The must-watch sport this season has definitely been men’s hockey. With back-to-back wins to close out the season and a final record of 13-10-5, the Waterloo Warriors secured 6th place in the OUA West, earning a berth in the OUA playoffs and a shot at competing for the 113th Queen’s Cup. With that being said, here’s everything you need to know for the playoff season.
How is the OUA Playoff Set up?
The OUA splits its Men’s Hockey into two Divisions: OUA West and OUA East. Twelve teams make the playoffs: six from the East and six from the West. The top two seeded teams from the West and the top two-seeded teams East both automatically advance to the Quarterfinals.
The remaining eight teams do not get an automatic quarterfinal bid and must compete in Round 1 to advance. The sixth seed plays the third seed, and the fourth seed plays the fifth seed. The west will play other west teams, and the east will play other east teams.
In each playoff round, the winner is determined on a best ⅔ basis. The higher-ranked seed will have a home-ice advantage, meaning that they will host game 1 and game 3 if necessary. The lower-seeded team will host game 2. Warriors faced the Lancers in their second last game of the regular season and beat them 1-0.
The Warriors will travel to Windsor to play game 1 of their best-of-3 series on Wednesday, Feb. 19th. The Warriors will be back at CIF to play game 2 on Friday, Feb. 21, and if a third game is necessary, they will be back in Windsor on Feb. 23. The Winner of this series will advance to the quarterfinal to take on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.
The championship game will be between the last team remaining on the east side and the last team remaining on the West side in a one game winner-takes-all format.
Warrior’s Playoff Positioning
As mentioned above, the Warriors squeed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins to close out the regular season earning them the sixth seed. The Warriors will be matched up against the third-seeded Windsor Lancers. In past matchups against the Lancers, the Warriors are 1-1 with both games being played on Windsor’s home ice. Back in November, the Warriors lost 4-1.
Here are the standout players to look for:
Forward Tate Popple #81 fourth-year
- Currently fourth in the OUA for regular season goals scored
- Leads the team in points with 32 (sixth in the OUA with 16 goals and 16 assists)
- Assistant captain
Goalie Matt Onuska: #77 second-year
- Third in OUA for goals against average: 2.18
- First in OUA for save percentage: .941
- Second in OUA for total saves: 19 games, 664 stops.
The Warriors are rolling into the playoffs red-hot coming off two major victories. When they return to CIF on Feb. 21 to play game two, students need to make that home-ice advantage felt to its fullest extent. Paint the barn black and gold and let’s get loud Warriors!
