Portland Winterhawks, Guelph Storm trade spots atop BTN Dynamic Dozen

The ides of March, in junior hockey, are otherwise known as 'hurry up and let the playoffs get here.'

All five of the top teams in the Buzzing The Net Dynamic Dozen lost at least once over the past seven days, four to teams much farther down the standings. It happens when one club has a cushion and its opponents have far, far more imperative to chase points late in the season. So one shouldn't read a lot into the results.

Portland and Guelph each had a stumble, but the Winterhawks nose into top spot in what BTN guru-in-residence Rob Pettapiece has dubbed the hipsters vs. hippie rivalry. This would make more sense if the University of Guelph had been the setting for a cable sketch comedy series with a cult following, which come to think of it, should have happened by now.

1. Portland Winterhawks, WHL (.582 RPI, +1.8 SRS, +1) — Overage goalie Corbin Boes is intent on a law career as a fallback. So last year the 'Hawks had the Truth in goal (Mac Carruth, late of the Toledo Walleye) and now it has Justice. No doubt some of the more creative element among Portland's rabid following can do a lot better than that for a nickname.

Boes and padded platoon partner Brendan Burke bring less playoff experience to the table for Portland than Carruth did, for whatever that is worth. Boes was the goalie of record as an 18-year-old for Brandon when it reached the second round in 2012, but was on a non-playoff team last season. Burke, the Phoenix Coyotes draft, mopped up for Carruth a couple of times. But the Winterhawks are so strong that it will have a way of putting their goalies at ease.

"As long as you don’t let yourself get overrun by the moment, the moment doesn’t really change that much," Burke told the Portland Tribune. "We’re still playing the same teams in the same league — obviously the intensity level goes up."

2. Guelph Storm, OHL (.581 RPI, +2.1 SRS, -1) — Zack Mitchell, the overage who's been undeniably productive for Guelph (89 goals, 210 points across 198 games) since the first time he was passed over the NHL draft, has signed with the Minnesota Wild. It's well-earned for the Caledon, Ont., native who battled 'bad head' at earlier stages of his junior tenure. That's a story one roots for.

Squandering a five-goal lead and losing to Sudbury accounts for the Storm sliding out of the top of the Double D. No matter; a spoiler-playing pack of Peterborough Petes pretty much decided the race for first overall a fortnight early by beating London last Sunday. It's clear sailing for Guelph.

3. Kelowna Rockets, WHL (.580 RPI, +1.8 SRS, —) — The rankings are through Monday's games so they do not account for the Rockets getting "bossed" 5-1 by the Everett Silvertips on Tuesday. There might be nothing that accounts for getting bossed 5-1 in Everett. The 'Tips got up early with goals from two Edmonton Oilers selections, Jujhar Khaira and Ben Betker, and Kelowna didn't do much to allay the impression that once it fell behind, it was in what Stanley Hudson would term a "run out the clock situation."

It happens to everyone. Just make sure it doesn't start happening repeatedly. It was just Kelowna's 10th regulation loss; oddly enough, while the Rockets are very balanced up front, eight of those L's have been in games are in games where Myles Bell, its leading 41-goal scorer and a New Jersey Devils draft pick, was shut out. Granted, that also means the Rockets have won a chunk of games where Bell didn't ring one up.

4. London Knights, OHL (.568 RPI, +1.6 SRS, —) — The Knights, in what must be considered an act of noblesse oblige, are not publicly venting about the fact they would not have home-ice advantage in a second-round series with the West Division champion Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds despite tallying more points. "You don’t change the way the playoffs operate because of one exceptional year," goes the reasoning. “The rules are in place for a reason and they reward winning the division." Never mind that the Western League re-seeds for the second round based on regular-season points, eh? Its rules are in place for a reason, too.

London is one point behind Erie for the third seed with six games to play. With two games left against second-place Sault Ste. Marie, London arguably has the tougher road coming home. Neither potential first-round foe, Saginaw or Windsor, is a pushover although the Spirit are set apart by having Jake Paterson in goal.

5. Erie Otters, OHL (.564 RPI, +1.8 SRS, —) — Youngster Dylan Strome, the No. 2 overall pick in the OHL priority selection draft, hasn't had anywhere near the same attention as the guy he was chosen after, Ottawa's Travis Konecny or Sean Day, the exceptional player the Otters demurred from choosing. The young forward, however, is drawing into the second line as Erie tries to diversify its attack with the post-season approaching. That move helped get OHL goal scoring leader Dane Fox out of a funk last weekend.

Incidentally, when Fox hit the 40-goal mark in December, someone suggested on Twitter that 65 seemed like a reasonable final total. He would need seven in the remaining six games to hit it. See, people are starting to get regression analysis.

6. Victoria Royals, WHL (.553 RPI, +0.9 SRS, —) — Think the Royals might be for a grueling week of practice? Coach Dave Lowry thought Victoria "relied on our goaltending too much" after Patrik Polivka was called upon to stop 55-of-59 shots during a two-game sweep at Prince George. Victoria also has another series this weekend, this one against feckless Kamloops, so it's imperative to curtail any bad habits that might have developed while facing the league's lesser lights.

7. Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL (.551 RPI, +1.2 SRS, —) — Baie-Comeau could clinch first overall if sweeps at Rimouski this weekend, which is easier said than done considering that the Océanic have won 11 in row. Éric Veilleux's team, prior to beginning that two-gamer, has to face 16th-place Shawinigan on Wednesday. Baie-Comeau fiddled around during its previous game against a bottom-four team and is probably best advised not to do so again. The Drakkar rebounded from flirting with disaster against Sherbrooke to vanquish a decent Victoriaville side, with Jérémy Grégoire nailing down first star of the week honours.

The Drakkar, at 92 points with five games to go, are the lone QMJHL team that can conceivably finish with 100. If it doesn't, it would be the first time the Q has not had a 100-point club since 2008.

8. Val-d'Or Foreurs, QMJHL (.551 RPI, +1.4 SRS, +1) — Coach Mario Durocher believes he's "better off" with the nucleus he has up in the Abitibi than he was 12 years ago with the Victoriaville Tigres team that won the President's Cup. Val-d'Or, with Anthony Mantha now up to 110 points through 52 games, has managed to still pose matchup problems with a lineup of hefty forwards, while augmenting it with speed and mobility sprinkled throughout the lineup. Anyone else notice that New York Rangers-drafted defender Ryan Graves is plus-16 over 20 games since joining the Drillers?

9. Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL (.548 RPI, +0.4 SRS, -1) — 'Birds GM Russ Farwell did a lot of in-season roster tweaking, mostly by catching the Lethbridge diaspora. The move that, looking back, might have panned out the best was adding sound defenceman Adam Henry, who as Tim Pigulski points out, has helped Seattle's defence congeal and thicken.

Dallas Stars selection Branden Troock, who's had a fits-and-starts second half due to injury, scored a pivotal goal Saturday while Seattle was snapping Portland's near-record streak. The 19-year-old could be a X factor in whether there is second-round playoff hockey at the ShoWare Center.

10. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, QMJHL (.547 RPI, +0.9 SRS, —) — With a closing schedule that includes a pair vs. both Val-d'Or and Gatineau, B-B could finish anywhere from second to fifth overall in the QMJHL. It might not be ripping off victories like some of the other higher-ups in the standings (see: Halifax, Rimouski, Baie-Comeau), but the Armada have got it done. Witness how it took two points out of Drummondville last week, with overage goalie Étienne Marcoux turning in a vintage 29-of-30 night. Florida Panthers pick Christopher Clapperton also had back-to-back two-point nights in close-checking environments as he girds to a primary scorer in the playoffs.

11. Drummondville Voltigeurs, QMJHL (.541 RPI, +0.8 SRS, +4) — The Volts' second-half rise can be pinned to being one of the Q's more airtight teams, having allowed the third-fewest goals while playing in a division that includes five of the top eight scorers including 19-year-old NHL first-rounders Anthony Mantha and Émile Poirier. Shoring up the blueline at midseason by adding Calgary Flames draft pick Ryan Culkin was an obvious factor, but 18-year-old Ontario expat Dexter Weber has also been a find. The Kitchener, Ont., native might have worked from being unwanted in his home province to being drafted in the next league.

12. Calgary Hitmen, WHL (.538 RPI, +1.0 SRS, +2) — Beating Edmonton to cap off their 'OHL scheduling at WHL travel distances' weekend — Sunday matinee on the road after playing at home the night before — vaults the Hitmen back into the list. Ottawa Senators-drafted goalie Chris Driedger stopped 38-of-40 shots in that tilt in his first signature performance since returning from a team suspension; some overdue acknowledgement should go to 18-year-old understudy Mack Shields for his 2.55 avg./.918 save pct. February.

The Hitmen play three non-playoff teams over their remaining seven games, which help it in the dogfight with the Oil Kings for top spot in the Eastern Conference. Edmonton has a game in hand but a tougher schedule.

The not as dynamic but still very distinguished dozen — 13. Québec Remparts, QMJHL (.537, -2); 14. Gatineau Olympiques, QMJHL (.533, -1); 15. Spokane Chiefs, WHL (.533, -3); 16. Rimouski Océanic, QMJHL (.533, +2); 17. Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL (.533, -1); 18. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL (.532, -1); 19. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, QMJHL (.519, —); 20. Everett Silvertips, WHL (.518, +1); 21. Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL (.518, +1); 22. Windsor Spitfires, OHL (.516, -2); 23. Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL (.515, —); 24. Oshawa Generals, OHL (.512, —).

Hot team — Drummondville Voltigeurs, up 4 (15th to 11th).

Cold team — Spokane Chiefs, down 3 (12th to 15th).

Nowhere to go but up — Lethbridge Hurricanes (.421).

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 recently played games. Shootout wins and losses are classified as ties, for philosophical and practical reasons. Simple Ranking System (SRS), a ranking which combines goal differential and strength of schedule, is used as a complement. All three CHL leagues are considered equivalent in quality.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.