The GOJHL playoffs begin tonight with a number of games on the schedule, highlighted by three Midwestern Conference series openers. (Photo courtesy GOJHL.ca)

Second season begins tonight for local Jr. B teams 

The matchups are set in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League postseason, and the quest for the Sutherland Cup begins this weekend. 

The Elmira Sugar Kings finished as the Midwest’s one seed, and draw the last-place Brantford Bandits in round one. Elmira was unbeaten against Brantford in the regular season, winning all seven meetings by a combined score of 40-7. The Sugar Kings will be heavily favoured to dispose of the Bandits in the minimum and continue their playoff run. Elmira will host Brantford at 7:30 pm on Wednesday night in the series opener, and will visit the Bandits on Saturday night. 

The Kitchener Dutchmen fought off Cambridge for second place in the Midwest, and earn a date with the Brampton Bombers. The Dutchies and Bombers faced off seven times during the season, with Kitchener winning six of those meetings, outscoring Brampton 40-15 in the process. The series will begin Wednesday night in Kitchener at 8 pm before shifting to Brampton for game two on Friday night. 

The Cambirdge Redhawks slotted in third in the Midwest, and play the reigning Sutherland Cup champion Waterloo Siskins. The Siskins look drastically different than the team that knocked off the London Nationals in overtime of Game 7 last season, and will be the underdogs in this series. The Redhawks went 6-1 this season against Waterloo, and turned heads in its third year back in the GOJHL. Cambridge owns home ice and will host the opener on Saturday night at Galt Arena before the series swings to Waterloo on Sunday afternoon. 

The closest matchup of the playoffs pits rivals Listowel and Stratford against each other, with the Warriors earning the fourth seed and home ice. Both teams have been excellent on their home ice this season and will look to defend it in a series that is sure to be highly intense. Stratford won the season series 4-3, highlighted by a 7-1 drubbing at home on January 31st. The puck drops on this series on Wednesday night in Stratford and shifts to Listowel on Friday night.