By Aaron Bell
The anticipation for this series has been building for the past three months.
The Windsor Spitfires and London Knights have been the heavyweights of the OHL’s Western Conference all season and when both clubs made blockbuster moves at the OHL trade deadline, they made it clear that they were gearing up to battle each other.
That clash starts on Wednesday at the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre when the Spitfires host the Knights in Game 1 of the Rogers OHL Western Conference finals for the Wayne Gretzky Trophy.
“I think the people of Windsor have waited a long time to see and are happy to be in this position,” said Spitfires’ coach Bob Boughner. “I think this is two well-matched teams and I think this is a great series for the Ontario Hockey League. We both have some big name players and a lot of skill.”
The Spitfires boast the likes of Taylor and Ryan Ellis and added a trio of veterans with memorial Cup experience from the Kitchener Rangers in January. The Knights responded by bringing in OHL scoring leader John Tavares and NHL first rounder Michael Del Zotto from the Oshawa Generals.
“I think we realized that we needed a few more guys to compete with Windsor,” said Knights’ captain Scott Aarssen. “We saw in the last couple of games against Windsor that they’ve been really close matches. I think we’re ready for a tough series here.”
The Spitfires are in the league semi-finals for the first time since 2002 while the Knights are looking for their third berth in the OHL Championship Series in the past five years.
Knights’ coach Dale Hunter has been behind their bench for all of that playoff success but doesn’t necessarily think that gives his team an edge in this series.
“In some aspects, but not all,” Hunter said. “Every series is different from year to year. You’ve got different players and different teams you’re playing so you go out and take one series at a time.”
This is the fourth time in the past decade that the two teams will meet up in the playoffs. The Knights won the previous three series, including a sweep in the second round in 2005. Spitfires’ captain Harry Young said that his team is anxious to get the series underway.
“I think our team is very excited to be playing in this series,” Young said. “It’s going to be two high-offence teams playing each other and it’s going to be a very physical series. I think our team is up to the challenge.”
Rogers OHL Western Conference Championship Series: Windsor Spitfires (1) vs. London Knights (2)
Head to Head: Windsor won the season series 5-1-0-0 with the Knights winning the final matchup of the regular season 4-3 in Windsor on March 8. The Spitfires finished first overall in the OHL this season with a 57-10-0-1 record for 115 points while the Knights were second overall with a 49-16-1-2 record for 101 points. The Spitfires swept the Owen Sound Attack in the opening round of the playoffs and then defeated the Plymouth Whalers in six games in the second round to advance to the Rogers Western Conference Championship Series. The Knights beat the Erie Otters in five games in the opening round of the playoffs and then swept the Saginaw Spirit in the second round.
Top Scorers: Dale Mitchell (11-9-20) scored goals in seven straight playoff games and joins Taylor Hall (9-11-20) as the top playoff scorers this season. The Spitfires are the highest scoring club in the playoffs to date with Andrei Loktionov (4-15-19) and defenceman Ryan Ellis (6-11-17) also contributing on a regular basis. Veteran Phil Varone (8-8-16) is the Knights’ top scorer in the post-season with Nazem Kadri (8-7-15) and John Tavares (6-8-14) close behind. The defence tandem of Michael Del Zotto (2-12-14) and John Carlson (2-11-13) has also been piling up points in the playoffs.
In the Nets: Overager Andrew Engelage (6-1, 2.96 GAA, .897) has seen the bulk of the netminding duties for the Spitfires while Josh Unice (2-1, 3.15 GAA, .895 Sv. %) has also been called on to help. The Knights picked up Trevor Cann (8-1, 2.23 GAA, .927 Sv.%) from the Peterborough Petes during the season to ensure that they had a capable stopper for an extended playoff run.
Special Teams: The Spitfires are fourth in the playoffs with a 24.7 per cent effectiveness on the powerplay and are eighth in the playoffs with a 78.9 per cent penalty killing efficiency. Meanwhile, the Knights have the best powerplay in the playoffs with a 28.3 per cent effectiveness and are fourth with a 84.4 per cent penalty killing rate.
Outlook: This is the matchup that everyone anticipated when both teams made bold moves at the OHL trade deadline in January. The Spitfires come into the series on the heels of their best ever regular season and looking for their second OHL championship. The Knights are looking to get to the OHL Championships Series for the third time in the past five years. They won the OHL championship and the Memorial Cup on home ice in 2005.
Schedule:
Game 1 – Wednesday April 15, 7:05 at WindsorAdvertisement
Game 3 – Sunday April 19, TBA at Windsor
Game 4 – Monday April 20, 7:00 at London
Game 5 – Wednesday April 22, 7:05 at Windsor *
Game 6 – Friday April 24, 7:30 at London *
Game 7 – Saturday April 25, 7:05 at Windsor *
* Games are if necessary
All games will be broadcast live on Rogers TV and TV Cogeco.
