London Knights (1) vs. Saginaw Spirit (5) Playoff Preview

 

Regular Season Series Results (London wins 4-0)

September 23^rd – Saginaw 0 @ London 8

December 2^nd – Saginaw 0 @ London 6

January 14^th – London 5 @ Saginaw 4

January 28^th – London 6 @ Saginaw 3

Playoff Tracker: The Road Here

• The London Knights defeated the eighth seeded Windsor Spitfires in a four-game sweep. 
• The Saginaw Spirit defeated the fourth seeded Sarnia Sting in an up-and-down six-game series.

Through the majority of the regular season, the London Knights’ squad was the elite team of the Ontario Hockey League.  As with most junior aged players, London experienced a stretch of hockey that had them struggling to score goals and while the Knights were dissecting their problems, another team – ahem, Saginaw, was rolling along quite nicely. In the final weeks of regular season play, the Saginaw Spirit were one of the Ontario Hockey League’s hottest teams finishing with six wins and two loses in the month of March forcing their way into the fifth seed in the Western Conference standings.  Saginaw’s season was rejuvenated when ownership decided to clean house back in December firing General Manager and Head Coach Todd Watson and replacing him with the experienced Greg Gilbert.  The change resulted in the Saginaw Spirit going 22-16 with their new bench boss after starting the season a dismal 11-17-2. 

The Battle of Playoff Statistics

• Goals For:                   Knights (17)               vs.       Spirit (25)      
• Goals Against:            Knights (7)                 vs.       Spirit (17)
• Penalty Minutes:        Knights (74)               vs.       Spirit (81)
• Power Play:                Knights (30.5%; 4^th) vs.       Spirit (19.2%; 6^th)
• Penalty Kill:               Knights (85.7%; 5^th)  vs.       Spirit (82.8%; 10^th)
• Top Playoff Scorer:    Griffith (6 points)       vs.       Saad (12^th)

The London Knights swept the season series with four wins outscoring the Spirit 25-7 in those contests including two shutouts at the John Labatt Centre in London.  Despite their regular season dominance over the Saginaw Spirit, London is well aware of the dangers this team can present on the ice especially after Chicago Blackhawks’ prospect Brandon Saad, more or less, single-handedly knocked off the Sarnia Sting in six games in the opening series.  Saad, playing with overage forwards Michael Fine and Joshua Shalla (Nashville Predators prospect), combined for 11 of Saginaw’s 24 goals in the Sarnia series.  Brandon Saad’s dominance was downright filthy as he bullied his way around the ice untouched and was also a key contributor on the defensive side of the puck. 

It is no secret that London’s main priority will be to shut down the Saad line and with a much larger and more experienced defense core than Sarnia, the Knights should have more success containing Saad – but it will not be easy. Scott Harrington (Pittsburgh Penguins), Jared Tinordi (Montreal Canadiens) and Finnish sensation Olli Määttä will be leaned on heavily by the defense coaching staff to limit Saginaw’s top line.  Last week, Mark Hunter and his coaching staff were spotted scouting the Saginaw- Sarnia series as they waited for their next opponents and it should come as no surprise that the Knights will emphasize physicality in hopes of wearing down the opposition.

Saginaw will travel 300 kilometers directly east to the JLC Friday night and they will be looking to score their first goal in London’s this season, a task that has proved difficult for many teams this season. If Saginaw is able to penetrate London’s zone their offensive attack needs to solve Knights’ goaltender Michael Houser.  The overage netminder has been one of the OHL’s most consistent and valuable players this season eluding confidence in the crease.  Houser enters the Western Conference semi-final series ranked second in goals against (1.52) and first in save percentage (.947).  The Pennsylvanian will need to remain sharp to halt the red hot Spirit attack. 

Two hundred feet at the opposite end of the rink sits OHL sophomore puck-stopper Jake Paterson ready to challenge the offensive assault of the London Knights.  In Paterson’s first OHL playoff series, the freshman was nothing short of clutch coming up with timely highlight-reel saves against Sarnia’s potent forwards.  Overshadowed by teammate Brandon Saad’s opening series performance, Paterson was equally as valuable in their success over Sarnia.  Paterson was able to shutdown the likes of Ryan Spooner, Nail Yakupov and Alex Galchenyuk and built confidence doing so along the way.  The Saginaw Spirit will require another stellar performance from the native of Mississauga to advance passed the Western Conference number one seeded team.

