GAMEDAY
Halifax Mooseheads vs Saint John Sea Dogs
Tonight at 7:30pm
Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: None | Live:
@station_nation
Harbour Station – Saint John, NB
SAINT JOHN – The first half of the season comes to an end
tonight for the Saint John Sea Dogs.
Although most teams (including the Sea Dogs) have played half their schedule
already, today’s and tomorrow’s contests will be the final ones before the
Christmas break which singles the unofficial ending of the first half. Following tonight’s 7:30pm contest at Harbour Station against
the Halifax Mooseheads, the Sea Dogs don’t play again until December 29.
The game before the holiday break is always an
interesting one. It’s as much a mental game as it is a physical one. Players
can be caught looking ahead to returning home or thinking about the trading
period that opens tomorrow instead of the game. We’ll see if that is the case
tonight.
The Mooseheads are missing their best players tonight.
Forwards Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, and Martin Frk are all away
preparing for the World Junior Hockey Championships. Meanwhile, defenseman
Konrad Abeltshauser is still out hurt. If the Sea Dogs want to beat the
Mooseheads this season, tonight will probably be their best chance.
Halifax enters action today with a 28-3-1-1 record. They
sit first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and are ranked No. 1
in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings. Halifax has a nine-point lead on the
second place Quebec Remparts.
With MacKinnon, Drouin, and Frk all away, Matthew
Boudreau is Halifax’s leading scorer with 37 points in 33 games. Stefan
Fournier, Luca Ciampini, and Darcy Ashley each have 36 points on the year.
Saint John enters play tonight with a 16-18-0-0 record
for 32 points. They sit fourth in the Telus Maritimes Division and 13th
overall in the league. They are 4-6-0-0 in their last 10 and that includes are
not-so-pretty 3-0 loss to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan last night.
The Dogs are also missing their leading scorer due to
world junior play in Jonathan Huberdeau. Ryan Tesink has 38 points in 33 games
and is the team’s leading scorer with Huberdeau gone.
THE NUMBERS
THE NUMBERS
| Halifax | Saint John | |
| Record | 28-3-1-1 (1st Maritimes) | 16-18-0-0 (4th Maritimes) |
| Home Record | 16-1-0-0 | 8-9-0-0 |
| Road Record | 12-2-1-1 | 8-9-0-0 |
| Goals For/Game | 4.99 (1st) | 3.00 (13th) |
| Goals Against/Game | 2.77 (2nd) | 3.75 (13th) |
| Shots For/Game | 36.26 (1st) | 28.09 (14th) |
| Shots Against/Game | 25.13 (2nd) | 32.92 (14th) |
| Overall PP | 28.5% (3rd) | 22.0% (10th) |
| Home PP | 32.5% (4th) | 24.1% (9th) |
| Road PP | 24.4% (4th) | 20.0% (6th) |
| Overall PK | 78.7% (9th) | 79.7% (6th) |
| Home PK | 81.9% (8th) | 81.5% (9th) |
| Road PK | 75.0% (10th) | 77.9% (6th) |
| PIM/GAME | 14.7 | 16.0 |
| Attendance | 8,194 | 3,637 |
LEADING SCORERS
Halifax
| Player | GP | Goals | Assists | Points |
| Nathan MacKinnon | 30 | 22 | 30 | 52 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 24 | 19 | 29 | 48 |
| Martin Frk | 28 | 13 | 25 | 38 |
Saint John
| Player | GP | Goals | Assists | Points |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | 30 | 16 | 29 | 45 |
| Ryan Tesink | 32 | 16 | 22 | 38 |
| Kevin Gagne | 30 | 11 | 22 | 33 |
GOALTENDERS
Halifax
| Goaltender | Record | GAA | SV% |
| Zach Fucale | 21-3-0-1 | 2.58 | 0.895 |
| Chris Clarke | 7-0-1-0 | 3.25 | 0.880 |
Saint John
| Goaltender | Record | GAA | SV% |
| Sebastien Auger | 16-13-0-0 | 2.97 | 0.908 |
| Alex Fournier | 0-5-0-0 | 6.95 | 0.809 |
LAST GAMES
The Sea Dogs are coming off a 3-0 loss to the
Acadie-Bathurst Titan last night at Harbour Station. Sebastien Auger was solid
as usual in net, making 42 saves in the loss.
The Mooseheads are coming off an 8-6 win over the
Wildcats in Moncton last Saturday. Matthew Boudreau had a hat trick, Darcy
Ashley added a pair, and singles came from Dominic Beauchemin, MacKenzie
Weegar, and Stefan Fournier. Chris Clarke made 31 saves in net for the win.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Sea Dogs are 0-3-0-0 against the Mooseheads this
season while Halifax is 3-0-0-0 against Saint John.
Their last meeting was on December 9 at Harbour Station
where the Mooseheads beat the Sea Dogs 4-2. Jonathan Drouin, Darcy Ashley,
Stefan Fournier, and Matthew Boudreau scored for the Moose while the Dogs had
goals from Noah Zilbert and Kevin Gagne. Zach Fucale made 16 saves in net while
Sebastien Auger made 37.
This was the game where Jonathan Huberdeau received his four-game suspension.
NOTES
- Matthew Boudreau is sixth in the league in goals with 24.
- Stephen MacAulay and Stefan Fournier each have 12 power play goals.
- Boudreau is fourth in game winning goals with five.
- Luca Ciampini has the fourth best +/- rating in the league at +23.
- Zach Fucale has the second best goals against average in the league at 2.58.
- Fucale has the most wins of any goaltender with 21.
- These two teams meet again on January 4 in Halifax.
OUT OF TOWN
Moncton at Cape Breton - 7:00 PM AST
P.E.I. at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:30 PM AST
Rimouski at Quebec - 7:00 PM EST
Drummondville at Sherbrooke - 7:00 PM EST
Shawinigan at Victoriaville - 7:00 PM EST
Rouyn-Noranda at Blainville-Boisbriand - 7:30 PM EST
Baie-Comeau at Chicoutimi - 7:30 PM EST
Val-d'Or at Gatineau - 7:30 PM EST
NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on December
29 at Harbour Station.
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