GAME DAY 15: vs Wildcats

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

When and where: Tonight at 7 p.m., Harbour Station

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

Records: The Wildcats are first in the Maritimes Division and third overall in the QMJHL with a record of 9-5-1-0 for 19 points. The Sea Dogs are second in the Maritimes and seventh overall with a record of 9-5-0-0 record for 18 points.

Last games: The Wildcats are coming off a 5-2 loss in Halifax on Thursday night. Maximillian Glaessl and Manuel Wiederer scored for the Wildcats while Sebastien Dupre made 31 saves in the loss. The Sea Dogs are coming off an 8-3 win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on home ice on Thursday. Adam Marsh had a hat trick while singles came from Mathieu Joseph, Nathan Noel, Matthew Highmore, Joe Veleno, and Daniel Del Paggio. Alex Bishop made 29 saves in the victory.

2015-16 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 0-1-0-0 against the Wildcats this season while Moncton is 1-0-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Sept. 13 at Harbour Station where the Wildcats edged the Sea Dogs 2-1. Will Smith and Kevin Klima scored for Moncton while Sam Povorozniouk had Saint John’s lone goal. Sebastien Dupre made 27 saves in the win while Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 32 in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Wildcats: None

Random stat/fact: The Wildcats have lost three straight road games.

MON notes: Conor Garland leads the Wildcats in scoring with seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points. He is currently sixth in league scoring… Manuel Wiederer, Kelly Klima, and Stephen Johnson each have eight goals to lead the team… Garland’s 16 assists leads the team and is good for third in the league… Lane Cormier is fourth in the league in penalty minutes… Kevin Klima is fourth in rookie scoring with six goals and 11 assists for 17 points… Kelly Klima is fourth in the league in rookie goals with eight… Adam Holwell is 10^th in defensemen scoring with two goals and nine assists for 11 points… Moncton is averaging 18.40 penalty minutes per game, the third most in the league… 5-3-1-0 on the road this season… 7-2-0-0 when scoring first… 8-3-0-0 against Maritimes Division teams… the Wildcats’ penalty kill rating of 76.5% is fourth worst in the league… averaging 4.31 goals per game, the third most in the league… Garland is on a 10-game point streak. He also has points in seven straight road games.

SJ notes: Sam Povorozniouk leads Saint John in scoring with six goals and seven assists for 13 points… Adam Marsh now leads the team in goals with eight… Matthew Highmore and Joe Veleno each have a team high eight assists… winners of three straight and seven of their last 10… Thomas Chabot is second in the league in shorthanded assists with two… Marc-Antoine Turcotte’s SV% of .924 leads the league while his GAA of 2.53 is third best in the league… Veleno is 13^th in rookie scoring with 10 points… 4-2-0-0 at Harbour Station… 8-2-0-0 when scoring first… 5-3-0-0 against Maritimes Division teams… their power play rating of 10.9% is still worst in the league… their penalty kill rating of 84.9% is fourth best in the league.

Promotion:

It's Hockey Day in Saint John! Sea Dogs vs @monctonwildcats for 1st place in the Maritime Division at 7pm. #GoDogsGo pic.twitter.com/DaX7w0Lui4

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) October 24, 2015

Out of town:

No other games

Next game: The Sea Dogs head to Moncton to battle the Wildcats at 3 p.m. in the second part of this Rivalry Week home-and-home series.