Dare I say it?
I don’t think the first round of the Ontario Hockey League was that difficult to predict when it came down to picking the teams that would advance to the Conference Finals. But could anyone have predicted just how dominant a round it was by the favorites?
Five of the eight series went the minimum four games. The minimum number of games for the first round was thirty-two. And it took just thirty-five to complete the round. It was the most dominating first round the league has seen in decades.
That said, the Conference Semi-Finals should have more competition as the field is down to the eight best teams from the regular season.
Below is a series by series breakdown of how the teams fared against each other through the 2018-2019 regular season followed by my predictions. Before we get to that, here’s a look at how my predictions went in the first round:
| Series | Result | Prediction | |
| 1 | London vs Windsor | London wins 4-0 | London in 5 |
| 2 | Saginaw vs Sarnia | Saginaw wins 4-0 | Saginaw in 6 |
| 3 | Sault Ste Marie vs Owen Sound | Sault wins 4-1 | Sault St Marie in 5 |
| 4 | Guelph vs Kitchener | Guelph wins 4-0 | Guelph in 6 |
| Series | Result | Prediction | |
| 1 | Ottawa vs Hamilton | Ottawa wins 4-0 | Ottawa in 5 |
| 2 | Niagara vs North Bay | Niagara wins 4-1 | Niagara in 5 |
| 3 | Oshawa vs Peterborough | Oshawa leads 3-1 | Oshawa in 5 |
| 4 | Sudbury vs Mississauga | Sudbury wins 4-0 | Sudbury in 6 |
| WESTERN CONFERENCE | ||
| London Knights vs Guelph Storm: Head To Head Stats | ||
| Summary | ||
| Description | Result | |
| Head to Head | London 2-3-1-0 | Guelph 4-1-0-1 |
| 2017-2018 | London 4-2-0-0 | Guelph 2-3-1-0 |
| Last 5 Years | London 21-8-1-0 | Guelph 9-18-2-1 |
| Last 5 Years record @ London | London 12-3-0-0 | Guelph 3-11-1-0 |
| Last 5 Years record @ Guelph | London 9-5-1-0 | Guelph 6-7-1-1 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | London 1 @ Guelph 5 | |
| Guelph 7 @ London 3 | ||
| Guelph 1 @ London 6 | ||
| Guelph 7 @ London 5 | ||
| London 2 @ Guelph 1 SO | ||
| London 2 @ Guelph 3 OT | ||
| How the 2 teams match up | ||
| Guelph | London | |
| Team Record | 40-18-6-4 — 90 PTS | 46-15-6-1 — 99 PTS |
| Division Ranking | 2nd Midwest | 1st Midwest |
| Conference Ranking | 4th Western | 1st Western |
| League Ranking | 8th | 2nd |
| Past 10 Games | 8-2-0-0 | 6-4-0-0 |
| Home Record | 23-9-1-1 | 27-5-2-0 |
| Away Record | 17-9-5-3 | 19-10-4-1 |
| GF | 308 | 299 |
| GA | 230 | 211 |
| PP (Overall) | (69/267) 25.8% | (59/256) 23.0% |
| PP (Home) | (37/146) 25.3% | (33/133) 24.8% |
| PP (Away) | (32/121) 26.4% | (26/123) 21.1% |
| PK (Overall) | (53/253) 79.1% | (41/289) 85.8% |
| PK (Home) | (28/126) 77.8% | (19/142) 86.6% |
| PK (Away) | (25/127) 80.3% | (22/147) 85.0% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (7/28) 25% | (3/26) 11.5% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (3/26) 88.5% | (7/28) 75% |
| Leading Rookie | Collins (6-10-16) | Stranges (13-21-34) |
| Most PIM | Ratcliffe – 105 | Keane – 103 |
| Team PIM/GM | 9.9/Game | 12.8/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Schnarr (34-68-102) | Hancock (52-55-107) |
| Suzuki (34-60-94) | McMichael (36-36-72) | |
| Ratcliffe (50-32-82) | Foudy (36-32-68) | |
| Hawel (37-41-78) | Boqvist (20-40-60) | |
| Entwistle (30-27-57) | Dunkley (23-30-53) | |
| Leading After 1st | 24-3-3-0 | 28-2-0-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 32-1-3-1 | 35-1-1-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 9-4-3-4 | 12-3-3-1 |
| Tied After 2nd | 4-0-1-2 | 8-1-1-1 |
| Trailing After 1st | 7-11-0-0 | 6-10-3-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 4-17-2-1 | 3-13-4-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 28-8-2-2 | 33-11-4-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 11-9-4-2 | 12-4-2-1 |
| 1-Goal Games | 10-5-6-4 | 9-2-6-1 |
| 2-Goal Games | 4-2-0-0 | 12-5-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 8-7-0-0 | 13-4-0-0 |
