Northern Ontario’s OHL teams set for strong playoff runs, say sports reporters | CBC News
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Northern Ontario’s three Ontario Hockey League (OHL) teams each have a good shot at being league champions, according to sports reporters from the region.
“It is pretty rare that we’ve seen all three teams strong at the same time, at least in the last number of years,” said Sudbury Star reporter Ben Leeson.
The North Bay Battalion finished the regular season in second place in the Eastern Conference, while the Sudbury Wolves landed in fifth place in the east, due to some losses later in the season because of injuries and player suspensions.
The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds ended the regular season in third place in the Western Conference.
North Bay Nugget reporter Greg Estabrooks said the Battalion had five years of bad drafts, but turned things around in the last three seasons.
“I don’t know if they’re quite as strong as they were last year,” he said. “I guess time will tell, but they can definitely go a long way in the East.”
Sault Star reporter Gordon Anderson said the Greyhounds are likely to face tougher playoff competition in the West, but a strong run is always possible.
“The fans identify with this team,” Anderson said.
“They don’t give up, never give in. And I think a lot of people really appreciate that kind of attitude that the team has and they show it with their support.”
Anderson noted that while the Greyhounds lost their final game of the season against the Saginaw Spirit 9-2, they still got a standing ovation from the home crowd.
“There must have been about 4,000 people there and everybody stands up in the rink and starts chanting, ‘Go Hounds go!’ in a game where they’re down by seven,” he said.
Leeson, of the Sudbury Star, said although the team is capable of winning the championship, a lot of fans will wait and see how the playoff run goes.
“Overall there haven’t been a lot of really deep runs,” he said.
“We’ve got to look back to 2007 for the last time that the Wolves made a final and it was in the 1970s before that.”
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