Keys to Success:

London Knights (1)

Offensively, the underrated Seth Griffith and draft-eligible defenseman Olli Määttä led the way scoring six and five points, respectively, versus the Windsor Spitfires roster in their opening series.  London features a deep offensive attack with four lines capable of sniping goals.  Coach Mark Hunter has the luxury of calling on a number of individuals and can roll with the hottest player as Greg McKegg (Maple Leafs), Vladislav Namestnikov (Lightning), Austin Watson (Predators) and Jared Knight (Bruins) offer plenty of experience.  Rookies Max Domi, Bo Horvat, Josh Anderson and have shown that they belong in this league and can contribute offensively as well.  The Rupert twins (Ryan and Matt), Chris Tierney, and Andreas Athanasiou round out the offensive options for London as these four look to impress NHL scouts as they look to impress scouts for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Max Domi (9P), Seth Griffith (8P) and Vladislav Namestnikov (7P) have been a nightmare for the Saginaw Spirit this season leading the way in scoring.

Defensively, London should look to implement a strong forecheck and physical game against the Saginaw Spirit in an attempt to deplete a relatively shallow roster.  Saginaw tends to lean on only two forward lines and a handful of defenseman leaving Hunter with an opportunity to exploit this tendency.

Saginaw Spirit (5)

The success of the Spirit lies with the effectiveness of the SFS (Shalla-Fine-Saad) line.  Saginaw will need other forwards to step-up and contribute offensively to match the depth of London’s offensive attack. Vincent Trocheck (Florida Panthers) will need to step up his game a notch to provide scoring chances as Saginaw will need more than one line clicking to defeat the London Knights.  Likewise, Greg Gilbert will be seeking production from youngsters Justin Kea and Eric Locke to provide secondary scoring as the SFS line can only carry this team so far.  Garret Ross will be called upon to ramp up his agitating game and provide grit to the forward group.  With Saginaw’s Ross and London’s Rupert twins, it would not be farfetched to see these three players exchanging “friendly” hockey banter throughout the series. Saginaw is a much different team in April than they were earlier in the season when these teams faced off but the lack of scoring in games against the Knights has to be a bit concerning.  Joshua Shalla leads the team in the season series with three goals and five points.

Key Matchups:

Michael Houser vs. Jake Paterson

Saginaw will need Paterson to be better than “good” and Houser cannot falter now especially against Saginaw – a team entering the series playing their best hockey. 

Brandon Saad vs. London Defense

Can Mark Hunter and his staff find a way to contain, or even slow down, this big powerful winger? Saad has had limited success (2 assists in 3 games) when facing the London Knights this season and it will be interesting to see if he can continue his recent OHL dominance.

Rookie Sensation vs. Saginaw Defense

In four games this season, rookie Max Domi has recorded 7 goals and 9 points versus the Saginaw Spirit in his first season leading all London Knights’ skaters. 

Saginaw Spirit vs. JLC

Being shut out twice and recording two losses at the John Labatt Centre this season does not provide much confidence for Saginaw entering game one.  Can the Saginaw Spirit earn their first win versus the Western Conference’s top seeded team? 

