Battalion shelled by Spitfires

The Windsor Spitfires put a licking on the Brampton Battalion in game one of the OHL Championship Series. The game started out close but then they dropped the puck. Okay so it was close for a few minutes in the first period as the game was tied 1-1 at one point. By the time the first was over, Windsor had a commanding 4-1 lead. That lead was extended to 6-1 after two and 10-1 by the end of the game.

Leading the Spitfires was Justin Shugg with a hat trick, Andrei Loktionov with two goals and an assist and both Taylor Hall and Adam Henrique with one goal and two assists. Josh Day got the lone goal for the Battalion.

Both teams head to The Bunker in Brampton on Friday night where the home tropps will look to even the series. After the shelling they took last night, I expect Friday's game to be very spirited and Brampton to come out hungry and show all they belong in this series. It should be a fun game anyhow as I will be in attendance for my first hockey game in The Bunker. You won't catch me wearing one of those ugly Battalion jerseys but I will be cheering for the home team. Bring the J Ross Robertson Cup back to the East!

Look quick!

The Toronto Blue Jays are the best team in Major League Baseball.

It may not last long though because the Boston Red Sox are only a game behind them and are on fire. They have just swept a nine game homestead and have won ten straight. A couple easy series coming up for the birds so they should hold onto the division lead heading into May.

Ready for NLL playoffs

Well we’re a week and a half away from the NLL playoffs and I can’t wait for the drive down the QEW on May 2. The East division finished with a three way tie for first once again but due to tiebreakers, the Bandits (10-6) finished 2nd. New York (10-6) finished on top with Boston (10-6) in third and Rochester (7-9) in a distant fourth. Out West, the Roughnecks of Calgary topped the league with a 12-4 record while Portland (9-7) finished in second, San Jose (7-9) in third and Colorado (7-9) barely made the fourth spot.

Calgary, with top seed, will look to host their second Champions Cup but will have to win two games starting with the always tough Colorado team. Portland’s quest for a return trip to the finals starts with a home game against San Jose. Buffalo will seek revenge against Boston at the HSBC while their western New York rivals travel to the big city to take on the New York Titans. All eight teams have the ability to win and no team is guaranteed the win so these four games should be awesome to watch.

Starting in the East:

New York plays a consistent game, putting in sixty hard minutes every game so they could earn the respect of the league this year with a Champions Cup final appearance. Rochester finished fourth but came on strong late in the season and are still mad they missed the playoffs last year for the first time in franchise history. If the ‘time’ is right Rochester could steal the first round game from New York but I don’t think they can get by either Boston or Buffalo. Buffalo is perhaps the best team in the East but has lacked the consistency this year. They started strong, as in unbeatable, but have gone 5-6 since then with 4 of those losses to the other top teams in the East. Boston has already surpassed most people’s expectations this season. I thought they’d do okay but tied for first in the East, not a chance. If Cosmo stands on his head and the team in front of him plays like they have been, they could easily find themselves in the finals. Any team with Dan Dawson on it can’t be ruled out come playoff time.

Over in the West:

The West is Calgary’s to lose. They are solid from front to back, including both tenders. If their record gets to their heads, Colorado will be there to pull them back out of the clouds. I am not giving Colorado much chance but I am also not writing them off. Portland is looking to give their fans one more reason to get their season tickets for next year with a home victory. Not sure if the win will help but it can’t hurt. Difference in the game will be Matt Disher for the Jax and Colin Doyle for the Stealth. San Jose has a potent offence that can steal this game and Colin Doyle has the ability to take control of this game with rookie Rhys Duch as his more than able sidekick.

This is now a god time for my picks but I am hesitant to make them, anything can happen in one game. Alright, here goes but I reserve the right to change my picks for games after the first round when I get the first round wrong.

Division Semi-finals:

• Colorado at Calgary - May 3: Calgary, they are too good to lose so early in the playoffs.
• San Jose at Portland - May 1: San Jose, double D’s will lead the Stealth to victory
• Rochester at New York - May 1: Rochester, O’Toole and Williams will have great games
• Boston at Buffalo - May 2: Buffalo, they are not going to lose three games in a row, JT will ensure that.

Division Finals:

• San Jose at Calgary - Calgary, but in a close one; Sanderson and Doyle will compete for top points
• Rochester at Buffalo - Buffalo, the place will be electric giving the Bandits the extra edge (I like to think Bandit fans can actually make a difference)

Champions Cup:

• Buffalo at Calgary - Buffalo, in overtime. Payback for the loss in 2004, it’s that simple. If only I had more vacation time…and money…I’d be back in the saddle(dome) again.

The Second Round

Well, Brian Kilrea's coaching career in the OHL is officially over. The Niagara IceDogs came back from a two goal deficit in the third period of Tuesday night's game to beat the 67's in overtime. That was the only series to make it the full seven games. Other teams to win were Brampton in four games, Belleville in six and Mississauga in five from the East and Windsor in four, London in five, Saginaw in four and Plymouth in five from the West.

With all four conference semi finals beginning tonight, it is a good time to make my predictions on them. Let's see if I can do better than the first round.

Belleville vs Niagara - Belleville's inconsistency continues to plague them as they needed six games to defeat the Sudbury Wolves. To be fair some of that could be due to the lengthy travel between the two cities. Niagara is coming off an emotional win in game seven on the road. This is an interesting match up as the teams will go from the largest ice surface in the league in Belleville to the smallest ice in Niagara. Belleville will take game one but the series will go six before the Bulls advance.

Brampton vs Mississauga - Travel is almost non existent in this series and both teams should be well rested as neither team had much trouble in the first round. Mississauga will give Brampton a good challenge but Brampton is too good and will win the series in six.

Windsor vs Plymouth - Both teams had an easy time in round one and should also be well rested. Windsor will look for another sweep but I think the Whalers will steal a game. Spitfires in five.

London vs Saginaw - This series will be a lot closer than the Knights will want it to be but will be a good test for the Conference final against Windsor. London has too many good players, several with big game experience, to lose at this point and will edge out the Spirit in a thrilling seven game series. This series will be a good lead into the remaining rounds.