Mississauga (#1) vs. Sudbury (#7)

Majors Bullet Notes: Allowed only a single goal in a four game series wash of the Belleville Bulls – - -  Maxim Kitsyn led the team with 3 goals in those four playoff games – - – GoaltenderJ.P. Anderson has a 0.25 GAA – - – Finished their first round series on March. 29 and have been resting since – - – Suffocating defense for the Bulls the Wolves to play against

Wolves Bullet Notes:  Stole Game 1 in Ottawa and then had the good fortune to play two home games in Sudbury and won both to take a 3-o series lead, and won the clinching game 4 in Ottawa to sweep the 67′s  – - – Michael Sgarbossa lit up the 67′s for 12 points (4g, 8a) and rookie Joshua Leivo surprised with 10 points (4g, 6a) – - – Marcus Foligno was disappointing on the scoresheet with no points (only a 4 game series, but still…) and finished at -2 as well – - – Josh McFadden had 4 goals from defense, two of them on the powerplay – - – This could be another solid matchup for the Wolves, and hard working, tight defensive team against their hard forechecking forwards and strong defensemen

Wes’ Bet – Majors in 7

Niagara (#3) vs. Oshawa (#4)

IceDogs Bullet Notes : Predictably, the offense was spread around as eleven different players managed to score during the four game sweep of Brampton – - – Darren Archibald fired in 5 goals and 8 points for the series – - – Jesse Graham (16 yrs old) and Dougie Hamilton (17 yrs old)  combined for 11 points from defense – - – The same defensive pair was a combined +14 – - – entire team played a complete game in the first round, Oshawa’s deep scoring will test their younger Dmen – - – Visentin is scary good and will frustrate any oddman rushes by the Generals team this round

Generals Bullet Notes: Nine different players averaged a point per game in the series win (4-1) against Kingston – - – Christian Thomas leads the playoffs in scoring with 13 points (5g, 8a) and Lucas Lessio scored 5 goals on the second line – - – Boone Jenner, Niklas Jensen, and Alain Berger all had 4 goals – - -A couple injury scares with Scott Valentine and Peter DiSalvo taking some time off during the series to heal – - – A much bigger challenge in each zone for the Generals, the defense will need to contain the fast opposing forwards – - – Di Salvo’s experience making the big save will push the rest of the team

Wes’ Bet – Generals in 7

ERIE OTTERS @ WINDSOR SPITFIRES

The Western Conference fourth and fifth seed series match-up has been one of the most exciting to start the entire Canadian Hockey League playoffs. Windsor jumped to a 3-1 series lead after splitting the first two games with the Erie Otters. Then Erie pushed back. Back to back 6-5 over time victories for the Otters pushed this series to a final seventh game set in Windsor on Tuesday night.

Otters Series Breakdown

Highly touted Greg McKegg has only two goals for the series and no assists. He leads the top line with Mika Cazzola and, so far, have been shut down by Windsor’s top defensive unit of Ryan Ellis and Saverio Posa.  The main reason Erie is still alive is Anthony Luciani who has 7 goals and 10 points in the first 6 games of the series including a 4 goal game and the overtime winner in Game 5. Another top forward, Phil Varone, was brought in from London earlier in the season. Varone’s past playoff experience has pushed the Otters’ forwards and now leads the team in playoff scoring (3g-10a-13pts) skating with Luciani.

Big goalie(6’4, 220 pounds) Ramis Sadikov will challenge the Spitfires shooters as he has all season,  and will need a confident approach to take on the vastly experienced Windsor team.  Defensive coverage will be hard pressed for the entire group…the Otters defense will need to show some fire to get in the lanes and challenge the Windsor shooters.

Spitfires Series Breakdown

Eight players on the Spitfires have averaged a point per game for the series and six players have scored 3 goals or more in the first six games.  Those type of playoff numbers for an experienced Windsor team should mean more confidence for the group knowing they can score at any time.  Little known defenseman Adrian Robertson leads the team in playoff scoring with 9 points so far, but the best indicator for success in Game 7 would be their depth players putting the puck in the net.

Jack Campbell had an uneven regular season, and lost twice in overtime the last two games…but he has something to prove as Campbell made 61 saves as the losing goalie in Game 6. His international experience allows his team the belief that they’re always in the game and I would bet on him to continue that success for a Game 7 win.

