PRE-GAME: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Acadie-Bathurst Titan

Game Day
Saint John Sea Dogs vs Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Today, December 27, 2009 at 4:00 pm
K.C. Irving Regional Centre

Visiting Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 31-6-1-0 (1st in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 7-1 Win at Halifax on Dec. 18
Leading Scorer: Nicholas Petersen: 30-22-21-43
Notes: Saint John sits first in the Atlantic division, first overall in the QMJHL, and second in Station Nation’s CHL Rankings… scratch Jonathan Huberdeau from the Sea Dogs’ lineup today. He is playing for team Quebec at the World Under-17 Championships in Timmins, Ontario… the Sea Dogs no longer have Olivier Ouellet on their roster as he was sent to Shawinigan last week for a draft pick. Ouellet had not been with the team since November 19… Benjamin Lecomte is no longer with the club as he was traded to Val-d’Or in exchange for defenseman Christian Morin. Morin is expected to make his Sea Dog debut today wearing affiliate player Rob McEwan’s number two. In 25 games this season, Morin has five goals and four assists… the Sea Dogs are ranked second in the country in the BMO CHL Top 10 Rankings for a sixth straight week… coming off a dominating 7-1 win in Halifax over a week ago. Before that, Saint John was embarrassed on home ice by the Mooseheads and lost 4-2… this game kicks off a hectic schedule for Saint John where they play five games in eight days… have won all three of their games in Bathurst this season… Mike Hoffman has a team leading five goals vs the Titan this season… Stanislav Galiev, Yann Sauve, and Kevin Gagne all have six assists against Bathurst this year… owners of the league’s best road record at 16-3-1-0… have scored the most road goals in the league with 86… 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 road games.

Home Team: Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Record: 14-18-3-2 (5th in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 6-5 overtime loss at Rimouski on Dec. 18
Leading Scorer: Eric Faille: 37-18-25-43
Notes: The Titan have been very active on the trade front. Zach O’Brien was acquired from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies by the Titan last week. O'Brien was a fourth-round pick of the Moncton Wildcats in 2008, before being traded to Rouyn-Noranda last August. The St. John's, N.L., native has yet to play a game in the QMJHL, electing instead to stay at home to attend school. A member of the St. John's Fog Devils, of the Newfoundland Midget AAA Hockey League, he has 42 goals and 19 assists in 16 games this season. O’Brien will likely play today but will decide on December 31 whether to stay with the Titan or go back to Newfoundland. In exchange for O’Brien, the Titan gave up number one goaltender Nicholas Champion… The Titan traded Maxime Renaud to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar for Christopher Giroux. Giroux was then sent to the Quebec Remparts for Chicago Blackhawks prospect David Gilbert… Gilbert is the only NHL drafted Titan player. He was drafted by the Blackhawks in the seventh round on the 2008 NHL entry draft… 4-4-1-1 in their last 10 games… currently on a five game losing streak… In five games against Saint John this season, Taylor Lambke has a team high six points… Jonathan Lessard has a team high 20 goals in 37 games played… averaging 1,432 fans per game this season… have the third worst home record in the league at 7-8-1-1… 5-5-0-0 in their last 10 home games but have lost two straight.

Saint John vs Acadie-Bathurst:
This Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
5-5-0-0-0-10
Home: 2-2-0-0-0-4
Road: 3-3-0-0-0-6
Goals For: 29
Goals Against: 12

Last Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
8-7-0-0-1-15
Home: 4-4-0-0-0-8
Road: 4-3-0-0-3-7
Goals For: 27
Goals Against: 19

All-Time-Not including this season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
36-14-19-1-2-31
Home: 18-8-13-0-1-17
Road: 18-6-6-1-1-14
Goals For: 112
Goals Against: 141

Station Nation Facts:

• This is the first game of the unofficial first half for both teams. This means that Saint John will likely be wearing their white sweaters from here on in on the road.
• The Titan’s average attendance of 1,432 is the worst in the league. Their smallest and largest crowds have come against Saint John this season.
• Saint John has yet to make any major moves since the trade period opened. "I don't think we're desperate for anything," Sea Dogs associate coach and hockey operations director Mike Kelly said to the Telegraph-Journal. "We're going to do whatever we can to improve our team, but at the same time, the balance is somewhere between how much youth you're willing to part with and what you need," he said. "We have good young players we're really happy with."
• Past results this season have been: 4-3 Saint John in a shootout in Bathurst, 5-2 Saint John is Bathurst, 6-1 Saint John in Saint John, 8-2 Saint John in Saint John, and 6-4 Saint John in Bathurst.
• Their last win in Bathurst on December 12 was the Sea Dogs’ twenty-second straight win. It would Saint John’s last win on their epic streak as they lost the next day in Moncton. In that game vs the Titan, Saint John had a 3-0 lead just 1:59 into the first period.
• The K.C. Irving Regional Centre opened in September of 1996, at a cost of $21 million. Funding was provided from all three levels of government - municipal, provincial and federal. The contractor was Foulem Construction and the architect was Jacques Boucher.

Important Info:
Venue: K.C. Irving Regional Centre
Capacity: 3,162
Arena Guide Info: http://www.qmjhlarenaguide.com/titan.htm

Saint John Media: Radio- News 88.9 FM (www.news889.com)
Live Video Streaming: www.qmjhl.mytelus.com
Post-Game Coverage: Telegraph-Journal, www.stationnation.blogspot.com