Game Day 22: vs Huskies

SAINT JOHN - A highly anticipated goaltending matchup will, in all likelihood, take place this afternoon at TD Station.

Nikolas Hurtubise and the Saint John Sea Dogs host Thomas Couture and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies today at 3 p.m. It's the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.

Hurtubise and Couture were Saint John's goaltending tandem in the second half of last season, going through the painful first-round playoff loss to the Rimouski Oceanic and then the joy of winning the Memorial Cup on home ice several weeks later.

Neither netminder played last night, which means both will likely get the start in goal today.

This is the third game in three days for the Huskies following a 4-2 win in Moncton on Friday and a 5-2 loss in Bathurst last night.

TV/Radio/Stream: None/93 CFBC/CHL TV

2022-23 regular season records: The Sea Dogs are 6-14-0-1 for 13 points (sixth Maritimes/10th Eastern/18th QMJHL) while the Huskies are 13-10-1-1 for 21 points (second West/fourth Western/sixth QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Val-d'Or Foreurs last night at TD Station. Pavel Simek, Nicolas Bilodeau and Cole Burbidge scored for Saint John. Ventsislav Shingarov made 18 stops in the loss. The Huskies are coming off a 5-2 loss in Bathurst last night. Daniil Bourash and Bill Zonnon scored for Rouyn-Noranda. Kyle Hagen made 23 saves in the loss.

2022-23 head-to-head: This is the first meeting of the season between the Sea Dogs and Huskies.

2021-22 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 1-0-0-1 against the Huskies last season while Rouyn-Noranda went 0-2-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Nov. 25, 2021 at TD Station where the Sea Dogs hammered the Huskies 9-2. Josh Lawrence, William Dufour, Charlie DesRoches, Jacob Chantler, Cam MacDonald, William Villeneuve, Nico Laforge, Carter McCluskey and Brady Burns all scored for Saint John. Donovan Arsenault and Louis-Philippe Fontaine scored for Rouyn-Noranda. Jonathan Lemieux made 22 saves in the win. Samuel Richard and Mathis Dorcal-Madore took the loss in net.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Huskies: Forward Leighton Carruthers and goaltender Thomas Couture.

Huskies to watch: Thomas Couture will presumably get the start in goal. The former Sea Dogs netminder is 9-7 with a 2.98 goals against average and a .900 save percentage this season.

Random stat: The Huskies are 6-1-0-1 against Maritimes Division teams this season.

Notes: Brady Burns leads Saint John in points with 21 and goals with 12... Nate Tivey has a team high 12 assists... Daniil Bourash leads the Huskies in points with 28 and goals with 18... Tristan Allard leads the club in assists with 22... Saint John is 4-6-0-0 at home... Rouyn-Noranda is 8-5-1-0 on the road... Bill Zonnon is third in rookie scoring with 19 points... after a rough outing last night, Saint John's penalty kill is back in last place with a rating of 13.9%... the Huskies are averaging 33.82 shots per game, the second most in the league... Bourash has points in eight straight road games while Zonnon has points in seven straight.

Out of town:

Charlottetown at Cape Breton - 3:00 PM AST

Halifax at Moncton - 4:00 PM AST

Acadie-Bathurst at Rimouski - 3:00 PM EST

Blainville-Boisbriand at Sherbrooke - 3:00 PM EST

Chicoutimi at Drummondville - 4:00 PM EST

Next game: The Sea Dogs begin a three-in-three Quebec road trip on Friday in Shawinigan, taking on the Cataractes at 8 p.m.