Round 2 Preview & Predictions

[Port hockey1]

Caledonia(1) vs Niagara Falls(4)


Caledonia won the season series 5-1-1

Regular Season Results:

Niagara Falls: 0 Caledonia: 4
Caledonia: 7 Niagara Falls: 5
Niagara Falls: 2 Caledonia: 5
Caledonia: 3 Niagara Falls: 4 OT
Caledonia: 5 Niagara Falls: 4 OT
Niagara Falls: 2 Caledonia: 1
Caledonia: 11 Niagara Falls: 3

How they got here:

Caledonia swept Pelham 4-0
Niagara Falls defeated Fort Erie 4-1

Caledonia Playoff Leaders:

C.Pawley- 4 GP, 4-13-17
M.Hore- 4 GP, 5-7-12
B.Luscombe- 4 GP, 3-8-11
M.Fitzmorris- 2 GP, 6-4-10
Q.Maksimovich- 4 GP, 3-7-10
D.Volpe- 4 GP, 2-8-10

Niagara Falls Playoff Leaders:

Z.Lansfield- 5 GP, 6-6-12
S.Farquharson(D)- 5 GP, 3-6-9
M.Marsden- 5 GP, 2-6-8
F.Pucci- 4 GP, 3-4-7
T.Flack- 5 GP, 1-5-6

Top Goalies:

Caledonia- M.Sinclair 3-0 .33 GAA, .972 SV% (2 shutouts)

Niagara Falls- A.Dentico 4-1 3.00 GAA, .886 SV%

Breakdown:

Caledonia played several close games against the Falls this season. The first 3 games in Niagara Falls were very close games between these two teams, with two of those games going to Overtime. Caledonia made a statement with an 11-3 win in Niagara Falls in their final regular season meeting.

Caledonia features a lethal offense that moves the puck from the defense out extremely well. All four lines can move the puck and are a threat to score goals. Their defense is 6 deep, and they have arguably the best goalie in the Golden Horseshoe. They have a lethal power play and they kill penalties well. They might show signs of rust in game 1 after having to play one of the worst Jr.B teams in the history of the league in the 1st round.(Pelham)

Niagara Falls has a good group of veterans and younger players. Their confidence is at an all-time high after taking out the hottest team in the league(Fort Erie) in just 5 games. Their top line can score goals but they also heavily rely on secondary scoring from their second & third lines. S.Farquharson is a very good puck moving defensemen, and will be heavily relied on to help the offense as much as possible. He'll also be a key factor on the power play if they plan on scoring with the man advantage. Caledonia kills penalties extremely well.

Offense- Caledonia by a landslide

Defense- Caledonia by a large margin

Goaltending- Caledonia with the experienced goalie has the big advantage


Prediction: Caledonia sweeps them in 4.

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St.Catharines(2) vs Ancaster(3)

St.Catharines won the season series 6-1-0

Regular Season Results:

Ancaster: 1 St.Catharines: 2
Ancaster: 2 St.Catharines: 6
St.Catharines: 4 Ancaster: 1
Ancaster: 2 St.Catharines: 7
St.Catharines: 2 Ancaster: 0
Ancaster: 2 St.Catharines: 3
St.Catharines: 1 Ancaster: 4

How They Got Here:

St.Catharines defeated Welland 4-1
Ancaster swept Thorold 4-0


St.Catharines Playoff Leaders:

T.Hildebrandt- 5 GP, 3-4-7
A.Postiglione- 5 GP, 3-3-6
T.Jackson- 3 GP, 4-1-5
M.Webb- 5 GP, 3-2-5
N.Dozzi- 5 GP, 2-3-5

Ancaster Playoff Leaders:

B.Hughes- 4 GP, 4-4-8
O.Burnell- 4 GP, 4-2-6
L.Pozzobon- 4 GP, 0-6-6
J.Pace- 4 GP, 5-0-5

Top Goalies:

St.Catharines- J.Horodziejczyk 4-1 2.37 GAA, .912 SV%

Ancaster- C.Ceci- 4-0 2.77 GAA, .897 SV%

Breakdown:

St.Catharines dominated the season series but most of the games were close. St.Catharines has two or three legit goal scorers, but team depth is their game. They've been able to get scoring from three lines all season and a little bit from the 4th line when needed as well. They have a very deep defense that features several veterans. Goalie J.Horodziejczyk has been one of the best all season, and had a great opening round against Welland.

