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TipToasty · 09-11-2024, 04:53 PM

Controversy surrounds the first round of the Season 78 SMJHL Playoffs as several teams benefit from a re-sim. None gained more than the Thunder Bay Walleye. The fifteen-seed underdogs left the ice Wednesday with a four game sweep of the two-seed Anchorage Armada. The Walleye finished 15th in the regular season with a record of 24-37-5, only topping San Diego in the standings.

Goaltending set Thunder Bay apart with all four starts going to third-year player Grant Berd. The Walleye goalie came into the season with high hopes after an exceptional S77, but faced a much more difficult year with more losses, a higher goal against average, and worse save percentage. While the disappointing year is more of a reflection on the team's performance than Berd's, nobody expected the statement Berd made in the first round this year. A stellar performance over four games left the goalie with a 1.88 GAA and a .937 SA%, letting in only 8 goals on 126 shots. If Berd continues this top-tier performance, the team that many had written off before the playoffs may have a chance at a deeper run into the post-season.

Defensively, the Walleye managed to contain two of the SMJHL's most dangerous goal scorers in S78, Jefferson Steelflex, and league leader in points Chris McZehrl III. Neither of the offensive threats had a goal, with the two splitting five assists between them. Thunder Bay's defense is anchored by top line pair Red Panda Jr and Crazy Tomato III, both of whom had a great first round. The D was able to clog the shooting lanes with 17 shot blocks from their top pair while the entire team averaged 13 shot blocks per game. The forwards stepped up the physicality in the first round, with second-line wingers Chaos Giraffe and Hades putting up nearly 8 hits per game between the two of them. The Walleye showed extreme restraint with only three penalties across the four games, leading to a perfect 100% PK rate.

On offence, the team made several lineup changes that seemed to work for the team. Rookies Puddles O'Duckling, Teddy Bloos, and Tip Toasty were moved to the top line, while regular season top-scorer Jon Garfield centered the second line, providing much needed puck movement. O'Duckling and Toasty each lead the team with three goals in four games while Garfield leads the team with seven points, including a team-high five assists. Despite changes on the top line, scoring was spread fairly evenly across eight players. The offence has room to grow on the powerplay, scoring just once on eight man-advantage opportunities.

With two sweeps in the re-simmed first round, the other being Detroit's sweep of St. Louis, there is bound to be some controversy around these results. Thunder Bay will take on the winner of Quebec City and Kelowna, which is currently tied at 2-2. The Walleye split both season series 3-3 with their potential opponents.

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