Saint John Sea Dogs stay on top of BTN Dynamic Dozen despite Shawinigan shellacking

Like the NCAA tournament seeding committee, the Dynamic Dozen considers the body of work more than the last game two teams played. So it was not a surprise that the Saint John Sea Dogs stay on top entering the final week of the regular season despite getting hammered 6-2 in Shawinigan on Sunrday.

The Sea Dogs are still in the drivers' seat to win the Quebec league regular-season title, although they will have to clinch it on the road.

1. Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL (.569 RPI, —). The all-things-considered approach to the Sea Dogs' one-point weekend is it's better to have a dip in their performance now instead of, say, in three weeks. The last time coach Gerard Gallant's team really got hammered badly was in Gatineau and they promptly reeled off 14 wins in their next 15 tries. So it's not a big concern so long as they win in Halifax on Wednesday. Not having Tomas Jurco in the lineup for what called "school reasons" certainly hurt last weekend.

2. Shawinigan Cataractes, QMJHL (.563 RPI, —). Coach Éric Veilleux pushed the right buttons before the Saint John game, particularly with Kirill Kabanov. Another take on it might be that the Cataractes were simply due, since they had outchanced Rimouski in a loss on Friday Night Hockey the night before. In any event, the spoils of beating Sea Dogs is more latitude to claim they are the team to beat in the post-season regardless of how one lands on the top of the heap at the end of this week. And the fact Shawinigan pulled off such a win without Brandon Gormley is pretty impressive.

3. Portland Winterhawks, WHL (.559 RPI, —). It's not too early to start a nickname meme for 'Hawks centre Nic Petan, who is still a week why of turning 17 but had a four-game game last week? How about the Alfa Romeo — small, very fast, imbued with Italian creativity and work ethic? Portland is one point behind Edmonton and Tri-City for the league and conference titles entering this week, but face some leaky defensive teams in Victoria (twice) and Seattle. Plus they are likely to have Sven Bärtschi back from the NHL's Calgary Flames before their first playoff game. And that's being generous in guesstimating the recovery time of the members of the Flames' M*A*S*H unit.

4. Tri-City Americans, WHL (.559 RPI, +2). The Ams felt like they had some passengers during Sunday's win vs. basement-dwelling Prince George. That might have been a blessing into a disguise entering a week where it would be all too easy to get comfortable going into a homestand that includes two very winnable games. Meantime, how high while Brendan Shinnimin's point total climb? The Winnipegger is at 129 with three games remaining.

5. Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL (.558 RPI, —). No doubt people in the vicinity of Edmonton have noticed star defenceman Griffin Reinhart is +14 in the last 11 games since having a minus-5 night in his hometown of Vancouver three weeks ago. Of course, the Oil Kings are tightening up their defensive-zone play considerably as they attempt to capture the Scotty Munro Trophy. They will have to do it on the road this week with a trip that includes games at Kootenay and Medicine Hat. New York Rangers-drafted centre Michael St. Croix, of course, joined the 100-point club last weekend. That makes eight from the WHL, including four Winnipeggers, St. Croix, Brandon's Mark Stone and the Tri-City tandem of Shinnimin and Adam Hughesman. The Ontario league is still on zero.

6. Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL (.556 RPI,+2—). Sunday's yay-for-secondary-scoring win over Chicoutimi, in which the Tigres had five goal scorers whose namesake is a famous composer, sets up a fun final week. Victoriaville's a point back of fourth-place Quebec with two games to go, but would need to win at Shawinigan to leap frog into a better playoff matchup. It is popular to talk about a team having a certain number of players who've reached a certain goal total, but how about points? Chicago Blackhawks first-rounder Philip Danault is two away from giving Victoriaville seven players with 70 more or points.

7. Quebec Remparts, QMJHL (.551 RPI, —). Coach-GM Patrick Roy gave his team a case of the Mondays in the wake of a shutout loss in Gatineau, having the Remparts report at 7:30 a.m. to watch video and work out. After scoring only one goal in two games last weekend, something was needed to clear the minds. The Remparts still control their own destiny in the race with Victoriaville for fourth overall, but have tough opponents left in Blainville-Boisbriand and Chicoutimi.

