The Canadiens have won the Great Lakes Championship the last two years and they know what it takes to win this trophy. The playoffs is a whole new season, and the Canadiens know what happened in the regular season does not mean anything come playoff time.
A friend of mine who works at The Windsor Star made up a playoff preview for the first round between the Canadiens and Sharks and gave me permission to post it on this blog.
Sharks to face Canadiens first round
by Marc Girard
If their Jan. 23 game was any
indication, the Wheatley Sharks and Belle River Canadiens are in for quite a
battle in the first round of the playoffs. The Sharks are looking for
redemption against the Canadiens, who beat the Sharks in the Great Lakes Jr. C
final last year. The Canadiens have home ice advantage in the seven-game series.The Sharks won the season series
4-3 against the Canadiens, including two shootout wins at home. Three of the
seven games were won by one-goal, leaving this series open for lots of
dramatics.
Season Series
|
Date
|
Away Team
|
Score
|
Home Team
|
Score
|
|
September 26
|
Belle River Canadiens
|
5
|
Wheatley Sharks
|
1
|
|
November 7
|
Belle River Canadiens
|
2
|
Wheatley Sharks
|
3(SO)
|
|
December 9
|
Wheatley Sharks
|
3
|
Belle River Canadiens
|
7
|
|
December 30
|
Wheatley Sharks
|
3
|
Belle River Canadiens
|
2
|
|
January 2
|
Belle River Canadiens
|
1
|
Wheatley Sharks
|
4
|
|
January 6
|
Wheatley Sharks
|
2
|
Belle River Canadiens
|
5
|
|
January 23
|
Belle River Canadiens
|
1
|
Wheatley Sharks
|
2(SO)
|
Season Records (as of Jan. 29)
Belle River Canadiens – 25-10-3, GF – 153, GA – 105, Penalty Minutes – 712
Wheatley Sharks – 23-13-1, GF – 146, GA – 109, Penalty Minutes – 741
This series features two of the
best goalies in the Great Lakes Jr. C league, with the Sharks Marc Tremblay and
Canadiens Zakk Olvin. The Canadiens allowed a league-low 105 goals against and
the Sharks followed closely behind with 109 goals against. Both goaltenders had
a lot to do with their team’s great defensive play, with them being tied in
save percentage and wins. Olvin had the edge in GAA over Tremblay but the
Sharks netminder faced more shots and played two more games than Olvin.
Goal Scoring (as of Jan. 29)
|
Wheatley Sharks
Top Five Scorers
|
||||
|
Player
|
Games Played
|
Goals
|
Assists
|
Points
|
|
Riley Babkirk
|
37
|
27
|
17
|
44
|
|
Austin Fontaine
|
37
|
12
|
28
|
40
|
|
Jesse Martin
|
33
|
14
|
19
|
33
|
|
Trevor Grieve
|
32
|
14
|
15
|
29
|
|
Kurtis Ouellette
|
36
|
5
|
21
|
26
|
|
Belle River Canadiens Top
Five Scorers
|
||||
|
Player
|
Games Played
|
Goals
|
Assists
|
Points
|
|
Chris DiNatale
|
34
|
24
|
24
|
48
|
|
Scott Chauvin
|
35
|
13
|
31
|
44
|
|
Branden Larocque
|
33
|
12
|
17
|
29
|
|
Blake Jones
|
34
|
18
|
8
|
26
|
|
Mike Ditty
|
37
|
12
|
14
|
26
|
With both teams being so strongly
defensively, goal scoring will be at a premium. If there are players that will
need to step up for the Sharks, it’s got to be the line combo of Riley
Babkirk-Jesse Martin-Austin Fontaine. The three forwards have combined for 53
goals and 64 assists for 117 points. On the back end, Sharks captain Kurtis
Ouellette will need to lead the Sharks fourth-ranked power play.
The Canadiens will look to their
number one line of Chris DiNatale-Scott Chauvin-Weston Gaul to carry the load.
DiNatale and Chauvin sit one-two in team scoring, combining for 37 goals and 55
assists for 92 points. Gaul has only been with the Canadiens for seven games
since coming from the LaSalle Vipers. In those seven games, the 6’3”-215 lbs
forward has had three goals and five assists
Schedule
Here is the schedule for the first round:
Game 1 Fri., Feb. 10 @ Belle River 7:30 p.m.
Game 2 Mon., Feb. 13 @ Wheatley 7:30 p.m.
Game 3 Fri., Feb. 17 @ Belle River 7:30 p.m.
Game 4 Sun., Feb. 19 @ Wheatley 4:00 p.m.
Game 5 Tues., Feb. 21 @ Belle River 7:30 p.m. (If necessary)
Game 6 Thurs., Feb. 23 @ Wheatley 7:30 p.m. (If necessary)
Game 7 Fri., Feb. 24 @ Belle River 7:30 p.m. (If necessary)
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