OHL Eastern Conference Playoff Preview
The Eastern Conference playoff picture is set as eight teams embark on the 2022 OHL Playoffs that get underway on Thursday night. Here’s a look at how the teams stack up:
(1) Hamilton Bulldogs (51-12-3-2) vs. (8) Peterborough Petes (29-33-5-1) – #HAMvsPBO
The East Division champion Hamilton Bulldogs are deemed a Memorial Cup favourite heading into the 2022 Playoffs, closing out the campaign on an incredible 15-game span in which the Bulldogs collected 29 of 30 points. They’ll face off against the Peterborough Petes, who battled their way into the OHL Playoffs as the final seed in the Eastern Conference.
Out of their six regular season meetings, Peterborough managed to defeat the Bulldogs twice. Hoping to be a beast in the crease for the Petes, OHL Goaltender of the Month Michael Simpson recorded 20 wins in 45 games played, with a 3.56 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage. He’ll need to be at his best against a Hamilton team that put up at least six goals on Peterborough five different times this season.
The Petes closed out the regular season tallying four straight wins with the help of their top-two point scorers. 41-goal scorer Tucker Robertson (41-40-81) finished the season with a League-leading eight short-handed goals, while overage forward Emmett Sproule (30-56-86) hopes to keep the winning streak alive on Thursday after reaching 30 goals on the season. Joe Carroll (25-28-53) is another overage forward who’s looking to push the Petes to victory, as the 25-goal scorer sits tied for third in OHL game-winning goals, which the Petes will need in order to find their way past the Bulldogs.
Drafted in the first round of the 2020 OHL Under-18 Priority Selection (15th overall), Samuel Mayer (11-26–37) has proven reliable on the blue line for the Peterborough, playing a hard defensive game while also contributing on the scoresheet.
Leading the League with 51 wins on the season, Hamilton enters the playoffs with wins in 10 straight games. The top-ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League for three consecutive weeks, the Bulldogs took home the Hamilton Spectator trophy as regular season champions for the first time in franchise history.
With nine of the OHL’s top-10 players in plus/minus rankings, the Bulldogs are a force to be reckoned with. Powered by a dominant offence, the Petes will be on the lookout for Logan Morrison who leads his team in points, becoming the sixth OHL player to reach the 100-point mark (34-66-100) this season. Expect Avery Hayes (31-48-79), George Diaco (27-43-70), Jan Mysak (34-30-64) and Ryan Humphrey (25-37-62) to also be big offensive contributors, each finishing the regular season with over 60 points. Facing off against his former club, expect Anaheim Ducks prospect Mason McTavish to come out hot, as he racked up 47 points in 29 games for the Bulldogs this season. And finally, after missing the first half of the campaign, Seattle Kraken prospect Ryan Winterton looks to make an impact for his squad after coming off a strong second half, recording 46 points in 37 games (20-26-46).
Contributing from the defensive zone, overage blueliner Nathan Staios is prepared to lay down the hammer, playing a 200-foot game as he leads OHL defencemen in scoring with 66 points (15-51–66). Big 6-foot-4, 204Ib. blueliner Arber Xhekaj represents his hometown squad, racking up a plus-37 rating through 33 regular season games as a Bulldog.
In the pipes, Marco Costantini set new Bulldogs records with a league-best 2.32 goals-against average and .917 save percentage along with six shutouts. His 31 wins ranked second in the League.
Head coach Jay McKee’s Bulldogs have excelled on special teams with the OHL’s second-ranked power play and fifth-ranked penalty kill, surrendering a league-low 176 goals. The Petes will need to dig deep as they start the series on the road against the Bulldogs, who played to an OHL-best 27-4-1-2 home record.
Season Series:
Hamilton wins 6-2-0-0
Oct. 28 – HAM 3 at PBO 4
Nov. 12 – PBO 2 at HAM 4
Nov. 18 – HAM 10 at PBO 6
Dec. 17 – PBO 5 at HAM 10
Feb. 6 – PBO 3 at HAM 7
Mar. 15 – HAM 1 at PBO 3
Mar. 29 – HAM 6 at PBO 2
Apr. 3 – PBO 1 at HAM 6
Playoff History:
This marks the first time Hamilton and Peterborough will meet in the OHL Playoffs. The Petes last met the Belleville Bulls in the first round of the 2008 OHL Playoffs, falling in five games.
