GAMEDAY
Saint John Sea Dogs vs Shawinigan Cataractes
Today at 5pm
Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live Blog:
SN
Bionest Centre – Shawinigan, Que.
PREVIEW
SHAWINIGAN, Que. – It’s been quite a battle for the first
overall position in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season.
After months of shifts atop the standings, the Saint John
Sea Dogs can clinch the No. 1 overall spot today with a win over the Shawinigan
Cataractes. The Memorial Cup champs face the Memorial Cup hosts for the final time in
the regular season today at 5pm at the Bionest Centre.
Even if Saint John isn’t able to pick up a victory today,
they are still in good position to finish in first. They have a record of
47-14-0-3 for 97 points with four games remaining. Shawinigan has a record of
43-15-3-4 for 93 points with three games remaining. The most points the
Cataractes can earn is 99.
But let’s be honest. After all that has gone down between
Saint John and Shawinigan over the past year, how sweet would it be to see the
Sea Dogs clinch the Jean Rougeau Trophy at the Bionest Centre?
The Sea Dogs enter tonight’s game having gone 18 straight
matches without a regulation loss. Their 17-game winning streak came to an end
on Friday night in Chicoutimi.
Saint John is 19-9-0-2 on the road this season and have
outscored opponents 115-89.
Shawinigan sits second overall in the league and are
first in the Telus East Division. They have a two-point lead on the Quebec
Remparts in the race for first place in the tough east division. The Cataractes
haven’t been playing their greatest hockey of late, going 6-3-1-0 over their
last 10 games.
The Cataractes are 21-8-1-3 at home this season and have
outscored opponents 135-88.
THE NUMBERS
| Saint John | Shawinigan | |
| Record | 47-14-0-3 (1st Maritimes) | 43-15-3-4 (1st East) |
| Home Record | - - - | 21-8-1-3 |
| Road Record | 19-9-0-2 | - - - |
| Streak | 17-0-0-1 | 0-1-0-0 |
| Last 10 | 9-0-0-1 | 6-3-1-0 |
| Goals For | 279 | 261 |
| Goals Against | 169 | 169 |
| Overall PP | 22.8% (8th) | 20.7% (10th) |
| Home PP | - - - | 22.4% (9th) |
| Road PP | 22.2% (5th) | - - - |
| Overall PK | 80.1% (5th) | 83.2% (2nd) |
| Home PK | - - - | 79.9% (8th) |
| Road PK | 75.9% (11th) | - - - |
| PIM/GAME | 16.4 (7th) | 16.6 (4th) |
LAST GAMES
The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss in
Chicoutimi on Friday. Danick Gauthier scored twice while Zack Phillips added
the other regulation marker. Jonathan Huberdeau scored Saint John’s lone
shootout goal. Mathieu Corbeil made 25 saves in the loss.
The Cataractes are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Rimouski
Oceanic on Friday night in a game that was broadcasted nationally. Pierre-Olivier
Morin, Morgan Ellis, and Maxim Le Sieur each scored in the losing cause.
Gabriel Girard allowed five goals on 17 shots while Alex Dubeau stopped all
four shots he faced in relief.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Sea Dogs are 2-1-0-0 against the Cataractes this year
while Shawinigan is 1-1-1-0 against Saint John.
Their last meeting was back on February 4 in Shawinigan
when Jonathan Huberdeau scored with 30 seconds remaining to give Saint John a
2-1 win. Charles Roussel had the other Sea Dogs goal while Maxim Le Sieur
scored for the Cataractes. Mathieu Corbeil made 37 saves in the win and Gabriel
Girard made 23 stops in the loss.
Also in that game, Sea Dogs forward Jason Cameron was
suspended four games for this hit on Kirill Kabanov.
And Cataractes defenseman Jonathan Racine got four games
plus an automatic one-game for this hit on Jonathan Huberdeau.
The last meeting was very physical with lots of scrums
after whistles. Today’s game should be interesting.
LEADING SCORERS
Danick Gauthier leads Saint John in scoring with 80
points (44G, 36A) in 62 games this year. Gauthier has a team high 44 goals
while Zack Phillips leads the team in assists with 48.
Shawinigan is led by Anton Zlobin who has 69 points (37G,
32A) in 63 games this season. Zlobin has a team high 37 goals while Michael
Chaput leads the team in assists with 39.
PROBABLE GOALTENDERS
Mathieu Corbeil (35-9-0-1, 2.30 GAA, 0.913 SV%) for Saint
John and Gabriel Girard (19-7-1-2, 2.49 GAA, 0.910 SV%) for Shawinigan.
CLOSING IN
Danick Gauthier enters today’s game with 44 goals. He is
just two goals away from tying Mike Hoffman’s single season franchise record of
46 set in 2009-10.
NOTES
- Shawinigan is averaging 3,519 fans per game this season.
- Tomas Jurco is currently not with the team because of educational commitments.
- Danick Gauthier is second in the league in goals with 44. Anton Zlobin is seventh with 37.
- Zack Phillips is 10th in assists with 48.
- Morgan Ellis is ninth in power play goals with 13.
- Maxim Le Sieur and Loik Poudrier are second and sixth, respectively, in shorthanded goals with four.
- Gauthier is fourth in game winning goals with seven.
- Ian Saab is third in penalty minutes with 159.
- Huberdeau and Charles Roussel are both a league best +49.
- Huberdeau has a league best five shorthanded assists.
- Gauthier is second in dangerous shots with 153.
- Shawinigan is averaging a league high 34.21 shots per game.
- Saint John is averaging a league low 26.32 shots against per game.
- The Sea Dogs are 10-5-0-1 against the Telus East Division.
- The Cataractes are 10-3-1-1 against the Maritimes Division.
OTHER GAMES
Quebec at Gatineau - 4:00 PM EDT
Rouyn-Noranda at Val-d'Or - 4:00 PM EDT
Chicoutimi at Victoriaville - 4:00 PM EDT
NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs travel to Halifax on Wednesday to take on
the Mooseheads at 7pm.
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