Sutherland Cup Finals; London vs Elmira

[Port hockey1]

Elmira, despite being eliminated already, gets to either be known as the best team in the GOJHL, or the 2nd best team in the GOJHL. They feel like they're on top of the world right now. And rightfully so. They just took out the 3 time running Sutherland Cup champions in 6 games.
I heavily underestimated them. I'll be pulling for them, as they have a few ex Corvairs.

But I see their impressive feat being short lived. London hasn't had an easy series since the playoffs started. I picked Chatham in the 2nd round, and London didn't have any problems with them. They even disposed of the red hot Flyers.

I see London winning this in 6 games. They have yet to be defeated in a best of seven series. This includes taking out the team that took Elmira out(Listowel). So I have no reason to believe they will lose a series now.

Should be a great series. But London will prevail.

[RocketGirl]

It doesn't matter to me who wins, I'm happy with either. London has recent Sutherland Cup Finals experience, whereas Elmira hasn't been here in a while, but Jonathan Reinhart is the Tom Brady of the GOJHL, and you don't bet against Tom Brady.

[Hockey1]

It doesn't matter to me who wins, I'm happy with either. London has recent Sutherland Cup Finals experience, whereas Elmira hasn't been here in a while, but Jonathan Reinhart is the Tom Brady of the GOJHL, and you don't bet against Tom Brady.

C'mon, you are comparing Jonathan Reinhart to Tom Brady? Stop it.

[BlackJacket]

Jonathan Reinhart, a hockey goalie is QB Tom Brady of the NFL who throws touchdowns in the GOJHL. Got it.
Elmira wins 30-28 and Reinhart is Sutherbowl MVP
In all seriousness both teams good defensively, both have good goalies, both have guys who can put up points. Should be an entertaining series.

[RocketGirl]

Is the goalie not the most important position on the ice?

Reinhart is arguably the best goalie in the league. After this year's Super Bowl, Tom Brady is the best QB in the NFL.

[Cal 99ers]

Zanussi is a good goalie,seen him play in mid-west and for London.IMO he's not as good as Reinhart.London has 3 offensive lines,Elmira is a very good defensive team and has one good offensive line.I think Elmira can contain Londons off.to a degree.Question is can London contain Elmiras big line where the Vairs couldn't?Problem London's gonna have is,even when they finally get thru that defense, now they have to beat,imo,the best goalie in the league.Elmira in 6.

[Port hockey1]

Zanussi is a good goalie,seen him play in mid-west and for London.IMO he's not as good as Reinhart.London has 3 offensive lines,Elmira is a very good defensive team and has one good offensive line.I think Elmira can contain Londons off.to a degree.Question is can London contain Elmiras big line where the Vairs couldn't?Problem London's gonna have is,even when they finally get thru that defense, now they have to beat,imo,the best goalie in the league.Elmira in 6.

The main reason I'm picking London comes down to;

-They took out the best coached team in Leamington
-They took out Listowel... A team that hadn't had any issues with anyone really, in the playoffs

[Cal 99ers]

Not too many people this side of the road share your opinion of Leamimgton coaching,and some of us questioned the strength of Lasalle, If a team like Leamington could get that far.But then again styles are a factor.Listowel played Elmira 12 times this year,I think Listowel liked playing against Elmiras style,now will London like it?

[phillipdh]

[flyers2011]

Most people around here agree with his opinion on the leamington coaching hence his coaching record. This should be a good series personally I'd like to see Elmira take it.

[SugarKing]

Most people around here agree with his opinion on the leamington coaching hence his coaching record. This should be a good series personally I'd like to see Elmira take it.

E
Have no problem with what you said, but this seems like the big difference between conferences. Both Mid-West and The Shoe wanted their conference champ to win the Sutherland Cup, but haven't seen much love from the West for London. Reading back on prediction posts, you see Chatham over London, Listowel over London. Seems like an underdog story is something to be cheered for. And if it's not, wouldn't you want to have played the team that won it all? Just my opinion, and I can see arguments for both sides. As a leafs fan, I don't want to see Ottawa win it all.

