|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Please wait...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
 Please wait...
|
|
| Central Canadian Hockey League: Playoff Report |
|
| |
By Sam Laskaris /
The Newmarket Hurricanes have blown by all of their playoff opponents thus far.
And by winning their first three playoff rounds, the Hurricanes secured themselves a spot in the CCHL’s championship final.
As of mid-March, however, the Newmarket club was still waiting to see which squad it would face in the best-of-seven final series.
It would be either the Bowmanville Eagles or the defending league champion Wellington Dukes. Bowmanville was leading its best-of-seven East Division final series 2-1.
The Eagles took the series lead by pulling out a 3-2 victory in double overtime in Game 3.
As for the Hurricanes, three of their post-season contests so far have been decided in OT. But Newmarket has had a relatively easy time of it in its three series.
For starters, the Hurricanes downed the St. Michael’s Buzzers of Toronto 4-1 in their West Division quarter-final series.
The Buzzers blanked Newmarket 3-0 in Game 4 of that series.
As it has turned out, that is the only loss the Hurricanes had en route to earning a berth in the CCHL final.
That’s because Newmarket swept the Hamilton Red Wings 4-0 in their West Division semi-final series. And to the surprise of many, the second-seeded Hurricanes also eliminated the top-ranked Burlington Cougars in four consecutive matches in the West final.
The series was not even as close as many expected it to be. Newmarket won by scores of 5-1, 6-2, 3-1 and 6-1.
Kudos should be given to the entire Hurricanes’ roster for holding the Cougars to just five goals in four games. That’s because Burlington was by far the highest scoring team in the CCHL this season, racking up a whopping 313 goals in 50 contests.
By comparison, the Toronto Junior Canadiens and Streetsville Derbys were tied for second place in the league for most goals with 218 each – almost 100 behind the high-scoring
Cougars.
The Hurricanes obviously were not fazed about having to square off against the Cougars.
Newmarket had also defeated Burlington in all four of their regular season matchups.
Yet the Cougars were still deemed the favourite in their playoff series versus Newmarket.
That’s because Burlington had finished atop the West standings with 81 points in 50 games.
The Hurricanes had ended up in second place, 11 points behind the Cougars.
As for Bowmanville and Wellington, both clubs were given stiff challenges prior to meeting in the East final.
The Eagles swept the Ajax Attack 4-0 in their divisional quarter-final series. But Bowmanville was then given quite the scare in its East semi-final series versus the Peterborough Stars.
Peterborough managed to win the first two games of that series, including a 2-1 OT victory in Game 2. The Eagles rebounded and strung together four straight wins to take the series. But Bowmanville did not have an easy time doing so, winning three of its games by just one goal.
As for the Dukes, it is somewhat of a miracle that they are still playing this season.
Wellington did easily oust the Whitby Fury 4-0 in their East quarter-final series. But the Dukes then had to stage a dramatic comeback in its semi-final series versus the Markham Waxers.
Markham had the Dukes on the brink of elimination after winning the first three games in the series. But Wellington never gave up and actually won the next four games and the series.
And talk about dramatics. Game 7 in the series went into overtime before the Dukes could finally celebrate with a 3-2 victory. |
| |
| Filter by: |
|
|
|
|
Please wait...
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Pro Hockey Life Top Gun Challenge |
Penalty Killing Forecheck - weisstechhockey.com |
Shooting Dangerously |
Hockey Hints for Players & Coaches - Skating |
Snap, Don't Slap |
| > more videos |
|
Oct 26/09 - Leafs vs Ducks
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Click here for the latest instruction articles. Learn how to improve your hockey skills and much more. |
| >archive |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|