The teams in the Western Conference are set, and we will see a battle of the ages between the London Knights and the Saginaw Spirit.
It is official. We will see the top two teams in the Western Conference go head-to-head in the Western Conference Finals. It is the London Knights vs. the Saginaw Spirit.
Both teams have had very different paths to make it to the third round. One team — the London Knights — had the pleasure of sweeping both the Flint Firebirds and the Kitchener Rangers in rounds one and two.
Saginaw also swept the Owen Sound Attack in round one, but unlike the Knights, they had a full seven-game series against the Soo Greyhounds. This was a series that was fought tooth-and-nail and there are likely a lot of Saginaw players that would like some more rest before heading into this series against the Knights.
The series between the Spirit and the Knights gets underway on Friday night in London, at Budweiser Gardens. You can bet the crowd will be sold out in green and gold, and Saginaw will be tested to see if they can steal home-ice advantage in the first two games.
London has been rolling, and no one has been able to stop them. Jacob Julien has been an unlikely hero as of late. He had seven goals and two hat tricks in the series versus Kitchener, and the Winnipeg Jets prospect has stepped up when it has mattered most.
The Knights will be without centre Kaleb Lawrence for the first four games of this series — a loss that could prove to be huge for London. Lawrence has been filling a middle-six centre roll, and he's been producing at high rates offensively as well. His large frame makes him difficult to play against, and in a playoff environment that is lethal.
The "twins" Denver Barkey and Easton Cowan have been on top of their game, their defence hasn't given up much, and Michael Simpson has been solid in the cage. The Knights don't have a lot of weaknesses, and it will be up to the Spirit to try to find one.
The Saginaw Spirit will be without defenceman James Guo for some games in this series — the final result of his suspension has not been resolved yet. Otherwise, the Spirit haven't had any real injury trouble yet this playoffs.
The Spirit's biggest strength? They are getting offence from everywhere in their lineup.
Saginaw also has an incredibly deep team in every position, and different players have been able to step up in different games. Middle-six winger Calem Mangone has scored several big-time goals, Owen Beck has been dominant, Zayne Parekh has been his typical self — they have been able to beat teams because of their ability to get offensive production up and down their lineup.
The Spirit were pretty undisciplined in their series versus the Soo Greyhounds, there were a lot of plays that got out of hand, including the play on the Guo suspension. This will be a very hard-fought series, and things could get ugly quickly.
Discipline will be a large factor in this series. Both teams have been known to get under the skin of their opponents and play a very physical style of play. The winner of this series will have to hold back and stay disciplined in big moments of the game.
Nonetheless, this could be the most entertaining series of the entire OHL Playoffs. It's the Memorial Cup hosts versus the first placed team — and it starts Friday night.