Saturday, March 25, 2023

Game Day 68: vs Titan

SAINT JOHN - It all comes down to this.

It's the final day of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's regular season - a day that will determine whether the Saint John Sea Dogs make the playoffs or not. The Dogs play their regular season finale this afternoon at 4 p.m. at TD Station against Gordie Dwyer's Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

The Sea Dogs enter play today in a decent spot. They still control their own destiny. A point of any kind this afternoon will guarantee the Sea Dogs a playoff spot. Even if Saint John loses today, they've still got a shot at qualifying, depending on the results of the Huskies/Foreurs and Olympiques/Armada games.
The top-16 teams qualify for the QMJHL's post-season. The Titan have already been eliminated.

TV/Radio/Stream: None/93 CFBC/CHL TV

2022-23 regular season records: The Sea Dogs are 24-37-5-1 for 54 points (fifth Maritimes/ninth Eastern/15th QMJHL) while the Titan are 19-40-5-3 for 46 points (sixth Maritimes/10th Eastern/18th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss in Charlottetown last night. Peter Reynolds, Alex Drover and Danny Akkouche all scored for Saint John. Ventsislav Shingarov made 34 stops in the loss. The Titan are coming off a 5-2 home loss to the Moncton Wildcats last night. Ty Higgins and Markas Samenas scored for Bathurst. Joshua Fleming made 38 stops in the loss.

2022-23 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs are 4-2-2-0 against the Titan this season while Bathurst is 4-4-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: March 12 at the KC Irving Regional Centre where the Titan edged the Sea Dogs 4-3 in overtime. Ty Higgins had a hat trick for Bathurst while Donovan Arsenault also scored. Brady Burns, Alex Drover and Peter Reynolds scored for Saint John. Joshua Fleming made 30 saves in the win. Ventsislav Shingarov made 29 stops in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Titan: None

Titan to watch: Defenseman Ty Higgins, who had a hat trick against Saint John a couple weeks ago, has three goals and nine assists in eight games against Saint John this season.

Random stat: The Titan are just 3-27-1-2 on the road this season. The Bathurst franchise low for road wins in a season is four, set during the 2003-04 season.

Notes: Brady Burns continues to lead Saint John in points (71), goals (33) and assists (38)... Ben Allison leads Bathurst in points (75), goals (32) and assists (43)... Saint John is 13-20-0-0 at home... the Titan have the third worst power play in the league with a rating of 19.5%... Bathurst is averaging 2.90 goals per game, the second fewest in the league... Burns has assists in five straight games... the Titan have lost four straight games overall and 18 straight on the road.

Out of town:
Charlottetown at Halifax - 4:00 PM ADT 
Cape Breton at Moncton - 4:00 PM ADT 
Gatineau at Blainville-Boisbriand - 4:00 PM EDT 
Baie-Comeau at Chicoutimi - 4:00 PM EDT 
Québec at Rimouski - 4:00 PM EDT 
Drummondville at Shawinigan - 4:00 PM EDT 
Rouyn-Noranda at Val-d'Or - 4:00 PM EDT 
Sherbrooke at Victoriaville - 4:00 PM EDT

Next game: If the Sea Dogs qualify for the playoffs, their first game will likely be next Friday in either Gatineau or Sherbrooke.

No comments:

Post a Comment