Ancaster has some good depth too, but not as much as the Falcons. They're a younger team and will be a force next season. But they'll be in for an uphill battle against the Falcons. B.Hughes is their go to guy up front, they have several other forwards who can score goals, and they are a three line team that rely's on their top unit a lot when they're struggling to score. They are a very chippy team to play against, so if the Falcons come out on top they'll be banged up pretty bad.

Offense- St.Catharines is deep, and their players know their roles, so they have the big advantage

Defense- St.Catharines, hands down!

Goaltending- St.Catharines has a big advantage here as well


Prediction: St.Catharines advances in 5 games

[Port hockey1]

Any predictions yet?

[GOJHLfan1]

I think the Canucks will steal a game. Corvairs in 5.
Falcons in 5 as well.

[three dog night]

Caledonia in six a nd the Falcons in five.

[15timechamps]

Ancaster will miss Hilton for the first 2 games that will hurt. Cally in 5. St cath in 6

[Canuckalhead]

Caledonia in 4 (just too tough and the 11-3 score at the end of the season is more of an indication of what's to come)
St. Catharines in 6 (should win or 4 or 5 but they have inferior coaching without Frank)

[arcprohd]

Where is the Falcons vs. Avs schedule? Was expecting it to come out the same time as the Canucks/Corvairs.

[Port hockey1]

Where is the Falcons vs. Avs schedule? Was expecting it to come out the same time as the Canucks/Corvairs.

Only a couple of them posted so far. A few series haven't been set yet.

[Port hockey1]

Preview by Bill.P at the Standard;

Falcons face Avs, Canucks battle Corvairs

By Bill Potrecz, The Standard
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 4:05:58 EDT PM

And then there were four.



The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference semifinals get under way this week when the Niagara Falls Canucks visit the Caledonia Corvairs Wednesday to begin their best-of-seven series. Friday, the Ancaster Avalanche travel to St. Catharines for Game 1 of their series.

The following is a look at each series followed by my fearless predictions.

Let’s look back at how well my predictions for the opening round went.

Welland vs. St. Catharines

Prediction: Falcons in 5.

Actual: Falcons in 5.

Caledonia vs. Pelham

Prediction: Caledonia in 4

Actual: Caledonia in 4.

Niagara Falls vs. Fort Erie

Prediction: Canucks in 6.

Actual: Canucks in 5.

Ancaster vs. Thorold

Prediction: Ancaster in 6.

Actual: Ancaster in 4.

Not bad!

St. Catharines vs. Ancaster

The Falcons dominated the season series winning six of seven and outscoring the Avs 25-12.

“It may give us a little bit of confidence, but we all know it’s a new season,” St. Catharines general manager Frank Girhiny said. “Knowing how Ancaster is structured from the coaching out they are going to be a real good opponent.

“They are very well prepared and coached.”

The Avs, who swept the Thorold Blackhawks in four straight in the quarter-finals, feature league most valuable player and former Niagara IceDog Ben Hughes.

“You saw how well he played against Thorold. He pretty much put that team on his back,” Girhiny said. “They have some real high-end guys.”

Ancaster coach Ryan Kuwabara led the Avs to a 28-15-4-3 mark in the regular season.

“Ryan shows a lot of different looks,” Girhiny said. “He has a funky neutral zone which we’ve seen over the year and was doing a little bit of it against Thorold and I expect them to do that against us as well. We need to prepare for that and doing some different things which our coaching staff will need to counter.”

Girhiny expects a close checking series.

