Game Day 34: vs Wildcats

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs close out the calendar year with a Saturday afternoon contest against the Moncton Wildcats.

The Sea Dogs had a three-game winning streak snapped last night in Bathurst, falling 6-3. The Wildcats, meanwhile, were also on the road last night, earning a 6-2 win over the Charlottetown Islanders. Both teams will have a quick turnaround for this afternoon's contest.

Today's game will feature one of the biggest crowds at TD Station this season. The band "Wannabe: A Spice Girls Tribute Act" will perform at both intermissions.

Game time today is 2 p.m.

TV/Radio/Stream: None/93 CFBC/CHL TV

2022-23 regular season records: The Sea Dogs are 12-19-1-1 for 26 points (sixth Maritimes/10th Eastern/18th QMJHL) while the Wildcats are 17-14-0-2 for 36 points (second Maritimes/sixth Eastern/ninth QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 6-3 loss in Bathurst last night. Alexis Cournoyer, Eriks Mateiko and Connor Trenholm all scored for Saint John. Ventsislav Shingarov made 39 stops in the loss. The Wildcats are coming off a 6-2 win in Charlottetown last night. Maxim Barbashev, Alexis Daniel, Yoan Loshing, Adam Fortier-Gendron, Vincent Labelle and Gabe Smith scored for Moncton. Vincent Filion made 20 saves in the win.

2022-23 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 0-3-0-1 against the Wildcats this season while Moncton is 4-0-0-0 against Saint John this season.

Last meeting: Dec. 9 at TD Station where the Wildcats defeated the Sea Dogs 8-5. Etienne Morin and Preston Lounsbury each scored a pair of goals for Moncton while singles came from Miles Mueller, Francesco Iasenza, Nicolas Paven and Charles Beaudoin. Brady Burns, Danny Akkouche, Cam MacDonald, Eriks Mateiko and Alexis Cournoyer scored for Saint John. Vincent Filion made 34 saves in the win. Nikolas Hurtubise and Ventsislav Shingarov took the loss in net.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Wildcats: None.

Wildcat to watch: Rookie Preston Lounsbury has three goals and an assist in four games against Saint John this season.

Random stat: This is the 12th time the Sea Dogs have played on New Year's Eve. They are 6-5 all-time.

Notes: Brady Burns leads Saint John in points with 33 and goals with 19... Nate Tivey leads the club in assists with 16... Etienne Morin leads Moncton in points with 37... Maxim Barbashev has a team high 16 goals... Vincent Labelle leads the team in assists with 25... Saint John is 8-9-0-0 at home... Moncton is 7-9-0-0 on the road... Morin is second in QMJHL defensemen scoring and first in goals (14)... Barbashev has goals in five straight games... Trenholm has points in six straight home games... Morin has assists in six straight road games... the Sea Dogs have won three straight home games... Burns remains out of the Sea Dogs lineup with a suspension... Saint John's Vincent Despont along with Moncton's Miles Mueller and Jonas Taibel are all playing for Switzerland today at the world juniors. The Swiss play Slovakia to close out preliminary round play.

Out of town:

Halifax at Cape Breton - 2:00 PM AST 

Acadie-Bathurst at Charlottetown - 2:00 PM AST

Gatineau at Blainville-Boisbriand - 2:00 PM EST 

Baie-Comeau at Chicoutimi - 2:00 PM EST 

Sherbrooke at Québec - 2:00 PM EST 

Drummondville at Rimouski - 2:00 PM EST 

Val-d'Or at Rouyn-Noranda - 2:00 PM EST 

Shawinigan at Victoriaville - 2:00 PM EST

Next game: The Sea Dogs host the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at TD Station.