Head-to-Head Regular Season Player Statistics

London Knights

Max Domi:                             7G-2A-9P

Seth Griffith:                          5G-3A-8P

Vladislav Namestnikov:         0G-7A-7P

Ryan Rupert:                          3G-3A-6P

Jared Knight:                          1G-5A-6P

Greg McKegg:                        1G-4A-5P

Saginaw Spirit

Josh Shalla:                            3G-2A-5P

Michael Fine:                         1G-1A-2p

Brandon Saad:                        0G-2A-2P

Vincent Trocheck:                  0G-2A-2P

Eric Locke:                             1G-0A-1P

Western Conference Semi-Final Series Schedule

Game One:    @ London                   Friday, April 6 @ 7:00 pm

Game Two:     @ Saginaw                  Sunday, April 8 @ 7:11 pm

Game Three:   @ London                   Monday, April 9 @ 7:00 pm

Game Four:     @ Saginaw                  Wednesday, April 11 @ 7:11 pm

Game Five:     @ London                   Friday, April 13 @ 7:30 pm

Game Six:       @ Saginaw                  Saturday, April 14 @ 7:11 pm

Game Seven:  @ London                   Monday, April 16 @ 7:00 pm

Elimination Looming: Spirited Saad Stings Sarnia

Game five is in the books and for the first time in three games a winner was declared without needing an overtime period.  Sarnia’s RBC Centre welcomed over 4,100 hockey fans Friday night eager to witness a hard fought battle between the fourth and fifth placed Western Conference teams.  The Sting and Spirit series has been an emotional rollercoaster as the teams struggle to find consistency in their game – particularly the Sarnia Sting. 

As the puck dropped to begin the first period, it took the Saginaw Spirit a mere fifty seconds to find the back of the net as defenseman Dalton Young fired the puck past netminder JP Anderson on the game’s first shot.  The opening jitters continued for the home team as Michael Fine added to the lead putting the Spirit up 2-0 before the game was three minutes old on assists from Strong and the man-beast Brandon Saad.  In the four previous game, Brandon Saad displayed why he started the 2011-12 NHL season as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks after being drafted 43^rd overall in last year’s NHL Entry Draft.  The Spirit’s captain has been dominant through the first five games of this series often singlehandedly winning games.  Friday night’s game five was no different as Brandon Saad continued to steamroll the Sarnia Sting with Sarnia having no effective solution for stopping the 6’2” Pennsylvania native.  Sarnia’s Domenic Alberga was assigned the task of shadowing Saad but at the 15:35 mark of the opening frame Saad broke loose and burrowed past Sting defenseman Adrian Robertson before beating JP Anderson one-on-one to extend the Saginaw lead to three goals.  After two mediocre playoff attendance records in games one and three, the good showing of Sarnia fans for game five were left deflated after a lacklustre first period.

In much the same way as the first period, Saginaw jumped on Sarnia early in the second period and once again Dalton Young was the recipient of the first goal of the period as Spirit fans in attendance applauded their teams’ fourth goal.  Defenseman Steven Strong added his third assist of the contest on Young’s goal while Saad earned his second helper and third point.  Feeling the embarrassment of their team’s poor start, Sting captain Nathan Chiarlitti attempted to revive Sarnia by dropping the mitts with agitator Garret Ross giving the home team fans a reason to cheer.  The fight appeared to work as Sarnia had several key scoring chances on Spirit goaltender Jake Paterson but could not solve him.  Overage forward Brett Thompson eventually broke through as he sent a Rensfeldt rebound through the legs of Paterson to put the Sting on the board and head to the second intermission with a little hope.

The Sarnia Sting have been a good third period team all season long and it was certainly the best of the bunch on this night.  Alex Galchenyuk was very noticeable all game long as he continues to return to game shape improving in each game he plays.  Scouts and fans were treated to several dazzling individual rushes by Galchenyuk that left fans on their edge of their seats, however, Paterson robbed him of several goals on Friday night with his spectacular play. Galchenyuk’s work did not go unnoticed by coach Beaulieu as the big centre was often double shifted in the latter moments of the game as Sarnia came with a late surge. As the third period ticked away, Nickolas Latta, on a rare shift, was dumped at the Sting blue line by Saginaw’s Amestoy sending Sarnia to their fourth powerplay of the night. Sarnia capitalized fourteen seconds into the man advantage as Connor Murphy wrapped the puck around the boards to Ryan Spooner who creatively sent a pass out to Brett Thompson standing alone in front.  Thompson quickly sent the puck into the Spirit’s net for his second of the game pulling Sarnia within two goals.  As time the frame neared a close, the Sting played with desperation and grit - that has been absent from their game in this post-season - and came close to making it a one-goal game on several scoring chances.  In the end, Sarnia’s comeback was a little too late and with 1:06 minutes remaining Brandon Saad, fittingly, sent the puck into the empty net clinching game five for the Spirit. 