Prediction:

Erie Otters Game 7 Hero – Phil Varone

Windsor Spitfires Game 7 Hero – Ryan Ellis

Game Prediction:

Windsor 5 – Erie 4 (Windsor wins series 4-3)

Mississauga (#1) vs. Belleville (#8)

Majors Bullet Notes: Earned home ice advantage throughout the playoffs and already know they’ll play as hosts for the Memorial Cup – - – Memorial Cup Champion (twice over) Justin Shugg led the Majors in scoring with 40 goals and 85 points this season – - – For the second consecutive season, the Majors had the lowest team goals against total from their stifling defense – - – Marc Cantin is a horse on defense, and the perfect player for Stuart Percy to acquire playoff experience with – - – Captain Casey Cizikas was tender the last couple weeks and will work to get into playoff shape quickly once he’s ready – - – six Majors had a plus/minus over +40

Bulls Bullet Notes: Squeeked into playoffs with a win on the last day of the season – - – Malcolm Subban has improved vastly this season under a larger workload, but still split with Tyson Teichmann – - – veterans will have to play out of their mind to compete including Adam Payerl, Luke Judson and Mike Mascioli – - – valuable experience for building blocks Brendan Gaunce and Carter Sandlak – - – the Bulls didn’t have a single player with a plus(+) rating

Wes’ Bet – Majors in 4

Ottawa (#2) vs. Sudbury (#7)

67’s Bullet Notes: An injury ravaged team to begin the playoffs, the 67’s will rely heavily on OHL goal leader Tyler Toffoli, especially with Shane Prince hurting – - – Toffoli had a 25 game point streak in the regular season, best in the OHL – - – Defense pairings have been mixed from injuries so Cody Ceci will take on a heavier role with Gibbins and Graovac hurting – - – Sean Monahan was a new player in the last quarter of the season putting up 14 points in his last 9 games…as a 16 year old – - – Dalton Smith will need to play hard and heavy to defend his teammates

Wolves Bullet Notes: Trades acquiring Michael Sgarbossa and Michael MacDonald have improved the scoring units – - – the Wolves definitely don’t miss John McFarland – - – Eric O’Dell came back to prove something and scored 20 goals quietly in just 39 games – - -  Josh McFadden broke out on defense this season and scored almost as many goals this season as he had total points last season (19 goals – 24 points) – - – Marcus Foligno can absorb any physical play Dalton Smith dishes and throw it back at him ten fold – - – Goalie Valiquette will need to steal this one to compete

Wes’ bet – Wolves in 7

Niagara (#3) vs. Brampton (#6)

IceDogs Bullet Notes: Ryan Strome had a fantastic draft year scoring over 100 points, he’s the pace setter for this young upstart – - – three more IceDog forwards (Freddie Hamilton – 38 goals, Darren Archibald – 41 goals, Andrew Agozzino – 43 goals) scored more goals than Strome – - – a young team that runs three very effective lines and a fourth monster sized line – - – Jason Wilson on forward brings experience and will be tough to play against – - – Dougie Hamilton gets better by the day and lit up for 58 points from the backend, he’s the key on defense – - – Mark Visentin can handle the workload in net and will frustrate any shooter

Battalion Bullet Notes: Defensively stifling forwards and defense, not a fun matchup – - – some underachieving seasons from Phil Lane and Sam Carrick that can be made up with a playoff breakout – - – 17 year old Barclay Goodrow had a good second season and led the team with 24 goals – - – Spencer Abraham was poised and solid in his first season and will defend the blueline with Dylan Blujus and Marcus McIvor…who are all rookies this season – - – Cody St.Jacques is on his third team and will need to calm down his young defense protecting him with some timely efforts

Wes’ Bet – IceDogs in 5

Oshawa (#4) vs. Kingston (#5)

Generals Bullet Notes: Missed the playoffs the last two years, first playoff dates since John Tavares led the team – - – Veteran defense leads the team including 19 year olds Calvin de Haan, Scott Valentine, and Dan Maggio and also 20 year olds Tony Dehart on defense and Peter Di Salvo in net – - – A very young and fast scoring group who stay in any game and are led by 54 goal scorer Christian Thomas – - – No playoff experience at all in this lineup, how they react to playoff hockey will be the next step – - – Di Salvo has been a calming influence in net since his arrival and Andy Andreoff has broken out to score, lead, and fight his way to get noticed…a momentum changing player

Frontenacs Bullet Notes: Much more was expected from the Fronts especially with their veterans loaded throughout – - – Ryan Spooner, Ethan Werek, Nathan Moon and Michael Fine lead the forwards and can light up the scoreboard, but playoff hockey will test their merit – - – Conor Stokes will create havoc in every zone for his former Generals teammates  – - – Taylor Doherty and Eric and Alex Gudbranson are huge and will make it tough in front of the night for the opposition when these three are crushing them – - – Franky Palazzese was given the reins in net once Memorial Cup winner Phillip Grubauer went down to illness, he’ll be in tough – - – The Fronts faltered big time the last month of the season

Wes’ Bet – Generals in 6

Ottawa 67’s

The highest scoring forward squad led by Tyler Toffoli and Shane Prince has been firing in goals the entire season. Since the group including Cody Lindsay, Ryan Martindale and rookie Sean Monahan have been together, they’ve gelled to become a deep scoring team, one that opponents have to focus on both lines. Dalton Smith can’t be left out either, picked in the 2^nd round of the NHL draft last year, he can be physically imposing when he’s on his game while helping out on offense.