“It’s going to come down to your goaltending and defence,” he said.

The Falcons lost the first game of their quarter-final series against Welland before rallying to win the last four.

Girhiny feels that series prepared the Falcons well for the next round.

“I like our chances. We need to continue to do what we did against Welland for the most part,” he said. “We need to stay out of the box and be disciplined and capitalize on our opportunities.

“We’re trying to be consistent and get better each round. Welland can talk about how they were short players but they still played hard. That series was good for us as we move on.”

The Falcons have a healthy roster but will be missing forward Ty Learn for the first two games of the series for a head checking penalty. Ridley’s Connor Hill will fill in.

Prediction: If St. Catharines continued to cycle the puck and stay disciplined, they should advance to the finals.

Falcons in six.

Caledonia vs. Niagara Falls

The two-time defending champion Corvairs lost just one game in regulation at home this season, a 2-1 loss to the Canucks in Feburary. Niagara Falls also edged the Corvairs 4-3 in overtime and dropped a 5-4 double overtime decision at the Gale Centre in January.

“We did get five points out of the series. That’s the part we’re confident about,” Niagara Falls coach Frank Pietrangelo said. “We won in their rink so those are things we need to build on and feel good about. Having said that, they only lost four games the whole year so we know they are a tough opponent and are the best team in Ontario for a reason.”

Caledonia coach Mike Bullard isn’t taking the Canucks too lightly.

“They’re a good team. They knocked off Fort Erie and Fort Erie was one of the better teams in the second half of the season,” Bullard said. “We have no room for error. We have to be on the top of our game or it could happen.

“If someone was going to ask me who would be playing in the playoffs now, I would have said one and four and two and three.”

Pietrangelo, who was named coach of the year, is well aware it will taken nothing less than the Canucks’ best to compete with the Corvairs.

“We have to bring our A game. Things have to go really well for us,” he said. “We know that. We have to stayed disciplined and try and shut down their speed game.

“They have so much depth from top to bottom on their roster. They have no weaknesses. They’re the best team in Ontario for the last three years and they are well coached. It’s going to be a challenge.”

The Corvairs, who finished second only to Kitchener of the Midwestern Conference in overall winning percentage (.900 to .890), are seeking to become the first team to win three consecutive Sutherland Cups.

“I think there’s a lot more motivation for teams to play us,” Bullard said. “Everyone wants to knock off the giant.”

After destroying Pelham in four straight in the opening round where they outscored the Panthers 45-1 and collected more than 100 shots in two of the games, Bullard wasn’t about to ease up on his changers.

The former NHL sniper put his team through a mini-camp last week consisting of several hard practices followed by off-ice workouts.

“I demand a lot. We work hard in practice,” Bullard said. “I told them you will thank me at the end of the year when I push you.”

Prediction: The Corvairs are too deep and too talented. The Canucks won’t go without a fight, but Caledonia will prevail.

Corvairs in five.

bpotrecz@postmedia.com

twitter@BillPStandard

http://www.wellandtribune.ca/2016/03/15 ... e-corvairs

[Caledonia Fan]

Caledonia - 5

St Catharines - 5

Anything could happen in these two series.
I'm saying 5 games . But they could go 6
But I don't see Ancaster or N. F. upsetting CaledonIa or St Catharines
The best thing is I get to see Cal. and N.F. tonight , Fri, Sat,and Tues.
And St.Kitts. and Ancaster in Ancaster Sun and Wed.
If they go longer that's even better more great hockey from these 4 teams.

[Cali vairs!]

I would say Cali in 5. I think their too deep for NF to contend with. The only way that the vairs could lose the series is if bolibruck refs all the games and gives the vairs tons of suspensions. Should be a great series.

I think Ancaster will give St kitts a run for its money. Ancaster is defendivy solid with a couple goal scorers. I think these teams are similarly built. Great goaltending and big defence. Should be a back and forth series. I think Ancaster will make the mistake and play too much defence and get pinned in their own zone to much. St kitts in 6 or 7