PLAYOFF GAME DAY 1: at Shawinigan

The QMJHL semifinals begin tonight as the Saint John Sea Dogs take on the Shawinigan Cataractes at 8:30 p.m. at Centre Gervais Auto.

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

Series status: This is game one of the best-of-seven semifinal series.

Game 1: Friday, April 22 at 8:30 p.m. – Saint John at Shawinigan

Game 2: Saturday, April 23 at 8 p.m. – Saint John at Shawinigan

Game 3: Tuesday, April 26 at 7 p.m. – Shawinigan at Saint John

Game 4: Wednesday, April 27 at 7 p.m. – Shawinigan at Saint John

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 6-2 game seven win on home ice over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Tuesday night. Nathan Noel scored twice while singles came from Matt Murphy, Daniel Del Paggio, Sam Povorozniouk and Jakub Zboril. Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 29 saves in the victory. The Cataractes are coming off a 6-1 game six win over the Charlottetown Islanders on Sunday in Shawinigan. Dmytro Timashov and Alex Pawelczyk each scored twice while solo markers came from Gabriel Gagne and Anthony Beauvillier. Philippe Cadorette made 29 saves in the win.

2015-16 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 2-0-0-0 against the Cataractes in the regular season while Shawinigan went 0-2-0-0 against Saint John.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Cataractes: None

Player to watch: Goaltender Philippe Cadorette will play in his 72^nd career QMJHL playoff game tonight. He is 46-25 with an impressive 2.76 GAA and .909 SV% in his post-season career.

Three Things to Know

1.The Cataractes are playing in the semifinals for the first time since 2009, where they went on to lose the league final in seven games to Drummondville. The Sea Dogs are returning to semis for the first time since 2012, where they went on to win the President Cup.

2. Sam Povorozniouk is second in playoff scoring with 11 goals and 18 points in 12 games. Shawinigan’s Dmytro Timashov is third in scoring with seven goals and 17 points in 11 games.

3. The Cataractes are averaging 2.41 goals against per game this post-season, the second lowest total in the league behind Rouyn-Noranda’s ridiculous .66.

Out of town:

Moncton at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:30 PM EDT

Next game: The Sea Dogs and Cataractes play game two tomorrow night at 8 p.m. at Centre Gervais Auto.