We are on the eve of the 2009-2010 Playoff season and some familiar battles will be fought, and new histories will be written. So here is a statistical breakdown, series by series of the first round matchups of 2010 and the stories and statistics behind them.
West Division Semi Final - (1)Clare Lions 45 Points VS (4)Valley Fuelers 5 Points
Season Series: 5-0 Clare Lions
Special Teams:
Clare Lions PP - 24% PK-86%
Valley Fuelers PP - 6.5% PK 67.3%
The Valley Fuelers clearly have a mountain to climb in their first round series. With 4 scorers in the leagues top 10 the Lions are an offensive powerhouse. Second in league offence and 3rd in defence, they present a large challenge for a Valley team that has struggled at both ends of the rink this season. Their success will hinge largely on goaltending. Chris Hersey has been a force for Valley all season facing a league high 45 shots per game on average and doing it with an impressive .852 save percentage. Valley will look to Tyler Robertson and Eric Cook who provided the most offence against Clare this season, while the Lions Jacques Lombard and Marc MacIntosh led the way for Clare this season against the Fuelers. Game 1 goes this Friday, February 12, at 8:00 PM in Clare.
Central Division Semi Final - (1)Eastern Shore 48 Points VS (4)New Waterford 21 Points
Season Series: 4-0 Eastern Shore
Special Teams:
Eastern Shore PP - 37.6% PK-91.5%
New Waterford PP - 8.5% PK 78.9%
This is a rematch of last years Central Division Semi Final which saw the heavily favoured Mariners (then Harbour Crunch) get upset in 5 games. The Jets will have to find a way to contain the leagues two leading scorers in Ryan Morris and Kyle Miller to win this series. Morris had a whopping 20 points in 4 games against the Jets while Miller had 13 points in those games. The Jets will look to Shane Aucoin and Matt MacLeod who led the team this year in games against Eastern Shore to provide offence. The Jets will also face the leagues top power play and penalty kill as well as the leagues best defensive record behind the goaltending duo of Justin Mitchell and Chris Banfield. The Jets however are known around the league as a team that is always tough to play. Physical play will be a factor in this series as well. Game one will be Saturday February 13 at 7:00 PM in Musquodoboit.
West Division Semi Final - (2)Barrington 42 Points VS (3)Yarmouth 26 Points
Season Series : 3-1 Barrington
Special Teams:
Barrington PP - 21.4% PK-81%
Yarmouth PP - 20.9% PK 87.1%
The Barrington Ice Dogs are the defending league champions and known playoff performers. This rivalry however extends past the life of this league though and back into the old West Nova League. As such a series between Yarmouth and Barrington can be explosive and hard to predict. This season the numbers are close. Barrington won the season series 3-1 but the last two games were close and a split. Both teams were good on both their power plays and penalty kills. Yarmouth will have to overcome the experience of the league champions to have a shot at the series. Dustin Goreham and Kyle Dillman were offensive leaders for the Ice Dogs in last years playoffs. Yarmouth will look to Brandon Goudey and Alex Dennis who led them this season. Look for this series to be the most physical of the first round. Game one will be Friday February 12 at 9:30 PM in Yarmouth.
Central Division Semi Final - (2)Chester 44 Points VS (3)Avon 33 Points
Season Series: Tied At 2 Wins Each
Special Teams:
Chester PP - 17% PK-85.7%
Avon PP - 12.6% PK 84.3%
Despite an 11 point difference in the standings, this is the closest series on paper in the first round. The teams each won twice in four games. Three of the games were one goal games and one was won in overtime by the Clippers. Both teams had similar special teams numbers as well. While this is the first post season appearence for the Clippers, it is not so for a number of their players, who faced these same Avon River Rats as members of the Halifax Thunder. The Clippers will have to contend with last years playoff MVP Tyler Whynot who had another strong season and was 2-1 against the Clippers this year with a 2.65 GAA. Chester has the tandem of Tim Puddifant and Ben Bailey who both have had strong seasons as well. Chester will look to David Conroy and Matt MacDonald who led them in offense against the Rats this season and the Rats will look for Brandyn Ross, John Daniels and Donnie Rogers who led them against Chester. Game one goes Saturday February 13 at 7:40 PM in Chester.
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