CCHL Playoff Preview: Finals by Dick “Dirty Mitts” Puxindeep

Well that was a fast conference final round wasn’t it?  Yours truly, the crown prince of prognostication, has gone 9-1 in the playoffs thus far, and I’m looking to add my tenth victory this round.

The Calgary Chinook defeated the Dayton Musicmen in overtime in a thrilling game seven to move on to face the Reykjavik Puffin in this season’s final battle.

Calgary (52-17-13) vs. Reykjavik (55-20-7)

After a devastating sweep of the Georgetown Millers, the Puffin just continue to roll at the right time; with only one team standing between them and the CCHL’s ultimate prize, the Kehler Cup!  The opposition is the Calgary Chinook, fresh off an electric game seven overtime win against regular season champion Dayton to move onto the final.

It’s a battle between the #13 offense of Calgary versus the best offense in the league.  Conversely, it is also a battle between the 13th ranked defense of Reykjavik versus the second best defense in the league; a defense backstopped by goaltender Carey Price. As great as the Dayton offense was all season, Price and the Chinook are in a much different series than they saw with Dayton. The Puffin offense is dangerous and they play a wide open style that has allowed them to finish first in the Canosa Conference. Price will have to continue to produce at his current .935 save percentage pace or greater in the finals, but the Puffin shooters will have plenty to say about that.

Claude Giroux leads all playoff scoring with 15 points, followed by teammates Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko with 14.  The man playing behind Giroux on the Puffin’s second line, Joe Thornton also checks into the top ten scoring with 13 points of his own.  There is no question the Puffin offense could make this the most difficult series of Carey Price’s CCHL career.
Special teams play could be important in this series, as Calgary must avoid giving the Puffin any opportunities on the power play.

The Puffin are denting the twine at an unbelievable 33% in these playoffs, while killing penalties at 87%.  Despite receiving subpar goaltending from Tuuka Rask, who has a save percentage under .900 and a 3.51 goals against average, the Puffin penalty kill has been very good. On the other hand, Calgary have managed to make it to the final with a struggling power play, entering play with the third worst success rate in the playoffs.  The Chinook power play is only better than Victoria and Seattle, who were both eliminated in the first round.  If the Chinook want to capture the Kehler Cup, the power play must figure out a way to score with some regularity in this series.

Calgary are also struggling on the penalty kill, only killing penalties at an 83.9 success rate.  While that is respectable, it has yet to face a five man group like Reykjavik can throw out there on a power play.  With Subban and Ekman-Larsson anchoring the power play units, you can be sure that Calgary’s penalty killers are going to be tired when coming off the ice; provided they aren’t fishing the puck out of their net first.

In the last round I was completely wrong about Calgary, and I might be wrong about them again in this round. Listen, I respect what they have done, but at some point Price will likely succumb to the Puffin attack. If Price doesn’t falter and Calgary win, it would be one of the best goaltending performances in CCHL history.

It’s hard not to take the Puffin when they can continue to run line after line that can score, with a ton of playoff experience in Giroux and Thornton.  With the majority of play in their end, the Calgary defense will eventually tire out; allowing the Puffin to eventually get past the Chinook in spite of Price’s Herculean effort.  Price can only do so much against the Puffin offense, and will fall short in his bid to lead Calgary to their first CCHL championship.

Prediction:  The Winner and NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWW (said in my best Howard Finkle voice)

CCHL Kehler Cup Champions:  the Reykjavik Puffin!  

Playoff MVP:  Despite losing in the Kehler Cup finals, Carey Price takes home the hardware for playoff MVP.  He did it on the thinnest of margins against Dayton and he’ll keep Calgary close in the finals.

There you have it folks, my Kehler Cup final predictions are complete.  Hope you enjoy the final series of the CCHL playoff season. It’s been a great season and couldn’t have been nearly as great without your collective efforts!

About the author:
Dick “Dirty Mitts” Puxindeep has been a CCHL columnist since December of 2015.  When he’s not watching hockey or eating chicken wings, he can be found at local karaoke competitions performing his world famous rendition of ‘Baby Got Back’.  Dick knows what he knows and won’t stray from that.  Enjoy reading Dick’s semi-regular column here when he posts it.

NORSEMEN AGONIZE NOW, BUT LOOK FORWARD TO FUTURE...

