[1] Ottawa 67’s (51-12-3-2) vs. [4] Peterborough Petes (35-29-2-2) – #OTTvsPBO
The top two teams in the East Division meet in the OHL Playoffs for the first time since 2006 as the Ottawa 67’s come off a five-game series triumph over Oshawa to face the Peterborough Petes, who swept the Sudbury Wolves in four games.
As the Peterborough Examiner’s Mike Davies stated this week, the matchup has been four years in the making, with the original collision course of the two contenders disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Last year the two teams were separated by one point in the standings, and this year Ottawa soared to a pair of new franchise records with 51 wins and 107 points, earning the Hamilton Spectator Trophy as regular season champions.
“Since I’ve been part of it we’ve had quite the rivalry with Ottawa,” Petes head coach Rob Wilson told The Examiner. “It goes back to those two years before COVID time. It’s going to be very competitive I’m sure and pretty heated and a pretty fun series I imagine. Both teams are not the best of friends.”
“When you’re in junior hockey there are certain teams for stretches of time that end up on the same development cycle,” added 67’s general manager James Boyd.
“That’s been the case with us and Peterborough over the last little while. I guess this year would be the collision course. It’s too bad it didn’t happen in 2020 but our development has been on the same trajectory.”
Cogeco OHL Player of the Week Luca Pinelli leads the 67’s in playoff scoring with 12 points (5-7–12) over five games while newly-signed Seattle Kraken prospect Logan Morrison (7-3–10) continues his 29-game post-season point streak that encompasses all of the 2022 playoffs, Memorial Cup and each of his five outings in the first round against Oshawa.
The 67’s swapped goaltenders in the midst of their first round series, with Max Donoso getting the call in Games 4 and 5 against the Generals, stopping 62 of the 64 shots he faced.
Going into Ottawa for Games 1 and 2 against a 67’s club that had an OHL-best 29-4-0-1 home record this past season, the Peterborough Petes will need to carry their first round momentum into TD Place on Friday.
The Petes took care of the Sudbury Wolves in short order, with mid-season additions Avery Hayes (4-1–5) and Brennan Othmann (1-4–5) leading the way offensively in the four-game sweep.
Peterborough netminder Michael Simpson, a former 10th round pick in 2019, has been among the OHL’s best all season, earning OHL Goaltender of the Week honours three different times along with the League’s Goaltender of the Month recognition back in October.
Dallas Stars prospect Gavin White missed three of the four games in the first round matchup. His return would be a big boost for Peterborough against a high-powered Ottawa offence.
The Petes boast three of the League’s top face-off specialists in Tucker Robertson, Owen Beck and Jax Dubois down the middle. They’ll look to start with the puck against an opponent that has challenged them down the stretch this season.
Season Series:
Ottawa won 4-2-0-0
Oct. 28 – PBO 5 at OTT 3
Nov. 5 – PBO 2 at OTT 4
Nov. 26 – OTT 2 at PBO 3
Dec. 4 – PBO 2 at OTT 6
Feb. 16 – OTT 3 at PBO 2
Mar. 23 – OTT 4 at PBO 1
Playoff History:
This will be Peterborough and Ottawa’s 14th meeting in the OHL Playoffs.
2006 PBO def OTT 4-2– 2nd round / 2005 OTT def. PBO 4-0 – Conference Final / 2002 OTT def. PBO 4-2 – 2nd round / 1994 OTT def. PBO 4-1 – 2nd round / 1992 PBO def. OTT 4-1 – 2nd round / 1990 PBO def. OTT 4-0 – 1st round / 1988 PBO def. OTT 4-0 – 2nd round / 1987 PBO def. OTT 4-2 – 2nd round / 1985 PBO def. OTT 9-1 pts. – 1st round / 1980 PBO def. OTT 4-0 – 2nd round / 1978 PBO def. OTT 9-7 pts. – 2nd round / 1974 PBO def. OTT 8-6 – 1st round / 1972 PBO def. OTT 8-0 pts.- Final
Schedule:
Game 1 — April 14 — PBO @ OTT — 7pm
Game 2 — April 16 — PBO @ OTT — 2pm
Game 3 — April 18 — OTT @ PBO — 7:05pm
Game 4 — April 20 — OTT @ PBO — 7:05pm
Game 5* — April 22 — PBO @ OTT — 4pm
Game 6* — April 24 — OTT @ PBO — 7:05pm
Game 7* — April 25 — PBO @ OTT — 7pm
*if necessary
