(3) Sarnia vs (6) Windsor
Tale of the Tape
Niagara Ice Dogs 35-23-7-3
Head Coach
Billy Burke (1st Season)
Team Leaders
Sam Miletic 38 points in 28 games with the Icedogs after being picked up from London. He was particularly dangerous on the power play where he picked up 13 points which was just a shade under .5 PP points per game. Will have a much larger role on the Icedogs in this series than he did while playing for London last year
Akil Thomas 81 points in 68 games for the potential NHL 1st rounder. It will be a great opportunity for him to showcase his talents to NHL scouts with a trio of top prospects playing for Oshawa.
Ben Jones the 3rd year forward hit the 30 goal mark this season and finsihed with 79 points in 68 games. He will be leaned on as a leader next year for the Icedogs but will need to have a great series if the Icedogs are to get past the Generals
Playoff Expierience
The Icedogs have 185 games of playoff experience on their roster which is 4th in the East. Corniel (39) and Carbonara (36) lead the way in terms of games played although Carbonara has never really made much of an impact in his 36 games.
Scoring Leaders vs Oshawa
Daniel Singer 2G 2A
Ben Jones 2G 0A
Akil Thomas 0G 2A
Team Averages
Goals Per Game 240 (6th) 3.53
Goals Allowed Per game 235 (4th) 3.46
Power Play 19.5%
Penalty Kill 80.1%
Special Teams Plus Minus: 0
Age: 18.38yrs (8th)
Height: 182.13cm (19th)
Weight 82.25kg (13th)
What to Watch for
The Icedogs are a very Jekyl and Hyde team. They are either on a long winning streak or a long losing streak it seems. They ended the season on a 7 game winning streak so I am sure Icedogs fans are hoping the time hasnt come for another swoon.
Kyle Langdon is the type of physical and grinding player that every hockey cliche says should thrive in the playoffs. He is come off of a disappointing season and may be playing for an OA spot for next season. He is the last remaining branch on the Lucas Lessio trade tree so it is only fitting that he comes up big against the Generals.
Oshawa Generals 36-39-3-0
Head Coach
Bob Jones*
Team Leaders
Jack Studnicka The Bruins 2nd rounder finished the season with 72 points in 66 games. He can score in all situatons with 5 pp goals 4 sh goals and 5 game winning goals. He was electric in the playoffs last year finishing with 17 points in 11 games. Niagara will need to game plan around him.
Allan McShane The prized return in the Anthony Cirelli trade from last season he finished just shy of a point per game with 65 in 67 games. 21 points came on the power play and his 16 primary points had him finish 6th among NHL draft eligible skaters
Serron Noel finished with 53 points in 62 games although he had some struggles playing 5 on 5 as he finished the year as a -8. Still the hulking power forward is becoming more dominant every game and has the ability to put the Generals on his shoulders if need be.
Playoff Experience
With 203 games of playoff experience this Generals roster sits 3rd in the East. What is more impressive is that the players on the Gens roster have had a greater impact in the play games they have appeared in than their Icedogs counter parts. That said I wouldnt read too much into that part of things as with jr hockey roles are always changing and players are always growing and developing and different rates.
Scoring Leaders vs Niagara
Kyle MacLean 1G 2A
Team Averages
Goals Per Game 250 (4th) 3.68
Goals Allowed Per game 243 (6th) 3.57
Power Play 18.8%
Penalty Kill 74.9%
Special Teams Plus Minus -13
Age 18.38yrs (7th)
Height 186.19cm (2nd)
Weight 85.69kg (2nd)
What to Watch for
The Generals have some of the worst special teams in the playoffs. Mind you most of their misery came before Christmas and they have gotten quite a bit better during their 2nd half surge. With that being said they will not want to give the Icedogs any extra chances. These two teams are evenly matched 5 on 5 so special teams will likely play a big role.
Season Series
Oshawa 1-0-1
Niagara 1-1-0
Oct 6
NIA 5 @ OSH 4 OT
Oct 26
OSH 4 @ NIA 3
Playoff History
These teams have met 5 times since 07-08 includng 3 straight seasons from 10-11 to 12-13. The Generals won the last time they met in 2014-15 in round 2 on their way to the Memorial Cup and have won 3 of their last 5 playoff meetings.
Series Schedule
Game 1, Fri, Mar 23 at Niagara – 7:00 p.m.
Game 2, Sun, Mar 25 at Niagara – 2:00 p.m.
Game 3, Tues, Mar 27 at Oshawa – 7:05 p.m.
Game 4, Thurs, Mar 29 at Oshawa – 7:05 p.m.
Game 5, Sat, Mar 31 at Niagara – 7:00 p.m.
Game 6, Sun, Apr 1 at Oshawa – 6:05 p.m.
Game 7, Tues, Apr 3 at Niagara – 7:00 p.m.
Prediction
No matter who losses this series Hockey Canada wins as they will be getting some elite talent for the U18. That said I would prefer Oshawa to lose becasue I want to see Noel put the Maple Leaf on again. He was a delight to watch in Sault Ste. Marie last year for the U17 hockey challenge
Niagara in 5 games (because I want McShane and Noel playing in the U18s)
Be sure to check out the preview done by @Gens_Brandon which you can find right here
And of course we can not forget the great work form @IcedogsthisWeek as their preview can be found here
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