To hear the combatants talk, one would think both the Saint John Sea Dogs and P.E.I. Rocket were in dire straits while sailing into tonight’s Quebec Major Hockey League matchup at the Civic Centre.
Game time is 7 p.m.
“They’re a solid depth team. They have four lines that can hit, that can score, (that play) a full 60 minutes,” said Rocket forward Ben Duffy following a recent 7-3 loss to Saint John in Charlottetown. “We just let up, stopped competing . . . and you can’t do that against a lineup like that.”
The truth is the Rocket (6-17-2-1) is last overall and last in the Maritimes Division, has lost five straight regular season games and is 2-8 in its last 10 games.
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Who to watch on the Saint John Sea Dogs:
u Zack Phillips, 14 goals, 37 points in 21 games, tied for fourth overall in league scoring.
u Mathieu Corbeil, 15-3, 2.18 goals-against average, .916 save percentage in 18 games.
u Danick Gauthier, 23 goals, 36 points in 24 games, first overall in goals scored.
P.E.I. is also 0-3 against the Dogs this season.
Meanwhile, Saint John (20-6) is first overall and in the Maritimes Division, has nine victories in its last 10 games and has won six straight regular season games, including a gutsy 4-3 win over the 16th overall Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Wednesday in Saint John.
That’s good for most teams, but Sea Dogs defenceman Charles Oliver-Roussel doesn’t see it that way after the defending Memorial Cup champions led Rouyn-Noranda 3-1 in the third period but let the Huskies up off the mat and they would tie the contest 3-3.
Roussel’s power-play goal with just over three minutes remaining proved the game-winner.
“We have to come back strong on the weekend and play hard for 60 minutes,” Roussel told Saint John Telegraph Journal after the game. “We have to learn from (Wednesday’s game). Maybe a better team would have won this game.”
Saint John has battled through injuries to snipers Jonathan Huberdeau (foot) and Stanislav Galiev (wrist) so its depth has been key to its success. Both players will be out tonight.
P.E.I. has shown scrappiness and determination despite its record. The most recent example came at the Civic Centre on Sunday.
Down 6-1 after the first period to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, the Rocket clawed back to a 7-6 deficit before the Titan clinched the game with an empty-net goal and won 8-6.
And in P.E.I.’s 4-3 loss Wednesday, Cape Breton had a 3-1 lead before the Rocket tied it on goals by Matej Beran, who’s ranked 13th among QMJHL skaters by the NHL Central Scouting initial draft-eligible player rankings, and Alex Noël.
But Cape Breton's Logan Shaw sealed the win with a power-play goal 16:31 into the final frame.
Maxime Lagacé, who is ranked fourth among QMJHL goalies in the rankings released Thursday, is 5-15-2-0 with a 4.30 goals against-average and a .882 save percentage. He leads QMJHL goalies in shots (763) and saves (673), and is third in minutes played (1,255).
Saint John goalie Mathieu Corbeil leads the league in wins (15) and shutouts (4), and is tied for first in goals against-average (2.18) and sits second in save percentage (.916).
creid@theguardian.pe.ca
