GAME DAY 35: at Moncton

A preview of today’s game between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats…

When and where: Today at 4 p.m., Moncton Coliseum

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are second in the Maritimes Division, fourth overall in the QMJHL and ranked eighth in the CHL Top 10 rankings with a 20-9-1-4 record for 45 points. The Wildcats are first in the Maritimes, second overall and ninth in the Top 10 with a 22-10-0-2 record for 46 points.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at Harbour Station on Dec. 18. Julien Tessier, Daniel Del Paggio and Luke Green scored for the Sea Dogs while Sebastien Auger made 20 saves in the loss. The Wildcats are coming off a 10-5 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Dec. 18 at the Coliseum. Conor Garland, Alexandre Jacob and Kyle Tibbo all scored twice for Moncton while singles came from Adam Holwell, Jacob Sweeney, Will Bower and Eric Leger. Alex Dubeau made 19 stops in the victory.

2014-15 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 1-2-0-0 against the Wildcats this season while Moncton is 2-1-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Oct. 18 at Harbour Station when the Sea Dogs defeated the Wildcats 7-1. Nathan Noel had two goals while Saint John solo markers came from Luke Green, Mitchell Dempsey, Spencer Smallman, Adam Marsh and Mathieu Joseph. Vladimir Tkachev had Moncton’s lone goal. Sebastien Auger made 27 saves in the win while Alex Dubeau made 25 in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Wildcats: None

Random stat: Moncton has scored seven shorthanded goals, the second most of any team in the league this season. Rimouski has scored 10.

SJ notes: Adam Marsh leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 29 points in 32 games… Marsh has a team high 15 goals… Spencer Smallman leads the team in assists with 18… 8-8-0-1 on the road this season… losers of three straight and are 5-4-0-1 in their last 10 games… Sebastien Auger leads the league in GAA (2.52) and SV% (.917)… Marsh is seventh in rookie scoring and third in rookie goals… Thomas Chabot is 13^th in defensemen scoring with 22 points while Jakub Zboril is 14^th with 21… 11-2-0-1 when scoring first… 13-5-1-2 against the Maritimes Division… their 16% power play rating is the second worst in the league… owners of the league’s best penalty kill with a rating of 84.8%... averaging 2.97 goals against per game, the second fewest in the league.

MON notes: Conor Garland leads the Wildcats and the league in scoring with 63 points in 34 games… Ivan Barbashev has a team high 22 goals… Garland leads the league in assists with 42… Garland’s 22 power play assists lead the league… Alex Dubeau has a league high 18 wins… Jacob Sweeney is second in defensemen scoring with 29 points… Sweeney’s eight goals are second most amongst d-men… 12-3-0-1 when scoring first… 16-4-0-1 against the Maritimes Division… their 27% power play rating is the best in the league… averaging 4.21 goals per game, the most in the QMJHL… Kyle Tibbo has scored in three straight games… Eric Leger has goals in four straight home games… the Wildcats have won five straight overall and five straight at home… 12-3-0-1 at the Coliseum this season… 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 games.

Out of town:

Acadie-Bathurst at Charlottetown - 3:00 PM AST
Québec at Baie-Comeau - 4:00 PM EST
Sherbrooke at Blainville-Boisbriand - 4:00 PM EST
Drummondville at Gatineau - 4:00 PM EST
Val-d'Or at Rouyn-Noranda - 4:00 PM EST
Rimouski at Shawinigan - 4:00 PM EST
Chicoutimi at Victoriaville - 4:00 PM EST
Halifax at Cape Breton - 7:00 PM AST

Next game: The Sea Dogs travel to Bathurst to battle the Titan in a rare Monday night game tomorrow.