Last night, the Oshawa Generals defeated the Barrie Colts 3-1 in the opening game of the Eastern Conference Final. This is the first time during the 2024-25 playoffs that the Colts have failed to win on home ice. 

"It's a game of inches, and it just didn't go our way tonight," said Colts' Head Coach Marty Williamson. " There is going to be no quit in this team, we will come back and get the bounces to go our way." 

Both Williamson and team Captain Beau Jelsma expressed dissatisfaction with the way Barrie started the game. Though the game was scoreless through 20 minutes, the Generals outshot the Colts 14-8. 

Late in the second period Oshawa's Owen Griffin scored the opening goal of the game on a play where defender Simon Wang saved a goal at one end of the ice before Griffin raced down the ice and fired a puck past Sam Hillebrandt. 

"He [Wang] has been a big piece on the back end," said Oshawa Head Coach Brad Malone. "It was a very athletic play to bail out Oster, and then we go the other way and Griffin cashes it in."

Dickinson Leads Knights To Victory In Game OneJust days after winning the Max Kaminsky Trophy, San Jose Sharks prospect Sam Dickinson scored four points to help London overcome Kitchener 5-2 in game one of the Western Conference Finals. 

Initially, no one realized the puck had gone in, and so the game continued until the buzzer and a review confirmed the goal.

Owen Griffin's development into an elite scoring threat started in the second half of the OHL season and has come to fruition in the postseason. In 13 playoff games, he's scored 12 goals and added eight assists for 20 points.

That kind of scoring pace would result in 104 points would have resulted in a 104-point season, more than doubling the 51 points he scored in 62 games during the 2024-25 regular season.

San Jose Sharks Prospect Named OHL Defenseman Of The yearEarlier today, the OHL announced that San Jose Sharks prospect Sam Dickinson is the 2024-25 winner of the Max Kaminsky Trophy, which is awarded to the OHL Defenseman of the Year. 

Griffin is eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft, and his improvement has been noticed by NHL Central Scouting. In their recent rankings, he moved up to 70th amongst North American Skaters. That's more than 100 spots higher than the 197th overall ranking he received when NHL Central Scouting released their midseason rankings. 

"I'm just playing with more confidence this year," said Griffin. "My linemates have been great, setting me up and me setting them up ... it's been good."

Shortly after grabbing the 1-0 lead, Matthew Buckley scored on the power play to solidify Oshawa's control over the game. Malone mentioned during the postgame that he felt Buckley has had a fantastic year, though, similar to Griffin, it hasn't always manifested on the stat sheet. 

Kitchener Completes Reverse Sweep To Advance To Western Conference FinalsOttawa Senators prospect Luke Ellinas scored in overtime of game seven to win the series for Kitchener and complete a reverse sweep of the Kitchener Rangers. It is the first OHL reverse sweep since the Guelph Storm achieved the same feat during the 2019 playoffs. 

The Colts stabilized in the third period, going toe to toe with the talented Generals squad. Anthony Romani scored the lone goal for Barrie in the game, with the assist going to fellow trade deadline acquisition Owen Van Steensel. 

New York Islanders prospect Calum Ritchie sealed the win for Oshawa by potting an empty-net goal with just over a minute remaining in the game. 

At the end of the night, both goalies had solid performances. Hillebrandt had the busier night, making 36 saves on 38 shots, while overage goalie Jacob Oster made 27 saves on 28 shots for the Generals. 

Both teams will reset for game two in Barrie tomorrow evening. Puck drop will be at 6:00 p.m. inside Sadlon Arena.

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The Barrie Colts beat the Kingston Frontenacs 6-4 in game seven to win the second-round series and remain undefeated on home ice during the postseason. 

From beginning to end, this series featured only wins from the home team. In a weird twist, the Frontenacs leave the playoffs with an undefeated record on home ice. 

As was the case in six out of the seven games in this series, Kingston scored the opening goal in game seven. Emil Pieniniemi, who ended the game with a pair of goals, worked down the wall before cutting toward the net and scoring on the backhand. 

From there, this became a game of runs, with each team taking turns to score strings of goals.

Just under two minutes later, 2025 NHL Draft-eligible defender Kashawn Aitcheson evened the score at one. Dallas Stars prospect Emil Hemming scored on the power play to give Barrie the lead midway through the first. 

Rangers' Head Coach Named OHL Coach Of The YearYesterday, the OHL announced that Kitchener Rangers' Head Coach Jussi Ahokas is the winner of the Matt Leyden Trophy, which is presented to the OHL Coach of the Year as voted by General Managers across the OHL.

