GAME DAY 54: at Shawinigan

The Saint John Sea Dogs (35-14-4-0, 74 points, 1^st Maritimes, 3^rd QMJHL) begin a very challenging road trip tonight in Shawinigan. They take on the Cataractes (35-15-4-0, 74 points, 1^st East, 2^nd QMJHL) this evening at 8 p.m.

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

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Sunday at Harbour Station. Samuel Dove-McFalls and Sam Povorozniouk each scored twice while singles came from Mathieu Joseph and Spencer Smallman. Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 15 saves in the win. The Cataractes were upset 2-1 in Quebec City last night. Alexis D’Aoust scored Shawinigan’s lone goal and Philippe Cadorette made 34 stops in the loss.

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

Last meeting: Oct. 3 at Harbour Station where the Sea Dogs defeated the Cataractes 5-2. Adam Marsh, Spencer Smallman, Sam Povorozniouk, Matt Green and Bokondji Imama scored for Saint John while Alexis D’Aoust and Dennis Yan scored for Shawinigan. Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 31 saves in the win. Antoine Samuel made 24 stops in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Cataractes: None

Player to watch: Samuel Girard leads all QMJHL defensemen in scoring with six goals and 53 points in 53 games. His 47 assists lead all Q d-men as well.

Three Things to Know

1. Nathan Noel has points in 19 straight games. On Sunday, Noel recorded four assists in Saint John’s 6-5 comeback victory over Chicoutimi. He has recorded a point in every game since Dec. 17.

2. The Sea Dogs and Cataractes are in a battle for second overall in the QMJHL standings, making tonight’s game a rather big one.

3. These numbers are as of Sunday:

Team records since Jan 1st. Where did Charlottetown come from? pic.twitter.com/m5XL5Le9VP

— QMJHLstats (@qmjhlstats) February 14, 2016

Notes: The Sea Dogs are 17-6-2-0 on the road this season… the Cataractes are 17-8-0-0 at home… Alexis D’Aoust is fifth in the league in scoring with 35 goals and 79 points in 54 games… Mathieu Joseph is tied for the league lead in shorthanded goals with six… Matt Murphy is fourth in defensemen scoring with seven goals and 42 points in 53 games… Shawinigan is 5-4-1-0 against Maritimes Division teams… the Sea Dogs are 7-3-1-0 against East Division teams… the Cats have the third best power play in the league with a rating of 25.8%... Shawinigan’s penalty kill rating of 75% is the third worst in the QMJHL… Mathieu Joseph has goals in four straight games… Matthew Highmore and Sam Povorozniouk have points in 14 straight games… Joseph has points in nine straight… Adam Marsh has goals in four straight road games… the Dogs have won three straight overall and three straight on the road… Shawinigan has won three straight at home.

Out of town:

Blainville-Boisbriand at Moncton - 7:00 PM AST
Gatineau at Drummondville - 7:00 PM EST
Val-d'Or at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:00 PM EST
Victoriaville at Baie-Comeau - 7:30 PM EST

Next game: The Sea Dogs travel to Rouyn-Noranda on Friday to battle the Huskies at 8:30 p.m.