The Bill Weir Cup Finals are set!  We have first place London taking on fifth place St. Thomas.

This is London’s 3rd straight year in the Western Conference finals.  They are the 2-time defending Bill Weir Cup Champions, and 2-time Sutherland Cup Finalists.  They know what it takes to go the distance.

St. Thomas on the other hand, is making their first appearance in the finals since the 2011 playoffs.  In fact, this was the first time they made it out of the first round in 7 years.  In 2011, they entered the playoffs as the 4th seed and defeated the 2nd seed London Nationals for the Western Conference Championship.  Will history repeat itself or will the Nationals get redemption from 7 years ago?

Last round, London faced Chatham.  The Maroons put up a good fight against the Nats, but the top seed showed why they’re at the top and knocked out Chatham in 6 games.  The Captain Brenden Trottier is leading his team with 20 points so far this post-season.  As I pointed out 2 weeks ago, Trottier is the set-up man with 18 assists.

St. Thomas is coming off a semi-final series with Leamington that went the distance.  Except for Game 5, they were very close games with the Flyers, just 1 or 2 goal differences, and they pulled off the upset against 2nd seed Leamington.  In the first round, the Stars had Brett Fisher make his debut.  In the second round, it was twin brother Kyle who made his.  Brett has 13 points heading into the finals and Kyle has 3.  We know from their time in Lambton Shores/Komoka they can turn it on and the Nats will want to look out for them, as well as Adam Keyes who is leading the Stars on the scoresheet.  

Past Results                        

10/20/17    London 1 at St. Thomas 4   
10/25/17    St. Thomas 2 at London 5   
11/10/17    London 1 at St. Thomas 2   
01/17/18    St. Thomas 1 at London 4   
02/02/18    London 2 at St. Thomas 4   
02/19/18    St. Thomas 2 at London 1   

Schedule

Game 1    March 28, 7:30 pm    Western Fair
Game 2    March 29, 7:30 pm    Timken Centre
Game 3    March 31, 7:30 pm    Western Fair
Game 4    April 3, 7:30 pm    Timken Centre
Game 5    April 4, 7:30 pm    Western Fair
Game 6    April 6, 7:30 pm    Timken Centre
Game 7    April 7, 7:30 pm    Western Fair

This is your Bill Weir Cup final.  I think St. Thomas has surprised a lot of people and London can’t take them lightly if they want to win a 3rd straight Western Conference title.  The Stars did take the season series against the Nats, but this is playoffs, anything can happen!

I will see you again in 2 weeks for the Sutherland Cup Semi-Finals.  Until then, you can find me at an arena near you.

Stacy
@TheRocketGirl16

Photo Credit: Mike Maloney @mdmaloneyphoto