[Cal 99ers]

I'm a Leaf fan too and i'm not a big fan of Ottawa either.I think London has been on a great run this year,nobody can dispute that.A few years ago I notice some teams in the Mid-West and Golden div having good runs with what looked to be bought players from jrA and OHL leagues.When they got to the Suthy they lost to pretty good West teams,even the West team that finished 4th in their div were just as good as the winner when they lost.I took a look a the jrA league rosters and only found a few players in it west of London.That makes me think that players that don't make the OHL(London Windsor Sarnia Erie)are not coming east to play in the higher jrA league.It looks like they are staying home and playing jrB and C.From Burlington to Kingston there is 22 jrA teams.From Stratford to Fort Erie there is 18 jrB teams.From Woodstock to Trenton there is 45 jrC teams.85 teams all toll! The owner of the Hamilton Redwings,before they left Hamilton said,if all the players from Hamilton playing on other teams ever came home we would never lose again.Jr C teams pay for players from anyone one of these leagues,if you don't believe that come down and watch a team from Port Hope play Ayr.Ayr is full of jrB Players but not of the quality of Port Hope.Port Hope could give London a run for their money.Seeing all this I can only conclude that Leamington and LaSalle are developing players alright, but these quality players are not all available to Mid-West and Niagara area,they are playing for Oakvlle or Trenton and the like.So when I see players on Lemington that are just as good as Matt Hore or Cody Brown and Kyler Nixon that never played jrA or OHL I don't think"Lemington has a great coach" I think the west is lucky,parents don't have to go far to see their sons play hockey.This does not justify Bully,but I think your judgement is wrong,to me a good coach is somewhere like Waterloo who has little to work with,and i'm not a Siskins fan.

[flyers2011]

I'd say this year proved how good of coach he is, had very little to work with, mostly first year Junior players and made it to the conference Finals.

[Caledonia Fan]

Don't know a lot about London. I did pick London to beat Listowel.
I think a lot of pressure will be on London. Elmira will be on a high after beating Caledonia.
And there the wildcard team so they have nothing to loose. There all ready the talk of the town.
So London better bring there A game and play a whole 60 + mins. Because Elmira will keep bring it all game long.
Elmira will set back defencely and take advantage of the other teams mistakes when on the road. PP will be a big factor.
They seemed to be more offensive at home and attack more. I hope it's a good serious for both teams.
This is the 3rd of 4th year that the wild card is in the final.
So i'm going with Elmira in 7 games want a great story that will be.

http://www.ohahockey.ca/view/oha/news/news_484990

http://www.lfpress.com/2017/04/25/suthe ... oaltending

[SugarKing]

Don't know a lot about London. I did pick London to beat Listowel.
I think a lot of pressure will be on London. Elmira will be on a high after beating Caledonia.
And there the wildcard team so they have nothing to loose. There all ready the talk of the town.
So London better bring there A game and play a whole 60 + mins. Because Elmira will keep bring it all game long.
Elmira will set back defencely and take advantage of the other teams mistakes when on the road. PP will be a big factor.
They seemed to be more offensive at home and attack more. I hope it's a good serious for both teams.
This is the 3rd of 4th year that the wild card is in the final.
So i'm going with Elmira in 7 games want a great story that will be.

http://www.ohahockey.ca/view/oha/news/news_484990

http://www.lfpress.com/2017/04/25/suthe ... oaltending

Did everyone from Caledonia skip school at the same time?
Aside from the awful spelling, you think Elmira has nothing to lose? Elmira hasn't won anything yet. Winning a semi final against Caledonia doesn't mean anything unless they beat London and win the Sutherland Cup. They got in as a wild card, which they deserved, but haven't lifted a trophy yet. If they beat London and are crowned, then congratulations to them, wild card or not, they would have won something. Elmira players and coaches don't think like you, they have something to lose, a chance at winning.

