Six Games To Go

With just six games left in their regular season schedules, the Saint John Sea Dogs and Sherbrooke Phoenix are in a battle near the bottom of the standings.

Both teams have clinched a playoff spot - but where they will be seeded is still up in the air. Thanks to a 5-3-1-1 run, Sherbrooke is 15^th with a 19-35-3-5 record for 46 points. Saint John sits 16^th with a 22-39-1-0 record for 45 points.

Let’s be honest here. Saint John and Sherbrooke, unless they pull off an extraordinary upset, probably aren’t going to make it out of the first-round. So although their playoff seeding may not matter all that much, where they finish will have a big impact on the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft in June (unless the Ryan Tesink/Armada thing screws all that up). The team that finishes 16^th will select 3^rd overall and the squad that finished 15^th will draft 4^th.

With that, here’s Saint John’s remaining schedule:

March 6 – vs PEI
March 8 – vs Bathurst
March 10 – at Cape Breton
March 13 – at Moncton
March 15 – at Halifax
March 17 – at PEI

Tough schedule here. Only Cape Breton sits below Saint John in the standings - and they still have two wins in seven games against the Sea Dogs this season.

Here’s Sherbrooke’s remaining schedule:

March 6 – vs Rouyn-Noranda
March 8 – vs Chicoutimi
March 9 – vs Baie-Comeau
March 12 – at Quebec
March 15 – at Rouyn-Noranda
March 16 – at Val-d’Or

Tough schedule here as well. Only Chicoutimi and Val-d’Or sit in the lower half of the standings. The Sagueneens are also the only team on Sherbrooke’s remaining schedule with a below .500 winning percentage.

It should also be noted that if Saint John and Sherbrooke finish in a tie, the first tie-breaker is total wins excluding shootout wins. The second tie-breaker is goal differential. 

Happy scoreboard watching, everyone.