The second round of the GOJHL playoffs commence tonight with Stratford hosting Waterloo and Kitchener visiting Listowel.

 

Local teams set to clash in GOJHL's second round

 

The field has been narrowed from eight to four and the intensity has been turned up to ten. It's the second round of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs, and the Midwestern Conference combatants feature four local teams set to do battle. With both series beginning tonight, let's take a look at how each team stacks up against their respective opponent.

 

(1) Listowel Cyclones vs (4) Kitchener Dutchmen

Listowel was the Midwest's most explosive team this season, riding an offense that could at times score at will to first place in the conference. Kitchener had a bumpier path to get here, spending mostly all season in fifth place before a late charge gave the Dutchies home ice over Elmira in the first round. That proved to be significant as Kitchener won game 7 at Kinsmen Arena to advance. While anything can happen in the playoffs, the season series suggest that Listowel is the clear cut favourite, as the Cyclones went 6-1 against the Dutchies this year with the only loss coming in September. 

A massive factor in this series will be Kitchener's ability to slow down Listowel's top line of Holdyn Lansink, Brayden Krieger and Chayse Herrfort. The trio combined for 278 points this season, with Lansink leading the Midwest with 111 of his own while Krieger and Herrfort tallied 84 and 83, respectively. The next highest scorer on Listowel was mid-season acquisition Luke Israel, scoring 27 points. The powerplay has also been a major factor for Listowel, finishing the season at a clean 25% and working at 35.5% in the playoffs. While the Cycs are top heavy on paper, timely depth scoring and stingy goaltending has been part of the recipe for success for the reigning Sutherland Cup champs. 

If Kitchener pulls off the upset it will be because of a balanced attack and goaltender Lucas Patton stealing a game - or multiple. Kitchener boasts four 40-point scorers, led by Sean Kawalec's 70, and had three defenseman combine for 97 points, which could come into play this series if the production from the back end holds up. Patton was excellent all season and was solid at the most important moments in round one, posting a shutout in game 7 against Elmira. He will need to be at his best against these high-flying Cyclones. 

This series will highlight the age-old debate of rest versus momentum, as Listowel disposed of Brampton in four blowouts, while Kitchener is coming off an emotional seven-gamer against Elmira. While Listowel will have the fresher legs, there is always something to be said for riding the high of a game 7 victory. This series gets going tonight in Listowel at 7:30 pm before moving to Kitchener on Sunday at 5:30 pm. 

 

(2) Stratford Warriors vs (3) Waterloo Siskins

Although Stratford and Waterloo were two of the Midwest's top teams all season long, it seems as though they both have something to prove entering this series. Stratford quietly put together a phenomenal year, finishing just two points shy of Listowel for first, but was always overshadowed by the Cyclones' loud offense. Waterloo led the conference for much of the season but a second-half stumble saw them fall to third place and lose home ice in this series. The season series between these two was tight, with Stratford winning four to Waterloo's three, and there is a sense that the length of this playoff series might end up reflecting the length of the season series. Home ice gives the advantage to Stratford, but this one is too close to call on paper.

Both teams finished off their first round opponents in five games, with the Warriors beating Brantford and Waterloo ousting Cambridge. There were tense times in both series, as Stratford suffered a rare home defeat as Brantford put up six goals, while Waterloo gave up seven in game two in Cambridge. Because it's the playoffs, goaltending will play a big role in who escapes this matchup and will be a compelling storyline throughout. Stratford boasts 21-year-old Zack Weir, a Midwestern first-team all-star and goaltender of the month for November and January, while Waterloo is riding 16-year-old Matt Onuska, who enjoyed a very strong underage season in which he was named to the Midwest's all-rookie team. Onuska was a seventh-round pick of Kingston in last spring's OHL Draft and can make some noise with another series win. 

Stratford was led this season by captain Sean Ross's 68 points and had nine other players reach at least 20 points while Sam Cherry paced Waterloo with 70 points. The Siskins had 14 players hit the 20-point mark. Waterloo had the slight edge in powerplay percentage at 20.8% to Stratford's 17.8%, while the Warriors killed off penalties at a 85.3% clip to the Siskins' 83.5%. The numbers indicate that this series will likely be a long one and might even go the distance. It features two veteran coaches, Dave Williams in Stratford and Todd Hoffman in Waterloo, who were together in Kitchener five years ago with Hoffman serving as an assistant to Williams with the Dutchmen. 

These teams will also get started tonight in Stratford at 7:30 pm, with game two in Waterloo on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 pm. The series returns to The Allman on Monday night at 7:30 pm.

 

Titans split trip to St. John's, remain out of playoffs

 

The K-W Titans had their playoff hopes take a hit this week after escaping St. John's with only a split in two National Basketball League games. The Titans remain in fifth place in the five-team Central Division three wins shy of Sudbury for fourth place with four games to go, making their playoff chances quite bleak. K-W has struggled as of late, dropping five of its last eight games including a 28-point thumping at the hands of Halifax last Sunday at The Aud. The team took off for St. John's this week needing a couple wins to inch closer to the final playoff spot. 

 

St. John's, sitting pretty in first place in the Central, was beaten by K-W in the teams' only meeting prior to this week, 117-105 in Kitchener in February. This week's games were significant for the Edge as well, as they are trying to hold off London charging hard from second place. St. John's came out strong on Tuesday, putting up 33 points on K-W in the first quarter. The Titans responded with 36 of their own in the second though, and took a narrow 61-59 lead into the break. The back-and-forth continued in the third quarter with the Edge enjoying another 33-point quarter on the strength of Olu Ashaolu being a perfect 5-5 from the field and 3-3 from the free throw line. Feeling the pressure of their playoff hopes dying, the Titans stormed back in the fourth quarter thanks to a huge performance from Ashton Smith, scoring 14 points off the bench, and outscored the Edge by 22 in the frame, completing the comeback victory, 123-109. Smith finished with a double-double off the bench with 25 points and 10 assists, while Tramar Sutherland poured in 32 points in a reserve role. Ashaolu led St. John's with 29 points. 

 

On Wednesday, the run-and-gun style of play gave way to a more defensive battle, as the teams combined for 83 points at the half, compared to 120 on Tuesday. Again it was St. John's with the edge after 24 minutes, leading 45-38. K-W closed the gap in the third quarter, scoring 28 points on a combined 11-20 shooting, while the Edge managed 25 points on 9-19 shooting, maintaining a four-point lead heading into the final quarter. Akeem Ellis tried to will the Titans back in the fourth, scoring nine points and pulling down three rebounds, but ultimately the Edge were too stingy and held on for a 101-97 win. K-W's bench was uncharacteristically ineffective, struggling without Ashton Smith available and combining for just 16 points. Ed Horton led the offense with 26 points while Ellis contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds. Glen Davis was the difference for St. John's, scoring 33 in 41 minutes of play.

 

The Titans now have just four games remaining, two at home and two on the road, all of which are considered must-wins. They will host the London Lightning on Saturday night at The Aud, before visiting Windsor and returning home to face Moncton next weekend. K-W's final game of the season comes in Sudbury, the team they are chasing for fourth place. If all goes according to the Titans' plans, that game could be present a win-and-you're-in scenario, but Sudbury will have to lose its next two games for any chance of that.