The Ontario Hockey League Championship Series is set to begin as the Guelph Storm take on the Ottawa 67’s and the right to hoist the J. Ross Robertson Cup and gain a birth to the Memorial Cup, which is set to begin May 17, 2019 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Twice I’ve picked the Storm to go down in defeat in 7 games and twice the Storm bounced back from 3-0 and 3-1 deficits against the London Knights and the Saginaw Spirit respectively. They set an OHL record winning 7 elimination games. The 67’s on the other hand are well rested, sweeping their three series to date and are a perfect 12-0 in these playoffs.
Both teams are trying to win their fourth Robertson Cup. Ottawa has captured the title in 1977, 1984 and 2001. Guelph has won it all in 1988, 2004 and 2014.
This is a pretty even matchup. Guelph won one game between the two squads in regulation while Ottawa took the second game in overtime, both winning on home ice. Both teams are powerhouses at home while Ottawa holds an advantage when they are the visiting team.
Throughout the season, the Storm held the advantage in specialty teams, but it’s seen a reversal in the playoffs. The 67’s when up a man have been dominant firing at 38.9% (51.9% at home) while the Storm are at 23.5%. When down a man, the two squads are virtually identical with Guelph killing off 80.7% of the oppositions opportunities while Ottawa negates 80.4%.
If there is one area that Guelph holds a decisive advantage it is in experience. The Storm ice 3 over-agers and 12-19-year-old veterans. I would say that the 67’s hold the advantage in the crease with Micheal DiPietro, who has been to the big show at the Memorial Cup and leading his old Windsor Spitfires to a Championship in 2017.
This series is a coin flip. But I have to make a prediction and I’ll take Ottawa in 7 games. Watch the Storm prove me wrong yet again.
Schedule:
Game 1: Thur May 2 at Ottawa, 7:00 pm
Game 2: Sat May 4 at Ottawa, 2:00 pm
Game 3: Mon May 6 at Guelph, 7:00 pm
Game 4: Wed May 8 at Guelph, 7:00 pm
Game 5: Fri May 10 at Ottawa, 7:00 pm*
Game 6: Sun May 12 at Guelph, 2:00 pm*
Game 7: Mon May 13 at Ottawa, 7:00 pm*
*if necessary
| Ottawa 67’s vs Guelph Storm: Head To Head Stats | ||
| Summary | ||
| Description | Result | |
| Head to Head | Ottawa 1-1-0-0 | Guelph 1-0-1-0 |
| Last 5 Years | Ottawa 7-2-1-0 | Guelph 3-5-1-1 |
| Last 5 Years record at Ottawa | Ottawa 3-1-1-0 | Guelph 2-2-1-0 |
| Last 5 Years record at Guelph | Ottawa 4-1-0-0 | Guelph 1-3-0-1 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Guelph 3 @ Ottawa 4 OT | |
| Ottawa 4 @ Guelph 8 Final | ||
| How the 2 teams match up | ||
| Guelph | Ottawa | |
| Team Record | 40-18-6-4 | 50-12-4-2 |
| Division Ranking | 2nd Midwest | 1st East |
| Conference Ranking | 4th Western | 1st Eastern |
| League Ranking | 8th | 1st |
| Past 10 Games | 8-2-0-0 | 6-3-1-0 |
| Home Record | 23-9-1-1 | 29-3-1-1 |
| Away Record | 17-9-5-3 | 21-9-3-1 |
| GF | 308 | 296 |
| GA | 230 | 183 |
| PP (Overall) | 25.80% | 23.20% |
| PP (Home) | 25.30% | 22.90% |
| PP (Away) | 26.40% | 23.40% |
| PK (Overall) | 79.10% | 77.50% |
| PK (Home) | 77.80% | 82.70% |
| PK (Away) | 80.30% | 73.20% |
| PP vs. Opp. | 27.30% | 50% |
| PK vs. Opp. | 50% | 72.70% |
| Leading Rookie | Collins (6-10-16) | Rossi (29-36-65) |
| Most PIM | Ratcliffe – 105 | Clark – 98 |
| Leading Scorers | Schnarr (34-68-102) | Felhaber (59-50-109) |
| Suzuki (34-60-94) | Keating (22-67-89) | |
| Ratcliffe (50-32-82) | Maksimovich (35-46-81) | |
| Hawel (37-41-78) | Chiodo (29-50-79) | |
| Entwistle (30-27-57) | Chmelevski (35-40-75) | |
| Leading After 1st | 24-3-3-0 | 31-0-0-2 |
| Leading After 2nd | 32-1-3-1 | 40-0-2-2 |
| Tied After 1st | 9-4-3-4 | 17-3-2-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 4-0-1-2 | 7-3-1-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 7-11-0-0 | 2-9-2-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 4-17-2-1 | 3-9-1-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 28-8-2-2 | 32-9-3-1 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 11-9-4-2 | 13-2-1-1 |
| 1-Goal Games | 10-5-6-4 | 12-5-4-2 |
| 2-Goal Games | 4-2-0-0 | 10-1-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 8-7-0-0 | 13-3-0-0 |
OHL Writers 