Mooseheads, Wildcats swept away

Acadie-Bathurst Titan

Not many people would have predicted this: the Saint John Sea Dogs scored more goals than the Halifax Mooseheads in the opening round of the QMJHL playoffs.

Saint John scored eight times in their 4-0 series loss to the Drummondville Voltigeurs while the Halifax Mooseheads converted just six times in their stunning 4-0 series loss to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

The Titan showed during the regular season that they knew how to beat the Mooseheads — but to do it in a series sweep in the opening round of the playoffs is really something else. It marks one of the bigger playoff upsets in recent times as 25 points separated the two.

For comparison, Saint John's first round loss to the Rimouski Oceanic in 2022 featured a 23-point difference between the two — but that series was not a sweep and also a best-of-five.

The Mooseheads losing Jake Furlong to injury and not getting Jordan Dumais back are certainly major reasons why their season is now over. The Mooseheads are a deep team — but a team that just didn't get clicking in the second half and routinely played down to opponents.

Former Sea Dogs forward Peter Reynolds, who's junior career is now over, was held pointless in the series. He recorded eight goals and 11 assists in 26 regular season games with Halifax.

Former Sea Dogs assistant coach Jim Midgley, who was in his second stint as Mooseheads head coach, certainly has to be concerned about the future of his job.

For former Sea Dogs head coach Gordie Dwyer, in his second season with the Titan, this has to feel good. Dwyer hasn't had a lot of playoff success behind the bench.

The Titan will face the top-seeded Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the next round. The Drakkar swept the Charlottetown Islanders in the first round.

Bathurst is the lone remaining New Brunswick club with the Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats both swept. The Wildcats had a tough test in the first round by going up against the young, talented and second half powerhouse Chicoutimi Sagueneens — and the Sags made quick work of Moncton, completing a sweep on home ice on Wednesday.

Like the Mooseheads, the Wildcats just didn't have it in the second half of the season. And like the Mooseheads, the future of their coaching staff is very much in question.

Halifax is likely to enter a rebuild but Moncton will be going for it next season. The past couple months certainly showed that the Wildcats will need to make some tweaks if they want to be a contender next season.

The other series that ended in a sweep saw the Victoriaville Tigres eliminate the Shawinigan Cataractes. Elsewhere, the Cape Breton Eagles lead the Rimouski Oceanic 3-1; the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies lead the Gatineau Olympiques 3-1; and the Sherbrooke Phoenix lead the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 3-1.