Les Phoques go from BHL basement to Backyard Cup Final

Less than one year after finishing dead last in the regular season followed by a first round exit, the Seals find themselves preparing for their first chance at hoisting the biggest prize in the Backyard.

Les Phoques used their depth and defence to post the BHL's best record in the regular season before dispatching of the hottest team in the BHL Les Pylones in 4 games to earn the franchise's first Caleb Lindsay Memorial Trophy and the distinction of representing the Frozen Lake Conference in the 2017 Backyard Cup Finals.

Heading into the draft GM's Aaron Somerville & Matt Harvey had two main criteria when building thier roster, rebuild thier defence & bolster thier goaltending.  That formula is what saw the Seals draft cornerstone defencemen Chris Van Poppell & Matty Roxborough in consecutive rounds. So far this season the two have combined for an awesome +42 rating through 15 regular season games and 4 playoff contests with Roxborough currently leading all BHLers with a +10 rating in the Backyard Cup Playoffs. After deciding to protect Luke Christie who with the added help of a strong defence posted career numbers (8-3, 2.97 GAA, 1 SO) before his work sent him to Wellington permanantly. The Seals then looked to two time BHL Champion, Lochlyn Hyde (8-1, 1.43, 1SO) who posted equally spectacular numbers for the FHL affiliate Les Coqs Squad. Lochlyn was called up for the remainder of the season but was forced to withdrawl from the Backyard Playoffs once she was named the starter for the New Zealand Ice Fernz Club.

Left without a goaltender the Seals never thought that the best was yet to come. In a creative move, that helped establish their run to the finals, Somerville & Harvey quickly snatched up BHL Goaltender Alain Guiaque (Toe Dragons) to join the squad after his team was eliminated in the Wildcard round. That move has arguably been the best move these two guys have made all year. After dropping his first contest with the new team, the goaltender has rattled off 3 wins and sits as the top goaltender in the BHL postseason with a 4-2 record and a 3.64 GAA.  Guaique has posted a 3-1 record & an awesome 2.51 GAA while backstopping Les Phoques.

Adversity has been a key trend for these Phoques as they have been riddled with injuries and exits throughout the campaign. After the loss of top scorer Estefano Bonafante due to unpaid BHL fees, the Seals looked to the farm. Enter FHL standout, Darcy Keane. The FHL product has established himself as a bonafide BHLer in these playoffs and after chipping in 4points with the parent club in the postseason including the series winning goal.

Looking Ahead ... Les Phoques look poised to put up a fight as they have allowed a league low 10 goals through 4 playoff games. Establishing such defensive post season dominance could give the potent offence of the Holes fits in the final. Can they continue that trend when the face the most offensively gifted post season team? Will Alain continue his MVP like playoff performance? Can the Seals stay on form ?

FORWARDS

Moon - Somerville - Betts

Oikin - Rainville - Gabaydullin

Keane - Fuscic - Commons

DEFENCE

Van Poppell - Harada

Roxborough - Harvey

GOALTENDERS

Guaique - Hyde

Les Phoques will look for thier first Title when they hit the ice Vs the ICEHOLES (2),  Thursday, March 2nd/2017 @ 8:00pm for Game One of the 2017 Backyard Cup Finals !!!