GAME DAY 25: at Baie-Comeau

A preview of tonight’s game between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Baie-Comeau Drakkar…

When and where: Tonight at 8:30 p.m., Henry Leonard Centre

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

Records: The Sea Dogs are second in the Maritimes Division and sixth overall in the QMJHL with a record of 14-9-1-0 for 29 points. The Drakkar are sixth in the East Division and 18^th overall with a 3-17-1-0 record for seven points.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday. Sam Povorozniouk, Kyle Ward and Thomas Chabot all scored for Saint John while Alex Bishop made 31 saves in the win. The Drakkar are coming off a 6-2 loss to the Quebec Remparts on Saturday. Vincent Lavoie and Fabrizio Ricci each scored for Baie-Comeau while Evgeny Kiselev made 29 stops in the loss.

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

Last meeting: April 4 at Harbour Station where the Drakkar eliminated the Sea Dogs in Game Five of the first round of the playoffs with a 7-4 victory. Maxime St-Cyr had a hat trick for Baie-Comeau, Jeremy Gregoire had two goals and singles came from Luca Ciampini and Vaclav Karabacek. Nathan Noel had a hat trick for Saint John and Mark Tremaine added a solo marker. Philippe Cadorette made 18 saves in the win while Sebastien Auger made 38 in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Drakkar: None

Random stat/fact: The Drakkar are officially in rebuild mode after several seasons near the top of the QMJHL standings. Their roster features 10 players classified as rookies.

SJ notes: Matthew Highmore leads Saint John in scoring with seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points in 24 games… Sam Povorozniouk leads the team in goals with 10… Highmore’s 15 assists are a team high… Mathieu Joseph and Spencer Smallman are tied for second in the league in shorthanded goals with three… Marc-Antoine Turcotte is second in SV% (.918) and fourth in GAA (2.73)… Saint John is averaging 17.08 penalty minutes per game, the third most in the league… 8-4-1-0 on the road this season… 13-2-0-0 when scoring first… 2-1-0-0 against East Division teams… their 13.2% power play rating is the worst in the league… their 86.2% penalty kill is second best in the league… have won two straight road games… Nathan Noel had five goals and two assists in the five game playoff series between these two last season.

B-C notes: Matt Jones leads the Drakkar in scoring with seven goals and nine assists for 16 points… Jones and Vaclav Karabacek are tied for the team lead in goals with seven… Matthieu Desautels has a team high 11 assists… Samuel Thibault leads the league in minor penalties… Evgeny Kiselev is second in the league in loses with nine… Baie-Comeau, as usual, leads the league in penalty minutes with an average of 19.43 per game… 2-8-0-0 at home… 2-4-0-0 when scoring first… 1-4-1-0 against Maritimes Division teams… their 16.7% power play rating is second worst in the league… their 74% penalty kill rating is worst in the league… averaging 2.14 goals per game, the fewest in the league… averaging 4.89 goals against per game, the most in the league… the Drakkar have lost 10 straight overall and six straight at home.

Out of town:

Moncton at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:00 PM AST
Charlottetown at Cape Breton - 8:00 PM AST
Halifax at Chicoutimi - 7:00 PM EST
Rouyn-Noranda at Québec - 7:00 PM EST
Sherbrooke at Drummondville - 7:30 PM EST
Victoriaville at Rimouski - 7:30 PM EST
Gatineau at Shawinigan - 7:30 PM EST

Next game: The Sea Dogs are in Chicoutimi tomorrow to take on the Sagueneens at 5 p.m.