GAMEDAY 4 - vs Olympiques

GAMEDAY

Gatineau Olympiques 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 – A rematch of the 2011 President’s Cup Final takes place tonight at Harbour Station as the Saint John Sea Dogs host the Gatineau Olympiques at 7pm.

While the rivalry between Saint John and Gatineau isn’t much, the Olypmiques have been involved in some of the more memorable moments in Sea Dogs history. The Dogs won their first Quebec Major Junior Hockey League title on Gatineau ice in 2011. Then last season, Saint John defeated the ‘Piques only to have the win removed by the league because the Maxime Villemaire Player Card Incident.

Tonight, another big moment in Sea Dogs history will take place against the Olympiques as the Port City squad will debut their new third jerseys.

The Sea Dogs enter tonight’s game with a 2-1-0-0 record and a 1-1-0-0 record on home ice. Saint John is coming off back-to-back wins that saw the club defeat the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 3-2 in overtime last Friday and then downed the Moncton Wildcats 4-2 on Wednesday.

Jonathan Huberdeau and Ryan Tesink lead the club in scoring with five points each. Huberdeau has a team high three goals while Tesink leads the squad in assists with four.

Goaltender Sebastien Auger has been solid so far this year. He currently has a goals against average of 2.30 and a save percentage of 0.916.

The Sea Dogs will need some other players to step up tonight as veterans Stephen MacAulay and Kevin Gagne are away at Hamilton Bulldogs training camp. The two have combined for three goals and five assists in just three games this year.

Gatineau got off to a dreadful 0-2 start where they were outscored 10-1. Last night they turned things around with a big 6-1 win in Halifax in what was the Mooseheads’ home opener.

The Olypmiques are led by Martin Reway who has two goals and two assists in three games. Tomas Hyka and Dominic Poulin both have two goals as well while former Sea Dog Gabriel Bourret has two helpers.

With Robert Steeves out hurt, Michael Nishi has seen most of the action in goal. He has a 2.86 GAA to go along with 0.916 save percentage.

THE NUMBERS
The Q site is a mess today and hasn't updated to include last night's games. We'll update Gatineau's info before game time if possible.

	Gatineau	Saint John
Record	1-2-0-0 (4th West)	2-1-0-0 (3rd Maritimes)
Home Record	0-0-0-0	1-1-0-0
Road Record	1-2-0-0	1-0-0-0
Goals For/Game		2.62
Goals Against/Game		2.29
Shots For/Game		32.36
Shots Against/Game		27.13
Overall PP	16.7% (11th)	20% (9th)
Home PP	- - -	33.3% (4th)
Road PP	16.7% (7th)	0.00% (13th)
Overall PK	82.6% (8th)	76.9% (14th)
Home PK	- - -	57.1% (17th)
Road PK	82.6% (6th)	100% (3rg)
PIM/GAME	32.3	16.3
Attendance	- - -	3,644

LEADING SCORERS

Gatineau

Player	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Martin Reway	3	2	2	4
Tomas Hyka	3	2	0	2
Dominic Poulin	3	2	0	2

Saint John

Player	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Jonathan Huberdeau	3	3	2	5
Ryan Tesink	3	1	4	5
Stephen MacAulay	3	2	2	4

GOALTENDERS

Gatineau

Goaltender	Record	GAA	SV%
Michael Nishi	1-2-0-0	2.86	0.916
Simon Bergeron	0-0-0-0	15.04	0.700

Saint John

Goaltender	Record	GAA	SV%
Sebastien Auger	2-1-0-0	2.30	0.916
Alex Fournier	0-0-0-0	- - -	- - -

LAST GAMES

The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-2 victory over the Moncton Wildcats on Wednesday at Harbour Station. Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice while Stephen MacAulay and Ryan Tesink added singles. Sebastien Auger made 21 saves in net for the win.

The Olympiques are coming off a 6-1 win in Halifax over the Mooseheads last night. Martin Reway, Dominic Poulin, and Tomas Hyka scored two goals each. Michael Nishi made 29 saves in net for the win.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Officially, the Olympiques went 2-0-0-0 against the Sea Dogs last season while Saint John went 0-2-0-0 against Gatineau. Unofficially, the season series was split 1-1 but thanks to the Maxime Villemaire Player Card Incident Saint John's win was awarded to Gatineau.

Their last meeting was on January 4 at Harbour Station when the Dogs beat the Olympiques 3-2. Villemaire, Zack Phillips, and Danick Gauthier scored for Saint John while the Gatineau goals came from Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Mathieu Corbeil made 26 saves for Saint John while Francois Lacerte made 35.

THIRD JERSEY

If you haven’t heard, the Sea Dogs will be debuting their third jerseys tonight.

Buckle up.

ANIMALS

The Saint John Sea Dogs and Miller Tirecraft are partnering up to have an SPCA/Animal Rescue League Night on Saturday.

The SPCA/ARL is looking for donations and have provided a list of items that would be helpful to their cause:

- Canned Cat Food

- Animal Bedding Pellets - To use for Cat Litter

- Peanut Butter - For the Dogs' Kongs

- Cheez Whiz- For the Dogs' Kongs

- Cat Collars

- Leashes

- Martingale Collars for the Dogs’

- High Quality Dog Treats:

            - Dried Chicken Strips (Costco)

            - Tartar Busters

            - Pigs Ears

These items are part of their “wish list” and will be collected at the door.

NOTES

• This is the second game of a three-in-three through the Maritimes for the Olympiques. They played in Halifax last night, Saint John tonight, and Charlottetown tomorrow. After tomorrow’s game, Gatineau will play five straight home games.
• Former Sea Dog Gabriel Bourret was traded to Gatineau during the off-season by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Bourret had 33 points in 63 regular season games with Saint John in 2010-11, helping the club win the Memorial Cup. He was traded at the 2011 draft.

OTHER GAMES

Baie-Comeau at Victoriaville - 4:00 PM EDT

Cape Breton at Halifax - 7:00 PM ADT

Quebec at Sherbrooke - 6:00 PM EDT

Rouyn-Noranda at Blainville-Boisbriand - 7:00 PM EDT

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

NEXT GAME

The Sea Dogs take on the Moncton Wildcats tomorrow afternoon in Game 2 of the Brunswick News Rivalry Cup. Game time is 4pm in Moncton.