#1 Halifax vs #13 Gatineau - Round 2 Preview

[reesor]

Same as last round. Not much discussion on here for the other 5 maritime teams, but if you build it....

I know the mentality on here might be that we as Moose fans underestimate what Gatineau can bring. I'll assure you that the more knowledgable fans do not underestimate Gatineau, and know that this series will be tight.

Round 2 Preview

[Insert Schedule when released.  2-3-2 Format]


Well it wasn't a good round for the Maritime teams as 4 of our 5 teams didn't make it out of the first round.  Halifax put Saint John out in 4 games, and is rewarded with a round 2 matchup against one of their arch playoff rivals, the Gatineau Olympiques.  The Olympiques have twice before dashed Halifax's hopes of a President's Cup title.  The Mooseheads came within one game of a President's Cup in 2003 before Max Talbot's Hull Olympiques beat the Moose in Game 7.  Claude Giroux's Gatineau squad ended our rocky 2008 run in the semi-finals in 4 straight.  The Moose beat Gatineau in 5 games in the 2005 quarter-finals.


Regular Season Stats:


Halifax:  58-6-3-1 119 Pts (1st in Maritimes Division, 1st Overall)

Gatineau:  29-34-1-4 63 Pts (5th in Telus West Division, 13th Overall)

Season Series:  Tied 1-1

2012-09-28 - Gatineau 6 @ Halifax 1
2012-11-09 - Halifax 5 @ Gatineau 1


Top Scorers:

Halifax:  Jonathan Drouin (49GP 41G 64A 105Pts), Marty Frk (56GP 39G 45A 84Pts), Darcy Ashley (66GP 26G 52A 78Pts)

Gatineau:  Emile Poirier (65GP 32G 38A 70Pts), Tomas Hyka (49GP 20G 34A 54Pts), Adam Chapman (66GP 19G 35A 54Pts) HM Martin Reway (47GP 22G 28A 50Pts)


Halifax Team Stats: 

GF/Game:  5.10 (1st)
GA/Game:  2.59 (1st)
PP:  27.7% (2nd)
PK:  81.5% (4th)

Gatineau Team Stats:

GF/Game:  3.24 (13th)
GA/Game:  3.88 (13th)
PP:  18.0% (14th)
PK:  77.7% (11th)

Goalies: 

Zach Fucale: 

Wins:  45 (1st)
SO:  2 (T7th)
GAA:  2.35 (2nd)
Sv%:  .909 (T3rd)

Robert Steeves:

Wins:  13 (T17th)
SO:  1 (T14th)
GAA:  3.62 (17th)
Sv%:  .874 (19th)


Gatineau Game Plan:

...whatever they did against Rimouski.  Rimouski was a President's Cup hopeful and Gatineau disposed of them in 5 games.  Taioseach might disagree with me () but I think Groulx is a great coach and he definitely worked his magic against a deep Rimouski team.

Halifax Game Plan:

The 6-1 loss to Gatineau in our home opener might have been the best thing for the Moose.  If there was ever a chance we would take the 13th seed Olympiques lightly, that is gone.  The Herd know what this team can do.  They play a tight-checking game and they cling to star players.  MacKinnon, Drouin and Frk have to be on their game, and not be distracted by this tactic....especially Frk.  We won't be able to take advantage of a tired team, as Gatineau also has 7 days of rest before Game 1.  So we'll have to use our depth to wear them down.  This could be a tight series, and we have to keep our composure even if Gatineau out-plays us for a time.  Make them play the hell out of their top 2 lines.

Ciampini-Boudreau-Ashley will be called upon in this series if our 1st line does get shut down Rimouski-style.  Ryan/Andrews-MacAulay-Fournier did a great job last series, and they'll also have to continue that strong play.  It sounds like we could get Falkenham back for Game 1, which is great news.  He can kill penalties and can keep up with Beauchemin/Andrews on the 4th line.