Saint Paul | Minnesota :

Saturday morning at Herb Brooks Olympia was a much more subdued atmosphere than just a mere 48 hours earlier when the Minnesota Norsemen were high off a huge 5-3 win over the Millers and taking it back to Georgetown for a Game 7. Unfortunately, the normally disciplined hockey club was anything but in this all-or-nothing contest and took 8 minors to the Millers 1, and were punished for it on two occasions in what would end up being a 3-1 loss in Kenucky.

"We didn't play our game," acknowledged Norsemen captain, Johnny Boychuk from his stall. "In all faucets of that game, we didn't play ours. We were undisciplined when we need to be at our best in not giving them an advantage. Spending as much time as we did on the penalty kill quite simply took us out of ever setting a tone. Credit Georgetown for taking advantage of the gift we were giving them. Our group was better than this, or our fans deserved much more."

The Captain's words were echoed numerous times throughout the morning as players cleaned out their stalls for an agonizingly long offseason.

"I wish we could get right back out there and right the ship if you will," said defenseman Justin Faulk. "It stings. Still stings. We had so many chances throughout the season to run away with this Conference, and position ourselves better in the postseason. We would have played anyone at any time. But we definitely took it on the chin from the Millers."

What the young rearguard was eluding at was the Norsemen playing within the top two seeds in the Canosa Conference literally all season, and giving up the chance at a first round bye in the last couple of games in the regular season. The Reykjavik Puffin were red hot... scratch that, the Puffin were white hot going into the playoffs. They quickly kicked the back-to-back Kehler Cup champion, Crusaders out of the 1 seat in the end, and with the Norsemen's regular season record vs the Millers, Georgetown quietly assumed their spot at #2. Leaving Minnesota in the 3 spot to take on the Long Island Express in Round 1. A series that ended fast for the Express in a sweep.

"I'd be lying if I said we were oozing with confidence in seeing the Millers in the playoffs," said General Manager Blake Wendt. "They had our number all season (2-4 record), and we knew when they were across from us it was going to be a battle. As a huge proponent of this current conference alignment, this is great for building legitimate rivalries. I'd say we've always considered Copenhagen a rival. When I came into this league in 2007, both our clubs were at very similar transitions in our development. Building through the draft and adding pieces as we continued to get better. Obviously Bruce (Niblett, COP GM) absolutely took it to the next level in winning three Cups in five years. But those early years we were fighting tooth and nail for blue chip prospects. This year we started building another true rivalry with Georgetown. Chris (Kash, GEO GM) had consistently paired up well with us. His group got the upper hand on us in the regular season... and now the postseason. They ended our season. So naturally we want to kick their ass next season."

For some players departing today, a handful have played their last in a Norsemen sweater. Pending UFA Boychuk's status with the team was solidified when Zach Parise was traded at the deadline. The Captain isn't going anywhere. He has been assured by management that his contract will be renewed this offseason.

UFA's on their way out are Matt Cullen, Jay McClement, Maxim Lapierre and Dustin Brown. RFA's not expected to be re-signed are Jordan Schroeder and Robert Bortuzzo. It is also expected that Clarke MacArthur will be released at some point.

"We like the group we have here overall," said Wendt. "Obviously things are fluid right and really anyone is movable. But I don't expect a lot of movement from our lineup. We have some young guys like Jyrki Jokipakka and Mike Reilly that will force competition with our top-6 on defense. So that will be fun when we get to camp."

Minnesota's next major agenda will be the Draft. Currently holding a mere five picks, and highest being late in the first round, expect Wendt to do something about getting more and higher picks.

"I'd say we would like more draft options for sure," said Wendt. "We have a few guys earmarked and where they are slotted to go in the mock drafts out there and our own. Positioning for us in the draft is always the biggest thing for us. We know who we want and do an incredible amount of homework. If we have a high pick and want a couple guys high on our list later and we feel comfortable they will be there, we try our damnedest to move around to get them."

The GM was no comment on plans for the 2016-17 season in terms of the direction of the Norsemen. One would be inclined to believe though that Minnesota likes the taste of the postseason, and isn't going to pass the plate any time soon.

