PRE-GAME: Saint John Sea Dogs vs PEI Rocket

Game Day
Saint John Sea Dogs vs PEI Rocket
Friday, March 12, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Charlottetown Civic Centre

Visiting Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 52-11-1-2 (1st in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 4-3 shootout loss at Cape Breton Wednesday
Leading Scorer: Mike Hoffman: 55 GP-46 G-39 A-85 Pts
NHL Draft Picks: Yann Sauve (Vancouver), Marco Cousineau (Anaheim), Simon Despres (Pittsburgh), Steven Anthony (Vancouver), Mike Hoffman (Ottawa), and Nicholas Petersen (Pittsburgh).
Notes: Saint John is first in the Atlantic, first overall in the QMJHL, and are ranked second in country this week for the third straight week… coming off their second shootout loss of the season on Wednesday in Cape Breton. The Sea dogs had a 3-1 lead early in the third period but blew the lead and went to overtime. Goaltender Karel St. Laurent allowed all three goals while Tomas Jurco and Jonathan Huberdeau scored for Saint John in the breakaway contest… captain Mike Thomas is suspended for this game. He is serving game two of a five game suspension that he received last Friday against Moncton… Yann Sauve is expected to rejoin the team tonight after missing the last two games (Halifax and Cape Breton) due to a death in his family… St. Laurent got the start in goal on Wednesday after Marco Cousineau fell ill. Cousineau was traded from the Rocket earlier this year in exchange for draft picks. He is 14-4 since joining Saint John. He last played Sunday in a 5-2 win over Halifax… Saint John continues to play uninspired hockey down the stretch. They are 6-2-0-2 in their last 10 games and are coming off a loss. They have lost two shootouts in their last three games… continue to lead the league in goals scored with 303 markers. That is 12 ahead of the Drummondville Voltigeurs… Saint John had their seven game road winning streak snapped on Wednesday at Centre 200. The Sea dogs have the best road record in the league at 26-4-1-1. They are 8-1-0-1 in their last 10 games away from Harbour Station… have allowed five shorthanded goals on the road this year, good for fifth in the league… Mike Hoffman, Tomas Jurco, and Zach Phillips all have three game point scoring streaks entering tonight’s tilt. Hoffman leads the pack with three goals and two assists in that span… Hoffman is four goals short of 50 this season. He is expected to do a lot of shooting in the final two games of the year… Nicholas Petersen leads the team with nine points (four goals and five assists) against the Rocket this year… Mike Hoffman leads the team in goals against PEI with six in in seven games… Nicholas Pard and Gabriel Bourret are both a team worst -2 against the Rocket this year. Petersen leads the team with a +7… Thomas, who will not play tonight, has 26 penalty minutes against the Rocket. That includes a fight where he was suspended for six games… Saint John is 4-3-0-0 against the Rocket this season. The last time they met, PEI won 3-1 at Harbour Station.

PLAYOFF PREVIEW
Cape Breton officially locked up third place Wednesday night, meaning the PEI Rocket will face the Sea Dogs in the first round of the playoffs. The series begins on March 19 at Harbour Station.

"We've been playing quality teams like P.E.I and Cape Breton,'' head coach Gerard Gallant said to the Telegraph-Journal. "That's helping us get ready for the playoffs.''

THOMAS STILL SUSPENDED
Saint John Sea Dogs forward Mike Thomas was suspended for a total of six games (an automatic one-game suspension plus five additional games) for an illegal hit which occurred during last Friday’s game versus the Moncton Wildcats. He served the first of the five games on Wednesday.

Home Team: PEI Rocket
Record: 34-23-2-6 (4th in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 3-1 loss at Moncton last night
Leading Scorer: Samson Mahbod: 49 GP-20 G-43 A-63 Pts
NHL Draft Picks: Jordon Southorn (Bufflao), and Benjamin Casavant (Washington)
Notes: The Rocket are coming off a 3-1 loss last night in Moncton against the Wildcats. The Rocket were 5-3-0-2 in their last 10 games entering the tilt and have now lost two straight… PEI has scored the fewest amount of shorthanded goals in the league this season with three. Moncton has a league high 15 shorties… have two PEI natives on their team and have one New Brunswicker… PEI has had a good year against the top team in the QMJHL, the Sea Dogs. The Rocket are 3-4-0-0 in seven meetings this year and even shutout the Dogs 4-0 in October. Current Saint John goalie Marco Cousineau got the shutout in the game… PEI had lost four straight to Saint John entering their last meeting after taking the first two meetings between the two… 16-13-2-1 at the Charlottetown Civic Centre this year. They are 5-4-1-0 in their last 10 games at the CCC and are coming off a loss… PEI has scored the second fewest goals at home this year with 95 in 32 games. Only Halifax has scored fewer with 85 in 34 games at the Metro Centre… right winger Michael Stinziani is on a three game point streak. In that time, he has four assists… Washington prospect Benjamin Casavant has scored a team 32 goals this season for the Rocket in 57 games played… Stniziani has played for three teams this season: Cape Breton, Chicoutimi, and PEI… Casavant has scored a team high four goals and six points against the Sea Dogs this season… Adam Polasek has a team high four assists against Saint John… Jarred Struthers has a team worst -6 rating against the Dogs this year. Cody Linteau is a team best +2… Brendan Wright has put up 14 penalty minutes this season against Saint John. He has fought the suspended Mike Thomas twice this year… Evan Mosher is 1-1 against Saint John this year in the Rocket crease. He has average of three goals against versus the Dogs. He picked up the win two weeks ago at Harbour Station.

