While Round 1 of the CHL playoffs always presents a surprise or two, it’s Round 2 that usually sees its share of excellent teams eliminated. That will be the case when the Kitchener-London series comes to a close. While it won’t happen Sunday between these two OHL Midwest Division rivals, Game 2 will go a long way in deciding who wins the series.
The Knights held serve in Game 1 with a 6-3 win at Budweiser Gardens. The score was not indicative of how the game was played as the Rangers got to within a goal in the latter stages of the third period before the Knights were able to salt it away with a Mitch Marner insurance marker and a Christian Dvorak empty-netter to complete his hat trick.
The Knights were better in the faceoff circle, scored two power-play markers and allowed the Rangers just one chance with the extra man. London’s dynamic trio of Matthew Tkachuk, Dvorak and Leafs prospect Marner combined for 11 points. These teams know each other well, so there should be no secrets as we move into Game 2.
Jeff Marek hosts Sportsnet’s weekly CHL podcast, a one-stop shop for news, analysis, opinion and interviews covering the WHL, OHL and QMJHL.
Listen now | iTunes | Podcatchers
London Knights
2nd Midwest Division, 3rd Western Conference, 3rd BMO CHL Top 10
1-0 series lead, defeated Owen Sound 4-2 in Round 1
London was taken to task by Owen Sound in Round 1. The Attack weren’t able to overcome a last second power-play goal in the first period of Game 6, and the Knights went on to a 5-2 series-clinching win. The series wasn’t typical from a London standpoint in that the Knights dropped two home games while winning all three on the road. London’s special teams weren’t up to regular-season standards, but good enough.
Where the series was typical for London was the production of the usual suspects. Matthew Tkachuk, Marner and Dvorak picked up where they left off in the regular season and combined for 17 of London’s 25 first-round goals. Cliff Pu stepped up his game in the absence of his suspended linemate Max Jones. Aaron Berisha and J.J. Piccinich also contributed in much the same way as they did in the regular season. The grinders, Kole Sherwood, Chad Heffernan and Owen MacDonald, didn’t record a point, but as the post-season wears on, their roles will gain importance.
| Individual Stats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top Scorers | GP | G | A | PTS | Note |
| Matthew Tkachuk | 7 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 3rd OHL Pts |
| Mitchell Marner | 7 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 4th OHL Pts |
| Christian Dvorak | 7 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 9th OHL Pts |
| Cliff Pu | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
| Aaron Berisha | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| In Goal | |||||
| Tyler Parsons (5-1-1, 2.43, .924%) | |||||
| Team Stats | Rank | ||||
| PP | 7/27=25.9% | 9th | |||
| PK | 11/33=66.7% | 12th | |||
| GF/gm | 4.43 | 3rd | |||
| GA/gm | 2.57 | 1st |
Defensively, Dale Hunter didn’t change a thing with the usage of his defencemen. Olli Juolevi and Victor Mete will be asked to provide offence. Mete is also adept at zone exits, be it with his great skating ability or first-pass decision-making.
Chris Martenet will draw the top shutdown assignment and be aided by Brandon Crawley and Jacob Graves when the matchup is not available. Future star Evan Bouchard will get his chops, but not likely be in the lineup for every game. Same can be said about Nicolas Mattinen, who’s climbing this year’s draft rankings at break-neck speed. Aiden Jamieson is still coming back from a lower body issue.
Tyler Parsons will play the bulk of the minutes for London in this series. His numbers were great in Round 1, with a 2.34 GAA and a .930 save percentage. Brendan Burke has played in a MasterCard Memorial Cup, so he has the experience to play in relief if need be.
NHL Drafted/Signed Players
Mitch Marner (TOR, 4th 2015)
Christian Dvorak (ARI, 58th 2014)
JJ Piccinich (TOR, 104th 2014)
Chris Martenet (DAL, 103rd 2015)
Daniel Bernhardt (NYR, 119th 2015)
CJ Yakimowicz (STL, 172nd 2014)
Brendan Burke (ARI, 163rd 2014)
Kole Sherwood (signed FA CLB 2015)
NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings
Matthew Tkachuk, No. 1
Olli Juolevi, No. 5
Max Jones, No. 11
Victor Mete, No. 58
Cliff Pu, No. 83
Brandon Crawley, No. 96
Nicolas Mattinen, No. 103
Tyler Parsons, No. 6 among goalies
Under The Radar
It’s simply been a matter of finish for Cliff Pu. His speed and stick skills have given him plenty of chances to score, but his confidence is gaining and he was one of London’s top players against Owen Sound in Round 1.
