GAMEDAY 33 - vs Cataractes

GAMEDAY

Shawinigan Cataractes vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight, December 3, 2011 at 7pm

Harbour Station

PREVIEW

SAINT JOHN – Two teams that hope to see each other in May will meet for the first time this season tonight at Harbour Station.

The Memorial Cup hosting Shawinigan Cataractes roll into Saint John to face the Memorial Cup defending Sea Dogs this evening at 7pm. Normally, two of the top teams in the league facing off against each other would be a big enough storyline. But what happened off the ice last April will be everyone’s mind.

The two teams will forever be linked after the 2012 Memorial Cup selection committee chose Shawinigan over Saint John. Cape Breton and Halifax also had bids, but everyone knew going into decision day that it would come down to the Sea Dogs and Cataractes.

“We wish Shawinigan all the best, but we know our organization had an outstanding bid from top to bottom. An incredible amount of work went into this bid and we felt Saint John showed it was by far the best option as a Memorial Cup host city,” Sea Dogs majority owner Scott McCain said in reaction to the news in a release. “We’re obviously disappointed but, having said that, we respect the decision and our organization will move forward.”

The choice has created a bizarre little rivalry that should development quite nicely as the season goes on. How many rivalries have been created off stuff that happened solely off-ice? But the Sea Dogs and Cataractes will play each other a maximum four times this season, and with both teams being serious contenders, the hate level can only get bigger.

The Cataractes are viewing tonight’s game as a hugematch. Hopefully the Sea Dogs are doing the same.

Shawinigan enters play tonight with a record of 20-8-1-2 for 43 points. They sit second in the Telus East Division and fourth overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They are 8-4-1-1 on the road this year.

Saint John is 24-7-0-1 for 49 points. They sit first overall in the QMJHL and are winners of three straight. They have been dominant on home-ice this year, having lost just one of their 15 games at Harbour Station. They have outscored opponents 81-34.

In the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings this week, the Sea Dogs were ranked second while the Cataractes were No. 6.

NOTES: The Cataractes are led offensively by Anton Zlobin who has 23 goals and 11 assists for 34 points on the year. Peter Sakaris is second with 29 points while Michael Chaput has 28… Zlobin has a team high 23 goals. Yannick Veilleux is second with 13 markers… Michael Chaput leads the team with 22 assists. Sakaris is second with 17… Chaput is a team high +20… Vincent Arseneau leads the Cataractes in penalty minutes with 53… Sakaris has seven power play goals… Zlobin has taken a team high 97 shots… Zlobin’s 23 goals are good for third in the league… Michael Bournival leads the league in shorthanded goals with three… Zlobin is third in first goals with five… Shawinigan’s power play is ranked 12^th in the league with a rating of 19%... their penalty kill is operating at 70.7% which is good for sixth in the league.

IN NET: Gabriel Girard is expected to start in goal for Shawinigan tonight. He is 5-3-0-0 with a 3.00 goals against average and a 0.900 save percentage.

LAST GAME: The Cataractes are coming off a 3-1 win in Bathurst last night. Anton Zlobin, Yannick Veilleux and Alexandre Grandmaison scored for Shawinigan. Alex Dubeau made 24 saves for the win. Shawinigan went 0-for-5 on the power play.

Best Cataractes Video We Could Find on YouTube: Patrick Roy flipping out at some Shawinigan fans.

NOTES: Zack Phillips leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 16 goals and 32 assists for 48 points on the year. Danick Gauthier is second with 40 while Tomas Jurco has 36… Gauthier leads the team in goals with 26. Jurco is second with 17 and Phillips has 16… Phillips has a team high 32 assists. Jurco is second with 19… Phillips is a team best +30… Ian Saab has served a team high 87 penalty minutes… Jurco and Gauthier both have six power play goals… Phillips has taken a team high 109 shots… Gauthier is tied for the league lead in goals with 26… Phillips is third in assists with 32… Ryan Tesink is fourth in shorthanded goals with two… Gauthier leads the league in game-winning goals with six… Jurco is third in insurance goals with three… Saint John’s power play is running at 22.9%, good for ninth in the league… their penalty kill is ranked 11^th in the league with a rating of 75.6%.

IN NET: Mathieu Corbeil will likely get the start in goal for Saint John tonight. He has a record of 18-4-0-0 to go with a goals against average of 2.14 and a save percentage of 0.918.

PHILLIPS: Zack Phillip enters tonight’s game on a 20-game point streak. Over that span he has recorded 12 goals and 26 assists.

LAST GAME: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 2-1 overtime win over the Moncton Wildcats on Tuesday. Stephen Anderson and Charles-Olivier Roussel each scored in the contest. Mathieu Corbeil made 30 stops to pick up the victory.

OTHER GAMES

Chicoutimi at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:00 PM AST

Moncton at Cape Breton - 7:00 PM AST

Quebec at Halifax - 7:00 PM AST

Victoriaville at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:00 PM EST

Drummondville at Val-d'Or - 7:00 PM EST

THE RINK

Venue: Harbour Station

Capacity: 6,297

Average Attendance: 4,041

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 Nouvelliste, L’Hebdo du St. Maurice

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.

NEXT GAME

The Sea Dogs host Gabriel Bourret, Alexandre Beauregard and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens tomorrow at 3pm at Harbour Station.