ATD #9 Bob Cole Quarterfinal: #4 Quebec Nordiques vs. #5 St. Catharines Teepees

Quebec Nordiques
Coach : Jacques Demers

Dickie Moore - Joe Primeau - Dino Ciccarelli
Bernie Nicholls - Adam Oates - Mark Recchi
Johnny Gottselig - Bob Bourne - Gary Dornhoefer
Don Maloney - Bob Gracie - Ron Duguay
Dave Brown , Marty Walsh

Bobby Orr - Craig Ludwig
Nikolai Sologubov - Ted Green
Bucko McDonald - Normand Rocherfort
Tomas Jonnson

Chuck Gardiner
Alex Conell

PP#1
???

PP#2
???

PK#1
???

PK#2
???



The St. Catharines Teepees
Coach: Al Arbour
Captain: Dave Keon
Alternates: Kevin Lowe, Darryl Sittler, Kris Draper

#11 Sweeney Schriner - #27 Darryl Sittler (A) - #10 Bill Mosienko
#19 Markus Naslund - #14 Dave Keon (C) - #17 Mike Foligno
#20 Bob Pulford - #33 Kris Draper (A) - #41! Rene Robert
Gordon Roberts - Frank Fredrickson - Paul MacLean
Dan Bain, Clint Smith

#7 Paul Coffey - #4 Kevin Lowe (A)
#3 Lionel Conacher - #5 Lennart Svedberg
Harry Mummery - Bert Corbeau
Doug Bodger

#1 Terry Sawchuk
Riley Hern

Power play units:
PP1: Markus Naslund - Darryl Sittler - Bill Mosienko - Paul Coffey - Lennart Svedberg
PP2: Sweeney Schriner - Frank Fredrickson - Mike Foligno - Lionel Conacher - Rene Robert

Penalty killing units:
PK1: Bob Pulford - Dave Keon - Lionel Conacher - Kevin Lowe
PK2: Mike Foligno - Kris Draper - Harry Mummery - Bert Corbeau

Some small changes in the Nordiques line-up.

Moore - Oates - Ciccarelli
Nicholls - Primeau - Recchi
Gottselig - Bourne - Dornhoefer
Maloney - Gracie - Duguay
Brown,Walsh

Orr - Green
Sologubov - Ludwig
McDonald - Rocherfort
Jonsson

Gardiner
Connell

PP #1

Moore - Oates - Ciccarelli
Orr - Green

PP #2

Nicholls - Primeau - Recchi
Sologubov - McDonald

PK #1

Gottselig - Primeau
Orr - McDonald

PK #2

Bourne - Dornhoefer
Sologubov - Ludwig

Some detail about the match-up later.

By the way , I volunteer to do some write-ups for the playoffs.

first off, congrats to jungosi for building a solid team.

this looks like it should be a great series, with two even teams.

i'll post more later but, at first glance, i find the orr vs. coffey match-up very intriguing.

this series will see arguably the two best offensive defenceman and, the two best skating defenceman in the history of the game. though orr has a definite advantage over coffey (in my opinion, orr is the best player ever) i can't help but think that his skating advantage, which he would have over any other defenceman, is quite reduced having to square-off against coffey (and, to a lesser extent, svedberg). it will be interesting to see how this match-up develops.

I think Orr has no skating advantage whatsoever over Coffey. His edge is in his defensive play, physicality, and (slightly) better offensive vision. Coffey may have actually been the faster, better skater but he's inferior to Orr in just about every other aspect of the game.

First off I also want to congratulate you for making 5th seed in a tough division.

I'm gonna play the advantage-disadvante game ;)

Goaltending

You have the better starter by a not too big margin. Gardiners peak was short but phenomenal while Sawchuk was consistently great for a long time. My back-up is legitimate starter so the Nordiques definetly have the advantage in this department. But back-ups play little role in the playoffs so I have to give you a small advantage here.

Advantage : Tapees by a small margin

Defense

My first pairing is better then yours in terms of defence while offensively there isn't too much difference between Orr and Coffey. Your second pairing has an advantage with Conacher who is a nodge over Sologubov. I question Svedbergs toughness and as I know he sometimes had defensive lapses. Ludwig is a big safer in this department but is practicly a non-factor no the rush. Both third pairings are solid but spectecular.

Advantage : Pretty even but it might the Nordiques.

Offense

Both teams have the best rushing defensemen ever. Both first lines basicly have 4 forwards what could be awesome to watch.In terms of forwards my first line is ther though. Moore beats Schriner , Oates and Sittler are a toss-up and not unsimilar in what they archieved. Ciccarelli should have some great chemistry with Oates and Orr and that is what makes him better than Mosienko. He also was a strong playoff performer. Quebec also has a small advantage on the second line. Primeau had a great peak , while Keon is superior defensively a was an awesome playoff performer. Offensively they are about even I guess but Keon is the better center overall. Nicholls and Naslund are even in my opinion. Naslund is a better goal scorer but lacks of Bernie's grit and playoff strenght. Recchi is a way better producer and playoff performer then his counterpart. Foligno is tougher though. Quebec's third line gives some strong playoff two-way play and can score some goals. The Tapees line is more defensively oriented. Your fourth line is nice asssembled with some early scoring star. Roberts is a absolutely deserving ATD-Player. They have a little advantage over my Jeans-Line.

Overall I'd say advantage : Quebec

more later.

Two teams I liked, and two teams that I ranked higher than their finish (and I'll say it (again?), the Nordiques were my 2nd favorite team in this draft). Definitely one of the most interesting series.

First off I also want to congratulate you for making 5th seed in a tough division.

I'm gonna play the advantage-disadvante game ;)

i'll post some more later, but here are my initial thoughts on the matchup.

Goaltending

You have the better starter by a not too big margin. Gardiners peak was short but phenomenal while Sawchuk was consistently great for a long time. My back-up is legitimate starter so the Nordiques definetly have the advantage in this department. But back-ups play little role in the playoffs so I have to give you a small advantage here.