Before the end of the period, Cal Uens and Pieniniemi responded with goals to give Kingston the 3-2 lead heading into the intermission. 

Barrie roared back in the second period, scoring a pair of goals to take a 4-3 lead thanks to Owen Van Steensel and Tristan Bertucci. Kashawn Aitcheson's power-play marker early in the third solidified the Barrie lead at 5-3. 

Generals Advance To Eastern Conference FinalsThe Oshawa Generals defeated the Brantford Bulldogs 4-1 in game six to advance to the Eastern Conference Final for the second consecutive year.  

Though Kingston pushed back, their response came a bit too late. Kieran Dervin scored his first postseason goal to cut away at the Barrie goal, however, Colts Captain Beau Jelsma sealed the victory with an empty net goal with seconds remaining in the game. 

The Colts will move on to play the Oshawa Generals in the Eastern Conference Finals. Both teams' lineups include a high number of NHL prospects and 2025 NHL Draft-eligible players. 

In the minds of many, these were the two favourites to come out of the Eastern Conference based on their performances during the regular season. Now they will battle for a spot in the finals starting on Friday. Puck drop for game one is at 7:30 p.m. inside the Sadlon Arena 

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Ottawa Senators prospect Luke Ellinas scored in overtime of game seven to win the series for Kitchener and complete a reverse sweep of the Kitchener Rangers. It is the first OHL reverse sweep since the Guelph Storm achieved the same feat during the 2019 playoffs. 

Windsor blasted through Kitchener in the first three games of the series, quickly establishing a 3-0 lead. Things seemed hopeless for Kitchener, seeing as a reverse sweep is such a rare occurrence. For context, they are just the sixth team to come back from a 3-0 deficit in OHL history.

Ellinas, whom the Senators drafted in the fourth round of the 2024 NHL Draft, has been a key contributor for Kitchener throughout the playoffs. He is tied for the team lead in goals (6) and points (13).

It can be argued that Ellinas started and finished the comeback since he scored all three goals in Kitchener's 3-0 win in game four as well as the overtime winner in game seven. 

Generals Advance To Eastern Conference FinalsThe Oshawa Generals defeated the Brantford Bulldogs 4-1 in game six to advance to the Eastern Conference Final for the second consecutive year.  

Another player who played a huge role in Kitchener's win is Clarkson University commit Jackson Parsons, whose .919 save percentage and 2.12 goals-against average lead all goalies in the playoffs after two rounds. 

The comeback is another feather in the already well-endowed hat of Rangers' Head Coach Jussi Ahokas, who was awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy, which is given to the OHL's Coach of the Year. 

The Rangers return to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2018 when they narrowly lost to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. This time around, they will face the London Knights, who have yet to drop a single game this postseason. 

Rangers' Head Coach Named OHL Coach Of The YearYesterday, the OHL announced that Kitchener Rangers' Head Coach Jussi Ahokas is the winner of the Matt Leyden Trophy, which is presented to the OHL Coach of the Year as voted by General Managers across the OHL.

The Rangers were one of only a handful of teams to defeat London multiple times during the regular season. That said, they did lose the six-game season series against the Knights 4-2. 

The Knights will be well-rested going into the series, having played eight games compared to the 12 the Rangers have played. When the series kicks off on Friday, London will not have played in over a week.

Kitchener will enter the series feeling incredibly confident after completing the comeback. While they won't be as well-rested as London, they will not have had the opportunity to develop any rust either. 

If they take even a game off of the 2024 OHL Champions, they will have done better than any other team to play the Knights so far in the postseason. Puck drop for game one of the Western Conference Finals will take place at 7:00 p.m. at Canada Life Place.

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The Oshawa Generals defeated the Brantford Bulldogs 4-1 in game six to advance to the Eastern Conference Final for the second consecutive year.  

Brantford took the opening two games of the series, scoring a total of 13 goals across the two games. Oshawa took over on home ice and built up momentum as they won the next four games to take the series. 

The lack of Chicago Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis starting in game four certainly played a role in the outcome of the series. There are very few teams that could recover after scoring a 70-plus goal scorer. 

Lardis was injured late in game three on a hit delivered by Nashville Predators prospect Andrew Gibson. The big defender, who represented Canada at the World Junior Championship this winter, received a two-game suspension for the hit. 

Without Lardis, the Brantford offense felt lost at times during the series. After game two, the Bulldogs never scored more than two goals in a game. Credit for shutting down the potent Brantford offense should go to the Oshawa defense and Jacob Oster, who looked fantastic between the pipes for Oshawa throughout the series.

