GAMEDAY
Round 1, Game 1
Saint John Sea Dogs vs Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Tonight at 8pm
Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: Sportsnet | Live
Blog: None
Harbour Station – Saint John, NB
PREVIEW
SAINT JOHN – The journey begins tonight for the Saint John
Sea Dogs.
The last time the Sea Dogs played a Quebec Major Junior
Hockey League playoff game, Alexandre Beauregard was scoring the overtime
winner to give Saint John their first ever President’s Cup title. Tonight, the
road to a repeat begins with Dogs hosting the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles at
Harbour Station in the opening game of a first round series. Game time is 8pm and can be seen nationally on Sportsnet.
The Sea Dogs, ranked No. 1 in the final edition of the
BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, finished the season in first place with a
record of 50-15-0-3 for 103 points. The Screaming Eagles finished in 16th
with a 23-42-1-2 record for 49 points.
No matter what stat you look at, this is a huge mismatch.
The Sea Dogs destroyed the Eagles in a four-game sweep in last year’s opening
round, outscoring them 26-2. There is a legitimate chance that kind of lopsided
series could happen again.
Cape Breton is taking a realistic approach to this
series.
"Listen, they’re the three-time league champs and
defending Mem Cup champs so we’re very respectful of what they’ve
accomplished," Eagles head coach Ron Choules told the Chronicle Herald.
"We know what we’re getting into. . . . But like I said to the kids, let’s
accept this challenge. Playing against the best only makes you better. Let’s
make sure we follow our plan, stay on the same page and make sure they earn
everything they get."
This is the third time in four years that the two have met in the first round. Cape Breton swept Saint John back in 2009 and the Saint John swept the Eagles last year.
SERIES STATUS
This is Game 1 of the best-of-seven series.
THE NUMBERS
| Cape Breton | Saint John | |
| Record | 23-42-1-2 (5th Maritimes) | 50-15-0-3 (1st Maritimes) |
| Home Record | - - - | 28-5-0-1 |
| Road Record | 17-16-0-1 | - - - |
| Goals For | 219 | 298 |
| Goals Against | 306 | 180 |
| Goals/Game | 3.19 (14th) | 4.34 (2nd) |
| GA/Game | 4.45 (2nd) | 2.62 (16th) |
| Shots/Game | 28.90 (12th) | 32.99 (3rd) |
| SA/GAME | 31.50 (14th) | 26.60 (1st) |
| PIM/GAME | 15.1 (12th) | 16.6 (6th) |
| Scoring First | 15-16-1-1 | 35-3-0-0 |
| Overall PP | 22.3% (8th) | 23.8% (5th) |
| Home PP | - - - | 23.4% (6th) |
| Road PP | 18% (14th) | - - - |
| Overall PK | 70.6% (17th) | 81.1% (5th) |
| Home PK | - - - | 84.6% (4th) |
| Road PK | 69.7% (16th) | - - - |
LEADING SCORERS
Cape Breton
Saint John
| Player | GP | Goals | Assists | Points |
| Jonathan Brunelle | 68 | 30 | 55 | 85 |
| William Carrier | 66 | 27 | 43 | 70 |
| Alexandre Lavoie | 65 | 23 | 24 | 47 |
Saint John
| Player | GP | Goals | Assists | Points |
| Danick Gauthier | 66 | 47 | 39 | 86 |
| Zack Phillips | 60 | 30 | 50 | 80 |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | 37 | 30 | 42 | 72 |
GOALTENDERS
Cape Breton
Saint John
Cape Breton
| Goaltender | Record | GAA | SV% |
| Philippe Trudeau | 16-26-1-2 | 4.01 | 0.877 |
| William Racicot | 8-14-1-0 | 4.03 | 0.865 |
Saint John
| Goaltender | Record | GAA | SV% |
| Mathieu Corbeil | 37-10-0-1 | 2.38 | 0.911 |
| Sebastien Auger | 14-2-0-2 | 2.65 | 0.897 |
SEASON SERIES
Saint John went 7-1 against Cape Breton this year while
the Screaming Eagles went 1-7 against the Sea Dogs.
September 16, 2011 - Cape Breton def. Saint John 8-5
October 28, 2011 - Saint John def. Cape Breton 6-3
November 25, 2011 - Saint John def. Cape Breton 5-2
November 26, 2011 - Saint John def. Cape Breton 4-1
December 16, 2011 - Saint John def. Cape Breton 4-3
February 26, 2012 - Saint John def. Cape Breton 9-1
March 16, 2012 - Saint John def. Cape Breton 4-0
March 17, 2012 - Saint John def. Cape Breton 7-4
TV
Sportsnet is in Fredericton this weekend for the
University Cup but will travel to Saint John tonight to broadcast the Sea Dogs
game. The game can be seen live on Sportsnet Ontario, Pacific, and Sens.
Jeff Marek and Brian Lawton will be running the studio
show. RJ Broadhead, Sam Cosentino, and Rob Faulds will be broadcasting the game
from Harbour Station.
NOT PLAYING
According to today's Telegraph-Journal, forwards Devon Oliver-Dares and Maxime Villemaire will not be playing in this series due to injuries. Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said Villemaire would be re-evaluated after the first four games.
Defenseman Ian Saab still has five games remaining on his eight-game suspension.
NOT PLAYING
According to today's Telegraph-Journal, forwards Devon Oliver-Dares and Maxime Villemaire will not be playing in this series due to injuries. Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said Villemaire would be re-evaluated after the first four games.
Defenseman Ian Saab still has five games remaining on his eight-game suspension.
LONG
Here’s Sea Dogs president Wayne Long speaking to CHSJ
News about this playoff series.
NOTES
- Sportsnet has a big time preview of the game.
- The Chronicle Herald has a series preview.
- This is the second time this season the Sea Dogs have been on national television. Make some noise for Rob Faulds tonight.
OTHER GAMES
Moncton at Halifax - 7:00 PM ADT
Baie-Comeau at Victoriaville - 7:00 PM EDT
Gatineau at Blainville-Boisbriand - 7:30 PM EDT
Acadie-Bathurst at Chicoutimi - 7:30 PM EDT
Val-d'Or at Rimouski - 7:30 PM EDT
Rouyn-Noranda at Shawinigan - 7:30 PM EDT
NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs and Eagles meet for Game 2 tomorrow night at
7pm at Harbour Station.
No comments:
Post a Comment