Advantage : Tapees by a small margin

i agree with your analysis here. gardiner's peak was certainly phenomenal, but sawchuk was consistently good throughout his career. since we have ventured into the post-season now, sawchuk's four stanley cups, and playoff stats, gives him the edge over gardiner.
here are the stats from their best playoff season...
gardiner: 6 wins, 1 loss, 2 shutouts, 1.43 gaa (29 years old)
sawchuk: 8 wins, 0 losses, 4 shutouts, 0.62 gaa (22 years old)

with regards to back-ups - both sawchuk and gardiner are warriors so, back-ups will ride the pine all series. however, they are both pretty close - connell was great, but hern won 4 stanley cups (which is great for a back-up).

advantage: st. catharines

Defense

My first pairing is better then yours in terms of defence while offensively there isn't too much difference between Orr and Coffey. Your second pairing has an advantage with Conacher who is a nodge over Sologubov. I question Svedbergs toughness and as I know he sometimes had defensive lapses. Ludwig is a big safer in this department but is practicly a non-factor no the rush. Both third pairings are solid but spectecular.

Advantage : Pretty even but it might the Nordiques.

i agree - the defence is pretty close between both teams. bobby orr is without a doubt the best of the bunch but, as i mentioned earlier, both coffey and svedberg have the ability to skate with orr (coffey may arguably be the best skater in this series). offensively, orr and coffey are close but, orr is certainly better defensively. the teepees fully expect lowe to act as defensive presence for coffey (allowing coffey to play the game according to his abilities). so, quebec has a slight edge in first pairing defense.

second pairing - i give the edge to st. catharines. svedberg (euro-coffey) is easily the third best skating defenseman in the series. i agree with your assessment that he lacks the toughness and size but, thats where "big train" conacher comes in handy. similar to lowe, conacher will compliment svedbergs play, allowing him to play the game based on his abilities. ludwig is great defensively, and, from what i've read, sologubov is a fantastic defenseman but, i still give st.catharines the edge.

third pairing - once again, at first glance, give the edge to st.catharines. mummery and corbeau provide a huge physical presence on the blueline, which will be pounding the nordiques all series.

overall advantage - even (though i'm leaning towards st.catharines - however, it's tough to argue against an orr-lead blueline)

Offense

Both teams have the best rushing defensemen ever. Both first lines basicly have 4 forwards what could be awesome to watch.In terms of forwards my first line is ther though. Moore beats Schriner , Oates and Sittler are a toss-up and not unsimilar in what they archieved. Ciccarelli should have some great chemistry with Oates and Orr and that is what makes him better than Mosienko. He also was a strong playoff performer. Quebec also has a small advantage on the second line. Primeau had a great peak , while Keon is superior defensively a was an awesome playoff performer. Offensively they are about even I guess but Keon is the better center overall. Nicholls and Naslund are even in my opinion. Naslund is a better goal scorer but lacks of Bernie's grit and playoff strenght. Recchi is a way better producer and playoff performer then his counterpart. Foligno is tougher though. Quebec's third line gives some strong playoff two-way play and can score some goals. The Tapees line is more defensively oriented. Your fourth line is nice asssembled with some early scoring star. Roberts is a absolutely deserving ATD-Player. They have a little advantage over my Jeans-Line.

Overall I'd say advantage : Quebec

more later.

dickie moore is definitely the best forward in the series. and, oates is certainly the best-playmaker. i really like that you decided to play both of them on the same line. ciccarelli provides a fantastic physical presence on that line. sweeney schriner is a very underrated player (i'll post more on schriner later), sittler is a decent firstline centre, and mosienko provides fantastic speed. looking at both teams, i agree that quebec may have the advantage - though it's certainly not by a huge margin.

where i believe st.catharines will excel is on the defensive side. keon is a fantastic two-way centre and, provides some great flexibility to the line-up. we could play keon as a second-line centre / defensive presence for naslund - or, as the centre of a very strong shutdown line (pulford - keon - draper / foligno) which, in my opinion, could easily neutralize the quebec offense. should keon be shifted to a shutdown / thirdline role, frederickson can easily move onto the secondline without the offence suffering (it may even be better offensively).

so, in regards to forwards - offensively, i give a slight edge to quebec but, defensively, i believe st.catharines has the edge.

another aspect - coaching.

in my opinion, definite advantage for st.catharines here. jacques demers is a good coach but, arbour is arguably one of the top-three (if not top-two) coachs of all-time.

series advantage - st.catharines (though it is very close).

How many times have we seen a series in which the top two offensive threats are defencemen?

I have Jungosi's team a lot higher, and I viewed St. Catherine's as a team built for the playoffs.

I'm disappointed there hasn't been more talk, because this is likely one of the top two or three series in the first round. My final vote will be based on which GM does the best job of talking.

I like the top two lines in Quebec, except for one thing - Nichols as a second-line LW. I like Nichols as a gritty second line, but at centre, not left wing.

There's a lot of grit on Quebec's top two lines. That's an advantage. Especially if they can play against the top line in St. Catherine's, which I think is a little soft. Great speed, one of the fastest in the draft, but is the Sittler line tough enough?

Sawchuk has an edge over Gardiner, but it's not as big as you might think.

Biggest edge in this series is behind the bench. Demers is good. Arbour is one of the best ever. Might be the biggest coaching mis-match of the draft. It's not only a situation where if you think it's the tie-breaker, you vote for Arbour's team; if you think they're close, you vote for Arbour's Teepees.

I like the top two lines in Quebec, except for one thing - Nichols as a second-line LW. I like Nichols as a gritty second line, but at centre, not left wing.

