OHL Playoff Preview: Eastern Conference

READING , PA – Today, the OHL officially begins their playoff season. In our two part series, we will take a look at the first round matchups in the Eastern Conference.
 
Belleville Bulls (1) vs. Sudbury Wolves (8)
 
Head to Head: Belleville won the season series 3-1-0-0. The Wolves won the first game of the season between the two teams in October and then Belleville won the next three, including a 5-2 win in Sudbury last weekend. Belleville finished first in the Eastern Conference for the second straight season with a 47-17-2-2 record for 98 points while the Wolves finished eighth with a 26-35-3-4 record for 59 points.
 
Top Scorers: Bulls’ captain Eric Tangradi (38-50-88) finished among the league’s scoring leaders this season while veteran sniper Bryan Cameron (37-44-81) and newcomers Luke Pither (35-37-72) and Brandon Mashinter (34-24-58) also contribute to a deep group of forwards. Team Canada standout P.K. Subban (14-62-76) was among the OHL’s top scoring blueliners. Sophomore Eric O’Dell (33-30-63) continued to prove that he is an elite scorer with the Wolves while veteran Matt Dias (31-35-66) enjoyed a career year stats-wise. John McFarland (21-31-52), the first overall pick in the OHL’s Priority Selection last May, also enjoyed a productive rookie campaign.
 
In the Nets: Mike Murphy won the OHL’s goaltender of the year award last season and put together another standout campaign this year. He recently signed with the Carolina Hurricanes while Andrew Loverock has been the go-to-guy between the pipes for the Wolves.
 
Special Teams:   The Bulls were sixth in the OHL after scoring on 20.6 per cent of their powerplay opportunities and were eighth with an 83.3 penalty killing average. Sudbury was 11th on the powerplay at 18.5 per cent and 17th in penalty killing at 78.8 per cent.
 
Outlook: The Bulls have played more playoff games than any other team in the past two seasons and hope that experience will help them to another extended playoff run. The Wolves are on the upswing of a rebuilding process after going to the league finals two years ago.
 
Brampton Battalion (2) vs. Peterborough Petes (7)
 
Head to Head: The Battalion won all four meetings between the two teams with the Petes picking up a point in a shootout loss in November. Brampton finished second in the Eastern Conference with a 47-19-1-1 record for 96 points while the Petes clinched a playoff spot in the final weekend of the season after posting a 28-37-1-2 record for 59 points.
 
Top Scorers: Brampton is led by an impressive trio of forwards that includes World Junior standouts Cody Hodgson (43-49-92), who may be the most complete player in the conference this season, and Evgeny Grachev (40-40-80) along with top NHL draft prospect Matt Duchene (31-48-79). Overage pickup Matt Kang (24-32-56) has also contributed up front. The Petes have been paced offensively this season by Tony Romano (36-33-69) and Zack Kassian (24-39-63) while first round pick Ryan Spooner (30-28-58) is already performing like a veteran.
 
In the Nets: Brampton bolstered their lineup when they picked up Thomas McCollum from Guelph after he played for the U.S. at the World Juniors at Christmas. The Petes have leaned heavily on Jason Missiaen in the second half and the big netminder has responded with good play.
 
Special Teams: Brampton’s powerplay was 15th in the OHL this season with a 17.5 per cent efficiency and they had the third best penalty killing unit with a 85.7 per cent effectiveness. The Petes were eighth in the OHL with a 19.3 per cent rating on the powerplay and were 19th in penalty killing at 76.1 per cent.
 
Outlook: Brampton was in a neck-and-neck battle with Belleville for first place in the division until the final weekend of the season while the Petes have been playing playoff-type hockey for weeks now trying to secure a post-season berth.
 
Ottawa 67’s (3) vs. Niagara IceDogs (6)
 
Head to Head: Niagara won the season series 3-1-0-0 with one win coming in overtime. The 67’s finished third in the Eastern Conference after posting a 40-21-5-2 record for 87 points while the IceDogs finished sixth after putting together a 26-31-5-6 record for 63 points.
 
Top Scorers: The 67’s are led offensively by captain Logan Couture (39-48-87), a San Jose Sharks’ prospect. Anthony Nigro (30-39-69) has also been solid since arriving from Guelph and overager Corey Cowick (34-26-60) has experienced a renaissance this season setting new career scoring totals. Andrew Agozzino (27-29-56), Matthew Sisca (21-33-54) and Chris DeSousa (33-18-51) lead the way offensively for the IceDogs while defencemen Drew Schiestel (10-38-48) and Alex Pietrangelo (8-21-29) are also threats to score from the blueline.
 
In the Nets: Chris Perugini has worked his way into the number one role for the 67’s and has posted solid numbers while Adam Courchaine is also capable and ready to jump in. The IceDogs picked up Jeremy Smith from the Plymouth Whalers and have plugged him in as their regular starter ever since.
 
Special Teams: The 67’s were tops in the Eastern Conference and second overall with a 23.9 per cent powerplay and were sixth in the OHL at 83.5 per cent in killing penalties. The IceDogs were 14th in the OHL with a 17.7 per cent powerplay and were 12th in penalty killing at 79.4 per cent.
 
Outlook: This is Brian Kilrea’s final season behind the bench for the 67’s and his team would dearly love to send him out on a winning note. The IceDogs expected to be in full blown rebuilding mode this year but have found ways to be more competitive than expected.
 
Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors (4) vs. Barrie Colts (5)
 
Head to Head: The team split the season series with three wins each. The Majors won two in a row in January and February and the Colts won the last two meetings, including a 5-3 win on March 1. The Majors finished fourth in the conference with a 39-26-1-2 record for 81 points and the Colts finished fifth with a 30-33-3-2 record for 65 points.
 
Top Scorers: Jared Gomes (31-31-62) bumped up his scoring totals considerably this year while veteran forward Michael Pelech (19-46-65) and defenceman Cameron Gaunce (17-47-64) were the top point producers. Sophomores Casey Cizikas (16-20-36) and Jordan Mayer (22-22-44) are also capable scorers. After a breakout season last year, Alex Hutchings (34-34-68) put in another solid campaign as the Colts’ top scorer this year while big winger Josh Brittain produces at nearly a point a game and Team Canada member Stefan Della Rovere is at his best in big games.
 
In the Nets: Third-year netminder Chris Carrozzi doesn’t attract as many headlines as some of the other stoppers in the East, but he has put together a second straight campaign with better than average numbers. The Colts have used the tandem of Michael Hutchinson and Peter Di Salvo alternating starts down the stretch. Hutchinson was the key to a first round upset over Brampton last spring.
 
Special Teams: The Majors had the third best powerplay in the OHL this season, clicking at a 22.5 per cent rate and killed off 84.5 per cent of their penalties, the fourth best average in the league. The Colts were 17th scoring 15.3 per cent of the time with the man advantage and were ninth in the OHL with an 82.5 per cent penalty killing rate.
 
Outlook: Special teams seem to be the only thing that separates these two teams. The Majors have been a hot and cold bunch this season and hope that a hot streak that includes wins in eight of their final 10 regular season games continues in the playoffs. The Colts struggled down the stretch but hope to score another first round upset this season.
 
Source: http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/
 
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com