2015 OHL Cup Championship Preview

Monday March 23, 2015

By Josh Sweetland/OHL

To say the Toronto Marlboros and Don Mills Flyers have grown familiar with one another would be an understatement. After three regular season meetings and a grueling eight-game GTHL Championship series that ended with defenceman Elijah Roberts giving the Marlies a 1-0 overtime victory, the two clubs meet for a 12th time on Monday in the 2015 OHL Cup Finals.

The Marlies and Flyers last met in the OHL Cup Championship in 2011, a game that saw Toronto’s Aaron Berisha (London Knights) bury the winning goal with 20 seconds remaining in the third period as the Marlies skated to a 5-3 win. Highlights

The two clubs featured a total of 13 current day OHL players, including the likes of Flyers defenceman Darnell Nurse (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds), centreman Max Domi (London Knights) and goaltender Charlie Graham (Belleville Bulls). Belleville Bulls teammate Jordan Subban patrolled the point for the Marlboros along with underage teammates Roland McKeown (Kingston Frontenacs) and Jonathan Duchesne (Sudbury Wolves). The Marlies featured a strong cast of forwards led by Anaheim Ducks prospect Nick Ritchie (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) and skilled underage winger Josh Ho-Sang (Niagara IceDogs).

The 2011 Marlies rolled to seven straight wins to claim an OHL Cup title. Despite the 2015 rendition’s one loss in the tournament thus far, they’re in search of the same outcome at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Monday.

With the likes of speedy, offensively driven forwards David Levin, Jacob Tortora and Brad Cocca in the lineup, the Don Mills Flyers boast some of the same capable offensive skill the 2011 squad featured the likes of Max Domi and current day Oshawa Generals two-way forward Aidan Wallace in the lineup.

Both the Marlies and Flyers have been fixtures at the top of the weekly OHL Cup Minor Midget Top-10 Rankings this season, with Toronto topping the charts to end the year at number one and the Flyers trailing close behind at number two.

This season marks the eighth time in nine years where the OHL Cup’s final stage has featured two GTHL clubs, and the ninth straight year that the Marlies have competed for the title. During that period they have three championship victories in 2009, 2011 and 2014. The Flyers’ appearance in the 2011 OHL Cup Finals has been the closest they’ve come to hoisting minor midget hockey’s ultimate prize.

The Flyers enter Monday’s matchup with an undefeated 6-0 record in the 2015 OHL Cup Showcase, claiming victories against the Oakville Rangers, TPH Thunder, Waterloo Wolves, North Central Predators, Kitchener Jr. Rangers and Toronto Jr. Canadiens. They lead the tournament with 25 goals for and are the only team that hasn’t allowed a powerplay goal against, going 17-for-17 on the penalty kill. Watch Flyers’ Semi-Final Highlights.

“We’ve been waiting for this one,” said Don Mills captain Brett Neumann after Friday’s Semi-Final victory over the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. “It’s one game and a shot at redemption for us, we haven’t forgotten. We only had one day off after Game 8 of the GTHL Finals and we got right back to playing our game and it’s brought us success.”

Neumann, a two-way centreman who was named the MVP of Saturday night’s Semi-Final win, enters the Championship game tied with crafty Flyers forward David Levin for the team lead in scoring with two goals, six assists and eight points in six games.

The Toronto Marlboros come into action with a 5-1-0 record, suffering their only loss of the tournament at the hands of the Mississauga Reps by a score of 1-0. Toronto took victories over Halton, Team NOHA, the Ottawa Jr. 67’s and the London Jr. Knights enroute to the Championship game. Their 27.8% powerplay (5/18) ranks third in the 2015 OHL Cup. Watch Marlies’ Semi-Final Highlights.

The Marlies feature some familiar last names in the lineup, with 2014 OHL Cup MVP and Mississauga Steelheads forward Michael McLeod’s younger brother Ryan standing out as one of the premiere players in the showcase. His overtime heroics on Saturday against the Quinte Red Devils to push the Marlies into the Semi-Finals remain one of the highlights of the tournament thus far. McLeod and teammate Elijah Roberts go for their second OHL Cup title after they helped the 2014 Marlies win it all as Bantam call-ups.

McLeod’s longtime linemate Jaden Peca currently leads the Marlies in scoring with three goals, four assists and seven points in six outings, finishing on two nice feeds from McLeod in Friday’s win over London to earn game MVP honours.

Another familiar name comes in the form of big two-way centreman Matthew Strome, the younger brother of past Marlies and now prominent stars Ryan (New York Islanders) and OHL scoring champion Dylan Strome (Erie Otters). The Marlies captain foreshadows what the early shifts of Monday’s contest are likely to entail.

“Physicality is going to be a key to our success against Don Mills,” Strome, a big centreman, said after Friday’s Semi-Final win. “We need to get on their ‘D’ early, forecheck, pressure them down low and play hard around the net. There aren’t many secrets between us and it’s going to be an intense game.”

The 12th and final meeting of the year between these two rivals will take place in the historic setting of the Mattamy Athletic Centre, marking the first time that the OHL Cup Finals will be housed in such a prestigious venue.

Formerly Maple Leaf Gardens, the old building at Carleton and Church has witnessed it’s share of big goals, overtime victories, momentum shifts and crushing defeats. Monday’s OHL Cup Final is one more big finish in a building that has seen it all.

Admission is FREE for the 2015 OHL Cup Finals that get underway at 7:30pm on Monday. The game can be seen LIVE across the country on Sportsnet One.

For more information including schedule, rosters, and stats please visit www.ohlcup.ca.