GAMEDAY 14 - at Val-d'Or

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Val-d’Or Foreurs

Tonight, October 15, 2011 at 8pm

Air Creebec Centre

PREVIEW

VAL-D’OR – The Saint John Sea Dogs complete their three-game Quebec road trip tonight at 8pm in Val-d’Or.

The Sea Dogs are coming off a 9-4 victory over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies last night, improving to 1-1 on their trip. They lost 5-1 to the Gatineau Olympiques on Wednesday at Robert Guertin Centre.

Last night, Danick Gauthier recorded a hat trick and Aidan Kelly had a pair of goals. Zack Phillips, Jonathan Huberdeau, Ryan Tesink and Oliver Cooper had the other markers. Huberdeau, Tesink, Stephen MacAulay and Pierre Durepos all had two assists each. Sebastien Auger made 16 saves in goal.

Although it wasn't perfect, it was a much better game than the one the Dogs played on Wednesday in Gatineau. Saint John will look to improve their play even more this evening against the Foreurs, a team they have already had success against this season.

On September 23, the Sea Dogs defeated the Foreurs 5-4 in a shootout at Harbour Station. Stephen Anderson, McKenzie Brown and Stanislav Galiev – all of whom are not currently with the team – along with Jason Cameron scored in regulation for Saint John. Aidan Kelly scored the shootout winner.

Val-d’Or had a pair of goals from Benjamin Casavant and singles from Artem Sergeev and Nicolas Larocque-Marcoux. The Foreurs trailed 4-2 entering the third period but made a comeback to tie the match. Larocque-Marcoux, a former Sea Dog, scored the equalizer with three seconds remaining.

The Foreurs enter play tonight with a record of 6-5-0-2 which is good for 14 points and a tie for top spot in the Telus West Division with the Olympiques. They have been outscored 42-36 by their opponents.

With their win last night, Saint John finally retook the Maritimes Division lead. They have a record of 8-5-0-0 for 16 points and sit a point up on the Moncton Wildcats.

A win tonight would even Saint John’s road record at 4-4. They have struggled away from Harbour Station at times this season having been outscored 35-23 over seven games.

NOTES: Danick Gauthier enters action tonight as the Sea Dogs’ leading point scorer with 10 goals and four assists for 14 points. Zack Phillips is second on the team with five goals and seven assists for 12 points… Gauthier’s 10 goals are a team high. Phillips is second with five while Ryan Tesink, Tomas Jurco and Oliver Cooper each have four… Phillips has a team leading seven assists. Tesink, Jonathan Huberdeau, Stephen MacAulay and Pierre Durepos each have six… Gauthier is a Sea Dogs high +11. Defenseman Charles-Olivier Roussel is a +10… Jason Seed is a team worst -6… Ian Saab leads the squad in penalty minutes with 39 in just five games. He was suspended for yesterday’s contest in Rouyn-Noranda following his check-from-behind on Wednesday in Gatineau… Phillips has a team best three power play goals… Gauthier’s 10 goals place him fifth overall in the league… Phillips is third in the league in game winning goals with two… Gauthier is fourth in the league in insurance goals with two… Huberdeau’s two shorthanded assists place him in a tie for first in the league… 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games… 3-4-0-0 on the road and have been outscored 35-23… Saint John’s power play has moved up to 14^th in the circuit with a rating of 17.6%... owners of the league’s 16^th best penalty kill which is operating at 69.1%.

IN NET: The Sea Dogs will likely go back to Mathieu Corbeil tonight after Sebastien Auger got the start yesterday. Corbeil has a record of 6-2-0-0, a goals against average of 2.82 and a save percentage of 0.986. His last start was a 5-1 loss on Gatineau on Wednesday.

LAST GAME: Saint John is coming off a big 9-4 victory over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies last night. Danick Gauthier scored three goals, Aidan Kelly two and Zack Phillips, Jonathan Huberdeau, Ryan Tesink and Oliver Cooper each had one. Goaltender Sebastien Auger made 16 stops to earn his second career win.

NOTES: Benjamin Casavant and Michael Beaudry each have 18 points to lead the Foreurs in scoring. Casavant has 10 goals and eight assists while Beaudry has five markers and 13 helpers… Casavant’s 10 goals are a team high. Former Sea Dog Nicolas Larocque-Marcoux is second on the squad in goals with seven… Beaudry’s 13 assists lead the team. Casavant is second with eight helpers… Beaudry is a team best +4. Julien Leduc is a +3… Gabriel Beaupre is a Val-d’Or worst -7… Mathieu Guertin is the Foreurs’ leading penalty getter. He has 29 penalty minutes in 13 games… Casavant has a team leading six power play goals… Guillaume Gelinas has two shorthanded markers… Beaudry has taken a team high 49 shots… Casavant’s six power play goals place him third in the league… Beaudry is third in the league in power play assists with eight… Casavant is tied for the league lead in first goals with three… Artem Segeev is second in the league in insurance goals with two… 5-3-0-2 in their last 10 games… 2-2-0-1 at home this season and have scored and allowed 18 goals… the Foreurs’ power play is running at 22.4% which is good for eighth in the league… their penalty kill is ranked ninth in the league with a rating of 75.4%.

IN NET: Francois Tremblay has a record of 6-4-0-2 to go along with a 2.87 goals against average and a 0.902 save percentage.

BEST IN THE CHL: Tremblay was named the Vaughn CanadianHockey League goaltender of the week on Wednesday. From the CHL release:

In three games Tremblay earned two shutout wins and suffered one shootout loss posting a goals-against-average of 1.30 and save percentage of .956. 

After making 19 saves and suffering a 5-4 shootout loss to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Wednesday night, Tremblay earned two straight shutout victories including a 1-0 win over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Friday and a 2-0 win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Sunday.  He made 28 saves and was named first star against the Sagueneens before stopping 39 shots as second star in the victory over the Armada giving him the first two shutouts of his career. 

Tremblay, a 17-year-old from Baie-Comeau, QC, is playing in his second QMJHL season with the Foreurs.  Eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, he currently leads the league with two shutouts and has a 6-4-0-2 record with a goals-against-average of 2.87 and save percentage of .902.

LAST GAME: The Foreurs are coming off a 2-0 win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Sunday. Former PEI Rocket Benjamin Casavant scored along with Artem Segeev. Francois Tremblay stopped all 39 shots he faced to pick up the victory.

OTHER GAMES

Baie-Comeau at Rimouski - 4:00 PM EDT
Moncton at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:00 PM ADT
Blainville-Boisbriand at Cape Breton - 7:00 PM ADT
Drummondville at Halifax - 7:00 PM ADT
Chicoutimi at Gatineau - 7:00 PM EDT
Shawinigan at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:00 PM EDT
Saint John at Val-d'Or - 7:00 PM EDT

ARENA INFO

Venue: Air Creebec Centre

Capacity: 3,504 (2,140 seated)

Average Attendance: 1,677

QMJHL Arena Guide

MEDIA GUIDE

Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM

Live Web Feed: Telus

Television: None

Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, L’Echo Abitibien

Live Coverage: Follow Station Nation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/station_nation) or follow the Live Blog on this site for live coverage of tonight’s game.

AFTER THE BUZZER

The Sea Dogs take on the Halifax Mooseheads next Friday at 7pm at the Metro Centre.

Photo Credits: Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Google