The series returns to Saginaw Saturday night in what becomes a do-or-die game six for the visiting Sarnia Sting.  Can the Sarnia Sting stop the freight train that is Brandon Saad?  Saad currently sits third in playoff scoring with six goals and 12 points in 5 playoff games and continues to be the best player on the ice, both offensively and defensive, for either team.  Can the Sarnia Sting play a more consistent game from puck drop to the final buzzer? The Sting have struggled mightily to play consistently over a three period stretch and it has been their Achilles heel through the first five playoff games.  Sarnia Sting fans are hoping that their team can build off their strong third period play on Friday night and earn a game six win in Saginaw forcing a game seven on Monday night.  Filled with loads of talent, Sarnia desperately needs to win for the diehard Sting fans excited to extend this season. More importantly, the Sarnia Sting players need to win for each other and pull together as a group to show the city, its fans and the entire Ontario Hockey League that their capable of playing better hockey. 

Was Friday night the last time Yakupov, Spooner, Thompson, Robertson and JP Anderson play on home ice?  The Sting certainly hope not.

Game Facts:

-        Brandon Saad finished with 2 goals, 2 assists and plus-4

-        Defensemen Dalton Young (2 goals) and Steven Strong (3 assists) factored in offensively in a big way tonight for Saginaw.

-        Brett Thompson, Nail Yakupov,

-        Powerplays:  Saginaw 0/4, Sarnia 1/5

-        Shots on Goal:  Saginaw 39, Sarnia 38

-        3 Stars: 1. Steven Strong (SAG), 2. Dalton Young (SAG), 3. Brett Thompson (SAR)

Game 6:  Sarnia @ Saginaw – Saturday, March 31^st @ 7:11

Game 7: Saginaw @ Sarnia – Monday, April 2^nd @ 7:00 *if necessary

Game 1 Recap: Saginaw Spirit 5 @ Sarnia Sting 1

 Written By:  Brendan Ross

The Saginaw Spirit and their fans arrived in Sarnia on a warm beautiful afternoon and were ready for the puck drop.  Sarnia was playing in their first playoff game in almost three years and there were plenty of scouts and NHL brass in attendance to catch Nail Yakupov and Alex Galchenyuk playing together for the first time this season.  The Toronto Maple Leafs’ General Manager Brian Burke made the trip to Sarnia and Scott Howson of the Columbus Blue Jackets was spotted once again at the RBC Centre.  The Sarnia Sting had eight skaters playing in their first career OHL playoff game including Nail Yakupov, Alex Galchenyuk, Reid Boucher, Ludvig Rensfeldt, Craig Hottot, Nick Latta, Connor Murphy, and Anthony DeAngelo.  Scratched for the Sarnia Sting in game one was Justice Dundas and defenseman Jack Kuzmyk while Saginaw had Grant Webermin, Sam Povorozniouk and Vadim Khlopotov sitting out.



Metcalfe Photography

The first period was a series of back and forth rushes and both teams showed a bit of tentativeness in their game.  Alex Galchenyuk was sent out with Nail Yakupov and Bruins’ prospect Ryan Spooner forming a very dynamic offensive line for the scouts to watch.  At the 18:27 minute mark of the first period, Saginaw rookie Nick Moutrey took a checking to the head penalty that would send Sarnia to their third powerplay of the opening frame.  Coach Beaulieu called on Yakupov, Galchenyuk, and Brett Thompson up-front to start the powerplay while Connor Murphy and forward Ryan Spooner manned the points.   Fifty-seconds into the powerplay Alex Galchenyuk, while on his knees to the right of the Saginaw net, picked the puck up and fired it over goaltender Jake Paterson to give the Sting a 1-0 lead.  The goal would be Alex Galchenyuk’s first of the season and also his first career playoff goal and point.  Nail Yakupov picked up his first career playoff assist on the Galchenyuk goal and overager Brett Thompson grabbed the other assist.  Sarnia fans went into a frenzy upon hearing that Galchenyuk scored his long-awaited first goal and the vibe in the RBC Centre was positive going into the first period intermission.