There's a lot of grit on Quebec's top two lines. That's an advantage. Especially if they can play against the top line in St. Catherine's, which I think is a little soft. Great speed, one of the fastest in the draft, but is the Sittler line tough enough?

i agree gbc - with the teepees firstline (schriner - sittler - moore) as is, they certainly are not as gritty as dino or bernie. that said, we believe that the players in our line-up, alongside al arbour as coach, provides sufficient flexibility to address these needs.

i'll post a little more on arbour later - suffice to say, he was capable of rallying the troops and, getting the best out of his players by instilling strong work ethic and discipline. he let his players play to their abilities and, was extremely successful in the process (4 cups, 19 consecutive playoff series wins).

back to the line-up strategies (i'll post more in-depth strategies soon)...
though quebec's top-two lines may be slightly grittier, the teepees top-two lines are much faster (even more if the defenceman are included). so, will the nordiques be able to skate alongside the teepees?

should st. catharines feel as though the are being outmatched physically, the lines can be juggled to accomodate. rene robert (who was a first-line rw in buffalo, and a 0.82ppg player in the playoffs) can step onto the first-line, increasing the physical presence yet remaining skilled enough to allow sittler and schriner to continue to be effective offensively. though he may be small, robert had a strong work ethic and hustle...

"He blocked shots, threw his weight around and fought. H even played though he had a broken thumb, a separated shoulder and a pulled groin! Considering our collection of players, I wouldn't have blamed Robert if he had just thrown in the towel, but he wouldn't quit." - don cherry on coaching rene robert

Quit was the one thing Robert would never do. He never forgot how hard he had to work to make the NHL, and to work twice as hard to reach the dizzying heights that he achieved. As long as Robert laced up the skates, no one on the ice could out hustle him. Hard work and a little luck were Robert's trademarks

additionally, all three teepees defensive pairings have great balance between puck-moving / offensive ability (coffey, svedberg, corbeau / mummery), and strong defensive awareness and physical presence (lowe, conacher, mummery / corbeau). any three of our defensive lines can be used with the teepees top-two forward lines to increase physical presence and open-up space for the offensive forwards to work.

Biggest edge in this series is behind the bench. Demers is good. Arbour is one of the best ever. Might be the biggest coaching mis-match of the draft. It's not only a situation where if you think it's the tie-breaker, you vote for Arbour's team; if you think they're close, you vote for Arbour's Teepees.

thanks for mentioning this gbc.

i agree, the coaching mismatch between arbour and demers is huge! though demers is a decent coach, arbour (arguably #2 or #3 coach of all time) has a much, much more sparkling playoff resume.

arbour: 4 stanley cups, 5 trips to the cup final (4-1), 10 trips to the conference finals (5-5), 19 consecutive playoff series victories

demers: 1 stanley cups, 1 trip to the cup final (1-0), 4 trips to the conference finals (1-3)

arbour has shown a great ability in getting the most out of depth players and second-tier talent (i.e., goring, tonelli). so, there is no question he couldn't do the same with the teepees players (especially the much-lauded 4th line). arbour is has also shown an ability to coach with great balance - instilling a strong defensive system while allowing the star players to shine. with the teepees, arbour can strike up a nice balance defensively (keon, pulford, lowe, conacher, mummery, draper...) and offensively (coffey, svedberg, mosienko, sittler, naslund, schriner...).

additionally, arbour has shown great ability in coaching successfully, as either a favourite (1981-83) or as an underdog (1975, 1984) - so, depending on how you see the teepees (favourites or underdogs), arbour can rally the troops to rise to the occasion. he is also one of only two coaches to successfully coach his team back from an 0-3 deficit.

additionally, arbour has shown great ability in coaching successfully, as either a favourite (1981-83) or as an underdog (1975, 1984)...

The Isles weren't an underdog in 1984, man. They were the four time defending champions and they got crushed by Edmonton in the finals. In 1975, the Isles weren't clear underdogs against either of the teams they beat (Rangers and Penguins), though they did do well to take the Flyers to 7 in the conference finals.

Radar was a great coach, but a great underdog coach...I dunno.

Quebec Nordiques
Coach : Jacques Demers

Dickie Moore - Joe Primeau - Dino Ciccarelli
Bernie Nicholls - Adam Oates - Mark Recchi
Johnny Gottselig - Bob Bourne - Gary Dornhoefer
Don Maloney - Bob Gracie - Ron Duguay
Dave Brown , Marty Walsh

Bobby Orr - Craig Ludwig
Nikolai Sologubov - Ted Green
Bucko McDonald - Normand Rocherfort
Tomas Jonnson

Chuck Gardiner
Alex Conell

PP#1
???

PP#2
???

PK#1
???

PK#2
???



The St. Catharines Teepees
Coach: Al Arbour
Captain: Dave Keon
Alternates: Kevin Lowe, Darryl Sittler, Kris Draper

#11 Sweeney Schriner - #27 Darryl Sittler (A) - #10 Bill Mosienko
#19 Markus Naslund - #14 Dave Keon (C) - #17 Mike Foligno
#20 Bob Pulford - #33 Kris Draper (A) - #41! Rene Robert
Gordon Roberts - Frank Fredrickson - Paul MacLean
Dan Bain, Clint Smith

#7 Paul Coffey - #4 Kevin Lowe (A)
#3 Lionel Conacher - #5 Lennart Svedberg
Harry Mummery - Bert Corbeau
Doug Bodger

#1 Terry Sawchuk
Riley Hern

Power play units:
PP1: Markus Naslund - Darryl Sittler - Bill Mosienko - Paul Coffey - Lennart Svedberg
PP2: Sweeney Schriner - Frank Fredrickson - Mike Foligno - Lionel Conacher - Rene Robert

Penalty killing units:
PK1: Bob Pulford - Dave Keon - Lionel Conacher - Kevin Lowe
PK2: Mike Foligno - Kris Draper - Harry Mummery - Bert Corbeau

Two of my top 3 teams in the division, this is the hardest call of the 1st round for me, they both match up well with each other. The edges are very slight in all areas if there are any at all. I'll be reading the discussion closely, still have no clue who I'm going with.

The Isles weren't an underdog in 1984, man. They were the four time defending champions and they got crushed by Edmonton in the finals. In 1975, the Isles weren't clear underdogs against either of the teams they beat (Rangers and Penguins), though they did do well to take the Flyers to 7 in the conference finals.

Radar was a great coach, but a great underdog coach...I dunno.

nice catch on the 1984 - meant to write 1993 but, for some reason, had a brain cramp. that said, i think radar is still a solid underdog coach.