#duNord

2015-16 POST-SEASON RECAP AND PRESS CONFERENCE WITH GM BOBBY NICOL

Niagara Falls (CP) – In what many would consider a successful season, Niagara Falls Thunder GM Bobby Nicol has been here before. 48 wins (double the wins compared to losses), and 106 pts was a solid season surely, but the Thunder continue to hit their proverbial playoff wall. This time, GM Nicol said, he saw it coming for months.

“We had budgeted for a Conference finals birth...and we figured it would be vs Dayton,” GM Nicol said. We didn’t see Calgary coming at first, and then as we were treading water, they were the hottest team in the league. They added some players at the deadline and they became a complete team. I saw them taking us out. I felt our club could go 7 with them and give them a run, but I had that feeling all along,” said Nicol.

“I felt we had our usual well balanced scoring all season long. A total 4 line commitment. We had the deepest blue line we’ve had in years. I felt our top 4 were as good as any team’s, perhaps the best 4 in the league.” I felt our goaltending was also as best as it’s ever been. We had 2 studs in there. In the end, it just didn’t happen for us when it needed to happen,” said a frustrated Nicol.

<<<After a pause, team PR man Mike Gilbert opens to floor to questions>>>

Reporter #1 – Was there a goaltending controversy down the stretch and obviously into the playoffs...and wi... (reporter is cut-off by GM Nicol)

Nicol- There was no controversy, I went with the hot hand at the time, that’s how I work with goalies. Both contributed, both got hot at different times. I went with who I thought gave us the best chance to win on that given night. That’s it.

Reporter #1 – How does that factor into next season?

Nicol- It doesn’t. Next season is a new season, we’ll address our personnel when the time comes.

Reporter #2 – Nick Foligno was clearly your rock, your stud...are you at all concerned about his drop off in the NHL this season and perhaps a big step back in CCHL moving forward?

Nicol- We don’t pay too much attention to that. We know he’s a great player and our co-captain. Whether he’s in for 40 goals or 25 goals, he’s a complete player for us and he’ll play the same role we expect moving forward.

Reporter #3 – With being declared the “winners” of the UFA period this past off-season, and then the impending trades to shed some of that salary...did that disrupt some of the chemistry or make you second guess any of those moves? (both signings and trades)

Nicol- Umm, no, I don’t think any of that played a factor in things as we got going. Perhaps during the first month there may have been some uncertainty, but no, we were fine. We made the moves we needed to make. We signed the players we needed to sign. They all agreed to terms. And under the rules and our budget plans we made trades we needed to make. We got better, we made out well.

Reporter #4 – Have you considered what you will do with your impending FREE AGENTS?

Nicol- That’s something we will do as a collective group. We’ll sit down and go over all that. I’ve briefly looked at it, and some things are obvious, some not...

Reporter #4 – Would you be looking to trade for a UFA re-sign or perhaps keep a guy like Bieksa, who seems to be a personal fave and had a solid season?

Nicol- Ya, Kevin seems to be a guy we have had for a while, and he is one of our leaders as well, so ya, would not rule out re-signing him. I believe Ericsson is the other UFA, and a couple of the guys we picked up at the deadline (who won’t be back).  

Reporter #1 – RFA wise, your thoughts there?

Nicol- We are negotiating a long term contract for Roman Horak...(Nicol smirks as the media scrum sarcastically laughs with him)  In all seriousness, we will address those and look to get our key guys signed. We have what we would call 5 significant RFAs. We will take a look at monies and term for each, and try to get them signed. There could also be trades, but we will take a look and see what makes sense for us.

Reporter #2 – There has to be some concern with payroll moving into next season. Obviously it would be tough to operate like you did this season?

Nicol- Ya, that seems to be a concern for us every season...as far back as I can remember anyway!  We have run a pretty volatile marketplace with our franchise, that’s for sure. We made it out of a big hole back in the day, we operated pretty efficiently considering, and now we are looking at a lot of high priced talent all at once again. Good question, but we know the inside and out of the finances, so we’ll be ok.

Reporter #1 – Does that spell the end for Rinne in Niagara?

Nicol- That’s something we haven’t looked at. We’ll address our goaltending soon enough. Yes, I know I said I went out to get our goalie of the future in Mrazek, and he clearly is that guy right now. He’s having an excellent NHL season as we figured, and it would make sense to start him next season. On the flip side of that, you can’t really have a back-up (or a time share partner for that matter) making almost 8 million a season, with term left as well. So a tough decision will have to be made either way, yes.

