GAMEDAY 29: at Quebec

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Quebec Remparts

Tonight, November 22, 2011 at 8pm

Pepsi Colisee

PREVIEW

QUEBEC CITY – There is only one Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game on the schedule tonight – and it is a big one.

The two top teams in the league meet tonight at Pepsi Colisee as the Quebec Remparts host the Saint John Sea Dogs at 8pm. The game was originally scheduled to be played later this season but was rescheduled because of a conflict with the Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

The Sea Dogs enter play with a league-best record of 21-6-0-1 and have 43 points. The Remparts sit second with a record of 19-4-2-1 for 41 points but have played two fewer games than Saint John.

In last week’s BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, the Sea Dogs were ranked second while the Remparts were fourth.

Quebec has won eight straight games going into this evening’s game. They are 9-1-0-0 in their last 10. Meanwhile, Saint John saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end on Sunday evening when they fell 6-5 to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in a shootout. The Dogs are 8-1-0-1 in their last 10.

Tonight’s game will see the league’s best offensive team go head-to-head against the best defensive team. The Sea Dogs have scored a league high 131 goals while the Remparts have allowed a league low 68.

Saint John and Quebec met earlier this season at Harbour Station, a game that the Sea Dogs dominated en route to a 6-0 victory. Danick Gauthier had two goals while singles came from Tomas Jurco, Jason Cameron, Nathan Beaulieu and Charles-Olivier Roussel. Mathieu Corbeil made 22 stops for the shutout.

The Sea Dogs can expect a much tougher game tonight at Pepsi Colisee, one of the toughest buildings in junior hockey to play in.

NOTES: Zack Phillips leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 14 goals and 28 assists for 42 points on the year. Danick Gauthier is second with 38 points while Tomas Jurco has 33… Gauthier leads the team in goals with 24 this season. Jurco is second with 16… Phillips has a team leading 28 assists. Jonathan Huberdeau is second with 18… Phillips is a Sea Dogs best +26… Ian Saab has served a team high 75 penalty minutes… Gauthier and Jurco have both scored six power play goals… Phillips has taken a team high 96 shots… Gauthier’s 24 goals are a league high… Phillips is third in the Q in assists with 28… Gauthier is tied for the league high in game-winning goals with five… Gauthier is third in first goals with four… Jurco is third in the league in insurance goals with three… Saint John is 9-5-0-1 on the road and have outscored their opponents 59-52… the Sea Dogs’ power play is fifth in the league with a rating of 24.2%... Saint John’s penalty kill is operating at 73.8% which is good for 14^th in the league.

IN NET: Mathieu Corbeil will likely get the start in goal after having Sunday off. He is 16-3-0-0 with a 2.12 goals against average and a 0.919 save percentage.

INJURIES: Saint John will once again be without the services of Jonathan Huberdeau (broken foot), Stanislav Galiev (broken wrist) and Aidan Kelly (upper-body injury). Tomas Jurco is also questionable after leaving Sunday’s game in Bathurst early in the third period. Le Soleil reports Jurco has a groin injury.

RECALLED: According to le Journal de Quebec, forwards McKenzie Brown and Stephen Anderson were both recalled by the Sea Dogs. Brown has a goal in eight games with the Dogs this year while Anderson has two goals and two assists in 10 games.

LAST GAME: The Sea Dogs are coming off a tough 6-5 shootout loss in Bathurst on Sunday. Tomas Jurco and Ryan Tesink each had two goals while Kevin Gagne added a single marker. Netminder Sebastien Auger allowed five goals on 22 shots through 65 minutes of action.

NOTES: Mikhail Grigorenko leads the Remparts in scoring with 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points this season. Frederick Roy is second in points with 31 while Martin Lefebvre has 21… Grigorenko has a team high 19 goals. Anthony Duclair is second with 11… Grigorenko also leads the squad in assists with 22. Roy and Lefebvre each have 21… Owen Werthner is a Quebec best +21… Werthner leads the team in penalty minutes with 42… Mikael Tam has scored seven power play goals… Tam has taken a team high 90 shots… Tam’s seven power play goals are good for seventh in the league… Lefebvre is third in power play assists with 13… Werthner is second in game-winning goals with five… Michael McNamee is second in first goals with four… Grigorenko’s 41 points place him first in rookie scoring… the Remparts are 9-2-1-1 at home this season and have outscored opponents 47-32… Quebec has the league’s third best power play with a rating of 27.1%... the Remparts’ penalty killing is running at 83.3%, good for third in the league.

IN NET: Louis Domingue will likely get the start in goal for Quebec this evening. Domingue has a record of 11-2-1-1, a goals against average of 2.24 and a save percentage of 0.933.

ISS RANKINGS: International Scouting Services released their November rankings last week. On top of the list in Remparts Russian rookie Mikhail Grigorenko.

“The big talented Grigorenko is just producing more and more excitement with every game he plays,” writes ISS. “Girorenko currently leads his team and all rookies in the QMJHL with 16 goals and 18 assists in 23 games. He is a big skilled Center with high Hockey IQ and very good puck presence; he protects puck well, great reach, and excellent puck control. He has exceptional vision and on ice awareness and makes good tape to tape passes while at speed.”

LAST GAME: The Remparts are coming off a 6-1 win over the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday. Raphael Corriveau scored twice while Mikhail Grigorenko, Adam Erne, Vincent Barnard, Frederick Roy added solo markers. Francois Brassard made 31 saves for the win.

Best Remparts Video We Could Find On YouTube: Grigorenko is pretty good.

OTHER GAMES

None

ARENA INFO

Venue: Pepsi Colisee

Seating Capacity: 15,176

Average Attendance: 10,623

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, le Journal de Quebec, le Soleil

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 host the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Friday at 7:30pm at Harbour Station.