GAME DAY 68: at Halifax

A preview of today’s game between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Halifax Mooseheads…

When and where: Today at 4 p.m., Scotiabank Centre

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are third in the Maritimes Division and 10^th overall in the QMJHL standings with a 31-26-4-6 record for 72 points. The Mooseheads are fourth in the Maritimes and 12^th overall with a record of 31-29-4-2 for 68 points.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 6-5 overtime loss in Charlottetown last night. Jakub Zboril, Thomas Chabot, Justice Dundas, Bokondji Imama and Mathieu Joseph scored for Saint John while Sebastien Auger made 45 saves in the loss. The Mooseheads are coming off a 3-0 loss in Moncton last night. Eric Brassard made 21 saves in the loss.

2014-15 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 6-1-0-0 against the Mooseheads this season while Halifax is 1-5-1-0 against Saint John.

Previous meetings:

Halifax 7 @ Saint John 4 (Mar 14 2015) Final
Halifax 1 @ Saint John 4 (Jan 3 2015) Final
Saint John 3 @ Halifax 1 (Dec 6 2014) Final
Saint John 4 @ Halifax 2 (Nov 7 2014) Final
Halifax 2 @ Saint John 5 (Oct 11 2014) Final
Halifax 0 @ Saint John 7 (Sep 27 2014) Final
Saint John 6 @ Halifax 5 (Sep 20 2014) Final OT1

Last meeting: March 14 at Harbour Station where the Mooseheads defeated the Sea Dogs 7-4. Danny Moynihan had a hat trick and Nikolaj Ehlers two goals for the Mooseheads while singles came from Connor Moynihan and Timo Meier. Jakub Zboril, Justice Dundas, Mark Tremaine and Thomas Chabot all scored for Saint John. Eric Brassard made 35 saves in the win while Sebastien Auger made 23 in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Mooseheads: Kelly Bent

Random stat: All three goalies the Mooseheads have used against Saint John this season – Eric Brassard, Zach Fucale and Kevin Resop – have a GAA over four and a SV% under .900 versus the Dogs.

SJ notes: Nathan Noel leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 62 points in 66 games this season… Noel and Adam Marsh are tied for the team lead in goals with 24… Noel has a team high 38 assists… Samuel Dove-McFalls leads the league in shorthanded assists with six… Sebastien Auger’s GAA has increased to 3.07 over the past couple weeks, placing him eighth in the league… Marsh is 10^th in rookie scoring with 44 points… Jakub Zboril is third in power play goals by a defenseman with 10… 11-17-2-3 on the road this season… 19-8-1-1 when scoring first… 21-16-3-3 against Maritimes Division teams… Saint John’s power play rating of 17% is third worst in the league… the Sea Dogs’ penalty kill rating of 80.8% is third best in the league… Zboril has goals in three straight games… Spencer Smallman has assists in six straight games… Smallman has points in six straight road games… 3-6-1-0 in their last 10 games and have lost five straight.

HFX notes: Nikolaj Ehlers leads the Mooseheads and is fourth in league scoring with 99 points in 49 games… Timo Meier has a team high 43 goals… Ehlers leads the Moose in assists and is third in the league with 62… 20-9-1-2 at home this season… 19-8-3-1 when scoring first… 19-19-4-0 against Maritimes Division teams… Halifax’s penalty kill rating of 73.3% is third worst in the league… Meier has goals in four straight home games… Ehlers has points in 22 straight home games while Meier has points in 20 straight home contests… 4-6-0-0 in their last 10 games… Halifax will play their final game of the regular season tomorrow against Moncton.

Out of town:

Acadie-Bathurst at Cape Breton - 4:00 PM ADT
Saint John at Halifax - 4:00 PM ADT
Charlottetown at Moncton - 4:00 PM ADT
Chicoutimi at Baie-Comeau - 4:00 PM EDT
Québec at Rimouski - 4:00 PM EDT
Sherbrooke at Rouyn-Noranda - 4:00 PM EDT
Gatineau at Shawinigan - 4:00 PM EDT
Blainville-Boisbriand at Val-d'Or - 4:00 PM EDT
Drummondville at Victoriaville - 4:00 PM EDT

Next game: the Sea Dogs will open the 2015 playoffs on the road either this coming Thursday, Friday or Saturday.