The Saint John Sea Dogs and Shawinigan Cataractes had one of the best rivalries in junior hockey a decade ago, eventually meeting twice at the 2012 Memorial Cup. Saint John got the best of Shawinigan in the round-robin, winning 4-1 in a game that featured a combined 72 penalty minutes.
In the semifinal, it was the Cataractes eliminating the Sea Dogs with a 7-4 win. Shawinigan went on to beat the London Knights in the Memorial Cup final on home ice.
10 years later, it seems only fitting that Shawinigan is the team representing the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League at Saint John's Memorial Cup.
Tonight's game may not have the same level of hate or nastiness that was present in 2012, but it certainly has the potential to be the best of the tournament so far. There's more than just bragging rights on the line as well with, essentially, the winner of this game receiving a bye to Wednesday's championship and the loser forced to play the Hamilton Bulldogs in Monday's semifinal.
Saint John, with four points so far, must win in regulation time to receive the bye. Shawinigan, with six points, only needs a single point to earn the bye.
It's Saturday at the Memorial Cup in Saint John. It's going to be an electric atmosphere. The Sea Dogs are playing the rival Cataractes. This is going to be fun.
Saint John, with four points so far, must win in regulation time to receive the bye. Shawinigan, with six points, only needs a single point to earn the bye.
It's Saturday at the Memorial Cup in Saint John. It's going to be an electric atmosphere. The Sea Dogs are playing the rival Cataractes. This is going to be fun.
Game time is 5 p.m.
Next game: If Saint John wins in regulation today, they advance to Wednesday's championship. If Shawinigan earns a point today, the Sea Dogs will play the Hamilton Bulldogs in Monday's semifinal.
TV/Radio/Webcast: TSN & RDS/93 CFBC/TSN.ca
Capacity/Proof of Vaccination/Masks: 100%/None/Not mandatory
Tournament records: The Sea Dogs are 1-0-1 for four points while the Cataractes are 2-0-0 for six points.
Tournament records: The Sea Dogs are 1-0-1 for four points while the Cataractes are 2-0-0 for six points.
Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday. Raivis Ansons, Josh Lawrence and William Dufour scored for Saint John. Nikolas Hurtubise made 27 saves in the loss. The Cataractes are coming off a 3-2 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs on Thursday. Xavier Bourgault, Mavrik Bourque and Olivier Nadeau scored for Shawinigan. Antoine Coulombe made 38 stops in the win.
Regular season records: The Sea Dogs finished with a record of 47-17-1-3 for 98 points (second Maritimes/third Eastern/third QMJHL) while the Cataractes went 40-24-1-3 for 84 points (second Central/third Western/seventh QMJHL).
Playoff records: The Sea Dogs were 2-3 in the QMJHL playoffs and were eliminated in the first round by the Rimouski Oceanic. The Cataractes went 13-3 en route to a QMJHL championship, defeating Rouyn-Noranda (3-0), Gatineau (3-0), Quebec (3-2) and Charlottetown (4-1).
2021-22 regular season 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.
Memorial Cup all-time head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 1-1-0 against the Cataractes all-time at the Memorial Cup while Shawinigan is 1-1-0 against Saint John.
Last meeting: Nov. 12, 2021 at TD Station where the Sea Dogs defeated the Cataractes 6-3. William Dufour scored a pair of goals for Saint John while singles came from Brady Burns, Ryan Francis, Nathan Drapeau and Josh Lawrence. Xavier Bourgault netted a pair of goals for Shawinigan while Charles Beaudoin added a solo marker. Jonathan Lemieux made 30 saves in the win. Antoine Coulombe was pulled after allowing four goals on 13 shots. Charles-Antoine Lavallee allowed one goal on 15 shots in relief.
Ex-Sea Dogs on the Cataractes: None.
Cataracte to watch: Xavier Bourgault had two goals and an assist in two regular season games against Saint John this year.
Random stat: Tonight's game will feature seven players who were selected in the first-round of the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft.
Notes: William Dufour led Saint John in regular season scoring with 116 points and goals with 56... Josh Lawrence had a team high 70 assists... Ravis Ansons led Saint John in playoff scoring with five points... Ansons leads Saint John in tournament scoring with five points... Ansons and Philippe Daoust each have a team high four assists... Dufour and Ryan Francis each have a team high two goals... Mavrik Bourque led Shawinigan in both playoff scoring with 25 points and assists with 16... Xavier Bourgault and Pierrick Dube each had a team high 12 goals in the playoffs... Bourgault and Bourque each have a team high five points at the Memorial Cup... Bourgault and Olivier Nadeau each have a pair of goals... Bourque has four assists... Shawinigan's power play is operating at 33.3% while Saint John is 0/5 so far... Shawinigan's penalty kill has a rating of 88.9% while Saint John's is 33.3%... if Shawinigan continues their goaltending rotation, Charles-Antoine Lavallee will get the start.
Next game: If Saint John wins in regulation today, they advance to Wednesday's championship. If Shawinigan earns a point today, the Sea Dogs will play the Hamilton Bulldogs in Monday's semifinal.
No comments:
Post a Comment