Happy Friday GOJHL fans!  We’re down to crunch time with some good hockey coming up.  This weekend, there’s 13 games on tap.

 

Friday, February 19

 

Brampton vs. Listowel, 7:30 Listowel Memorial

 

This is the final game between the Bombers and Cyclones.  Brampton leads 3-2.

 

Brampton has won both games in Listowel arena this season.  Both of those games were in December, about 2 weeks apart, and were before the trade deadline.

 

The Bombers have been off this week after playing 3 games over the Family Day long weekend.  They played Waterloo, Guelph and Stratford and dropped all 3 games.  If you recall from last week’s preview, they were just 1 point behind Waterloo heading into the long weekend.  By dropping those games, and Waterloo picking up some points, they’re now 5 points behind the Siskins, but they have a 4 point lead over Brantford.

 

Listowel also had 3 games over the long weekend.  They split their home and home with Stratford and picked up a win on Monday over Elmira.  The 4 points earned allowed them to pass Guelph in the standings.  They were behind the Hurricanes by 1 point and they’re now tied, as Guelph picked up 1 point on Tuesday.

 

This is 3 vs. 7.  Both teams have 4 games left.

 

Elmira vs. Stratford, 7:30 Allman Arena

 

Elmira and Stratford have played 4 games so far.  Stratford has all 4 wins.

 

The Sugar Kings had 2 games last weekend.  They lost to Kitchener Sunday night and Listowel on Monday afternoon.  As I said last week, Elmira is holding 5th place down.  They’re too far from both Guelph and Waterloo to move positions with only 4 games left.

 

Stratford is another team that had 3 games last weekend.  They split with Listowel and took a win over Brampton on Monday.  They’re another team that has their position locked up.  They are safely in 2nd place with Listowel and Guelph too far behind them to slip into 3rd.

 

This game is 2 vs. 5.  Both teams have 4 games left.

 

Lambton Shores vs. St. Marys, 7:30 Pyramid Rec Centre

 

This is the final game between the Preds and Lincs.  St. Marys leads 4-1.

 

Lambton Shores had 2 games postponed last week due to the weather, but they did get their game on Friday in.  They travelled to St. Thomas on Friday and lost 7-3.  Of the 2 games that were postponed last week, 1 has been rescheduled for February 26 and the other is February 28.

 

St. Marys also had 2 games postponed last week, but managed to fit in their Friday game.  They hosted Sarnia and lost 5-2.  Both of their games have been rescheduled, 1 is this weekend, the other is next week.

 

So this is the battle of the bottom feeders, as it has been for the past 3 seasons.  In fact, I have an article that I wrote on the old blog from the 2013-2014 season titled The Battle of the Bottom Feeders.  If I could access them from that time, I’d post a link to it.  At that time, the Predators were ahead of St. Marys by 2 points, but the Lincolns had protested a game against Chatham and were waiting for those points.  In 2014, the Lincolns won the ‘Bottom Feeder’ game, and got the protest points, to make the play-offs.  This year, there are no protest points up for grabs, but St. Marys is ahead by 4 points going into this game.

 

This game is 8 vs. 9.  St. Marys has 7 games left and Lambton Shores has 6.

 

I feel that the winner of this game is going to make the play-offs, but this game is not a clincher.  The Lincolns have a game in hand over the Preds, and both teams still have a lot of points up for grabs over the next 10 days.

 

Saturday, February 20

 

Listowel vs. Cambridge, 7:00 Galt Arena Gardens

 

This is the fifth game in this season series.  Listowel leads the series 4-0.

 

Cambridge had 2 games last weekend.  They lost 4-0 to Kitchener and 5-2 to Waterloo.  The Winter Hawks are on a 10 game losing skid.  Their last win was January 16 when they defeated Brampton 10-5.  Since then, they have picked up 1 point with an overtime loss.  They are in 9th place with 24 points.

 

This game is 3 vs. 9.  Both teams have 3 games remaining.  If Cambridge loses this game, they are out of the play-offs.  The magic number is 1.  They just need 1 loss or 1 Brantford win to mathematically eliminate them from the post-season.

 

LaSalle vs. London, 7:30 Western Fair

 

The Vipers and Nationals have played 4 games so far this season.  LaSalle took the first game and London has taken the last 3.

 

LaSalle had a big week.  They took on their county rival Leamington Flyers on Wednesday, taking a 3-2 win inside the Snake Pit.  Last night they travelled to Sarnia and handed the Legionnaires a 3-2 loss.  The 4 points earned have vaulted them past Chatham in the standings.  The Vipers are in 3rd place with 59 points.  Chatham is on their heels with 58.

 

London had a big 4-0 win over Sarnia on Wednesday night.  The Nationals are on a 7 game win streak.  London is in 2nd place with 65 points.  They have a 6 point cushion over LaSalle.

 

This game is 2 vs. 3.  London has 5 games left and LaSalle has 4.

