Game Day 8: at Val-d'Or

VAL-D'OR, Que. - The Saint John Sea Dogs will look to rebound from Thursday's loss tonight against the Val-d'Or Foreurs.

The Sea Dogs dropped the first game of their road trip in Boisbriand, falling 4-1 to the Armada. Peter Reynolds scored Saint John's lone goal.

The team continues their first Quebec road swing of the season tonight, visiting the surprising Foreurs. Val-d'Or has been one of the QMJHL's best teams so far and currently own a 5-1-0-1 record, placing them second in the Western Conference. They've defeated the rival Rouyn-Noranda Huskies three times already.

Game time tonight at the Agnico Eagle Centre is 5 p.m.

TV/Radio/Stream: None/None/CHL TV

2023-24 regular season records: The Sea Dogs are 2-3-1-1 for six points (fifth Maritimes/eighth Eastern/15th QMJHL) while the Foreurs are 5-1-0-1 for 11 points (first West/second Western/fifth QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-1 loss in Boisbriand on Thursday. Peter Reynolds scored Saint John's lone goal while Patrick Leaver made 32 saves in the loss. The Foreurs are coming off a 5-2 win over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Monday. Frederic Potvin, Matthew Bolduc, Nathan Drapeau, Nathan Brisson and Alexandre Guy scored for Val-d'Or. Mathis Lussier made 30 saves in the win.

2023-24 head-to-head: This is the first meeting of the season between the Sea Dogs and Foreurs.

2022-23 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 1-1-0-0 against the Foreurs last season while Val-d'Or went 1-1-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Feb. 1 in Val-d'Or where the Sea Dogs defeated the Foreurs 5-4. Eriks Mateiko had a hat trick for Saint John while singles came from Noah Reinhart and Pavel Simek. Vincent Fredette, David Doucet, Nathan Drapeau and Thomas Larouche scored for Val-d'Or. Ventsislav Shingarov made 32 saves in the win. William Blackburn made 24 stops in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Foreurs: Nathan Drapeau.

Foreurs to watch: Philippe Veilleux, the 11th overall pick in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, leads all rookies in assists with seven. He's still looking for his first QMJHL goal.

Random stat: The Foreurs are a perfect 4-0-0-0 on home ice this season.

Notes: Peter Reynolds leads Saint John in points with 10 and goals with five... Reynolds and Noah Reinhart lead the club in assists with five... Tomas Cibulka leads the Foreurs in scoring with nine points... Alexandre Guy leads the club in goals with four... Cibulka and Philippe Veilleux each have a team high seven assists... Saint John is 2-1-0-0 on the road... Cibulka leads all QMJHL defensemen in scoring... Val-d'Or has the league's second best power play (27%) while Saint John has the worst (9.5%)... Saint John is allowing the most shots against per game (36.70) while Val-d'Or is averaging the second most against (35.69).

Out of town:

Drummondville at Acadie-Bathurst - 4:00 PM ADT 

Moncton at Charlottetown - 7:00 PM ADT 

Baie-Comeau at Sherbrooke - 6:00 PM EDT 

Cape Breton at Rouyn-Noranda - 7:00 PM EDT

Next game: The Sea Dogs finish their road trip with a 5 p.m. contest in Rouyn-Noranda tomorrow.