My thinking is that if the lower seed can pull off the first game at home (which isn't completely unreasonable as last night showed) than they might gain a bit of confidence/momentum and carry it to a series victory...also, maybe the higher seeded team starts second guessing themselves. But like Holly said, if the higher seeded team wins the first game on the road it is pretty much 'lights out' for the lower seed. I wonder how many times in recent memory the lower seed lost the first game at home and then went on to take the last two on the road to advance.
And yes...the OUA gets the extra berth this year - 3 in total.
I don't believe in momentum. But the first two games are one in each arena either way. So if the series is tied, and momentum does exist, it would be with the home team in game 3.
I always heard this stuff when we had the Moose in the AHL and they played 2-3-2 in playoffs. People thought having the three middle games at home was an advantage. I thought they were nuts. They say "all you have to do is split the first two and then you can win it at home". So, if it is so easy to split two away games for the lower seed, why is it so impossible for the higher seed to win one out of three when they play away?
In a best of seven I would want games 6 and 7 at home, no question. In a best of five I would want games 3, 4, and 5 at home, no question. And in a best of three I would want games 2 and 3 at home, no question.
I dont really understand the 350 km rule.
out west that would be just about every where and our series are all best of 3 BUT the higher seed hosts all. TOO much thinking going on in the OUA in my opinion!! geez did anyone see last nights upsets coming? 9 -2 Ryerson over UQTR yikes. Lakehead in a hole as is the boys from SIngsing ouch. How is that 350 km format working for u??
If anything the higher seed should get first two game, no?
The OUA has 3 rds of playoffs plus Queen's cup game; CW has 2 rounds. Imagine being Lakehead (350 km+ away from everyone) playing three 3-game series, then going on the road for QC game? That's 3-5 roundtrip flights.
I'd also bet that every remote team coach would trade game 1 at home for game 3 at home...and lower seed gets no home games? That's outrageous...that would mean that Windsor (6 straight wins, 1 point behind YU) wouldn't get a home game.
1-2 sucks, as does the geographical distances that OUA (and Cw) covers). But I'm honestly struggling to come up with a solution.
I don't believe in momentum. But the first two games are one in each arena either way. So if the series is tied, and momentum does exist, it would be with the home team in game 3.
I always heard this stuff when we had the Moose in the AHL and they played 2-3-2 in playoffs. People thought having the three middle games at home was an advantage. I thought they were nuts. They say "all you have to do is split the first two and then you can win it at home". So, if it is so easy to split two away games for the lower seed, why is it so impossible for the higher seed to win one out of three when they play away?
In a best of seven I would want games 6 and 7 at home, no question. In a best of five I would want games 3, 4, and 5 at home, no question. And in a best of three I would want games 2 and 3 at home, no question.
Agreed completely - having watched a lot of OUA hockey over the last 8-10 yrs (last 2 more intently), Last night's results (while interesting) are probably more of an aberration/product of OUA parity than anything else.
PLaying field has really evened out in the OUA - I know Western (nee UWO) and McGill are usually always there, but they're not invincible - the west's 8th seed (Laurier) was nearly .500 against the 1-3 seeds (4-5-1 vs UWO, LU, UW). In addition, the usual kicking boys of the East (everyone but UQTR/McGill) have really caught up this year. Should be an excellent playoff.
If Queen's Cup shakes out the expected way (UWO/McGill), I think any one of 6 teams could grab that third Uni Cup spot:
- UQTR
- Lakehead
- Waterloo
- Windsor
- Nippissing
- Toronto
So you would rather have teams travel 1-1-1 lets say from Nipissing to UQTR, making for unreal and dangerous travel on a bus for a 16 hours round trip. Total waste of money. I wouldnt want to FLY to Thunder Bay for one game. Its a waste.
Maybe Nipissing should have won last night and stop Touchette. Drove up to watch the game. Lakers had really nothing. Plus down 3-1 going into the 3rd it would be "rah-rah, lets go boys" but I was sitting over the tunnel of where the Lakers came out, and you had Marcoux and O'Donnell staring at girls and not being focused.
It hasnt seemed to affect Lakehead, why should it affect Nipissing?
I'm not disputing the performance of the Lakers last night. I listened to the game on CKAT and they were down 4-1 early in the 3rd...
I would be a little more sympathetic to your argument if it was UQTR playing Nipissing given the distance between Trois-Rivières & la Baie Nordique (682 km each direction). But given that Ottawa is 361 km, I'm not convinced that a 4 hour drive is considered "extreme". I'd be even less convinced if Nipissing was playing a team along the 401 corridor given that most of the highway driving is done on four laned stretches.
