Weekend Watch | Pivotal points on the line with playoffs looming
Toronto, Ont. (via 49 Sports) - The OUA men’s and women’s hockey playoffs are fast approaching, with teams just starting to dream of what could be in early March, with the hopes of hosting and hoisting the Queen’s and McCaw Cups.
With the top players all back from Canada’s gold medals at the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games, there’s added pressure on every team chasing coveted postseason positions.
WHKY: Maria Dominico bringing golden confidence back to Nipissing
With a FISU Gold Medal around her neck, Maria Dominico heads back to the Nipissing Lakers, who will receive their star back in North Bay not a moment too soon.
At 2-1-2, the Lakers were respectable in the five games without their veteran leader, but with the top spot in the OUA potentially still within reach but starting to fade, having Dominico back is a significant addition to the already highly potent Nipissing offence.
‘I’m definitely gonna try to bring the speed and skill that I was trying to showcase here back to Nipissing,” Dominico said following Team Canada’s 5-0 gold medal win over Japan on Jan 21. With 11 points in seven games, good for second in the tournament, the Lakers have to hope that Dominico will be able to slide back into the point-per-game form in which she left North Bay.
For the weekend, Nipissing takes on a pair of OUA West teams, one fighting for position and the other for their playoff life. The Guelph Gryphons come into town on Friday night sitting in second place in the OUA West division at 37 points, but have the Windsor Lancers nipping at their heels just one point back.
The first meeting between the Lakers and Gryphons on December 3rd, in Guelph, saw a 2-0 Nipissing win off the back of a 21-save Chantelle Sandquist shutout and a Nipissing penalty kill that went a perfect eight-for-eight (and fittingly, a game-winning goal scored by Maria Dominico).
On Saturday, the Brock Badgers head up north following an 11:00am school-day game against TMU on Friday morning. For the defending McCaw Cup champions, a run of seven straight losses at their new home in the fall semester put the Badgers in a massive hole. With seven games remaining on their schedule, they find themselves four points outside of the final playoff spot held by the Western Mustangs.
The Lakers served as one of those seven home losses in the fall semester for Brock as Nipissing travelled to Canada Games Park on December 2nd and took a 3-1 win thanks to multi-point games from Madison Laberge and Maggie McKee.
WHKY: Western in dogfight for the final playoff spot in the OUA West
The top three spots in the OUA West Division have essentially been decided since the start of 2023, with Waterloo, Guelph, and Windsor crisscrossing with each other for positioning.
There is one more playoff spot in the division up for grabs, though, and if the Western Mustangs can pick up points this weekend, it would do wonders for solidifying their hold on it.
After a 2-0 win over York on January 23rd, the Mustangs find themselves with 25 points, four points up on the defending McCaw Cup champion Brock Badgers. Both teams face a challenging set of games, though, as the season reaches its final stretch.
For Western, a pair of Toronto-based teams come to town, with the lightning-hot Toronto Varsity Blues heading to London first on Friday night. There is no hotter team in the country right now than the Varsity Blues, who last lost on November 12 against the Gryphons – 12 games ago. The Mustangs already fell to Toronto earlier in the Blues winning streak as Western travelled to Varsity Arena on last week and lost 4-1 in a penalty-filled game that saw 15 power plays handed out. To take down the top team in the country right now is easier said than done, but if Western can take at least a point off Toronto and continue their streak of five straight home games with a point, that would still be a success.
After Toronto, the TMU Bold make the trip to Thompson Arena on Saturday afternoon, and they find themselves in a similar situation to the Mustangs except on the outside. Starting with a school-day 11:00am start on Friday at home against the Badgers, the Bold head into the weekend just one point out of third in the OUA East division with 24 points to Queen’s and Ontario Tech’s 25 points, respectively.
The Mustangs made their trip to Mattamy Athletic Centre in November and took a 5-0 loss in which TMU goalie Lauren Griffin recorded her first OUA win and shutout.
MHKY: Ottawa eyeing points in a tough UQTR test
The Ottawa Gee-Gees haven’t had the easiest time since qualifying for the Queen’s Cup final back in 2020, where they fell to the Guelph Gryphons. They’ve taken steps forward this season, but it could all be for not if they don’t make the reaming weeks of the season count.
The Gee-Gees take on the OUA East first-place UQTR Patriotes this weekend in Trois Riviers and sit just inside the playoff picture, but only by a pair of points in an incredibly tight race for the final seeds.
Although the Gee-Gees have been on and off this season and let an opportunity slip in last week’s 8-7 loss in the Colonel By Classic, they get a boost this week, welcoming back head coach Patrick Grandmaitre, who won gold with Team Canada at the World University Games.
Grandmaitre will lead the Gee-Gees on Friday, taking on three of his Team Canada players, including Simon LaFrance, Justin Bergeron, and Zachary Lavigne. The trio returned to the lineup in a 3-2 win over Carleton midweek but will be looking to impact the scoresheet against the Gee-Gees.
While taking points off the UQTR Patriotes at home won’t be easy, a couple of points away from Minto Sports Complex could help Ottawa and their hopes of pushing into a playoff spot. For now, there may be worries about missing the playoffs, but a couple of wins could have them contending for a first-round bye, with the second seed currently held by the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, just four points ahead.
MHKY: Important weekend for the Toronto Varsity Blues
The Toronto Varsity Blues are looking like a playoff team, but cracking the top six of the OUA West is a challenge as the schedule reaches its final few weeks. This weekend presents Toronto with a chance to vault themselves into relative safety; however, while invigorating their playoff push against a rival team.
Sitting fifth at 24 points, just one point within the playoff picture ahead of York and Laurier, Toronto takes on the third-place Brock Badgers before clashing with downtown rivals – and the OUA West first-place – TMU Bold.
A couple of wins, even OT losses, could do the Varsity Blues wonders., Similar to Ottawa, they’re also getting their head coach back after Ryan Medel assisted with Team Canada’s FISU gold medal.
Former Badger Owen Guy, who co-leads Toronto in scoring with four goals and 16 points, will want to make his mark against his former team on Friday night, while Eddie Yan will hope to build on his two-goal performance against the Waterloo Warriors. Meanwhile, Cole Purboo has scored in three of his last four games.
It’s not just a night for the Varsity Blues to focus on; however, as Brock, led by Jacob Roach and Adam Berg, are striving to overtake Windsor and TMU for the top two spots and a first-round bye in the Queen’s Cup Playoffs.
After taking on Brock, Toronto face TMU, which will be a tough, but critical test as it could preview a playoff matchup should Toronto push past the opening round.
