Road to the OHL Cup: Surveying the OMHA’s SCTA ranks
The 2019 OMHA Championship is upon us as the Guelph Gryphons, Halton Hurricanes, Quinte Red Devils and York-Simcoe Express join the host Whitby Wildcats at the annual Minor Midget AAA showdown this coming weekend.
In addition to handing out gold, silver and bronze medals, the top four teams competing at the Iroquois Park Sports Complex in Whitby will advance to the OHL Cup Powered by Under Armour while the fifth place team will suit up in a Wild Card Play In game on Tuesday March 12th.
In this week’s Road to the OHL Cup segment we take a look at the OMHA’s SCTA loop, one that saw Guelph and Halton emerge as finalists following semi-final series wins.
The Hurricanes make their season debut in this week’s OHL Cup Powered by Under Armour Top 10 Rankings after going 7-0-1 in OMHA SCTA round robin playoff action before eliminating the Southern Tier Admirals in three straight games. The Canes played to a first place record of 23-6-3 during the regular season, leading the league in goals scored with 127.
“Halton’s been a pretty good group all season and they’ve got a couple of the league’s top forwards in (Ethan) Burroughs and (Lawson) Sherk in their lineup,” said OHL Central Scouting OMHA SCTA regional scout Dan Wood. “They’ve had a few guys really step things up and be very reliable throughout the playoffs including Brennan Kennedy, Gavin Munro, Jorden Drake and Jake Heaton.”
Burroughs led the league with 30 goals during the regular season, picking up where he left off in the playoffs with 14 goals over 11 games. Halton’s top playmaker Sherk worked alongside Burroughs throughout the year, recording 35 assists and 50 points during the season before adding 11 more helpers in as many playoff contests.
Like Halton, the Guelph Gryphons also won 20 games during the regular season before going 6-2-0 in OMHA SCTA round robin playoff games. They enter the OMHA Championship off a 7-5 (pts.) series victory over the Niagara North Stars, defeating them by score of 8-1 in Game 6 of the series.
“Some of Guelph’s big shooters have been red hot over the past few weeks including regular season scoring leader Ty Anselmini,” said Wood. “He’s also got some guys to work with including Mark McIntosh, Ethan Broderick and Dylan Richardson.”
Anselmini followed up his 51-point (22-29–51) regular season with a league-leading 24 points (10-14–24) over 14 playoff contests. His linemate McIntosh trails close behind with 21 points (7-14–21) to his credit.
“It doesn’t surprise me that these are the two teams to emerge and advance to the OMHA Championship,” noted Wood. “They’ve both been fairly consistent all season and I think it will be interesting to see who comes out on top between Niagara North and Southern Tier. You never know what can happen once you get into an OHL Cup Wild Card game.”
Niagara North and Southern Tier will square off in a one-game playoff on Monday March 4th. The host Stars went 3-0 against the Admirals during the regular season, shutting them out in each of their first two meetings.
Now that you’re caught up on what’s happening in the OMHA SCTA, here’s a look at what else is going on across the province with the 2019 OHL Cup Powered by Under Armour just two weeks away.
GTHL:
***The four teams that reach the GTHL semi-finals earn a 2019 OHL Cup berth. (Don Mills Flyers, Toronto Marlboros, Toronto Nationals, Toronto Red Wings)
SEMI-FINAL – SERIES A
(1) Don Mills Flyers vs. (4) Toronto Red Wings
Don Mills leads series 4-0 (pts.)
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Don Mills: Paul Christopoulos (D)
Red Wings: Owen Simpson (D)
SEMI-FINAL – SERIES B
(2) Toronto Nationals vs. (3) Toronto Marlboros
Series tied 4-4 (pts.)
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Nationals: Landon Cato (D)
Marlboros: Jack Beck (LW)
GTHL WILD CARD PLAY-IN SERIES A
(5) Mississauga Rebels) vs. (8) North York Rangers
Series tied 1-1 (pts.)
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Rebels: Brandon Cohen (RW)
North York: Patrick Saini (C)
GTHL WILD CARD PLAY-IN SERIES B
(6) Mississauga Senators vs. Vaughan Kings (7)
Vaughan leads series 3-1 (pts.)
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Senators: Ethan Esposito (LW)
Vaughan: Sean Clarke (C)
ALLIANCE:
*** The champion, finalist and third place team qualify for the 2019 OHL Cup
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
(1) Brantford 99ers vs. (3) Kitchener Jr. Rangers
Series begins March 1st
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Brantford: Maddox Callens (LW) – 33 GP, 25 G, 27 A, 52 PTS.
Kitchener: Marko Sikic (C) – 33 GP, 19 G, 30 A, 49 PTS.
OHL CUP PLAY-IN SERIES
(2) Waterloo Wolves vs. (5) Windsor Jr. Spitfires
Series begins March 1st
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Waterloo: Owen Parsons (C) – 33 GP, 28 G, 20 A, 48 PTS.
Windsor: Cayden Faust (LW) – 32 GP, 17 G, 18 A, 35 PTS.
OMHA CHAMPIONSHIP – WHITBY, ON:
***The host Whitby Wildcats are joined by OMHA ETA Finalists the York-Simcoe Express and Quinte Red Devils along with OMHA SCTA Finalists the Guelph Gryphons and Halton Hurricanes at this weekend’s 2019 OMHA Minor Midget Championships in Whitby, Ont. The top four teams from the five-team weekend will advance to the 2019 OHL Cup Powered by Under Armour while the fifth place team will secure an OHL Cup Play-In Game on Tuesday March 12th.
In the OMHA SCTA, the Southern Tier Admirals and Niagara North Stars will meet in a one-game playoff on Monday March 4th, with the winner securing an OHL Cup Play-In Game.
OMHA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE:
All games at Iroquois Park Sports Complex
Friday, March 1st:
York-Simcoe vs. Halton (10:00am)
Guelph vs. Quinte (12:00pm)
Halton vs. Whitby (3:00pm)
Quinte vs. York-Simcoe (5:00pm)
Whitby vs. Guelph (8:00pm)
Saturday March 2nd:
Halton vs. Quinte (10:00am)
York-Simcoe vs. Guelph (12:00pm)
Quinte vs Whitby (3:00pm)
Guelph vs. Halton (5:00pm)
Whitby vs. York-Simcoe (8:00pm)
Sunday March 3rd:
Bronze Medal Game (10:00am)
Gold Medal Game (12:30pm)
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Guelph: Ty Anselmini (C) – 31 GP, 22 G, 29 A, 51 PTS.
Halton: Lawson Sherk (C) – 31 GP, 15 G, 35 A, 50 PTS.
Quinte: Daniel Michaud (C) – 36 GP, 21 G, 20 A, 41 PTS.
Whitby: Ryan Winterton (C) – 36 GP, 38 G, 34 A, 72 PTS.
York-Simcoe: Braden Hache (D) – 26 GP, 2 G, 9 A, 11 PTS.
For more information on the 2019 OHL Cup Showcase Tournament Powered by Under Armour, visit ohlcup.ca.
