Monday, May 12, 2008

Some afternoon reading

A little light reading for you 5-hours before puck-drop in game 7 of the OHL final between Belleville and Kitchener:

The KW Record’s Al Coates tells us how much has changed since he last wrote about the series.

The Belleville Intelligencer’s Paul Svoboda informs us that no team has ever come back from being down 3-0 to win in the OHL finals.

Long-time Intell sports writer Ady Vos has his say.

The Record’s Jeff Hicks—one of the best sports writers in Canada that you may not have heard of—assures us that there are no more excuses for the Rangers.

Quick update at 5:35 p.m.: It's not confirmed, but the bulletin board scuttlebutt is that Florida Panthers' prospect and World Junior gold medalist Shawn Matthias will return to the Bulls' line-up tonight. Matthias has missed the entire playoffs with mononucleosis.

Perhaps the smart move would have been to hold him out until the Memorial Cup, but, if the rumours are true, you have to give him and the Bulls credit for playing this series at full speed. Give the Rangers credit for that too. The easy thing for both teams would have been to cruse through things and avoid injury. Instead, they've played a classic.

4 comments:

Dennis Prouse said...

In the NHL at least the home team has a tremendous advantage in Game 7. Home teams win slightly more than two thirds of Game Sevens in the pros. This is an odd one, though, in that both teams know that there is a tomorrow.

Rob Pettapiece said...

I've shared a press box with Mr. Hicks and agreed, the dude's a pro. Less Coates, more Hicks, please.

By the way, an unintended side effect of this Game 7 is that it delays the home opener for the Kitchener Panthers of the Intercounty Baseball League, because presumably nobody would go to the Aud tonight if not for hockey. (And that's your semiprofessional baseball update for the week.)

sager said...

Rob, you missed the Rapids post!

sager said...

Kidding, everyone, kidding.