OHL Playoff Format and Tie-Breaking Procedures

Heading into the final month of the 2004-05 Ontario Hockey League regular season, several playoff positions are still to be determined.

The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the OHL playoffs with the division leaders ranked one-two in each Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, first place plays eighth, second plays seventh, third plays sixth and fourth plays fifth in each conference. Teams are re-seeded within their conference after each round and the division winners are always ranked 1-2 within the conference as long as they progress. The champions from each conference play in the OHL Championship Series for the J. Ross Robertson Cup.

The OHL Playoffs are scheduled to begin on Thursday March 24. Second round match-ups will begin on April 6 with the Conference Championships to start April 19 and the OHL Championship Series to start on May 3. The London Knights will host the 2005 MasterCard Memorial Cup at the JLC May 21 – 29.

If two or more teams are tied for the final OHL playoff position in either conference, sudden-death playoff games will be used to determine the team that advances.

For all other playoff positions, the following tie-breaking procedures are in place:

1. The team with the most number of wins during the regular season shall be declared higher in the standings.

2. If two teams are still tied, the team with the best record in head-to-head competition (based on points including overtime losses) shall be declared higher in the standings. If more than two teams are tied after the first tie-breaker, the percentage of available points earned in games among each other shall be used to determine the standing.

3. If still tied, the team with the greater differential between goals scored for and against by clubs having equal standing after the second tie-breaker shall be declared higher in the standings.

Updated standings and statistics are available in real time on the OHL’s Web Site – www.ontariohockeyleague.com.