SN'S SECOND ROUND PREDICTIONS

“What is this playoff hockey you speak of” – a wise man

After an entire week off, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs finally kick off again tonight.

All the Maritime teams were eliminated in the first round with the exception of the regular season champion Saint John Sea Dogs. All eight playoff series were finished within five games with five of them being sweeps.

Despite all the lopsided series, there was still a large upset as the Victoriaville Tigres swept away the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

The quarter-finals should prove to be more entertaining (we hope, anyway).

SN did quite well in the first round, predicting seven-of-the-eight series correctly and predicted the number of games correctly five times.

So, here are SN’s predictions for the second round of the post-season.

Victoriaville Tigres (11) vs Saint John Sea Dogs (1)

Thoughts: The Victoriaville Tigres were the feel good story of the first round as they rolled through the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in four games, creating the only upset of the playoffs so far. Can they keep this momentum going into the second round? No.

The Tigres will probably have a lot of confidence going into this series after the opening round sweep and because they pulled off a win against Saint John earlier this season. But the Sea Dogs are just too good, and shouldn’t have a whole lot of issues with the Tigres.

Bold Prediction: Someone will go blind after looking at the Tigres' yellow jerseys for too long.

Series Prediction: Sea Dogs in four.

Lewiston MAINEiacs (8) vs Montreal Juniors (2)

Thoughts: Lewiston is coming off a five game series win over the Moncton Wildcats. A few games in the series were close and there was a ton of physical stuff.

Montreal had a pretty easy time with the Halifax Mooseheads in the first round, dispatching them in four games. The Juniors shouldn’t have a whole lot of problems in this series, either, especially if the Maineiacs start taking penalties.

Bold Prediction: With the government shutting down, Barack Obama takes in Games Three and Four at the Colisee.

Series Prediction: Juniors in five.

Shawinigan Cataractes (7) vs Quebec Remparts (3)

Thoughts: The 2012 Memorial Cup hosts will have their hands full with the Quebec Remparts. Quebec had an easy time with the Val-d’Or Foreurs in the first round, but will have a more difficult test this round in the Cataractes.

The young Cataractes have a solid team and the capability to win a few games, probably. Blog friend Rick is picking Shawinigan to pull off an upset.

But, we’re going the traditional route and taking Quebec.

Bold Prediction: Nothing.

Series Prediction: Remparts in six.

Gatineau Olympiques (5) vs Drummondville Voltigeurs (4)

Thoughts: This has the makings of an entertaining series. Sean Couturier and the Voltigeurs had the better record during the regular season, but you could easily argue that Philip-Michael Devos and the Olympiques are the better team.

Gatineau battled through a ton of injuries this season and were active at the trade deadline, acquiring the league’s top scorer and MVP candidate in Devos. Drummondville has a strong team again this year, and they’ll have to play solid to beat Gatineau.

Bold Prediction: Sean Couturier throws his MVP award at Devos’ face at some point during the series.

Series Prediction: Olympiques in six.

Photo Credit: QMJHL