News

By: Chris McLachlin, OHA Media
Photos: Spencer Smye Photography & Bruce Ideson

OHA SUTHERLAND CUP SEMIFINALS PREVIEW
Caledonia Corvairs (44-5-1-0) vs Elmira Sugar Kings (38-11-1-0)

The Caledonia Corvairs and Elmira Sugar Kings will face each other in the 2017 OHA Sutherland Cup Semifinals, with Game 1 taking place on Thursday, April 13 in Caledonia at 7:30 PM. The other Semifinals series will feature the Listowel Cyclones and London Nationals; that series gets underway on Friday, April 14 in Listowel. 

The Corvairs are the three-time defending Sutherland Cup Champions and the 2017 GOJHL Golden Horseshoe Conference Champions. Meanwhile, the Sugar Kings enter the series as the Wild Card after losing a tough series to the Listowel Cyclones in the Midwestern Conference Championship.

Caledonia Corvairs
Regular Season: 44-5-1-0
Playoffs: 8-2

The Corvairs are the three-time defending OHA Sutherland Cup Champions and enter this year as the #2 seed behind the Listowel Cyclones. In recent history, whenever you think about the Caledonia Corvairs you think offense and this year’s team is no exception as they led the entire GOJHL in goals by a wide margin, but they were also the top defensive team, allowing an average of just 1.98 goals against per game in the regular season. In the playoffs they have been even tougher to score against, giving up only 1.80 goals against per game, second only behind the Listowel Cyclones at 1.64 goals against per game.

In the regular season the Corvairs were led by Golden Horseshoe Conference MVP Brandon Lindberg who scored 109 points (42G, 67A) in 44 games. Of course when a team scores as many goals as the Corvairs, Lindberg is far from the only offensive threat in their lineup as Adam Craievich had 93 points (46G, 47A) in 41 games and 11 other players averaged at least one point per game, including defenceman Zachary Core who added 62 points (17G, 45A) in 47 games from the blue line. Through 10 games of playoffs and the Golden Horseshoe Conference Championship, the Corvairs’ depth has shone through as Craievich leads the way with 11 points in 10 games and right behind with 10 points each are Trent Mallette, Jamey Lauzon and Bailey Fletcher.

As one of the top defensive teams, the Corvairs are strong in goal, with rookie netminder Daniel Chenard, who was named the Conference’s most valuable goaltender in the regular season and veteran Bradley Van Schubert. Chenard played the bulk of the games in the regular season, finishing with a record of 22-2-1, 7 shutouts, 1.77 GAA, and .922 SV%, while Van Schubert was 8-1-0, 2 shutouts, 2.27 GAA and .886 SV%. Through 2 rounds of playoffs, Corvairs’ Head Coach Mike Bullard has leaned towards the veteran and Van Schubert has responded with a record of 6-2, 1.54 GAA and .932 SV%. Chenard has played in 2 games and has also played well with a record of 2-0, 2.00 GAA and .925 SV%. The Corvairs are confident in both goaltenders and receive strong play between the pipes regardless of who is playing each and every night.

Elmira Sugar Kings
Regular Season: 38-11-1-0
Playoffs: 10-6

The Elmira Sugar Kings’ dreams of winning the GOJHL Midwestern Conference Championship and hoisting the Cherrey Cup were dashed by the Listowel Cyclones but their strong play in a second round come from behind series win over the Kitchener Dutchmen helped them edge the St. Catharines Falcons by the smallest of margins for the Wild Card entry into the OHA Sutherland Cup Semifinals. The Wild Card team is slated to face the top seed in the OHA Sutherland Cup Semifinals unless those two teams are from the same Conference, which was the case this year, so as the Wild Card team the Sugar Kings face the next highest seeded team, the Caledonia Corvairs.

The Sugar Kings made it to the Sutherland Cup Semifinals 2 years ago after winning the Midwestern Conference and faced the LaSalle Vipers, a series they lost in 67 games. The last time the Sugar Kings won the Sutherland Cup was in 2011 when they defeated the Niagara Falls Canucks in 5 games.