***Rocket Statistics as of last night***

Saint John vs PEI
This Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
7-4-3-0-0-8
Home: 4-2-2-0-0-4
Road: 3-2-1-0-0-4
Goals For: 20
Goals Against: 19

Last Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
8-6-2-0-0-12
Home: 4-4-0-0-0-8
Road: 4-2-2-0-0-4
Goals For: 31
Goals Against: 23

All-Time- Not Including This Season (GP-W-L-OTL-SOL-PTS):
26-15-8-1-2-33
Home: 14-9-3-1-1-20
Road: 12-6-5-0-1-13
Goals For: 115
Goals Against: 110

PAST RESULTS THIS SEASON
Sep 23, 2009: PEI Rocket 6 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 1
Oct 13, 2009: Saint John Sea Dogs 0 @ PEI Rocket 4
Oct 18, 2009: PEI Rocket 2 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 5
Dec 02, 2009: Saint John Sea Dogs 4 @ PEI Rocket 1
Dec 11, 2009: Saint John Sea Dogs 4 @ PEI Rocket 1
Dec 29, 2009: PEI Rocket 2 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 5
March 2, 2010: PEI Rocket 3 @ Saint John Sea Dogs 1

TALE OF THE TAPE
HOCKEYFIGHTS.COM
Sep 23, 2009: Matthew Hobbs vs Mike Thomas
Oct 13, 2009: Brendan Wright vs Mike Thomas
Oct 13, 2009: Louis-Philippe Lacroix vs Benjamin Lecomte
Dec 11, 2009: Brendan Wright vs Mike Thomas

STATION NATION FACTS:

• In 1999, the QMJHL awarded a franchise to a group of investors led by former Montreal Canadiens general manager Serge Savard. The franchise was baptized the “Rocket” in honour of Maurice “Rocket” Richard, whose legendary career is a part of the city’s soul. Maurice Richard was on hand to witness the inaugural game of the franchise, which was played on September 9th, 1999 in the renowned Maurice Richard Arena. Following a four-year stint in Montreal, the franchise moved to PEI due to low attendance.
• The team’s notables over the years include: Gaston Therrien, Pascal Leclaire, Alain Vigneault, Pierre-André Bureau and Maxim Lapierre.

AROUND THE TOWN
WIKIPEDIA
Charlottetown is a Canadian city and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885. It is also the county seat of Queens County. The population of the Charlottetown census agglomeration in the 2006 census was 58,625, slightly less than half of the province's population (135,851).

Charlottetown has numerous parks and playing fields for soccer, baseball, softball, football, rugby, and field hockey. There are also many outdoor tennis courts, recreational trails, and running tracks. Most public schools in the city have gymnasiums available for public use outside of school hours and there are community-owned and operated hockey arenas and swimming pools, as well as several privately operated fitness centres. Amateur varsity team sports are prevalent for males and females in the city's two senior high schools, Colonel Gray and Charlottetown Rural, as well as the University of Prince Edward Island's varsity teams (the UPEI Panthers) through the institution's affiliation with Canadian Interuniversity Sport. Holland College also has varsity teams, the Holland Hurricanes. There are currently no professional sports teams based in the city since the demise of the P.E.I. Senators.

THE RINK
Venue: Charlottetown Civic Centre
Capacity: 3,690
Average Attendance: 2,023
Arena Guide Info: http://www.qmjhlarenaguide.com/rocket.htm
Notes: The "civic centre", as it is commonly called, was built in 1989-1990 and opened in the fall of 1990 as the principal venue for the 1991 Canada Winter Games which Prince Edward Island hosted in February, 1991.

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

TWITTER
Follow Station Nation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/station_nation for in game updates from tonight’s game.