Ryan MacInnis was a key contributor in the first round for the Rangers. (Terry Wilson / OHL Images)
Kitchener Rangers
3rd Midwest Division, 4th Western Conference, 8th BMO Top 10
0-1 series, defeated Windsor Spitfires 4-1 in Round 1
Kitchener limped into the playoffs winning just four of its final 10 games. Part of that was due to injuries, lineup changes and knowing the fate of being the fourth seed in the conference for roughly a month. The Rangers’ success was predicated on a team game. Skill development was emphasized from Day 1 and head coach Mike Van Ryn was able to get his team to marry skill and effort to complete a 95-point regular season.
Kitchener went into this year’s playoffs as the fourth seed against fifth-seeded Windsor. Many prognosticators, myself included, didn’t see a five-game series with the Spitfires, but more of a long drawn-out battle. The Rangers put up 23 goals in the five-game set, winning in a multitude of ways.
| Individual Stats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top Scorers | GP | G | A | PTS | Note |
| Ryan MacInnis | 6 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 14th OHL Pts |
| Jeremy Bracco | 6 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 16th OHL Pts |
| Adam Mascherin | 6 | 5 | 5 | 10 | |
| Brandon Robinso | 6 | 6 | 3 | 9 | |
| Miles LIberati | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| In Goal | |||||
| Dawson Carty (4-1-1, 3.14, .896%) | |||||
| Team Stats | Rank | ||||
| PP | 8/24=33.3% | 4th | |||
| PK | 11/23=52.2% | 16th | |||
| GF/gm | 4.33 | 4th | |||
| GA/gm | 3.83 | 12th |
Goaltender Luke Opilka played the bulk of the regular-season minutes but suffered from a bout of mono, which didn’t allow him to play for the U.S. at the world juniors. His second half numbers also suffered, especially down the stretch. The playoff start was owed to Opilka, but it only lasted 9:36 as he gave way to Dawson Carty after a 3-0 Windsor lead. Carty went the rest of the way, posting a 2.77 GAA and a .911 save percentage. With London’s high-octane offence, it’s likely Opilka will have an opportunity to get the net back at some point.
Getting by Round 1 in swift fashion allowed the Rangers time to get St. Louis prospect Dmitrii Sergeev ready for this series. Frank Hora, who came back early from a hand injury to play against Windsor, was also able to use the time to continue healing. Brian Brosnan remains doubtful however.
Sergeev’s return impacts the entire team. He eats big minutes, plays physically and his return slots everyone else on the back-end accordingly. Miles Liberati should be inspired playing against his old team. Connor Hall will have to control his emotions, while Doug Blaisdell, Dylan Di Perna and Elijah Roberts will share the remaining minutes.
Up front, Brandon Robinson played like an overager who didn’t want his junior career to end in Round 1. He had six goals in five games against Windsor. Ryan MacInnis has maintained the consistency he found in the regular season and Maple Leafs prospect Jeremy Bracco is a rink-rat with amazing vision. Draft eligible Adam Mascherin continues to put up numbers and prove the doubters wrong.
David Miller has experienced a resurgence in his play, while Gustaf Franzen is a key faceoff man for the Rangers. Kitchener possesses an extremely balanced attack with guys at all positions who can get the job done. Kitchener’s powerplay was deadly in Round 1, but the penalty kill was not. If the Rangers kill penalties at a 55 per cent efficiency rate against London, this series won’t last long.
NHL Drafted/Signed Players
Ryan MacInnis (ARI, 43rd 2014)
Jeremy Bracco (TOR, 61st 2015)
Nick Magyar (COL, 93rd 2014)
Luke Opilka (STL, 146th 2015)
Miles Liberati (VAN, 205th 2013)
Dmitrii Sergeev (signed FA STL)
NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings
Adam Mascherin, No. 57
Connor Bunnaman, No. 81
Under The Radar
A combination of a mediocre Luke Opilka and solid play down the stretch gave Dawson Carty plenty of confidence to take the net during the Windsor series. Carty will need a bounceback if he is to start Game 2.