Series Schedule:
Game 1, Thurs., April 21 at Hamilton, 7:00
Game 2, Mon., April 25 at Hamilton 7:00
Game 3, Wed., April 27 at Peterborough 7:00
Game 4, Thurs., April 28 at Peterborough 7:00
Game 5, Sat., April 30 at Hamilton 7:00 *
Game 6, Mon., May 2 at Peterborough 7:00 *
Game 7, Wed., May 4 at Hamilton 7:00 *
(2) North Bay Battalion (43-18-3-4) vs. (7) Ottawa 67’s (28-31-2-7) – #NBvsOTT
The Gardens will be geared up for playoff hockey on Thursday as the Central Division champion Battalion play host to the Ottawa 67’s in Game 1 of their first round series.
An evenly matched season series sets the stage for a clash of hard-working clubs as the Battalion, who have home ice in a series for the first time since 2016 when they beat the Peterborough Petes in seven games, enter as the favourites.
The Troops have some high grade firepower with 101 point scorer Brandon Coe (34-67–101) joined by Edmonton Oilers prospect Matvey Petrov (40-50–90), overage attacker Mitchell Russell (41-47–88), 6-foot-5 flank Kyle McDonald (35-20–55) and 30-goal centreman Kyle Jackson (30-32–62) spreading the scoring around.
Rookie defender Ty Nelson has been fun to watch all season, ending the campaign with 51 points (9-42–51), quarterbacking the League’s fourth-ranked power play. The Battalion have the shutdown presence to match Nelson’s offensive flair on the back end, with overage addition Grayson Ladd and steady rookie Tnias Mathurin ready to take on any matchup that comes their way.
Statistically, the Troops join the Barrie Colts as the League’s most disciplined team, taking 619 penalty minutes throughout the season. That helps the cause of big goaltender Joe Vrbetic, a Montreal Canadiens prospect who has been lights out for the Battalion since March 1st, going 7-1-0-0 with a 2.11 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in that span.
Led by well-established coach Dave Cameron, the 67’s scored the League’s fewest goals (199) during the season, but lived up to their club mantra of “No Quit”, scratching out extra points here and there to battle their way into the playoffs. Ottawa played to a 13-6-2-7 mark in one-goal games over the course of the season, and benefitted greatly with the return of Calgary Flames prospect Jack Beck to their lineup post-injury in mid-February.
Beck (22-22–44) led the club offensively with 1.22 points-per-game despite missing an extended period. Draft eligible winger Vinzenz Rohrer (25-23–48) follows in the footsteps of his Austrian countryman Marco Rossi in leading the Barber Poles in scoring while reliable faceoff man Cameron Tolnai joins a pair of impressive rookies in Luca Pinelli and Brady Stonehouse in taking on considerable responsibility up front.
Ottawa Senators first round pick Tyler Boucher will be one to keep an eye on in the series. The sturdy 6-foot-1, 205Ib. winger recorded 14 points (7-7–14) through his first 24 OHL contests. The 67’s will need him to bring a physical edge in the series. Ottawa will have a pair of overage forwards in Adam Varga and Alex Johnston leaving it all out on the ice.
Behind a blue line corps led by 6-foot-4 Nashville Predators prospect Jack Matier, the 67’s have turned to 19-year-old netminder Max Donoso of late, whose first OHL season yielded an 11-9-1-5 record, 2.82 goals-against average and .906 save percentage. He’s the League’s reigning Goaltender of the Week after posting his first OHL shutout in a win over the Kingston Frontenacs.
The 67’s are going to have to keep North Bay from busting loose in this series, and that won’t come easy.
Season Series:
Series tied with seven points apiece
Nov. 7 – NB 1 at OTT 2
Nov. 18 – OTT 0 at NB 3
Nov. 27 – NB 2 at OTT 3 (OT)
Dec. 31 – OTT 5 at NB 1
Jan. 30 – OTT 2 at NB 3 (SO)
Feb. 20 – NB 6 at OTT 2
Playoff History:
This marks the first time that Ottawa and the North Bay Battalion have met in the OHL Playoffs. The 67’s and Brampton Battalion last faced each other in 2004, with the Troops winning the first round series in seven games.
Series Schedule:
Game 1, Thurs., April 21 at North Bay 7:00
Game 2, Sat., April 23 at North Bay 7:00
Game 3, Mon., April 25 at Ottawa 7:00
Game 4, Wed., April 27 at Ottawa 7:00
Game 5, Thurs., April 28 at North Bay 7:00 *
Game 6, Sun., May 1 at Ottawa 2:00 *
Game 7, Tues., May 3 at North Bay 7:00 *