Stratford(2) vs London(3), Sutherland Cup Semifinal Playoff Thread, & Predictions

[Port hockey1]

Stratford plays a physical game and it leads to them taking penalties. If London sticks to their game plan and stays disciplined
they'll win this series.

Prediction: London in 6

[brad 36]

Not knowing the cullins play im going london in 7

[Marcie]

Big difference in the rinks. It is a noisy nut house in Stratford and a morgue in London. Have to keep your head screwed on tight in Stratford and try not to fall asleep in London. Certainly from atmosphere and a fan standpoint Stratford would have the advantage. Looking forward to watching the series. From what I saw of the MidWest finals it looks like London is a faster team with a better transition game, but it is difficult to gauge until they play each other. Does anyone know if there is any Olympic sized ice in the MidWest?

[Beehive]

Big difference in the rinks. It is a noisy nut house in Stratford and a morgue in London. Have to keep your head screwed on tight in Stratford and try not to fall asleep in London. Certainly from atmosphere and a fan standpoint Stratford would have the advantage. Looking forward to watching the series. From what I saw of the MidWest finals it looks like London is a faster team with a better transition game, but it is difficult to gauge until they play each other. Does anyone know if there is any Olympic sized ice in the MidWest?

Waterloo has Olympic sized ice. Not sure of any others.

[flyers2011]

I agree marcie london is the quietest arena i have ever been in. Cant make a prediction in this series never seen stratford but i wish london good luck.

[Qwerty]

Great potential to be a great series but impossible to predict until they play a couple games. On paper, Stratford looks a bit younger and bigger; London marginally more experienced and perhaps faster. Given the different size of the home rinks, these teams likely play different styles; London more speed and skill, Stratford more bump and grind. Nats beat Cullitans 4-3 in their season opener during the showcase, but that was ages ago and no indication of anything other than they should hopefully be relatively well matched. Unlike, say, Caledonia and Waterloo, which will likely be another travesty posing as play-off hockey. More on this later.

[Marcie]

Any chance that John Warren could be back for London? He is phenomenal. If he was healthy and played, he could have easily been the playoff MVP.

[Port hockey1]

Great potential to be a great series but impossible to predict until they play a couple games. On paper, Stratford looks a bit younger and bigger; London marginally more experienced and perhaps faster. Given the different size of the home rinks, these teams likely play different styles; London more speed and skill, Stratford more bump and grind. Nats beat Cullitans 4-3 in their season opener during the showcase, but that was ages ago and no indication of anything other than they should hopefully be relatively well matched. Unlike, say, Caledonia and Waterloo, which will likely be another travesty posing as play-off hockey. More on this later.

Stratford plays aggressive, similar to Leamington.

As for the other series... It isn't Caledonia's fault that the Mid-West was watered down and sent their 6th seed to the semifinals.

[RocketGirl]

Any chance that John Warren could be back for London? He is phenomenal. If he was healthy and played, he could have easily been the playoff MVP.

I understand that he was shut down for the rest of the season, I think before play-offs even began.

[three dog night]

Stratford in sis there fans will win the series for them

[Caledonia Fan]

London - 6 games I hope I just want a London win just for Scott Dorion.

http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/20 ... lman-arena

[Port hockey1]

Schedule

Sutherland Cup semifinal

Stratford Cullitons vs. London Nationals

Game 1: April 16 at Stratford

Game 2: April 17 at London

Game 3: April 19 at Stratford

Game 4: April 20 at London

* Game 5: April 22 at Stratford

* Game 6: April 23 at London

* Game 7: April 25 at Stratford

* If necessary, All games at 7:30 p.m.

[Port hockey1]

Semifinal Preview


Regular season record:

Stratford- 33-10-4-3(2nd)

London- 31-14-4-1(2nd)


How they got here:

Stratford- defeated Waterloo 4-1 in Mid-West final

London- defeated Leamington 4-2 in West final


Playoff scoring leaders:

Stratford-

1.Z.Pryor 15 games- 10-16--26
2.Z.VanLouwe 15 games- 10-16--26
3.J.Scanlan 15 games- 10-15--25
4.H.Broomhead 15 games- 14-9--23
5.J.Nash 15 games- 5-16--21

London-

1.B.Trottier 17 games- 6-10--16
2.J.Adams 17 games- 3-13--16
3.K.Robinson 17 games- 8-7--15
4.S.Goodman 17 games- 7-6--13
5.A.Kemp 17 games- 6-7--13


Top goalies:

Stratford- A.Brooks-Potts 12-3, 3 shutouts, 2.32 GAA, .925 SV%

London- C.Hughes 10-4 2.28 GAA, .927 SV%


Team playoff stats:

Stratford- 94 goals, 35 goals against, 254 penalty minutes, 6-2 at home, 6-1 on the road.