Rangers' Head Coach Named OHL Coach Of The YearYesterday, the OHL announced that Kitchener Rangers' Head Coach Jussi Ahokas is the winner of the Matt Leyden Trophy, which is presented to the OHL Coach of the Year as voted by General Managers across the OHL.

The win on the road in game five gave the Generals the opportunity to finish the second-round series on home ice. They didn't take the opportunity for granted, outshooting the Bulldogs 15-4 in the opening period.

Luca Marrelli's thunderous one-timer on the power play brought Oshawa fans to their feet early in the game. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect fed Winnipeg Jets prospect Colby Barlow for a tap-in to make it 2-0 before the end of the first. 

Knights Sweep Otters To Advance To Western Conference FinalsThe seemingly unstoppable London Knights defeated the Erie Otters in overtime to sweep their second-round series and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

The Bulldogs outshot the Generals 18-14 for the rest of the game, however, the damage was already done. Owen Griffin and Marek Vanacker exchanged goals that came thirty seconds apart early in the second period to make the score 3-1 in favour of Oshawa. 

Griffin, who is one of the top scorers for Oshawa in the postseason, scored a second goal in the dying moments of the series to seal the victory for Oshawa. He's eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft, and his performance in the playoffs is certainly raising his draft stock.

The Generals return to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year. Last season, they made it to the Finals before losing to the London Knights. This year, Oshawa has a deeper and more experienced roster than they did the last time they were in this position. 

They will await the victor of game seven between Barrie and Kitchener. 

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The seemingly unstoppable London Knights defeated the Erie Otters in overtime to sweep their second-round series and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

London has played eight playoff games and come away with eight wins. Neither the Owen Sound Attack nor the Erie Otters managed to put so much as a dent in their armor as they marched towards a repeat of last year's championship season. 

They are the only team to remain undefeated through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan leads the team in points with a stunning eight goals and 13 assists in eight games. Although he sits three points behind playoff leading scorers Ilya Protas and Liam Greentree, his points per game average of 2.625 is very comparable to their 2.66 points per game. 

Besides Cowan, London boasts six players who have all averaged at least a point per game so far in the playoffs, including Denver Barkey, Kasper Halttunen, Sam O'Reilly, Sam Dickinson and Landon Sim.

Frontenacs Tie The Series At Two The Kingston Frontenacs tied the series against Barrie at two earlier tonight with a 9-4 win on home ice. Vegas Golden Knights prospect Tuomas Uronen led his team, scoring a hattrick before the end of the second period.

Facing elimination, the Otters put up a fantastic fight in the game. After the first period, the two teams were tied at one, with Cowan and Pano Fimis scoring goals. 

Erie's Ty Henry scored in the opening minutes of the second period to give the Otters a 2-1 lead that they managed to maintain until Sam O'Reilly and Sam Dickinson scored a pair of power play goals near the end of the second period to take a 3-2 lead.

London's power play played a huge role in this game, as it has in the postseason in general. Operating at a 30 percent success rate, the London power play is the second-best remaining in the playoffs. 

Senators Prospect Keeps Rangers Hopes Alive Last night, Senators prospect Luke Ellinas kept the Kitchener Rangers' season alive by scoring all three goals in their 3-0 win over the Windsor Spitfires. 

Early in the third period, Malcolm Spence tied the game at three and ended up forcing overtime. The Otters found goals in critical moments despite being outshot 50-28 during the game. 

Just under seven minutes into the first overtime period, Sam O'Reilly ended the game and the series by crashing the net and slipping a puck into the Erie goal. 

Based on their roster and unbeaten start the postseason, the Knights have to be viewed as the favourites to win a second consecutive OHL Championship.

They will await the winner of the series between Windsor and Kitchener. The Spitfires currently hold a 3-1 series lead and could end the series tonight at home. Puck drop is a 7:05 p.m. at the WFCU Centre in Windsor.

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Last night, Senators prospect Luke Ellinas kept the Kitchener Rangers' season alive by scoring all three goals in their 3-0 win over the Windsor Spitfires. 

The Windsor offense, led by L.A. Kings prospect Liam Greentree and Washington Capitals prospect Ilya Protas, has had its way during the first three games of the series, scoring a total of 16 goals.

The offensive dominance is surprising given Kitchener's defensive prowess during the regular season. The Rangers allowed the second-fewest goals (183) while maintaining the second-best penalty kill in the OHL. 

In last night's game, the Rangers flipped the script by shutting out the Spitfires and registering the team's first shutout of the postseason. The Rangers outshot the Spitfires 35-24 with goaltender Jackson Parsons making all 24 saves. 

If Parsons can be recognized as the defensive star of the night, Ellinas was the other side of the coin.

