GAME DAY 56: at Val-d'Or

A ridiculously tough road comes to an end for the Saint John Sea Dogs (36-15-4-0, 76 points, 1^st Maritimes, 3^rd QMJHL) tonight against the ridiculously tough Val-d’Or Foreurs (42-11-2-1, 87 points, 1^st West, 1^st QMJHL) at 8 p.m.

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

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-1 loss in Rouyn-Noranda last night. Spencer Smallman scored Saint John’s lone goal while Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 27 saves in the loss. The Foreurs are coming off a 5-2 home loss to the Gatineau Olympiques last night. Julien Gauthier and David Henley scored for Val-d’Or while Etienne Montpetit was pulled in the third after allowing five goals on 33 shots.

2015-16 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 1-0-0-0 against the Foreurs this season while Val-d’Or is 0-1-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: On Halloween night at Harbour Station where the Sea Dogs defeated the Foreurs 5-3. Adam Marsh, Thomas Chabot, Daniel Del Paggio, Matthew Highmore and Jakub Zboril all scored for Saint John. Nathan Tremblay netted a pair of goals and Shawn Ouellette-St-Amant added a solo marker for the Foreurs. Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 29 saves in the win. Dereck Baribeau made 34 stops in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Foreurs: Defenseman Jack Van Boekel

Player to watch: Julien Gauthier, a top prospect for the 2016 NHL Draft and a teammate of Thomas Chabot at the world juniors, has an impressive 37 goals and 10 assists in 42 games this season. Gauthier has had a quiet February though, recording just three points – all goals – in six games.

Three Things to Know

1. For possibly the final time in his QMJHL career, Matt Murphy will play the team that selected him fifth overall in the 2011 draft. Murphy recorded four goals and 36 assists in 101 regular season contests with Val-d’Or.

2. The Sea Dogs traded Jack Van Boekel to the Foreurs way back on Aug. 17, 2015 in exchange for a 2017 third-round pick. In 53 games with Val-d’Or this season, the 6’7” defenseman has recorded one goal and 11 assists.

3. Like the Huskies, the Foreurs have been excellent at home this year. They are an impressive 22-4-2-0 at the Air Creebec Centre and have outscored opponents 136-73.

Notes: The Sea Dogs are 18-7-2-0 on the road this season… Anthony Richard is fifth in league scoring with 35 goals and 82 points in 54 games… Richard, Anthony Beauregard and Nicolas Aube-Kubel are all in the top 12 of league scoring… Julien Gauthier has the fourth most goals in the Q with 37… Richard is tied for the league lead in game winning goals with eight… Etienne Montpetit has the fourth best GAA (2.63) and the third best SV% (.909)… the Foreurs are 7-2-0-0 against Maritimes Division teams… Val-d’Or has scored a league high 18 shorthanded goals… the Foreurs are averaging a league high 4.42 goals per game… Gauthier has points in 12 straight home games… Adam Marsh and Daniel Del Paggio have points in seven straight road games.

Out of town:

Sherbrooke at Moncton - 4:00 PM AST
Chicoutimi at Baie-Comeau - 4:00 PM EST
Québec at Rimouski - 4:00 PM EST
Blainville-Boisbriand at Cape Breton - 7:00 PM AST
Charlottetown at Halifax - 7:00 PM AST
Gatineau at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:00 PM EST

Next game: Bokondji Imama and the Sea Dogs host Kelly Bent and the Mooseheads on Thursday night at 7 p.m.