Second Round Western Conference Playoff Preview

By Aaron Bell

The second round OHL playoff matchups are set. In the Western Conference, the Windsor Spitfires will meet their cross-border rival Plymouth Whalers while the London Knights will also travel to Michigan to face the Saginaw Spirit. Both series open on Thursday in Ontario before shifting across the border on Saturday.

Windsor Spitfires (1) vs. Plymouth Whalers (4)

Head to Head: Windsor won the season series 6-2-0 including 5-1 and 9-4 wins earlier this month. Windsor finished first overall in the OHL with a 57-10-0-1 record and then swept the Owen Sound Attack in the opening round of the playoffs. The Whalers were fourth in the Western Conference in the regular season with a 37-26-5-0 record and knocked off the Sarnia Sting in five games in the opening round.

Top Scorers: Taylor Hall (7-5-12) picked up where he left off in a productive second OHL season and led the club with seven goals and 12 points in the first round. Veterans Eric Wellwood (4-4-8) and Dale Mitchell (4-3-7) also contributed up front and defenceman Ryan Ellis (4-3-7) was the usual powerplay quarterback. Andrei Loktionov (0-8-8) also pitched in with eight helpers. Veterans Chris Terry (5-5-10) and Matt Caria (5-4-9) led the way for the Whalers against Sarnia with five goals each while standout rookie Tyler Seguin (2-9-11) was their top point producer in their five game opening round series.

In the Nets: Andrew Engelage (2-0, 4.12, .847) won two games in the first round but Josh Unice (2-0, 1.50, .950) was called on for some emergency duty. Matt Hackett (4-1, 0.99, .970) played every minute of the opening round and was outstanding.

Special Teams: The Spitfires were clicking at 24 per cent on the powerplay against Owen Sound but killed off just 75 per cent of the chances against. The Whalers scored seven times on the powerplay against Sarnia for a 21.9 per cent effectiveness and killed of all but two of 34 chances against for a 94.1 penalty killing rate.

Outlook: After a record-setting regular season and a relatively easy ride through the first round of the playoffs, the Spitfires should have their hands full with Plymouth, who were one of the most dangerous teams in the league through the second half of the season.

Schedule:
Game 1 – Thu Apr 2 7:05 at Windsor
Game 2 – Sat Apr 4 7:05 at Plymouth
Game 3 – Sun Apr 5 at Windsor
Game 4 – Tue Apr 7 7:05 at Plymouth
Game 5 – Thu Apr 9 7:05 at Windsor *
Game 6 – Sat Apr 11 7:05 at Plymouth *
Game 7 – Mon Apr 13 7:05 at Windsor *

London Knights (2) vs. Saginaw Spirit (3)

Head to Head: London won the season series 3-1-0-0 including a 3-0 win in their last regular season meeting on March 13. The Knights were 49-16-1-2 and finished second in the Western Conference in the regular season and then knocked off the Erie Otters in five games in the opening round. The Spirit were 36-24-4-4 and finished third in the Western Conference in the regular season and swept the Guelph Storm to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since relocating to mid-Michigan in 2002.

Top Scorers: Phil Varone (5-5-10) led the Knights in scoring through the first round of the playoffs with John Tavares (4-4-8) and Nazem Kadri (4-4-8) also contributing up front. Michael Del Zotto (1-7-8) and John Carlson (0-6-6) also chipped in from the blueline. Veteran centre Jack Combs (6-3-9) led the Spirit in scoring against Guelph and scored two game-winners in the four game set. Veterans Chris Chappell (2-4-6) and Tyler Murovich (2-4-6) and defenceman T.J. Brodie (3-2-5) also scored at better than a point a game average.

In the Nets: Trevor Cann (4-1, 2.01, .940) played all but one minute for the Knights in the opening round, allowing 10 goals in five games while Edward Pasquale (4-0, 2.77, .927) was busy backing the Spirit to a first round win.

Special Teams: Del Zotto and Carlson drive things for the Knights’ powerplay and had them clicking at 24.2 per cent effectiveness in the first round while the penalty killing unit was also effective, turning aside 88.5 per cent of their chances against. Saginaw was 19 per cent on the powerplay in the first round with Brodie scoring two of their four extra man goals. They were also stingy on the penalty kill, operating at 91.7 per cent effectiveness.

Outlook: The Knights added Tavares and Del Zotto at the trade deadline to bolster their lineup for an extended playoff run while the experienced Spirit are anxious to keep their playoff run alive. Saginaw allowed an average of nearly 50 shots per game against Guelph and will need to cut that down to be successful against the Knights.

Schedule:
Game 1 – Thu Apr 2 7:00 at London
Game 2 – Sat Apr 4 7:11 at Saginaw
Game 3 – Sun Apr 5 7:00 at London
Game 4 – Tue Apr 7 7:11 at Saginaw
Game 5 – Thu Apr 9 7:00 at London *
Game 6 – Sat Apr 11 7:11 at Saginaw *
Game 7 – Mon Apr 13 7:00 at London *

* games if necessary