Gameday 23 - at PEI

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs PEI Rocket

Tonight, November 11, 2011 at 7pm

Charlottetown Civic Centre

PREVIEW

CHARLOTTETOWN – It’s a battle of first vs worst tonight in Prince Edward Island as the Maritimes Division-leading Saint John Sea Dogs take on the last-place Rocket.

The Rocket sit last in the entire Quebec Major Junior Hockey League entering action today. They have a record of 6-14-2-1 for 15 points in 23 games. They are one-point back of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies who currently own the final playoff spot.

Saint John is on the other end of the standings. With a record of 16-6-0-0, they sit second in the QMJHL with 32 points in 22 games. They are one point back of the league-leading Victoriaville Tigres who have picked up 33 points in 23 contests.

The Sea Dogs and Rocket have met twice already this season with Saint John coming out on top both times. The Sea Dogs beat PEI 5-3 in September and 10-3 last month. Both games were played at Harbour Station.

Saint John has struggled on the road at times this season and have a record of 7-5-0-0 away from the Station. The Rocket are 3-4-2-1 at the CCC this season.

Even if wind closes the Confederation Bridge, there will be a game tonight. According to the Rocket newsletter yesterday, “to avoid any problems due to the weather that is forecasted for Friday, Saint John will be arriving on the island Thursday evening.”

This game kicks off a busy weekend for the Sea Dogs as they will play three games in as many days. They host the Halifax Mooseheads tomorrow night at 7pm at the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Sunday at 3pm.

NOTES: Zack Phillips leads the Sea Dogs in points with 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points. Jonathan Huberdeau is second with 28 while Danick Gauthier has 26… Gauthier has scored a team high 19 goals. Phillips is second with 12 and Huberdeau has 10… Phillips leads Saint John is assists with 19. Huberdeau has 18 and Ryan Tesink has 13… Charles-Olivier Roussel is a team best +22… Ian Saab has served a team high 67 penalty minutes in 14 games… Gauthier has scored four power play goals. Phillips has scored three… Phillips has taken a Saint John high 76 shots… Gaithier’s 19 goals are good for second in the league… Gauthier is tied for the league high in game winning goals with three… Roussel’s +22 rating is a league best… Oliver Cooper is 15^th in rookie scoring with 11 points… Huberdeau has a league high four shorthanded assists. Stephen MacAulay is second with three… 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 games and have won two straight… 7-5-0-0 on the road and have outscored their opponents 45-42… the Sea Dogs have the 10^th best power play in the league with a rating of 20.2%... Saint John’s penalty kill is operating at 75%, good for 11^th in the league.

IN NET: It will be interesting to see who starts in goal today as the Rocket are definitely the worst team that the Sea Dogs will play in this three-in-three. Sebastien Auger started Saturday in Baie-Comeau and picked up the win to improve to 4-1-0-0. He has a goals against average of 4.00 and save percentage of 0.856.

Mathieu Corbeil 12-3-0-0 with a GAA of 2.01 and a save percentage of 0.920. Corbeil has the league’s best GAA and second best save percentage.

OUT: Jonathan Huberdeau will miss tonight’s game with a broken foot. It was announced on Monday that he injured his foot on the weekend.

“They’re still good,’’ said Rocket head coach Gordie Dwyer to The Guradian about the Sea Dogs’ captain being out of the lineup. “They’re so used to playing with each other regardless of what happens. It will be a tough challenge for us.’’

Forward Stanislav Galiev remains out with broken wrist. Devon Oliver-Dares is still out due to personal reasons.

LAST GAME: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 3-2 win in Baie-Comeau last Saturday. Tomas Jurco, Kevon Gagne and Nathan Beaulieu all scored for Saint John in the win. Sebastien Auger made 25 stops for the victory.

NOTES: Ben Duffy has a Rocket leading 26 points. He has scored nine goals and added 17 assists. Victor Provencher is second on the team in points with 19… Provencher has scored a team high 12 goals. Duffy is second with nine… Duffy has a Rocket leading 19 assists. No other player on the team has more than nine assists… no player on PEI has a plus rating… Tomas Pavelka is a Rocket worst -21… Patrick McGrath has served a team high 53 penalty minutes… Duffy has taken a team leading 67 shots… Josh Currie is ninth in shorthanded goals with two… Duffy is 12^th in the league in first goals with three… McGrath’s 53 penalty minutes place him sixth in the QMJHL… Matej Beran is eighth in rookie scoring with nine goals and eight assists for 17 points… Pier-Antoine Dion is third in shorthanded assists with three… 2-6-2-0 in their last 10 games and have lost two straight… 3-4-2-1 at home this year and have been outscored 36-33… the Rocket’s power play is ranked 12^th in the league with a rating of 19.3%... PEI’s penalty kill is operating at 73% which is good for 15^th in the league.

IN NET: Maxime Lagace will likely start in goal tonight. He has a record of 5-12-2-0 with a goals against average of 4.11 and a save percentage of 0.888. He was in net for Team QMJHL when they fell 2-0 to Team Russian in Game One of the Subway Super Series on Monday.

LAST GAME: The Rocket are coming off a 7-1 loss in Shawinigan last Sunday. Louick Marcotte scored the lone goal for the Rocket. Maxime Lagace made 26 stops in 40 minutes of play while Antoine Bibeau made nine in 20 minutes of action.

Best Rocket Video We Could Find On YouTube: Brett Gallant takes on two members of the PEI Rocket.

FAN BUS: A Sea Dogs fan bus is making the trek to PEI for the game. Cheer loud.

PRE-GAME: According to the Rocket newsletter, “in honour of Remembrance Day the Rocket will have a pre-game ceremony with the Color Party from the Royal Canadian Legion and a ceremonial puck drop by a World War II Veteran.  Members of DVA will be in attendance to help us honour those that gave up so much for us.”

OTHER GAMES

Baie-Comeau at Halifax - 7:00 PM AST

Blainville-Boisbriand at Drummondville - 7:00 PM EST

Victoriaville at Chicoutimi - 7:30 PM EST

Quebec at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:30 PM EST

Rimouski at Shawinigan - 7:30 PM EST

Gatineau at Val-d'Or - 7:30 PM EST

THE RINK

Venue: Charlottetown Civic Centre

Capacity: 3,718

Average Attendance: 1,590

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

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 host the Halifax Mooseheads tomorrow night at 7pm at Harbour Station.