Neither Yakupov or Galchenyuk looked to be suffering from their recent injuries as both were skating well and were actively engaging themselves in the play.  It appeared that Sarnia is being cautious with Galchenyuk's recent shoulder injury as they had Yakupov taking faceoffs in place of him for most of the game.

Unfortunately, as the puck dropped for the second period Sarnia fans witnessed what has become somewhat common for the Sting this year as the team struggled in the second period.  Saginaw stepped onto the ice in the second period with an extra jump in their stride and within the first seven minutes they were able to tally two goals by Chicago Blackhawks prospect Brandon Saad and small centreman Carlos Amestoy giving the Spirit a 2-1 lead.  Brandon Saad continued to buzz around the ice displaying his size and strength and eventually fought his way to the front of the net where he batted a high rebound past Sting netminder JP Anderson.  The official on the play waved off the goal indicating Saad scored on with a highstick. Upon a lengthy review, officials deemed Saad’s goal legal sending Saginaw up 3-1 on Sarnia halfway through the game.  The reviewed goal appeared to be the turning point of the game as Saginaw dominated the Sarnia Sting in the second period who appeared to be playing timidly.  Brandon Archibald fired a point shot past Anderson at the 19:44 mark of the second period on the powerplay knocking the life out of Sarnia. 

Sarnia’s passive game continued in the third period as Saginaw added another goal at the 1:53 mark of the third period as Garrett Ross jumped into the slot and fired home a pass from Florida Panthers’ prospect Vincent Trocheck.  The last Ross goal was a good display of how Saginaw was successful in game one as the Spirit dominated the play in both the offensive and defensive slots.  Throughout the game, Saginaw relentlessly entered the slot and created a lot of scoring chances in that area.  At the other end of the rink, Saginaw’s success revolved around keeping Sarnia out of the scoring area in the slot forcing them to play a perimeter game.

The game wrapped up with a few misconducts handed out to both teams as the officials did a good job at some housecleaning to prevent chaos in the final few minutes.   As the horn sounded to end the third period, most of the 3,214 fans in attendance for game one had already filed out.  Despite being void of the playoffs for the past few seasons, Sarnia fans failed to draw a sold out crowd which was slightly disappointing especially given that the team has finally returned to full health.

Brandon Saad earned first star honours with his strong game as he chipped in two goals for the visiting Spirit.  Saginaw forwards Carlos Amestoy (1 goal and 1 assist) and Josh Shalla (2 assists) earned second and third stars, respectively.  Jake Paterson had a strong game stopping 26 of 27 Sting shots in his first career OHL game.  Playing in his first OHL Playoff Game since leading the Mississauga Majors to the Memorial Cup last season, JP Anderson finished the game with 28 saves on 33 Spirit shots.

Sarnia travels to Saginaw Saturday night (March 24^th) for Game 2 in a 7:11pm puck drop.  The Sting are hoping to end their three game winless drought versus the Spirit in which the team has been outscored 18-4.  Sarnia has a fan bus headed to the game and is hoping to energize the team with their black and yellow attire.  Now that the playoff jitters are gone look for Sarnia to bring a revitalized game to Saginaw’s Dow Event Centre in hopes of returning home with a big win.

Saginaw 5, Sarnia 1

Saginaw leads series 1-0

Be sure to follow @RossyYoungblood for all your OHL and Sarnia Sting news

Playoff Preview: Sarnia Sting (4) vs. Saginaw Spirit (5)

Preview by Brendan Ross

2011-2012 Regular Season Series

Sarnia Sting (4-2-0) vs. Saginaw Spirit (2-4-0) 

