GOJHL Playoff Preview by Jacques Teasdale
Western Conference
London Nationals vs St. Marys Lincolns
First Game: April 3rd, 7:00pm @Western Fair District Sports Centre
Season Series: 4-2 for London Nationals
London Nationals: Over the regular season series most of the games were a one-score game. The Nationals have had a fair amount of time off playing their last game on March 27th, which was a 7-0 closing game against the Vipers. Forward, Jeremy Hirsh had a great second round scoring a point in each of the games, with a total of 8 points in 5 games. The starts remain to be split between Sabourin and Froggett, with a save percentage average of .921 between them over 5 games. The D-Core has remained the head of the story with 3 game-winning goals from Michael Kopok, one of them being in overtime on the road. The back end of Michael Kopcok, Peter Fagan, Logan Pace-Roth, and Matthew Downie, have had a combined 26 points over 10 games played together. Nonetheless, the X-Factor for this series will be “MVP”, Lucas Chard, with 2 short-handed goals and 15 points throughout the playoffs his play remains a key factor in the Nationals winning this series. This will be a rematch of last year’s second round that the Nationals look to get the better of this time around.
St. Marys Lincolns: Coming off another great series for St.Marys, the offensively charged Lincolns have still not lost a playoff game, making them 8-0 so far. However, the story still remains how explosive their powerplay has been with 4 players with 3+ power play goals so far this playoffs. They now have a total of 18 powerplay goals over 8 games. With Adam Barkley quarterbacking the powerplay, it has been one of the most efficient we have seen so far this playoffs. Ethan Weir and Luca Spagnolo have found new gears, this round both tallying hattricks in the series against Strathroy. Chase MacQueen-Spence, offered great support with now a 3rd place in points per game in the playoffs stat record. Current goalie, Brandon Abbott, playing all 8 games recording 2 shutouts, and a .919 save percentage has also been a notable performance. The X-Factor for this series is head coach, Jeff Bradley he has had all his players involved throughout both series, succeeding on powerplay and penalty kill moments. Being the one of the two only teams, to not lose a game as of yet in a competitive conference, is a difficult feat, however, Jeff has found ways to shut down opposing team star players again and again. The Lincolns hope to win it all for the conference after a close series last year against the Leamington Flyers
MidWestern Conference
Statford Warriors vs Listowel Cyclones
First Game: April 5th, 7:30pm @ Steve Kerr Memorial Centre
Season Series: 3-3 Series Tie
Stratford Warriors: A young team, Head Coach, David Williams looks to defend their title against a dominant Listowel. The former Listowel Head Coach, David Williams is no secret to taking down number one seeds as they did it last year against the Kitchener-Waterloo Siskins. Powerplay threat Brayden Stumpf has recorded 21 points so far in these playoffs. Not far off, veteran Camden Daigle has had 20 points so far in these playoffs as well. Matthew Perdue has remained solid for them recording a .923 save percentage and 2 shutouts. The Warriors are an exciting young team that finds themselves yet again in the Mid-Conference finals, with even more scoring threats. Watch out for players like Michael Denney and Joey Brehmer to start to heat up as the competition gets better. The X-Factor for this series is Carson Harmer, the Saginaw Spirit prospect, Unique Cup award winner, and R.J Noble award winner, has found a different groove recording a point in each of his last 5 games, after a rather slower start. This should be a chippier series as both teams have had a known past all season, with high penalty minutes and battles around the ice
Listowel Cyclones: Both teams have not played each other since February 19th, making this all for an exciting series for both fan bases. Wylie Birkett has been on a great streak of averaging a playoff league-leading 2.63 points per game. He has had at least 2 points in every game of the playoff this season, with only 3 games without a goal as well. The former Windsor Spitfire has found great stride this playoffs and is on pace to break records. Mid-Western Conference First-Team All-Star, Luke Eurig has been sold so far with 7 goals for 16 points. Jordan Alexander has seen a major uptick in production with 3 powerplay goals tied for most as a defenseman this playoffs. Lastly, the X-Factor remains “Twin City Trophy” winners, Riley Arts and Dixon Grimes, with only 0.62 goals against in the playoffs, their regular season success has moved right to the playoffs. They’re combined .942 save percentage, will be a key factor in winning this series.
Golden Horseshoe Conference
Caledonia Corvairs vs Fort Erie Meteors
First Game: April 3rd, 7:30pm @ Haldimand County Caledonia Centre
Season Series: 4-3 for Caledonia Corvairs
Caledonia Corvairs:With Caledonia winning 8 of the 11 awards given out for the Golden Horseshoe Conference, it is not a secret to the league that there is loads of talent on this roster. With 27 goals across only 5 games, all that time off felt like Caledonia didn’t even skip a beat. Elite Penalty Killer, Markus Dempewolf remains to be the story of special teams as he continues to score while short-handed. The veteran team has played a complete game averaging over 35 shots a game on opposing teams’ goalies. The historic franchise finds itself in the finals yet again making it now every year since 2014 they have made the Golden Horseshoe finals. They were defeated, however, by a dominant Hamilton Kilty’Bs squad which they are looking to change this year, with a revamped Corvairs team. Players to watch out for is Sami Douglas, the “Dave Dunham”, defenseman of the year, who is known for his powerful one-timer on the powerplay which should be unleashed even more in this series. The X-Factor for this series will be Jayden Lammel an obvious pick, but it is hard to avoid the player who has already 11 points in 5 games and is coming off an “MVP” season. His two-play and playmaking creativity has left other teams still baffled as to not only try to stop him but just try to slow him down.
Fort Erie Meteors: For the first time since 1991, the Meteors are heading to the Golden Horseshoe Final. After not losing a game on the road to a difficult home team to play against the St.Catharines Falcons, they are playing a complete game overall. A key factor to note is that Fort Erie had won 4 of their last 5 games against Caledonia. As the Corvairs only lost 9 games all season, this is a preview of how competitive this series will be in the 3rd round. Mid-season addition of Sam Tonelli, has scored at least a point in 7 of his last games, a player that matches up well against this Corvairs team, due to his playmaking ability. As predicted last “Playoff Preview”, Liam Beamish is heating up as the competition arises, with an uptick in minutes and goals, eyes should be on him to have a great physical series. Charlie Burns seems to have the same mentality to play better as the lights get brighter with the highest save
percentage among goalies with above 8 games played of .936. The Golden Horseshoe Conference First-Team All-Star found ways to make special saves in key moments against an offensively high-powered Falcons team. Golden Horseshoe Conference First-Team All-Star, Rylan Masterson, had a great series playing lots of minutes against the Falcons, but also playing smart when needed in close games. The X-Factor for this series is the Meteors Fanbase, they have travelled well in every series so far making away games feel like home games. The support they offer is unmatched like no other, making their playoff atmosphere merely palpable to Meteors players
