Listowel's Holdyn Lansink, Stratford's Sean Ross, and Waterloo's Sam Cherry will try to lead their teams to the Midwest's top seed. (Photos Courtesy of Dan Hickling)

Listowel, Stratford and Waterloo all vying for tops in Midwest

The only predictable part of this Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League season has been that unpredictability will reign supreme, especially when it comes to the Midwestern Conference standings. Although the same three teams have occupied the top three seeds for much of the campaign, which team will finish at the top come season's end is anyone's guess. And now, with just two weekends remaining and the three squads separated by a single point, it has become a race to the finish line.

Remarkably, after a hard-fought 43 games, the Listowel Cyclones and Stratford Warriors share identical 30-9-4 records, good for 64 points each and a share of the first seed. Hot on their heels are the Waterloo Siskins, who at 30-11-3 have played one more game than Listowel and Stratford and trail them both by one point. This race will surely come down to the last few games on February, and with Listowel and Stratford both in action on the last day of the regular season, Waterloo may very well be forced to watch its fate unfold. Listowel hosts Waterloo this Friday night before welcoming Stratford to Steve Kerr Arena for a Family Day matinee on Monday afternoon, while the Siskins and Warriors will meet in Waterloo on Sunday afternoon. This weekend's games could go a long way in creating any separation between the three teams. Then again, if this season has been any indication, the results of this weekend could do nothing to solve the deadlock.

Another compelling storyline in the Midwest is the battle for home ice advantage that rages on between the Elmira Sugar Kings and Kitchener Dutchmen. It is all but settled that the Kings and Dutchies will meet in the first round as the fourth and fifth seeds, but which team will finish where is still yet to be determined. Elmira currently holds the edge with 54 points over Kitchener's 53 and hold one game in hand. The teams meet in Elmira this Sunday afternoon in what has come to be a must-win game for both teams. Elmira will play half of its six remaining games at home, while Kitchener plays two at home and three on the road.

Rounding out the final three seeds in the Midwest are the Cambridge Redhawks, Brantford 99ers and Brampton Bombers, respectively. Cambridge, in its inagural GOJHL season, is settled in sixth place and will play whoever falls to third out of Listowel, Stratford and Waterloo. It would take a perfect storm for Brampton to catch Brantford for seventh place, as the 99ers have a seven-point lead on the Bombers, who have just four games remaining. Both teams' first round opponents will also be determined by the final seeding of the top three. It is sure to be a wild finish to the GOJHL season, with local teams the focal point of a still-blurry playoff picture.