GAME DAY 2: vs Wildcats

A preview of today’s game between the Moncton Wildcats and Saint John Sea Dogs…

When and where: Today at 3 p.m., Harbour Station

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Wildcats are second in the Maritimes Division and fifth overall in the QMJHL with a record of 1-0-0-0 for two points. The Sea Dogs are 1-0-0-0 for two points and sit third in the Maritimes and sixth overall in the league.

Last games: The Wildcats are coming off a 6-3 win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan last night at the KC Irving Regional Centre. Stephen Johnson had two goals while singles came from Kelly Klima, Will Smith, Maximillian Glaessl and William Bower. Zachary Fortin made 42 saves in the win. Saint John is coming off a 5-2 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads last night at Harbour Station. Sam Povorozniouk scored twice while singles came from Daniel Del Paggio, Joe Veleno and Matthew Highmore. Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 30 stops in the win.

2014-15 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 2-6-0-1 against the Wildcats last season while Moncton went 7-2-0-0 against Saint John.

2014-15 Meetings:

Saint John 4 @ Moncton 8 (Mar 13 2015) Final
Moncton 6 @ Saint John 2 (Mar 8 2015) Final
Moncton 1 @ Saint John 3 (Feb 8 2015) Final
Moncton 3 @ Saint John 2 (Jan 10 2015) Final
Saint John 2 @ Moncton 3 (Jan 8 2015) Final SO
Saint John 5 @ Moncton 6 (Dec 28 2014) Final
Moncton 1 @ Saint John 7 (Oct 18 2014) Final
Saint John 0 @ Moncton 7 (Oct 17 2014) Final
Saint John 2 @ Moncton 5 (Sep 14 2014) Final

Last meeting: Feb. 28 in Bouctouche where the Wildcats defeated the Sea Dogs 4-0 in pre-season action. Liam Murphy, Adam Holwell, Conor Garland and Eric Leger scored for Moncton. Zachary Fortin made 32 saves in the shutout win while Alex Bishop made 35 stops for Saint John.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Wildcats: None

Random stat/fact: This is the first game of the Rivalry Cup. Get excited.

MON notes: Stephen Johnson leads the Wildcats in scoring with two goals and one assist… William Bower also has three points with one goal and two assists… Kevin Klima led the Wildcats in pre-season scoring with one goal and six assists… Eric Leger had a team high four goals in the pre-season… Conor Garland had four goals and 14 assists in nine games against the Sea Dogs last season…. Moncton is missing Garland (Arizona), Jacob Sweeney (New Jersey) and Cameron Askew (New York Rangers) due to NHL rookie camps.

SJ notes: The Sea Dogs have eight players at NHL rookie camps: Jakub Zboril (Boston), Thomas Chabot (Ottawa), Bokondji Imama (Tampa Bay), Mathieu Joseph (Tampa Bay), Spencer Smallman (Carolina), Adam Marsh (Detroit), Nathan Noel (Anaheim) and Jason Bell (Calgary)… Samuel Dove-McFalls, who hasn’t left for Philadelphia yet, wore the ‘C’ last night… Sam Povorozniouk leads Saint John in scoring with two goals and one assist… Daniel Del Paggio also has three points with one goal and two assists... Noel had four goals and eight assists in nine games against the Wildcats last season… this will be the first regular season game for Danny Flynn to coach against his old team.

Out of town:

Blainville-Boisbriand at Sherbrooke - 3:00 PM EDT
Chicoutimi at Québec - 5:00 PM EDT

Next game: The Sea Dogs travel to Sydney to take on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Friday night at 7 p.m.