| Saginaw Spirit vs Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds: Head To Head Stats | ||
| Summary | ||
| Description | Result | |
| Head to Head Record | Saginaw 4-3-1-0 | Sault Ste. Marie 4-4-0-0 |
| 2017-2018 | Saginaw 1-6-1-0 | Sault Ste. Marie 7-0-0-1 |
| Last 5 Years | Saginaw 16-22-2-0 | Sault Ste. Marie 24-13-1-2 |
| Last 5 Years @ Saginaw | Saginaw 8-11-1-0 | Sault Ste. Marie 12-6-1-1 |
| Last 5 Years @ Sault | Saginaw 8-11-1-0 | Sault Ste. Marie 12-7-0-1 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Saginaw 2 @ Sault Ste. Marie 5 | |
| Sault Ste. Marie 2 @ Saginaw 1 OT | ||
| Saginaw 5 @ Sault Ste. Marie 3 | ||
| Saginaw 4 @ Sault Ste. Marie 2 | ||
| Sault Ste. Marie 7 @ Saginaw 4 | ||
| Sault Ste. Marie 3 @ Saginaw 5 | ||
| Saginaw 3 @ Sault Ste. Marie 6 | ||
| Sault Ste. Marie 2 @ Saginaw 5 | ||
| How the 2 teams match up | ||
| Sault Ste. Marie | Saginaw | |
| Team Record | 44-16-7-1 — 96 PTS | 45-17-3-3 — 96 PTS |
| Division Ranking | 2nd West | 1st West |
| Conference Ranking | 3rd Western | 2nd Western |
| League Ranking | 5th | 3rd |
| Past 10 Games | 6-3-1-0 | 7-2-1-0 |
| Home Record | 24-6-3-1 | 24-7-2-1 |
| Away Record | 20-10-4-0 | 21-10-1-2 |
| GF | 292 | 294 |
| GA | 224 | 218 |
| PP (Overall) | (59/265) 22.3% | (51/227) 22.5% |
| PP (Home) | (33/144) 22.9% | (24/107) 22.4% |
| PP (Away) | (26/121) 21.5% | (27/120) 22.5% |
| PK (Overall) | (51/287) 82.2% | (40/234) 82.9% |
| PK (Home) | (22/137) 83.9% | (20/118) 83.1% |
| PK (Away) | (29/150) 80.7% | (20/116) 82.8% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (4/28) 14.3% | (7/26) 26.9% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (7/26) 73.1% | (4/28) 85.7% |
| Leading Rookie | Kartye (4-20-24) | Perfetti (37-37-74) |
| Most PIM | Sambrook – 83 | Murray – 115 |
| Team PIM/GM | 11.2/Game | 8.7/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Frost (37-72-109) | Perfetti (37-37-74) |
| Howdeshell (46-31-77) | Tippett (33-41-74) | |
| Hollowell (24-53-77) | Wilde (19-51-70) | |
| Hayton (26-40-66) | Coskey (31-32-63) | |
| MacKay (27-34-61) | McLeod (19-43-62) | |
| Leading After 1st | 25-0-2-0 | 31-3-1-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 36-0-3-0 | 40-1-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 10-4-2-0 | 11-4-1-2 |
| Tied After 2nd | 6-7-2-1 | 4-3-2-2 |
| Trailing After 1st | 9-12-3-1 | 3-10-1-1 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 2-9-2-0 | 1-13-1-1 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 26-8-3-1 | 27-8-3-2 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 16-8-4-0 | 17-9-0-1 |
| 1-Goal Games | 15-3-7-1 | 8-1-3-3 |
| 2-Goal Games | 5-8-0-0 | 12-3-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 15-2-0-0 | 10-6-0-0 |
| EASTERN CONFERENCE | ||
| Ottawa 67’s vs Sudbury Wolves: Head To Head Stats | ||
| Summary | ||
| Description | Result | |
| Head to Head Record | Ottawa 1-0-1-0 | Sudbury 1-0-1-0 |
| 2017-2018 | Ottawa 0-1-0-1 | Sudbury 2-0-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years | Ottawa 6-2-1-1 | Sudbury 4-5-1-0 |
| Last 5 Years record @ Ottawa | Ottawa 3-1-0-1 | Sudbury 2-2-1-0 |
| Last 5 Years record @ Sudbury | Ottawa 3-1-1-0 | Sudbury 2-3-0-0 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Ottawa 2 @ Sudbury 3 OT | |
| Sudbury 3 @ Ottawa 4 OT | ||
| How the 2 teams match up | ||
| Sudbury | Ottawa | |
| Team Record | 43-20-3-2 — 91 PTS | 50-12-4-2 — 106 PTS |
| Division Ranking | 2nd Central | 1st East |
| Conference Ranking | 4th Eastern | 1st Eastern |
| League Ranking | 7th | 1st |
| Past 10 Games | 7-3-0-0 | 6-3-1-0 |
| Streak | 0-1-0-0 | 3-0-1-0 |
| Home Record | 27-6-1-0 | 29-3-1-1 |
| Away Record | 16-14-2-2 | 21-9-3-1 |
| GF | 254 | 296 |
| GA | 206 | 183 |
| PP (Overall) | (38/280) 13.6% | (60/259) 23.2% |
| PP (Home) | (16/147) 10.9% | (30/131) 22.9% |
| PP (Away) | (22/133) 16.5% | (30/128) 23.4% |
