GAME DAY 1: vs Mooseheads

A preview of tonight’s game between the Halifax Mooseheads 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 Mooseheads are 0-0-0-1 this season, placing them third in the Maritimes Division and eighth overall in the QMJHL. This will be the first game of the year for the Sea Dogs.

Last games: The Mooseheads are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss in Charlottetown last night. Ilya Putintsev, Otto Somppi and Vincent Watt all scored for the Moose while Eric Brassard made 36 saves in the victory. Saint John’s last game was a 4-0 pre-season loss to the Moncton Wildcats in Bouctouche on Aug. 28. Alex Bishop made 35 saves in the loss.

2014-15 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 7-1-0-0 against the Mooseheads last season while Halifax went 1-6-1-0 against Saint John.

2014-15 Meetings:
Saint John 4 @ Halifax 1 (Mar 21 2015) Final
Halifax 7 @ Saint John 4 (Mar 14 2015) Final
Halifax 1 @ Saint John 4 (Jan 3 2015) Final
Saint John 3 @ Halifax 1 (Dec 6 2014) Final
Saint John 4 @ Halifax 2 (Nov 7 2014) Final
Halifax 2 @ Saint John 5 (Oct 11 2014) Final
Halifax 0 @ Saint John 7 (Sep 27 2014) Final
Saint John 6 @ Halifax 5 (Sep 20 2014) Final OT1

Last meeting: March 21 in Halifax where the Sea Dogs defeated the Mooseheads 4-1. Mark Tremaine had a pair of goals for Saint John while Samuel Dove-McFalls and Braydon Blight added singles. Timo Meier had Halifax’s only goal. Alex Bishop made 27 saves in the win while Eric Brassard made 28 in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Mooseheads: Kelly Bent

Random stat: Saint John scored four or more goals in seven of the eight games vs Halifax last year.

HFX notes: Timo Meier (San Jose), Cavan Fitzgerald (San Jose) and Cody Donaghey (Toronto) are away at NHL rookie camps… it’s early, but Otto Somppi and Maxime Fortier lead the Mooseheads in scoring with three points each… import Ilya Putintsev had a goal and an assist for the Moose last night… Halifax dressed seven players that are classified as rookies by the league… Eric Brassard went 1-2-0-0 with a 3.74 GAA and .891 SV% in three games against Saint John last year… Timo Meier had five goals and five assists in seven games against the Sea Dogs last season… Halifax went 0-4-0-1 in the pre-season and scored just 12 goals.

SJ notes: The Sea Dogs have nine players at pr heading to NHL rookie camps: Jakub Zboril (Boston), Thomas Chabot (Ottawa), Samuel Dove-McFalls (Philadelphia), Bokondji Imama (Tampa Bay), Mathieu Joseph (Tampa Bay), Spencer Smallman (Carolina), Adam Marsh (Detroit), Nathan Noel (Anaheim) and Jason Bell (Calgary)… Saint John’s lineup will feature the past two first overall picks in the QMJHL Entry Draft in Luke Green and Joe Veleno… Matthew Highmore and Sam Povorozniouk led Saint John in pre-season scoring with three goals and two assists… Spencer Smallman had four goals and six assists in seven games against Halifax last year.

Next game: The Sea Dogs host the Moncton Wildcats tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m.