The Kitchener Dutchmen wait to take the ice in Elmira against the Sugar Kings earlier this season.

 

Last day of regular season decides seeds for GOJHL playoffs

 

After six months of weekly changes to the standings in the Midwestern Conference of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, all eight teams are finally locked into their position and ready to begin the second season. In true Midwestern Conference fashion, though, the final seedings came down to the last days of the regular season.

 

Seeds three through five were all decided on Saturday as the Kitchener Dutchmen hosted the Waterloo Siskins while the Elmira Sugar Kings visited the Cambridge Redhawks. Waterloo, sitting in third place just a point behind the Stratford Warriors, needed to win in its final game to have any hope of leapfrogging Stratford for second. Meanwhile, with a win and an Elmira loss, the Dutchmen could clinch fourth place and home ice advantage against the Sugar Kings in round one. The Siskins opened the game with a two-goal first period but the Dutchies answered with two of their own in the second frame, setting up a huge third period. It was the home side striking who struck first, four minutes in, and after Owen Lane got his second of the night to pull Waterloo even, Tyler Harrison broke the tie with just two and a half minutes to play to put Kitchener on top. The Dutchies added an empty-netter and took this one, 5-3. In Cambridge, the Sugar Kings got out to a hot start scoring twice on the powerplay to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission. After a scoreless second period, Cambridge roared back in the third to send the game to overtime tied 3-3. Phil Caron was the hero for the home squad scoring two minutes into 3-on-3 overtime and squashing Elmira's hopes of a fourth place finish. 

 

Two games were scheduled on Sunday, both holding first-place implications. Listowel hosted Brantford in the afternoon before Stratford was set to visit Elmira at night. If the Cyclones beat the 99ers, they would move two points clear of Stratford and clinch first place in the Conference due to a tie-breaker held over the Warriors. Listowel stormed out of the gates with the usual suspects powering the offence. Brayden Kreiger and Holdyn Lansink scored in the first period before linemate Chayse Herrfort got in on the action, scoring his 38th goal of the season in the second period. Krieger would add another and the Cyclones rolled to a 5-0 victory, clinching first place. With the standings already set, Stratford and Elmira cancelled their night cap due to poor weather. Lansink finished the season as the Midwest's leading scorer and second in the GOJHL with 46 goals and 65 assists for 111 points. He is the first Midwestern Conference player to hit the 100-point mark in a season since Josh McQuade did it back in 2009-2010 for the then-Brantford Eagles.

 

The GOJHL playoffs begin tonight, with the lone Midwestern game going in Kitchener as the Dutchmen host the Sugar Kings. The teams will meet again tomorrow night in Elmira before the rest of the match-ups commence later in the week. A complete list of the schedules for each series are below.

 

(1) Listowel Cyclones vs. (8) Brampton Bombers

Game 1 - Friday, March 1st, 7:30 pm @ Listowel

Game 2 - Sunday, March 3rd, 2:30 pm @ Brampton

Game 3 - Tuesday, March 5th, 7:30 pm @ Listowel

Game 4 - Thursday, March 7th, 4:30 pm @ Brampton

Game 5* - Friday, March 8th, 7:30 pm @ Listowel

Game 6* - Sunday, March 10th, 2:30 pm @ Brampton

Game 7* - Monday, March 11th, 8:30 pm @ Listowel

 

(2) Stratford Warriors vs. (7) Brantford 99ers

Game 1 - Friday, March 1st, 7:30 pm @ Stratford

Game 2 - Saturday, March 2nd, 7:30 pm @ Brantford

Game 3 - Monday, March 4th, 7:30 pm @ Stratford

Game 4 - Thursday, March 7th, 7:30 pm @ Brantford

Game 5*- Friday, March 8th, 7:30 pm @ Stratford

Game 6*- Saturday, March 9th, TBD @ Brantford

Game 7*- Monday, March 11th, TBD @ Stratford

 

(3) Waterloo Siskins vs. (6) Cambridge Redhawks

Game 1 - Thursday, February 28th, 7:30 pm @ Waterloo

Game 2 - Saturday, March 2nd, 7:00 pm @ Cambridge

Game 3 - Sunday, March 3rd, 1:30 pm @ Waterloo

Game 4 - Tuesday, March 5th, 7:00 pm @ Cambridge

Game 5*- Thursday, March 7th, 7:30 pm @ Waterloo

Game 6*- Saturday, March 9th, 7:00 pm @ Cambridge

Game 7*-Sunday, March 10th, 1:30 pm @ Waterloo

 

(4) Kitchener Dutchmen vs. (5) Elmira Sugar Kings

Game 1 - Tuesday, February 26th, 7:30 pm @ Kitchener

Game 2 - Wednesday, February 27th, 7:30 pm @ Elmira

Game 3 - Saturday, March 2nd, 4:30 pm @ Kitchener

Game 4 - Sunday, March 3rd, 7:00 pm @ Elmira

Game 5*- Tuesday, March 5th, 7:30 pm @ Kitchener

Game 6*- Wednesday, March 6th, 7:30 pm @ Elmira

Game 7*- Saturday, March 9th, 12:00 pm @ Kitchener