London- 58 goals, 47 goals against, 346 penalty minutes, 8-1 at home, 4-4 on the road.


Team injuries:

Stratford- Forward D.Goss has been in and out of the lineup. He's averaged a point per game when healthy. Defensemen B.Heshka has 1 game left to serve from his 2 game suspension, while defensemen J.Wieringa has missed their last several games.


London- Forward J.Warren is done for the season, while forward M.Bean has been out since the second round.


A little bit about these teams:

Stratford has been to the conference finals a lot in recent years. I think their players feel the pressure and wan't to win this series badly. They have a deep offense & solid defense. They play a very physical game and are easily frustrated. Their goalie is an ex Thorold Blackhawk and was a great goalie in the OJHL. So it's safe to say they have a sound team.

London plays a solid defensive game. They use their depth well, but their top line can be lethal at times. They move the puck well on the power play and kill penalties well. Their goalie has been their MVP and will likely win them this series. Getting traffic in front of the Stratford net, and sending pucks at the net seems to rattle their goalie at times.

[RocketGirl]

My Sutherland Cup Semi-Final Preview.

http://overtimesportsnation.com/oha-sut ... mi-finals/

[Port hockey1]

My Sutherland Cup Semi-Final Preview.

http://overtimesportsnation.com/oha-sut ... mi-finals/

For someone who claims not to care about the Caledonia situation, you sure don't miss any opportunities to mention how many 20 year olds they have.

Was that really needed when doing a playoff preview?

[RocketGirl]

They're the controversy this year, so I'm just giving people the facts.

You said it in your other post, can't just focus on the positive and sweep the negative under the rug.

[Qwerty]

RG's right this time. The big story at the Sutherland this year will be all about the Corvairs roster. The final will be a David and Goliath tale, regardless of whether Caledonia meets Stratford or London. And Caledonia's management will deserve every bit of scrutiny they receive in the media, whether it be social media or mainstream. You can't stack a Jr B team with Junior A talent and not expect some slings and arrows to be directed your way.

[RocketGirl]

You know Qwerty, you've come up with some real gems lately that have made me read it and laugh, and think, touche.

[Port hockey1]

They're the controversy this year, so I'm just giving people the facts.

You said it in your other post, can't just focus on the positive and sweep the negative under the rug.

Oh for sure. But was that the place to bring it up, again? It's been said many times, why not just write an article about it?

[Port hockey1]

RG's right this time. The big story at the Sutherland this year will be all about the Corvairs roster. The final will be a David and Goliath tale, regardless of whether Caledonia meets Stratford or London. And Caledonia's management will deserve every bit of scrutiny they receive in the media, whether it be social media or mainstream. You can't stack a Jr B team with Junior A talent and not expect some slings and arrows to be directed your way.

Why not? Those slings and arrows should be heading the leagues way... What kind of league allows this to happen in the first place?

If your team was able to do it, would you still feel this way?

[Cali vairs!]

Exactly port. Stop being a bunch of hypocrites. You would expect your teams to go full out to win the sight for a 3rd straight year and make history. It's never been done before and it may never be done again.

[flyers2011]

Everything Caledonia has done is legal. I don't think its a big deal they have that many 20 year olds on the team, I am sure if the Rockets did that not much would be said by a certain someone.

[RocketGirl]

I wouldn't say everything they've done is legal. And if it was the Rockets that had done this, or the Nationals, or the Maroons, how would you feel?

This 'Caledonia Thing' is about a lot more than just how many 20 year olds they have.

[Cali vairs!]

How would I feel? Not that bad actually. What you maybe don't realize rocket girl is a lot of our fans out from the jr c team not just the brantford Eagles team. In jr c we were last every year. It was always grimsby or glanbrook that won the division and were in the final. So we already have experienced it for many years. That's why we are so dedicated to the team and it's nice to see them win. And u act like Cali is the bad guys out of everybody. How many teams get players like that. And I'm sure you would be the happiest person in the world if they were to do that. Stop being hypocritical.

[Oglethorp]

I wouldn't say everything they've done is legal. And if it was the Rockets that had done this, or the Nationals, or the Maroons, how would you feel?