 

Waterloo vs. Guelph, 7:30 Sleeman Centre

 

This is the last game between the Siskins and Hurricanes.  Guelph leads 3-2.

 

Waterloo has been very impressive as of late.  At the start of the season, it appeared that they weren’t even going to make the play-offs and now, with 4 games left, they’ve climbed up to 6th place and have clinched a berth into the post season.  The Siskins had 3 games last weekend and took all 6 points.  They started the weekend 1 point behind Brampton and are now 5 points ahead of the Bombers.

 

Guelph was in Kitchener on Tuesday.  They went to overtime against the Dutchmen, which earned them 1 point to tie Listowel in the standings.  They’re now tied for 3rd heading into the weekend with 58 points.  The Cyclones have a better record than Guelph, so that puts them in 4th. They are 10 points ahead of Elmira and 11 points behind Stratford.

 

This game is 4 vs. 6.  Guelph has 3 games left and Waterloo has 4.

 

Leamington vs. Lambton Shores, 7:30 Shores Rec Centre

 

This will be the last game between the Flyers and Predators.  Leamington leads 5-0.

 

Leamington had 2 big games this week.  They lost 3-2 to LaSalle on Wednesday and last night they hosted Chatham, taking a 3-2 win.  The Flyers are in 1st place with 75 points.  They lead London by 10.

 

This game is 1 vs. 9.  They Flyers have 4 games left and the Predators have 5 games.

 

St. Thomas vs. Strathroy

 

This is the last game for the Stars and Rockets.  St. Thomas leads 4-1.

 

The Stars hosted St. Marys last night, taking a 6-1 win.  A matter of weeks ago they were in the hunt for 2nd place, but have dropped off.  They are sitting in 5th place with 55 points.  They are just 3 points behind Chatham for 4th.

 

Strathroy’s last 2 games were postponed due to the weather, so they’ll have been off for 2 weeks when they game comes around.  Their last game was on February 6 where they lost 3-2 to LaSalle.  The Rockets are in 7th place with 34 points.  They are too far behind Sarnia to catch them for 6th, and St. Marys is too far behind them to worry about dropping into 8th.

 

This game is 5 vs. 7.  The Stars have 4 games left and Strathroy has 5.

 

Sunday, February 21

 

Stratford vs. Brampton, 3:30 Victoria Park

 

This is the final game between these teams.  Stratford leads 4-1.

 

This game is 2 vs. 7.  Both teams have 3 games left heading into this game.

 

Brantford vs. Kitchener, 3:30 Kitchener Auditorium

 

This is the last game for these teams.  It’s the back half of the home and home.  They just played each other Thursday night.  Kitchener won 5-1.

 

Brantford is in the final play-off spot.  They have a 5 point lead over Cambridge.  As I noted above for the Cambridge game on Saturday, the magic number here is 1.  If Cambridge loses on Saturday, Brantford makes the play-offs for the first time in their franchise history.

 

Kitchener is in 1st place.  They’ve pretty much had it wrapped up since the season began.  I read the other day that Kitchener’s 2-1 win over Guelph on Tuesday was their 42nd win of the season, and is the most wins they have had in a season.

 

This game is 1 vs. 8.  Kitchener has just 2 games left, while Brantford has 4.

 

Waterloo vs. Elmira, 7:00 Dan Snyder Arena

 

This will be the final meeting for the Siskins and Sugar Kings.  Elmira took the first 2 games and Waterloo has the last 3.

 

This game is 5 vs. 6.  Both teams have 3 games left.

 

London vs. Chatham, 7:00 Chatham Memorial

 

This will be the last game for London and Chatham.  London has 4 wins and 1 game ended in a tie.

 

Chatham was in Leamington on Thursday and dropped a 3-2 decision.  The Maroons were also in the hunt for 2nd place a matter of weeks ago and have since dropped some games that have given London the opportunity to extend their lead.  They’re still in the top half, in 4th with 58 points.  LaSalle is ahead of them by just 1 point and St. Thomas trails by 3.

 

The Nats and Maroons are 7 points apart.

 

This game is 2 vs. 4.  Both teams have 4 games left.

 

St. Marys vs. Leamington, 7:10 Highbury Canco Arena

 

This is the makeup game from the one postponed last Thursday due to the weather in the London region.  This is the fifth game between the Lincolns and Flyers.

 

This game is 1 vs. 8.  Leamington has 3 games left to St. Marys 5.

 

 

That’s your games for this weekend.  Tonight, I’m going to St. Marys.  I’m not sure what to expect of this game, but I’m going anyways.  I do like the prospects of Brampton and Listowel.  Saturday, I’ll be at my boys game, since it’s been 2 weeks.  London and LaSalle should put on a good show.  I also like Waterloo and Guelph.  On Sunday, the game to watch will be London and Chatham.

 

Be sure to make it to an arena!  I’ll see you again on Monday.

 

Photo Credit: Brantford Expositor