NEWS

The crew from www.intheoradio.com, who have provided reviews & previews all season, sat down for a round-table to discuss this year's championship teams.  Thanks to Brandon, Rino, Allan & Peter for all the great coverage they provided this season!

Throughout the season and the OJHL Playoffs, ITO has been providing weekly updates and each writer has provided their own thoughts. With the Championship series set to begin, lets get all of the writers thoughts in one place. This is the OJHL Championship Round Table. Participants are your North, South, East and West Division writers: Allan Etmaski (@allanetmanski), Peter Kneulman (@PeterKneulman), Rino Mattucci (@Rino_992) & Brandon Sudeyko (@intheoradio). Each writer was asked to break down each team into the following categories: Forwards, Defence, Goaltending, Special Teams, Coaching and give their prediction for the series at the end. Below are their responses.

Forwards

Allan: Both teams have forwards that possess speed and skill. The difference between the two teams is their depth up front. A quick look at the Tigers shows their depth at forward, their #1 line features Angiolella-Kennedy-Higley and those are 3 veterans with tons of skill who are down the list when you look at contributions from the forwards. Aurora gets contributions from everyone, even Curran, a Jr C call up and Travis Barron, 15 year old AP (Taken 4th overall by Ottawa 67’s this year). For Toronto Lakeshore, Shier-Feric-Bonar is 1-2-3 in scoring with Shier shouldering a big part of their offence. With line match-ups being more critical as the playoffs move on and Aurora holding home ice advantage, the Tigers hold the advantave with a more balanced attack. 
Rino: It goes without saying that both teams have been able to produce offensively so far in the post season, the Tigers have scored 55 times while the Patriots have lit the lamp 54 times. Toronto though has been able to get 5 goals or more from 6 different players whereas Aurora has 4 players with 5+ goals. Looking up and down both lineups, depth will play a big factor in this series, and I’m not talking about who has a deeper bench, both teams have a deep bench! I’m talking about which secondary scoring unit will be able to help out with the production for their team. Nathan Feric, Doug Bonar, and Andreas Tsogkas are the three guys from Toronto who I will be keeping an eye out for. I’ve got to give the offensive advantage to the Patriots.
Peter: The Patriots may not have had the scoring depth of the Tigers during the regular season but veteran forward Kevin Sheir has taken his game to another level in the playoffs with 25 points in 13 games so far. Andreas Tsogkas is an OHL veteran whose experience has been invaluable to the Patriots in this playoff run and his timely offence has not gone unnoticed. Add in ’97 born Jacob Hayhurst, Playoff leader Nathan Feric and Doug Bonar and you have the makings of a dangerous unit. The Tigers certainly boast more scoring depth up front as they had 5 20 goal scorers during the regular season. They have had 13 different forwards score through 15 playoff games so for with 8 of those tallying more than 3 times. The ability to roll lines like that gives this lineup great flexibility and gives the team confidence to come back no matter what the score is.
Brandon: A tough call. Looking at both on paper I want to throw it away. It is your ‘3rd’ and ‘4th’ lines that will win this series for you. Toronto has guys like Ledyard, Bell, Ursitti and Willett who can make that difference while Aurora counters with Gilmour, DiBrina, Neuman and Boston. It is those depth (a word likely to be used throughout) guys that can turn the tide and give a Kevin Shier or a Michael Laidley the opportunity to open the game up. Call it a draw or a slight advantage for a team, but these will be the hardest 40 second shifts many of these players will face.

Defence
Allan: The Patriots ice a younger group than the Aurora Tigers, but not by much. If this was the regular season it wouldn’t mean a whole lot, but when you get to the final stages of a playoff run, every little bit of experience players can draw on is valuable. This is where the Tigers age comes into play in their favour, and while I wish I could say that Toronto-Lakeshore counters the age differential with offensive production, it’s just not the case. Although the Patriot’s big offensive defenceman Michael Prapavessis posts impressive numbers, the contributions from the back end drop off significantly compared to that of Aurora’s. The Tigers have a veteran bunch that don’t give up a lot of quality chances and are very good at getting pucks out from their own end. If you do get to the front of the Tigers goal, it’s not going to be an easy task. This, again, is an area I give to the Tigers.
Rino: Like the ‘goals for’ category, these teams are very similar with their defensive side of the game. The Patriots have given up 2 less goals to the Tigers, but they have also played 2 less games. At the end of the regular season, Aurora lead the league in goals against with only 122 allowed and a group of veterans are leading the charge. Austin Rigney, Michael Keenan, and Mihkel Poldma are all 93 born players and have meshed nicely with some younger blue liners. Toronto meanwhile has only one 93 born player on the back end, Cory Lauer, who was brought in halfway through the season to help with the young, inexperienced back-end and seems to helped the development of players such as Tyler Currie and Michael Prapavessis. This series though, I think it will be tough to get through the Tigers, so I’m going to give them the edge on this one.
Peter: On paper the Patriots are loaded on the back end with OHL defenceman of the year and 1st team allstar/all prospect team member Michael Prapavessis leading the way. With Robert Powers and Niko Kovachis the Patriots have enviable depth. When looking at Aurora, it is hard not to be impressed when you step back and look at the big picture. This is a team that has bought into a concept and allowed the team to give up the 2nd fewest amount of shots in the regular season at just over 28 a game. Players like Eric Williams, Noah Delmas and Mihkel Poldma have been leading the charge but the one player who stands out to me is Austin Rigney who came over in a trade from Orangeville. He adds an offensive element coupled with a sound defensive game that has pushed this group to the next level.
Brandon: I may be the only one to look at the lack of production on the Patriots back end and think it is a positive. Robert Powers, Niko Kovachis and Michael Prapavessis provided a lot of offence for Toronto Lakeshore and only Prapavessis has continued it in the playoffs. But it is what happened to Powers and Kovachis that is the positive. They became stronger defensively. They will still shoot at the net, but now with the opposition barreling down on them, they have gotten that much better. In the playoffs, many will swap offence for great defence and the Patriots got just that. This isn’t to discount the contribution of the Tigers blueline to their team success, but when I boil it down, the brass tax screams that the Patriots have the advantage as a group of 6.

