GAME DAY 42: vs Wildcats

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

When and where: Tonight at 7 p.m., Harbour Station

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Wildcats are first in the Maritimes Division, second overall in the QMJHL and ranked eighth in the CHL Top 10 rankings with a record of 27-11-0-2 for 56 points. The Sea Dogs are second in the Maritimes and fifth overall with a 23-12-1-5 record for 52 points.

Last games: The Sea Dogs and Wildcats met on Thursday with Moncton winning 3-2 in a shootout. Jacob Sweeney and Cam Askew scored for the ‘Cats while Dogs goals came from Juraj Siska and Jason Bell. Alex Bishop made 27 saves in the loss while Alex Dubeau made 29 in the victory.

2014-15 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 1-3-0-1 against the Wildcats this season while Moncton is 4-1-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Thursday.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Wildcats: Noah Zilbert

Random stat: Nathan Noel has three goals and four assists in five games against the Wildcats this season.

MON notes: Conor Garland leads the Wildcats and the league in scoring with 71 points in 40 games… Ivan Barbashev leads the ‘Cats in goals with 22… Garland has a team and league high 50 assists… 11-8-0-1 on the road this season… 9-1 in their last 10 games and have won three straight… Alex Dubeau leads the QMJHL in wins with 22… Jacob Sweeney is second in defensemen scoring with 34 points… Sweeney leads d-men in goals with 12… Dominic Talbot-Tassi is fourth in d-men assists with 27… 15-4-0-1 when scoring first… 21-5-0-1 against Maritimes Division teams… Moncton has the second best power play in the league with a rating of 25.9… the Wildcats have the sixth best penalty kill in the league with a rating of 80.3… averaging 4.05 goals per game, the most in the league… Garland has assists in eight straight games.

SJ notes: Nathan Noel leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 36 points in 41 games… Adam Marsh has scored a team high 18 goals… Noel leads the team in assists with 23… 14-2-1-3 at Harbour Station this season… 3-6-0-1 in their past 10 games and have lost three straight… Marsh is eighth in rookie scoring with 32 points and is tied for the rookie lead in goals… Thomas Chabot is 14^th in defensemen scoring with 25 points… Jason Bell is fifth in goals by d-men with nine… 14-5-0-1 when scoring first… 16-8-1-3 against Maritimes Division teams… Saint John’s power play rating of 16.4 is second worst in the league… the Sea Dogs have the league’s best penalty kill rating of 84.3… averaging 3.06 goals against per game, the second fewest in the league… Spencer Smallman has goals in three straight home games.

Out of town:

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

Next game: The Sea Dogs host the Drummondville Voltigeurs on Wednesday at 7 p.m.