Reporter #5 – Were you happy with direction of the league as a whole?

Nicol- YES! (GM Nicol smirked) But seriously, yes, the league is doing well. There is parity, there are teams making money and competing at the same time. It has come a long way in that regard. We have a good group of GMs.

Reporter #3 – Will this team continue with its –in your face- physical style or will you perhaps look to a more finesse structure?

Nicol- We play physical, we always have, we always will. That’s our style, and that’s what were are known for. We are successful, and teams do not like to play us. We like that! I mean, we employ star players who will go out there and hit and fight if they have too. We also are one of the few teams that still employ an enforcer or two. I don’t think anyone predicted Paul Bissonnette would last as long as he did in this league? Tom Sestito? John Scott, our incumbent heavy?  It’s fun and they are the most popular guys on the team and with the fans, so why not?

Reporter #4 – It would seem like you are all in for another run next season?  Is there truth to that or is a rebuild coming soon enough?

Nicol- We are in it to win it next season, for sure. We have made significant investments with a plan of being a top team moving forward, and a top team for the foreseeable future, yes. Rebuild wise, that is something that will come eventually, and we will plan accordingly for that. We have made some good draft choices to start that preparation, but something like that requires a lot of drafting, and we just haven’t been into that as much as other teams right now. When it comes, it comes.

<<<After a pause, team PR man Mike Gilbert informs reporters to hurry up and ask a few finals questions as they need to wrap up>>>

Reporter #6 – Will you trade Toews?

Nicol- No.

Reporter #1 – Any players you targeting in either trade or free agency that you can see?

Nicol- No. We don’t even know who will be available or what would fit right now.

Reporter #2 – Will you have payback in mind for Calgary next season?

Nicol- Yes, for sure. Yipper knows that...he has been down those roads with me for years!!

Reporter #4 – Could we expect any big trades around the draft?

Nicol-  Maybe?  Never know.

Reporter #5 – Captains and assistants remain the same moving forward?

Nicol- Yes. Toews/Foligno...Backes, Bieksa.

Reporter #3 – Were you impressed with your UFA signings considering the money handed out to them surprised many?

Nicol-Yes, overall, we did well, and the results were there. Byfuglien and Daley were great on the back end and Hossa was electric all year on our 1st line. So they were key players for us and will be moving forward to next season.

Reporter #1 – Any retirement announcements or anything like that?

Nicol-  Umm...yeah Salvador is hanging them up. He had a great year for us in part time work. He kind of platooned with Ericsson and we were pleasantly surprised at how well he did. He said he’s done though, and good for him. We have groomed Josh Manson to replace him or most likely both of those guys...I think Cooke is hanging them up, but has not confirmed yet. Horak’s a reserve and he is done. Stanton will move to reserve from what we know now.

Reporter #2 – Plans for you in off-season?

Nicol-  Goin’ to DisneyWorld.  And beer, more beer! (GM Nicol laughs as he collects himself)

<<<Ok that’s it...PR man Mike Gilbert says as GM Nicol exits the podium area>>>

CCHL Playoff Preview: Round 3 Dick “Dirty Mitts” Puxindeep

CCHL Playoff Preview:  Round 3 Dick “Dirty Mitts” Puxindeep


Well that was a fast first round.  Yours truly has gone 8-0 in the playoff prediction pool, and I’m looking for double digits as the CCHL enters the conference final round; otherwise known as the semi-final.

We’ll start in the Canosa Conference where the Reykjavik Puffin just finished handing Copenhagen their first playoff lost since the semi-final in 2013 taking on the upstarts Georgetown Millers.    

Georgetown (52-22-8) vs. Reykjavik (55-20-7)

The Puffin have continued what they had started in the regular season; massive offense with some defensive holes in their game that has goaltender Rask left to fend for himself.
Rask has struggled in round 1 of the playoffs (Reykjavik received a round one bye), with a .871 save percentage during the series against the defending champion Crusaders.

