2023 Road to the Memorial Cup: OHL Round 3 preview
It’s anyone’s guess how things are going to unfold in the OHL with four teams left standing.
And through two rounds, the storylines have been compelling.
The top seed in both conferences are gone. North Bay and Sarnia have never won an OHL title. Peterborough haven’t lifted the J. Ross Robertson Cup since 2006. And then there’s London who are chasing a fourth league title in the last 10 seasons.
London and Sarnia have lost just three games between them through two rounds while on the other side, North Bay have already played 13 games. Peterborough, who eliminated the East’s top-seeded 67’s, have needed 11 games to reach the third round.
Eastern Conference
(2) North Bay vs. (4) Peterborough
After the best regular season in team history, where they won 48 games, the Battalion find themselves back in the Eastern Conference Championship Series for the fourth time in eight seasons. Ryan Oulahen’s men, who beat Mississauga in six games in Round 1, needed seven games to take out Barrie in the second round in a series that also featured three overtime tilts. Ty Nelson (SEA) led the way with 10 points from the blue line while Kyle McDonald (DAL) and Matvey Petrov (EDM) had nine and eight points respectively. Dom DiVincentiis (WPG) tallied a 2.28 GAA.
McDonald, Nelson and Petrov each have 18 postseason points, tied for the second most in the OHL behind only Barrie’s Brandt Clarke (LA). DiVincentiis, who won a club record 36 games in the regular season, ranks fifth in the CHL with a .929 save percentage.
Peterborough is back into the third round of the OHL Playoffs for the first time since 2017 and just the second time in 17 years. The Petes have needed six games in each round thus far to first dispose of Mississauga before they would eliminate the no. 1 seeded 67’s where four games were decided by one-goal. Brennan Othmann’s (NYR) seven points led the Petes against Ottawa, while Connor Lockhard, who had a hat-trick in Game 6, led the way with four goals. Between the pipes, Michael Simpson posted a .911 save percentage.
Othmann’s 12 points lead the Petes through two rounds while Avery Hayes is the only other Peterborough skater to have reached double-digit points. Simpson’s .920 save percentage is third best among OHL goalies.
Season series: North Bay won series 4-0-0
Schedule:
Game 1 — April 28 — PBO @ NB — 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Game 2 — April 30 — PBO @ NB — 2pm ET / 11am PT
Game 3 — May 2 — NB @ PBO — 7:05pm ET / 4:05pm PT
Game 4 — May 3 — NB @ PBO — 7:05pm ET / 4:05pm PT
Game 5* — May 5 — PBO @ NB — 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Game 6* — May 7 — NB @ PBO — 7:05pm ET / 4:05pm PT
Game 7* — May 8 — PBO @ NB — 7pm ET / 4pm PT
*if necessary
Western Conference
(2) London vs. (3) Sarnia
With nine games played this postseason, the London Knights are the freshest team left in the OHL. Dale Hunter’s team swept Owen Sound in Round 1 while they would need just five games to take out Kitchener in the second round. Brett Brochu was incredible in goal for London as he recorded shutouts in Game’s 4 and 5 while in Game’s 1 and 3 he conceded just once in each game. Offensively, the Knights scored 28 times in the series with Sean McGurn’s eight points a team high. Denver Barkey and George Diaco each had seven points with the former’s four goals a series best alongside Ryan Humphrey. London is back in the Western Conference Championship Series for the first time since 2016, the year they won the last of their four OHL titles.
McGurn’s 16 points are the most by a Knight thus far while Brochu leads the OHL in GAA (1.63) and save percentage (.934). His four shutouts in nine games are the most in the CHL.
Sarnia find themselves in the Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. Having previously made the second round on four occasions over 29 seasons, Alan Letang’s team finally made the long-awaited leap into Round 3 after a sweep over Saginaw. Benjamin Gaudreau (SJ) bookended the series with shutouts in Game’s 1 and 4 while Luca Del Bel Belluz (CBJ) had the overtime winner in Game 2. Four Sting skaters played at a point-per-game pace over the series while Del Bel Belluz and Easton Wainwright each scored three times. The Sting had eliminated Guelph in six games in Round 1.
Nolan Burke has 12 points this postseason with Del Bel Belluz and Ty Voit a point behind. Gaudreau’s 2.10 GAA is the second best in the OHL.
Season series: London won series 4-2-0
Schedule:
Game 1 — April 28 — PBO @ NB — 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Game 2 — April 30 — PBO @ NB — 2pm ET / 11am PT
Game 3 — May 2 — NB @ PBO — 7:05pm ET / 4:05pm PT
Game 4 — May 3 — NB @ PBO — 7:05pm ET / 4:05pm PT
Game 5* — May 5 — PBO @ NB — 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Game 6* — May 7 — NB @ PBO — 2:05pm ET / 11:05am PT
Game 7* — May 8 — PBO @ NB — 7pm ET / 4pm PT
*if necessary