Saginaw Spirit & Soo Greyhounds Complete the Sweep & Become the First Teams to Advance to Second Round of OHL Playoffs

The Saginaw Spirit and Soo Greyhounds both completed sweeps in their first round series, as they become the first two teams to advance to the second round.

The Saginaw Spirit and Soo Greyhounds earned matching 5-1 wins to become the first teams to advance to the second round of the OHL playoffs with wins over Owen Sound and Guelph respectively.

Half of the Western Conference second round playoff picture is set, as Saginaw and the Soo will extend their playoff runs into the second round. Both teams have swept as the higher seed, as Saginaw finished second and the Soo finished third in the West.

The Saginaw Spirit loaded up at the OHL trade deadline for this playoff run, and they are officially off to the second round after eliminating the Owen Sound Attack in four straight. 

Saginaw beat Owen Sound in every aspect imaginable, and their only real concern against was in goal. Rookie goaltender Carter George was very impressive during this series for the Attack, but it was not enough to overpower the Spirit.

The Spirit have depth in every single position, and everyone stepped up in round one. Deadline acquisitions Josh Bloom and Owen Beck led the way offensively with 7 points each through the four games. 

Saginaw also dominated completely in the faceoff dot. Michael Misa, Owen Beck, Matyas Sapovaliv, and Ethan Hay each finished the series with over 55% efficiency on the draw, and absurd stat.

Who Saginaw will face in the second round is still unknown, but there is a chance that they could face the Soo Greyhounds — who also swept in the first round.

The Soo Greyhounds swept the 6th placed Guelph Storm in four games, but Guelph put a little more 'scare' into the Soo than Owen Sound did to Saginaw.

There were two one-goal games in this series, in games one and three. Guelph began both of these games with a lead, but eventually the Greyhounds were able to battle back in both of them. 

For the Soo, captain Bryce McConnell-Barker led the way with 8 points in the series. Deadline pickups Gavin Hayes and Jacob Frasca each totalled over a point per game in the series as well.

One concern for the Greyhounds is their goaltending. Charlie Schenkel only had a .883% save percentage in the series through four starts. Rookie goaltender Landon Miller came in for relief in game three, and made all 8 saves. There is a chance that Miller may start some games in round two. 

Overall, the Soo dominated the Guelph Storm and now they are off to the second round. On paper, they are the weaker opponent if they face Saginaw, but anything can happen in the postseason.