Thursday, April 14, 2022

Game Day 60: at Charlottetown

CHARLOTTETOWN - For a final time this regular season, the Saint John Sea Dogs and Charlottetown Islanders will meet.

The Islanders have already clinched the season series, winning five of the eight previous matches. While it remains unlikely that the Sea Dogs can catch the Islanders in the standings, there is a lot on the line tonight for both clubs.

Charlottetown is currently tied with the Quebec Remparts for top spot in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (the Islanders do have a game in-hand, though). The Sea Dogs, meanwhile, are once again tied with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for third overall in the Eastern Conference. With only a couple weeks left in the regular season, every point matters for playoff positioning.

Game time tonight at Eastlink Centre is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/93 CFBC/CHL TV

Capacity/Proof of Vaccination/Masks: 100%/None/Required

Records: The Sea Dogs are 38-17-1-3 for 80 points (third Maritimes/fourth Eastern/fifth QMJHL) while the Islanders are 40-11-7-0 for 87 points (first Maritimes/first Eastern/first QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-2 win over the Quebec Remparts on Sunday. William Villeneuve, Josh Lawrence, Peter Reynolds and Vincent Sevigny scored for Saint John. Thomas Couture made 37 saves in the victory. The Islanders are coming off a 2-1 home win over the Cape Breton Eagles on Sunday. Brett Budgell and Jakub Brabenec scored for Charlottetown. Oliver Satny made 29 stops in the victory.

2021-22 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 3-5-0-0 against the Islanders this season while Charlottetown is 5-2-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: March 24 at Eastlink Centre where the Islanders defeated the Sea Dogs 6-4. Patrick Guay had a pair of goals while singles came from Brett Budgell, Jakub Brabenec, Dawson Stairs and Noah Laaouan. Saint John had a pair of goals from Philippe Daoust and singles from Raivis Ansons and Ryan Francis. Francesco Lapenna made 24 stops in the win. Nikolas Hurtubise was pulled after allowing five goals on 15 shots in the first two periods. Thomas Couture made 10 stops in the third period.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Islanders: Forward Dawson Stairs.

Islander to watch: Brett Budgell has eight goals and four assists in eight games against Saint John this season.

Random stat: Seven of the eight previous meetings between the Sea Dogs and Islanders have been decided by two goals or less.

Notes: William Dufour leads Saint John in points with 102 and goals with 48... Josh Lawrence has a team high 59 assists... Patrick Guay leads Charlottetown in points with 84 and goals with 44... Xavier Simoneau leads the Islanders in assists with 45... the Sea Dogs are 18-8-1-1 on the road... the Islanders are 20-6-3-0 at home... the Islanders have won three straight games... the Sea Dogs have won six straight games overall and three straight road games... Jakub Brabenec continues to lead all QMJHL rookies in points with 53... Lukas Cormier is second in defensemen scoring with 66 points... Charlottetown owns the league's best penalty kill with a rating of 84.4%... the Islanders are allowing a league low 2.55 goals against per game... Lawrence has goals in four straight games... Ryan Francis has points in five straight road games.

Out of town:
Rimouski at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:00 PM ADT
Halifax at Cape Breton - 7:00 PM ADT
Blainville-Boisbriand at Drummondville - 7:00 PM EDT
Gatineau at Québec - 7:00 PM EDT

Next game: The Sea Dogs visit the Cape Breton Eagles on Saturday at 7 p.m.

No comments:

Post a Comment