Titan confidence soaring after sweep of favoured Mooseheads

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While some discount the notion of any carryover from the regular season to the playoffs in head to head playoff hockey, don’t tell that to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

Ranked No. 7 in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference, the Titan secured a confidence inspiring matchup with No. 2 Halifax to kick off the post season and delivered on their promise by startling their divisional rivals with a four-game sweep that was one of, if not the biggest, talking points in the league this past weekend.

“We were excited to play the Mooseheads and we looked forward to the opportunity,” said Titan head coach and general manager Gordie Dwyer.

That optimism started building back in December, when the Titan outscored the Mooseheads 8-4 at Scotiabank Centre, a victory that only served as the appetizer for what was to come.

And while the Titan made significant deals at Christmas to set the table for their future, the lineup was solidified by the fact veterans Miko Roelens and Robert Orr stayed with the team and fuelled three more wins in Halifax down the stretch by 3-1, 2-1 and 2-0 scores.

“It allowed us to have some confidence going into this series and definitely facilitated the preparation,” Dwyer said. “We talked about our games against them, our head-to-head matchups during the season, and how we needed to play to be successful.

“Even though we were starting in Halifax, we had won some games in Halifax and it definitely gave our group a little confidence. Leaving Halifax up 2-0 in the series gave us that boost, gave us that swagger we needed to be able to close it out.”

Roelens, who had never scored an overtime goal in his QMJHL career, connected 2:57 into period four in Game 1 and added a second extra time marker 2:21 into the fourth period of Game 2.

That came after an apparent winning goal from Halifax’s Markus Vidicek was waved off after review as the third period clock dad run out on his late regulation rush.

But that was not it – far from it, actually.

The Mooseheads, who were missing last year’s most valuable player Jordan Dumais and veteran defenceman Jake Furlong with injuries, still carried a 24.6 percentage on the power-play in the regular season while the Titan were just the 14th best penalty killers at 74.6 per cent.

Yet the Titan dominated the special teams battle in the series, blanking Halifax on 15 of their manpower advantages, netting three shorthanded goals (two of which snapped a 1-1 tie in Game 4) and chipping in at a 4-for-15 rate on their own manpower advantages, which ranked 17th of 18 teams in the league during the regular season.

Goaltender Antione Keller posted a 1.47-goals-against average and his .948 save percentage was among the league’s best thus far in the post season.

First-year Titan Colby Huggan continued his electric season with eight points in the series while Roelens and Orr chipped in with six points each.

In a series against the team that skated to within two games of winning the league title a year ago, the Titan trailed for just four minutes and five seconds of action in total.

“We felt like it was an excellent opportunity for us against one of the top teams and the top team in the Maritimes Division and one of the top teams in the league,” Dwyer added.

“We really liked that challenge from our perspective and we had some success. It gave us some confidence. The boys were well prepared and give our guys a ton of credit, they were able to deliver during the series.”

The reward is a match up against regular season champion Baie Comeau, who swept the Charlottetown Islanders in four games. Baie Comeau and Acadie-Bathurst split the season series 1-1.

Games 1 and 2 are in Baie Comeau this upcoming weekend while Games 3, 4 and if necessary, revert back to the K.C. Irving Regional Centre next April 16, 17 and 19.

“We have a ton of respect for Baie Comeau,” Dwyer said. “They’re a big team, they’re are a talented team and have been No. 1 or close to No. 1 in the CHL all season long. So we know that they are the team to beat.

“We have a ton of respect for the opposition, so in saying so, we are going to play our game and play the game we have to play to be successful. That is where our focus lies – how we have to play collectively.”