Newfoundland finished the regular season with both the most points, at 115. They did this through winning 56 games - only losing 7 in regulation and 3 more in overtime. They also finished the regular season with the highest goal differential in the league: +158. The Berserkers ended their season with 16 more points than the next closest team, Vancouver. Their goal differential was also 40 goals higher than the next closest team, Anchorage.

So what lead to this? Newfoundland was dead last in the SMJHL just 3 short seasons ago, and for the last two they ended up third in the league. Their rise has surely come as a welcome surprise to the management in Newfoundland.

One thing that stands out about Newfoundland and their success is that they aren't being carried by 1 or 2 superstar players while the rest of their roster toils away in mediocrity. Looking at the league leaders for statistical categories a Newfoundland player only leads the league in two of the statistical categories despite their team being the top of the league - total shots and plus/minus. Two Vancouver players lead the league in points, and one of those two Vancouver players also lead the league in goals.

Something that leaps out to me looking at the statistical leaders is that Newfoundland dominates the plus/minus category. 9 of the top 10 spots are filled by Newfoundland players. Also if you look at the Newfoundland players that appear on the leaderboard in other categories, you see a wide variety of players. 2 Newfoundland players are in the top 10 for goals. 4 different Newfoundland players that do not appear on the goals leaderboard are in the top 10 for assists. This signals to me that the players in Newfoundland have defined roles, cater their play to fill those roles specifically, and rely more on their depth and their strength as a team instead of the strength of individuals on a team.

There are 3 Newfoundland players within the 71 to 61 points range. There are 5 players with between 60 and 50 points. There are 4 players between 42 and 36 points. Again, the strength comes in their numbers instead of their individual skill.

One other interesting thing that I notice looking at the statistical leaderboards is that the Berserkers do not have any players in the top 10 for pentalty minutes and they only have 1 player in the top 10 for hits. This tells me that the gameplan of the team, and the instruction being given to the players on the ice, is to play a disciplined game that keeps them at 5 on 5 hockey for as many minutes as possible. A disciplined team can easily take advantage of their opponent's lack of discipline and it seems that the Berserkers have been able to do that.

Due to the lack of hitting and the fact that the Berserkers also don't have any players in the top 10 for blocked shots it lets me know that they play a possession based game where they minimize the amount of time that the other team is allowed to have the puck. They have no need for hitting or for blocking shots, because they are minimizing the offensive opportunities for their opponents.

With their strong possession based gameplan and a deep roster of players who fill their needed roles I would expect the Berserkers to continue their run of scoring domination and make a lot of noise in the playoffs, if not outright win the cup. They certainly are the favorites for it.

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Approved!

+5 TPE @Junior