OHL Playoff Preview: Western 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 Western Conference. Windsor Spitfires (1) vs. Owen Sound Attack (8)
 
Head to Head: Windsor won the season series 3-1-0-0 with one win coming in overtime and one in a shootout. Owen Sound won their final regular season matchup 3-2 on Saturday. All four games of the season series were decided by one goal. The Spitfires finished first overall in the OHL with a 57-10-0-1 record while the Attack finished eighth in the Western Conference with a 26-27-7-9 record.
 
Top Scorers: Sophomores Taylor Hall (38-52-90) and Ryan Ellis (22-67-89) led the Spitfires offensively this season. Hall, who was the OHL’s rookie of the year last season, finished sixth in the OHL scoring race this season and Ellis finished seventh despite missing time away from the team at Christmas to help Team Canada win the World Junior Championships in Ottawa. The year Attack are also led offensively by a sophomore in Joey Hishon (37-44-81), who scored a team-high 37 goals and 81 points and has a bright future as an elite scorer in the league. Marcus Carroll (27-25-52) and Mike Lomas (25-31-56) also surpassed 25 goals this season.
 
In the Nets: Overager Andrew Engelage set a new OHL record this season with 46 regular season wins to pass the mark that Steve Mason set two years ago with the London Knights. The Spitfires also picked up Josh Unice, who backstopped the Kitchener Rangers to the OHL championship last season. The duo of Tyler Beskorowany and rookie Scott Stajcer have effectively split time in the Attack crease this season.
 
Special Teams: Windsor was fifth in the OHL in powerplay percentage, scoring on 21.1 per cent of their opportunities and they were second in penalty killing effectiveness, killing off 86.1 per cent of their opponent’s chances. Owen Sound was 10th in the OHL on the powerplay at 18.6 per cent and they were 15th in penalty killing with a 79.1 per cent ratio.
 
Outlook: The Spitfires set a new team record for regular season points and are poised for a long playoff run while the Attack are in the second year of a rebuilding mode that also includes promising rookies Steven Shipley and Garrett Wilson. London Knights (2) vs. Erie Otters (7)
 
Head to Head: The Knights won all six match-ups between the two teams, including three overtime wins. They met twice in February with the Knights scoring overtime wins in both games. London finished second overall in the OHL with a 49-16-1-2 record while the Otters finished seventh in the Western Conference with a 34-29-3-2 record.
 
Top Scorers: The Knights are led up front by OHL scoring champion and all-time goal scoring leader John Tavares (58-46-104), who was the only player in the OHL to crack the 50-goal and 100-point barrier this season despite missing time away to win the MVP award at the World Juniors. The Knights have a lot of scoring depth with Nazem Kadri (25-53-78) and defenceman John Carlson (16-60-76) also among the league’s top-20 scorers this season. The Otters have spread their scoring around this season with Justin Hodgman (24-42-66), Ryan O’Reilly (16-50-66), Zack Torquato (29-34-63) and Brandon Biggers (25-37-62) all posting at least 60 points.
 
In the Nets: The Knights picked up reliable veteran Trevor Cann from the Petes to solidify the crease and he has put up solid numbers since the move. The hockey world saw how good Jaroslav Janus can be during his standout performance with Slovakia at the World Juniors.
 
Special Teams: The Knights had the most effective powerplay in the OHL this season, clicking at a rate of 24.4 per cent and boast two of the best quarterbacks in the league in Carlson and Michael Del Zotto. They also had the fifth best penalty killing unit at 84.2 per cent effectiveness. The Otters had the best penalty killing unit in the OHL with an 87 per cent effectiveness but struggled with the man advantage, scoring on just 14.3 per cent of their opportunities.
 
Outlook: The Knights are a handful – especially on the powerplay – and the Otters will need to be at their best to keep them at bay. Tavares is on a mission to get to the OHL finals after helping the Generals to the semi-finals last year but the wildcard may be how well Janus plays in the Otters’ net. Saginaw Spirit (3) vs. Guelph Storm (6)
 
Head to Head: Saginaw and Guelph split their season series with two wins each with the Storm winning the first two games and Saginaw winning the last two, including a 5-3 win in Guelph earlier this month. Saginaw finished third in the Western Conference with a 36-24-4-4 record while Guelph was sixth with a 35-26-4-3 record.
 
Top Scorers: The Spirit rely heavily on the overage combination of captain Chris Chappell (38-38-76) and Jack Combs (32-43-75) as well as veteran Tyler Murovich (27-36-63) to do most of the damage up front. The Storm boast five players who scored at least 20 goals this season, including offensive leader Matt Kennedy (33-40-73) and highly rated NHL draft prospect Peter Holland (28-39-67).
 
In the Nets: Veteran stopper Edward Pasquale carried a huge load this season, appearing in a league-high 61 games and established himself as the top goaltender for the NHL draft. Brandon Foote came to Guelph in the rebuilding deal that sent all-star Thomas McCollum to Brampton and Foote has been solid in the Guelph net since the move.
 
Special Teams: Saginaw was 13th in powerplay effectiveness after scoring on 17.7 per cent of their opportunities and they were seventh in penalty killing at 83.3 per cent. Guelph’s powerplay was among the upper-echelon, clicking at a 21.2 per cent effectiveness rate and were middle of the pack in penalty killing with an 81 per cent ratio.
 
Outlook: The Spirit are looking to win their first playoff round since relocating to mid-Michigan while the Storm have loaded their roster with a bunch of good, young players and will use this post-season as a learning process for the coming years. Plymouth Whalers (4) vs. Sarnia Sting (5)
 
Head to Head: Plymouth won the season series 4-1-1-0, including a 6-1 win over Sarnia in the final game of the regular season on Sunday. Sarnia won two of the first three matchups, including a 4-3 overtime win at home in November. Plymouth finished fourth in the Western Conference with a 37-26-5-0 record while Sarnia was fifth after posting a 35-26-4-3 record.
 
Top Scorers: Whalers’ captain Chris Terry (39-55-94) finished second to John Tavares in the OHL scoring race while overager Matt Caria (34-58-92) finished in a tied for fourth place after coming over from the Soo Greyhounds in January. Rookie Tyler Seguin (21-46-67) had a fantastic second half to become the top scoring player from the 2008 OHL Priority Selection. Justin DiBenedetto (45-48-93) had the second highest goal totals this season and finished in third place in the OHL scoring race, one point behind Terry. Veterans Jamie Arniel (32-36-68) and Matt Martin (35-30-65) also put more than 30 goals and 65 points and defenceman Mark Katic (13-41-54) also contributed from the blueline.
 
In the Nets: Matt Hackett became the Whalers’ top netminder after two seasons as a backup and put up solid numbers that included 34 wins and two shutouts. Overager Dan Spence came to the Sting in October from the Calgary Hitmen in the Western Hockey League and gave Sarnia a dependable presence game in and game out.
 
Special Teams: The Whalers were 12th in the OHL with an 18 per cent powerplay and were 11th with an 80.8 penalty killing rating. Sarnia’s powerplay clicked at 19.1 per cent rate, which put them ninth in the league and they were 13th with a 79.3 per cent penalty killing effectiveness.
 
Outlook: These two teams finished two points apart in the tightly grouped Western Conference with the Whalers claiming home ice advantage with a convincing 6-1 win over Sarnia on Sunday. The Whalers were one of the hottest teams in the second half of the season, winning 15 of their final 20 games while Sarnia will try to pick it up after winning 11 times in the same timeframe. Source: http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/   Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com