ROUND TWO IN THE WEST SET TO BEGIN THIS WEEKEND

Toronto took three of four games in the regular season. Milton won the first game 4-1 on the road. In game two, also in Toronto, the Patriots were victorious by a 4-2 count and they were winners in both games in Milton 4-1 and 7-4.

The Patriots, who finished the regular season on 95 points, best in the OJHL, swept the Mississauga Chargers in round one, outscoring them 22-6 and shutting them out in game four. In the third game of the series the Chargers forced overtime before going down 3-2. Tommy Karmiris found the net seven times to lead the goalscoring while Luciano Bruno was number one in points with 12 including four goals. Cole Cooksey ended on eight points for the series. Lucas Vacca and Luke Howard led the blueline brigade in points with five and four respectively. In net Nico Armellin and Trey Caracciolo combined for a 1.45 GAA and a save % of .963. Caracciolo had a shutout. It’s an experienced lineup with seven players in their final year and five born in 2006. With the sweep the Patriots increased their consecutive winning run to 10 games.

Patriots’ head coach Vince Bellissimo: “The first round series was well played by both teams. Mississauga gave us a strong push in game three, all credit to them. Our Tate Collins finished on a great play from Hudson Cummins in overtime to put us up three games to nothing and we were able to get it done in game four. We are ready for the next series and we know that Burlington/Milton have their strengths and will be a challenge. We understand what is in front of us and we will be prepared for game one on Friday night.”

In the only first round playoff series that went to seven games the Menace outlasted the Burlington Cougars winning the last one by a 3-1 count. Team captain Graeme MacAuley had three goals and eight points from the blueline. Ashtyn Pacheco scored four goals and added a pair of assists. Dean Deligiorgis had five points along with defenceman Dallys Hibbert. Four players ended with four points Triatan Tremble (from only four games), former Cougars Jason Zhou and Gabe Runco and Nathan Catalano. In goal Austin McKillop played every game and posted a 2.26 GAA and a .927 save percentage.

It was a tough playoff start for the club with key players already on the sidelines and injuries to others like forward and former Niagara Falls captain Wolf Giles as round one progressed.

The games involving these two teams were all very close affairs with Leamington winning 2-1, 3-2 and 3-1 with Collingwood winning game three at home 3-1. This matchup means a lot of distance to be traveled between the two teams, around 400km, or almost five hours in decent traffic. The Flyers have sevn 2005-born players on their roster while the Blues have four.

The Blues, who accumulated 41 victories and 87 points over the course of the regular campaign, beat out the determined King Rebellion in four games, winning 3-2, 2-0, 3-1 and 4-1. Hayden Bach and Maksim Corovic shared goaltending duties with Bach posting the shutout and a GAA of .50 and Corovic coming in at 1.50. The two ‘keepers were good for a combined GAA of only 1.00. Atom Thususka was first in the goalscoring department with four. Talan Palmer and rookie Carson McGurn had two each. Keenan Hodgson tallied four assists and Ethan Facchina three. With the four wins, the Blues upped their winning run to 12 games.

The Flyers, who finished just four points behind the Blues but posted the same number of wins, got past the Buffalo Jr Sabres in five in the first round to advance. Brayden Degelas and Griffin Grundner led the way with five points apiece. In goals scored, Degelas and Brendan Cooke had three each. There was not too much that got past goalkeeper Tre Altiman who had a 1.81 GAA and a save % of .932. After losing game one the Flyers scored four times in the next three games against the Jr Sabres, and five times in the last contest.

Collingwood bench boss Andrew Campoli in his fifth season in charge after spending two years as bench boss in Stouffville: “We knew going into the series against King that they are a very detailed team and that they are well-coached. We knew we had to manage the puck well and our good habits had to be a focus for us. I thought our team did a great job of playing our way and executing on our chances when we had them. Leamington is a very good team, they are well coached and have good depth. We have to stay focused on our plan and ensure we are doing the little things right. Both buildings are very loud especially in the playoffs and we know our fans will be there to support us.”

Dale Mitchell, who coached the Flyers for their last two seasons in the GOHL: “Our series against the Sabres was a hard-fought one, they are a team with good coaching, they compete at a high level and every game was tight. I thought our group did a good job sticking to our structure and getting strong contributions throughout the lineup. Special teams and timely goaltending were key factors for us, especially in the bigger moments. Looking forward to the series against the Blues, we know it’s going to be another big challenge. Andrew has done a good job again with his team. They are disciplined, play with pace and they don’t give much time and space. For us, it’s going to be about continuing to play to our identity, being hard to play against, managing the puck well and staying consistent from shift to shift.”