49 Sports previews the West Division semifinals ahead of puck drop
Toronto, Ont. (via 49 Sports / Ben Steiner) – The first round of the OUA Queen’s Cup playoffs has come and gone, and teams are all set to drop the puck on the second round, with matchups that could determine the conference’s 2024 University Cup participants.
Across the OUA, it was sweeps abound in the first round. In the OUA West, the No. 6 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks surprised the No. 3 Toronto Varsity Blues, while the No. 4 Windsor Lancers knocked off the No. 5 Lakehead Thunderwolves.
In the OUA East, the No. 5 Concordia Stingers eliminated the No. 4 Queen’s Gaels, and the No. 3 Ottawa Gee-Gees defeated the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks.
With the second round looming, 49 Sports previews the OUA West semifinals.
No. 2 TMU Bold vs No. 6 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
As the hosts of the 2024 U SPORTS Men’s Hockey Championship, the TMU Bold can do a massive favour for the rest of the OUA while also putting themselves in the best position to take a run at the national championship.
Should TMU advance to the final four of the OUA, which they would do upon eliminating Laurier, every other series winner in U SPORTS and the conference would clinch a spot at the University Cup, with three of four semifinalists + TMU taking the OUA berths, and the other conferences earning their spots through making their respective finals.
Yet, even with that wrinkle and extended importance, head coach Johnny Duco and the Bold enter the Laurier series with nothing but a Queen’s Cup and U CUP title on their minds -- that’s been their goal since they started planning for the 2023-24 season, and one they’ve never swayed from.
The Bold enter the best-of-three series rested after earning a bye in the first round of the playoffs, having finished second in the OUA West with a 19-9-0 record, scoring 103 goals and only conceding 70.
Even with strong regular seasons in the past and an OUA bronze medal and U CUP appearance in 2021-22, this year’s group has had loftier goals and expectations with the seniority of many of its core players and valuable additions.
Offensively, the team is led by their top line of Kyle Bollers, Kevin Gursoy, and Danil Grigorev, who combined for 93 points this season, with Grigorev hitting his stride since the turn to the new year, having adjusted to the OUA game as a teenager.
Bollers continued his top form since hitting the OUA, scoring 18 goals and 42 points while not missing a game this season -- a welcome change from 2022-23, where injuries plagued his second half, leaving a top offensive player out of TMU’s playoff lineup and ending in a first-round defeat to the Toronto Varsity Blues.
Meanwhile, there’s depth throughout their top three lines. They’re also settled on the back end as well, with veteran two-way defenceman Aaron Hyman in his fourth year and Arizona Coyotes NHL prospect Artem Duda, who, despite not racking up points as many expected, has been critical to TMU’s two-way game in his increased minutes.
Stacking up against the Laurier Golden Hawks won’t be as easy a task as it may seem on paper; however, with the two teams splitting results this season (a 4-1 win for Laurier and a 7-1 win for TMU). Led by head coach Kevin Forrest, the Golden Hawks ride a string of confidence entering the matchup after sweeping the third-seed Varsity Blues in the opening round of the Queen’s Cup playoffs.
After scoring 17 points in 28 games in the regular season, third-year forward Conor Ali continued his strong play into the two games against Toronto, scoring six points on a top line alongside Patrick Brown, who claimed five. Nick Giunta, meanwhile, already has four postseason goals.
Although Laurier’s regular season point totals don’t jump off the page, the team is one of, if not the hardest, in puck battles and has a committed and focused mentality in every element of their game, rarely letting the situation get the best of them.
Similarly, they’ve been the hottest team in Canada aside from the AUS UNB Reds since Jan. 1, with a 2024 record of 11-2-0.
It may just be a month since they last fell to TMU, but the Golden Hawks are not a team to sleep on and a potential contender to force an upset on TMU, frustrating the U CUP hosts and the other quarterfinal winners in the OUA.
Game 1 goes on Wednesday night at TMU’s Mattamy Athletic Centre at 6:15 pm EST, with Game 2 set for Pillers Ice Pad at RIM Park on February 23 at 7:00 pm ET. Game 3, if needed, would be back in Toronto on February 25 at 6:15 pm EST.
No. 1 Brock Badgers v No. 4 Windsor Lancers
The Brock Badgers enter the series with the Windsor Lancers hoping to put themselves back in the U CUP conversation after missing out on last year’s tournament, one where the Windsor Lancers were the only team from Ontario to earn a spot, alongside the OUA’s Quebec-based teams in Concordia and UQTR.
Brock comes into the second round of the playoffs after a slight rest, with their division-topping record of 21-7-0 giving them a bye through the first round, while Windsor enters the series coming off a first-round sweep over the Thunderwolves.
Led by head coach TJ Manastersky, the Badgers have one of the more consistent teams in the OUA and, through the second half of the season, have established more balance than before the break. While much of their first-half success relied on outstanding goaltending from Connor Ungar, the second half has seen them improve in all areas of play while Ungar continues his stellar campaign in net.
As a rookie netminder, Ungar enters his first OUA postseason push with a .932 save percentage, which aided the Badgers’ stout defensive efforts this season, only allowing 67 goals, the fewest in the division.
Offensively, the Badgers have a strong mix of young and veteran talent, led by Jacob Roach’s 40 points in 26 games, alongside Jared Marino and Tyler Burnie, while first-year blueliner Jonah Boria has been a massive boost with his 17-point season.
Brock may appear to be the better team on paper, but the Lancers and head coach Kevin Hamlin have the experience of last year’s Queen’s Cup run under their belt and a strong series against Lakehead.
Hot and cold throughout the season, the Lancers played to a 15-13-0 record in the OUA and scored 88 goals, 19 less than Brock’s offensive output. Still, they were defensively sound all year, and in the series against Lakehead, got stellar goaltending from Nathan Torchia, whose two-game stretch saw him at a .958 save percentage, compared to his season mark of .916, which was the lowest of his three OUA regular seasons.
On the offensive side, Jake Durham leads the Lancers into the second round after a 30-point season, while Holden Wale’s 25 points from the blueline make him a dynamic two-way option. Durham also scored a goal and three assists in the first-round sweep against the Thunderwolves.
Both sides also boast solid special teams, presenting an intriguing battle ahead. Brock brings the division’s second-best penalty kill at 86.2 percent up against Windsor’s OUA West topping 23.5 percent powerplay.
Game 1 is set for Wednesday at 7:30 pm EST in Windsor, with Game 2 on February 24 in St. Catharines at 4:00 pm EST. If needed, Game 3 would be the following day, on February 25, at Brock’s home rink at 4:00 pm EST.
