2015 OHL Cup Semi-Finals Recap
Saturday March 21, 2015
The OHL Cup’s final four teams were in action in the Semi-Finals on Saturday night at Buckingham Arena with the GTHL’s Don Mills Flyers and Toronto Marlboros emerging victorious setting up Monday’s Championship Final on Monday March 23 at 7:30PM at Mattamy Athletic Centre to be broadcast live on Sportsnet ONE.
Semi-Final 2: Peca’s pair guides Marlies to 4-3 win
Toronto Marlboros 4, London Jr. Knights 3
The Toronto Marlboros are headed back to the OHL Cup Finals for a ninth straight year. Their opponent? The rival Don Mills Flyers.
A pair of goals from Jaden Peca helped steer the Marlies over the London Jr. Knights 4-3, a game that London never gave up on.
After a scoreless first, the Marlies went on the offensive in the second as blueliner Samuel Duchesne scored at 2:15 from Matthew Strome and Ryan McLeod. Duchesne put a puck through traffic that got into the back of the net with a little help from the far post. Peca would follow that up with his first of the night at 5:48, taking a centering feed from longtime linemate Ryan McLeod before beating Aidan Hughes low inside the post as the Marlies held a 2-0 lead until late in the second.
London blueliner Ryan Martin got his team to within one with 34 seconds to spare in the second frame. Martin wristed a seeing-eye shot from the blueline on the powerplay that got past Marlies goaltender Lucas Patton. Alex Turko and Jackson Brown drew assists on the goal.
After London’s defence got in on the offence in the second, Declan Graham decided to do the same for the Marlies at 4:53 of the third, walking in off the point to rip a shot over the shoulder of the London goaltender to put Toronto back in front by two.
The Jr. Knights would hang around though. Big winger Isaac Ratcliffe scored his third of the tournament, muscling his way to the front of the net to push one over the goal line and make the score 3-2 in favour of Toronto with 10 minutes still remaining in regulation.
Jaden Peca’s second of the night came on a nice feed from Ryan McLeod at 12:43 as he found Peca on the doorstep for a quick redirect past the London goaltender. Nicholas Pryce also picked up an assist as Toronto led 4-2.
The Jr. Knights made things interesting in the game’s final minute, getting back to within one with the extra attacker on the ice. ALLIANCE Player of the Year Nick Suzuki worked the puck to the net with 24 seconds left where Ryan Martin was in the right spot to jam in his second of the game.
That would be all London could muster though as the Marlboros held on for the win in front of a big crowd at Buckingham Arena.
“We played a great hard-fought game,” said Marlies MVP Jaden Peca. “It’s been a lot of fun playing with Ryan McLeod over the years. He fed me a nice pass on that second goal.”
With the win, the Marlies will face the Don Mills Flyers, the team they defeated in eight games to win the 2015 GTHL Championship.
“We know each other well,” said Peca of the Marlies rivalry with the crosstown Flyers. “Nothing is new and the players are the same. We just have to be physical and play the way we’re capable of. Stick to what’s important.”
The London Jr. Knights suffer their first loss of the tournament and finish with a record of 4-1-1. They were led in scoring by winger Max Vinogradov who had four goals, three assists and seven points in six games.
The Marlies meet the Flyers on Monday night at 7:30pm in the OHL Cup Finals at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Marlboros MVP – Jaden Peca (2G)
Jr. Knights MVP – Isaac Ratcliffe (1G)
Semi-Final 1: Flyers bottle up Jr. Canadiens in 4-1 win
Don Mills Flyers 4, Toronto Jr. Canadiens 1
Brett Neumann scored twice to lead the Don Mills Flyers to a 4-1 OHL Cup Semi-Final win over the Toronto Jr. Canadiens on Saturday night. The Flyers will now battle for an OHL Cup Championship on Monday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre against the rival Toronto Marlboros.
The Flyers played a sound game in all three zones, bottling up a Jr. Canadiens offence that had run rampant through five games, leading the tournament with 23 goals. Don Mills eliminated many of Toronto’s offensive options upon entering the offensive zone, limiting them to a number of very good shots from the perimeter. When they did break through, goaltender Mathew Woroniuk was up to the task.
“Defence wins games,” Neumann said after the win. “We pride ourselves on playing a complete game. When Lindsay Hofford took over as coach, he totally changed the way we play hockey here and it has led to tremendous things.”
Neumann put Don Mills up 1-0 8:30 into the first period, joining David Levin and Jason Robertson as the late man off the rush to bang a free puck past Kristian Hufsky on a broken play.
The Flyers would see their 1-0 lead disappear early in the second though when winger Nicholas Celotti tapped in an Allan McShane centering feed coming down the middle at 1:17.
Don Mills would strike back under a minute later though. Kevin Shirmaly tipped a Jack Greenberg point blast past Hufsky who didn’t have much of a chance on the shot as the Flyers led 2-1.
Hufsky’s night ended four minutes later on Neumann’s second goal of the game. David Levin initiated a tic-tac-toe sequence on the powerplay, feeding down low for Jacob Tortora who found a waiting Neumann in the slot who finished the play off with authority at 5:53.
Bryce Misley added his fourth goal of the tournament at 9:33 to close out the scoring and give the Flyers a 4-1 victory in the OHL Cup Semi-Finals.
“I think that’s the fourteenth time we’ve played those guys this year,” said Neumann with a laugh. “If you add up all of the times this season, plus the seven game playoff series and now this. We’ve had some real battles with them this year and now we’re one step closer to our goal. Just one win away.”
The Toronto Jr. Canadiens see their OHL Cup tournament come to an end, suffering their first and only loss finishing with a record of 5-1-0 with 24 goals for and nine against. They were led in scoring by centreman Mathew Rehding who finished the showcase with five goals, four assists and nine points in six games.
Flyers MVP – Brett Neumann (2G)
Jr. Canadiens MVP – Jack Lyons
Championship Final:
Monday March 23 at 7:30PM
Don Mills Flyers vs. Toronto Marlboros at Mattamy Athletic Centre
Broadcast LIVE on Sportsnet ONE
Admission is FREE
For more information including schedule, rosters, and stats please visit www.ohlcup.ca.
Recaps by Josh Sweetland/OHL