Goaltending
Allan: I hope fans of both teams are ready to see a great goaltender dual because one is coming their way. Evan Buitenhuis was a late season pick-up for the Toronto-Lakeshore Patriots and has been every bit as good as advertised. He’s played each of their 13 games in this playoff run and posts a sparkling 1.99 GAA & .928 save percentage. Should he falter in this final series, Kingston Fronteancs’ draft pick Jeremy Helvig is there to pick up the ball. Despite not seeing any playoff action for the Patriots, Helvig shouldered a big load during the regular season and impressed fans across the league with his play. If he has to go in, you wonder if the pressure of the finals would get to him. Both netminders in the Tigers tandem have seen playoff action this year, although with Andy Munroe it’s been limited. He’s started 2 games and posts a perfect 2-0 record and Aurora’s #1, Kevin Entmaa, has a 10-3 record with a 1.67 GAA & .946%. Despite these very good numbers, this is an area I have to give the nod to the Patriots in. Buitenhuis was a goalie that many teams tried to pick up late in the season and it was the Patriots who got him, and for good reason.
Rino: This is an interesting matchup. On one hand you have Evan Buitenhuis for Toronto who’s carrying a 1.99GAA and a .928SV% and has played all 13 games for the Patriots; on the other hand you have the OJHL Goaltender-of-the-Year Kevin Entmaa who has also played 13 games and has a 1.67GAA and a .946SV%, but missed the deciding Game 7 against Cobourg and Game 1 two days later against Kingston. Entmaa was solid down the stretch with Kingston and has had a couple days to rest. If the defence is as good as I mentioned before, and they give the edge for Aurora in the series, Entmaa will feed off of that success and I will say he has a hand (or glove?) over Buitenhuis in the series.
Peter: In Toronto you have the veteran presence of Evan Buitenhuis who since coming over from the Oakville Blades has only lost once in regulation. Evan sported a .943 save percentage in 12 regular season games with TLP while holding down the fort in 13 playoff games with a .928 percentage.
Kevin Entmaa was the goalie of the year, a 1st team all-star. Goalie of the month in January and December. He has all the accolades and awards and the strong play to back it all up. In my opinion though he has benefited from a great team in front of him who rarely give up quality chances and don’t take many penalties thus not forcing him to face many chances while the team is short handed.
Brandon: Who is your favourite Backstreet Boy? Are you a ford or Chevy kind of person? These are the questions I ask you. To pick which goalie is better is just picking favourites at this point. Can you beat the other? Not without a lot of hard work. Both goalies don’t see a lot of rubber, and both are the best in each conference. Toss up, call it in the air… the coin lands on Heads… so who was heads?