[zantimisfit]

Did everyone from Caledonia skip school at the same time?

They don't skip school in Caledonia, they just don't go to school. Kenny Hill pays them lots of money so they can "work" for him.

[Caledonia Fan]

RtvNationals‏ @RtvNationals Apr 25
More
ANNOUNCEMENT: If you aren't in #ldnont during the #SutherlandCup you can catch the ENTIRE series on @Rogers channel 368 province wide #gojhl


RtvNationals‏ @RtvNationals Apr 25
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ANNOUNCEMENT: @RtvLondon will have coverage of ALL #SutherlandCup games (Home & Road) between the @LondonNationals & @SugarKings #ldnont

[Caledonia Fan]

http://www.lfpress.com/2017/04/26/londo ... erland-cup

http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/7 ... up-opener/

http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/7 ... ightmares/

[BLACKHAWKDOWN]

I took in the game tonight at Western Fair arena. I must say I'm surprised & disappointed that there were less than 1,000 fans announced, which is a shame. I thought for certain there would be many more local hockey fans interested with the London Knights out, the Maple Leafs out, and no other Canadian sports action tonight other than the late Oilers vs. Ducks game which aired well after this game ended. I do hope the attendance increases as the series progresses, for both teams. This is where they should be able to capitalize on making serious profit for the current season.

[phillipdh]

I took in the game tonight at Western Fair arena. I must say I'm surprised & disappointed that there were less than 1,000 fans announced, which is a shame. I thought for certain there would be many more local hockey fans interested with the London Knights out, the Maple Leafs out, and no other Canadian sports action tonight other than the late Oilers vs. Ducks game which aired well after this game ended. I do hope the attendance increases as the series progresses, for both teams. This is where they should be able to capitalize on making serious profit for the current season.

This was our second highest attendance all year (Next to Family Day). We're trying our hardest to promote this series in London, saw many Knights fans out tonight which is a good sign

[RocketGirl]

Personally, I think what hurts the Nats is that their home games are broadcast live on Rogers. Why go to a game and pay $10-$15 when you can sit at home and watch it for free?

[RocketGirl]

It doesn't matter to me who wins, I'm happy with either. London has recent Sutherland Cup Finals experience, whereas Elmira hasn't been here in a while, but Jonathan Reinhart is the Tom Brady of the GOJHL, and you don't bet against Tom Brady.

Almost like an exclamation point to my post above, Reinhart has been named the OHA Jr B Player of the Year.

http://www.ohahockey.ca/view/oha/news

[SugarKing]

It doesn't matter to me who wins, I'm happy with either. London has recent Sutherland Cup Finals experience, whereas Elmira hasn't been here in a while, but Jonathan Reinhart is the Tom Brady of the GOJHL, and you don't bet against Tom Brady.

Almost like an exclamation point to my post above, Reinhart has been named the OHA Jr B Player of the Year.

http://www.ohahockey.ca/view/oha/news

Way to toot your own horn.... Brady didn't win MVP last year though. But hey, if it makes you feel better, you can say he did.

[RocketGirl]

I'm praising your goalie, why are acting like a douche? I'm starting to think you're not really a Sugar King fan.

[BLACKHAWKDOWN]

[quote=phillipdh post_id=47721 time=1493265180 user_id=3695]
[quote=BLACKHAWKDOWN post_id=47720 time=1493264598 user_id=139]
I took in the game tonight at Western Fair arena. I must say I'm surprised & disappointed that there were less than 1,000 fans announced, which is a shame. I thought for certain there would be many more local hockey fans interested with the London Knights out, the Maple Leafs out, and no other Canadian sports action tonight other than the late Oilers vs. Ducks game which aired well after this game ended. I do hope the attendance increases as the series progresses, for both teams. This is where they should be able to capitalize on making serious profit for the current season.
[/quote]

