Numbers from the first half

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - Will William Dufour make Saint John Sea Dogs history in the second half?

Dufour sits in a tie for second overall in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League scoring with 47 points in 28 games. With the league planning to play its full 68-game schedule, the Sea Dogs have 38 games remaining (fingers crossed) which gives the New York Islanders prospect plenty of time to rack up more points.

The Sea Dogs franchise record for points in a season is 105, which was set by Jonathan Huberdeau in 2010-11. Huberdeau is the only player in team history to record 100 points or more in a single season - but Dufour certainly has a shot at joining him.

Dufour also registered an impressive 22 goals in his first 28 games. The franchise record belongs to Danick Gauthier, who scored 47 in 2011-12.

Here's hoping COVID doesn't impact Dufour's record chase.

Jeremie Poirier, meanwhile, is nearing some franchise history as well.

Here's a quick look at some other noteworthy individual numbers from the pre-Christmas portion of the season.

• 12 of the league's top-20 scorers now play in the Maritimes Division, including five of the top-six. The three leading goal scorers all play in the Maritimes as well.
• New Sea Dog Marshall Lessard had the third best shooting percentage in the league with a rating of 28%.
• Poirier had the league's third most shots while Dufour was fourth.
• Josh Lawrence had the second most faceoff wins.
• New Sea Dogs goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise played the most minutes of any netminder in the league in the first half. Jonathan Lemieux was fifth.
• Hurtubise also led the league in saves. Lemieux was fourth.
• Poirier sits third in defensemen scoring with 32 points. New Sea Dog Vincent Sevigny sits just behind him with 28 points.
• William Villeneuve sits in a tie for first in shorthanded points bu defensemen with two.
• Miguel Tourigny, now with Bathurst, was the only defenseman to record more shots than Poirier.
• Dufour enters the second half on a 16-game point streak. It's the longest streak in the league this season. Dufour also has points in 12 straight road games, which is a league best.
• According to HockeyFights.com, Riley Bezeau led the league in fights with four.

Here's a look at some team statistics. 

• The Sea Dogs begin the second half with a 15-12-0-3 record for 33 points, placing them seventh in the Eastern Conference and 11th overall in the league. They are, however, just three points back of third-place in the conference. It's tight in the middle.
• Saint John didn't have the greatest showing on home ice in the first half, posting a 8-7-0-2 record. They went 7-5-0-1 on the road. 
• The Sea Dogs have a 3-0 record in overtimes and a 1-3 record in shootouts. They are one of just four teams without an overtime loss.
• The team got better at starting games as the first half went along. They scored the first goal in 13 of their 30 games, going 10-2-0-1 in those contests. They had the league's third best winning percentage when scoring first.
• Saint John went 6-8-0-2 against Maritimes Division teams. For a comparison, Charlottetown went 13-4-1-0 and Bathurst 12-5-1-2.
• Speaking of Charlottetown, the Sea Dogs went 1-4-0-0 against the Islanders in the first half. 
• The Sea Dogs went 9-4-0-1 against Quebec-based teams - which included a 4-1-0-1 record against West Division teams.
• Saint John averaged the fourth most goals per game (3.92) and fourth most shots per game (34.03).
• We all know that Saint John's area of focus needs to be on improving defensive play. The team saw gradual improvements throughout the first half. They averaged 3.53 goals against per game (11th best) and 33.27 shots against per game (14th best).
• The Sea Dogs had the 11th best overall penalty kill (77.8%) while also having the best road penalty kill (88%). Their PK at TD Station was 70.1% (15th).
• Saint John scored five shorthanded goals with four of them coming on the road. They allowed just one shorthanded marker.
• The Dogs had a -2 goals differential in first periods. They were +15 in seconds and -2 in thirds.
• Here's an odd one: the Sea Dogs were 7-7-0-2 when outshooting opponents but 8-4-0-1 when being outshot.
• According to HockeyFights.com, Saint John had eight fights in the first half, tying them with Charlottetown and Bathurst for second most in the league. Halifax had a league high nine.