Elmira enters the Sutherland Cup Semifinals as the Wild Card team but they should not be taken lightly, this is a very good hockey team. The Sugar Kings were the 9th highest scoring team in the regular season, averaging 4.14 goals per game and were the 4th toughest team to score against, giving up only 2.46 goals against per game. In the playoffs they surged to the 6th best offense at 3.88 goals per game while allowing a few more goals against, dropping to 6th overall and 2.81 goals against per game.

The strength of this year’s Sugar Kings starts at the back-end with veteran goaltender Jonathan Reinhart. Reinhart is in his 4th season with the Sugar Kings and finished the regular season with a record of 30-7-1, 3 shutouts, 2.38 GAA, and .931 SV%. His strong play and leadership earned Reinhart Midwestern Conference MVP honours. Backing up Reinhart is Tyler Mazzocato who was 8-4-0, 1 shutout, 2.40 GAA and .924 SV%, so the Sugar Kings are deep in goal. Reinhart has carried the load in the playoffs, playing in all 16 games with a record of 10-6, 2.67 GAA and .922 SV%. 

Offensively the Sugar Kings are led by Ethan Skinner who had 80 points (38G, 42A) in 46 games and Jake Brown who had 78 points (22G, 56A) in 50 games. Skinner is in his 3rd season with the Sugar Kings, while this was Brown’s first season with Elmira after playing the last 3 season with the Caledonia Corvairs. Rookie Mitch Hoelscher finished third in team scoring with 41 points (19G, 22A) in 42 games and played 6 games with the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League, scoring two goals. Through 16 playoff games, Brown and Skinner are leading the way with 24 points each, while Jeff Jordan has chipped in with 19 points and led the way with 13 goals. 
 

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Caledonia:
- beat Ancaster in 4 games in the Conference Semifinals
- beat St. Catharines in 6 games to win the Golden Horseshoe Conference Championship

Elmira:
- beat Guelph in 4 games in the Conference Quarterfinals
- beat Kitchener in 6 games in the Conference Semifinals
- lost to Listowel in 6 games in the Midwestern Conference Championship
 

LEADING PLAYOFF SCORERS
Caledonia:
1. Adam Craievich 11 PTS (5G, 6A) in 10 games
2. Trent Mallette 10 PTS (6G, 4A) in 10 games
3. Jamey Lauzon 10 PTS (6G, 4A) in 10 games

Elmira:
1. Jake Brown 24 PTS (12G, 12A) in 16 games
2. Ethan Skinner 24 PTS (10G, 14A) in 16 games
3. Jeff Jordan 19 PTS (13G, 6A) in 16 games

GOALTENDERS
Caledonia:
Bradley Van Schubert (8GP, 6-2, 1.54 GAA, .932 SV%)
Daniel Chenard (2GP, 2-0, 2.00 GAA, .925 SV%)

Elmira:
Jonathan Reinhart (16GP, 10-6, 2.67 GAA, .922 SV%)

POWER PLAY
Caledonia: 20.1% (reg. season), 24.5% (playoffs)
Elmira: 22.8% (reg. season), 23.3% (playoffs)

PENALTY KILLING
Caledonia: 85.8% (reg. season), 88.7% (playoffs)
Elmira: 86.3% (reg. season), 86.0% (playoffs)

Click here to view Caledonia’s Playoff stats

Click here to view Elmira’s Playoff stats

Click here to view the GOJHL Playoffs Brackets
 

2017 OHA SUTHERLAND CUP SEMIFINALS
Game 1: Thu. Apr. 13 at 7:30 PM – Elmira at Caledonia
Game 2: Sun. Apr. 16 at 7:00 PM – Caledonia at Elmira
Game 3: Tue. Apr. 18 at 7:30 PM – Elmira at Caledonia
Game 4: Wed. Apr. 19 at 7:30 PM – Caledonia at Elmira
*Game 5: Fri. Apr. 21 at 7:30 PM – Elmira at Caledonia
*Game 6: Sun. Apr. 23 at 2:00 PM – Caledonia at Elmira
*Game 7: Mon. Apr. 24 at 7:30 PM – Elmira at Caledonia
(* if necessary)