The first round of play-offs is done and we’re now at the second round.
In the West, I was a perfect on 4-0 in my predictions for the first round.
Leamington Flyers (1) vs. Chatham Maroons (4)
Leamington took on St. Marys in the first round, defeating them in 4 games. They outscored the Lincolns 33-6.
The Flyers were led by Mark Manchurek, 4 goals and 5 assists, and Mitchell Amante, 2 goals and 7 assists, with 9 points each. Manchurek and Scott Emerson had the most goals at 4 each.
Rookie goalie phenom Tyler Wall played the first 2 games, allowing 2 goals for a GAA of 1.00 and making 23 saves for a 0.920 save percentage. Michael Barrett played the last 2 games. He allowed 4 goals for a GAA of 2.00 and had 39 saves for a save percentage of 0.907.
Speaking of Wall, as he did in the regular season, he entered his name into the play-off record book. In Game 1 against St. Marys, the Lincolns only registered 1 shot on net in the first period, which entered Wall with fewest saves in a period. St. Marys only had 11 shots in the total game, gives Wall the Leamington franchise record for fewest saves in a game.
Chatham played the St. Thomas Stars in the first round. I thought this series would be a lot closer than it was. Chatham dumped the Stars in 5 games and outscored them 26-13.
Gus Ford led the Maroons on the score sheet with 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points. Austin Thompson had the most goals with 5.
Parker Butler did not play a full game for Chatham in net. He started in Game 1 and was pulled after he gave up 2 goals in 6:15. He went in to relieve Brendan Johnston in Game 4 after he was pulled at the end of the first period. In the 45 min playing time that he got, Butler allowed 3 goals for a GAA of 4.00. He had 16 saves for a save percentage of 0.842. Johnston allowed 10 goals in his 4 games. His GAA is 2.36 and had 109 saves for a 0.916 save percentage.
Past Results
09/20/15 Leamington 3 at Chatham 5
11/05/15 Chatham 0 at Leamington 8
11/22/15 Leamington 3 at Chatham 6
01/24/16 Leamington 4 at Chatham 1
01/28/16 Chatham 2 at Leamington 5
02/18/16 Chatham 2 at Leamington 3
| Date | Visitor | Home | Time | Arena |
| Thurs. Mar. 17 | Chatham | Leamington | 6-5 OT | Highbury Canco |
| Sun. Mar. 20 | Leamington | Chatham | 6-3 | Chatham Memorial |
| Tues. Mar. 22 | Chatham | Leamington | 4-3 | Highbury Canco |
| Wed. Mar. 23 | Leamington | Chatham | 7:00 | Chatham Memorial |
| Thurs. Mar. 24 | Chatham | Leamington | 7:10 | Highbury Canco |
| Sun. Mar. 27 | Leamington | Chatham | 7:00 | Chatham Memorial |
| Mon. Mar. 28 | Chatham | Leamington | 7:10 | Highbury Canco |
Chatham leads the series 2-1
Prediction: This is a re-match of the finals from 2 years ago and of course, Leamington took it. This year, I think Chatham will give them a good run, but I don’t think Tyler Roezsler has enough coaching experience to compete with Tony Piroski. I’m going with Leamington in 6.
London Nationals (2) vs. LaSalle Vipers (3)
The Nationals faced off against No. 7 seed Strathroy Rockets in the first round. It took them 5 games to move past Strathroy into the semi’s. London outscored Strathroy 22-16 in the 5 games.
Tanner Ferreira had 1 goal and 6 assists for 7 points against Strathroy. Captain Austin Kemp had the most goals at 4.
Zack Weir saw the most time in net for London, playing 3 games. He allowed 11 goals for a GAA of 3.57 and had 84 saves for a save percentage of 0.884. Connor Hughes saw action in 2 games and allowed just 5 goals for a 2.50 GAA. He had 48 saves for a 0.906 save percentage.
LaSalle had their hands full with Sarnia in the first round. They had their backs against the wall, facing elimination going into Game 6 and pulled out an overtime win to force Game 7 where they took out the Legionnaires 5-2. They scored 33 goals to Sarnia’s 25 in the series.
Rookie star Liam MacDougall led the Vipers with 13 points and 8 goals in the series.
Eli Billing played the first 5 games. He allowed 14 goals for a 2.88 GAA and had 142 saves for a 0.910 save percentage. Battisti saw some action in Game 4, enough to take the loss, but played Games 6 and 7. He allowed 10 goals for a GAA of 3.92 and had 68 saves for 0.872 save percentage.
Past Results
09/16/15 London 1 at LaSalle 5
09/30/15 LaSalle 2 at London 3
12/19/15 LaSalle 4 at London 7
01/10/16 London 4 at LaSalle 3 OT
02/20/16 LaSalle 5 at London 3
02/28/16 London 2 at LaSalle 6
This is their second round series
| Date | Visitor | Home | Time | Arena |
| Wed. Mar. 16 | LaSalle | London | 1-3 | Western Fair |
| Fri. Mar. 18 | London | LaSalle | 3-4 OT | Vollmer Rec Centre |
| Sat. Mar. 19 | LaSalle | London | 1-5 | Western Fair |
| Mon. Mar. 21 | London | LaSalle | 3-2 | Vollmer Rec Centre |
| Wed. Mar. 23 | LaSalle | London | 7:30 | Western Fair |
| Thurs. Mar. 24 | London | LaSalle | 7:00 | Vollmer Rec Centre |
| Sat. Mar. 26 | LaSalle | London | 7:30 | Western Fair |
London leads the series 3-1
Prediction: I’m having a hard time with this series. These teams pretty much ended the season tied. They had basically the same record, they split the season series, and London won out on the 2nd seed due to their overall goal differential. LaSalle just went through a battle with Sarnia, whereas London will have been off for a week by the time Game 1 rolls around. I’d like to go with London, but I think LaSalle is going to take it. Again, it could be another 7 game series for the Vipers.
So that’s what I have for the West. I’ll see everyone again in 2 weeks.
