GAMEDAY 16 - vs Rocket

GAMEDAY

PEI Rocket vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight, October 22, 2011 at 7pm

Harbour Station

PREVIEW

SAINT JOHN – It is ‘Pink in the Rink’ night at Harbour Station as the Saint John Sea Dogs host the PEI Rocket at 7pm.

The Sea Dogs will be wearing pink jerseys during the game. The specially designed sweaters will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to breast cancer research.

“The Sea Dogs are extremely proud to be a part of such a great tradition, especially for this important cause,” said Sea Dogs President Wayne Long in a release earlier this week. “We are happy to know that our contributions can help make a difference. We would also like to thank the support of our fans that help make this happen.”

The Sea Dogs raised $4,700 last season during the same event, a major contribution toward the total of $115,000 raised by the league along with corporate partner TELUS.

Saint John enters play tonight with a record of 10-5-0-0 and sit first in the Maritimes Division and second overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They have won three straight games, outscoring their opponents 18-5 over that span.

The Dogs are coming off a solid win in Halifax last night. Tomas Jurco scored twice while Jonathan Huberdeau, Danick Gauthier and Scott Oke each added singles. Mathieu Corbeil made 20 stops to shutout his former team.

Saint John has played their last four games on the road. Their last home game was a 6-2 win over the Victoriaville Tigres on September 9. Tonight’s match kicks off a four-game homestand for the defending champs.

The Rocket enter play this evening with a record 4-9-1-1 for 10 points. They sit last in the Maritimes Division and dead last in the entire league. They are 3-6-1-0 in their last 10 games.

Saint John defeated PEI 5-3 on September 18 at the Station. Danick Gauthier had a hat trick in the game and singles came courtesy of Brock Morrison and Scott Oke. Sebastien Auger made 40 saves in the win. The Sea Dogs were without the likes of Jonathan Huberdeau, Zack Phillips, Nathan Beaulieu, Tomas Jurco and Charles-Olivier Roussel for that previous encounter.

NOTES: Ben Duffy is having a great season and leads the Rocket in scoring with eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points in 15 games. Victor Provencher is second on the squad in points with 11 goals and six assists for 17… Provencher leads the team in goals with 11. Duffy is second with eight while Matej Beran is third with six… Duffy’s 13 assists are a team high. Marc-Andre Levesque and Tomas Pavelka each have seven… Levesque is a team best +4… Pavelka is a PEI worst -16… Patrick McGrath has earned the most penalty minutes with PEI this season having served 48 minutes in eight games… Duffy has taken a team high 48 shots… Josh Currie is fourth in the league in shorthanded goals with two… McGrath’s 48 penalty minutes are good for third in the league… Beran’s 12 points place him seventh in rookie scoring… Pier-Antoine Dion leads the Q in shorthanded assists with three… 1-6-0-0 on the road and have been outscored 37-17 in those seven games… PEI’s power play is running at 21% which is good for 10^th in the league… their penalty kill is operating at 74% which places them 13^th in the league.

IN NET: Maxime Lagace will likely get the start in goal for the Rocket. He is 3-8-1-0 with a 3.93 goals against average and a 0.895 save percentage.

LAST GAME: The Rocket are coming off a 7-4 loss in Bathurst last night. Victor Provencher, Matej Beran, Ben Duffy and Josh Currie all scored for PEI in the loss. Maxime Lagace allowed seven goals on 29 shots.

Best Rocket Video We Could Find On YouTube: Remember that time when the Maple Leafs played the PEI Rocket? Yeah, we don’t either.

NOTES: Zack Phillips leads Saint John in scoring with seven goals and nine assists for 16 points. Danick Gauthier is second on the team in points with 11 goals and four assists for 15 points… Gauthier leads the team in scoring with 11 goals. Phillips is second on the team in goals with seven while Tomas Jurco is third with six… Phillips leads the team in goals with nine. Ryan Tesink and Stephen MacAulay each have seven… Phillips is a team best +12. Gauthier, Charles-Olivier Roussel and Kevin Gagne are each a +11… Devon Oliver-Dares is a team worst -4… Ian Saab has a team high 41 penalty minutes… Phillips and Gauthier both have three power play goals… Gauthier has taken a team high 38 shots… Phillips is fourth in the league in game winning goals with two… Jonathan Huberdeau is second in shorthanded assists with two… 5-1-0-0 on home ice and have outscored their opposition 31-16… Saint John’s power play is ranked 14^th in the league with a rating of 17.3%... the Sea Dogs’ penalty killing is operating at 70.3% which is 16^th in the league.

IN NET: With the Sea Dogs playing a three-in-three this weekend, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Sebastien Auger get the call between the pipes this evening. He has a record of 2-1-0-0 to go with a 5.00 goals against average and a 0.833 save percentage.

LAST GAME: Saint John is coming off a solid 5-0 win in Halifax last night. Tomas Jurco scored twice while Jonathan Huberdeau, Scott Oke and Danick Gauthier added singles. Mathieu Corbeil stopped all 20 shots he faced to pick up his first career QMJHL regular season shutout.

OTHER GAMES

Gatineau at Chicoutimi - 4:00 PM EDT

Moncton at Drummondville - 4:00 PM EDT

Cape Breton at Shawinigan - 4:00 PM EDT

Quebec at Halifax - 7:00 PM ADT

P.E.I. at Saint John - 7:00 PM ADT

Rimouski at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:00 PM EDT

THE RINK

Venue: Harbour Station

Capacity: 6,297

Average Attendance: 3,686

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, The Guardian, Let’s Go Rocket!

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.

NEXT GAME

The Sea Dogs host Patrick Roy and the Quebec Remparts tomorrow afternoon at 3pm at Harbour Station.