This was our second highest attendance all year (Next to Family Day). We're trying our hardest to promote this series in London, saw many Knights fans out tonight which is a good sign
[/quote]

I do understand that attendance figures are down this year. I remember attending games in recent seasons where the attendance for Nats games was over the 1,000 threshold often, especially in playoffs. I suppose you can market the h*ll out of the games & people will still stay away. Perhaps due to the exposure on Rogers as noted by Rocketgirl, but I just don't understand it. The on-ice product seems to be noticeably faster & skilled this year, plus they are in the OHA FINALS! If nearby Dorchester can draw over 1,000 for the OHA Jr. C divisional finals, you'd think London could match or exceed those numbers based upon population alone?

[Cali vairs!]

I know a lot of people who have stayed away because of how downhill the actual hockey has become. No team is nearly as fast or as skilled as last years teams. Of course a little bit slower hockey is going to kill attendance. Think about this year compared to other seasons and look at the quality of the hockey. Might be because of the new rule but who knows.

Also regarding this series. I think the better 5 on 5 team with more skill is London. The first half of the first period (first 8:30 mark) London was dancing through players at will. Then Elmira adjusted defensively and were basically shut down. Reinhard could win this trophy all by himself. Personally I'm cheering for the Sugar Kings aswell. Partly for Browny to get the 4th ring. But any team who takes down Caledonia deserves to take the championship. And if London keeps taking penalties like they were, its gonna be a long series.

[Cal 99ers]

From my experience iv'e notice most teams look great first 5 mins of the game,maybe the idea is to catch the other team flat footed,get a couple of goals then hold on. This tactic worked good for every team in the past except for the Leafs.For the first time in the playoffs this year ,what I expected to happen did actually happen,Elmira is very consistent.London is better this year from what iv'e seen,but they could use Gomes.Brown and Gomes are very similar in style,but Brown has the scoring touch.

[Cal 99ers]

From my experience iv'e notice most teams look great first 5 mins of the game,maybe the idea is to catch the other team flat footed,get a couple of goals then hold on. This tactic worked good for every team in the past except for the Leafs.For the first time in the playoffs this year ,what I expected to happen did actually happen,Elmira is very consistent.London is better this year from what iv'e seen,but they could use Gomes.Brown and Gomes are very similar in style,but Brown has the scoring touch.

[Cali vairs!]

From my experience iv'e notice most teams look great first 5 mins of the game,maybe the idea is to catch the other team flat footed,get a couple of goals then hold on. This tactic worked good for every team in the past except for the Leafs.For the first time in the playoffs this year ,what I expected to happen did actually happen,Elmira is very consistent.London is better this year from what iv'e seen,but they could use Gomes.Brown and Gomes are very similar in style,but Brown has the scoring touch.

Yea but London still IMO was the better team 5 on 5 and had the better chances. But Reinhart kept them in it until Elmira could strike on the PP and then a gift goal from the hash marks. Gonna be a decent series but i think Elmira wins in 5 if London plays the same way they did in the first game

[Port hockey1]

From my experience iv'e notice most teams look great first 5 mins of the game,maybe the idea is to catch the other team flat footed,get a couple of goals then hold on. This tactic worked good for every team in the past except for the Leafs.For the first time in the playoffs this year ,what I expected to happen did actually happen,Elmira is very consistent.London is better this year from what iv'e seen,but they could use Gomes.Brown and Gomes are very similar in style,but Brown has the scoring touch.

Yea but London still IMO was the better team 5 on 5 and had the better chances. But Reinhart kept them in it until Elmira could strike on the PP and then a gift goal from the hash marks. Gonna be a decent series but i think Elmira wins in 5 if London plays the same way they did in the first game

I think London has the deepest group of forwards in the GOJHL. Elmira has the best goalie. They say goaltending & defense wins championships. We'll soon see if that old saying becomes reality again.