GAMEDAY 48: vs Mooseheads

GAMEDAY

Halifax Mooseheads vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight at 7pm

Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live Blog: SN

Harbour Station – Saint John, NB

PREVIEW

SAINT JOHN – After a week off, the Saint John Sea Dogs return to action tonight when they host the Halifax Mooseheads at 7pm at Harbour Station. There are a limited amount of tickets remaining for the contest.

Tonight’s match will see the two best teams in the Quebec Major Hockey League’s Maritimes Division go head-to-head. The Sea Dogs enter action tonight with a record of 32-13-0-2 for 66 points. They sit second overall in the league, four points back of the Shawinigan Cataractes who beat the Quebec Remparts 5-1 last night. Saint John is 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 games and are coming off a win.

The Dogs are 19-4-0-1 at Harbour Station this year and have outscored opponents 108-61.

Saint John played okay in their last game, beating the Drummondville Voltigeurs 3-0 one week ago. But anybody who watched that game will tell you that the Dogs can play a lot better. They’ll look to make some improvements tonight and get on a roll as they enter the stretch run.

Halifax enters play tonight with a record of 26-15-1-3. They sit second in the Maritimes Division and sixth overall in the league with 56 points. They are 4-5-0-1 in their last 10 games and are coming off a loss.

The Mooseheads are 9-9-0-2 on the road this season and have been outscored 77-64.

THE NUMBERS

	Halifax	Saint John
Record	26-15-1-3 (2nd Maritimes)	32-13-0-2 (1st Maritimes)
Home Record	- - -	19-4-0-1
Road Record	9-9-0-2	- - -
Streak	0-1-0-0	1-0-0-0
Last 10	4-5-0-1	6-3-0-1
Goals For	169	192
Goals Against	162	138
Overall PP	25.2% (5th)	21.2% (9th)
Home PP	- - -	22.5% (10th)
Road PP	24.2% (4th)	- - -
Overall PK	77% (11th)	77.5% (7th)
Home PK	- - -	85.4% (3rd)
Road PK	73.7% (13th)	- - -
PIM/GAME	14.2 (15th)	15.6 (9th)

LAST GAMES

The Sea Dogs are coming off a 3-0 win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs last Saturday at Harbour Station. Zack Phillips, Charlie Coyle, and Pierre Durepos all scored for Saint John. Sebastien Auger recorded his first QMJHL shutout, stopping all 28 shots he faced.

The Mooseheads are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles last night at the Halifax Metro Centre. Matthew Boudreau, Cameron Critchlow, and Alexandre Grenier scored for the Herd. Zachary Fucale allowed four goals on 27 shots in the loss.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Saint John is 4-1-0-0 against the Mooseheads this season while Halifax is 1-4-0-0 against the Sea Dogs. Their last meeting was on January 7 in Halifax when the Dogs beat the Moose 6-3. Zach Phillips, Jonathan Huberdeau, Kevin Gagne, Pierre Durepos, Oliver Cooper, and Stephen Anderson all scored for the Sea Dogs while the Mooseheads had a pair of goals from Nathan MacKinnon and a solo marker from Matthew Boudreau. Mathieu Corbeil made 19 saves for the win while Zachary Fucale allowed five goals on 33 shots in the loss.

In that January 7 game, the Sea Dogs entered the second period down 2-0. They scored five goals in the middle frame to lead 5-3 after 40 minutes.

LEADING SCORERS

Zack Phillips leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 61 points (23G, 38A) in 40 games. Danick Gauthier leads the team in goals with 33 while Phillips has a team high 38 assists.

Rookie Nathan MacKinnon leads the Mooseheads in points with 56 (22G, 34A) in 37 games. MacKinnon leads the Moose both in goals with 22 and assists with 34.

PROBABLE GOALTENDERS

Mathieu Corbeil (25-9-0-0, 2.51 GAA, 0.905 SV%) for Saint John and Zachary Fucale (19-11-1-2, 3.20 GAA, 0.886 SV%) for Halifax.

NOTES

• The Sea Dogs are averaging 4,117 fans per game this season at Harbour Station. Tonight could be the club’s first sell-out of the season.
• Danick Gauthier is third in the league in goals with 33.
• Zack Phillips is sixth in assists with 38.
• Matthew Boudreau is second in the circuit in power play goals with 14.
• Nathan MacKinnon is sixth in power play assists with 18.
• Gauthier has a league high seven game-winning goals.
• Ian Saab is second in penalty minutes with 121.
• Phillips is a league best +32.
• MacKinnon is second in rookie scoring with 56 points. He is two points back of Quebec's Mikhail Grigorenko.
• Jonathan Huberdeau leads the league in shorthanded assists with four.
• Gauthier is second in dangerous shots with 107.

OTHER GAMES

P.E.I. at Chicoutimi - 4:00 PM EST

Shawinigan at Gatineau - 7:00 PM EST

Drummondville at Quebec - 7:00 PM EST

NEXT GAME

The Sea Dogs travel to Bathurst to play the Titan tomorrow at 4pm.