OHL playoffs open Thursday night

The Ontario Hockey League playoffs officially kick off on Thursday night with four games on the schedule.

Among the games on opening day is game one between the Owen Sound Attack and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in Owen Sound.

The game marks the first playoff game for the Greyhounds since bowing out in five games to the Plymouth Whalers in the opening round of the 2010 playoffs.

The series will see some interesting storylines, none more interesting than the battle between the Greyhounds and former teammate Daniel Catenacci.

Catenacci, a former first overall pick of the Greyhounds, spent two seasons with the Greyhounds, collecting 101 points in the process, before a trade sent him to the Attack. Catenacci has 151 points in two seasons with the Attack, which included 71 goals.

On the other side of the coin, the Greyhounds feature former Attack forward Andrew Fritsch. Fritsch was a part of the 2010-11 Attack team that went all the way to the Memorial Cup. Fritsch was injured through much of the playoff run.

In goal, the Greyhounds will have to contest with Jordan Binnington, who was second in goals against average (2.17), fourth in wins (32) and third in save percentage (.932). Binnington also was tops among OHL goaltenders with seven shutouts.

The series will also feature three of the OHL’s top scoring defenceman in Ryan Sproul and Colin Miller of the Greyhounds along with Cody Ceci of the Attack. Sproul finished tops among OHL defencemen with 66 points in just 50 games. Sproul’s 20 goals was also tops among defencemen. Miller finished fourth in defencemen scoring with 55 points and tied Sproul in the goal-scoring department with 20. Ceci, acquired by the Attack at mid-season, finished second in OHL defencemen scoring with 64 points. His 19 goals were second in that category behind Sproul and Miller.

First Round Matchups
Western Conference
London (1) vs. Saginaw (8)
Record – London: 50-13-2-3; Saginaw: 32-29-4-3
Top scorer – London: Max Domi (39 goals, 48 assists, 87 points); Saginaw: Eric Locke (44 goals, 53 assists, 87 points)
Season series – London wins 3-1
Schedule:

• Game 1 – Mar. 22 at London
• Game 2 – Mar. 24 at London
• Game 3 – Mar. 26 at Saginaw
• Game 4 – Mar. 28 at Saginaw
• *Game 5 – Mar. 29 at London
• *Game 6 – Mar. 31 at Saginaw
• *Game 7 – Apr. 2 at London

Plymouth (2) vs. Sarnia (7)
Record – Plymouth: 42-17-5-4; Sarnia: 35-28-1-4
Top scorer – Plymouth: Vincent Trocheck (50 goals, 59 assists, 109 points); Sarnia: Charles Sarault (22 goals, 86 assists, 108 points)
Season series – Plymouth won 4-1-0-1
Schedule:

• Game 1 – Mar. 22 at Plymouth
• Game 2 – Mar. 23 at Plymouth
• Game 3 – Mar. 25 at Sarnia
• Game 4 – Mar. 27 at Sarnia
• *Game 5 – Mar. 29 at Plymouth
• *Game 6 – Mar. 30 at Sarnia
• *Game 7 – Apr. 2 at Plymouth

Owen Sound (3) vs. Sault Ste. Marie (6)
Record – Owen Sound: 44-18-1-5; Sault Ste. Marie: 36-26-3-3
Top scorer – Owen Sound: Daniel Catenacci (38 goals, 41 assists, 79 points); Sault Ste. Marie: Nick Cousins (27 goals, 76 assists, 103 points)
Season series – Owen Sound won 2-0
Schedule:

• Game 1 – Mar. 21 at Owen Sound
• Game 2 – Mar. 23 at Owen Sound
• Game 3 – Mar. 25 at Sault Ste. Marie
• Game 4 – Mar. 27 at Sault Ste. Marie
• *Game 5 – Mar. 29 at Owen Sound
• *Game 6 – Mar. 31 at Sault Ste. Marie
• *Game 7 – Apr. 2 at Owen Sound

Kitchener (4) vs. Guelph (5)
Record – Kitchener: 39-20-1-8; Guelph: 39-23-2-4
Top scorer – Kitchener: Josh Leivo (29 goals, 44 assists, 73 points); Guelph: Scott Kosmachuk (35 goals, 30 assists, 65 points)
Season series – Kitchener won 5-1-0-2
Schedule:

• Game 1 – Mar. 22 at Kitchener
• Game 2 – Mar. 24 at Kitchener
• Game 3 – Mar. 26 at Guelph
• Game 4 – Mar. 28 at Guelph
• *Game 5 – Mar. 29 at Kitchener
• *Game 6 – Mar. 31 at Guelph
• *Game 7 – Apr. 1 at Kitchener

Eastern Conference
Belleville (1) vs. Mississauga (8)
Record – Belleville: 44-16-5-3; Mississauga: 26-34-0-8
To Scorer – Belleville: Tyler Graovac (38 goals, 35 assists, 73 points); Mississauga: Riley Brace (21 goals, 52 assists, 73 points)
Season series – Tied 2-2
Schedule:

• Game 1 – Mar. 21 at Belleville
• Game 2 – Mar. 23 at Belleville
• Game 3 – Mar. 24 at Mississauga
• Game 4 – Mar. 26 at Mississauga
• *Game 5 – Mar. 30 at Belleville
• *Game 6 – Apr. 1 at Mississauga
• *Game 7 – Apr. 2 at Belleville

Barrie (2) vs. Kingston (7)
Record – Barrie: 44-20-2-2; Kingston: 27-35-3-3
Top Scorers – Barrie: Zach Hall (24 goals, 57 assists, 81 points); Kingston: Henri Ikonen (22 goals, 29 assists, 51 points)
Season series – Barrie won 3-1
Schedule:

• Game 1 – Mar. 21 at Barrie
• Game 2 – Mar. 23 at Barrie
• Game 3 – Mar. 25 at Kingston
• Game 4 – Mar. 27 at Kingston
• *Game 5 – Mar. 28 at Barrie
• *Game 6 – Mar. 31 at Kingston
• *Game 7 – Apr. 1 at Barrie

Oshawa (3) vs. Niagara (6)
Record – Oshawa: 42-22-1-3; Niagara: 30-34-2-2
Top Scorer – Oshawa: Boone Jenner (45 goals, 37 assists, 82 points); Niagara: Ryan Strome (34 goals, 60 assists, 94 points)
Season series – Oshawa won 2-0
Schedule:

• Game 1 – Mar. 22 at Oshawa
• Game 2 – Mar. 24 at Oshawa
• Game 3 – Mar. 26 at Niagara
• Game 4 – Mar. 28 at Niagara
• *Game 5 – Mar. 29 at Oshawa
• *Game 6 – Apr. 1 at Niagara
• *Game 7 – Apr. 2 at Oshawa

Brampton (4) vs. Sudbury (5)
Record – Brampton: 34-25-3-6; Sudbury: 29-27-5-7
Top Scorer – Brampton: Barclay Goodrow (38 goals, 14 assists, 52 points); Sudbury: Mathew Campagna (24 goals, 44 assists, 68 points)
Season series – Brampton won 5-3
Schedule:

• Game 1 – Mar. 21 at Brampton
• Game 2 – Mar. 24 at Brampton
• Game 3 – Mar. 26 at Sudbury
• Game 4 – Mar. 28 at Sudbury
• *Game 5 – Mar. 29 at Brampton
• *Game 6 – Apr. 1 at Sudbury
• *Game 7 – Apr. 2 at Brampton

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