Two weeks in and the playoffs are providing plenty of intrigue and excitement.
The top-seeded Ripley Wolves have shown just why they have the number-one seed. Ripley has a 3-0 series lead on the Shelburne Muskies after convincing 7-1 and 6-2 victories to open the series. Shelburne battled in Game 3 despite both teams with short benches, but the Wolves again prevailed 5-3 with an empty net goal. Ripley's Garrett Meurs currently leads all players in playoff scoring, with 10 points in three games.
The number two Seaforth Centenaires are up 3-1 on the seventh seeded Durham Thundercats. After Durham took an upset 5-4 victory on Seaforth ice to open the series, the Centenaires have rallied back with 3-2 (OT), 5-2 and 4-2 victories to get to within a win of advancing to the semi-finals.
Overtime has been the word of the series between the Minto 81's and Clinton Radars. Minto took a double-OT win to open the series, and the reigning champs from Clinton answered back with an OT victory of their own in Game 2. Minto took a convincing 6-2 win in Game 3 to hold a 2-1 series advantage heading into the weekend. The home team has won all three games so far in this series.
Perhaps the best bet to go to a Game 7 is the #4-5 series between the Saugeen Shores Winterhawks and Tavistock Royals. After Tavistock jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, Saugeen Shores roared back with 6-2 and 4-2 wins to even the series at 2-2. A lack of history between the two teams has not resulted in a lack of action.
Full Sr. AA Championship schedules and results can be found
here.
The Sr. A championship semi-finals are set after the Milverton Four Wheel Drives took a short best-of-three quarterfinal series with the Creemore Coyotes. The high scoring series saw the road team win all three games. Milverton took a 7-3 win in Game 1, while Creemore answered back with an 8-3 win in Game 2. In the deciding Game 3, Milverton jumped out an early to a 4-1 lead, but the upstart Coyotes roared all the way back to take a 5-4 lead. The experienced Drives scored three unanswered in the third period to take a 7-5 victory.
Milverton will now face the Petrolia Squires in a best-of-seven series. Due to the provincial shutdowns and receiving a first-round bye, the Squires will have gone more than two months between games when the puck drops this Saturday night for Game 1. Full schedule is available on the Sr. A Championship page.
The other Sr. A semi-final began this past Saturday between the Lucknow Lancers and Shallow Lake Crushers. Greg Scott scored the eventual game-winning goal to give Lucknow a 4-2 win on home ice and a 1-0 series lead. Game 2 is scheduled for this Friday night in Shallow Lake.
Full Sr. A Championship schedules and results are available
here.
A reminder, boxscores and live stats (when available) are posted by the stats provider for the WOAA Sr. Hockey League,
Gamesheet Inc.