One glance at Rask’s numbers in that round would leave you thinking that the Puffin were about to hit the golf course, but that offense is something else. Tarasenko and Giroux have lit it up with 12 and 10 points respectively, while both Patrick “Don’t call me Evander” Kane and Joe Thornton added nine points each in eliminating Copenhagen.  The lines that don’t light up the lamp were exposed in that series however, with the 3rd and 4th lines sporting minus numbers in the plus minus category illustrating that while Copenhagen had better depth, the top line players for Reykjavik were indeed the best players in that series.

The Georgetown Millers are almost the complete opposite in their seven game series with Minnesota.
Goaltending was the theme of the series for the Millers, with Fleury and Talbot splitting time to hold the Norsemen to just 2.5 goals per game in the series.  Talbot’s performance in relief of Marc-Andre Fleury after just 13 minutes could go down in Georgetown history if this Millers team can go onto something special. Brayden Schenn led the Millers in scoring with seven points, while late season acquisition Eric Staal validated GM Chris Kash’s investment by adding five points of his own.
The key to this series will be the Millers ability to limit the offensive opportunities for the Puffin’s high octane attack.

The Puffin averaged nearly six goals per game against the solid defense of the Crusaders and torched the champs on the power play at an astonishing 34.8% in that series.
Georgetown must find a way to improve upon their 83.3% penalty killing success rate if they hope to make a series out of this, or better yet, just stay out of the box, period.  Georgetown averaged a league low seven minutes in the box in the first round, and this trend must continue into the conference final round.

While I think the Millers run has been amazing this year, it appears that midnight might be quickly approaching for the Millers in the playoff ball. Under normal circumstances, defense beats offense but I just can’t help but think Reykjavik are packing a little too much punch in this series.  I’ll have to take the Puffin to advance to represent the Canosa Conference in the CCHL finals for the Kehler cup.
Prediction:  Reykjavik in 6 games.  

Now we’ll move over to the Corfield Conference and look at the conference finals over in that group.
Calgary (52-17-13) vs. Dayton (65-12-5)

At the risk of repeating myself, we’re once again looking at a series that pits a defensive team against an offensive team, but with a little twist.

Calgary have star goaltender Carey Price in between the pipes and have ridden him to success all season long while making defensive play a focus to success.  Many question where the Chinook would be without Price in their lineup all season long, but Price is about to be tested unlike he has been consistently this season.

The Dayton Musicmen have four of the league’s top ten leading scorers, but have not done it at the expense of their defensive game this season. Dayton led the league in goals against with 132 this season, and have parlayed the tandem of Dubnyk and “Hamburgler” Hammond into an amazing 18 shutouts.  Both Hammond and Dubnyk have goals against averages well under two this season, and their ability to each play at a high level has allowed Dayton GM Bill Corfield to have two fresh goalies all season long. Jason Spezza, Tyler Johnson and Tyler Seguin continued their offensive dominance of the regular season against the three time finalist Fort Erie, combining for 20 points in just four games in the sweep of the Falcons.

Dayton head into this series on top of their defensive game, holding Fort Erie to just four goals in the series victory, while denting the twine 20 times themselves. Calgary must continue to focus on their solid defensive game, and not allow this series to become anything resembling an old fashioned shootout. Sean Monahan led the team with six points while Niederrieter and Henrik Sedin each tallied five points in their victory over Niagara Falls.

Once again in this series, special teams could really be the difference maker as Dayton has a playoff leading 89.5% penalty killing success rate (leading based on the fact they are still playing).  Dayton also are second in the playoffs with a 33.3 success rate on the power play; the Musicmen are flying and did that against a very respectable Falcons’ penalty kill. This is an area that the Chinook will need to avoid, and should focus on trying to keep the game five on five as much as possible. Calgary currently sits last in the playoffs in both power play success (8.7%) and are only killing penalties off at 70%; they simply cannot spend any time in the sin bin against the Musicmen.

Let’s set the record straight:  I believe that Carey Price could make this series really close, however he can’t do it on his own.

Calgary were just 13th in scoring as a team this season and the Musicmen were making sweet offensive waves all year long, finishing second in goals while topping Calgary by 106 goals.

While you never want to under-rate Price, you just can’t help but wonder how many goals the 13th ranked offense can score against the best defensive team in the league. It wasn’t easy but with the lack of true game breaking talent, I’m going to have to go with Dayton to return to the CCHL final on the Corfield side of the bracket.