There are frequent long trips are done frequently in junior hockey playoffs (granted for two game sets instead of one)...
First round in the Q:
Montréal c. Halifax
Québec c. Val-d'Or
Gatineau c. Rimouski
The championship series in the NOJHL Tier Two league in 2009-10 had teams from Iroquois Falls & Sault Sainte Marie play each other. 511 km or nearly 8 hours drive each direction on bush highways through Chapleau, Foleyet, etc.
Lakehead had no buisness losing that game last night. They had a 4-1 lead in the second and lost 5-4. They give up so many pp opportunities with their ability to take rediculous amount penalties. Their poor play once they get the lead. The team has no discipline at all. It's clear to most fans that these guys are not playing for this coach. Looks like another long off season for hockey fans in thunder bay unless something drastically changes.
Have faith, don't you host game 2-3? Big crowd, hostile environment, LU should come out of it.
Western takes game one after outshooting Laurier 41-18. Watched this one on the stream, but it was not as dominant as the shots would suggest. Laurier got into penalty trouble right from the beginning, taking 4 straight penalties in the 1st to lead to 2 Mustangs powerplay goals. After going down 3-0, Laurier potted a goal but it was waved off due to the net coming off, which on replay was the correct call. Laurier then hit a crossbar, and in the 3rd, scored their first goal to make it 3-1. Minutes later, Laurier's Mitch Good crossed the blueline, made a spin move at the top of the circle, and buried a shot past Josh Unice, to make it 3-2, but it was called off. The net was off again, which was somewhat bizarre, as the goal was scored on the rush, and no players had reached the net or crease area yet. About a minute later, Laurier officially scored to make it 3-2, leading to a Western time out. From that point on, Western played much more calm and composed, and Laurier got few scoring chances, Kevin Baker making it 4-2 for Western on a goal where the net came off on the play, but the puck did appear to cross well before. After the first period, it looked like it could have been another 9 goal performance against Western. Good push back by Laurier as Western is a huge favourite.
Western takes game one after outshooting Laurier 41-18. Watched this one on the stream, but it was not as dominant as the shots would suggest. Laurier got into penalty trouble right from the beginning, taking 4 straight penalties in the 1st to lead to 2 Mustangs powerplay goals. After going down 3-0, Laurier potted a goal but it was waved off due to the net coming off, which on replay was the correct call. Laurier then hit a crossbar, and in the 3rd, scored their first goal to make it 3-1. Minutes later, Laurier's Mitch Good crossed the blueline, made a spin move at the top of the circle, and buried a shot past Josh Unice, to make it 3-2, but it was called off. The net was off again, which was somewhat bizarre, as the goal was scored on the rush, and no players had reached the net or crease area yet. About a minute later, Laurier officially scored to make it 3-2, leading to a Western time out. From that point on, Western played much more calm and composed, and Laurier got few scoring chances, Kevin Baker making it 4-2 for Western on a goal where the net came off on the play, but the puck did appear to cross well before. After the first period, it looked like it could have been another 9 goal performance against Western. Good push back by Laurier as Western is a huge favourite.
Brock and Waterloo in double overtime now.
The net coming off is a issue all the time when playing against western in london. Its ridiculous! They use the same pegs as peewee players. They need proper moorings to keep the nets where they are supposed to be! The western goalies have always had this trick down pat in their rink.
Just got home from the "hub" city.
Interesting game tonight. SFX had a decided territorial edge in the first, but couldn't muster much in the way of scoring chances. The second period was fairly even and UdeM was dominant in the third getting several good chances off the rush and on the cycle. Can't fault Perricone on either goal; both good plays. It seemed that X could get to the blueline and then would not be able to generate much in the Moncton zone. The defence kept them and their shots to the outside, making it an easy night for Marion. If they wish to go back to Moncton, they need to play in the dirty areas on Saturday night and get some traffic and shots at the net.
The OUA's parity-party continued last night. After game 1, each conference's 2, 3, and 4 seeds now face elimination in game 2. In particular trouble are my Warriors, who were the only higher-seed to lose at home (2-1 in 2OT to Brock). Waterloo will now have to win in St. Catherine's - where they have a 5-game losing streak - to keep their season going.