8. Moose Jaw Warriors, WHL (.548 RPI, -4). A 1-3 weekend accounts for the Warriors' drop, but they are likely to have home-ice advantage through the first two rounds playoffs and Cody Beach was real ornery this weekend. Tanner Eberle is also giving off that you-hate-me-but-you'd-me-on-your-team attitude, always helpful late in the season. The Warriors could face either arch-rival Regina, Saskatoon or Kootenay in the first round (the teams which are fifth through seventh in the Dub's Eastern Conference are separated by only a point), but they don't play any of them.

9. Plymouth Whalers, OHL (.540 RPI, +1). The eternally underrated Whalers take a nine-game win streak into the final week of the regular season. First-round NHL picks J.T. Miller and Stefan Noesen have combined for five game-winners during the streak in what coach-GM Mike Vellucci must hope is an omen for what they will do over a long playoff run.

10. Niagara IceDogs, OHL (.537 RPI, -1). There was a shift on Friday night that encapsulated the conversion taking place in St. Kitts as the 'Dogs gear up for the playoffs. Up 2-1 late in the second period, Ryan Strome, who had made a mistake earlier in coverage that led to the 67's goal, tracked league scoring leader Tyler Toffoli all over the ice as Ottawa applied pressure. The puck turned over and was cleared to the neutral zone, where Mitchell Theoret forced a turnover that led to a quick 2-on-1 and a Freddie Hamilton goal. Niagara's shutout loss to Mississauga is responsible for hurting their ranking, but this is a team which has lost five games in the last two months and averaged almost 47 shots on goal in those contests.

11. Rimouski Océanic, QMJHL (.534 RPI, +1). The Océanic scoot up one spot by virtue of their nationally televised road win over Shawinigan, who in turn tuned Saint John like a vintage Fender. Rimouski was outchanced 25-15 in that game, so that makes Jacob Gervais-Chouinard the main reason they're on the list ahead of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, who defeated them last week.

12. Calgary Hitmen, WHL (.534 RPI, -1). Like their NHL parent, the Hitmen have a youngster making an exciting cameo in 15-year-old Jake Virtanen. It sounds they picked a good season to be rebuilding. Calgary, amid the hype over last season's No. 1 choice in the bantam draft, has secured home-ice advantage for Round 1 of the playoffs with a week to spare. Their success is a point made for a two-goalie system, since Chris Driedger and Brandon Glover have pulled off a team first by each being credited with 20 wins.

The next dozen

13. Chicoutimi Saguenéens, QMJHL (.532, +3); 14. Blainville-Boisbrand Armada, QMJHL (.529, +5); 15. Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL (.524, -2); 16. London Knights, OHL (.524, -2); 17. Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL (.523, +3); 18. Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL (.521, -1); 19. Saskatoon Blades, WHL (.521,- 4); 20. Regina Pats, WHL (.515, -2); 21. Spokane Chiefs, WHL (.513, —); 22. Acadie-Bathurst Titan, QMJHL (.512, +2); 23. Drummondville Voltigeurs, QMJHL (.510, +8); 24. Barrie Colts, OHL (.509, +3).

Dropping out: Kamloops Blazers (23rd to 25th) and Kootenay Ice (22nd to 28th), both WHL.

Hot teams: Drummondvile Voltigeurs (31st to 23rd) and Gatineau Olympiques (42nd to 34th), both QMJHL. Each team beat Quebec.

Cold team: Ottawa 67's, OHL, down 10 spots (29th to 39th).

Looking (nowhere but) up: Erie Otters, OHL (.420 RPI). The WHL's Victoria Royals (.431) are next to last.

An explanation on rankings: Buzzing The Net uses Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) with a recency factor. RPI combines a team's record with the strength of its opponents to produce an overall rating. Our method also gives more weight to recent games. Shootout wins and losses are classified as ties for philosophical and practical reasons. All three CHL leagues are considered equivalent in quality.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet (photo: The Canadian Press).