GAMEDAY
Shawinigan Cataractes vs Saint John Sea Dogs
2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup – Round-Robin
Tonight at 8:00pm
Radio: News 88.9 | TV: Sportsnet/TVA Sports | Live Blog:
SN
Centre Bionest – Shawinigan, Que.
PREVIEW
SHAWINIGAN, Que. – Here we go again.
Two days ago the Saint John Sea Dogs and Shawinigan
Cataractes went to war at Centre Bionest. There was nastiness, fights, cheap shots,
garbage thrown on the ice, and a war of words between coaches. Now, with both
team’s seasons on the line, they meet again.
After losing 4-1to the Sea Dogs in the final round-robin game of the
2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup on Wednesday, the Cataractes were forced to play
the Western Hockey League champion Edmonton Oil Kings in a tie-breaker game
yesterday. Shawinigan sure did deliver, pounding the Oil Kings 6-1 and earning
a rematch with Saint John in tonight’s semi-final game.
The winner of tonight’s game will face the Ontario Hockey
League champion London Knights in Sunday’s Championship Game. The Sea Dogs lost
5-3 to the Knights in the round-robin while the Cataractes beat them 6-2.
Shawinigan will be playing their third game in three
nights tonight. They’ll be in tough, but given that this team had a month off
before the tournament should benefit them in this situation. Plus, last night’s
game wasn’t as grueling as it could have been since the Cats had basically won
the game before the halfway mark.
The Cats are 2-2 at the Memorial Cup with wins over London and Edmonton and
loses to Edmonton and Saint John. They’ve outscored opponents 16-11 over the
four games. Their 16 goals are the most by any team in the tournament.
The Sea Dogs are 2-1 with wins over Shawinigan and
Edmonton and a loss to London. They’ve outscored opponents 12-8 over their
three games. Their +6 goal differential is the best in the tournament.
After what went down on Wednesday and what has gone down all
year between these franchises, it seems only fitting that they meet in an
elimination game the Memorial Cup. Winner plays for a national title while the
loser heads for the off-season.
PLAYOFF NUMBERS
| Saint John | Shawinigan | |
| Record | 16-1 | 7-4 |
| Home Record | 9-0 | 4-2 |
| Road Record | 7-1 | 3-2 |
| Goals For/Game | 5.75 (1st) | 4.21 (3rd) |
| Goals Against/Game | 2.18 (1st) | 2.51 (2nd) |
| Shots For/Game | 35.38 (2nd) | 37.88 (1st) |
| Shots Against/Game | 26.11 (3rd) | 25.52 (1st) |
| Overall PP | 28.2% (2nd) | 15.1% (14th) |
| Home PP | 39% (1st) | 25.0% (9th) |
| Road PP | 13.3% (12th) | 4.0% (16th) |
| Overall PK | 88.2% (1st) | 83.3% (3rd) |
| Home PK | 82.1% (7th) | 77.3% (10th) |
| Road PK | 94.6% (1st) | 90.0% (2nd) |
| PIM/GAME | 16.1 (8th) | 17.1 (6th) |
| Attendance | 5,522 (3rd) | 3,961 (7th) |
LEADING SCORERS – PLAYOFFS
Shawinigan
| Player | GP | Goals | Assists | Points |
| Kirill Kabanov | 11 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| Michael Chaput | 11 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| Yannick Veilleux | 11 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
Saint John
| Player | GP | Goals | Assists | Points |
| Stanislav Galiev | 17 | 16 | 18 | 34 |
| Charlie Coyle | 17 | 15 | 19 | 34 |
| Zack Phillips | 17 | 9 | 23 | 32 |
GOALTENDERS - PLAYOFFS
Shawinigan
| Goaltender | Record | GAA | SV% |
| Gabriel Girard | 4-0-0-0 | 2.86 | 0.886 |
| Alex Dubeau | 3-3-1-0 | 2.08 | 0.919 |
Saint John
| Goaltender | Record | GAA | SV% |
| Mathieu Corbeil | 16-0-1-0 | 2.18 | 0.917 |
| Sebastien Auger | 0-0-0-0 | - - - | - - - |
SEASON SERIES
These teams have now played each other five times this
year heading into tonight’s contest. Neither team has won back-to-back
meetings. Here are the results from the five previous games.
December 3, 2011 at Saint John – Cataractes 2, Sea Dogs 3
(OT)
January 12, 2012 at Saint John – Cataractes 4, Sea Dogs 1
February 4, 2012 at Shawinigan – Sea Dogs 2, Cataractes 1
March 11, 2012 – Sea Dogs 2, Cataractes 6
May 23, 2012 – Cataractes 1, Sea Dogs 4
A look back at the four regular season matches can befound here.
WEDNESDAY
If you need a reminder of what went on during Wednesday's game, here you go.
Both teams were fined $2,500 yesterday.
WEDNESDAY
If you need a reminder of what went on during Wednesday's game, here you go.
Both teams were fined $2,500 yesterday.
GIRARD
Gabriel Girard will get the start in net for Shawinigan
again tonight. He’s been one of the better netminders at this year’s
tournament, going 2-1 with a 2.00 goals against average and a 0.935 save
percentage. His lone loss was in the game against Saint John.
LEADERS
This game will feature the tournament’s best offensive
players so far. Michael Chaput (8), Jonathan Huberdeau (6), and Brandon Gormley
(6) are all top three in tournament scoring.
Huberdeau leads the Memorial Cup in goals with four while
Ryan Tesink, Michael Chaput, and Anton Zlobin are all tied for second with three each.
Chaput leads the way in assists with five. Charlie Coyle
is tied with Gormley for second with four and Nathan Beaulieu is fourth with
three.
WHERE TO WATCH
The qplex will be showing tonight’s game on a big screen
and admission is free.
All the sports bars in the city should be showing the
game as well. Plenty of places to watch with others.
NOTES
- Shawinigan allowed the fewest goals against in the QMJHL’s regular season with 179.
- Cataractes went 22-8-1-3 at home during the regular season.
- Sportsnet.ca has a game preview.
- The Sea Dogs are the “home team” again tonight.
- The Memorial Cup website has a game preview featuring Sportsnet’s RJ Broadhead and Sam Cosentino.
NEXT GAME
Sea Dogs win and they’ll play the London Knights for the
Memorial Cup on Sunday. Sea Dogs lose and the off-season begins.
No comments:
Post a Comment