| PK (Overall) | (51/305) 83.3% | (62/276) 77.5% |
| PK (Home) | (23/162) 85.8% | (22/127) 82.7% |
| PK (Away) | (28/143) 80.4% | (40/149) 73.2% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (0/3) 0% | (2/10) 20% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (2/10) 80% | (0/3) 100% |
| Leading Rookie | Byfield (29-32-61) | Rossi (29-36-65) |
| Most PIM | Pilon – 121 | Clark – 98 |
| Team PIM/GM | 13.7/Game | 13.1/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Ruzicka (35-43-78) | Felhaber (59-50-109) |
| Byfield (29-32-61) | Keating (22-67-89) | |
| Bulitka (19-35-54) | Maksimovich (35-46-81) | |
| Murray (30-20-50) | Chiodo (29-50-79) | |
| Carson (17-29-46) | Chmelevski (35-40-75) | |
| Leading After 1st | 21-3-1-0 | 31-0-0-2 |
| Leading After 2nd | 31-0-1-0 | 40-0-2-2 |
| Tied After 1st | 14-6-2-0 | 17-3-2-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 7-1-1-0 | 7-3-1-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 8-11-0-2 | 2-9-2-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 5-19-1-2 | 3-9-1-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 27-8-2-0 | 32-9-3-1 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 16-12-1-2 | 13-2-1-1 |
| 1-Goal Games | 16-0-3-2 | 12-5-4-2 |
| 2-Goal Games | 7-6-0-0 | 10-1-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 8-9-0-0 | 13-3-0-0 |
| Niagara IceDogs vs Oshawa Generals: Head To Head Stats | ||
| Summary | ||
| Description | Result | |
| Head to Head Record | Niagara 1-0-1-0 | Oshawa 1-1-0-0 |
| 2017-2018 | Niagara 1-0-0-1 | Oshawa 1-0-1-0 |
| Last 5 Years | Niagara 5-3-1-1 | Oshawa 5-4-1-0 |
| Last 5 Years @ Niagara | Niagara 3-1-0-1 | Oshawa 2-3-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years @ Oshawa | Niagara 2-2-1-0 | Oshawa 3-1-1-0 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Oshawa 2 @ Niagara 6 | |
| Niagara 3 @ Oshawa 4 OT | ||
| How the 2 teams match up | ||
| Oshawa | Niagara | |
| Team Record | 44-20-4-0 — 92 PTS | 44-17-7-0 — 95 PTS |
| Division Ranking | 2nd East | 1st Central |
| Conference Ranking | 3rd Eastern | 2nd Eastern |
| League Ranking | 6th | 4th |
| Past 10 Games | 7-2-1-0 | 8-2-0-0 |
| Streak | 3-0-0-0 | 6-0-0-0 |
| Home Record | 21-10-3-0 | 25-6-3-0 |
| Away Record | 23-10-1-0 | 19-11-4-0 |
| GF | 288 | 326 |
| GA | 216 | 209 |
| PP (Overall) | (71/290) 24.5% | (85/303) 28.1% |
| PP (Home) | (42/152) 27.6% | (50/151) 33.1% |
| PP (Away) | (29/138) 21.0% | (35/152) 23.0% |
| PK (Overall) | (49/270) 81.9% | (63/276) 77.2% |
| PK (Home) | (23/127) 81.9% | (28/131) 78.6% |
| PK (Away) | (26/143) 81.8% | (35/145) 75.9% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (4/14) 28.6% | (4/12) 33.3% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (4/12) 66.7% | (4/14) 71.4% |
| Leading Rookie | Tullio (15-27-42) | Uberti (2-7-9) |
| Most PIM | Gross – 81 | Maksimov – 118 |
| Team PIM/GM | 11.4/Game | 11.3/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Saigeon (37-55-92) | Robertson (48-69-117) |
| Salinitri (48-40-88) | Jones (41-61-102) | |
| Noel (34-47-81) | Thomas (38-64-102) | |
| Neumann (45-34-79) | Studnicka (36-47-83) | |
| McShane (34-35-69) | Maksimov (40-39-79) | |
| Leading After 1st | 26-3-2-0 | 32-2-0-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 32-1-0-0 | 39-0-1-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 12-3-0-0 | 8-7-1-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 6-2-2-0 | 4-4-2-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 6-14-2-0 | 4-8-6-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 6-17-2-0 | 1-13-4-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 26-9-2-0 | 35-7-4-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 17-9-2-0 | 8-9-2-0 |
| 1-Goal Games | 14-4-4-0 | 10-9-7-0 |
| 2-Goal Games | 5-5-0-0 | 5-2-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 11-7-0-0 | 10-4-0-0 |
PREDICTIONS:
London in 7 games
Sault Ste Marie in 7 games
Ottawa in 6 games
Oshawa in 7 games
OHL Writers 