The defensive unit has been effective as well. With depth players Julian Luciani and Jake Cardwell joining the team to take some pressure off the younger defensemen, the defense has come together keeping the team in games when goaltender Petr Mrazek isn’t playing up to his capabilities.

The 67’s pace has stalled the past couple weeks allowing their divisional rivals to gain some ground, but once this hiccup has passed, the 67’s veteran  forwards will lead the team to the top of the East.

Oshawa Generals

Massive turnover into a young, fast team makes this squad an unpredictable, and potentially scary bunch.  The Generals forwards start with two strong forward lines and a couple veterans leading each. Boone Jenner, Lucas Lessio, and Nicklas Jensen are learning on the fly – and fast. All three are expected to go high in the upcoming NHL draft, and a strong playoff run will definitely get the attention of the right people.  Christian Thomas and Andy Andreoff have grown into leadership roles on offense helping out the young guys who have shown more and more over the last month.

On defense, the Generals have four players who are 19 or older, captained by Calvin de Haan, who will all prove invaluable for the stretch drive. On top of a veteran back four, the Generals traded for overage goaltender Peter Di Salvo, who last season backed the Barrie Colts right to the OHL final. Di Salvo has been stellar in net, developing more confidence for the rest of the team.

Kingston Frontenacs

The Frontenacs Nathan Moon has come on strong in his final junior season with 63 points in 48 games, while GM Larry Mavety made a big move early to trade for top scorer Ryan Spooner who now leads the Kingston with 28 goals in 44 games. Several other players including Sean Jones, Conor Stokes and Michael Fine have joined the team in trades making this team one that could turn it on quickly against younger, less experienced teams.

Much like the forwards, the defense is anchored by some stars such as Taylor Doherty (drafted by San Jose) and Erik Gudbranson (drafted by Florida). Both players could be seeing their last season of junior hockey, and both have something to prove to their NHL clubs. Mitch Gaulton and Jeff Brathwaite joined the team this year as well, lending their support and leadership to settle down the rest of the defense.

In goal, the Frontenacs made an off-season trade for Windsor’s Philipp Grubauer who has stolen games in past playoff seasons. While Kingston has fallen a bit as a team, such a veteran group should be able to pull it together with Coach Doug Gilmour keeping their attention and focus on the ice.

Peterborough Petes

After a rough start, the Petes became a very young team upon trading Ryan Spooner. The Petes had to lean heavily on rookie of the year Matt Puempel and newly drafted Austin Watson (Nashville Predators). Both players have the ability to take over a game and are stepping up lately, but playing hard every shift was a learning experience. Alan Quine is playing his best junior hockey yet since he came from Kingston in the Spooner trade, giving Peterborough another potential star for fans to get excited about while captain Jack Walchessen excites fans with his sandpaper style of play.

The Petes defense is getting a jump from Kalle Eklund in his best junior season yet, but his -22 rating is a cause for concern and is reflective of Peterborough’s youth. However , seeing Slater Koekkoek skate on the back end, you would never guess his age given the solid and composed way he performs on defense. A superb skater, Koekkoek is already getting major powerplay time and showing serious poise in becoming a young leader at 16.

Goaltending inexperience has made for some trying games, and teams have exposed young Andrew D’Agostini after the Petes released incumbent starter Jason Missiaen.

Belleville Bulls

A serious contender for a few years consecutively, but currently a team in transition, the Bulls are rebuilding and giving ice time to their youngest players to learn on the fly. Brendan Gaunce , Austen Brassard and Carter Sandlak are going to be forces in the very near future with their size and ability in the offensive zone.

Alex Basso, Stephen Strong and Stephen Silas are full of potential as 17 year olds and will take the reins on defense soon, but this season Bjorn Krupp leads as the big body from the blueline and will likely return next season.

The youth continues in goal with second year goaltenders Tyson Teichmann and Malcolm Subban (P.K. Subban’s younger brother). Both have serious competitiveness and athletic ability and will fight for ice time down the stretch. With the eighth playoff spot open, the winning starter on the Bulls will gain invaluable experience and a chance for the starter’s spot next season.