As for the other high seeds returning home, I know the OUA is a home ice league...but with 5 teams needing only a road split to pull off an upset, the odds suggest it will happen in at least one or two series. My bets? I think Guelph pulls it out vs Lakehead, and I think Ottawa beats Nipissing (disclaimer - more familiar with OUA west than east).
Western takes game one after outshooting Laurier 41-18. Watched this one on the stream, but it was not as dominant as the shots would suggest. Laurier got into penalty trouble right from the beginning, taking 4 straight penalties in the 1st to lead to 2 Mustangs powerplay goals. After going down 3-0, Laurier potted a goal but it was waved off due to the net coming off, which on replay was the correct call. Laurier then hit a crossbar, and in the 3rd, scored their first goal to make it 3-1. Minutes later, Laurier's Mitch Good crossed the blueline, made a spin move at the top of the circle, and buried a shot past Josh Unice, to make it 3-2, but it was called off. The net was off again, which was somewhat bizarre, as the goal was scored on the rush, and no players had reached the net or crease area yet. About a minute later, Laurier officially scored to make it 3-2, leading to a Western time out. From that point on, Western played much more calm and composed, and Laurier got few scoring chances, Kevin Baker making it 4-2 for Western on a goal where the net came off on the play, but the puck did appear to cross well before. After the first period, it looked like it could have been another 9 goal performance against Western. Good push back by Laurier as Western is a huge favourite.
Brock and Waterloo in double overtime now.
I've watched Western's last few games that have been webcast and what I've picked up on is that they have a very fast and loose playing style, which at times is quite careless. They are also vulnerable to teams that close up the "white zone" because they seem to commit to particular patterns of play regardless of whether there is an opponent near or in the lane. Last night Laurier, and last Saturday York, picked off an incredible number of Western passes that looked like they should not have been made. Interestingly, I thought Western played a very different, much tighter and disciplined game in both of their 1-0 wins agains Lakehead a few weeks ago. Last night, I thought Laurier played a good game for a team that fell behind 3-0 early and that should give them some confidence going into tonight's game.
The OUA's parity-party continued last night. After game 1, each conference's 2, 3, and 4 seeds now face elimination in game 2. In particular trouble are my Warriors, who were the only higher-seed to lose at home (2-1 in 2OT to Brock). Waterloo will now have to win in St. Catherine's - where they have a 5-game losing streak - to keep their season going.
As for the other high seeds returning home, I know the OUA is a home ice league...but with 5 teams needing only a road split to pull off an upset, the odds suggest it will happen in at least one or two series. My bets? I think Guelph pulls it out vs Lakehead, and I think Ottawa beats Nipissing (disclaimer - more familiar with OUA west than east).
I couldn't agree with you more about the parity that exists in both OUA divisions right now - I can't ever remember a time when so many teams have been so close to each other in level of play. There is truly no dominant team in the OUA this year, despite McGill's and Western's records (just go back and look at game scores and you'll see most that most of the games for both teams this year were close). I really do think there are about a dozen different teams that could win the conference this year and it's not unreasonable that a York, Guelph, Carleton, or Nipissing could win the title.
I couldn't agree with you more about the parity that exists in both OUA divisions right now - I can't ever remember a time when so many teams have been so close to each other in level of play. There is truly no dominant team in the OUA this year, despite McGill's and Western's records (just go back and look at game scores and you'll see most that most of the games for both teams this year were close). I really do think there are about a dozen different teams that could win the conference this year and it's not unreasonable that a York, Guelph, Carleton, or Nipissing could win the title.
To your point - if you exclude empty-net goals, 13 of Western's 28 games were decided by 1 goal. For McGill, it was a staggering 17 of 28.
I definitely think that any of the top 7 teams in the west could make a cinderella run (and the 8th team, WLU, possibly has the conference's best goaltender - not to be overlooked in short-series format). It's probably not quite that deep in the east, but I think any of the top 5 seeds could make the same run (OUA east experts - feel free to jump in on this one).
What makes this more exciting is the one-game playoff that looms between the conference finals losers, to see who gets that third tourney invite. the UQTR-Lakehead matchup that many were expecting looks like far from a slam-dunk. Something like Windsor@Carleton isn't a terrible bet.
I'm not disputing the performance of the Lakers last night. I listened to the game on CKAT and they were down 4-1 early in the 3rd...
I would be a little more sympathetic to your argument if it was UQTR playing Nipissing given the distance between Trois-Rivières & la Baie Nordique (682 km each direction). But given that Ottawa is 361 km, I'm not convinced that a 4 hour drive is considered "extreme". I'd be even less convinced if Nipissing was playing a team along the 401 corridor given that most of the highway driving is done on four laned stretches.
