GAMEDAY 28: at Acadie-Bathurst

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Acadie-Bathurst Titan

Today, November 20, 2011 at 4pm

KC Irving Regional Centre

PREVIEW

BATHURST – The Saint John Sea Dogs travel to Bathurst today to take on their provincial rivals at 4pm at the KC Irving Regional Centre.

Today’s match marks only the third time this season the two teams have met. The Titan pounded a depleted Sea Dogs lineup 8-1 back on September 9 in Bathurst. Saint John then beat the Titan 6-2 on September 24 at Harbour Station.

The Titan have had their ups and downs this season and currently sit fifth in the Maritimes Division and 15^th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with a record of 9-14-2-1. They have lost two straight going into this one and are 2-6-1-1 in their last 10.

At the KC Irving Regional Centre, the Titan are 6-6-1-1 and have outscored their opponents 62-54.

The Sea Dogs enter play today with a league-best record of 21-6-0-0. They have 42 points and sit one-point up on the Quebec Remparts for first overall.

Despite missing several players die to injuries and illness over the past few weeks, the Sea Dogs have won seven straight and are 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 games. They will look to win their season high eighth straight contest this afternoon.

With the injuries, Saint John’s offense hasn’t been clicking that well over the past few games. Despite that, the Dogs lead the league in goals scored with 126 in 27 games. The Victoriaville Tigres have scored the next highest amount of goals with 117.

On the road, the Dogs are 9-5-0-0 and have outscored opponents 54-46.

This is the second road game in three days for Saint John as they beat the PEI Rocket 2-1 on Friday night in Charlottetown. The Sea Dogs are in Quebec City on Tuesday.

NOTES: Zack Phillips leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 14 goals and 24 assists for 38 points on the year. Danick Gauthier is second with 37 points while Tomas Jurco has recorded 31… Gauthier leads the team in goals with 24 in 25 games. Phillips and Jurco are tied for second with 14 each… Phillips leads the squad in assists with 24. Jonathan Huberdeau is still second with 18… Phillips and Gauthier are each a team best +23… Ian Saab has served a team leading 75 penalty minutes… Gauthier has scored six power play goals… Phillips has taken a team high 93 shots… Gauthier’s 24 goals are a league high… Phillips’s 24 assists are good for fifth in the league… Gauthier is tied for the league high in game-winning goals with five… Jurco is third in insurance goals with three… Huberdeau leads the league in shorthanded assists with four. Ryan Tesink is second with three… Saint John’s power play has jumped all the way to fourth in the league with a rating of 25.2%. It has been on fire of late… the Sea Dogs’ penalty kill is operating at 75.4% which is good for 12^th in the league.

IN NET: It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Sebastien Auger get the start in goal today given the amount of games Saint John has played of late and a big matchup with the Remparts coming up in Tuesday. Auger has a record of 5-1-0-0 with a goals against average of 3.83 and a save percentage of 0.861.

LAST GAME: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 2-1 win in Charlottetown on Friday night over the PEI Rocket. Tomas Jurco and Danick Gauthier both scored for the Sea Dogs. Mathieu Corbeil made 28 stops to pick up the win and first star honours.

NOTES: Zach O’Brien leads the Titan in scoring with 22 goals and 22 assists for 44 points. Sebastien Trudeau is second with 43 points while Matthew Bissonnette has 40. The nest closest to the three is Christophe Losier with 18 points… O’Brien’s 22 goals are a team high. Bissonnette is second with 19… Trudeau has a team leading 29 assists. O’Brien is second with 22… Jeremie Blain and Trudeau are each a team best +6… Losier is a tem worst -19… Sean Girard has served a team leading 44 penalty minutes… O’Brien has taken a team high 110 shots… O’Brien’s 22 goals are good for second in the league… Trudeau’s 29 assists place him second in the league… O’Brien is tied for the league lead in power play goals with nine… Trudeau is second in the league in power play assists with 14… O’Brien leads the league in dangerous shots with 85… Bathurst’s power play is ranked second in the league with a rating of 30.7%... the Titan’s penalty kill is running at 75.6% which is good for 10^th in the league.

IN NET: If Robert Steeves is good to go, he will likely get the start in goal this afternoon. He has a record of 7-6-2-1 with a 3.68 goals against average and a 0.876 save percentage.

LAST GAME: The Titan are coming off a 6-4 loss to the Victoriaville Tigres on Friday night. Mathew Bissonnette scored twice for Bathurst while singles came from Zach O’Brien and Christophe Losier. Jacob Brennan took the loss in goal, allowing five goals on 43 shots.

Best Titan Video We Could Find On YouTube: The Titan’s video tribute to Charles Bergeron. The Boston Bruin had his number retired by the team earlier this season.

OTHER GAMES

Rouyn-Noranda at Cape Breton - 4:00 PM AST

Victoriaville at P.E.I. - 4:00 PM AST

Chicoutimi at Baie-Comeau - 4:00 PM EST

Drummondville at Blainville-Boisbriand - 4:00 PM EST

Halifax at Rimouski - 4:00 PM EST

THE RINK

Venue: KC Irving Regional Centre

Capacity: 3,524

Average Attendance: 1,427

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

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 Sea Dogs travel to Quebec City for a big game against the Remparts on Tuesday. Game time at Pepsi Colisee is 8pm.