Quest for the Cup | Breaking down the opening round of the men's hockey playoffs
Toronto, Ont. (via 49 Sports) - The OUA Playoffs are here, and for the first time since the 2019-20 season, so are full-length playoff series.
After the shortened and COVID-impacted 2021-22 season, which featured single-game knockout playoffs, the best-of-three series return to the OUA this season, running all the way through to a one-game final for the Queen’s Cup.
The structure has also changed, with the top six from the OUA West and OUA East divisions earning their way to the playoffs, and the top two in each earning byes through to the quarterfinals.
With the puck set to drop tonight, 49 Sports gets you prepped for the opening round of the quest for the Queen’s Cup.
The Matchups
OUA East (Byes): No. 1 UQTR, No. 2 Concordia
OUA West (Byes): No. 1 Lakehead, No. 2 Windsor
OUA East (Round 1): No. 3 McGill vs. No. 6 Ottawa; No. 4 Carleton vs. No. 5 Ontario Tech
OUA West (Round 1): No. 3 Brock vs. No. 6 Wilfrid Laurier; No 4. TMU vs. No. 5 Toronto
No. 5. Ontario Tech Ridgebacks vs. No. 4 Carleton Ravens
There may not be a more evenly matched series in the opening round than the Carleton Ravens and Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, two teams that battled their way through an incredibly tight OUA East through 26 regular season games.
Ontario Tech won two of their three matchups between the two this season, but Carleton enters the series as a favourite.
The big difference that may eventually determine the series winner is just how hot the Carleton offence can get compared to Ontario Tech’s. The Ridgebacks enter the playoffs with a -6 goal differential, the worst among the division’s playoff teams, and only scored 70 goals, the least among any OUA playoff combatant.
Meanwhile, Carleton, led by OUA goal-scoring leader Parker Aucoin, scored 97 goals and finished with a differential of +14. Aucoin scored 24 goals and recorded 33 points, contributing to 34 percent of Carleton’s total offence this season.
Although Carleton has had some luck in scoring, overachieving their expected goals per game by 0.4 goals, they’ve consistently ranked within Canada's top-10 of chance generation per game, miles ahead of Ontario Tech.
For the Ridgebacks to compete, they’ll have to find a way of shutting down Aucoin, and his linemates, including Nick McCarry and Kieran Craig, while also ensuring that Carleton’s depth doesn’t test their defence.
Goaltender Leif Hertz, who finished the season with a .919 save percentage, will have to be at his best.
“Really hard-working, trapping type of team, it’s gonna be really physical,” Carleton head coach Shaun Van Allen told 49 Sports. “We’re gonna have to be careful with the puck in the neutral zone, get it behind their defence and get a forecheck going.”
The Ravens may be the slight favourite against the Ridgebacks, but the series could go either way. The first round gets underway on Wednesday night, with Ontario Tech hosting the opening game in Oshawa, while Carleton welcomes the series to Ottawa for Game 2 and a potential Game 3.
No. 6 Ottawa Gee-Gees vs. No. 3 McGill Redbirds
The McGill Redbirds narrowly missed out on qualifying for the University Cup in 2021-22, losing to the TMU Bold in the OUA bronze-medal game. However, they’re back for more this year, and they’ve progressed under second-year head coach David Urquhart.
In the opening round, the Redbirds take on a challenging yet inexperienced Ottawa Gee-Gees team, who, despite not having much in terms of veteran presence, is riding a high wave of momentum entering the playoffs.
The Redbirds are the top seed in the opening round, and McConnell Arena will likely have a decent turnout for their home games. But, they’ve also got depth across the ice, led by stalwart two-way defenceman Scott Walford, who has proven to be one of the best in the conference and country.
Walford, a former Montreal Canadiens third-round pick, has already tasted victory this year too, winning gold with Team Canada at the FISU Games alongside Ottawa head coach Patrick Grandmaitre, who was on Canada’s coaching staff.
McGill features a highly versatile game, combining physical play and lots of shots while making sure to make the most of their time on the powerplay. They finished the regular season with 3.4 goals per contest, while averaging over 34 shots in those games, the third most in the OUA. Meanwhile, they feature the second-best powerplay in the conference at 26.2 percent and hit the third most often out of all OUA programs.
To find success, McGill doesn’t rely on top players either, with a team effort highlighting their game, albeit one that is led by William Rouleau and Brandon Frattaroli, who scored a point-per-game, and Walford on the backend.
Ottawa, on the other hand, is extremely young. So while this may not be their year, they’ll look for an upset with hopes of building towards U CUP contention when they host the U SPORTS men’s hockey championship in 2025.
If Ottawa is to pull off a game or two as an upset, they’ll likely lean on the momentum they picked up from qualifying for playoffs in an overtime win over the same Redbirds and the clinching goal scored by Charles-Antoine Roy.
McGill hosts Game 1 on Wednesday night, with Game 2 heading to Ottawa, and a potential Game 3 taking place back in Montreal.
