GOJHL playoff preview/predictions
After almost seven months and 50 regular season games, it is finally playoff time in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Four best-of-seven quarter-final matchups get underway this week with the Brantford Titans visiting the Ayr Centennials Thursday to kick things off.
The remaining three series — St. Catharines versus Hamilton, Fort Erie versus Cambridge and Port Colborne versus Caledonia begin Friday.
Following is a look at each series followed by a prediction.
St. Catharines vs. Hamilton
Regular season
St. Catharines (1) 35-11-1-1
Hamilton (8) 20-24-5-1
Season series: 5-0 St. Catharines.
The Falcons dominated the regular season with five wins in as many matchups but St. Catharines president of hockey operations/head coach Tyler Bielby isn’t taking the Kilty B’s lightly.
“They’re going to work extremely hard,” he said. “They were watching the standings the last few games of the year so they’re going to see this as a bit of a second opportunity. I’m sure they’re going to make sure they make the most of it.
“We’ve got to be ready to start on time. It’s the most important thing because we can’t get outworked in the playoffs.”
The Falcons dropped their final two games of the season to Fort Erie and Caledonia, but Bielby didn’t seem concerned.
“We’re going to want to see improvements right until the final buzzer,” he said. “It is a process and a journey and we’ve got to stick with it. It is a long, 50-game schedule and dealing with some adversity, some injuries and suspensions towards the end, it got us a little out of our rhythm, but we feel good as a team.
“We had a great practice yesterday and you know we’re just ready to get this one started and we feel good about it.”
The Falcons will be without forwards Sam Mudie, Marcus Harris and Matt Fries, who are all listed day-to-day.
“You’ve got to learn to win with whatever is presented to you,” Bielby said. “I think we’ve played one game this year with our full lineup. We’ll start the first round missing three guys from our top nine. That’s something that we’ve gotten used to this year but that being said that’s why Zack (general manager Zac Schipper) and I felt like we built a deep team with the next man up and that’s just opportunity for the next guy. We believe in every guy in the room and that’s the mindset coming in Friday night.”
Prediction: St. Catharines in 4
Game 1
Friday, March 14 at St. Catharines, 7 p.m.
Game 2
Saturday, March 15 at Hamilton, 7:07 p.m.
Game 3
Tuesday, March 18 at St. Catharines, 7 p.m.
Game 4
Thursday, March 20 at Hamilton, 7:07 p.m.
*Game 5
Friday March 21 at St. Catharines, 7 p.m.
*Game 6
Monday, March 24 at Hamilton, 7:07 p.m.
*Game 7
Tuesday, March 25 at St. Catharines, 7 p.m.
*if necessary
Fort Erie vs. Cambridge
Regular season
Fort Erie (3) 33-11-6-0.
Cambridge (6) 27-18-4-1
Season series: 3-1 Cambridge
The defending champion Meteors barely missed out on finishing first for a second season in a row, knocked off the top rung by the RedHawks in overtime in the final game of the regular season.
The RedHawks took the season series from the Meteors 3-1 and Fort Erie general manager/head coach Nik Passero is well aware of their strengths.
“They have a really good power play and good goaltending,” Passero said. “I think they’re pretty offensively talented so we’ve got to make sure we take care of our own end and take care of the puck.
“I think we’ve got the right group to get things done.”
The Meteors have a solid core returning from last season’s Sutherland Cup run.
“I think having some veteran leadership is good, especially guys that have won before,” Passero said. “Sometimes when you’re inexperienced, the playoffs can get you better, but sometimes when you’re inexperienced, you don’t know what to expect and you go out and put in a good show. So I think it goes both ways and we just have to use it to our advantage.”
Passero said he noticed a change this year from being the hunter the hunted.
“I think teams came to Fort Erie looking to put their best efforts out on us that night so I think we saw a lot of the No. 1 goalies and stuff like that so I think it’s prepared us to have a good March and be ready to go.”
Passero reports no injuries.
“We’re fully healthy with everyone pulling the rope in the same direction here and we’ll be ready to go.”
Prediction: Fort Erie in 6
Game 1
Saturday, March 15 at Fort Erie, 7 p.m.
Game 2
Tuesday, March 18 at Cambridge, 7:30 p.m.
Game 3
Saturday, March 22 at Fort Erie, 7 p.m.
Game 4
Tuesday, March 25 at Cambridge, 7 p.m.
*Game 5
Thursday, March 27 at Fort Erie, 7 p.m.
*Game 6
Saturday, March 29 at Cambridge, 7:30 p.m.
*Game 7
Tuesday, April 1 at Fort Erie, 7 p.m.
*if necessary
Ayr vs. Brantford
Regular season
Ayr (2) (35-11-1-1)
Brantford (7) 20-22-7-1
The Titans took the season series from the Centennials who were in the hunt for the regular season title until the final day of the season.
The Titans knocked off the Pelham Panthers in their season-finale to qualify for the playoffs.
“Our group has worked very hard to get a chance to play playoff hockey,” Brantford coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “Getting points in 13 of our last 15 games, just to get in on the last day of the season, that’s no easy feat. But everything that has happened in the past, good or bad, has no impact on what will happen in the future. We need to be present and focus on what we can control—our effort, attitude and attention to detail.”
Fitzgerald said the teams have developed a good rivalry.
“The proximity to Ayr certainly makes this series exciting for the fans and I’m sure there will be a lot of juice going into Game 1. Ayr is a talented team that can score in bunches. We need to trust our structure to minimize their chances and be calculated in how we generate our own.”
Prediction: Ayr in 5
Game 1
Thursday, March 13 at Ayr, 7 p.m.
Game 2
Sunday, March 16 at Ayr, 7:30 p.m.
Game 3
Thursday, March 20 at Brantford, 7:30 p.m.
Game 4
Saturday, March 22 at Brantford, 1:30 p.m.
*Game 5
Thursday, March, 27 at Ayr, 7 p.m.
*Game 6
Saturday, March 29 at Brantford, 1:30 p.m.
*Game 7
Sunday, March 30 at Ayr, 4:30 p.m.
*if necessary
Port Colborne vs. Caledonia
Regular season
Port Colborne (4) 29-16-2-1.
Caledonia (5) 27-15-4-2
Season series: Split 2-1-0-1
This series should be a dandy.
Two hard-working, hard-hitting clubs who both finished the season strong with either capable of advancing.
“We were separated by one point and tied our season series with five points each,” Port head coach Kevin Rosebrugh said. “It’s gonna be a tight series that usually will come down to who makes the fewest mistakes. Our group will be prepared and we are looking forward to the challenge of playing a team who is a contender in this league every year.”
Tough to pin this one down. Flip a coin.
Prediction: Caledonia in 7
Game 1
Friday, March 14 at Port Colborne, 7 p.m.
Game 2
Saturday, March 15 at Caledonia, 7:30 p.m.
Game 3
Friday, March 21 at Port Colborne, 7 p.m.
Game 4
Saturday, March 22 at Caledonia, 7:30 p.m
*Game 5
Friday, March 28 at Port Colborne, 7 p.m
*Game 6
Saturday, March 29 at Caledonia, 7:30 p.m.
*Game 7
Monday, March 31 at Port Colborne, 7:30 p.m.
*if necessary
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