Friday, March 22, 2013

PLAYOFF GAMEDAY: Round 1, Game 1 - at Halifax

GAMEDAY
2013 President’s Cup Playoffs – Round 1, Game 1
Saint John Sea Dogs vs Halifax Mooseheads
Tonight at 7:00pm
Radio: News 88.9 | Webcast: Telus | TV: Eastlink | Live: @station_nation
Halifax Metro Centre – Halifax, NS
PREVIEW
HALIFAX – The Saint John Sea Dogs have been here before.

This is the third season the league has used this playoff format and in each of the past two, the Sea Dogs have been the No. 1 seed and took on the No. 16 seed. Saint John will play in that series once again this year, only this time they will be underdog.

Saint John finished the regular season with a 23-44-1-0 record for 47 points, placing them fifth in the Telus Maritimes Division and 16th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

As the 16th seed, the Sea Dogs will play the No. 1 seeded Halifax Mooseheads in a first-round, best-of-seven series that begins tonight at 7pm at the Metro Centre. The Mooseheads had one of the greatest regular seasons ever, finishing the year with a 58-6-3-1 record for 120 points.  Their 58 wins tied a league record.

Obviously, the Mooseheads are huge favourites to win this series. If the Sea Dogs manage to move on to the next round it would be one of the greatest playoff upsets in the history of sports.

If the Sea Dogs have a chance in this series it probably comes down to the play of goaltender Sebastien Auger. Saint John’s offense isn’t going to score a lot of goals, so if they are going to stay in these games, they can’t give up many.

If anything, this young Sea Dogs team will get some playoff experience out of this.

THE NUMBERS
HalifaxSaint John
Record58-6-3-1 (1st Maritimes)23-44-1-0 (5th Maritimes)
Home Record31-2-1-013-21-0-0
Road Record27-4-2-110-23-1-0
Goals For/Game5.06 (1st)2.53 (16th)
Goals Against/Game2.57 (1st)3.96 (14th)
Shots For/Game35.47 (3rd)27.46 (14th)
Shots Against/Game25.80 (3rd)36.37 (18th)
Overall PP27.7% (2nd)20.3% (12th)
Home PP30.7% (3rd)18.7% (13th)
Road PP24.3% (2nd)21.9% (9th)
Overall PK81.5% (4th)75.3% (15th)
Home PK83.2% (5th)78.8% (13th)
Road PK79.8% (5th)72.0% (17th)
PIM/GAME12.815.9
Attendance8,686 (2nd)3,992 (4th)

LEADING SCORERS
Halifax
PlayerGPGoalsAssistsPoints
Jonathan Drouin494164105
Martin Frk56354984
Darcy Ashley66265278

Saint John
PlayerGPGoalsAssistsPoints
Jakub Izacky63211738
Pierre Durepos4362531
Stephen Anderson63121527

GOALTENDERS
Halifax
GoaltenderRecordGAASV%
Zach Fucale45-5-2-12.350.909
Chris Clarke13-1-1-03.100.880

Saint John
GoaltenderRecordGAASV%
Sebastien Auger22-31-1-03.330.907
Alex Fournier1-13-0-05.520.856

SERIES SCHEDULE
Fri.Mar 22 Game 1 @Halifax Metro Centre 7pm
Sat.Mar 23 Game 2 @Halifax Metro Centre 7pm
Tues.Mar 26 Game 3 @Harbour Station 7pm
Weds.Mar 27 Game 4 @Harbour Station 7pm
Fri.Mar 29 Game 5 @Halifax Metro Centre 7pm *
Sun.Mar 31 Game 6 @Harbour Station 3pm *
Tues.Apr 2 Game 7 @Halifax Metro Centre 7pm *
*If Necessary

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Halifax went 7-0-1-0 against Saint John this season while the Sea Dogs went 1-7-0-0 against the Mooseheads.

October 5 – Halifax 4, Saint John 3
October 6 – Saint John 2, Halifax 11
December 9 – Halifax 4, Saint John 2
December 21 – Halifax 5, Saint John 1
January 4 – Saint John 3, Halifax 2 (OT)
February 20 – Halifax 8, Saint John 3
February 22 – Saint John 1, Halifax 6
March 15 – Saint John 1, Halifax 3

COURTEAU

The Commissioner, Mr.Gilles Courteau, is in town tonight to present the Mooseheads and their fans with the Jean Rougeau Trophy for finishing 1st overall in the regular season.  This is the first time the Franchise and their fans have accomplished this feat.

NOTES

OUT OF TOWN
Victoriaville at Moncton - 7:00 PM ADT
Val-d'Or at P.E.I. - 7:00 PM ADT
Chicoutimi at Quebec - 7:00 PM EDT
Sherbrooke at Baie-Comeau - 7:30 PM EDT
Acadie-Bathurst at Blainville-Boisbriand - 7:30 PM EDT
Gatineau at Rimouski - 7:30 PM EDT
Drummondville at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:30 PM EDT

NEXT GAME
Game 2 of this best-of-seven series is tomorrow night in Halifax at 7pm.

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