Swan Valley (34-22-2-4) 74 pts @ Portage (35-17-4-6) 80 pts
Regular Season
Swan Valley Leaders
Points: Myles Stevens (78), Ryan Marshall (76), Chris Reimer (61)
Goals: Marshall (38), Reimer (37), Stevens (27)
Assists: Stevens (51), Marshall/Darcy Riddell (38), Reimer/Carter Selinger (35)
Defenseman Points: Brent Wilson (42), Paul Bonar (39), Cody Straker (23)
- Shelby Gray had 46 points in 43 games. Had he played the full season in Swan, his pace would have left him with 66 points, third on the team.
- My favourite Stampeder stat? Ryan Marshall led the MJHL with 8 short-handed goals. The next highest total was 4.
Portage Leaders
Points: Tyler Moore (74), Cole Brunet (50), Stephane Pattyn (41)
Goals: Moore (30), Shaq Merasty (26), Cole Brunet (20)
Assists: Moore (44), Brunet (30), Pattyn/Zach Tulley (29)
Defenseman Points: Tully (38), Justin Minoletti (28), Kyle Krzyzaniak (20)
- Not the same offensive punch as Swan, but the Terriers are deep, work their tails off, and always seem to play their best hockey this time of year.
Season Series
The wins were split down the middle, and the two teams went to shootouts 3 times, but Portage won the final two meetings, including a convincing 5-0 decision to ensure themselves home ice near the end of the season.
Sept/23 @ SV: 6-3 POR
Oct/23 @ POR: 5-4 (SO) SV
Nov/27 @ SV: 7-6 (SO) SV
Dec/4 @ POR: 2-1 SV
Dec/13 @ SV: 3-2 (SO) POR
Jan/16 @ SV: 4-2 SV
Jan/30 @ POR: 4-3 POR
Feb/13 @ POR: 5-0 POR
- 5 of 8 decided by one goal! Swan's wins were all by 2 goals or less.
Swan Valley's record: 4-3-0-1 (9 pts)
Portage's record: 4-2-0-2 (10 pts)
In Portage: Swan 2-2, Portage 2-1-0-1
In Swan: Swan 2-1-0-1, Portage 2-1-0-1
Head-to-Head numbers:
Swan Valley
Shelby Gray (5g-6a-11p) in 7 GP
Myles Stevens (4g-7a-11p)
Bonar/Marshall/Reimer (6 pts)
Portage
Stephane Pattyn (3g-5a-8p) in 6 GP
Cole Brunet (3g-5a-8p)
Moore/Wiebe/Merasty (5 pts)
Between the Pipes
Swan Valley
#29 Jayme Janzen: 15-17-0-3, 3.33 GAA, .907%
#33 Caden Unger: 9-2-1-2, 2.92 GAA, .903%, 1 SO
As a Stampeder, Janzen went: 10-8-0-2, 3.21 GAA, .906%
Janzen vs POR: (w/ Wayway) 2-2, 3.25, .902
Janzen vs POR: (w/ Swan) 2-1-0-1, 2.45, .913
Unger vs POR: 0-1, 4.00, .833
Portage
#33 Jason Kasdorf: 19-10-2-3, 2.55 GAA, .911%, 2 SO
#1 Jordan Washburn: 10-4-0-1, 2.65 GAA, .904%, 2 SO
Similar numbers, and Kasdorf (17) and Washburn (19) shared most of the minutes down the stretch. Still, I don't think Kasdorf has LOST his starting job, and I wouldn't doubt that's who the Stampeders see.
Kasdorf vs SV: 2-2-0-1, 2.95, .887, 1 SO
Washburn vs SV: 1-0, 1.85, .933
Kasdorf's numbers do dip slightly against Swan, especially the sv%, which was also helped out by his 19-save shutout at the end of the season.
We Meet Again
Maybe my favourite series I've called in 5 years of doing this was when the 4th place Stampeders took the 1st place Terriers to 7 games in the 2007-08 playoffs (play-by-play highlights below). Steph Vigier scored in 2OT in Game 1 on the road, short-handed by the way! Portage won Game 2 in Swan, and Game 3 back at home. Stamps had a convincing win in Game 4 to tie the series. Then, Darcy Riddell appeared to give Swan the series lead back with an overtime goal in Game 5, but it was waved off... and the reasoning was that Terrier goalie Cody Pollon's helmet came off as he tried to make the save. Portage captain Mike Audino scored in 2OT. Vigier struck again in overtime in Game 6, sending the series back to Portage for Game 7. Devin Reinhardt opened the scoring for Swan, but they went on to lose 5-1.
Returning members from that series 2 years ago:Swan (5)F Myles Stevens
F Darcy Riddell
F Chris Reimer
D Cody Straker
D Paul Bonar
Everyone except Bonar were 18 then, and 20 now. Bonar was just 16 and is back as an 18 year old.
Portage (3)
F Tyler Moore
F Phil Letkeman
F Luke MacInnis (didn't dress much, if at all if I remember right)
Stampeders making their playoff debuts (11)
F Ryan Marshall (travelled with the team in 07-08 series)
F Brad McDonald
D Evan Morden
F Connor Pennell
D Dylan Trowell
F Jeff Peel
F Cramer Coulthart
F Jeff Riddell
D Bredan Mitchell
F Terrence Jorgenson
G Caden Unger
**Carter Selinger and Shelby Gray will both play in their first MJHL playoff games, although they are both former Weyburn Red Wings and I'm not positive if/how much they played in the post-season with their former team.
Does Size Matter?
None of the Stampeders' forwards who've been regulars all year are over 6'0" OR 200 lbs (Terrence Jorgenson is 6'2", 220). Portage has EIGHT forwards OVER 6'0", and six who are 200 lbs or more.
Special Teams
Stampeders
Powerplay: 24.2% (3)
vs Portage: 6/39 (15.4%)
Penalty Kill: 78.2% (8)
vs Portage: 30/37 (81.1%)
Terriers
Powerplay: 25.7% (1)
vs Swan: 7/37 (18.9%)
Penalty Kill: 82.3% (3)
vs Swan: 33/39 (84.6%)
Analysis
It'd be easy for the Stampeders to be disappointed they don't have home ice advantage in this series, after watching a 9 point lead slip away and finish 4 points behind Portage. While the Stamps clearly didn't finish like the team they were between November and January (going 19-7-2-3, then 3-5-0-1 in February)... they still would have got 2nd with two more Portage losses. But the Terriers went 11-and-0 to finish the season, and took control of that spot. Like I said, easy to be disappoined, but at the same time, they can put February behind them with a fresh start in the post season, and they can also hope the fresh start will be the Terriers' hot streak is also behind them. Swan Valley and Portage are made up quite differently. Swan scored a few more goals, but gave up 55 more on the season, as the Terriers allowed just 173 goals on the season, just 4 more than the league-leading Dauphin Kings. Stamps' D Paul Bonar had 39 points on the season, 9th best on his team, while that total would have him 4th for the Terriers. As per the "size" stat posted above, in a long series physical play is often a big factor, and the Stamps will have to stay away from the rough stuff and play THEIR game, which is fast-paced and skilled to have success. Coach of the Year Nominee Dwayne Kirkup, in his rookie season will lead the Stamps into Portage tomorrow (FRI) for Game 1, against one of the most decorated active coaches in the league in Blake Spiller, whose Terriers are back-to-back MJHL champs. These teams have played some great games against eachother, and I wouldn't be shocked to see some more of the "overtime magic" we saw two years ago when they met!