GAMEDAY 36: vs Mooseheads

GAMEDAY

Halifax Mooseheads vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight, December 10, 2011 at 7pm

Harbour Station

PREVIEW
SAINT JOHN – The two top teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Maritimes Division meet tonight at Harbour Station. Game time for the Halifax Mooseheads - Saint John Sea Dogs tilt is 7pm.

The Sea Dogs enter play tonight tied for first in the QMJHL with a record of 25-9-0-1 for 51 points. They are tied with Quebec Remparts for top spot in the league although the Remparts have two games in hand over the Dogs.

Saint John hasn’t been playing their greatest hockey of late. They have lost two straight and are now just 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 games. Much of their struggles can be blamed on their constant injury woes. Forwards Jonathan Huberdeau (foot), Stanislav Galiev (wrist) and Ryan Tesink (knee) all missed last night’s game due to injuries along with defenseman Ian Saab (minor upper-body).

The Sea Dogs will be even more depleted tonight as forward Zack Phillips and defenseman Nathan Beaulieu are on their way to Calgary to take part in Team Canada’s world junior selection camp. The camp runs through December 14.

Last night at Harbour Station, the Dogs played an okay game but just couldn't get another goal past the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Aidan Kelly and Danick Gauthier both scored for the Dogs in the loss while Mathieu Corbeil allowed three goals on 16 shots. Saint John fired 36 on the Bathurst net but were unable to beat netminder Robert Steeves a third time.

The Mooseheads are coming off an ugly 6-1 loss to the PEI Rocket – the worst team in the league – last night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre. Rocket forward Ben Duffy was in beast mode, scoring four goals and adding two assists in his team’s win.

Halifax sits 10 points back of Saint John for the division lead but have five games in hand. They currently have a record of 19-8-1-2 for 41 points on the year. They sit sixth overall in the league.

This is the first of back-to-back games between these two. After tonight’s game, the Sea Dogs and Mooseheads will play each other tomorrow afternoon at 3pm at the Halifax Metro Centre.

SUPERSTAR
It’s unclear of Halifax Mooseheads superstar rookie Nathan MacKinnon will play in Saint John tonight. The 16-year old was hurt in last night’s loss in PEI. He came back for a shift after suffering the injury but quickly headed to the dressing room again and did not return.

"He’s day to day and he’s doubtful for tomorrow," Mooseheads head coach Dominique Ducharme told the Chronicle Herald. "From what the doctor and (team therapist Diane Ouimet) said, they don’t think it’s serious. But it’s still something that could keep him out for a few games."

Here is the hit, courtesy of HockeyFights.com:



MacKinnon sits seventh in league scoring with 19 goals and 30 assists in in 30 games.

LAST GAME
Believe it or not, Saint John will play just one more game at Harbour Station in 2011 after tonight’s contest. The Dogs don’t play a home game until December 30 when they host the PEI Rocket.

The Sea Dogs play four straight road games beginning tomorrow afternoon in Halifax.

PLAYING THE MOOSE
Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant spoke to Metro Halifax on Friday about the Dogs having to play back-to-back games against Halifax with a depleted lineup.

“It’ll be tough games, but just because we’ve got (key players missing) doesn’t mean we’re going to lay down.” 

“We’ve still got some pretty good players here. We’re going to compete hard and give ourselves a chance to win. They’re getting their guys healthy, they’re a good team this year, and it should be a good battle.”

A lot of players are going to have step up this weekend if the Dogs want to have success – especially the defense and goaltending. Saint John just isn’t going to score nine goals a game with the lineup they have at the moment.

ON A ROLL
According to the Mooseheads website, the Sea Dogs are on a 14-game winning streak against Halifax. Saint John has won both previous meetings this season.

TEDDY BEAR TOSS
Bunch of stuff going down at tonight’s game. From the Sea Dogs website:

Saturday’s game against the Halifax Mooseheads will be the annual Holiday Fun Day, with a visit from Santa Claus planned along with the return of the annual Teddy Bear Toss. Fans are encouraged to bring new stuffed animals to the game and throw them on the ice when the Sea Dogs score their first goal of the night. The bears will be distributed to needy families through the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Program. 

This game will also feature a “Change Bandit” promotion organized by the Sea Dogs Foundation, with volunteers from local youth hockey teams collecting change to be donated to the Empty Stocking Fund. 

Special guest Santa Claus will be attending the game and taking gift requests from young fans. And fans can receive a special gift of Sea Dogs wrapping paper courtesy of Advocate Printing.

LIVE BLOG
There will be no SN Live Blog or Tweets from tonight’s game. Apologies.

OTHER GAMES
Moncton at Baie-Comeau - 4:00 PM EST
Rouyn-Noranda at Victoriaville - 4:00 PM EST
P.E.I. at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:00 PM AST
Cape Breton at Blainville-Boisbriand - 7:00 PM EST
Val-d'Or at Drummondville - 7:00 PM EST

THE RINK
Venue: Harbour Station
Capacity: 6,297
Average Attendance: 3,956

MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Metro Halifax, Chronicle Herald

NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs and Mooseheads meet again tomorrow afternoon at 3pm at the Metro Centre.