Series Preview: Here we are, in the OHL Eastern Conference Finals, with two Underdogs fighting it out for the Conference Championship. Home Ice belongs to the number six seed, the Sudbury Wolves. As a result, the Series opens at the Sudbury Community Arena, where the Wolves are just over .500, going 18-16 in the regular season, and 3-3 in the playoffs so far. The number eight seed, The Missisauga St. Michael's Majors, had a change of coaching partway through the season. They've gone 2-4 against the the Wolves since that change, dropping all three games in Sudbury.
4-2, Missisauga Wins the SeriesGame 2676213-Game 1: Missisauga St. Michael's Majors d Sudbury Wolves in 7Missisauga wins the drop and goes on an early power play after a hooking call against the Wolves. They rack one up, but the Wolves answer before the end of the first. Second period, the Majors pull ahead again, but the Wolves have an answer, tying the game back up at two until the 19:03 mark. With less than a minute left to go in the second, the Majors pull ahead again on a quick bang-bang from behind the net, and that's how it goes into the second intermission. With the start of the third, the Majors' defense really steps it up, shutting Sudbury down every time they bring it into the zone. Sudbury tries to step it up and ends up in the box again, and pays for it. With 34 seconds on the clock, Missisauga leading by three, this one is all but in the books. The Missisauga defenders (read: dice) have really done a number on the Wolves in the latter stages of the game. ...and that's how it goes into the books, 5-2 Missisauga to open the Eastern Finals.
Game 2676216-Game 2: Missisauga St. Michael's Majors d Sudbury Wolves in 6Sudbury, eager to get revenge for Game One, wins the draw and goes on the power play, with a penalty that looks uncannily like the one called against them in the opening stages of Game One. The results are different, however, as Missisauga not only shuts down the attack, but get the puck turned over to them on a bad hop, and takes the breakaway for a shorthanded goal 2:07 into the game. The Wolves spend the rest of the game chasing the score, and despite a flurry of brilliant play to open the third, end up on the down side of this game after 60 minutes of play.
Game 2676228-Game 3: Sudbury Wolves d Missisauga St. Michael's Majors in 15The series moves to the Hershey Centre in Missisauga for the next two games, filled to capacity as the crowd is wondering if the Majors can pull off another Cinderella-story sweep in these playoffs. Missisauga wins the draw, and has to kill off another early penalty call... that seems to be the hallmark of this series so far, someone getting the early advantage. The Wolves don't score with the man advantage, but do go up 1-0 two seconds after the penalty expires. Other than the early penalty kill, Missisauga seems to be playing on defense, waiting for something through most of the first period. Just before the intermission, they strike and tie the game. Five minutes into the second now, Missisauga pressing into the offensive zone, but the score still at 1-1, this game could develop just about any way imaginable. ...Sudbury scores short-handed at the halfway mark, and it's an entirely different game all of a sudden. The Wolves had the Majors on the run the rest of the second frame, and things didn't get much better for the home team in the third. Down 3-1 now, with just over a minute to go, things are looking dire for the Majors at home tonight.... and there's the horn. We know now that whatever happens in game 4, the Wolves will get another game on home ice.
Game 2676232-Game 4: Missisauga St. Michael's Majors d Sudbury Wolves in 7Missisauga wins the draw at home, the crowd starting to its feet early, as Missisauga gets the early power play, taking a 1-0 lead almost before the echoes of the national anthem die out. Sudbury battles back, holding the game at 1-0 after one. The major's come out and score early in the second, however, putting the pressure on the Wolves, who can't seem to reply. Late in the third now, Sudbury is down 3-0, and it looks like the goaltender is heading to the bench. ...Sudbury uses that extra man to break the shutout, but the game goes into the books before they can close it any further. Final, 3-1 Missisauga.
Game 2722051-Game 5: Sudbury Wolves d Missisauga St. Michael's Majors in 8Sudbury wins the draw, and gets it into the Missisauga zone as the center breaks his stick on the draw... fortunately, it's a good period for changes, and he gets back into the play just as Sudbury gets set up... and pays for the minor delay as the Wolves go up 1-0 in the opening seconds. For the rest of the first, the Wolves push hard, outplaying the Majors, but have only the opening goal to show for it. The Majors come out for the second, still flat, while Sudbury drives to the net again and again... they keep that energy level into the third, locking down a game that the majors just never seemed to work up any enthusiasm for. If they play no better than this at home, we'll be back here in Sudbury for game 7 shortly...
Game 2767992-Game 6: Missisauga St. Michael's Majors d Sudbury Wolves in 10...At Missisauga, the anthem is finished. Missisauga wins the draw and... Yes, another early penalty, like every other game in this series. This one against the Wolves, but Missisauga comes out flat and fails to capitalize. Later in the first, Missisauga moves out to a 1-0 lead on a shot from the top of the circle; then the Wolves tie it up late in the period on an odd man rush with a quick bang-bang play the Majors' goaltender just can't follow. All tied up at the start of the second now... Missisauga comes out and gets on the power play... then gives up the short-handed goal on the breakaway! But Missisauga takes their time out to regroup... and the defense forms up and stands the Wolves up at the blue line... again... and again... they force turnovers, driving the Wolves back into their own zone, scoring twice before the third frame begins, and once more in the final frame of the series to close it out at home. Yes, the number 8 seed in the East is going to the Championship series!
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Series Notes:
In EVERY game of this series, someone started with a drop that represented bonus armies. In FIVE cases, that person also went first. In games 1 and 4, this rapidly lead to very strong positions for me. The dice momentarily looked to be evening up game one, then changed their minds. Game 3, Missisauga managed to break Sudbury's bonus before they could claim it, but the back and forth over that and other areas is leading (at the time of writing) to an extended game. Game 2 was just... wrong. Chadwick31 got the drop (3 for kings), the start, and got completely stonewalled by the dice. I took off running, and that was all she wrote. Game 5, Sudbury gets a 1-army bonus and first move, and eventual victory. Game 6, I got a 2-army bonus, first move, and HORRIFIC dice... We battled back and forth over that first bonus, until the evil dice were returned to Chadwick31, IN SPADES. Good series, but the starting bonuses in every game were... odd, to say the least. At least in that concentration.
