Thursday, January 27, 2011

PRE-GAME: Rivalry Cup Game 5 - Saint John Sea Dogs vs Moncton Wildcats

By Station Nation Staff

GAME DAY
WHO: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Moncton Wildcats
WHEN: Tonight, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Moncton Coliseum

VISITING TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 38-5-1-2 (1st in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 4-2 win at Quebec Sunday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (45GP-27G-42A-69Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs come into this evening’s game with a record of 38-5-1-2 which is good for first place in the Maritimes Division and top spot in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Sea Dogs have 12-point lead for first in the division over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan while the Montreal Juniors sit four-points behind Saint John in the overall standings… in this week’s BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, the Sea Dogs were ranked as the top team in the nation for the seventh straight week… Saint John is coming off a 4-2 road victory in Quebec City on Sunday afternoon. Stanislav Galiev, Michael Kirkpatrick, Zack Phillips, and Alexandre Beauregard all scored for the winners who were closing out a three-in-three Quebec road swing. Goaltender Jacob DeSerres made 21 saves in the win over the Remparts… 9-0-1-0 in their last 10-games and have gotten at least a point in 10 straight. They have won three straight – all road victories… for the Sea Dogs, this will be their fourth straight road match. The team opened a three-in-three road trip on Friday in Baie-Comeau, played Chicoutimi on Saturday, and then visited the Remparts on Sunday… Saint John is 17-5-0-1 on the road this season with all of their regulation loses coming on the road. They have outscored their opposition 101-68 away from Harbour Station. They are the only team in the league to have scored over 100 goals on the road this season… the Sea Dogs’ power play is ranked eighth in the league with a rating of 24%. On the road, the team is operating at a league best 28.1%... on the penalty kill, Saint John is ranked sixth with a rating of 80.2%. On the road, the squad is running at 75.6% which is ranked 14th among road team’s penalty kill… the Sea Dogs are averaging the fourth fewest penalty minutes per game in the QMJHL with an average of 12.4… Jonathan Huberdeau continues to lead the Sea Dogs in scoring with 69 points in 45 games this year. His linemate Zack Phillips is a close second with 67 points in 46 games… Phillips leads the team in the goal department with 28 on the year. Huberdeau is second on the team with 27… Huberdeau leads the club in assists with 42 on the year… Phillips is second in the league in power play goals with 13… Mike Thomas is fifth in the league in shorthanded goals with three. 25% on his goals scored this season have been while shorthanded… Phillips is second in the league with seven game winning goals. He scored the winner Sunday against the Remparts… Steven Anthony is tied for the league lead in insurance goals with five… Phillips has gotten an assist in five straight road games while Huberdeau has gotten at least one in five straight… Saint John has won five straight road games.

HOME TEAM: Moncton Wildcats
Record: 25-16-2-4 (3rd in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 5-4 win at PEI Sunday
Leading Scorer: Alex Saulnier (48GP-20G-40A-60Pts)
Notes: The Moncton Wildcats enter action tonight with a record of 25-16-2-4 which is good for third overall in the Maritimes Division and 10th in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Wildcats find themselves basically locked in the third spot in the division as they have a seven-point lead over the fourth place Prince Edward Island Rocket and are 11 points back of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for the second spot in the Maritime grouping… Moncton is coming off a bizarre 5-4 road victory in Charlottetown against the Rocket on Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats had a 2-0 lead before the Rocket stormed back to take a 4-2 advantage. But the Wildcats would score three straight third period goals to earn the road win. Allain Saulnier scored a hat trick while singles came from Alex Saulnier and Devon MacAusland. Steve Gleeson made 36 saves in net for the win… 5-3-1-1 in their last 10 games and have won two straight… the Wildcats are 11-7-2-3 at home this year and have been outscored 85-83 on their home ice… Moncton has the sixth best power play in the league with a rating of 25.8%. At the Moncton Coliseum, they are operating at the same 25.8%... on the penalty kill side, Moncton is running at 79.9%. At home, their PK is working a percentage of 79.4%... the ‘Cats are averaging the eighth most penalty minutes per game with an average of 15… Alex Saulnier continues to lead Moncton in the points department with 60 in 48 games. His twin brother Allain is a close second with 57 points… Allain Saulnier leads the Wildcats in goals with 24 on the year… Alex Saulnier leads the club in assists with 40 this season… Alex Saulnier is also a team best +6 on the year… Tyler Howe has a team high 79 penalty minutes in 36 games played… goaltender Shane Owen was released by the team a few weeks ago, handing the ranks over to Steve Gleeson. Gleeson has a record of 10-2-2-1, a goals against average of 3.14, and a save percentage of 0.899… Alex Saulnier sits fifth in the league in power play assists with 19. Marek Hrivik is sixth with 18 man advantage helpers… Allain Saulnier is tied with Saint John’s Zack Phillips for second place in the league in power play goals with 13 on the year… Brandon Gormley is tied for the league lead in shootout winning goals scored by a defenseman with one… 21-5-0-1 when scoring the opening goal… Moncton allows the most shots against per game with an average of 33.69 against.