Mar 14, 2012: Saginaw 7 @ Sarnia 1

Feb 18, 2012: Sarnia 2 @ Saginaw 6

Nov 19, 2011: Sarnia 6 @ Saginaw 3

Nov 18, 2011: Saginaw 3 @ Sarnia 6

Oct 29, 2011: Sarnia 3 @ Saginaw 2

Oct 14, 2011: Saginaw 2 @ Sarnia 7

The playoff drought in Sarnia has ended as the team enters postseason action for the first time in since the 2008-09 season.  The Sarnia Sting closed out the 2011-12 OHL regular season on a strong note as the team notched a 6-2 win over the West Division champions Plymouth Whalers.  The win marked their 34^th of the season and secured fourth place and more importantly home ice advantage in the Western Conference quarter-final playoff match.  Despite missing star forwards Nail Yakupov and Alex Galchenyuk, Sarnia was able to win convincingly in a strong team effort to gain momentum heading into playoff action.  Facing off on the other side of the ice will be Sarnia’s West Division rivals’ Saginaw Spirit after finishing the season as one of the OHL’s hottest team passing the Owen Sound Attack in the standings in their final game to clinch fifth place.

As a team that has battled injuries all season long, Sarnia is expected to have their full roster together for the first time this season as Nail Yakupov and Alex Galchenyuk return to action in Game one at the RBC Centre in Sarnia.  Both squads feature players with loads of offensive potential that could lead to an exhilarating series putting fans on the edge of the seats. 

Saginaw’s Josh Shalla (Nashville Predators) recently became the Spirit’s franchise leading goal scorer when he netted his 119^th career goal for the team.  Shalla joins Florida Panthers’ prospect Vincent Trocheck and Chicago Blackhawks’ prospect Brandon Saad as the offensive leaders for the Spirit and if Sarnia has any chance of defeating Saginaw these three will need to be held in check.  Pittsburgh native Vincent Trocheck led the Saginaw Spirit in scoring this season as he racked up an impressive 29 goals and 85 points placing him in a tie for tenth in league scoring.  However, it was Brandon Saad that led the OHL in points-per-game with 1.65 edging Nail Yakupov’s 1.64.  In addition to Trocheck, Saad and Shalla, look for Saginaw to lean heavily on fifth-year veteran Michael Fine as he has had great success versus the Sting this season tallying five goals and three assists. 

The Sarnia Sting have an overwhelming selection of offensive depth headed by 2012 NHL Draft top prospects Nail Yakupov and Alex Galchenyuk.  Given that Yakupov and Galchenyuk have combined to miss ninety-two games this season the Sting will need their star forwards to play a regular shift.  Sarnia were undefeated against Saginaw in regular season play when number ten suited up.  Sarnia’s depth of scoring is one reason the team was able to secure enough wins to gain home ice advantage even with missing over 230 games due to injury.  Guided by veteran leaders Brett Thompson and Ryan Spooner (Boston Bruins), the Sting have received secondary production from first year OHL players Reid Boucher (New Jersey Devils), Ludvig Rensfeldt (Chicago Blackhawks), and Connor Murphy (Phoenix Coyotes).  Sarnia’s leading scorer Charles Sarault (68GP-20G-87P) has been the Sting’s most consistent player and he will certainly be counted on offensively and defensively throughout this series. Sarault was ranked first in OHL assists with 67 this season improving on his 25 from last season and finishing eleven ahead of the next closest player (ironically, Vincent Trocheck of Saginaw).

Despite having a good blend of veteran and first year players, Sarnia lacks playoff experience on their roster.  Goaltender JP Anderson (41 playoff games) and former Spitfire defenseman Craig Duininck (37 playoff games) lead the Sarnia Sting in playoff games while trade acquisitions Tyler J. Brown and Adrian Robertson trail with 31 and 23 playoff games, respectively. Overall, Sarnia begins their 2011-12 OHL post-season run on the lighter side of experienced playoff veterans with only 191 combined playoff games played.  Brett Thompson and Ryan Spooner are hardened OHL veterans but surprisingly they have been limited to just 12 post-season games each in their lengthy major junior careers.  The Sting have eleven players that will be competing in their first playoff series including Nail Yakupov, Alex Galchenyuk, Craig Hottot, Ludvig Rensfeldt, Reid Boucher, Nick Latta, Justice Dundas, Connor Murphy, Jack Kuzmyk, Anthony DeAngelo and Brandon Hope. 