1975 - the team was three years removed from expansion, and had a turnaround season after two straight years in the basement. from what i've read, they were not expected to beat either the rangers or the penguins - yet, they managed to beat the rangers in 3 and overcome a 0-3 deficit to upset the pittsburgh penguins. then, as you mentioned, they almost overcame another 0-3 deficit, losing in the 7th game to the eventual champions, the philadelphia flyers.

1993 - after missing the playoffs the previous two seasons, the isles made it back in 1993. they managed to beat the capitals (not much of an upset - other than losing their star turgeon to injury) and then had the pleasure of matching up against the two-time defensing champions - mario lemieux's pittsburgh penguins. without turgeon, no-one gave the isles a chance, and assumed they would easily be swept by the pens. yet, without their star player, and a line-up with less gamebreaking talent, the isles defeated the penguins in a series they were never expected to win one game. look at the two line-ups and tell me this wasn't a monstrous upset...

I'm disappointed there hasn't been more talk, because this is likely one of the top two or three series in the first round.

I agree and would further say that it is probably my favorite opening series. Should be a great one.

I think one key point in the series is how my forwards can exploit the defensive lapses of Coffey and Svedberg. Kevin Lowe is a solid defensive defenseman , who played on one of the best dynasties ever. The question is if he can contain a counter attack lead by Orr,Oates or Moore.

My third line is also capable of punishing mistakes made by your rushing defenseman. Gottselig was a 2nd team all star and had some top ten finishes in scoring on mostly awefull Blackhawk teams. Bourne was a strong scorer in the playoffs , producing at ppg pace during the dynasty years. Dornhoefer was also capable of scoring 30 goals.
The "Jeans Line" (thanks MXD and pit) has some nice offensive weapons too. Especially Duguay , who hit 40 and 38 on average teams , is a threat if Coffey or Svedberg go too far.

So I think my scoring depht is an advantage for the Nordiques considering that St.Catharine has 2 defensemen known for not being in their own end all the time.



(please excuse my english for now , I'm tired as hell from practicing for our school musical all day long.)

I think one key point in the series is how my forwards can exploit the defensive lapses of Coffey and Svedberg. Kevin Lowe is a solid defensive defenseman , who played on one of the best dynasties ever. The question is if he can contain a counter attack lead by Orr,Oates or Moore.

My third line is also capable of punishing mistakes made by your rushing defenseman. Gottselig was a 2nd team all star and had some top ten finishes in scoring on mostly awefull Blackhawk teams. Bourne was a strong scorer in the playoffs , producing at ppg pace during the dynasty years. Dornhoefer was also capable of scoring 30 goals.
The "Jeans Line" (thanks MXD and pit) has some nice offensive weapons too. Especially Duguay , who hit 40 and 38 on average teams , is a threat if Coffey or Svedberg go too far.

So I think my scoring depht is an advantage for the Nordiques considering that St.Catharine has 2 defensemen known for not being in their own end all the time.



(please excuse my english for now , I'm tired as hell from practicing for our school musical all day long.)

i feel as though coffey tends to be one of those "love'em or hate'em" players. personally, i don't feel that he is as bad defensively as folks make him out to be (though i am by no means indicating that i think coffey is a two-way, balanced defensman - we all know he was very offensively-minded). i feel that both his speed, and skating ability (as with svedberg) allow them the opportunity to return to the play should they get caught pinching in the offensive zone (i.e., coffey breaking up a two-on-one vs. the soviets). with arbour as coach, can he instill a strong work-ethic, defensive conscience in coffey and svedberg, while allowing them to play their creative game?

additionally, coffey and svedberg will always be paired with either lowe (6 :stanley:) or conacher (2 :stanley:), both of which provide a defensive / physical element to the pairing, with plenty of playoff experience. furthermore, the second and third forward lines (also the first if robert replaces mosienko) are sprinkled with great defensive forwards (keon, pulford, draper), and decent defensive forwards (foligno, robert). so, we feel that there will be enough of a defensive presence to counter any defensive lapses that coffey or svedberg may have. finally, sawchuk, one of the top goalies in the draft, provides stability between the pipes.

Why Quebec will win

- Who will stop Moore? Quebec has the best and most skilled forward in the series in Dickie Moore, while St. Catherines is lacking an elite defensive RW. Robert and MacLean weren't anything special defensively. Even if the Teepees play their second lines against Moore, I'm not convinced that a good (but unspectacular) defensive player in Foligno could contain a two-time Art Ross winner.

- Sawchuk behind an average defense. We all know that Coffey is average (at best) defensively and his Swedish clone, Svedberg, is also quite one-dimensional. Sawchuk had earned the vast majority his personal and team accolades (wins, shutouts, Stanley Cups, all-star selections, win%) playing being a tough, rugged group of shutdown defenders (Pronovost, Goldham, Reise and of course Kelly (though he wasn't especially tough)). As soon as Sawchuk was traded away from the dynasty Wings, his level of play plummeted (http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=13011345&postcount=67). How well will Sawchuk do behind an average defense?

- Number four. I'm not exactly saying anything new here, but Bobby Orr is probably the most dominant player in hockey history. He can singlehandedly win a game or two each series. How does St. Catherines defend against him? If they play wide-open, Orr will beat Coffey at his own game, but if they slow things down, the Teepees lose their ability to use their great speed and skill.

Why St. Catherines will win

- Coaching. Demers is a solid coach, but he's going against perhaps the second greatest coach ever. Arbour isn't just a great coach because he won a bunch of Stanley Cups (though that, of course, adds to his legacy). It was his ability to consistently get the most out of role players (ie Bourne, Tonelli, Persson, etc), and his ability to scout and develop talent, that gives him a big advantage. Another Arbour hallmark, the ability to implement a defensive system while giving his offensive stars the ability to use their skill, should be a huge help for a team that has quite a few one-dimensional players.

- Lack of consistency. Quebec is relying on a lot of players with very short peaks (Moore, Primeau, Nicholls). It's tough to evaluate Gardiner (he's probably not going to die of a brain hemorrhage in this series) but he also had a very short peak. Orr's injury problems are well-known. In contrast, St. Catherines has a roster full of (reasonably) stable, consistent performers. If Orr gets injured, or the Moore from outside his five-year prime shows up, it will be tough to win.

