First Round Report!

The first round is in the books!

As I predicted, the second-place Victorias defeated the third-place Bulldogs in four games. The Dogs were lucky to win the one game that they did, as their entire team -- aside, perhaps, from Gord Roberts -- really underperformed. The Vics, meanwhile, paced all first-round playoff teams with 3.50 goals per game, 2.00 goals against, and a power play that clicked at a robust 30%. Billy McGimsie, Cyclone Taylor, and Hobey Baker led the team with seven points apiece. 

The other matchup was rather more complicated. The Comets cruised to victories in the first two games, needing just one more triumph to reach the finals. The Thistles, their backs to the wall and without injured star Alf Smith, gutted out a gritty 3-2 road win in Game 3. In Game 4, on home ice, they beat Comets netminder Percy LeSueur on their first two shots on goal and never looked back, tying the series with a 5-4 win. The Comets were now on the brink of the greatest playoff collapse in league history. In the do-or-die Game 5, former Playoff MVP Mike Grant gave the Comets an early lead, but the Thistles simply did not quit. Top center Dan Bain was a real thistle in the Comets' side, and his nine points (5 G, 4 A) in five games led all players in the first round. However, third-period goals by Dick Irvin and Grant (again) put the game out of reach, and the Comets hung on for a 5-3 victory and a date with the Vics in the Creighton Cup Finals. 

What to expect in the best-of-five championship? The Comets have a playoff-best 92.86% penalty kill to help neutralize the Vics' elite power play, but otherwise they're a bit of a mess right now and the defending titlists look superior in just about every respect. The biggest disparity, I think, is in goal; Bowse Hutton is locked in, whereas LeSueur started hot but has turned back into a pumpkin over the last three games. On the positive side, rookie winger Shorty Green, a healthy scratch for the first three games, scored in both Game 4 and Game 5, so he'll get another look in the finals. In any case, the Comets will likely need all the help they can get; they may have finished the regular season in first place (and thus will have home-ice advantage), but all that is ancient history now, so I'm picking the Victorias to win in five games.