GAME DAY
WHO: Acadie-Bathurst Titan vs Saint John Sea Dogs
WHEN: Tonight, 7:00 pm
WHERE: KC Irving Regional Centre
VISITING TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 18-3-0-2 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 6-0 win vs Quebec Sunday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (23GP-15G-15A-30Pts) and Michael Kirkpatrick (23GP-8G-22A-30Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs enter today’s action with a 18-3-0-2 record which is good for first in the Maritimes Division and a tie for first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Sea Dogs are tied with the Quebec Remparts at the top of the league with 38 points but have played two fewer games than Patrick Roy’s club… ranked third in Canada this week in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings… Saint John is coming off a dominating performance against the Remparts on Sunday afternoon at Harbour Station. The Sea Dogs won 6-0 on goals from Tomas Jurco, Stanislav Galiev, Pierre Durepos, Jonathan Huberdeau, Mike Thomas, and Stephen MacAulay. Goaltender Jacob DeSerres made 22 saves for his second shutout of the season… the Sea Dogs are also tied with the Remparts for tops in the league with 106 goals. The Dogs are averaging just under five goals per game… Saint John has allowed the fewest goals against in the QMJHL with only 59 scored on them in 23 contests… they are 8-1-0-1 in their last 10 games with their last loss coming in Bathurst against the Titan on October 22…. the Sea Dogs are on their hottest stretch of the season. They have won just two consecutive games but have collected at least a point in their last nine games… 7-3-0-1 on the road this season and have outscored their opposition 45-33 along the way. Their last road game was on October 31 in Rouyn-Noranda where they trounced the Huskies 7-0. Their last road loss was a 5-1 defeat in Bathurst on October 22… Saint John’s power play continues to be middle-of-the-pack despite being one of the two league leaders on offense. They enter action ranked ninth in the league with a rating of 0.206… the Sea Dogs’ penalty kill has slipped to fifth overall in the league with a rating of 0.830… Jonathan Huberdeau and Michael Kirkpatrick are tied for the team lead in points with 30 in 23 games… Huberdeau leads the team in goals with 15, plus/minus with a rating of +26, and penalty minutes with 31… Kirkpatrick leads the club in helpers with 22… if Saint John’s goaltending rotation holds true, Frederic Piche should get the call between the pipes this evening. The former Titan netminder has a goals against average of 2.33, a save percentage of 0.917 to go along with a solid 9-1-0-2 record. “I want to win (in Bathurst) and prove our team is better than they are,” he told the Telegraph-Journal today.
Record: 16-9-0-0 (2nd in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 4-2 win at PEI Wednesday
Leading Scorer: Gabriel Levesque (25GP-9G-26A-35Pts)
Notes: The Acadie-Bathurst Titan come into today’s game with a 16-9-0-0 record which is good for a tie with the Moncton Wildcats for second in the Maritimes Division and in a three way tie for sixth overall in the league… the Titan are coming off a 4-2 over the PEI Rocket Wednesday night in Charlottetown. Jonathan Lessard scored two goals while singles came from Zach O’Brien and Sebastien Trudeau (empty net). Olivier Roy made 31 saves to pick up the win. The Titan jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held on to win… the Titan are 8-4-0-0 at the KC Irving Regional Centre this season yet have been outscored on home ice 40-39… the Titan power play is ranked seventh in the QMJHL with a rating of 0.218… Bathurst’s penalty killing unit is ranked second in the league behind the Drummondville Voltigeurs. The Titan have a kill-off rating of 0.841… Gabriel Levesque leads the Titan in scoring with 35 points in 25 contests. His 26 assists is also a team high… Sebastien Trudeau leads the club in goals with 13… the Titan’s plus/minus stats are nothing to be amazed about. Levesque leads the way with a +9 rating there are many on the team with a minus… star goaltender Olivier Roy will likely get the call in net tonight. He has a record of 9-7-0-0, a goals against average of 2.80, and a save percentage of 0.913… the Titan’s penalty leader is tough guy Christophe Losier. Losier leads the Titan in fights this season with seven. Bathurst has dropped the gloves 23 times this year while Saint John has been involved in just nine… the Titan are expected to be without defenseman Jeremie Blain who injured his foot back in September while blocking a shot.
THE FIGHT
Last Saturday at Harbour Station these two teams squared off. The game featured a great tilt between Mike Thomas of the Sea Dogs and Christophe Losier of the Titan.
AND SO IT BEGINS
The St. John’s Telegram is starting the fun off even earlier this season.
There’s more than one Q team struggling today, but the franchise most likely destined for St. John’s, comes word down the pipe, is Acadie-Bathurst. That’s the same Titan team the city thought it had secured two years ago, only to learn it been played by the slippery Leo-Guy Morrissette.Something tells us this story isn’t going away for awhile.
SNOW
Reports out of Bathurst indicate that it is snowing up there.
That’s all you need to know.
ARENA INFO
Venue: KC Irving Regional Centre
Seating Capacity: 3,524
Year Built: 1996
QMJHL Arena Guide
MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Live Blog: Station Nation
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation
Follow Station Nation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/station_nation for in-game updates, scores, stats, and live coverage during tonight’s game.
AFTER THE BUZZER
Head to your trash talking, bear cup throwing, car horn honking, and President’s Cup Final conspiracy theory battle stations as the Sea Dogs travel to Wildtown to face the Moncton Wildcats tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 pm in Game Two of the 2010-11 Brunswick News Rivalry Cup.
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