- Second defense pair. Sologubov gets the edge on Svedberg (similar talent/offense but the former is vastly superior defensively). However, Lionel Conacher (Canadian athlete of the half-century; two-time Hart finalist; three times in the top ten in assists) is vastly superior than Green, a solid but unspectacular secondary player.

st. catharines team strategies

1. neutralize the quebec top-line: similar to alot of other gm's, i have a great respect for the nordiques top-line, even more now that oates has replaced primeau. jungosi put together a very balanced, offensively gifted top-line. as such, the teepees will need respect their abilities. there are a few ways we can see this occuring...

first, we'll play our top-line against their top-line. in terms of skating ability and overall speed, i believe st. catharines has a definite advantage. can the nordiques top-line skate with the teepees? is this mis-match enough to swing the advantage in favour of st.catharines?

second, we'll match our second-line against the nords top-line. keon provides significant defensive / two-way presence, alongside the hardworking, gritty and defensively capable mike foligno. conacher / svedberg or, coffey / lowe provide a nicely balanced backend, with one skater capable of igniting the breakout / transition game, and one skater providing a strong defensive presence (with a strong playoff resume).
it is hoped that this strategy would provide an advantage to our first-line when matched against quebec's second-line, which doesn't have the gritty presence of dino.

2. goaltending: as i mentioned earlier, gardiner's peak was great but, sawchuk was the more consistent and stable playoff performer. sawchuk brings 4 cups, 2 retro conn smythes, and 15 years of playoff experience. on the other hand, gardiner brings 1 cup, and 4 years of playoff experience. if it comes down to goaltending, the teepees are confident in the advantage they have.

3. late game management - st.catharines leads: if the teepees are leading the game, the nordiques will see alot of pulford - keon - draper, and a rotation of defensive pairings conacher - lowe, mummery - corbeau. i believe this formation can easily neutralize quebec's late-game offence. between them, pulford - keon - draper have 11 :stanley:, one conn smythe, one retro conn smythe (for what it's worth). adding the defence adds 9 :stanley: and one retro conn smythe.

4. late game management - quebec leads: if quebec is leading, st. catharines will bring the speed game out in full-force, rolling a line of schriner - sittler - mosienko - coffey - svedberg (this would certainly be late-game desperation and, increases the likelihood of a defensive lapse). does quebec have the defensive horses to counter this attack?

this series will surely be a battle.

great input hockey outsider...

Why Quebec will win

- Who will stop Moore? Quebec has the best and most skilled forward in the series in Dickie Moore, while St. Catherines is lacking an elite defensive RW. Robert and MacLean weren't anything special defensively. Even if the Teepees play their second lines against Moore, I'm not convinced that a good (but unspectacular) defensive player in Foligno could contain a two-time Art Ross winner.

agreed - foligno and robert certainly are not enough to stop dickie moore (though foligno will be hammering him at every opportunity). it is hoped that both keon and draper will assist in neutralizing moore (alongside the teepees defensive defenceman). additionally, draper could be used as a rightwing, providing a much stronger defensive shadow for moore (should he be used that way).

this brings up a question for quebec - how do they stop sweeney schriner?
dickie moore has two art ross trophies, finishing 8th twice more.
sweeney schriner has two art ross trophies, finishing 2nd, 7th, 8th, and 10th.
which defensive players will quebec use to neutralize schriner and, to a lesser extent, mosienko?

- Sawchuk behind an average defense. We all know that Coffey is average (at best) defensively and his Swedish clone, Svedberg, is also quite one-dimensional. Sawchuk had earned the vast majority his personal and team accolades (wins, shutouts, Stanley Cups, all-star selections, win%) playing being a tough, rugged group of shutdown defenders (Pronovost, Goldham, Reise and of course Kelly (though he wasn't especially tough)). As soon as Sawchuk was traded away from the dynasty Wings, his level of play plummeted (http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=13011345&postcount=67). How well will Sawchuk do behind an average defense?

sawchuk still has a solid defensive presence in front of him. agreed that coffey and svedberg can't really be counted on defensively but, lowe, conacher, corbeau, and mummery are all strong defensively. additionally, they all provide a strong physical presence that will be hammering the quebec forwards all series.

- Number four. I'm not exactly saying anything new here, but Bobby Orr is probably the most dominant player in hockey history. He can singlehandedly win a game or two each series. How does St. Catherines defend against him? If they play wide-open, Orr will beat Coffey at his own game, but if they slow things down, the Teepees lose their ability to use their great speed and skill.

this will certainly be the question asked of every opposing team. how to stop bobby orr? as i mentioned in our team strategies, we hope that our defensive forwards, and defensive defenceman can help slow him down. will it be enough?

Why St. Catherines will win

- Coaching. Demers is a solid coach, but he's going against perhaps the second greatest coach ever. Arbour isn't just a great coach because he won a bunch of Stanley Cups (though that, of course, adds to his legacy). It was his ability to consistently get the most out of role players (ie Bourne, Tonelli, Persson, etc), and his ability to scout and develop talent, that gives him a big advantage. Another Arbour hallmark, the ability to implement a defensive system while giving his offensive stars the ability to use their skill, should be a huge help for a team that has quite a few one-dimensional players.

- Lack of consistency. Quebec is relying on a lot of players with very short peaks (Moore, Primeau, Nicholls). It's tough to evaluate Gardiner (he's probably not going to die of a brain hemorrhage in this series) but he also had a very short peak. Orr's injury problems are well-known. In contrast, St. Catherines has a roster full of (reasonably) stable, consistent performers. If Orr gets injured, or the Moore from outside his five-year prime shows up, it will be tough to win.

- Second defense pair. Sologubov gets the edge on Svedberg (similar talent/offense but the former is vastly superior defensively). However, Lionel Conacher (Canadian athlete of the half-century; two-time Hart finalist; three times in the top ten in assists) is vastly superior than Green, a solid but unspectacular secondary player.

since today is voting day, just wanted to wish my opposing gm good luck.

jungo - you built an excellent squad :thumbu: ...it's too bad one of us will be sent packing this round.

