Gameday 2 - at Titan

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Acadie-Bathurst Titan

Tonight, September 9, 2011 at 7:30 pm

KC Irving Regional Centre

PREVIEW

BATHURST – After dropping their opener, the Saint John Sea Dogs look to rebound tonight against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at the KC Irving Regional Centre. Game time is 7:30pm.

The Sea Dogs opened the 2011-12 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season last night against the Moncton Wildcats, falling 3-1 in a competitive contest at Harbour Station.

Saint John was without 10 players due to National Hockey League rookie camps but managed to hold their ground against the Wildcats. Moncton was missing just three players because of NHL commitments.

"There's no sense talking about the guys we're missing," said Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant after the game to the Times & Transcript. "I was real happy with our effort for the most part. I thought our young guys worked hard and competed. I thought it was a solid game between two teams that were both missing key players.”

The Sea Dogs’ only goal came in the second period as Danick Gauthier setup Alexandre Beauregard. Stephen Anderson received the other helper.

Gauthier wore the captain’s ‘C’ on his sweater while Beauregrad had an ‘A.’ The unfortunate news is that both of them will be gone for tonight’s game as they head to Phoenix for Coyotes camp.

Charlie Millen made 23 saves in the loss last night.

Tonight will be the Titan’s home opener. The game usually features one of the largest crowds of the year in Bathurst.

Like Moncton last night, the Titan will only be missing a handful of players. They are expected to finish near the middle of the division and should ice a decent team this year following last season’s epic collapse in the first round of the playoffs.

NOTES: Danick Gauthier led the Sea Dogs in pre-season scoring with six points… Gauthier also led the team in assists with five… Brock Morrison had a team high four goals. Alexandre Beauregard had three while Aidan Kelly and Oliver Cooper had two… the Sea Dogs outscored their opposition 21-20 in five exhibition contests… Spencer MacDonald took two penalties last night… the Sea Dogs outshot Moncton 34-26… Jason Cameron was a minus-two… Saint John went 0-for-6 on the power play.

IN NET: With Mathieu Corbeil away at Columbus Blue Jackets camp, Charlie Millen and Sebastien Auger will handle the goaltending duties for the Sea Dogs.

Millen had a 6.03 goals against average and a 0.778 save percentage in just under 60 minutes of work in the pre-season. He allowed six goals on 27 total shots. He started last night’s game and played well, allowing three goals on 26 shots.

Auger played 87 minutes in exhibition, recording 4.80 GAA and a 0.825 save percentage. He allowed seven goals on 40 total shots against.

WHO’S MISSING: The Sea Dogs will be missing Stephen MacAulay and Ryan Tesink (both St. Louis), Danick Gauthier and Alexandre Beauregard (both Phoenix), Mathieu Corbeil (Columbus), Stanislav Galiev (Washington), Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida), Tomas Jurco (Detroit), Scott Oke (Dallas), Pierre Durepos (Los Angeles), Ian Saab (Vancouver) and Zack Phillips (Minnesota) all due to NHL rookie camps.

Simon Despres (Pittsburgh), Eric Gelinas (New Jersey) and Steven Anthony (Vancouver) are all eligible to return to Saint John but will likely turn pro.

GETTING THE CALL: As expected, the Sea Dogs made a bunch of call-ups before last night’s game to try and fill some of the holes in their lineup.

The team announced yesterday afternoon that they had signed defenceman Rory Craddock, 19, as a free agent, and recalled affiliate forwards Danny Wicks, Kraig Pasher, Mackenzie Brown, Dylan McGuigan and Stephen Anderson.

LAST GAME: Recap can be found here.

NOTES: Matthew Bissonnette finished tied for first in the QMJHL’s pre-season scoring race. He recorded three goals and seven assists for 10 points in three games… Bissonnette’s seven assists were a team high in exhibition play… Sebastien Trudeau had a team high four goals. Bissonnette, Zach O’Brien, and Michael Lyle all had three markers… the Titan were outscored 32-29 in six pre-season games… Bathurst defeated Saint John 5-4 in a shootout during the pre-season.

IN NET: Robert Steeves will likely get the start in goal tonight. He had a 3.89 goals against average and a and a 0.851 save percentage in 154 minutes of pre-season play.

Last season, Steeves had a record of 11-5-0-1, a 2.67 GAA and a 0.914 save percentage.

QUOTES: Titan head coach Eric Dubois discussed playing the Sea Dogs in today’s Times & Transcript.

"I always said that a team that takes the championship, even the young kids that didn't have that much ice time, they learn how to win and they learn a lot," he said.

"When they're given the chance to perform or win games, they know what to do. So I expect to play against a big team, a team that's learned how to win."

NOT PLAYING: According to the Titan’s website, Brent Turnbull will be out 2 to 3 weeks because of a hand injury.

WHO’S MISSING: For tonight’s contest the Titan will be missing defenseman Jérémie Blain (Edmonton) and Garrett Clarke (Toronoto) and forward Mirko Hoefflin (Chicago) due to NHL camps.

LAST GAME: Bathurst’s last game was against the Under-20 Denmark National Team a week ago. The Titan won the contest 8-6 on goals from Sebastien Trudeau (3), Matthew Bissonnette (2), Zach O’Brien (2), and Ludovic Kabambi (1). Jacob Brennan allowed six goals on 21 shots.

The Best Titan Video We Could Find On YouTube: Who could forget Game Six of the 2008 President’s Cup quarter-finals in Bathurst?

PRE-GAME STUFF

The Titan will be having some unreal tailgate party in the KC Irving Regional Centre parking from 5 – 7pm.

OTHER GAMES

Cape Breton at Moncton - 7:00 PM ADT
Halifax at P.E.I. - 7:00 PM ADT
Saint John at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:30 PM ADT
Victoriaville at Quebec - 7:00 PM EDT
Drummondville at Baie-Comeau - 7:30 PM EDT
Val-d'Or at Gatineau - 7:30 PM EDT
Blainville-Boisbriand at Rimouski - 7:30 PM EDT
Rouyn-Noranda at Shawinigan - 7:30 PM EDT

THE RINK
Venue: KC Irving Regional Centre
Capacity: 3,524
Average Attendance: N/A
QMJHL Arena Guide

MEDIA GUIDE

Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Telegraph-Journal
Live Coverage: Follow Station Nation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/station_nation) for live in game coverage. All tweets will also appear in the SN Live Blog that is posted on this site.

UP NEXT
The Sea Dogs travel to Cape Breton next Friday to take on the Screaming Eagles.


Photo Credits: Marc Henwood/Station Nation