RIVALRY CUP
This is Game Five of the 2010-11 Brunswick News Rivalry Cup. Saint John has a commanding 16-5 lead in the season long series.

Here is this year’s point system:

(1) Head-to-head on-ice results: Three (3) points awarded to a team for a regulation win, two (2) points awarded for an overtime/shootout victory, and one (1) point awarded for an overtime/shootout loss.

(2) Head-to-head attendance figure (per game): Three (3) points awarded for 6,000 fans, two (2) points for 5,000 fans, and one (1) point for 4,000 fans.

(3) EA Sports NHL 11 Fan/Player Video Game Challenge: Saint John and Moncton will each select one fan to participate in an online video game series (best two-out-of-three) using the virtual versions of the Sea Dogs and Wildcats. The winning fan will collect five (5) points for his team/city. In addition, the Sea Dogs and Wildcats will select one player from their current roster to compete in a single-game competition, with the winner set to earn three (3) points for his side. More details regarding this portion of the challenge will be announced at a later date.
Promotions tonight:
  • A special for tonight’s game allows adults to buy two tickets and get two student's or children's (12 and under) tickets free of charge.
  • The Wildcats will also honour their 2001-02 team and introduce their 10th all-time fan favourite player.
  • You could win free pizza for a year from Pizza Delight. Unreal.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
They're the No. 1 ranked team in the country and they have been in first place (in the QMJHL) virtually since the first week. They have a lot of skill and a lot of depth, so we have to play a sound two-way game against them," Wildcats head coach Danny Flynn said of the Sea Dogs to the Times &Transcript today yesterday.

"We've played well in spurts against them, but we have to play well for a full 60 minutes. They're very dangerous offensively and they have good depth, so we need a full 60 minutes and we need everybody going."

NOTES
  • According to yesterday's Times & Transcript, Forward Olivier D'Aoust (broken hand) is questionable for tonight while forward Daniel Pettersson (broken wrist) remains out of the lineup.
  • This game was scheduled to be played yesterday but was postponed due to snow or whatever.
  • The Sea Dogs have won all four meetings between these two teams so far this season including both games at the Moncton Coliseum.
  • After this game, the Dogs do not play on the road again until February 4 when, once again, they travel to Moncton for what will be the last meeting between the two at the Coliseum in the regular season.
ARENA INFO
Venue: Moncton Coliseum
Seating Capacity: 6,803
Average Attendance: 4,391
Year Built: 1973
QMJHL Arena Guide


MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Live Blog: Station Nation
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, L’Acadie Nouvelle, Times & Transcript, Telegraph-Journal

TWITTER
Follow Station Nation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/station_nation for in-game updates, scores, stats, and live coverage during tonight’s game.

AFTER THE BUZZER
The Sea Dogs host the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the first part of a doubleheader tomorrow night at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.

No comments:

Post a Comment