This 'Caledonia Thing' is about a lot more than just how many 20 year olds they have.

I am not sure Caledonia did anything illegal under the current rules, but it could certainly be argued that it was unethical. The new rules will create a new obstacle in that the excess 20 year olds from the OHL can't just jump on the same team unless they have a history with the GOJHL and limited to a cap of 9. Caledonia isn't the only team to do something unethical. The same argument could be made about the SOJHL Exeter Hawks and Dorchester Dolphins when it comes to GOJHL players leaving for Jr C. There are other GOJHL teams dabbling in unethical behavior that isn't illegal as well.

Is it ethical for the team President to replace the coach with someone who will give his son more icetime? In the OHL it comes with a 5 year suspension and a $250000 fine to the offender. In the GOJHL there is no such penalty.

Is it ethical to sell off most of your top players for cash? You aren't developing a team for future seasons and are doing a disservice to what is left of your fan base.

Is it ethical to develop players that reside in rival teams backyard only to trade or sell them back home when they are 18 or 19 and ready to contribute significantly instead of supporting and developing local talent within your own community that are as good or better than what you are importing?

Is it ethical to offer cards to players in the off season even if you don't have room on your team but it dissuades them from trying out for a rival?

I would say all unethical but not illegal

[RocketGirl]

Cali, I'm not sure what you're argument is, but for the record, I was all over Chatham 2 years ago when they spent $75,000.00 - $100,000.00 to try and buy a championship, and got caught using illegal imports for 2 games. I wrote at least 2 articles about it that season.

The Rocket side of me doesn't care what Caledonia does. As I've said before, my team isn't at the calibre to be able to compete with them. Maybe in a few years they will be, but right now, we're not.

The GOJHL side of me knows that what they have done this season is unethical and goes against the spirit of competition. And clearly I am not the only one who feels this way if 21 teams voted in a new set of rules for next season.

One of you had made the comment a week or so ago about how the league rushed through this rule change and how they should have waited and monitored the league for another couple years to see what happens about the 20 year olds. This is the 8th season of the GOJHL, are you telling me that is not enough data to be able to make an informed decision about a rule change? This is how rules and laws are made. Someone finds a loophole and exposes it and then a rule or law is changed to close that up so it doesn't happen again.

[Cali vairs!]

I totally agree with you. I'm just saying that if any other team had the chance to do they wouldn't hesitate to make history. The argument is that if any other team does it a lot of us would be fine with it. As long as our team works hard and try's that all that matters.

[RocketGirl]

Stratford has won numerous back to back Sutherland Cups, Cambridge has also won back to back Sutherlands, and I haven't seen them go to this extreme to try and get 3 in a row, so why is it now all of sudden this important?

[jfvoll]

Stratford has won numerous back to back Sutherland Cups, Cambridge has also won back to back Sutherlands, and I haven't seen them go to this extreme to try and get 3 in a row, so why is it now all of sudden this important?

I heard Caledonia was gonna fold next season

[Port hockey1]

Cali, I'm not sure what you're argument is, but for the record, I was all over Chatham 2 years ago when they spent $75,000.00 - $100,000.00 to try and buy a championship, and got caught using illegal imports for 2 games. I wrote at least 2 articles about it that season.

The Rocket side of me doesn't care what Caledonia does. As I've said before, my team isn't at the calibre to be able to compete with them. Maybe in a few years they will be, but right now, we're not.

The GOJHL side of me knows that what they have done this season is unethical and goes against the spirit of competition. And clearly I am not the only one who feels this way if 21 teams voted in a new set of rules for next season.

One of you had made the comment a week or so ago about how the league rushed through this rule change and how they should have waited and monitored the league for another couple years to see what happens about the 20 year olds. This is the 8th season of the GOJHL, are you telling me that is not enough data to be able to make an informed decision about a rule change? This is how rules and laws are made. Someone finds a loophole and exposes it and then a rule or law is changed to close that up so it doesn't happen again.

This is the first and only time Caledonia has loaded up like this. We all know it's to try and set league history.

Funny how nobody cares about the Flyers landing Manchurek, or Waterloo getting C.Jean... Just two examples. It's because Caledonia found several great players. And most of them have played in the GOJHL at some point in the past.

The double standards are comical. So are yours... For someone who doesn't care... You sure took your shots at them on the OJHL forum.

What Caledonia has done is completely legal. What kind of journalist makes stuff up?