Series Preview
And then, there were two.
The champions of the West, the Kitchener Rangers, and the champions of the East, the Barrie Colts, are set to square off in the OHL Championship series with the J. Ross Robertson Trophy and a trip to the Memorial Cup on the line. Both teams earned their way here through tough conference battles, with the Colts going the full distance. Now, both arrive with one goal in mind and a fanbase behind them that has been waiting over a decade for this moment.
The Kitchener Rangers were the first team to punch their ticket to the finals, besting their recent rivals, the Windsor Spitfires, to capture the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as Western Conference Champions. Their recent series with the Spitfires had been dramatic, and this year was no exception. With Windsor’s backs against the wall, the Spitfires jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in Game 5, but Kitchener never gave up. The Rangers battled back to prevail 5-4 on an overtime winner off the stick of overager Dylan Edwards, capturing their first conference championship since 2008.
In addition to Edwards, Sam O’Reilly, recently announced as the Red Tilson Trophy recipient as the league’s most outstanding player, has continued his success, leading the club with 22 points through 14 games, including a league-leading 14 goals. Jack Pridham, the team’s regular-season scoring leader, finally broke his goal drought with markers in back-to-back games, including one shorthanded. Kitchener was also fortunate to have forward Luke Ellinas back in the lineup for the first time since late November, and he made his presence felt immediately, scoring in his return.
Between the pipes, Christian Kirsch carries a 2.42 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage into the series. While he continued to struggle with early shots, he came up clutch in the latter halves of games when it mattered most. Special teams were ultimately the difference in the series. Kitchener went 6-for-15 (40%) on the power play while killing off 19 of Windsor’s 20 power play opportunities.
Keeping with the storybook endings, the Barrie Colts pulled off the best comeback this postseason has seen. After dropping two brutal games on home ice and heading back to Brantford down 3-1 in the series, something seemed to click. Despite being outshot 134-89 over the final three games, the Colts found a way. They took Games 5 and 6 with consecutive overtime winners courtesy of Brad Gardiner and Mason Zebeski. Then, in Game 7, they played their best hockey of the series and came away with a dominant 5-0 victory to capture the Bobby Orr Trophy as Eastern Conference Champions.
The star of that series was undoubtedly goaltender Ben Hrebik. He built off a 54-save performance in Game 6 with a 40-save shutout in Game 7, continuously making ten-bell saves to hold the league-leading Brantford Bulldogs to just six goals over the final three games. He carries a 2.50 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage into the finals.
Offensively, the Colts have been led by Cole Beaudoin, who still leads the league in scoring and has recorded at least one point in every postseason game but one. However, he’s been out of the lineup for the past two games with an apparent injury. The good news? Barrie has still managed to win without him, leaning on the likes of Kashawn Aitcheson, Emil Hemming, Ben Wilmott and Brad Gardiner to find the back of the net.
As for special teams, the Colts didn’t shine on the man advantage, going just 6-for-26, but their penalty kill stood tall, operating at nearly 80% in the last series. They also leaned on their veteran experience in the faceoff dot, edging the Bulldogs in nearly every game.
Now, both teams turn the page. This series will have everything that makes junior hockey so great. Offence, goaltending and a whole lot of physicality. Both teams have been at the top of the league for most of the regular season and have fought hard to get to this moment. The two regular-season meetings between these clubs were as tight as it gets, with both games requiring extra time to decide a winner, a sign of just how evenly matched these two could be. In a quick turnaround, the series begins Wednesday at the Kitchener Aud, where the Rangers have gone 23-1 in their last 24 home games. But Barrie? They played the last three games on house money, and they’re ready to ride that high straight down the 400-series Highway.
Both teams are ready to prove they’re the best in the league, but only one will walk away with the trophy.
Series Schedule:
* if needed
Game 1: Wednesday, May 6 at Kitchener, 7:00pm
Game 2: Friday, May 8 at Kitchener, 7:00pm
Game 3: Sunday, May 10 at Barrie, 6:00pm
Game 4: Tuesday, May 12 at Barrie, 7:00pm
Game 5: Thursday, May 14 at Kitchener, 7:00pm*
Game 6: Saturday, May 16 at Barrie, 6:00pm*
Game 7: Monday, May 18 at Kitchener, Time TBA*
Season Series:
BAR wins 2-0
Oct. 25 – KIT 3 at BAR 4 – OT
Jan. 2 – BAR 3 at KIT 2 – SO
Playoff History:
This marks the second playoff meeting between Kitchener and Barrie.
1996 KIT def. BAR 4-3 – First Round.