The outcome of this series may be decided on special teams as both Saginaw and Sarnia excelled in these situations finishing near the top of the OHL ranks.  Greg Gilbert’s Spirit iced the fourth best powerplay in the Ontario Hockey League as the team scored on 21.9% of their attempts.  Across the St.Clair River, Jacques Beaulieu had his troops scoring at an impressive 21.5% of their powerplay attempts ranking just behind the Spirit in fifth place.  Saginaw and Sarnia were among the least penalized teams in the OHL this season spending 994 and 947 minutes, respectively, in the sin bin, ranking them 17^th and 19^th.  However, the coaching staffs should both be acknowledged for running efficient penalty kill units as Sarnia and Saginaw, once again, were amongst the OHL leaders.  Sarnia ranked fifth in the OHL with an 82.5% success rate while Saginaw killed off 81.7% (8^th) of their penalty kills. 

Series Outlook

The Saginaw-Sarnia matchup has all the makings of a long, competitive and entertaining fourth versus firth place series.  Sarnia enters the series sputtering slightly winning just four of their past ten but their opponent, Saginaw, is undefeated in four games boasting a 6-3-0-1 record over their last ten games. 

Sarnia’s success will depend largely on how quickly the team can find chemistry as key players return to the lineup.  In addition, the Sarnia Sting have struggled at times throughout the season defensively and the team will need a strong series from captain Nathan Chiarlitti, Craig Duininck, Adrian Robertson and Connor Murphy on the backend to provide stability. JP Anderson will need to carry the workload in between the pipes if Sarnia plans on making a long playoff run. 

Saginaw will rely heavily on their offensive players and superb powerplay to provide scoring but will also need to shutdown the dynamic Yakupov, Spooner and Galchenyuk if they want to proceed to the second round.  Spirit goaltenders Jake Paterson and Clint Windsor have not played in a single OHL playoff game and their inexperience will be tested by Sarnia as both netminders prepare to showcase their talents for the upcoming 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Uncertainties surround the Saginaw and Sarnia series.  Saginaw’s scoring depth and rookie goaltending will be tried by an extremely skilled Sarnia roster.  On the other hand, Sarnia’s inconsistency, injuries and defensive lapses have been their weaknesses to date.  Fans could be in for some high-scoring games with plenty of back and forth action as Sarnia looks to give their fans a long-awaited playoff run.

Playoff Series Schedule

				SARNIA vs. SAGINAW
Fri.,	March	23	at	Sarnia	7:00
Sat.,	March	24	at	Saginaw	7:11
Mon.,	March	26	at	Sarnia	7:00
Wed.,	March	28	at	Saginaw	7:11
Fri.,	March	30	at	Sarnia	7:00	*
Sat.,	March	31	at	Saginaw	7:11	*
Mon.,	April	2	at	Sarnia	7:00	*
				*if necessary

Sarnia Sting vs. Saginaw Spirit Head-to-Head Scoring Leaders

Sarnia Sting

1.      Reid Boucher 6GP-5G-5A-10P

2.      Charles Sarault 6GP-4G-6A-10P

3.      Nail Yakupov 4GP-4G-6A-10P

4.      Ryan Spooner 4GP-1G-8A-9P

5.      Ludvig Rensfeldt 6GP-3G-4A-7P

Saginaw Spirit

1.      Josh Shalla 4GP-5G-4A-9P

2.      Michael Fine 6GP-5G-3A-8P

3.      Brandon Saad 4GP-4G-4A-8P

4.      Vincent Trocheck 6GP-3G-5A-8P

5.      Garret Ross 6GP-1G-4A-5P

Sarnia Sting Players to Watch:

Offensive Leaders:  Nail Yakupov, Alex Galchenyuk, Ryan Spooner, Charles Sarault, Connor Murphy (D)

Defensive Leaders:  Nathan Chiarlitti (D), Craig Duininck (D), Craig Hottot, Domenic Alberga

Starting Goaltender: JP Anderson

2012 NHL Draft Eligible Players:  Nail Yakupov, Alex Galchenyuk, Nick Latta, Justice Dundas, Jack Kuzmyk, Brandon Hope, Alex Basso (2^nd year)

Sarnia Sting Players to Watch:

Offensive Leaders:  Vincent Trocheck, Brandon Saad, Josh Shalla, Michael Fine

Defensive Leaders:  Brad Walch (D), Brandon Archibald (D), Garret Ross,

Starting Goaltender: Jake Paterson

Notable 2012 NHL Draft Eligible Players:  Eric Locke, Terry Trafford, Justin Kea, Vadim Khlopotov, Jacob Ringuette, Grant Webermin, Jake Paterson, Clint Windsor

Questions Asked Around the OHL

This time of the year in the OHL is always filled with Questions. Should Team X have traded for more? Maybe Team Y should have chose rebuild instead of go for it? Is there an issue in the dressing room? If these players were not injured what would be different. At the 40+ game mark in the OHL, it is time more than ever, to make every 2 point game count. More importantly make the 4 point (divisional game) count in your favour or lose ground fast.

This season, like every other season, you begin to see trends that show who these teams really are. Lets take a look at some of these trends.

The Knights are Bullies

            The London Knights have always been able to pull off the move of the year at the trade deadline and this years was no different, getting opposing GM’s to pull the trigger on deals that sent Greg McKegg and Austin Watson to the Black Gold and Green. Now make no mistake about it. Erie and Peterborough had to make deals, and I can continually beat this horse to death, but again the chosen target is London. Both players had lists of preferred destinations they wanted to go to. Both had London on the list, and GM Mark Hunter knew this. Hunter used this knowledge to twist the arm of his OHL GM Brothers and get what the Knights need to hopefully fend off all the other players in the Western Conference.

Bulls with no Horns

            The Belleville Bulls, unless they are completely going for the championship, are always enigmatic. They go up, they go down. They go up, they go down. In the month of November the Bulls had Two 6 game winning streaks. They did not always play a full 60 minute game as they had help from one Malcolm Subban and John Chartrand helping them through the games... Malcolm Subban has been hurt since the league started back up after the holiday break but I am not placing the blame on him. John Chartrand and call up, now full time, goaltender Charlie Graham has done everything in their power to help their teammates right this ship. Alas, the Bulls only seem interested in playing 20 minutes of a game and hoping their goalie can keep them in the game.

These Wolves have Bite

            A team I was hoping would turn it around are the Sudbury Wolves. This roster has too much talent to have bottomed out early and work their way up the Central division ladder. Fortunately for them, their winning ways and the teams ahead of them sliding down the ladder has brought them up to 3^rd in the division. Currently sitting 4^th in the Conference, their acquisitions of Michael Kantor, Derek Schoenmakers and their top line (Sgarbossa, Leivo and Kuchin) returning to their dominant ways will make this team a player as they still need to play catch up to Niagara and Brampton.

Lucky son of a Pete

            The Peterborough Petes like the Wolves, are benefitting from the recent slide of the Eastern Conference. With Belleville, Oshawa and Kingston in their division, a just over 500 record gives the Petes a second seed in the East Division. They did start hot, and that has helped Peterborough stay with the competition in the conference. The Petes have done a good job of beating up on teams outside their division as only 6 of their wins have come from Divisional opponents. The Petes are 6 for 16 this year against the East Division and with 11 games to go, that is not only 22 points up for grabs, but 44 points in total as they can end a divisional opponents playoff hopes. If this year has proven anything for Peterborough it is that their W’s will come from the Central division, 6 of 11 this year.

Spirit’s are High

            The Saginaw Spirit have basically been in a tail spin since the puck drop opened their 2011/12 season. The Return of Brandon Saad gave them a respectable surge but that fizzled out once the Power forward was injured. Slowly but surely the Saginaw Spirit have fought and clawed for points and finally worked themselves into the playoff race. By no means am I suggesting they will climb the Western Conference ladder. 25 points currently separate 1^st and 8^th in the West (14 pts separate 1^st and 9^th in the East), which is a big hill to climb but do not be surprised if this new Spirit team climb as high as 5^th in the West. The horses are there and after making changes in the dressing room, this may be what the Spirit have needed all along.

More Questions will be asked, and many are left to be answered. Are these the real Niagara IceDogs? Will Oshawa shoot up the division and conference? The Soo paid a lot for Jack Campbell, was the deal a bust? and a whole lot more.