Quest for the Cup Quarter-final Previews – Lancers begin Queen’s Cup defence tonight against Badgers
Another exciting regular season of OUA men’s hockey is in the books, and with the playoffs set to begin Wednesday, Feb. 11 the top 16 teams will now press the reset button and begin the chase for the 2015 Queen’s Cup.
Another exciting regular season of OUA men's hockey is in the books, and with the playoffs set to begin Wednesday, Feb. 11 the top 16 teams will now press the reset button and begin the chase for the 2015 Queen's Cup.
West Division Quarter-finals
(1) Windsor Lancers vs. (8) Brock Badgers
The Lancers (22-4-1) are aiming to win back-to-back Queen's Cup championships for the first time in school history and begin their quest against the Brock Badgers (10-15-2).
The two teams met in their final game of the regular season and made sure the scorekeepers kept busy, totaling 15 goals in a game Windsor won 9-6. Spencer Pommels tallied four points for Windsor in that game on his way to leading the country in scoring, averaging almost two points per game with 16 goals and 34 assists in 27 contests. As a team, Windsor ranked second in the conference averaging 4.22 goals per game, and ranked fourth with a 2.68 team goals against average.
Sammy Banga led the Badgers in scoring, amassing 27 points in 27 games for a team that ranked 15th in the conference in goals scored. Brock also had trouble keeping the puck out of its own net, ranking 17th in the conference with a 4.32 goals against average.
(2) Western Mustangs vs. (7) Lakehead Thunderwolves
After splitting their season series the two long-time West Division rivals meet again in the playoffs.
Though Western (19-7-1) and Lakehead (10-14-3) were separated by 16 points in the OUA standings, both games against each other were settled by a single goal, including a double-overtime game Lakehead won 4-3.
This matchup will be a battle of contrasting styles; Western ranked third in OUA in goals against average but just ninth in goals per game, while Lakehead ranked fourth in goals per game but 16th in goals against average. The Mustangs boast the best powerplay and second-best penalty kill in OUA, so staying out of the box will be imperative for Lakehead.
Mike Hammond led Lakehead, and finished second in the conference, with 15 goals and 24 assists for 39 points. Steve Reese was the Mustangs leading scorer, tallying nine goals and 23 assists on the season. Mustangs goalie Greg Dodds started 22 games and finished top 10 in the conference in both goals against average and save percentage.
(3) Waterloo Warriors vs. (6) Guelph Gryphons
The 2014-15 season was a resurgence for the Warriors (17-8-2) after finishing ninth in the conference and narrowly missing the playoffs last season. They will now meet the Guelph Gryphons (11-13-3) after splitting the season series this year – like Western and Lakehead, both games were settled by one-goal.
A mid-season nine-game winning streak showed that Waterloo is capable of winning games in bunches. The Warriors are a balanced squad, ranking sixth in goals per game and seventh in goals against average, and had six players record at least 20 points this season. Colin Behenna was the team's top scorer, ranking 10th in the conference with 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points in 26 games.
The Gryphons nearly upset the top-seeded Western Mustangs in last year's OUA playoffs and are hoping to spoil Waterloo's party this season. Like their opponent, Guelph is in the middle of the pack in both goals scored and goals allowed, and has four players on its roster to record at least 20 points–Nicklas Huard led the team with 28 points.
(4) Ryerson Rams vs. (5) Toronto Varsity Blues
A matchup between the two downtown rivals assures that at least one hockey team in Toronto will win a playoff series this year.
Having met two times in the regular season, Toronto (13-13-1) swept the season series against the Rams (14-12-1), including a 7-4 win on Jan. 16 when the Blues leading scorer Jeff Brown turned in a four-point game. Brown scored 13 goals and racked up 31 points in 27 games this season.
The Rams ranked seventh in the league in goals per game and had six players record at least 20 points; Domenic Alberga tied for the conference lead with 18 goals, and also led his team with 31 points.
Toronto will need to play disciplined this series as the team has struggled all year killing penalties, ranking 17th in the league with a success rate of 73.3 per cent. Ryerson, though, has had its own issues on special teams. The Rams rank 12th in the conference with the man advantage and 13th on the penalty kill.
East Division Quarter-finals
(1) McGill Redmen vs. (8) Concordia Stingers
The McGill Redmen (21-5-0) enter the playoffs as the hottest team in the conference having won their past eight in a row and once again won't do much travelling in the quarter-finals. For the second consecutive season, McGill opens the postseason against the Concordia Stingers (8-17-1) who play a short drive down Sherbrooke St. in Montreal.