He scored the eventual game winner early in the second frame on a bad-angle shot that found a small hole in Joey Costanzo's armor.  

Frontenacs Rally Late In Game Three To Win On Home IceFacing the dire prospect of going down 0-3 in the second round of the OHL PLayoffs, the Kingston Frontenacs found a way to win last night. They defeated the Barrie Colts 5-3 on home ice.

On a rush later in the period, the Toronto native cut to the middle of the ice on the rush and fired a shot that once again wormed its way through Constanzo to extend the Kitchener lead. His third and final goal was an empty-netter scored moments before the final buzzer.

Ellinas seems to thrive on playoff hockey. He has never broken 40 points in his two-year OHL career. However, during last year's playoffs, he scored at nearly a point per game pace, while after last night, he is averaging more than a point per game in this year's playoffs. 

The Ottawa Senators drafted Ellinas in the fourth round of the 2024 NHL Draft. While he still has a lot to learn, his tendency to score during the postseason should interest a team like Ottawa that will return to the NHL Playoffs for the first time since 2017.

During last night's contest, he had multiple scoring chances that didn't find the back of the net and consistently pushed the pace offensively for his team. 

Henry Mews' Commitment Shows Why The OHL Could Be In Trouble?Early yesterday evening, Calgary Flames prospect Henry Mews announced his commitment to the University of Michigan to play NCAA hockey next season. The unique decision shows how players are forging new paths in the wake of the NCAA's decision to make CHL players eligible for Division I hockey. 

While the win is sweet, the Rangers have a very long and hard road ahead if they want to make it out of the second round of the OHL Playoffs. They need to regroup quickly and come back ready to play in game five. They will be in do-or-die mode for the rest of this series.

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All of Windsor is flying high after the Spitfires pummeled the Kitchener Rangers 6-3 last night to take a 3-0 lead in round two of the OHL Playoffs. The victory is extra sweet for L.A. Kings prospect Liam Greentree, who set a franchise record by scoring five goals in the game.

He's the first player to score five goals in a playoff game since Connor McDavid, who completed the feat during the 2015 OHL Playoffs. Greentree also set a franchise record, surpassing Ernie Godden, who put up a four-goal effort back in 1981 for Windsor.

While the Spitfires' success comes from a team effort, it cannot be denied that Greentree is leading the charge,e showing all of the skill and tenacity that made him a first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. 

He leads the playoffs with 14 goals in eight games, scoring at nearly a two-goal per game pace. The 6-foot-3 forward is tied for the playoff lead in points with linemate and Washington Capitals prospect Ilya Protas, both of whom have tallied 24 points in eight games. 

Greentree scored two goals in the opening period to give Windsor a 2-0 lead heading into the second period. 

His first goal in the second period couldn't have been timed better. It restored the Spitfires' two-goal lead, coming just a minute and a half after Ottawa Senators prospect Luke Ellinas scored Kitchener's first goal of the game. 

Henry Mews' Commitment Shows Why The OHL Could Be In Trouble?Early yesterday evening, Calgary Flames prospect Henry Mews announced his commitment to the University of Michigan to play NCAA hockey next season. The unique decision shows how players are forging new paths in the wake of the NCAA's decision to make CHL players eligible for Division I hockey. 

Early in the third, Greentree scored his fourth goal of the game on the power play, making the Windsor lead 5-2 before finishing the night with an empty net goal. 

Protas, Greentree's partner in crime, also had a fantastic night scoring a goal and adding three helpers. The pair reminded the league that they are one of the deadliest duos in major juniors, scoring all six Windsor goals and accounting for 11 points.

The Windsor Spitfires have absolutely dominated the Kitchener Rangers in round two of the OHL Playoffs. Through three games they've scored 16 goals while Kitchener has only recorded five. 

MVP Candidate Scores Hattrick In Game Two WinEarlier this afternoon, the Brantford Bulldogs defeated the Oshawa Generals 8-5 to take a two-game lead in the series. Chicago Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis was the center of attention, scoring a hattrick in the win. 

The win gives Windsor a 3-0 series lead and the opportunity to eliminate their opponent and move on to the Western Conference Final on Wednesday. At this point it it seems almost impossible that Kitchener will make a comback in the series. 

Only four NHL teams have ever come back from that kind of a deficit, the most recent being the 2014 L.A. Kings, who defeated San Jose and went on to win the Stanley Cup. 

While it seems like Windsor will soon book their tickets to the Western Conference Finals, junior hockey is entirely unpredictable. We will see what happens come Wednesday night when Kitchener will host Windsor for game four.

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