GAME DAY
Moncton Wildcats vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Tonight, March 4, 2011, 7:30 pm
Harbour Station
SAINT JOHN – For the final time this regular season, the Moncton Wildcats and Saint John Sea Dogs will meet at Harbour Station as the eighth battle of the year between the two teams goes down.
The Sea Dogs have dominated the season series so far, winning all seven matches and outscoring the Wildcats 40-18. There have been some close moments, though, as one game was decided in overtime and another in a shootout.
All of this Sea Dogs domination comes just a year after falling to the Wildcats in six games in the President’s Cup Final. Last year, Saint John couldn’t even beat Moncton in regulation during the regular season.
But what a difference a year makes.
The Sea Dogs enter play with a league best record of 51-6-1-2. They are ranked No. 1 in the country for a 12th straight week and just recently had a 15-game winning streak snapped on the road.
As Saint John’s historic season winds down, they still have an incredible home record. After 30 games at Harbour Station, the squad has yet to lose in regulation and own a home record of 28-0-1-1.
The Wildcats sit 10th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with a record of 30-22-2-7. They are a mid-pack team after selling the farm to make a run at the league’s prize last season.
"We have a young club that's in a rebuilding season after losing numerous key players from a championship team,” said Wildcats head coach Danny Flynn to the Times & Transcript. “We're forced to stretch ourselves when we play against a quality team like Saint John. These are tough games that are learning experiences for us. It will make us a better team in the long run."
HEAD-TO-HEAD NUMBERS
| Moncton | Saint John | |
| Record | 30-22-2-7 (3rd Maritimes Division) | 51-6-1-2 (1st Maritimes) |
| Home Record | - - - | 28-0-1-1 |
| Road Record | 17-9-0-3 | - - - |
| Streak | 3-0-0-2 | 1-0-0-0 |
| Last 10 | 4-3-0-3 | 9-1-0-0 |
| Goals For | 209 | 284 |
| Goals Against | 228 | 148 |
| Overall PP | 26.3% (2nd) | 24.1% (7th) |
| Home PP | - - - | 21.8% (9th) |
| Road PP | 27.4% (2nd) | - - - |
| Overall PK | 77.3% (14th) | 83.3% (1st) |
| Home PK | - - - | 86.5% (2nd) |
| Road PK | 79.8% (6th) | - - - |
| PIM/GAME | 14.3 (9th) | 13.2 (13th) |
NOTES: The Moncton Wildcats are led offensively by Alex Saulnier who has 82 points in 61 games. His twin brother Allain has fallen behind him and sits second in team scoring with 70 points in 61 contests… import Marek Hrivik leads the team in goals with 33 in 52 matches… Alex Saulnier leads the squad in helpers with 58 in 61 games… with 58 assists, Alex Saulnier sits third in league assist leaders… Allain Saulnier is third in the league in power play goals with 15… Alex Saulnier is third in power play assists with 28… Marek Hrivik has fired the third most dangerous shots in the QMJHL this season with 144 let loose… Hrivik sits fourth in total shots with 220… Alex Saulnier is fifth in faceoff wins with 740… defenseman Daniel Milan sits second in power play goals amongst rookies with seven… Milan is third in power play assists amongst rookies with 11… Milan sits second in rookie power play scoring with 18 points, just one back of Bathurst’s Zach O’Brien for the lead… Brandon Gormley is third in defenseman power play assists with 21… Gormley is second in power play scoring amongst defensemen with 29 points… 24-5-0-3 when scoring first… 14-15-1-3 against the Maritimes Division this season… averaging 3.43 goals per game… averaging 3.74 goals against per game… averaging 29.41 shots on goal per contest… allowing an average of 33.62 shots against per game, the highest total in the QMJHL… Allain Saulnier is on a four-game goal scoring streak… Alex Saulnier is on a five-game assist getting streak… Brandon Gormley is on an eight-game point scoring streak… Olivier Daoust has served a penalty in four straight games… Marek Hrivik has scored a goal in four straight road games… Allain Saulnier has scored in three straight road games… Alex Saulnier has gotten an assist in three straight road games… Marek Hrivik has gotten a point in eight straight road games… Olivier Daoust has gotten a penalty in eight straight road games.
PROBABLE STARTER: No clue. Brandon Thibeua has been rolling of late though. He has a record of 5-1-0-2, a goals against average of 3.61, and a save percentage of 0.882.
