GAME DAY 35: vs Mooseheads

A preview of tonight’s game between the Halifax Mooseheads and Saint John Sea Dogs…

When and where: Tonight at 7:30 p.m., Harbour Station

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

Records: The Mooseheads are fifth in the Maritimes Division and 16^th overall in the QMJHL with a record of 12-17-4-1 for 29 points. The Sea Dogs are third in the Maritimes and ninth overall with a 19-13-2-0 record for 40 points.

Last games: The Mooseheads are coming off a 4-1 home loss last night to the Moncton Wildcats. Arnaud Durandeau scored Halifax’s lone goal while Kevin Resop made 35 saves in the loss. The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles last night at Harbour Station. Adam Marsh and Mathieu Joseph scored for Saint John while Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 28 saves in the loss.

2015-16 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 2-2-0-0 against the Mooseheads this season while Halifax is 2-1-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Last Friday at Scotiabank Centre where the Mooseheads defeated the Sea Dogs 8-5. Cavan Fitzgerald, Danny Moynihan and Timo Meier each had two goals for Halifax while singles came from Andrew Shewfelt and Maxime Fortier. Saint John had a hat trick from Luke Green and single from Daniel Del Paggio and Matt Murphy. Eric Brassard made 31 saves in the win. Marc-Antoine Turcotte and Alex Bishop combined to allow eight goals on 35 shots.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Mooseheads: Kelly Bent

Random stat/fact: Both Kelly Bent and Bokondji Imama are suspended for this game following the incident from last week’s meeting between the two.

HFX notes: Danny Moynihan leads the Mooseheads in scoring with 23 goals and 41 points in 34 games… Moynihan’s 23 goals are a team high… Timo Meier leads the team in assists with 25… Otto Somppi is 10^th in rookie scoring with three goals and 20 points. He is fourth in rookie assists… Cavan Fitzgerald is seventh in defensemen scoring with 10 goals and 26 points. He is third in d-men goals… 5-9-1-1 on the road this season… 11-7-2-0 when scoring first… 8-8-3-1 against the Maritimes Division… their 16.9% power play is second worst in the league… averaging 2.88 goals per game, fourth fewest in the league… 4-4-2-0 in their last 10 games.

SJ notes: Mathieu Joseph leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 16 goals and 32 points in 30 games… Joseph’s 16 goals lead the team… Matthew Highmore and Matt Murphy each lead the team in assists with 21… Joseph is third in the league in shorthanded goals with four… Marc-Antoine Turcotte is sixth in the league in GAA (2.86) and third in SV% (.910)… Joe Veleno is 11^th in rookie scoring with five goals and 21 points… Matt Murphy is 10^th in defensemen scoring with four goals and 25 points… averaging 17.29 penalty minutes per game, the third most in the league… 8-7-1-0 at home this season… 16-4-0-0 when scoring first… 10-8-1-0 against the Maritimes Division… their 17% power play rating is the third worst in the league… their penalty kill rating of 82.5% is second best in the league.

Out of town:

Acadie-Bathurst at Charlottetown - 7:00 PM AST
Cape Breton at Moncton - 7:00 PM AST
Québec at Blainville-Boisbriand - 7:00 PM EST
Baie-Comeau at Chicoutimi - 7:00 PM EST
Shawinigan at Gatineau - 7:00 PM EST
Sherbrooke at Drummondville - 7:30 PM EST
Victoriaville at Rimouski - 7:30 PM EST
Val-d'Or at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:30 PM EST

Next game: After the Christmas break, the Sea Dogs host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m.