We're into the second half of the hockey season, and the push for the playoffs begin!

Playoff Spots Up For Grabs In The Final Week

Written by: Jesse Michael on 8th March 2010

Playoff Spots Up For Grabs In The Final Week | read this item

What a final week it’s turning out to be in the Ontario Hockey League.

The playoff race has been alive and well for the last three weeks, with teams battling desperately to grab the final positions.

The Western Conference has already been decided, but there are still three spots available for four teams in the Eastern Conference; Peterborough (58), Niagara (57), Sudbury (56) and Oshawa (53).

Other than the jostling for spots six through eight, the Brampton Battalion (62) sit in fifth and by the end of next week, they could end up as low as seventh.

In the West, as mentioned, all eight positions have been clinched, but spots four through eight have yet to been decided.

As well, London (97) sit five points behind Windsor (102) in the battle for top spot with three games remaining for both.

First a look at the overall standings from both Conferences, followed by the key match-ups beginning Wednesday night.

Rank	Eastern Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	SL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	STK	P10	PIM
1	y Barrie Colts	65	54	9	0	2	110	0.846	312	179	1-0-0-0	9-1-0-0	1336
2	x Ottawa 67’s	66	35	23	5	3	78	0.591	239	214	3-0-1-0	6-3-1-0	987
3	x Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors	65	40	19	4	2	86	0.662	216	169	0-2-0-0	3-6-0-1	1120
4	x Kingston Frontenacs	65	33	27	2	3	71	0.546	223	239	1-0-1-0	7-2-1-0	1267
5	x Brampton Battalion	65	24	27	7	7	62	0.477	159	169	0-2-0-1	4-4-0-2	1003
6	Niagara IceDogs	65	25	33	2	5	57	0.438	181	228	3-0-0-0	6-4-0-0	1146
7	Peterborough Petes	65	26	35	1	3	56	0.431	216	272	1-0-0-0	1-8-0-1	1122
8	Sudbury Wolves	65	25	34	3	3	56	0.431	185	257	1-0-0-0	4-5-1-0	1258
9	Oshawa Generals	64	24	35	3	2	53	0.414	206	279	2-0-0-0	3-7-0-0	1196
10	Belleville Bulls	65	18	39	2	6	44	0.338	179	250	0-6-1-0	2-7-1-0	1044
Rank	Western Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	SL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	STK	P10	PIM
1	x Windsor Spitfires	65	49	11	0	5	103	0.792	319	187	3-0-0-0	7-3-0-0	1287
2	x London Knights	65	47	15	1	2	97	0.746	262	194	4-0-1-0	8-1-1-0	1160
3	x Kitchener Rangers	65	40	18	4	3	87	0.669	276	225	1-0-0-1	5-2-2-1	1066
4	x Plymouth Whalers	65	38	25	0	2	78	0.600	239	189	2-0-0-0	6-4-0-0	1165
5	x Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	65	34	26	1	4	73	0.562	228	205	0-2-0-0	5-5-0-0	1264
6	x Erie Otters	66	32	27	5	2	71	0.538	247	253	1-0-0-0	6-4-0-0	991
7	x Saginaw Spirit	65	32	27	4	2	70	0.538	231	226	0-2-0-0	5-5-0-0	1292
8	x Guelph Storm	65	32	29	3	1	68	0.523	229	249	3-0-0-0	7-3-0-0	1203
9	Owen Sound Attack	66	27	31	4	4	62	0.470	217	268	0-2-0-1	3-5-0-2	1097
10	Sarnia Sting	65	16	44	3	2	37	0.285	169	281	0-6-0-1	2-6-1-1	1231

x = Teams who have clinched a playoff spot.
y = Teams who have clinched the title

Games To Watch This Week

Friday

7:00 pm *
@ the John Labatt Centre in London
Windsor
London

* If London wins, they could set themselves up to take the Conference title with a win in their final game on Sunday

7:30 pm
@ the Sleeman Centre
Erie
Guelph

*One of the only head-to-head battles with close teams within range of each other in the final week. Beginning only three points apart, this game could have a huge bearing on where both teams finish in the standings.

Saturday

7:00 pm
@ the Peterborough Memorial Centre
Oshawa
Peterborough

* If Peterborough loses their game earlier in the week in regulation, and the three other teams chasing them win, Oshawa has a chance to capture a playoff berth and eliminate the Petes at the same time. If Peterborough wins however, it could effectively end Oshawa’s playoff hopes.

7:30 pm
@ the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre
Guelph
Owen Sound

*If Guelph loses and Saginaw wins their game today, they will finish in eighth place and end up facing the difficult task of taking on the Barrie Colts in the first round

Sunday – The final day of the season

2:00 pm
@ the Powerade Centre
Kingston
Brampton

*If Brampton wins, they lock up fifth place in the Eastern Conference, and set up a date with the much improved Kingston Frontenacs. A key to their success has been the play of Cody Hodgson, who has 20 points in 12 games since coming back from a severe back injury.

2:00 pm
@ the Ottawa Civic Centre
Sudbury
Ottawa

*Sitting in eighth place, this could be Subury’s last chance to squeak into the playoffs if they lose two of their games early in the week and Oshawa runs the table winning all three of theirs.

2:00 pm
@ the Compuware Arena
Saginaw
Plymouth

*If Plymouth is unable to win two of their first three games during the week, they will need at least a point to secure fourth place in the West and home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

I will be back next week with an in-depth look into the first round of the playoffs.

Topics: Erie Otters, Guelph Storm, London Knights, OHL, OHL Playoffs, Ontario Hockey League, Oshawa Generals, Ottawa 67's, Owen Sound Platers, Peterborough Petes, Plymouth Whalers, Saginaw Spirit, Sudbury Wolves, Windsor Spitfires

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