DOGS JUMP TO #2 IN CHL RANKINGS

The Saint John Sea Dogs are moving on up.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League club jumped over the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks in this week’s edition of the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, making the Sea Dogs the #2 ranked team in the country.

Saint John was ranked third last week, but after a dominating weekend, the team jumped up the list. The Sea Dogs defeated the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 6-3 on Friday night and then wrecked the Halifax Mooseheads 7-1 on Sunday afternoon. Both contests were held at the friendly confines of Harbour Station.

This is the Sea Dogs’ highest ranking of the season since the Canadian Hockey League released their pre-season list where the team was placed second as well. Saint John had been ranked third for the past two weeks.

Other teams from the QMJHL to make the cut were the Quebec Remparts in fourth, the Montreal Juniors in sixth, and the Lewiston MAINEiacs on tenth. The Drummondville Voltigeurs were an honourable mention.

The weekly rankings of the CHL’s Top 10 teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts.

Here are the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings for week 11:

1 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (22-2-0-1)
2 Saint John Sea Dogs (21-3-0-2)
3 Portland Winterhawks (21-5-0-3)
4 Quebec Remparts (21-6-0-2)
5 Saskatoon Blades (19-6-0-1)
6 Montreal Juniors (21-4-2-1)
7 Saginaw Spirit (18-5-3-1)
8 Owen Sound Attack (17-6-0-2)
9 Red Deer Rebels (18-7-1-2)
10 Lewiston MAINEiacs (21-8-0-2)

Honourable Mention:
Kitchener Rangers (17-6-0-1)
Kootenay Ice (18-7-0-2)
Drummondville Voltigeurs (18-8-3-1)

In the Buzzing The Net Dynamic Dozen this week, Saint John was also ranked second.

The Sea Dogs can't do anything about their strength of schedule (57th of 60 CHL teams). All they do is rebuff opponents, usually with extreme prejudice. The 'Dogs only played eight games in November, but won three by five or more, including one over a team in the Dynamic Dozen.

The Sea Dogs will have a good test this week against four strong opponents who are all above the .500 mark. The Sea Dogs head to Bathurst to face the Titan tonight before hosting the Lewiston MAINEiacs and Gatineau Olympiques on the weekend. The team then begins a rare mid-week home-and-home series against the PEI Rocket on Tuesday in Charlottetown.

Photo Credit: David Connell Web Album