LAST GAME: After picking up five-of-six points on a road trip through Quebec, the Wildacts came home on Tuesday and fell 4-3 in a shootout to the lowly Halifax Mooseheads. Daniel Pettersson, Patrick Downe, and Allain Saulnier scored for the ‘Cats in regulation. Goaltender Bradon Thibeau took the loss, making 32 stops in 65 minutes of play but allowed all three Moosehead shooters to score in the breakaway contest.
Best Wildcats Video We Could Find On YouTube: What a goal by Marek Hrivik on Sunday against the Montreal Juniors.
NOTES: Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 91 points in 59 games this season… Huberdeau leads the team in goals with 36. Linemate Zack Phillips is closing in on his lead though as he now has 35 markers… Huberdeau also leads the club in assists with 55 on the year. Phillips is a close second with 52… Phillips is sixth in the league in power play goals with 13… Mike Thomas is sixth in shorthanded goals with three… Tomas Jurco and Phillips are tied for second in game winning goals with seven each… Phillips sits seventh in first goals with seven… Jurco sits first in insurance goals scored with seven… Huberdeau is a league best plus-54… Michael Kirkpatrick is second in dangerous shots with 171… Kirkpatrick sits sixth in totals shots with 218… 36-2-0-1 when scoring first… 30-3-0-0 against their own division this year. Two loses were against Bathurst while one was against Cape Breton… Saint John leads the QMJHL in goals per game with an average of 4.73… averaging the fewest goals against per game in the league this season with 2.47… lead the league in shots per game with an average of 36.55… averaging 27.18 shots against per game, good for fifth lowest in the league… Stanislav Galiev has scored in four straight home games… Simon Despres has served a penalty in five straight home games… the Sea Dogs have won seven straight at Harbour Station.
PROBABLE STARTER: Mathieu Corbeil will likely get the call between the pipes this evening. With Saint John, Corbeil has a record of 8-1-1-0, a goals against average of 2.17, and a save percentage of 0.904. Overall with the Dogs and Mooseheads, the Columbus Blue Jackets prospect has a 15-16-1-1 record, a GAA of 3.25, and a SV% of 0.877.
LAST GAME: Saint John is coming off a 6-3 win in Shawinigan on Sunday afternoon. Stanislav Galiev and Zack Phillips each scored twice while Eric Gelinas and Tomas Jurco added singles. Jacob DeSerres made 27 saves in net.
For the first time in franchise history, the Brunswick News Rivalry Cup will be presented to the Saint John Sea Dogs hockey club. The Moncton Wildcats have won it the past two years.
The Sea Dogs currently lead the Rivalry Cup challenge 31-14 entering the final match today. Here is this season’s point system:
(1) Head-to-head on-ice results: Three (3) points awarded to a team for a regulation win, two (2) points awarded for an overtime/shootout victory, and one (1) point awarded for an overtime/shootout loss.BIG CROWD
(2) Head-to-head attendance figure (per game): Three (3) points awarded for 6,000 fans, two (2) points for 5,000 fans, and one (1) point for 4,000 fans.
(3) EA Sports NHL 11 Fan/Player Video Game Challenge: Saint John and Moncton will each select one fan to participate in an online video game series (best two-out-of-three) using the virtual versions of the Sea Dogs and Wildcats. The winning fan will collect five (5) points for his team/city. In addition, the Sea Dogs and Wildcats will select one player from their current roster to compete in a single-game competition, with the winner set to earn three (3) points for his side. More details regarding this portion of the challenge will be announced at a later date.
The Harbour Station website lists ticket availability for this evening’s contest as “limited.” From today’s Times & Transcript:
There were less than 1,000 tickets remaining as of late yesterday afternoon.The Sea Dogs Facebook page now states that only a few hundred tickets remain for the contest.
OTHER GAMES TODAY
Lewiston at PEI - 7:00 PM AST
Cape Breton at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:30 PM AST
Moncton at Saint John - 7:30 PM AST
Victoriaville at Baie-Comeau - 7:30 PM EST
Chicoutimi at Rimouski - 7:30 PM EST
Gatineau at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:30 PM EST
Drummondville at Shawinigan - 7:30 PM EST
ARENA INFO
Venue: Harbour Station
Seating Capacity: 6,297
Average Attendance: 4,240
Year Built: 1993
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, Telegraph-Journal, Times & Transcript, L’Acadie Nouvelle
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
The Sea Dogs host the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles tomorrow night at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.
Photo Credits: Telegraph-Journal, CHL, Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Saint John Sea Dogs, Google
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