Prediction:  Dayton in 6 games


There you have it folks, my conference final predictions are complete.  Hope you enjoy the third round of the CCHL’s second season and I’ll be back with my predictions for the CCHL finals as soon as the matchups become available.  


About the author:
Dick “Dirty Mitts” Puxindeep has been a CCHL columnist since December of 2015.  When he’s not watching hockey or eating chicken wings, he can be found at local karaoke competitions performing his world famous rendition of ‘Baby Got Back’.  Dick knows what he knows and won’t stray from that.  Enjoy reading Dick’s semi-regular column here when he posts it.

Victoria Ronin post game press conference...

 VICTORIA PLAN ON MAKING MOVES THIS OFF SEASON...

The Ronin sit quietly in the visiting dressing room after losing in double overtime to the reigning champs. GM and coach Donpaulo walks into the room, throws a garbage can against the wall, kicks it as it rebounds towards him saying “at least I know how to put home a rebound! I thought we had built something special, obviously I was wrong. That was a terrible effort out there and the results are there for all to see. Things are going to change around here. As of right now this team does not warrant having a captain or any alternates. Get used to it boys, tomorrow there will be no holiday, no golf and no bonuses for the lot of ya. We are going to practice tomorrow and any of you who have a problem with that might as well pack your bags right now because the Ronin dont want you around here. Is that crystal clear enough for you ladies ?”

The boss exits the room in a huff, cursing. Then the CFO who had been standing to the side clears his throat, “well it wasn’t the result we had hoped for and honestly we cannot afford to keep you all. Take a good look around the room because there are at least a few faces you are not going to see in a Ronin uniform next season. We all wish things had been different and have instructed Accounting to halt any and all transactions going forward so do not bother trying to cash your checks.”

Later after the presser the following information was announced; 

The Ronin announced Ryan Kesler will not be with the team next season.

Carl Soderberg will most likely be retained instead.

One of Sidney Crosby or and Ryan Suter will also quite likely be gone. 

The future is not certain in nets for this team right now so Either Holtby or Mason will quite likely be playing elsewhere.

Shawn Matthias, Michael Frolik and Mike Green are all on the block. 

Other players will quite likely follow.

Icecats Offseason, including will they try to trade the #5 pick?

Icecats Offseason, including will they try to trade the #5 pick?

The Siberia Icecats have wrapped up their second full season in the CCHL, after having relocated from Murfreesboro.  We caught up with GM Silvio Saouaf at a team executive meeting in Novosibirsk.  Here is what GM Saouaf had to say.

“Well, we are holding our end of season executive meeting where the leadership of the team gathers
together to start to get ready for next season.  Unfortunately, it was another season of missing the
playoffs, but we hope our fans are starting to see glimmers of the bright future that is awaiting this
team.  Our point total this year was higher than it has been in the past 2 seasons and we have some key young players ready to step in next year.  We have guys like Connor McDavid, Nikolaj Ehlers, Sam Bennett, Anthony Duclair, Colton Parayko and Matt Murray who are poised to lead this team to a much brighter future.  We will also have some returning vets who will have a big impact on this team and will be mentors for our youngsters, like Daniel Sedin, Kyle Palmieri, Tyson Barrie, Mika Zibanejad and Ryan Miller.  I am excited about the future of this team.  It has been a long road but there is a bright light at the end of this tunnel.”

When asked about his goals for next year, GM Saouaf did not hesitate to respond.  “We are absolutely shooting to make the playoffs next year.  The rebuilding is done and we will use this draft to help solidify our prospect pool but I will not hesitate to trade draft picks in this upcoming draft to help put the Icecats into a position to contend for a playoff spot.  I may even consider trading the #5 pick in the draft if the right offer comes along.  This is a talented draft and we will get a very talented player at #5, but this player is a few years away from having an impact on this team.  If I can acquire young talent who can step in now, I won’t hesitate to deal the pick”.

This is definitely a shift in direction for GM Saouaf, who has traditionally traded players for draft picks, so it will be interesting to see what transpires this offseason.  The future is bright for the Icecats but this reporter is getting cold here is Siberia, so this reporter is signing off and heading back to warmth!

