GAMEDAY 12 - at Chicoutimi

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Chicoutimi Sagueneens

Tonight at 8:30pm

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

Georges Vezina Centre – Chicoutimi, Que.

PREVIEW

CHICOUTIMI, Que. – Tonight the Saint John Sea Dogs and Chicoutimi Sagueneens hook up for the first time since the 2012 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League semi-finals. Game time is 8:30pm at the Georges Vezina Centre in Chicoutimi.

The Sea Dogs defeated the Sagueneens in five games last spring and advanced to their third straight President Cup final while Chicoutimi’s season came to an end, a season that saw them incredibly knock off the Memorial Cup hosting Shawinigan Cataractes in the quarter-finals.

It was quite a playoff series with the final three games all going to overtime. It was Saint John’s toughest series and the most entertaining. The Sags lone win came in overtime of Game 3 in Chicoutimi which would prove to be Saint John’s only playoff loss.

There were a few memorable moments in the series. Etienne Brodeur did “The Worm” after scoring in overtime of Game 3, Charlie Coyle became of playoff legend with his Game 4 OT goal, Stanislav Galiev sent the Sea Dogs to the final with an OT goal in Game 5, and perhaps the most noteworthy moment came in the early stages on Game 5 when Jonathan Huberdeau illegally hit Charles Hudon. The Sea Dogs captain received a two-game suspension for the hit.

Saint John was not liked by Sags fans last year and, with Huberdeau back, they probably won’t be liked to much this season, either.

Chicoutimi is off to a decent start this season, currently occupying third place in the Telus East Division and seventh overall in the league with a 6-5-1-0 record. They’ve won three straight games and have outscored opponents 40-35.

The Sagueneens lineup looks quite a bit different than it did in the 2012 playoffs. They are led by Charles Hudon who has nine goals and seven assists in 11 games this season. Hudon was a fifth round pick of the Montreal Canadiens during the off-season.

The Sea Dogs enter action tonight with a record of 5-6-0-0 and sit fifth in the Telus Maritimes Division and 13^th overall in the league. They have lost two straight and haven’t won a game in regulation time this month. Saint John has been outscored 45-30 by opponents.

The Dogs are led by Jonathan Huberdeau who has nine goals and seven assists in 11 games this season.

This is the second game of a Quebec road swing for Saint John. Their trip concludes tomorrow with a match in Baie-Comeau.

THE NUMBERS

	Chicoutimi	Saint John
Record	6-5-1-0 (3rd East)	5-6-0-0 (5th Maritimes)
Home Record	3-4-0-0	3-3-0-0
Road Record	3-1-1-0	2-3-0-0
Goals For/Game	3.30 (8th)	2.69 (16th)
Goals Against/Game	2.89 (5th)	4.04 (16th)
Shots For/Game	28.69 (13th)	28.72 (12th)
Shots Against/Game	31.58 (12th)	34.01 (15th)
Overall PP	20.8% (8th)	22.6% (5th)
Home PP	19.4% (13th)	32.4% (3rd)
Road PP	22.2% (7th)	8.0% (17th)
Overall PK	79.0% (13th)	80.9% (11th)
Home PK	80.6% (13th)	73.1% (16th)
Road PK	77.4% (13th)	90.5% (1st)
PIM/GAME	17.2	15.1
Attendance	2,878	3,887

LEADING SCORERS

Chicoutimi

Player	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Charles Hudon	11	9	7	16
Laurent Dauphin	12	5	8	13
Guillaume Asselin	12	4	9	13

Saint John

Player	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Jonathan Huberdeau	11	9	7	16
Ryan Tesink	11	4	8	12
Stephen MacAulay	7	6	2	8

GOALTENDERS

Chicoutimi

Goaltender	Record	GAA	SV%
Francis Desrosiers	4-4-1-0	2.45	0.923
Christopher Gibson	2-1-0-0	4.11	0.869

Saint John

Goaltender	Record	GAA	SV%
Sebastien Auger	5-5-0-0	3.16	0.905
Alex Fournier	0-1-0-0	11.00	0.718

LAST GAMES

The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-2 loss in Quebec City on Wednesday night. Olivier Leblanc and Jonathan Huberdeau scored Saint John’s goals. Sebastien Auger allowed three goals on 29 shots in the loss. The Remparts’ final two goals were empty netters.

The Sags are coming off a 5-4 shootout win in Baie-Comeau on Wednesday night. Jeremy Gregoire scored twice for Chicoutimi while singles came from Laurent Dauphin and Guillaume Asselin. Francis Desrosiers made 42 saves in the win.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

The Sea Dogs went 1-1-0-1 against the Sagueneens in the regular season last year while Chicoutimi went 2-1-0-0 against Saint John.

The last time these two met was on April 28 at Harbour Station with the Sea Dogs winning Game 5 of the semi-final playoff series 4-3 in overtime at Harbour Station. Stanislav Galiev scored twice – including the overtime winner – while Charlie Coyle and Zack Phillips also scored. Steve Lebel, Yoan Pinette, Dominic Poulin netted goals for Chicoutimi. Mathieu Corbeil made 38 saves while Christopher Gibson made 39.

HUDON

Sagueneens star forward Charles Hudon is not expected toplay tonight due to concussion symptoms. He suffered the injury on Wednesday against Baie-Comeau.

Charles Hudon n'a pas reçu de diagnostic de commotion cérébrale. Il ne jouera pas ce soir par mesure de prévention #Sags #Habs #LHJMQ
— Patrick Caisse (@PatrickCaisse) October 19, 2012

It’s somewhat ironic that Jonathan Huberdeau will make his first appearance in Chiocutimi with Hudon out of the lineup due to injury.

Sags fans were outraged over that hit. Will be interesting to see how they treat the Sea Dogs tonight.

WEBCAST

Chicoutimi’s webcast view is terrible.

NOTES

• Stephen MacAulay is second in the league in power play goals with six.
• Jonathan Huberdeau, Kevin Gagne, and Guillaume Asselin each have six power play assists.
• Laurent Dauphin is second in rookie scoring with 13 points.
• The Sea Dogs have only scored the first goal in a game three times this season.
• Saint John has not dipped two games below .500 yet this year.

OUT OF TOWN

Sherbrooke at Halifax - 7:00 PM ADT

P.E.I. at Moncton - 7:00 PM ADT

Cape Breton at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:30 PM ADT

Quebec at Victoriaville - 7:00 PM EDT

Blainville-Boisbriand at Baie-Comeau - 7:30 PM EDT

Shawinigan at Rimouski - 7:30 PM EDT

Drummondville at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:30 PM EDT

Gatineau at Val-d'Or - 7:30 PM EDT

NEXT GAME

The Sea Dogs travel to Baie-Comeau and take on the Drakkar tomorrow at 5pm.