OHL Western Conference Playoff Matchups Have Been Set

With playoff matchups and standing positions up in the air until the final day of the OHL regular season, there were several meaningful games on Sunday.

To determine the final matchups, Saginaw beat the Soo 9-2, and London beat Guelph 3-0. 

Here are the first playoff matchups out of the Western Conference:

London Knights (1) vs. Flint Firebirds (8)

Saginaw Spirit (2) vs. Owen Sound Attack (7)

Soo Greyhounds (3) vs. Guelph Storm (6)

Kitchener Rangers (4) vs. Erie Otters (5)

As we can recall from last year's playoffs, there was one especially big upset in the Western Conference — the eighth seed (Kitchener Rangers) beat the first seed (Windsor Spitfires). Anything can happen, but London, Saginaw, and the Soo have been the big three to beat all season long.

Flint, Owen Sound, and Guelph will certainly have their hands full with those three, but once the playoffs start, everything changes. 

Owen Sound and Guelph specifically are better built for the playoffs, as they can dominate physically and suffocate their opposition with pressure. Carter George (OS) and Brayden Gillespie (GUE) have been game changers for both teams this season, and could be just that in the playoffs as well.

For Kitchener versus Erie, on paper the Rangers should come away with an easy win. On the other hand, Erie has won their last five games — one of which was against Kitchener. The Rangers have struggled more in the second half of the season, so don't think that this will be a short-and-sweet four game sweep for them. 

As lopsided as a lot of these matchups look, there will be some upsets as there are every year. 

What also makes the Western Conference playoffs exciting is the possibility of two Western teams making the Memorial Cup. If Saginaw were to get knocked out by a Western team who then went to win in the OHL finals, there would be two Western Conference teams at the Memorial Cup in Saginaw.