 |
| Goals For | 303 | 148 |
| Goals Against | 156 | 262 |
| Overall PP | 24.4% (6th) | 15.4% (16th) |
| Home PP | - - - | 13.8% (17th) |
| Road PP | 25.8% (4th) | - - - |
| Overall PK | 83.1% (1st) | 74.1% (17th) |
| Home PK | - - - | 74.3% (17th) |
| Road PK | 79.5% (10th) | - - - |
| PIM/GAME | 13.0 (13th) | 16.1 (6th) |
NOTES: The Sea Dogs are led offensively by Jonathan Huberdeau who has 99 points entering today’s contest. He is s single point away from becoming the first Saint John player to reach the 100 point plateau in a single season… Huberdeau leads the club in goals with 40. Zack Phillips is second on the team in markers with 38… Huberdeau also leads the club in assists with 59 on the season… Phillips is sixth in in the league in power play goals with 15… Mike Thomas is seventh in shorthanded goals with three… Tomas Jurco, Stanislav Galiev, and Phillips are all tied for third in the league in game winning goals with seven… Phillips is 10th in first goals with seven… Jurco is second in the league in insurance goals with seven… Huberdeau is a league best plus-58… Simon Despres is 10th in shorthanded assists with two… Michael Kirkpatrick is second in dangerous shots with 178… Nathan Beaulieu is second amongst defensemen in dangerous shots on goal with 58… Despres is tied for the league lead in game winning goals amongst defenseman with four… 38-2-0-1 when scoring first… Saint John has gone to overtime or shootout in three of their past four games… 33-3-0-0 against the Maritimes Division with one of those loses coming against Cape Breton… averaging a league best 4.73 goals per game… averaging a league low 2.44 goals against per game… averaging a league high 36.67 shots on goal per game… averaging the fifth lowest amount of shots against per game at 27.03… Jonathan Huberdeau has scored in four straight games.
PROBABLE STARTER: We’re not sure who will start in goal this afternoon for Saint John. Jacob DeSerres has been sick of late and missed his last start - Friday in Bathurst. DeSerres has a record of 26-2-0-0, a goals against average of 2.20, and a save percentage of 0.917. Mathieu Corbeil, who has started the last two games for the Dogs, has a record of 18-16-1-1, a GAA of 3.19, and a SV% of 0.879.
LAST GAME: Zack Phillips and Steven Anthony scored in regulation while Jonathan Huberdeau netted the overtime winner as the Sea Dogs skated past the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 3-2 Friday night at the KC Irving Regional Centre. Mathieu Corbeil made 22 saves in net.
Weird Stat Of The Day: Five of the Sea Dogs’ six regulation loses have seen the team trailing after two periods of play.
NOTES: The Eagles are led offensively by Logan Shaw who has 43 points in 65 games. Cory MacIntosh is a close second with 42 points while Denis Kindl has 40… Shaw has 24 goals to lead Cape Breton in that department. Kindl is second on the squad in markers with 21… MacIntosh leads the club in assists with 30 on the season in 58 games. Defenseman Morgan Ellis is second with 26… Wes Herrett is a team worst minus-35… Spencer Metcalf is 13th in the league in penalty minutes with 117… 8-10-0-4 when scoring first… 9-26-0-2 against the Maritimes Division. They have picked up the fewest wins against the Maritimes Division amongst the Maritime teams… 1-5-0-0 against Saint John so far this season with two games left to play… have allowed eight shorthanded goals… averaging 2.28 goals per game, the second lowest total in the QMJHL… allowing an average of 4.03 goals against per game, the second highest in the league… averaging 25.54 shots per game, the third lowest in the league… allowing an average of 30.20 shots against per game, good for 10th in the league... this is Cape Breton’s final home game of the regular season.
PROBABLE STARTER: CHL veteran Andrew Hayes has played the most minutes for the squad this season. Hayes has a record of 12-20-1-3, a goals against average of 3.55, and a save percentage of 0.884.
LAST GAME: Cape Breton is coming off a 4-2 loss against the Moncton Wildcats on Friday night at Centre 200. Logan Shaw scored both Eagles goals as his team was outshot 22-20 by Moncton. Andrew Hayes made 18 saves in net in the loss.
Best Eagles Video We Could Find: We’ve got to go with our boy Snoop this afternoon.
GREEN STUFF
The Eagles will be wearing green jerseys this afternoon. From the Eagles’ website:
This Sunday, March 13th marks the fifth annual Cape Breton Screaming Eagles’ Irish Jersey Raffle in support of the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation. The Screaming Eagles will trade their black and yellow jerseys for custom designed green, Irish-themed jerseys to be raffled off.OTHER GAMES TODAY
“Since 2007, when we started this fundraiser, we have raised more than $56,700 for the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation,” commented Peter MacDonald, Director of Marketing of the Screaming Eagles. “This is something the fans look forward to each year and we are so grateful for their incredible support!”
…
During the game, fans can purchase tickets for a chance to win one of the jerseys. The tickets are $5 each and will be available only at Centre 200. The winning tickets will be drawn during the third period and the winners will join the Eagles on the ice. Each winner will receive a photo of them getting their jersey.
Moncton at PEI - 3:00 PM ADT
Shawinigan at Québec - 3:00 PM EDT
Baie-Comeau at Montréal - 3:05 PM EDT
Gatineau at Lewiston - 4:00 PM EDT
Rouyn-Noranda at Rimouski - 4:00 PM EDT
THE RINK
Venue: Centre 200
Capacity: 4,670
Average Attendance: 2,942
QMJHL Arena Guide
MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Telegraph-Journal, Cape Breton Post
Live Coverage: Follow Station Nation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/station_nation) for live in game coverage. All tweets will also appear in the SN Live Blog that is posted on this site.
AFTER THE BUZZER
The Sea Dogs play their final road game of the regular season Wednesday in Charlottetown at 7:00 pm. The game is a makeup contest after the original game was postponed earlier this season.
Photo Credits: Snoop's people, Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Screaming Eagles website, CB2012 Facebook page
No comments:
Post a Comment