(3) Sarnia vs (6) Windsor
Tale of the Tape
Barrie Colts 42-21-4-1
Head Coach
Dale Hawerchuk
Team Leaders
Aaron Luchuk 64 points in 38 games with the Colts. 115 over the coarse of the season to claim the OHL scoring title. Earned himself a contract with the Ottawa Senators with his strong play. Scored the Mem Cup winning goal for Windsor last year.
Andrei Svechnikov: With 40 goals in 44 games this year Svechnikov averaged more goals per game than his 20 50 goal teammates. He will be motivated to leave his mark during these playoffs and has 5 points in his last 2 games vs Mississauga.
Dimitri Sokolov: with 58 points in 29 games with the Colts included 30 goals. 96 points overall when you include his time with Sudbury. He was great last year with Sudbury against the Generals so I am looking forward to watching him play some playoff hockey with real talent around him.
Playoff Expierience
The Colts have the least playoff experience on their roster among Eastern Conference teams with only 116 games. Leading the way is OHL champion blueliner TJ Fergus with 45 career playoff games under his belt. He will be leaned upon to lead the charge in his final OHL season.
Scoring Leaders vs Mississauga
Ben Hawerchuk 2G 5A
Justin Murray 1G 5A
Jason Wilms 2G 2A
Lucas Chido 3G 1A
Team Averages
Goals Per Game 297 (1st in East)
Goals Allowed Per game 229 (3rd in East)
Power Play 22.8%
Penalty Kill 79.3%
Special Teams PlusMinus 0
Age: 18.22yrs (12th)
Height: 181.96 (20th)
Weight 81.91kg (15th)
What to Watch for
The smallest team in the Playoffs the Colts have an elite top line lead by OHL scoring leader Aaron Luchuck fellow 50 goal man Dimitri Sokolov and top NHL draft prospect Andrei Svechnikov. They struggled in the regular season vs Mississauga but Svechnikov was only in the lineup for 3 of those games.
Mississauga Steelheads 33-32-1-2
Head Coach
James Richmond (2nd Season)
Team Leaders
Nicholas Hague: With 78 points and 35 goals in 67 games the hulking defender has his name all over the Steelheads record books. More of a rover than a defender he can put up some scaring offensive numbers if he isnt accounted for.
Micheal McLeod The Devils 1st rounder finished the year with 44 points in 38 games in a season which included a world junior gold medal.
Owen Tippet: The Panthers 1st rounder finished the year with 75 points in 51 games after getting a taste of NHL hockey in October. With 275 shots the sniper averaged more than 5 per game.
Playoff Experience
With 241 games of playoff expierience on their roster thanks to their run to the finals last year the Steelheads sit 2nd in the East in that catagory. Will it be enough to upend the Colts who have the fewest games of experience? The Mcleaods, Tippet and Gibson all lead the way with 27 career games with the 3 forwards all having siginificant offensive impact in their previous playoff trips.
Scoring Leaders vs Barrie
Mathieu Foget 3G 6A
Owen Tippet 2G 7A
Albert Michnac 2G 6A
Team Averages
Goals Per Game 251 (3rd)
Goals Allowed Per game 250 (7th)
Power Play 25.5%
Penalty Kill 78.4%
Special Teams Plusminus +15
Age: 18.46yrs (6th)
Height: 184.92cm (6th)
Weight: 83.46kg (8th)
What to Watch for
Picked by many (including myself) to run away with the East but they stumbled and never seemed to truely get their footing finishing in 8th. They have the talent up front to give Barrie troubles but the play of Jacob Ingham is really concerning. Does Richmond go with him or does he put Vella in net who gives them a real chance at upseting the Colts.
Season Series
Missssauga 4-2-0
Barrie 2-4-0
Oct 28
MISS 4 @ BAR 2
Nov 30
MISS 3 @ BAR 6
Dec 8
BAR 3 @ MISS 2
Jan 19
BAR 2 @ MISS 5
Feb 9
BAR 4 @ MISS 6
Feb 22
MISS 7 @ BAR 4
Playoff History
These teams have met 5 times in the playoffs since 2005-06. Most recently in 2015-16 which was the only time they have met while Mississauga has been branded as the Steelheads. Barrie took that series in 7 games in a 2vs7 matchup. All matchups have been in round 1 except for the 2009-'10 matchup which were the ECFs. Overall Barrie holds a 3-2 advantage over the Missssauga/St.Mikes franchise during the playoffs and have won the last 3 encounters.
Playoff Schedule
Game 1, Thurs., March 22 at Barrie – 7:30 p.m.
Game 2, Mon., March 26 at Barrie – 7:30 p.m.
Game 3, Tues., March 27 at Mississauga – 7:00 p.m.
Game 4, Thurs., March 29 at Mississauga – 7:00 p.m.
Game 5, Sat., March 31 at Barrie – 7:30 p.m.
Game 6, Sun., April 1 at Mississauga – 2:00 p.m.
Game 7, Tues., April 3 at Barrie – 7:30 p.m.
Prediction
The Steelheads won the season series 4-2 and have the horses up front to run with the Colts. Both teams have questions in net but in my opinion the Steelheads questions are more glaring. Still if they can get some solid goaltending the Steelheads will be hard to knock off but my gut just tells me the Colts will be too much.
Colts in 6
Be sure to also check out the preview done by @VeryBarrieColts which can be found here
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