Listowel Cyclones forward Chayse Herrfort follows the play against the Brampton Bombers. Listowel swept the series 4-0. (Photo by Dan Hickling)

For the better part of the 2018-19 Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League season, the Midwestern Conference standings were top heavy. The Listowel Cyclones, Stratford Warriors, Waterloo Siskins, Kitchener Dutchmen and Elmira Sugar Kings occupied the top five seeds for the entire season while the Cambridge Redhawks, Brantford 99ers and Brampton Bombers battled for positioning in six through eight. In the playoffs anything can happen, and the contenders attempted to elude any possible upsets as the first round commenced. With the matchups for round two now set, let’s take a look back at how we got here.

(1) Listowel vs (8) Brampton

The first-place Cyclones and the last-place Bombers experienced very different seasons, with Listowel returning much of its Sutherland Cup-winning team from last year while Brampton has continually struggled to find its footing since entering the league six years ago. The Cycs overpowered the Bombers in every game, sweeping the series four games to none. Midwestern leading scorer Holdyn Lansink was a handful for Brampton, scoring 11 points for Listowel in the four wins, all of which were blowouts as Listowel outscored Brampton 24-5. Aside from the big offensive numbers Listowel played impressive defense in the series, as Liam Silva and Tyler Sampson were the only Bombers to score multiple points in the series with each player accounting for just two. Listowel moves on and should be considered a threat to repeat as Midwest champions.

(2) Stratford vs (7) Brantford

This series began with the ice tilted heavily in Stratford’s favour as 43 points separated the teams in the standings, and the advantage was evident in the first two games. Stratford won the opener on home ice, 4-1, before dismantling the 99ers at the Civic Centre in Brantford, 7-1, in game two. The underdogs breathed life into the series back in Stratford though, stealing a 6-5 victory in a tough Allman Arena environment to cut the Warrior’s series lead in half. Stratford regained its composure with a 4-2 win in Brantford and put the series away in game five, winning 6-2 at home. Dylan Lebold paced Stratford with eight points in five games while Zack Weir earned all four wins in goal.

(3) Waterloo vs (6) Cambridge

The Siskins led the Midwest for much of the season but a second half stumble dropped them into third place and set up a first round date with the Redhawks, who were steadily in sixth place all year. Waterloo came out flying with a 7-2 drubbing in the opener, but Cambridge responded with a highly-entertaining 7-5 win in game two to even the series. The Siskins settled in though, and the Redhawks, who are talented but young, could not go punch-for-punch with the heavyweight Waterloo offense. The Siskins went on to win the next three straight by scores of 5-2, 5-3 and 6-3 to seal the series in five games. Nine Siskins scored at a point-per-game pace, highlighted by Sam Cherry’s nine in five games, while rookie goaltender Matt Onuska was impressive in his first playoff series. Devyn Oprana was a glaring bright spot for Cambridge as the 17-year-old forward scored seven goals and one assist in the five games, building off his 36-point output in his first GOJHL season.

(4) Kitchener vs (5) Elmira

In by far the most evenly matched series of the first round, the Kitchener Dutchmen drew the Elmira Sugar Kings. This matchup was determined a few weeks before the end of the regular season so the teams had time to prepare for each other, but it was not until the final weekend that Kitchener sealed home ice. That advantage would prove to be massive as the series wore on. The teams split the first four games of the series, with each team winning twice on the road, turning this one into a best-of-three heading back to Kitchener. The Dutchmen escaped game five with a 3-2 win, but Elmira answered back with a 3-2 win on home ice of its own, sending this series to a game seven. It was only fitting that these two teams would be pried apart by a winner-take-all game, and the game itself was just as intense as the series. After a scoreless first period, the Dutchmen drew first blood as Sean Kawalec scored midway through the second. In the third period, with Elmira on the powerplay pressing for the equalizer, Dutchies forward Tyler Harrison found Drayton Duckett shorthanded and Duckett made no mistake, beating Mat Woroniuk and putting Kitchener up by two. Lucas Patton did the rest for the home side, stopping all 31 shots he faced as Kitchener added two empty-netters and took game seven, 4-0. Harrison and Kawalec were excellent in the series for Kitchener scoring 13 and nine points, respectively, as was Patton who finished with two shutouts in his four victories. Hunter Dubecki led Elmira with seven points in seven games while Woroniuk was strong posting a 2.39 goals against average.

The second round is now set and will begin on Friday night in Listowel with the Cyclones hosting Kitchener, and in Stratford with the Warriors welcoming Waterloo. It is no real surprise that the top four teams advanced, as the contenders were evident all season long. With only four now remaining though, the gap has tightened and there are no longer any guarantees. The battle for a Cherrey Cup berth is on.