GAME DAY 11: at Victoriaville

A preview of tonight’s game between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Victoriaville Tigres…

When and where: Tonight at 8 p.m., Colisee Desjardins

TV/Radio/Webcast: TVA Sports/96.1 NewSong FM/QMJHL Live

Records: The Sea Dogs are third in the Maritimes Division and 11^th overall in the QMJHL with a record of 6-4-0-0 for 12 points. The Tigres are third in the East Division and eighth overall with a record of 6-5-1-0 for 13 points.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off an ugly 6-0 home loss to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Saturday. Alex Bishop allowed six goals on 38 shots in the loss. The Tigres are coming off a 7-4 win in Charlottetown on Saturday. Maxime Comtois and Jacob Lapierre each scored twice while singles came from Carl Marois, Anthony Gingras and Bradley Lalonde. James Povall made 39 saves in the win.

2014-15 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 1-0-1-0 against the Tigres last season while Victoriaville went 1-1-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Feb. 18 at Harbour Station where the Tigres defeated the Sea Dogs 4-3 in overtime. Antoine Marcoux, Jake Barter and former Sea Dog Nikita Li had goals for Victoriaville in regulation while Carl Marois scored in OT. Daniel Del Paggio, Nathan Noel and Adam Marsh scored for Saint John. The Dogs chased Olivier Tremblay from the net after he allowed three goals on nine shots. Chase Marchand stopped all 35 shots he faced in relief. Sebastien Auger made 35 saves in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Tigres: None

Random stat/fact: This is the fourth straight game that will see the Tigres face a team from the Maritimes Division. They went 3-0 on an Atlantic road trip last weekend.

SJ notes: Saint John will be without defensemen Luke Green and Jakub Zboril and forward Nathan Noel because of suspensions… defenseman Ian Smallwood and forward Cedric Pare have been called up… defenseman Jason Bell is expected to rejoin the team tomorrow… Daniel Del Paggio and Sam Povorozniouk lead Saint John in scoring with four goals and five assists each for nine points. Their four goals are also a team high… Del Paggio, Povorozniouk, Matthew Highmore and Joe Veleno each have a team high five assists… Saint John has only played 10 games this season, the second fewest in the league… 3-2-0-0 on the road this season… Marc-Antoine Turcotte has a league best .935 SV% and the second best GAA in the Q at 2.30… 5-1-0-0 when scoring first… 1-0-0-0 against East Division teams… Saint John’s power play is operating at a league worst 11.6%... their 85.2% penalty kill is fifth in the league… Mathieu Joseph has goals in three straight road games.

VIC notes: Maxime Comtois, the third overall pick in this year’s QMJHL Entry Draft, has eight goals and six assists for 14 points, which leads the team. He is third overall in rookie scoring and first in rookie goals… Carl Marois leads the team in goals with nine… Samuel Blais has a Tigres high 11 assists… Comtois and Jacob Lapierre are tied for the league lead in rookie power play goal scoring with four… Filip Pyrochta is ninth in defensemen scoring with nine points – all of which are assists… 2-3-1-0 on home ice… 1-3-0-0 when scoring first… 3-0-1-0 against Maritimes Division teams… their 32.1% power play rating is the best in the league… their 80.6% penalty kill rating is eighth in the league… Marois has goals in four straight games… Blais has assists in seven straight games… Blais has points in eight straight matches… Pascal Laberge has points in six straight home games… winners of four straight.

Out of town:

Cape Breton at Moncton - 7:00 PM ADT
Charlottetown at Chicoutimi - 7:00 PM EDT
Gatineau at Rimouski - 7:30 PM EDT
Drummondville at Shawinigan - 7:30 PM EDT
Québec at Val-d'Or - 7:30 PM EDT

Next game: The Sea Dogs continue their Quebec road trip tomorrow when they face the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada at 5 p.m.