GAME DAY 63: at Moncton

After failing to clinch the QMJHL Maritimes Division title on Sunday in Charlottetown, the Saint John Sea Dogs (41-16-5-0, 87 points, 1^st Maritimes, 2^nd QMJHL) get another shot tonight when they face the Moncton Wildcats (34-19-9-1, 78 points, 2^nd Maritimes, 6^th QMJHL) at 7 p.m.

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

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss in Charlottetown on Sunday. Matt Murphy, Daniel Del Paggio and Sam Povorozniouk scored for Saint John. Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 40 saves in the loss. The Wildcats are coming off a 3-2 loss in Charlottetown on Saturday night. Vaclav Karabacek and Manuel Wiederer scored for Moncton. Keven Bouchard made 22 stops in the loss.

2015-16 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 2-4-1-0 against the Wildcats this season while Moncton is 5-2-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Feb. 3 at the Moncton Coliseum where the Sea Dogs defeated the Wildcats 4-1. Daniel Del Paggio scored twice for Saint John while singles came from Nathan Noel and Sam Povorozniouk. Kelly Klima scored Moncton’s lone goal. Marc-Antoine Turcotte allowed one goal on 17 shots before leaving the game with an injury. Alex Bishop made 11 saves in relief. Blade Mann-Dixon made 32 saves in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Wildcats: Goaltender Blade Mann-Dixon and forward Joey Richard.

Player to watch: Conor Garland, who leads the league in scoring with 119 points, has five goals and six assists in six games against Saint John last season.

Three Things to Know

1. This is the first meeting between the Sea Dogs and Wildcats since Will Smith’s collision with Marc-Antoine Turcotte and Daniel Del Paggio’s big hit on Conor Garland. Both Del Paggio and Smith were suspended.

2. Luke Green has been impressive against the Wildcats this season, recording two goals and three assists in seven games.

3. In the race for second-place, the Shawinigan Cataractes host the Rimouski Oceanic tonight. The Sea Dogs are a point ahead of the Cataractes with a game in hand.

Notes: The Sea Dogs are 19-8-3-0 on the road… the Wildcats are 17-9-4-1 at home… Moncton has struggled in the second half of the season and are 4-4-2-0 in their past 10 games… Conor Garland leads the league in assists with 83… Kevin Klima is sixth in rookie scoring with 23 goals and 50 points on 52 games… Matt Murphy is fourth in defensemen scoring with nine goals and 46 points in 62 games… the Dogs are 26-8-4-0 against Maritimes Division teams… Sam Povorozniouk has goals in five straight games while Daniel Del Paggio has scored in three straight… Thomas Chabot has a seven-game point streak going while Mathieu Joseph has registered a point in six straight… Matthew Highmore has assists in four straight.

Out of town:

Val-d'Or at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:00 PM EST
Rimouski at Shawinigan - 7:00 PM EST
Chicoutimi at Sherbrooke - 7:00 PM EST

Next game: The Sea Dogs host the Charlottetown Islanders on Friday at 7:30 p.m.