Same to you , paper. Your team is better than a 5th seed but this draft is unbelievable deep. Even 8th seeded teams are good.

Can I please please please do the writeup for this series?

My first ever series writeup follows - please bear with me as I endure growing pains.

Game 1: Le Colisee, Quebec

In game day interviews, both coaches, Jacques Demers and Al Arbour, were certainly careful not to give off too much of an aura of swagger, but at the same time were firm in their confidence. "No one is the favourite here", remarked Demers today. "Whoever wants it more is going to win. I expect it to be us. We have to get to that goalie of theirs - he's their best player.", he added, referring to Sawchuk. Arbour, for his part, was not giving anything either. "They're a great team, but so are we. Are they any better than us? They finished a couple of points ahead but then we dealt with some injuries. If we contain Orr and stay healthy, we will win this series", he quipped today.

The top units started the game. The first shift was a rather cautious one. Orr had a couple of opportunities to rush the puck but played it safe instead. Sawchuk juggled a couple of pucks on shots by Joe Primeau and Mark Recchi, but after 20 minutes, the game was scoreless. No team wanted to be the first to allow a goal.

On the second shift of the second period, big Harry Mummery, who had been spotted eating a steak just an hour before game time, flattened Dino Ciccarelli with a big bodycheck. Recchi did not go to the dressing room, but stayed on the bench until the 18:00 mark. It was on the second-last shift of the period, when Recchi picked up a Bobby Orr pass at center ice, got around Lionel Conacher, appeared to be intent on wrapping right around the net, but instead fed the puck through Sawchuk, who had followed Recchi too far, to a wide open Adam Oates and an easy goal. 1-0 Quebec after 2.

During the third period, Bob Bourne's unit got a lot more time in order to successfully shut down Darryl Sittler's line. While they did an admirable job, including the majority of a double minor penalty kill thanks to an accidental Buck McDonald high stick, this left St. Catherines' capable second line, anchored by Keon, with more space. With about six minutes left in the second period, Mike Foligno dug up the puck in the Quebec corner, quickly throwing it in front of the net, where Mike Keon was able to tap in his own rebound before being pounded by Craig Ludwig. More boring hockey followed as both teams appeared to be just trying to survive to the buzzer.

OT was played much like the first period - very cautiously. Bobby Orr at times appeared as though he had the will to end the game, but thanks to a couple of timely poke checks by Dave Keon and Bob Pulford, was not able to get into a dangerous position. 14 minutes into OT, Dickie Moore was sent in on a partial breakaway only to be stoned by Sawchuk, while being hauled down by Bert Corbeau. The fans tried to make the call on that play, but were unsuccessful. Two plays later, St. Catherines' Robers-Frederickson-MacLean line was out to create whatever energy they could, and managed to cyle the puck deep in the Quebec zone for 30 seconds before working it to the slot, where MacLean fired a shot that rebounded off of Gardiner's left pad. Frederickson slid home the rebound past a prone Gardiner, who appeared to have been interfered with by Gordon Roberts. However, the goal stood and St. Catherines took the first game, 2-1. Quebec fans littered Le Colisee's ice with various debris including croissants and poutine to display their displeasure. "We are not happy with the result, but we expect to come back here in two nights and get the right result", Demers commented, visibly disturbed but choosing to take the high road.

fantastic write-up seventies...would never have guessed it was your first series.

looking forward to reading the remaining write-ups

Game 2, Le Colisee, Quebec

Quebec came out flying to begin game 2, and started their 4th line and 3rd tandem against St. Catherines' first line. Maloney used the opportunity well, getting in Sittler's face and catching Mosienko long enough to stick him in the shins. Gracie and Duguay each hammered a St. Catherines defenseman at the end boards prior to forcing an icing. The message was sent. If the game was going to be called that way, Quebec could play it too. Joe Primeau won the next draw against a rattled Darryl Sittler, and Bobby Orr fired home a slapshot that eluded Sawchuk. 1-0 Quebec. Quebec caught another break when Bob Pulford was called for holding Dino Ciccarelli during a Quebec powerplay, and Orr found a wide open Bernie Nicholls for the 2-0 marker.

The second period was a penalty-filled affair, with the referees seemingly intent on giving the message that clutch and grab hockey would not be tolerated. Foligno and Dornhoefer each ended up going off twice, and both teams enjoyed a 2-man advantage for over a minute. Yet, Sawchuk and Gardiner made timely saves, aided by penalty killers like Orr and Mummery, who kept attackers to the perimeter as much as possible.

Quebec took a two-goal lead into the third period and appeared to be looking strong. However, a penalty to Ted Green for delay of game turned the tides in St. Catherines' favour. Orr's unit killed the first half of the penalty off, but with 20 seconds remaining in the penalty, Sweeney Schriner victimized Craig Ludwig when he grabbed a "rebound" off of Ludwig's pads from a Rene Robert point blast, and roofed it over Gardiner to close the gap to 1. Just three minutes later, Keon's excellent backchecking led to a turnover and a Markus Naslund breakaway. Just like that, the game was once again tied, 2-2.

Bobby Orr, with a goal and an assist and solid defensive play, had been the game's star up to this point, and Demers was playing Orr and Ludwig at every opportunity, keeping the third pairing stapled to the bench. Orr, while solid defensively, appeared to be unable to successfully rush the puck due to fatigue. On two occasions he dished it off to Mark Recchi, and Ron Duguay, who were both unable to penetrate the St. Catherines zone successfully. Just when it looked like this one was destined for overtime, Paul Coffey followed his own dump-in, beating Ted Green to the puck. Coffey carried the puck further behind the net before spotting Bill Mosienko, who put the game winning goal through Gardiner's five hole.

Quebec had lost both games at home, and the city was in a panic. Dickie Moore promised Quebec fans that their best hockey was ahead of them, and that they would come back to Quebec with the series tied.

