Ontario Hockey League playoff update

NEWS RELEASE

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE

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OHL Playoff Tracker

In Kitchener, Nick Spaling had a hat trick to pace the Rangers to a 9-2 win over the Plymouth Whalers in the first game of their Western Conference series on Friday.

Yannick Weber and Matt Halischuk scored two goals each while Ben Shutron and Nazem Kadri also scored for the Rangers. Halischuk and Justin Azevedo each had three assists while Robert Bortuzzo and Mikkel Boedker each had a pair of helpers in the win.

Steve Mason allowed two goals on 27 shots while Jeremy Smith went the distance for the Whalers, surrendering nine goals on 47 shots.

Chris Terry and Patrick Lee scored for Plymouth.

Oshawa Generals 3, Ottawa 67's 2

In Oshawa, Brett MacLean scored the winning goal early in the third period to help the Generals to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa 67's in the first game of their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Defenceman Michael Del Zotto opened the scoring early in the first period and Dale Mitchell added a goal midway through the second period. Brett Parnham had two assists and Michal Neuvirth made 33 saves in the win.

Jamie McGinn and Matthieu Methot scored third period goals for the 67's while Adam Courchaine turned aside 22 shots in the loss.

Guelph Storm 3, London Knights 2

In London, Drew Doughty scored 34 seconds into overtime to lead the Guelph Storm to a 3-2 win over the Knights in the opening game of their Western Conference playoff series.

Stephen Miller and Brandon Buck also scored and captain Rafael Rotter chipped in with a pair of assists in the win.

Jadran Beljo opened the scoring for London early in the second period and Akim Aliu forced overtime when he tied the game with 27 seconds left in regulation time.

Thomas McCollum made 36 saves for Guelph while Jhase Sniderman made 26 saves for London.

Sarnia Sting 5, Windsor Spitfires 2

In Sarnia, Steven Stamkos scored two goals to pace the Sting to a 5-2 win over the Windsor Spitfires. Sarnia leads the series 2-0.

Jamie Arniel, Jared Gomes and Justin DiBenedetto also scored and Ryan Wilson has three assists from the blueline for Sarnia.

Jordan Nolan scored the Spitfires' first goal of the series early in the third period and Ryan Ellis counted on a powerplay midway through the final frame.

Andrew Perugini made 37 saves in the win while Jakub Kovar and Andrew Engelage split the duties for Windsor.

Niagara IceDogs 3, Mississauga St. Michael`s Majors 1

In Mississauga, Alex Pietrangelo scored two goals to give the Niagara IceDogs a 3-1 win over the St. Michael`s Majors. The win gave Niagara a 2-0 lead in the series.

Stefan Legein had a goal and two assists and Jordan Foreman added a pair of assists for the IceDogs.

Sebastien Dahm made 32 saves in the win.

Kaspars Daugavins opened the scoring on a powerplay midway through the first period. Chris Carrozzi made 21 saves in the loss.

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EASTERN CONFERENCE - QUARTER-FINAL SERIES

Series "A" - BELLEVILLE vs. PETERBOROUGH (Series tied 1-1) Wed., March 19 - BELLEVILLE 4, Peterborough 1 Thurs., March 20 - PETERBOROUGH 5, Belleville 4 (OT) Sat., March 22 at Belleville 7:15 Mon., March 24 at Peterborough 7:00 Tues., March 25 at Belleville 7:15 Sat., March 29 at Peterborough 7:00 * Mon., March 31 at Belleville 7:15 *

Series "B" - BRAMPTON vs. BARRIE (Barrie leads series 1-0) Thurs., March 20 - Barrie 3, BRAMPTON 1 Sat., March 22 at Barrie 7:30 Sun., March 23 at Brampton 6:00 Tues., March 25 at Barrie 7:30 Thurs., March 27 at Brampton 7:00 Sat., March 29 at Barrie 7:30 * Mon., March 31 at Brampton 7:00 *

Series "C" - OSHAWA vs. OTTAWA (Oshawa leads series 1-0) Fri., March 21 - OSHAWA 3, Ottawa 2 Sun., March 23 at Oshawa 6:05 Tues., March 25 at Ottawa 7:00 Thurs., March 27 at Ottawa 7:00 Fri., March 28 at Oshawa 7:35 * Sun., March 30 at Ottawa 2:00 * Tues., April 1 at Oshawa 7:05 *

Series "D" - NIAGARA vs. MISSISSAUGA (Niagara leads series 2-0) Thurs., March 20 - NIAGARA 4, Mississauga 0 Fri., March 21 - Niagara 3, MISSISSAUGA 1 Sun., March 23 at Niagara 7:30 Tues., March 25 at Mississauga 7:00 Thurs., March 27 at Niagara 7:30 * Sun.,March 30 at Mississauga 7:30 * Tues., April 1 at Niagara 7:30 *

WESTERN CONFERENCE - QUARTER-FINAL SERIES

Series "A" - KITCHENER vs. PLYMOUTH (Plymouth leads series 1-0) Fri., March 21 - KITCHENER 9, Plymouth 2 Sat., March 22 at Plymouth 7:05 Mon., March 24 at Kitchener 7:30 Wed., March 26 at Plymouth 7:05 Fri., March 28 at Kitchener 7:30 * Sat., March 29 at Plymouth 7:05 * Tues., April 1 at Kitchener 7:30 *

Series "B" - SAULT STE. MARIE vs. SAGINAW (Sault Ste. Marie leads series 1-0) Fri., March 21 - SAULT STE. MARIE 5, Saginaw 4 Sat., March 22 at Saginaw 7:11 Mon., March 24 at Sault Ste. Marie 7:00 Wed., March 26 at Saginaw 7:11 Fri., March 28 at Sault Ste. Marie 7:30 * Sat., March 29 at Saginaw 7:11 * Tues., April 1 at Sault Ste. Marie 7:00 *

Series "C" - WINDSOR vs. SARNIA (Sarnia leads series 2-0) Thurs., March 20 - Sarnia 3, WINDSOR 0 Fri., March 21 - SARNIA 5, Windsor 2 Sun., March 23 at Windsor 7:00 Tues., March 25 at Sarnia 7:35 Thurs., March 27 at Windsor 7:30 * Fri., March 28 at Sarnia 7:35 * Sun., March 30 at Windsor 7:00 *

Series "D" - LONDON vs. GUELPH (Guelph leads series 1-0) Fri., March 21 - Guelph 3, LONDON 2 Sat., March 22 at Guelph 7:00 Tues., March 25 at London 7:00 Thurs., March 27 at Guelph 7:00 Fri., March 28 at London 7:30 * Sun., March 30 at Guelph 7:00 * Tues., April 1 at London 7:00 *

* Denotes if necessary games

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