CCHL Playoff Preview: Round 2 Dick “Dirty Mitts” Puxindeep

CCHL Playoff Preview:  Round 2 Dick “Dirty Mitts” Puxindeep

Well that was a fast first round. Yours truly went 4-0 in predictions for the first round, so my apologies in advance to those teams I’m not picking this time around as I attempt to move to 8-0.
We’ll start in the Canosa Conference where the defending champions find themselves once again in a tough spot to start the second round of this year’s playoffs.  

Copenhagen (53-23-7) vs. Reykjavik (55-20-7)
Copenhagen continue their massive winning streak in the playoffs with their first round victory. They have won seven straight series and haven’t lost a playoff round since 2013 – almost three years ago!
Copenhagen handled a very difficult Victoria Ronin team rather easily in round 1, but didn’t blow the doors off in terms of scoring at all.  Stamkos leads the team in playoff scoring with 6 points, and is the only player averaging a point per game. The Crusaders are going to need Pavel Datsyuk and Anze Kopitar to be at their defensive best against the high flying Puffin in this series.  Shea Weber and Duncan Keith can also expect to see a lot of ice time as the defending champions attempt to tame the highest scoring team in the CCHL. As for the Puffin, the old saying is that defense wins championships but they are trying to change that theory with their offensive talent.  There is no denying that Kane, Tarasenko, Kucherov, Giroux, and Thornton are dominant offensive players, with both Subban and Ekman-Larsson adding huge offense from the defense.  The surprising question mark in this series is Puffin goaltender Rask.  Rask had a rather pedestrian .898 save percentage this season, and his ability to stop the talented offensive players from Copenhagen is a huge key to the series.  Rask can expect a lot of offensive turnovers in front of him and the champs know how to take advantage of opportunity. For Rask, Thornton and Giroux, this series is also an opportunity to avenge their finals loss last season while the trio was in Fort Erie.

While it’s hard to bet against the champions in this battle of offense, nobody has done it better than Reykjavik this year and the Puffin are coming in on a huge winning streak of almost 20 games.  You never want to bet against back-to-back champions, but they also have to lose at some point, right?  I think this is the year, so I’ll take the Puffin in a long, hard-fought series.

Prediction:  Reykjavik in 7 games.  

Minnesota (53-24-5) vs. Georgetown (52-22-8)

Who is this Phil Kessel and where did he come from?  That’s what many hockey fans want to know, because the Kessel with 10 points in six games in round one just hasn’t existed in the past. Every year there is somebody in the playoffs that surprises people, and as much as Kessel did that in round one, I’m not sure anybody expected Vincent Trocheck to post eight points in four games.  Lee and McClement also played extremely well for Minnesota, with six points in the four game series.
The challenge for the Norsemen is to sustain that level of production in round two against a much stronger Millers team from Georgetown. Georgetown received a first round bye, and their success may be one of the biggest surprises of the season.  That statement is not meant as disrespect as we all knew Georgetown would be much improved, but I can’t personally say I saw them finishing second in the Canosa Conference and earning a first round bye. GM Chris Kash did a great job with this team, shoring up a potential weakness in goal by acquiring Marc-Andre Fleury mid-season from Springfield. Corey Perry has once again been great, adding 59 goals on the season in one of his best CCHL seasons ever.  Perry found good chemistry with Nicklas Backstrom and the pair did some serious work on the opposition nets this season.  A few other surprises for Georgetown had to be the play of Eric Staal and his 75 points, to go along with the 65 points that Brayden Schenn chipped in.  Both players were not expected to produce at this level, and are a big part of why the Millers were as good as they were this year. Roman Josi took a huge step in his career this year as well, posing 75 points and was a plus 35 playing against the Canosa Conference’s best on a nightly basis.  There is no telling where the Millers would be without his fine play this season. This series is a tough one to call.  In a lot of ways it could really be decided by a coin flip, however I’m not going to pick a team that way.

Georgetown just seem better positioned to advance.  I like both groups up front, but feel that a group with Josi and Kronwall on the backend trumps that of Faulk and Boychuk.  The goaltending is somewhat equal as well, with both Fleury and Luongo having equal difficulty in the playoffs over the years. It’s a tough call but I like Georgetown just a little bit better in this series, so I’ll take them to advance.

Prediction:  Georgetown in 6 games.  

Now we’ll move over to the Corfield Conference and look at the second round series’ in that group.

