The stage is set for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) final. On Monday night, the Barrie Colts secured their ticket to the dance with a miraculous 5-0 victory in Game 7 after coming back from a 3-1 series deficit and forcing the J. Ross Robertson Cup favourites, the Brantford Bulldogs, to collapse.
The Colts now get a short rest before squaring off with the Kitchener Rangers, who knocked off the Windsor Spitfires in five games, and have been waiting for the winner of the Colts-Bulldogs series since May 1.
Here’s a look at the schedule, each team’s path to the final and the key differences between the two teams.
Final’s Schedule
- Barrie Colts @ Kitchener Rangers – 7:00 PM / May 6 – Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
- Barrie Colts @ Kitchener Rangers – 7:00 PM / May 8 – Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
- Kitchener Rangers @ Barrie Colts – 6:00 PM / May 10 – Sadlon Arena
- Kitchener Rangers @ Barrie Colts – 7:00 PM / May 12 – Sadlon Arena
- Barrie Colts @ Kitchener Rangers – 7:00 PM / May 14 – Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
- Kitchener Rangers @ Barrie Colts – 6:00 PM / May 16 – Sadlon Arena
- Barrie Colts @ Kitchener Rangers – TBD / May 18 – Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
All games are being broadcast on TSN & streamed live on FloHockey.
Kitchener Rangers’ Path to the Finals
As the top seed in the Western Conference, the Rangers drew a matchup against the clearly overmatched Saginaw Spirit, who, to their credit, put up a good fight, keeping a couple of games close, but were defeated in a four-game sweep.
The Rangers then squared off with a Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, who were expected to be a much tougher challenge, led by Nashville Predators prospect Brady Martin and Team Canada goaltender and Los Angeles Kings prospect Carter George. However, the Rangers handled business swiftly, completing the series in a five-game gentleman’s sweep.
To clinch their berth in the OHL final, the Rangers had another date with the Windsor Spitfires, who the Rangers beat in seven games after falling behind 3-0 in the series last season. While still exciting, this year’s matchup was not nearly as competitive as last season’s matchup. The Rangers dominated this one and walked away with another five-game series win.
Through three series, the Rangers have a 12-2-0-0 record.
Barrie Colts Path to the Final
The Colts’ playoff run started with a series against the Niagara IceDogs, which they won in five games. However, the IceDogs were the only higher-seed team to lose in the first round, aside from the four- and five-seed matchups.
Next, they ran into the Ottawa 67’s, who presented a much tougher challenge. But to the Colts’ credit, they fought them off in another five-game series, only dropping game three on the road. That led them to the Eastern Conference final, where the Colts won three straight, to come back from a 3-1 series deficit, almost entirely thanks to goaltender Ben Hrebik, who made 93 saves in games 6 and 7 combined to bail his team out – the Colts were outshot by 39 over those final two games.
Going into the final, the Colts have a 10-5-2-0 playoff record.
Finals Matchup
It’s a little disappointing we’re not getting a Rangers-Bulldogs final, considering the number of NHL prospects who would have been on both sides of the series. However, this matchup will have its own excitement.
At the very least, the Colts play an exciting brand of hockey. They play fast, with a lot of pressure up the ice, which helps them generate plenty of offensive chances. However, they are prone to giving up a ton of chances in their own end, which has led to Hrebik facing just under five more shots per game than any other goalie who made it to the conference final and just under 10 more shots per game than Rangers netminder Christian Kirsch.
It’ll be a big contrast in style, with the Rangers’ greatest strength being their defensive structure. This team prides itself on their ability to suppress scoring chances and turn other teams’ mistakes into its own offensive opportunities.
The biggest talking point heading into this series will be whether Cole Beaudoin, the Utah Mammoth prospect and OHL playoff points leader, will be back in the lineup after missing Games 5, 6 and 7. He is key to their success, and without him drawing Sam O’Reilly, Matthew Andonovski and Jared Woolley’s attention, who have been matching up with the best the opposition has to offer for the Rangers, it will make offence much harder to come by than against any other team they have faced. Even with him in the lineup, it will be a tough challenge.
Another point of debate is the goaltending matchup. Late in Game 7, the Bulldogs’ broadcasters tried to deflect the conversation away from the Bulldogs’ astonishing collapse and pointed out that Hrebik’s playoff save percentage is .031 points better than Kirsch’s for the Rangers.
Yes, that is a large difference, but it means nothing. The Rangers are allowing nearly 10 fewer shots per game, as previously stated. Kirsch isn’t getting the freebies to inflate his save percentage enough to get the stat watchers off his back, and hasn’t all season. It will be made into a story, but it shouldn’t be. Both goalies have been phenomenal throughout the playoffs, making all the saves they needed to get their team to this point.
Another thing to watch in this series is special teams. Both the Rangers and Colts enter the final series ranking 1st and 2nd, respectively, in power-play percentage in the playoffs, converting at over 30%. The big difference is in penalty kill success, where the Rangers have killed off 90.2%, while the Colts’ penalty kill is operating at only 73.8%, the worst among teams to make it past the first round.
Rangers vs. Colts Series Prediction
The Rangers have been nearly impossible to beat. They have persevered in so many ways, whether it’s in a game where they dominate but the opposing goalie refuses to be beaten, or in a game where they give up the first goal, or two or three, and still find a way to come out on top.
They play the game the right way, they battle for one another, and they’re professional in the way they conduct their business. They remind me of the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.
The Colts, while also talented and extremely hardworking, play a style that rolls the dice, being overly reliant on their netminder to keep them in games, unlike the Rangers, who focus on suppressing scoring chances and making life easy on their goalie. As they say, ‘Defence wins championships’. Hrebik will steal two games for the Colts in this series, but the Rangers will take home the J. Ross Robertson Cup in six games.
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