Game 3, St. Catherines' Sportplex

Game 3 was played after a two-day break due to the setup of a Sam Roberts concert using St. Catherines' facility. Demers told the media on game day, that their intention was to score first as always, and then keep the lead.

Quebec did in fact score first for the third straight time in the series. This time it was Dickie Moore, who buried a perfect slapshot, top corner, off the rush. His first period marker stood for the rest of the period, a period in which Orr did everything imaginable except create a goal. Orr began numerous rushes, but had the puck tipped a couple of times by Kris Draper, and dished off to Dickie Moore and Dino Ciccarelli only to see them stripped of the puck. Orr also killed two Quebeec penalties and crippled Bill Mosienko, who went to the St Catherines' dressing room, with a clean body check.

The second period was the Terry Sawchuk show. Quebec, clearly intent on winning their first game, peppered Sawchuk with 21 shots, 19 of them at even strength, and six by Moore alone. Sawchuk turned all of them away, including a Gottselig breakaway and an Oates-Nicholls give and go. Quebec's checkers were demons, too, hammering Sittler, Schriner, and Naslund to the point of submission. Even Mike Foligno looked like he had had enough. One thing is clear - if the Teepees had an average goalie in net, this would be a 5-0 game.

By the third period, Quebec had cooled off and had gone into more of a shutdown/survival mode. Orr and Ludwig played the bulk of the period but Demers was careful not to overexert them this time. It paid off because at the one minute mark, Quebec still held their 1-0 lead and appeared ready to take game 3. However, a Craig Ludwig hooking call put that in jeopardy briefly.... until Orr sent the puck straight into the middle of the yawning cage right after Primeau won the faceoff. Final score: Quebec 2, St. Catherines 0.

St. Catherines leads series 2-1

Game 4, St. Catherines' Sportplex

The Nords wanted to keep the momentum going into game 4. When it was learned that Bill Mosienko, the hero of game 2, was scratched with an undisclosed injury, Quebec was even more confident. Rene Robert took Mosienko's spot, Foligno dropped to the 3rd line, Naslund moved over to the right wing, and Clint Smith played his natural position next to Dave Keon. TSN's Bob McKenzie speculated, "is this a team in disarray, or a wise lineup shuffle in time of need?"

In the first period there was little evidence of disarray. St. Catherines played a controlled game despite needling from the Nords' checkers. Coffey matched Orr rush for rush, although neither scored. The Teepees' second line clicked immediately. Smith looked sharp coming out of the pressbox, and Naslund was comfortable on his alternate wing. It was this line that actually clicked for the first goal, a beauty tic-tac-toe scored by Smith with just three seconds remaining in the first. Finally, St. Catherines had drawn first blood.

The second period looked a lot like its game 3 counterpart - the Terry Sawchuk Goaltending Clinic. Sawchuk appeared intent on keeping this a 1-0 game at all costs. His diving save on a Ciccarelli tip was one for the ages, and he kicked aside two point blank Recchi shots as well. In all, he stopped 19 second period shots and kept the Teepees ahead entering the third.

The penalty bug bit the Teepees in the third period. Lionel Conacher and Lennart Svedberg took two minors apiece, one of which was a double minor. Sawchuk performed admirably and shut the door on every opportunity, except for a garbage goal by Ciccarelli that somehow found its way in. This game appeared destined for OT, until, with 4 minutes left and Sweeney Schriner lying prone at center ice thanks to a Craig Ludwig bodycheck, Bobby Orr picked up the puck and, for the first time in the series, completed a successful end to end rush, splitting Coffey and Lowe before finding the opening between Sawchuk's pads.

The Nordiques were able to fend off a furious flurry by the Teepees over the final four minutes. An ill-advised shot at the open net from five feet back of center ice by Nikolai Solugobov,who, along with Ted Green, had already been on the ice for over a minute, resulted in one final faceoff and a fresh line change for the Teepees. Agonizingly, Mike Foligno drilled one off the crossbar and out of play with just seven seconds remaining. This series is going back to Quebec, tied. Final score, Quebec 2, St. Catherines 1. Shots on goal: Quebec 48, St. Catherines 24.

Series Tied 2-2

Game 5: Le Colisee, Quebec

The Quebec media was quick to point out that while Dickie Moore's prediction about coming back to Quebec tied was correct, they still hadn't seen the best of him. That was about to change. Dickie Moore played like a man possessed for much of the first period, crushing Paul Coffey and Lennart Svedberg at the end boards, backchecking ferociously, and generating offense at every turn. His hard work paid off when the puck ended up in the Teepees' net just a second after he stripped it from Bert Corbeau. Sawchuk did not appear ready for the shot, and it appeared that the goal caught most of the pleasantly surprised crowd off guard.

The Teepees went to the dressing room down a goal, but were not ready to surrender momentum just yet. They dominated much of the second period and drew two penalties from Bob Bourne and Bobby Orr, but were unable to capitalize on either power play. Dave Keon's forechecking was on full display as he frequently frustrated the bottom four Qubec defensemen, who frantically passed numerous pucks between eachother in attempts to escape Keon.

The third period was a snoozer as Quebec went into a defensive shell for much of the period. However, they did not forget where the other end of the rink was. Midway through the period, Bobby Orr forced a turnover and moved the puck up to a streaking Joe Primeau and Dickie Moore for a 2-on-1. Primeau faked a shot, causing Kevin Lowe to commit, then fed it to Moore who buried the 2-0 marker.

Quebec again faced a last minute flurry from St. Catherines with Sawchuk pulled, but Gardiner shut the door. Ludwig blocked three point blasts during the final 20 seconds as the Nordiques held on for the victory, 2-0.

Quebec leads series 3-2

Game 6, St. Catherines Sportplex

The hockey world expected St. Catherines to be reeling after losing three straight games, but Al Arbour was surprisingly stoic. "We've got a lot of good guys in here. We plan to come back hard for game 6. We have to take the game to them, and get under the skin of their goalie, he's been great." That may have been true, but Gardiner had faced 115 shots in the series compared to Sawchuk's 181.

