GAME DAY 18: vs Foreurs

A preview of tonight’s game between the Val-d’Or Foreurs and Saint John Sea Dogs…

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

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

Records: The Foreurs are second in the West Division and fourth overall in the QMJHL with a 10-6-2-1 record for 23 points. The Sea Dogs are third in the Maritimes Division and 11^th overall with a 9-7-1-0 record for 19 points.

Last games: The Foreurs are coming off a 6-2 loss to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in Sydney last night. Julien Gauthier and Alexis Pepin had goals for Val-d’Or while Etienne Montpetit made 39 saves in the loss. The Sea Dogs are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies last night at Harbour Station. Mathieu Joseph and Jakub Zboril scored for Saint John while Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 30 stops in the loss.

2014-15 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 1-1-0-0 against the Foreurs last season while Val-d’Or went 1-0-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Dec. 13, 2014 at the Air Creebec Centre where the Foreurs downed the Sea Dogs 4-2. Julien Gauthier, Anthony Beauregard, Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Anthony Richard all scored for Val-d’Or while Saint John goals came from Thomas Chabot and Justice Dundas. Etienne Montpetit made 26 saves in the win while Sebastien Auger made 30 in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Foreurs: Jack vanBoekel

Random stat/fact: Mathieu Joseph has five goals and six assists in 11 October games.

V-D notes: Anthony Beauregard leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points. He is sixth in league scoring and third in assists… Anthony Richard and Julien Gauthier each have a team high 13 goals… Alexis Pepin is third in league penalty minutes… Jan Mandat is second in shorthanded points with four… Etienne Montpetit is third in league wins with eight… Mathieu Nadeau is seventh in rookie scoring with 16 points… 5-3-0-1 on the road this season… 3-3-1-0 when scoring first… 0-1-0-0 against Maritimes Division teams… Val-d’Or has the worst penalty kill in the league with a rating of 75.2%... Val-d’Or has the second most shorthanded goals scored with seven… the Foreurs are averaging 3.81 goals per game, fourth most in the league… Gauthier has goals in three straight road games.

SJ notes: Sam Povorozniouk and Matthew Highmore each have a team high 14 points… Adam Marsh leads the team in goals with eight… Highmore’s nine assists are a team high… the team is without Joe Veleno due to the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge… Marc-Antoine Turcotte’s GAA has tumbled to 2.85 (5^th) and SV% to .915 (4^th)… 4-4-0-0 at home this season… 8-2-0-0 when scoring first… 3-2-0-0 against West Division teams… Saint John’s power play is still worst in the league with a rating of 10.7%... losers of three straight.

Out of town:

Shawinigan at Baie-Comeau - 4:00 PM EDT
Gatineau at Chicoutimi - 4:00 PM EDT
Halifax at Rimouski - 4:00 PM EDT
Moncton at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:00 PM ADT

Next game: The Sea Dogs are in Sherbrooke to face the Phoenix on Wednesday night at 8 p.m.