GAMEDAY 21 - at Baie-Comeau

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Baie-Comeau Drakkar

Tonight, November 4, 2011 at 8:30pm

Henry Leonard Centre

PREVIEW

BAIE-COMEAU – After starting their road trip on a losing note, the Saint John Sea Dogs will look to get back to their winning ways this evening in Baie-Comeau. Game time is 8:30pm AST.

Saint John fell 4-3 in Rimouski on Wednesday, stopping their winning streak at seven games. Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice and Danick Gauthier once in the loss. Mathieu Corbeil allowed four goals on 24 shots. It wasn’t the greatest game for Saint John and they will be looking to make some improvements tonight against the Drakkar.

The Sea Dogs have been struggling on the road this season. They are 5-5-0-0 away from Harbour Station, meaning five of their six losses have come on the road. They have been outscored 40-35. They’ll need a strong performance tonight if they wish to defeat the Drakkar at the Henry Leonard Centre.

Baie-Comeau is the only team in the league without a loss on home ice this year. They are 9-0-0-0 and have outscored their opposition 51-20.

The Drakkar enter play tonight with an overall record of 11-6-0-0 for 22 points. They sit ninth in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and last in the tough Telus East Division. They are seven points back of first-place Victoriaville.

After a few rough seasons, the Drakkar appear to be on the right track this year. They had a busy off-season, and even though they were unable to get Nathan MacKinnon to report, they bolstered their lineup through several trades.

Baie-Comeau has missed the playoffs two straight years and haven’t made it past the first round since the 2006-07 season. The 2007-08 campaign was the last time they had an above .500 record.

After a hot start to this season, the Drakkar have cooled down a bit. They are just 5-5-0-0 in their last 10 games and have lost two straight. They somehow fell completely out of the BMO CHL MasterCard Top Rankings this week after being No. 2 the week prior.

This is the first of back-to-back games between the Sea Dogs and Drakkar. The two meet again tomorrow at 5pm.

NOTES: Zack Phillips leads Saint John is scoring with 11 goals and 16 assists fir 27 points. Danick Gauthier and Jonathan Huberdeau are tied for second with 24 points each… Gauthier leads the Sea Dogs in goal scoring with 18 markers in 18 games. Phillips is second with 11 in 15 games… Phillips leads the Dogs in assists with 16. Huberdeau has 15, Ryan Tesink 13 and Tomas Jurco 12… Charles-Olivier Roussel is a Sea Dogs best +19. Gauthier is a +18… Ian Saab leads the team in penalty minutes with 58 in 12 games… Gauthier has scored a team high four power play goals… Phillips has taken a Saint John high 67 shots… Gauthier is tied with Bathurst’s Zach O’Brien for the league goal scoring lead with 18 markers… Tesink and Gauthier are tied for third in the league in shorthanded goals with two… Gauthier is second in the league in game winning goals with three… 11 of the top 20 plus/minus players are Sea Dogs… Huberdeau has recorded a league high four shorthanded assists… Saint John’s power play is ranked 15^th in the league with a rating of 18.6%. On the road it is operating at 14%... their penalty kill is running at 72.6% which is good for 15^th in the league. On the road it is operating at 64%.

IN NET: Mathieu Corbeil will likely get the start in goal tonight. Corbeil has a record of 11-3-0-0 with a goals against average of 2.16 and a save percentage of 0.913.

HURT: According to today’s Telegraph-Journal, Stephen MacAulay is day-to-day after blocking a shot in the first period of Wednesday’s game in Rimouski. He returned for a shift in the second period but quickly left and did not return.

LAST GAME: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 loss in Rimouski on Wednesday. Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice and Danick Gauthier added a solo marker. Mathieu Corbeil made 20 stops in the loss.

NOTES: Former Moosehead Carl Gelinas leads the Drakkar in scoring 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points. Raphael Bussieres has eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points while Alexandre Durette nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points… Gelinas has scored a team high 11 goals. Durette is second with nine… Bussieres and Frederic Gamelin each have a Drakkar high 14 helpers on the year. Durette and Gelinas each have 10… Durette is a team high +14. Bussieres is a +12… Alexandre Ranger and Felix Gerard are both a team low -3… Gabriel Verpaelst has taken a team high 54 penalty minutes… Gelinas and Tomas Filippi have both scored four power play goals… Gelinas has taken a Baie-Comeau high 58 shots… Durette and Gelinas are ninth and 10^th in the league in insurance goals with two… Durette and Bussieres are both top 20 in the league in plus/minus… Baie-Comeau has the third best power play in the league with a rating of 29.3%. At home they are running at 35.9%... Baie-Comeau has the league’s best penalty kill. It is operating at 86.9% overall and 91.4% at home.

IN NET: No idea who will start in goal. Jimmy Appleby is 5-3-0-0 with a 2.09 goals against average and a 0.912 save percentage. Antonio Mastropietro is 6-3-0-0 with a 2.86 GAA and a 0.899 save percentage.

SUSPENDED: The QMJHL suspended Jonathan Lessard 15 games yesterday for his nasty collision with the Remparts' Nick Sorensen last week. Here is the video, courtesy of HockeyFights.com.

LAST GAME: The Drakkar are coming off a 2-0 loss in Quebec City last Friday. Jimmy Appleby allowed two goals on 18 shots in the loss. The Drakkar outshot the Remparts 30-18.

Best Drakkar Video We Could Find On YouTube: The trailer for the movie ‘Junior’.

OTHER GAMES

Val-d'Or at Cape Breton - 7:00 PM ADT
Moncton at Halifax - 7:00 PM ADT
Drummondville at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:30 PM ADT
Chicoutimi at Quebec - 7:00 PM EDT
Shawinigan at Victoriaville - 7:00 PM EDT
P.E.I. at Gatineau - 7:30 PM EDT

ARENA INFO
Venue: Centre Henry Leonard
Seating Capacity: 3,042
Average Attendance: 2,145
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, Plein Jour de Baie-Comeau
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.

AFTER THE BUZZER

The Sea Dogs and Drakkar meet again tomorrow at 5pm.