GAME DAY 31: at Moncton

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

When and where: Tonight at 7 p.m., Moncton Coliseum

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

Records: The Sea Dogs are third in the Maritimes Division and ninth overall in the QMJHL standings with a 17-11-2-0 record for 36 points. The Wildcats are first in the Maritimes and second overall with a record of 20-9-4-0 for 44 points.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 victory over the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday night at Harbour Station. Matthew Highmore, Dawson Theede, Sam Povorozniouk and Spencer Smallman all scored for the Dogs while Alex Bishop made 31 saves in the win. The Wildcats are coming off a 6-5 overtime loss to the Val-d’Or Foreurs on home ice on Sunday. Kelly Klima had a hat trick while singles came from Austin Kosack and Kevin Klima. Blade Mann-Dixon made 33 saves in the loss.

2015-16 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 0-4-1-0 against the Wildcats this season while Moncton is 5-0-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: This past Friday at Harbour Station where the Wildcats scored three unanswered third period power play goals to defeat the Sea Dogs 4-3. Conor Garland and Cameron Askew each had two goals for Moncton while Blade Mann-Dixon made 29 saves in the win. Nathan Noel, Adam Marsh and Mathieu Joseph all scored for Saint John while Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 24 saves in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Wildcats: Blade Mann-Dixon

Random stat/fact: In eight games with Wildcats this season, Blade Mann-Dixon has a 4-3 record to go along with a 3.33 GAA and .898 SV%.

SJ notes: Matthew Highmore leads Saint John in scoring with eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points in 30 games… Sam Povorozniouk leads the Dogs in goals with 14… Highmore has a team high 17 assists… Marc-Antoine Turcotte’s 2.83 GAA is seventh best in the league while his SV% of .912 is third best… Joe Veleno is 12^th in rookie scoring with four goals and 18 points… Thomas Chabot is 13^th in defensemen scoring with seven goals and 20 points… the Sea Dogs are averaging 16.47 penalty minutes per game, the third most in the league… 9-5-1-0 on the road this season… 14-4-0-0 when scoring first… 8-6-1-0 against Maritimes Division teams… their 15% power play rating is the worst in the league… their 83.1% penalty kill rating is second best in the league.

MON notes: Conor Garland leads the Wildcats and the league in scoring with 19 goals and 50 assists for 69 points in just 29 games… Garland’s 19 goals are a team high… his 50 assists lead the league… Kevin Klima is second in rookie scoring with 38 points while Kelly Klima is fourth with 30 points… Adam Holwell is seventh in defensemen scoring with four goals and 24 points… averaging 15.70 penalty minutes per game, the fifth most in the league… 9-4-2-0 at home… 16-5-2-0 when scoring first… 15-5-2-0 against Maritimes Division teams… averaging 4.34 goals per game, the third most in the league… Garland has points in 28 straight games and assists in 17 straight… Manuel Wiederer has points in 14 straight games.

Out of town: No other games today.

Next game: The Sea Dogs are in Halifax on Friday night to battle the Mooseheads at 7 p.m.