Josh Stevens of the Waterloo Siskins battles for possession with Tyler Healy of the Listowel Cyclones in a game earlier this season. (Photo by FS Fotos)

Final month of regular season will determine playoff matchups 

The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Midwestern Conference features some of the league’s tightest playoff races as the calendar shifts to February this weekend. Although all eight teams will qualify for the postseason, much is left to be settled in the final month. The Elmira Sugar Kings are comfortably in first place, but the chaos begins just below them. 

After a massive 5-3 home win on Saturday night against the team they’re chasing, the Cambridge Redhawks moved to within a point of the Kitchener Dutchmen for second place in the conference. Kyle Kennery scored all three goals for the Dutchies, but was overshadowed by a dominant, four-goal third period from the Redhawks to stun Kitchener. The Dutchmen followed up their effort with another disappointing loss at home on Sunday, a 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Brampton Bombers. The back-to-back losses keep Kitchener at 55 points and at risk of losing their grip on second place. 

Behind Cambridge (54 points) sits the Stratford Warriors (51 points), who beat Cambridge 5-3 at the Allman Arena on Friday night thanks to a decisive three-goal third period. Rhett Kimmel stopped 22 shots in goal to earn the victory. Kimmel stayed hot on Sunday night, stopping all 30 shots he faced to shutout the Brantford Bandits in a 5-0 win. Drew Welsch scored twice and added an assist in the blowout. 

Not out of the race are the Listowel Cyclones, who trail Stratford by four points with two games in hand. Listowel was beaten by Elmira, 6-3, on Friday night at home but bounced back with a 3-2 win in Brantford on Saturday. Tyler Hotson scored the game-winner in the second period, and Dixon Grimes stood tall in goal as the Bandits tried to mount a comeback. 

The Waterloo Siskins have been one of the hottest teams in the GOJHL in 2020, climbing back into a race that they not long ago looked like they were out of. A 5-1 win in Brampton on Friday night brought them to within seven points of Listowel, but a 5-0 loss at home to Elmira on Sunday afternoon got them no closer. The Siskins have nine games left to play, but only one is against the Cyclones. 

The race will be worth watching as the teams each enter February with something to play for. Home ice and preferred matchups will be up for grabs down the stretch, and local teams have begin putting on their push for playoff seeding.