Special Teams
Allan: This is an area that is a little more measureable thanks in a large part to league stats. Aurora has gotten 13 of their 55 goals on the powerplay accounting for 24% of their total offence. In the entire league, they’ve converted just 1/4 of their chances and that ranks them 5th in the OJHL. The penalty killing is a little better at 89%, but it’s still just 3rd overall. Aurora is very good at drawing teams into penalties, but they don’t take a lot of their own. The Patriots powerplay is a little more effective than their Tiger counterparts. Of the 54 goals they’ve scored so far 16 have been with the man up, meaning they’ve got 30% of their offence on the powerplay. It also comes in ranked best in the league at 29%. In other words, don’t get roped into unnecessary penalties or the Patriots will make you pay. The penalty killing is a different story. It’s functioning at just 86%, or 4th best in the league, meaning if you can get them to take a call there may be some holes to expose. Overall, though, I give the edge on special teams to the Toronto-Lakeshore Patriots. The game today is so much about powerplays and penalty-kills and with the #1 powerplay, the Patriots get my special teams vote.
Rino: Again both teams are pretty even when it comes to the special teams (anyone else getting the idea that this is going to be one heck of a series??) so here’s what I’ll say, and I’m kind of cheating here. Toronto gets the edge on the Powerplay because of their offensive weapons, and Aurora has the advantage on the Penalty Kill because of their edge in defensive play. Now, before everyone screams that that’s contradicting itself let me remind you that while yes it is, Toronto can’t score on every powerplay right? See, cheating. 
Peter: Currently in the playoffs TLP has scored 10 more goals on special teams than their opponents. Their PP is clicking at 28.57% while their PK is working at 86.05%. Add it together and you have a very efficient 114.16%. During the regular season the Patriots were a +21 on their special teams thanks to the #2 power play in the OJHL and the #3 penalty kill. Thanks to a shorthanded goal the Tigers have scored 9 more goals on special teams these playoffs compared to their opponents. Their PP is working at 25% while their PK is at 88.64% for an efficient number of 113.64%. In the regular season Aurora was a league best +37 on their special teams. Boosted by the fact that they had the #1 power play and took the 2nd fewest amount of penalties in the league. Too close to call.
Brandon: Should I just use stats or go to the fancy stats? Dissect them how you like. What is noticeable on the power play for the Patriots is how they score. It is no longer, move the play to the otherside of the ice and find Andreas Tsogkas back door for a one timer. Since the playoff opposition took that option away, Toronto Lakeshore found a new way to score with the man advantage. So pick your poison on who you want to put the puck in the net. Aurora boasts the same odds. Who do you want to shut down? Laidley, Angiolella, Kennedy, Warren? Pick one because the other three will be happy to score on his behalf. Stay out of the box is the message here. Don’t give the other a free opportunity to score. Another coin flip in my eyes but a slight lean in the Tigers favour.

Coaching
Allan: This is another category that is a tough one to call. It pits two veteran coaches against each other in James Richmond and Jason Fortier. Both coaches also have exterior projects: Richmond with the Los Angeles Kings and Jason Fortier with the Toronto Young Nats. Will this affect their performance? Absolutely not. Both coaches have been around the game a long time and know what it takes to win. In this category though, I give the edge to Patriots head coach Jason Fortier. He’s been deep in the playoffs before (3rd round with Vaughan) and experience at this point in the game makes the world of difference. Although Richmond is a great coach and won the coach of the year title, I give Fortier the edge. 
Rino: You’d have to think that this series will be the biggest chess game of the season with James Richmond (Aur) and Jason Fortier (Tor) going at it. Richmond will have to watch his goaltending situation, Entmaa has been solid to this point and Andy Munroe is ready to go, and won the two games he played in, the first of which was game 7 against Cobourg and only allowed one goal! Fortier meanwhile will need to try and keep the balanced attack, that has done so well in the postseason, going for the Patriots. If the offence struggles against Entmaa and the Tigers defence, what kind of counter does Fortier have in his playbook? So who has the edge in this series from a coaching perspective… (flips coin)… Jason Fortier of the Lakeshore Patriots.
Peter: I am not sure how you come to the conclusion of which coaching staff is better without the aid of a coin to flip. I had these two coaches 1 and 2 on my ballot for coach of the year and it could have gone either way. These two teams are here in the finals for a reason and it starts with the men behind the bench.
Brandon: I voted for Fortier as coach of the year. I had Richmond as runner up. So I was wrong. Lets go with the opposite for this. Slight advantage to Richmond after two East Division teams and matching play for play with East Division coaches. Does that seem like a fair way to assess? Probably not, so we will give the advantage to Richmond given that Aurora is the home team for Game 7.

Final Prediction

Allan: I don’t think this is going to be an easy series for either team. They are both coming off of sweeps in the conference finals and will be well rested for this tilt. The one factor I think that will play into Toronto-Lakeshore’s hand will be Aurora losing their home rink. It’s a smaller rink and one that you half of your games in giving you an advantage because you know where the bounces are. Moving to the York University pad where it’s Olympic size and built for speed can be a hindrance if you’re not used to it. This is a series I see going 6 games in favour of the Lakeshore Patriots. They have goaltending, coaching, special teams and the advantage of having their home rink. In my opinion, the Patriots will represent the OJHL at the Dudley-Hewitt Cup.
Rino: Both teams haven’t played a lot of games in the post-season, heck for the most part it’s been a cakewalk. But this is the OJHL Finals, anything is possible and everything is on the line. My prediction: Tigers will take this one in 7 games, and I’ll even give a bonus prediction here, 3 of the 7 games will go to Overtime!!! 
Peter: This series could really go anyway and with Aurora not being able to play in their home arena it really puts them behind the 8-ball. TLP may not have had much scoring depth in the regular season but they have had guys step it up so far in the playoffs. Both teams dispatched quality opponents with relative ease in the Conference Finals and I expect the League Finals to be hotly contested. With all that said I am going with Aurora winning in 6 games and taking the title on the road.
Brandon: Ok, so I never mentioned the rink being a difference so why start now. I remember picking the Patriots to win their division at the beginning of the year. I remember selecting them to represent the South West Conference in the Championship and I am saying now… yep… you guessed it, I am going to have to go with Toronto Lakeshore to meet up with the Wellington Dukes, representing the OJHL in the Dudley Hewitt Cup.