Our PP has to click.  Gatineau was the heaviest penalized team during the regular season.  If we mind our Ps and Qs and not retaliate after every punch/cross-check/slash, we should get ample powerplay time.

Fucale played well against Saint John, but he'll be tested a little more in this series.  Could be good for him, as we've seen him do better with more shots against.


My Take:

Halifax in 5, with one win in OT.  I think Gatineau may surprise us with a win along the way here.  I definitely respect them for what they did to Rimouski, but it was considered an upset, and Halifax has been more consistent than Rimouski this season. 

I am thrilled that we don't have to talk about "Just getting through a game/series".  We have to play hockey now... there are no freebies or easy games anymore.  Tickets go onsale Wednesday April 3rd @ 10am for Games 1 and 2, and I expect it to be close to a sellout, if not sold out rather quickly.  The Metro Centre will be rocking, and anyone that knows the history between these 2 teams in the playoffs will be anxious to exorcise past demons, and get 4 wins closer to that elusive President's Cup at the same time.

Go Moose!

[porkchop]

I think the difference in Gatineau now and the regular season has been Steeves coming back with something to prove.....his 2.18 GAA and .918 save %, especially against Rimouski is just plain impressive. Gatineau was outshot 158-83 in the series(against these goaltenders). Steeves proved to be the difference. I really can't see Halifax not walking all over this one.......wouldn't surprise me if it were 4 games, but I'm also hoping Steeves can steal a win or two.

[porkchop]

I wonder how much better of a game it would have been last night without that major penalty in the 1st.........That basically gave the Moose all the momentum, and took the wind out of Gatineau's sails. a backbreaker in the 1st period.


It's actually too bad the Q isn't a bit better this year.......we'll never really know if Halifax was that good or not, with the weak crop of teams around this year.

[reesor]

Apr 6, 2013 16:25:32 GMT -4 porkchop said:

I wonder how much better of a game it would have been last night without that major penalty in the 1st.........That basically gave the Moose all the momentum, and took the wind out of Gatineau's sails. a backbreaker in the 1st period.


It's actually too bad the Q isn't a bit better this year.......we'll never really know if Halifax was that good or not, with the weak crop of teams around this year.

Looks weak because the Moose were that good. Naw but I'm not going to sit here and name all the reasons why the Moose are good and the caliber of the rest of the league doesn't matter. It's a trap argument and you're good at those. ;D If they end up making the Memorial Cup, then all bets are off and we'll see what they can do, even though playing 1 game playoffs doesn't really prove much.

Also, we've played the 16th seed and the 13th seed in the playoffs so far. The games in Gatineau will be closer. They're ok at home.

[porkchop]

Apr 7, 2013 16:31:30 GMT -4 reesor said:

Apr 6, 2013 16:25:32 GMT -4 porkchop said:

I wonder how much better of a game it would have been last night without that major penalty in the 1st.........That basically gave the Moose all the momentum, and took the wind out of Gatineau's sails. a backbreaker in the 1st period.


It's actually too bad the Q isn't a bit better this year.......we'll never really know if Halifax was that good or not, with the weak crop of teams around this year.

Looks weak because the Moose were that good. Naw but I'm not going to sit here and name all the reasons why the Moose are good and the caliber of the rest of the league doesn't matter. It's a trap argument and you're good at those. ;D If they end up making the Memorial Cup, then all bets are off and we'll see what they can do, even though playing 1 game playoffs doesn't really prove much.

Also, we've played the 16th seed and the 13th seed in the playoffs so far. The games in Gatineau will be closer. They're ok at home.

The MemCup will show how good they really are........unless the other leagues were really weak this year... ;D

[reesor]

Gatineau played much better last night shutting Halifax down. Steeves has played well all series and he was a big reason for keeping last night's game close. Would like to wrap this up this evening, but it'll be the toughest game of the series to win I think. We now know why Rimouski had such a tough time with Gatineau at the Bob.

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