Ontario Hockey League Championship Series Preview & Schedule

This year's battle for the OHL Championship is the one we all wanted. But the Conference Finals couldn't have gone any different. The Barrie Colts finally ended the run of the Mississauga St. Micheal's Majors who were the youngest team in the league and should be a serious OHL & Memorial Cup Contender over the next couple of seasons. Barrie ended Mississauga's season in 5 games as Bryan Cameron & Luke Pither are leading the team with 18 points with Brumistrov with 14 points.

It's been the strong defense for the Colts that gave up 2 or fewer goals in 4 of the 5 games in the Conference. Expect Marvic & Peter Di Savo to be exchanging time in net as both netminders have GAA of just over 2 and a half during this year's playoffs. Expect them to have a strong home ice advantage as the team has been undefeated at home and the Game 2 loss to the Majors was the only loss of this year's playoff run.

Windsor got to the championship series the hardway as the Spitfires comeback from 0-3 down to win 4 in a row to get by the Kitchener Rangers. In addition to Taylor Hall, expect forwards like Adam Henrique with 15 goals (Leading the OHL Playoffs), Ryan Ellis with a strong 24 assists and Scott Timmins who's 3rd in points with 17 (8G 9A) which would be near the leaders on most teams. Also look for the top defense duo of Cam Fowler and Mark Cundari to bring the pain against Barrie.

Windsor's goaltending will need to continue to be top notch as Phillip Gruaber was a bit shaky in the Conference Final against Kitchener as the Spitfires gave up 4 or more goals in 5 of the 7 games.

With Barrie's goaltending who's been very strong in this year's playoffs. This could be the one major weakness that could keep the Spitfires from a chance of defending both the OHL & Memorial Cup Tournaments for the 2nd straight year.

Unlike most series in the OHL Playoffs, this will go the traditional 2-2-1-1-1 format as the distance between the teams in the OHL is usually not that long. The Championship Series gets underway tomorrow night in Barrie with the OHL Champions moving on the CHL Memorial Cup in Brandon, Manitoba which starts on May 14.


#1E Barrie Colts VS. #1W Windsor Spitfires

Barrie Colts Road to the Memorial Cup

Regular Season Record: 57-9-2 116 PTS, 327 GF 186 GA, Finished 1st in the East

CONF. Quarterfinals VS. Nigara: Game 1 11-4 W, Game 2 2-1 W, Game 3 6-2 W, Game 4 6-3 W

CONF. Semifinals VS. Brampton: Game 1 5-3 W, Game 2 3-2 OTW, Game 3 5-1 W, Game 4 5-2 W

CONF. Finals VS. Mississauga: Game 1 3-0 W, Game 2 2-5 L, Game 3 3-1 W, Game 4 3-1 W, Game 5 4-2 W


Barrie Colts Scoring Leaders
Bryan Cameron 13 GP 18 PTS (11G 7A, +8)
Luke Pither 13 GP 18 PTS (8G 10A, +8)
Alexander Burmistrov 13 GP 14 PTS (7G 7A, +12)

Barrie Colts Goaltending
Marvic Parks 8 GP 7-1 1.75 GAA .942 SV%
Peter Di Savo 5 GP 5-0 2.57 GAA .911 SV%

Full Barrie Colts Stats: www.ontariohockeyleague.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=skaters&season_id


Windsor Spitfires Road to the Memorial Cup

Regular Season Record: 50-12-6 106 PTS, 331 GF 203 GA, Finished 1st in the West

CONF. Quarterfinals VS. Erie: Game 1 6-2 W, Game 2 3-1 W, Game 3 7-6 W, Game 4 5-1 W

CONF. Semifinals VS. Plymouth: Game 1 5-1 W, Game 2 5-3 W, Game 3 5-0 W, Game 4 3-2 OTW

CONF. Finals VS. Kitchener: Game 1 6-7 OTL, Game 2 2-5 L, Game 3 3-5 L, Game 4 7-5 W, Game 5 3-0 W, Game 6 6-4 W, Game 7 4-1 W


Windsor Spitfires Scoring Leaders
Taylor Hall 15 GP 28 PTS (14G 14A, +14)
Ryan Ellis 15 GP 26 PTS (2G 26A, +9)
Adam Henrique 15 GP 20 PTS (15G 5A, +9)

Windsor Spitfires Goaltending
Phillipp Grubauer 14 GP 12-2 2.68 GAA .902 SV%
Troy Passingham 2 GP 0-1 3.74 GAA .867 SV%

Full Windsor Spitfires Stats: www.ontariohockeyleague.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=skaters&subType=15&season_id=41&leagueId=1&lastActive=&singleSeason=&confId=0


All Barrie Colts Home Games are @ Barrie Molson Center

All Windsor Spitfires Home Games are @ WFCU Center

Game 1, 4/27: @ Barrie 6:35 PM

Game 2, 4/29: @ Barrie 6:35 PM

Game 3, 5/2: @ Windsor 3:05 PM

Game 4, 5/4: @ Windsor 6:05 PM

Game 5, 5/6: @ Barrie 6:35 PM*

Game 6, 5/8: @ Windsor 6:05 PM*

Game 7, 5/10: @ Barrie 6:35 PM*

*If Necessary

To follow the OHL Championship Series, log on to the following Websites:

Ontario Hockey League: www.ontariohockeyleague.com

Barrie Colts: www.barriecolts.com

Windsor Spitfires: www.windsorspitfires.com