Fort Erie (43-32-7) vs. Dayton (65-12-5)

This series pits the rebuilding and surprising Falcons against the defensively solid Musicmen, who are looking to capture their fourth championship since 2003.  The surprising Falcons finished fourth and won a playoff series in a rebuilding year for the franchise and anything that happens beyond this for them will be great for the development of Fort Erie’s young guns like Strome, Nugent-Hopkins, Toffoli and Hamilton. Having said that, they are going to be taken to school by Dayton and scoring goals will be a real challenge in this series for Fort Erie. Dayton gave up a league low 132 goals against this season, and Dayton did it using a goaltending tandem rather than riding one guy to success.  Of course that means that Dayton is going to have to use both Dubnyk and Hammond in every playoff series but in a sense that is a good move; Dayton will always have a fresh guy in goal to deal with the grind of the playoffs. While it’s easy to heap praise on the Musicmen for their defensive prowess, their offense was pretty darn good as well. Dayton boasts four players with over 100 points on the season, with league top scorer Jason Spezza having a career season.  Speaking of career seasons, Tyler Johnson, Joe Pavelski and Tyler Seguin also had career years while the unheralded Tatar had 95 points of his own as well. Dayton holds the advantage in terms of special teams as well, with the best penalty killing group in the league and falling just .1 percent short of being tied for the top power play team.  If this series turns into a special teams’ matchup, Dayton holds the edge there as well. All in all, Dayton will be far too much for the young Falcons to try to handle in this series.

It’ll be a good learning experience for Fort Erie.  While they’ll be in every game, the Musicmen will be just too much to handle for the Falcons this year.

Prediction:  Dayton in 5 games

Niagara Falls (48-24-10) vs. Calgary (52-17-13)

This one is a real toss up for me.  On one hand, I really like Niagara Falls’ team depth and toughness.  If this series were going to go to seven games, I like their chances as their physical play can wear down even the best teams (see their playoff run in 2013). On the other hand, Calgary have the game’s best goaltender in Carey Price.  Price was far and away the best goaltender in the league’s regular season, posting a 1.84 goals against average and amazing .933 save percentage. The potential problem for Calgary in the playoffs as they go on is goal scoring.  This is a team that had 13 ties in the regular season and does not have a player that averaged a point per game in an offensive CCHL league. The 13 ties is indicative of a team that keeps the opposition off of the score board, but don’t quite score enough goals to get them over the hump. With some more goal scoring, this could be a 60 win team this season. Niagara Falls are a veteran group that are very good defensively.  Nick Foligno came out of nowhere this season to post a 104 point effort, while free agent signing Marian (don’t call me Maid Marian) Hossa paid dividends with 84 points of his own. Logan Couture and Jonathan Toews were once again themselves, playing great defensive hockey while posting points in the middle to upper 60’s. The issue in this series that needs to be decided is simply whether or not Niagara Falls can score enough goals to beat Calgary, or Carey Price, in this instance. The Thunder take a lot of penalties due to their physical play, so it will be interesting to see if Calgary can take advantage of these opportunities with their 17th ranked power play (14.1%) in the regular season.  The Thunder must keep this series at five on five as much as possible, while still being physical, if they hope to have enough shots to score on the Price.  They will need to generate offense, but will not be able to do that if they lose focus and lack discipline. Ultimately this series is going to come down to Carey Price and whether or not Niagara Falls can get enough pucks behind him to win the series.
I really like this Niagara Falls team but I’m just not sure that they can score enough goals to win the series.  I don’t think it will be a high scoring series, and a few games could even go to overtime, but Price will be just too much for the Thunder offense in this series.

They say defense wins championships, and while I am not sure Calgary have enough goal scoring to win the Corfield Conference, they have enough to win this series in a low scoring battle.

Prediction:  Calgary in 6 games.

There you have it folks, my second round predictions are complete.  Hope you enjoy the second round of the CCHL’s second season and I’ll be back with my predictions for the conference finals as soon as the matchups become available.  


About the author:
Dick “Dirty Mitts” Puxindeep has been a CCHL columnist since December of 2015.  When he’s not watching hockey or eating chicken wings, he can be found at local karaoke competitions performing his world famous rendition of ‘Baby Got Back’.  Dick knows what he knows and won’t stray from that.  Enjoy reading Dick’s semi-regular column here when he posts it.