GAMEDAY 9: at Tigres

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Victoriaville Tigres

Tonight, October 1, 2011 at 5pm AST

Colisee Desjardins

PREVIEW

VICTORIAVILLE – Two of the top ranked teams in the Canadian Hockey League meet today in Victoriaville.

The No. 1 nationally ranked Saint John Sea Dogs battle the No. 4 ranked Victoriaville Tigres today at 5pm AST at Colisee Desjardins. It is the first matchup of the season between two clubs that are expected to be serious contenders for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League title this year.

The Sea Dogs enter today’s game as the hottest squad in the QMJHL. Winners of five straight, they sit sixth overall in the league and second in the Maritimes division with a 5-3-0-0 record. Today’s match will end a three-game road trip through Quebec.

The Tigres enter today’s contest third in the Telus East Division and fifth overall in the league with a record of 6-2-0-0. Victoriaville has the pleasure of playing the ridiculously tough East division which features Baie-Comeau, Shawinigan, Chicoutimi, Quebec and Rimouski.

Saint John has dispatched Victoriaville from the playoffs the past two seasons. The Dogs defeated the Tigres in six matches in the 2010 semifinals to advance to the President’s Cup finals and then in five games in the 2011 quarterfinals.

Last year’s playoff series proved to much tougher than originally thought. The Tigres, who stunned the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the first round by winning four straight games, provided some tough competition for the Sea Dogs. Three of the five games were decided by one-goal.

The most memorable aspect of last year’s playoff series was the play of Tigres netminder David Honzik. He made 39 saves in Game One, 41 in Game Two, 33 in Game Three, 39 in Game Four and 42 in Game Five. He was nothing short of a beast.

Whatever happens in today’s game could carry over into next week’s contest. The two teams meet again at Harbour Station this coming Sunday.

NOTES: Danick Gauthier still leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with five goals and two assists for seven points. Stanislav Galiev, Zack Phillips and Scott Oke all have six points each… Gauthier’s five goals are still a team high. Galiev and Oliver Cooper all have three goals each… Phillips, Oke and Aidan Kelly all have a Sea Dog high four assists… Oke is a team best +7. Gauthier is a +5… Jason Seed is still a -8 after eight games… Spencer MacDonald has 17 penalty minutes… Gauthier has taken a Sea Dog high 24 shots on goal… Oke’s shorthanded goal puts him in a tie for second in the league in shorthanded markers… Gauthier is tied for the league lead in insurance goals with two… Saint John is 2-2-0-0 on the road this year and have been outscored 19-13 by the opposition… the Sea Dogs’ power play is ranked 15^th in the league with a rating of 16.7%... Saint John’s penalty kill is running at 71.8% which is good for 12^th in the league.

IN NET: With the Tigres being the toughest team the Sea Dogs will face on this road trip, there is a good chance Mathieu Corbeil will start in net again. Corbeil has started the last four games – all of them wins.

Corbeil has a record of 4-0-0-0 to along with a 2.20 goals against average and a 0.924 save percentage. His GAA and save percentage are both among the best in the league.

ROAD TRIP: This will be the final game of Saint John’s three-game road trip through Quebec. They beat the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 3-1 on Wednesday and the Drummondville Voltigeurs 4-2 last night.

STILL GONE: Jonathan Huberdeau is still taking part in Florida Panthers training camp. The Panthers must sign him to an entry level contract by Tuesday if they plan to play him in the NHL this season.

LAST YEAR: The Sea Dogs lost 2-1 to the Tigres last February in Victoriaville. The Tigres had an unreal celebration.

LAST GAME: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-2 win in Drummondville last night. Devon Oliver-Dares, Scott Oke, Zack Phillips, and Tomas Jurco all scored for Saint John. Mathieu Corbeil made 22 saves in goal.

NOTES: Yanni Gourde is ripping up the QMJHL this year. He leads the Tigres and the entire league in scoring with 22 points in just eight games for an average of 2.75 points per game. Philippe Maillet is second in team scoring with 16 points in eight contests… Gourde’s nine goals are a team high. Maillet is second on the team with eight… Gourde also leads the squad in assists with 13… Frederick Tanguay is a Tigres best +10… Simon Darveau leads the entire league in penalty minutes with 35… Gourde’s nine goals place him in a tie for second in the league… Gourde’s 13 assists are tops in the Q… Yannick Dube and Gourde are tied for third in the league with four power play markers… six of the top 20 players in the plus/minus category play for the Tigres… Maillet leads the league in shots taken with 43… their 26.2% power play rating is good for 7^th in the league… the Tigres’ penalty kill is operating at 77.3%... 3-1-0-0 on home ice and have outscored their opposition 20-11.

IN NET: According to La Nouvelle Union, David Honzik will start in goal for the Tigres tonight. Honzik is 1-2-0-0 with a goals against average of 4.93 and a 0.844 save percentage.

Honzik was a third round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in June’s NHL Entry Draft.

LAST GAME: The Tigres are coming off a 6-5 shootout win over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Wednesday. Yanni Gourde had a hat trick while Philippe Maillet and Frederick Tanguay also scored in regulation. The Tigres went 3-for-5 on the power play. David Honzik picked up the win goal, making 30 saves through 65 minutes of play and two stops in the shootout.

Best Tigres Video We Could Find On YouTube: The Tigres have been in Victoriaville for a while now.

OTHER GAMES

P.E.I. at Baie-Comeau - 4:00 PM EDT
Acadie-Bathurst at Chicoutimi - 4:00 PM EDT
Moncton at Rimouski - 4:00 PM EDT
Gatineau at Val-d'Or - 7:00 PM EDT

ARENA INFO

Venue: Colisee Desjardins

Capacity: 2,933

Average Attendance: 2,368

QMJHL Arena Guide

MEDIA GUIDE

Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM

Live Web Feed: Telus

Television: None

Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, La Nouvelle Union

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 Rimouski Oceanic travel to Saint John on Saturday to face the Sea Dogs at 7pm at Harbour Station.