The Teepees got on board early with a goal from Dave Keon after a Bernie Nicholls giveaway. Keon's backchecking led to another turnover, this time by Don Maloney, and his give and go with Markus Naslund led to his second goal, just five minutes into the game. At the other end of the rink, Sawchuk did his part to keep it a two-goal game with numerous saves, a patricularly nice one ending a Bobby Orr rush. The teams left the ice with the score 2-0 Teepees, but with the shots 12-5 in favour of Quebec.

Sawchuk was again strong in the second period, turning aside 14 Quebec shots including numerous ones from in close. He got some help at one point, as a Lionel Conacher slapshot that appeared to have eyes found its way to the net but forgot its glasses and rang off the iron. At the other end, Gardiner allowed a weak Kris Draper goal on just his second shot of the period, nine minutes in. 3-0 after two periods.

Although Quebec had outplayed the Teepees to this point, their goaltending had let them down and Sawchuk was unreal. St. Catherines was braced for a third period flurry, but after ten minutes of excellent shutdown hockey, it appeared that Quebec were saving themselves to a game 7 matchup at home. It was message sending time again. Don Maloney collided with Joe Primeau, a hit many called questionable. Primeau hobbled off the ice and would return, although ineffective. Ted Green speared Darryl Sittler, who stopped short of swinging his stick at Green's head upon realizing Green was going off for five minutes. The Teepees saved their star players and threw the Fredrickson line on the PP, and they made Quebec pay with a quick goal by Roberts. Quebec killed the rest of Green's major but it was clear that this game was over. More chippy play followed, and with 30 seconds left in the game, a tilt broke out, with Normand Rochefort squaring off against Mike Foligno. Right off the next faceoff, Don Maloney seeked out Paul MacLean before Harry Mummery came to MacLean's rescue. Quebec had sent the message - they were ornery, and they were determined to take game 7, despite losing game 6 by a score of 4-0.

Series tied 3-3

The Quebec media was all over this series for the next two nights. Many wondered if Quebec had run out of gas, or if their use of goon tactics near the end of game 6 was an indication that they couldn't keep up. Others were calling for Bob Pulford's head. Pulford had caught Dickie Moore with a slash that left him questionable for game 7.

The first period of game 1 seemed to go on for hours. No one seemed to want to take control of the game or take any sort of chances. Likewise, in stark contrast to the shenanigans of game 6, no one was prepared to take a penalty. Only a Mark Recchi one-timer caused any serious concern for either side. 0-0 after 1 period.

In the second period, things began to heat up. The Nordiques wanted to get back to scoring the first goal and, in a game like this, you could almost guarantee that the first team to score, would win. 18 minutes into the second period, they finally got their wish. It came from the unlikliest of sources. Ron Duguay picked up the puck in the Teepees' corner after a big Don Maloney bodycheck on Svedberg. Duguay, tripped by Conacher, frantically swatted the biscuit to the front of the net, where none other than Don Maloney buried his own rebound from close range, negating the delayed penalty. 1-0 Nordiques.

The third period turned out to be possibly the most entertaining period of the series. Quebec ended up on their heels a lot as the Teepees pressed for the equalizer. This time, Gardiner was on his game and stopped 8 Teepees shots in the first 8 minutes. Then, controversy. With the Nords' checking line again out to create some energy, Bob Gracie's stick caught a piece of Sawchuk's jersey as Sawchuk cleared the puck from behind the net. Sawchuk fell, and recovered just in time to miss Bobby Orr's perfect wrist shot to the side of the net, a shot that also eluded Kevin Lowe. Al Arbour was furious, screaming at the refs from the open bench door but stopped short of stepping on the ice. The goal was going to stand nonetheless. The refs didn't buy Sawchuk's fall, embellished or not.

Quebec fans were standing 16,000 strong for a large part of the rest of the game. With just six minutes left in the third, Markus Naslund tipped a Paul Coffey slapshot past Terry Sawchuk, and a Teepees team that appeared to be defeated mentally and physically suddenly had some life.

Al Arbour made the decision to pull Terry Sawchuk with 1:20 remaining in the third period. The move proved to be smart, as the extra attacker, Dave Keon, put the Nords on their heels and Ted Green was forced to take a penalty for hooking Keon. The final 32 seconds of the third period were not without their drama. Craig Ludwig blocked a Paul Coffey blast, and Johnny Gottselig tipped a pass that would have surely seen Rene Robert bury the tying goal. Finally, with seven seconds left.....

Hidden text follows....

Bobby Orr intercepted a last-ditch pass by Adam Oates, skated the puck to the top of the circles, and flipped it over the outstretched arms of Svedberg. The buzzer sounded and Quebec had taken the game 2-1 and the series, 4 games to 3. The controversial goal by Orr in the third period turned out to be the winner. Nobody in Quebec was shedding any tears, as St. Catherines were the beneficiaries of a similar play in game 1.

3 stars of the series - Bobby Orr, Terry Sawchuk, Dave Keon.

congrats jungosi! a well-deserved victory for a well-constructed team.

this was a hard fought series.

great write-ups seventies!


...here's to looking forward to the next atd (i already have my strategy and team name picked out...)

Good win for Jungosi, Paper I think you've done a great job going from Minor Leaguer to ATDer. Lked your team a lot. Looking forward to seeing what you have in store next time.

This was one of the toughest series for me to judge, both GMs put together really strong teams.

Good series, Congrats Jungosi. good fight Papershoes. Where did Johnny O disappear to? He was so keen at the start.

Nice finish to a bunch of great writeups 70's. ;) The invisible text idea was a nice touch. ;-) lol

Congrats to both teams, looking at both lineups, I don't think anyone would've guessed these teams were put together by first time GM's.

Holy cow seventieslord!! What an amazing writeup worthy of such a tight series.

Congrats to both teams. An incredible matchup in which the best player in the draft was the difference. Tough matchup for papershoes but with teams like this he'll have tons of success in upcoming drafts.

First off I'd like to thank everyone who voted for the Nordiques. Major credit goes out to seventieslord , you did an AWESOME job with the write-ups. I'd also like to thank papershoes for being a worthy opponent. You had an awesome team and I hope we'll see you around next time.