There are frequent long trips are done frequently in junior hockey playoffs (granted for two game sets instead of one)...
First round in the Q:
Montréal c. Halifax
Québec c. Val-d'Or
Gatineau c. Rimouski
The championship series in the NOJHL Tier Two league in 2009-10 had teams from Iroquois Falls & Sault Sainte Marie play each other. 511 km or nearly 8 hours drive each direction on bush highways through Chapleau, Foleyet, etc.
Different leagues uses different rules. If Ottawa-North Bay is on 361kms away, shouldnt McParland petitioned the OUA that its only 11kms above the rule itself. And if Nipissing won Game 1, I dont think you would make a post about it.
Super impressed by UPEI's effort in the third period. They deserved the win, no question. Hard fought 4 - 3 win.
Tale of two games. Acadia looked real good for 40 minutes and then rather flat in the third. UPEI had too many good chances and it seemed to be a matter of when they would score, not if. One would hope the Axemen weren't tired in the third; if so they will be hard-pressed to keep up the pace at home on the big ice.
The net coming off is a issue all the time when playing against western in london. Its ridiculous! They use the same pegs as peewee players. They need proper moorings to keep the nets where they are supposed to be! The western goalies have always had this trick down pat in their rink.
Sounds like Saint Mary's, They have the same problem at the forum.
Very close game, it looked as though neither team would score, then Laurier got on the board first, in the third. Only 16 seconds later, Western scored on a controversial call. The highlights indicate that on the play, one linesmen only a couple feet from the puck indicates the play is offside, but for some reason does not blow down the play. As the arm goes up to call the offside, you can see the two Laurier forwards closest to the play stop their involvement, one stops skating and drifts into the neutral zone and other one points to the linesman and drifts that direction trying to figure out why the whistle has not gone. This gives room for the Western defencemen to walk in uncontested and shoot, which leads to the goal on the rebound. Laurier coach Greg Puhalski was furious, and got kicked out of the game, leaving behind his suit jacket and a rack of sticks on the ice. Western then scored with only a couple minutes left to go ahead. Overall, a good series though, Laurier got some guys back in the lineup and despite getting horribly outshot, were close to Western and had a chance to win both games, despite the mismatch in the standings.
With Waterloo's loss to Brock, both teams in Waterloo are now eliminated.
EDIT: Link is fixed
Last edited by blackmarketmob: 02-18-2012 at 11:07 AM.
You can strike Nippissing off the list. Gee Gees win 3-1 in the North Bay matchbox to take the series 2-0. Lots of excuses coming from the NB coach about players with the flu but the same is true with Ottawa who were also missing 3 from injury and 4 playing through pain. It all balances out.
You can strike Nippissing off the list. Gee Gees win 3-1 in the North Bay matchbox to take the series 2-0. Lots of excuses coming from the NB coach about players with the flu but the same is true with Ottawa who were also missing 3 from injury and 4 playing through pain. It all balances out.
thats cause McParland cant take losses well. And people thought Nip were a good pick to go all the way to Fredericton!
I actually listened to the third period of this game on my iphone. Sounded like Ottawa completely shut them down. Commentator kept talking about what a great offensive team they were during the regular season but only had one decent scoring chance in the third period.
Very close game, it looked as though neither team would score, then Laurier got on the board first, in the third. Only 16 seconds later, Western scored on a controversial call. The highlights indicate that on the play, one linesmen only a couple feet from the puck indicates the play is offside, but for some reason does not blow down the play. As the arm goes up to call the offside, you can see the two Laurier forwards closest to the play stop their involvement, one stops skating and drifts into the neutral zone and other one points to the linesman and drifts that direction trying to figure out why the whistle has not gone. This gives room for the Western defencemen to walk in uncontested and shoot, which leads to the goal on the rebound. Laurier coach Greg Puhalski was furious, and got kicked out of the game, leaving behind his suit jacket and a rack of sticks on the ice. Western then scored with only a couple minutes left to go ahead. Overall, a good series though, Laurier got some guys back in the lineup and despite getting horribly outshot, were close to Western and had a chance to win both games, despite the mismatch in the standings.
With Waterloo's loss to Brock, both teams in Waterloo are now eliminated.
EDIT: Link is fixed
What a tough way to lose. Linesman really blew the call. Don't blame Laurier for being upset.
Very nice production value on the highlightes. Hopefully UNB can start doing something similar.
