Well, in an epic comeback from being down 3 games to none, the Windsor Spitfires pulled a Boston Red Sox Lazarus act and beat the Kitchener Rangers at home in Game 7 today by a 4-1 score in the friendly confines of the WFCU Centre.
Looks like the Spits dominated, outshooting the Rangers 46-27. Taylor Hall didn't score in this one, but he had a huge series to get his team back in gear after they looked dead in the water a week ago.
Jeff Skinner's magical OHL playoff run ends with 20 goals in 20 games. If he's not a top-10 pick in June, I'll be stunned. Some folks don't think he can get in there, but I believe that one of those 10 teams who is starved for goals will throw in with the draft's first- or second-best pure goal scorer (you can always make the argument that Hall is the No. 1 guy). Hats off to the undersized scoring savant-- he's silenced his critics and has gotten it done at a level nobody has matched this season.
This sets up the OHL final between the Spitfires and Barrie Colts, who defeated the Mississauga St. Mikes in their Eastern Conference series, 4 games to 1. Alexander Burmistrov is a tremendous player and with Skinner in the rearview mirror, Hall now has another marquee matchup of a top draft prospect to go head-to-head against.
Hall, for his part, told me several months ago that the team he had the most respect for as a dangerous opponent in the playoffs was Barrie, citing the success that the Colts have had against Windsor this regular season. Hall saw this battle coming way back in early March, so hat tip to the young man not only for his 27 points in 14 playoff games, but for his foresight as well.
This is going to be a great series, so if you're in Ontario or Canada and you have access, this is a great opportunity to see some terrific hockey. The rest of us south of the border will have to wait for the Memorial Cup and whichever team wins the OHL, but if you ask me, I'd rather see this one.
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