Waterloo Siskins goaltender Matt Onuska makes a save in Game 5 verus the London Nationals. (FS Fotos)

Siskins, Nationals will settle Sutherland Cup title in Game 7

The Waterloo Siskins had a chance to become the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League champions on home ice on Sunday afternoon, but the London Nationals turned in their best effort of the series, winning 5-1, sending it back to London for a decisive Game 7.

The Nationals were clearly the better team from the drop of the puck, putting immediate pressure on Waterloo's defense and breaking the ice on a Noah Tooke tally a minute and one second into the game. The overage defenseman has been sensational in the Sutherland Cup, with that being his sixth goal in six games. Max Vinogradov doubled London's lead late in the first period and the visitors took a 2-0 advantage into the intermission. 

After the Nats killed off a penalty in the first minute of the second, Waterloo's hole to climb out of got deeper thanks to James Turner scoring his 17th of the postseason to make it 3-0. Jeff Schrattner would quickly get one back for Waterloo, scoring off assists from Justin Zuber and Sam Spaedt, but George Diaco scored on a London powerplay three minutes later to restore the three-goal lead.

The third period was by far Waterloo's best, putting 20 pucks on Zachary Springer in the London net, but the 20-year-old standout stopped them all. London added one more goal in the third and cruised to the 5-1 victory. The final shots were 41-37 in favour of the Nationals.

So, it all comes down to this. Waterloo has played a total of 77 games this season, to London's 74. None of those games matter now though, with two teams left standing and one game to win it all. Each team has won two of their three games on the road this series, which is encouraging for Waterloo heading into what should be a packed Western Fair Grounds in London for Game 7. The Siskins won Game 5 in London last Thursday night.

Puck drop goes at 7:30 pm on Wednesday night.

K-W Titans season comes to an end in St. John's

The K-W Titans were the National Basketball League's cinderella team this spring, knocking off the first-place London Lightning in the first round then giving second-seeded St. John's all they could handle through five games. A disappointing home loss in Game 5 drove K-W's backs against the wall though, forcing them to win two in a row in Newfoundland.

The Edge never really let the Titans into Game 6, which tipped off on Friday night, holding them to just 16 points in the first quarter and taking a nine point lead into halftime. Needing to regroup and put on a major push in the third, the Titans turned in possibly their most unfortunate 12 minutes of the postseason.

K-W collectively shot 7-22 from the field in the quarter, including going 0-6 from three point range, and was outscored by 14 points giving the Edge a 23-point edge heading into the fourth.

The Titans did all they could in the final quarter of their season, scoring 32 points as shots finally started to fall, but it was too steep of a deficit to erase. The clock was St. John's best friend, and it hit zeros with the Edge up 107-92.

Akeem Ellis was excellent for K-W again, scoring a game-high 21 points, tied with St. John's centre and former NBA champion Glen Davis. Ellis also led the Titans with 12 rebounds.