No. 5 Toronto Varsity Blues vs. No. 4 TMU Bold
Could you draw up anything better? The Toronto Varsity Blues and TMU Bold, two schools separated by just a 20-minute walk, are battling in the playoffs for the first time since 2019. It’s pretty darn perfect.
The Bold were the story of last season, making it all the way to the U CUP semifinals for the first time in their history, and snapping a long streak of second-round exits. Yet this season, it hasn’t quite been the same, and they didn’t reach their goal of a top-two bye. Still, they’re determined that they can win the Queen’s Cup.
Led by head coach Johnny Duco, it’s been a refreshed TMU team this season, backstopped by one of the top rookie goaltenders in the nation, Kai Edmonds, who finished the regular season second among OUA netminders in save percentage with a .934, behind only Windsor’s Nathan Torchia.
At the same time, they’ve seen growth from sophomore defenders Elijah Roberts and Ryan Wells, while veteran blueliners Zach Shankar and Aaron Hyman have continued to hold their spots defensively.
Up front, injuries dealt a brutal blow to the Bold in the second half, with leading scorer Kyle Bollers forced out of the lineup due to a lingering upper-body injury. Yet, they have managed to keep themselves competitive, finishing the season with a 5-0 win over Waterloo. Although Bollers may be able to return in the playoffs, the Bold have gotten production from Jesse Barwell and Kevin Gursoy, who both scored 23 points in career-best seasons.
Duco ensures his team plays in a highly structured style that is conducive to a deep lineup, which led the Bold to an OUA and U SPORTS-leading 91 percent penalty kill and a powerplay that delivered at a 21 percent success rate, second best in the OUA West.
The playoffs, however, see them face a formidable opponent at a time where the team has been on a slide. TMU won two of three matchups with Toronto this season, but none of their head-to-head matchups were easy affairs.
The Varsity Blues are very capable of winning this matchup, even though it may be an upset. Keep an eye on Cole Purboo and Owen Guy, who led the team in scoring this season and play a hard-hitting style that could benefit Toronto in the postseason. At the same time, Guy made a run with the Brock Badgers last season, reaching the Queen’s Cup Final and U CUP quarterfinal, before transferring to Toronto.
“We expect this to be a close and tight-checking series,” said Toronto head coach Ryan Medel, who is in his sixth season with the team. “We've had some games down the stretch here in the regular season that have helped prepare us for the playoffs. Now it's about being able to raise our game to a new level. It's a new season with new opportunity and we're excited to get started."
The TMU Bold host the first game of the series at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Thursday night, with the second game set for Toronto’s Varsity Arena on Friday. Should the teams split, the deciding matchup would be Saturday back at the former Maple Leaf Gardens.
No. 6 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks vs. No. 3 Brock Badgers
There are a few familiar faces, but they’re in new places. That’s the front and central story between the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks and Brock Badgers, as former Brock head coach, turned Laurier bench boss Kevin Forrest, takes on his former team.
Brock brought in first-year coach TJ Manastersky to replace interim head coach Forrest, who had led them to a U CUP berth last season. Meanwhile, Forrest took up the role at Laurier after the departure of longtime Golden Hawks head coach Greg Puhalski.
Talk about a little bit of drama in the postseason.
On the ice, the matchup is Brock’s to lose. The Badgers just missed out on a top-two bye by four points, but consistently pushed teams in the OUA in each game, scoring 3.7 goals per outing, while generating 3.4 xG per game, the 12th-best in Canada.
Amid the coaching change, the 2022-23 season has been defined by Jacob Roach’s breakout, as the second-year forward burst into the OUA top scorers this season, leading the team with 32 points in 26 games, the most for an OUA West player. He’s spent time with veteran forward Adam Berg as well, with Berg also scoring above a point-per-game pace, with 15 goals and 29 points in 27 games.
Brock’s approach this year is more structured and organized compared to 2021-22’s hard-hitting, fast-checking style that suited them well, yet it’s been a season where they’ve quickly clicked under Manastersky’s systems.
For Laurier, it came down to the final day to clinch a playoff spot, but a stroke of luck from the Guelph Gryphons against the York Lions punched their postseason ticket, and they’re set to drive for upsets.
While Sam Rhodes has been a consistent offensive contributor, and Christian Propp’s .908 save percentage gives them a chance, the Hawks will have to hope for several pieces to fall into place to put themselves through to the next round. Still, if there’s any coach to pull that off with a group that may not quite stack up on paper, it’s Kevin Forrest, so don’t count out the purple and gold.
Either way, the two teams provide ample storylines for a heated series over the weekend, getting started on Wednesday night at Brock’s Canada Games Park before moving to Kitchener for Game 2 and back to Brock for a potential Game 3.
The opening round of the 2022-23 OUA Queen’s Cup men’s hockey playoffs is bound to be thrilling, and with the return of the best-of-three series, it may even brew some future rivalries for years to come. For the first time since 2020, the OUA playoffs are fully back, and they’re set to be a wild ride.