The Redmen swept the best-of-3 series against Concordia last year, and also won both regular season meetings in 2014-15, but were taken to double-overtime by the Stingers in the final game of the regular season.
Goaltenders Jacob Gervais-Chouinard and Karel St-Laurent each saw a fair share of action for the Redmen (Gervais-Chouinard made 16 starts while St-Laurent made 10), and finished 1-2, respectively, in the conference in save percentage, while leading McGill to the best goals against average in OUA. On offence, Cedric McNicoll led the Redmen and finished fourth in the conference with 34 points.
Concordia is an offensively gifted team that finished seventh in the conference in goals per game and boasts OUA's co-leader in goals, Olivier Hinse, who found the back of the net 18 times. However, Concordia is also prone to defensive lapses, ranking 18th in goals against, allowing 4.58 goals per game – the worst of any playoff team.
(2) Carleton Ravens vs. UOIT Ridgebacks (7)
After winning an OUA bronze medal in 2014, the Carleton Ravens (20-5-1) are hoping to improve on that result and make a second-consecutive trip to the CIS University Cup.
The Ravens swept the two-game season series with UOIT (10-15-1) outscoring the Ridgebacks 17-4 in the process. Led by 29 points from forward Joe Pleckaitis, the Ravens lineup boasts seven players who recorded at least 20 points and as a team Carleton ranks third in OUA in goals per game. However, a surprising area of weakness for the Ravens has been their powerplay; the team ranks second last in the conference with a 13.8% success rate.
The Ravens also have one of the best goaltending tandems in the league in Francis Dupuis and Patrick Killeen. The two goalies shared starts and posted the third and fourth best individual goals against averages in the league, respectively.
The Ridgebacks limped into the playoffs, going 2-6 in their final eight games, but did close the season on a high note beating Concordia 4-3. Scoring has been an issue at times for UOIT, their 2.81 goals per game is 17th in the conference and the fewest of any playoff team. Jesse Stoughton and Cameron Yuill tied for the team lead with 18 points each.
(3) UQTR Patriotes vs. Nipissing Lakers (6)
The Nipissing Lakers (12-12-2) seemed destined for the fifth-seed before a four-game losing streak to end the season dropped them to sixth and into a playoff date with the UQTR Patriotes (19-4-3)
The Patriotes took both meetings against the Lakers this season, a 4-3 overtime win in early October and a lopsided 6-2 victory on Jan. 31. In the 6-2 win, the game was tied heading into the third period before UQTR exploded for five goals, including four on the powerplay.
Teams who don't play a tight defensive game against UQTR often pay the price quickly. The team led the conference in goals, and has five players on its roster to record at least 30 points. Marc-Olivier Mimar led the way with 35, followed Guillame Asselin with 34, as the duo finished third and fourth, respectively, in the conference scoring race.
For Nipissing, taking advantage on the powerplay has been a strength all season, and one that will need to continue against UQTR. The Lakers ranked fourth in OUA, converting 21.7% of the time on the man advantage. Defencemen Jimmy McDowell led the team scoring six of his seven goals on the powerplay, while Matt Paton's 27 points were the most of any Laker.
(4) Laurentian Voyageurs vs. (5) Queen's Gaels
Having won their final four games of the regular season, the Queen's Gaels (13-12-1) may be peaking at just the right time as they face the Laurentian Voyageurs (14-9-3). The two teams split the season series with each team winning on the road.
Though they don't score a lot of goals, Queen's also doesn't give up many thanks to the strong play of goaltender Kevin Bailie. Making the second most starts of any OUA goaltender, Bailie finished third in the league with a .922 save percentage to go along with an impressive 2.59 goals against average. The Gaels rely on opportunisitic scoring, boasting the sixth best powerplay in the conference, and are the only playoff team to have a defenceman lead the team in scoring thanks to rookie Spencer Abraham's 28 points in 25 games.
The OUA men's hockey playoffs begin Wednesday, Feb. 11 and the quarter-finals will conclude no later than Sunday, Feb. 15.
Each series is played as a best-of-3 format, while the Queen's Cup is a one game championship hosted by the highest seeded Ontario school in the final.
The full quarter-finals schedule is available here.
