GAME DAY 55: at Rouyn-Noranda

The Saint John Sea Dogs (36-14-4-0, 76 points, 1^st Maritimes, 2^nd QMJHL) face a big test tonight at 8:30 p.m. when they take on the Huskies (40-9-3-2, 85 points, 2^nd West, 4^th QMJHL) in Rouyn-Noranda.

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

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 3-2 win in Shawinigan on Wednesday night. Adam Marsh, Sam Povorozniouk and Matthew Highmore scored for Saint John while Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 29 saves in the victory. The Huskies are coming off a 5-4 home loss to the rival Val-d’Or Foreurs on Wednesday. Francis Perron scored twice for Rouyn-Noranda while Timo Meier and Jean-Christophe Beaudin added solo markers. Chase Marchand was pulled after allowing four goals on 24 shots. Samuel Harvey made eight saves in relief.

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

Last meeting: Oct. 30 at Harbour Station where the Huskies defeated the Sea Dogs 5-2. Antoine Waked scored two goals for Rouyn-Noranda with Gabriel Fontaine, Martins Dzierkals and Jean-Christophe Beaudin also netting goals. Mathieu Joseph and Jakub Zboril scored for Saint John. Chase Marchand made 30 saves in the win. Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 30 saves in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Huskies: None

Player to watch: Timo Meier, who has 10 goals and 10 assists in 15 games with the Huskies, has registered two goals and four assists in two games against Saint John this year while a member of the Mooseheads.

Three Things to Know

1. Nathan Noel has a 20-game point streak going. Matthew Highmore and Sam Povorozniouk have points in 15 straight games and Mathieu Joseph has points in 10 straight. Meanwhile, Povorozniouk has goals in four straight and Adam Marsh has goals in five straight road games.

2. Jakub Zboril has six assists in his past eight games but has not scored since Jan. 15. His last goal before that was Nov. 4.

3. Francis Perron is second in the QMJHL in scoring with 37 goals and 86 points in 49 games. Perron is third in the league in goals. His 49 assists are the fourth most in the league.

Notes: Saint John has one of the best road records in the league this season at 18-6-2-0… the Huskies have the league’s best home record at 23-2-2-0… Francis Perron is tied for the league lead in shorthanded points with eight… Chase Marchand has the league’s best GAA (2.42) and second best SV% (.911)… Martins Dzierkals is fourth in rookie scoring with 50 points in 45 games… Nikolas Brouillard is second in defensemen scoring with 48 points in 41 games. Matt Murphy is fourth with 42 points in 54 games… the Huskies are 9-0-0-0 against Maritimes Division teams… Rouyn-Noranda has the second best penalty kill in the league with a rating of 83.2%... Perron has points in 10 straight games. He also has points in 25 straight home games… the Sea Dogs are on a four-game winning streak.

Out of town:

Sherbrooke at Acadie-Bathurst - 7:00 PM AST
Drummondville at Victoriaville - 7:00 PM EST
Shawinigan at Baie-Comeau - 7:30 PM EST
Gatineau at Val-d'Or - 7:30 PM EST

Next game: The Sea Dogs’ three-game road trip comes to an end tomorrow when they take on the Foreurs in Val-d’Or at 8 p.m.