Friday, April 14, 2017

Saint John sweeps: how good was the Dogs' second round?


It's hard to forget Saint John's first round series in both the 2011 and 2012 playoffs.

The dominant first-place Sea Dogs had no trouble at all with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in either of those years. They even started then backup goaltender Mathieu Corbeil for a game in 2011, who posted a 15-save shutout.

The Sea Dogs scored 26 and 34 goals, respectively, in those series. If not for the incredible play of Etienne Montpetit in this year's second round matchup between Saint John and the Val-d'Or Foreurs, it certainly could have gotten as ugly as those Eagles years.

Saint John peppered Montpetit with shots, firing 224 on the goaltender in the four-game series - for an average of 56 per game. The Sea Dogs were kept to just 20 goals in the series, thanks in most part to the play of Montpetit (who allowed 18 of those 20 goals).

At the other end, Callum Booth faced under 20 shots in every game of the series, allowing six goals on 70 shots.

So how does this Sea Dogs series sweep compare to others in the past? Here's a look (ordered by date):

Series sweeps in Sea Dogs history
YearSeriesGoals ForGoals AgainstGoal Diff.
20081st round vs PEI291415
20102nd round vs GAT24816
20111st round vs CAP26224
20113rd round vs LEW20128
20121st round vs CAP34826
20122nd round vs BAC291019
20124th round vs RIM20812
20171st round vs RIM22814
20172nd round vs VAL20614

So, the 20 goals ties for the fewest the Sea Dogs have scored in a playoff series sweep. That's pretty impressive given how many shots Saint John had in each game. Montpetit is a very good goaltender.

(Also, RIP Lewiston Maineiacs).

Interestingly, this is just the second time the Sea Dogs have swept back-to-back playoff series. In 2012, their only loss of the post-season came in the third round against the Chicoutimi Sagueneens -who the Dogs could be facing again this year.

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