The second-round of the President’s Cup playoffs begin
this evening. After an exciting first-round that featured some upsets, the
quarter-finals look a bit different than what many expected. Here’s who is
playing who (regular season finish in brackets):
Gatineau Olympiques (13) vs Halifax Mooseheads (1)
Victoriaville Tigres (11) vs Baie-Comeau Drakkar (2)
Val-d’Or Foreurs (10) vs Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (3)
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (8) vs Quebec Remparts (5)
Here are some second-round playoff predictions and
thoughts from some solid websites.
- Buzzing The Net’s predictions
- The Chronicle Herald’s predictions
- Jean-Francois Plante’s predictions
- Francois Parenteau’s predictions
And here are some second-round playoff predictions and
thoughts from people who write for a Sea Dogs blog.
Gatineau Olympiques (13) vs Halifax Mooseheads (1)
Halifax steamrolled through the first-round. Gatineau somehow
beat Rimouski in six games. The ‘Piques have magic powers in the playoffs, but
I don’t see them getting past the Moose. Gatineau will probably say a Halifax player
didn’t sign his player card when the series is over or something. Halifax in four.
Victoriaville Tigres (11) vs Baie-Comeau Drakkar (2)
Brandon Whitney was in beast mode in the first-round and
he’ll need to continue to be in this round. Rematch of last year’s first-round
series that saw the Drakkar upset the Tigres. Victo wants some revenge but I
don’t think they’ll get it. Drakkar in five.
Val-d’Or Foreurs (10) vs Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (3)
Ryan Tesink still isn’t ready to play apparently. So…
yeah. Armada in six.
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (8) vs Quebec Remparts (5)
Nothing but respect for the Huskies franchise. This could
be a fun series. Maybe it won’t be. I don’t know. Remparts in six.
Kevin Chambers | @SNCanucklehead
Gatineau Olympiques (13) vs Halifax Mooseheads (1)
The Mooseheads had little trouble with the Sea Dogs in
round #1 while the Olympiques got past the Oceanic in a first round upset. As impressive as it might be that the
Olympiques knocked off the #4 seed this mountain will be too much for them to
overcome. The Olympiques will have to
rely on a stingy defensive trap system to try and contain the Mooseheads' attack ... The Mooseheads just have too much firepower. Take the Mooseheads in 5 games.
Victoriaville Tigres (11) vs Baie Comeau Drakkar (2)
The Tigres upset one of the league favorites in the
Moncton Wildcats in round one and will be relying heavily on the three Philippes
(Halley, Hudon, and Maillet) along with goaltender Brandon Whitney who was
outstanding in round one. Baie Comeau has a much more balanced attack and plenty of goal scoring to go around... They
weren't given to much of a test in the expansion Sherbrooke Phoenix in their first-round. This one has the makings of
being a very good matchup! Going with the Drakkar in this one but in 6 games.
Val-d'Or Foreurs (10) vs Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (3)
The Armada got past the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in 5 games
... The Armada play a very patient game and will be led by Xavier Ouellet and
Samuel Carrier who will be tasked with shutting down some of the top offensive
players from the Foreurs. The Armada are
not as high scoring as some of the other contending teams but play a good
system and will need Etienne Marcoux to play a little better than he did in
round one. Val-d'Or had a very
entertaining series with the PEI Rocket after clinching in a 3OT game on the
Island. Former Screaming Eagle
goaltender Philippe Trudeau had a very good first-round and will have to continue
that in this matchup ... Expect the Foreurs to play Sergeev, Gazzola, and
Gelinas a lot in this series. Will we
see the return of Ryan Tesink? ..... This will be another close one. Armada in 6
games.
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (8) vs Quebec Remparts (5)
The Remparts were given all they could handle with the
Sags in RD1 and will need their goaltending and defense to step up against the
Huskies ... The Remparts will need someone to step up and help Grigorenko
offensively with Nick Sorensen rumoured to be out for this series and should
get quality defense. The Huskies won in five games against the Volts but the series was actually a close one... For the
Huskies to win they will need to play better defensively and continue to get
strong offense from their two import players Sven Andrighetto and Nikita Kucherov
along with Sebastien Dea. Having two rookie
goaltenders could be the difference in this series though ... I'll take the
Remparts in 6 games
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