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

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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

Year	Series	Goals For	Goals Against	Goal Diff.
2008	1st round vs PEI	29	14	15
2010	2nd round vs GAT	24	8	16
2011	1st round vs CAP	26	2	24
2011	3rd round vs LEW	20	12	8
2012	1st round vs CAP	34	8	26
2012	2nd round vs BAC	29	10	19
2012	4th round vs RIM	20	8	12
2017	1st round vs RIM	22	8	14
2017	2nd round vs VAL	20	6	14

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.