The Guelph Storm have had a series of comebacks in the 2019 OHL playoffs but now comes their hardest test — playing an undefeated Ottawa 67’s team for the championship.
After sweeping away the Kitchener Rangers in the Western Conference quarterfinals, the Storm were down 3-0 against the London Knights in Round 2, but they pulled together four straight wins for the series victory.
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Guelph then fell behind 3-1 in the Western Conference final against the Saginaw Spirit, only to pull off a second unlikely series victory in seven games for the Wayne Gretzky Trophy.
Meanwhile, the 67’s have been cruising. The league’s number 1 team has swept all three of its playoff series with ease and comes into the finals against Guelph on a 12-game winning streak.
But it may not be a lost cause for the Storm if the regular season is any indication. Guelph earned three out of four possible points the two times they met Ottawa during the regular season.
The Storm hammered Ottawa 8-4 at the Sleeman Centre in January and then lost 4-3 in overtime in February at TD Place.
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Nick Suzuki has the most points in the playoffs with 13 goals and 18 assists in 18 games.
The Montreal Canadiens prospect will be up against his former Team Canada teammate Michael DiPietro, who has been in net for all 12 of Ottawa’s playoff victories so far, including one shutout.
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Guelph is looking for its first J. Ross Robertson Cup since 2014. Ottawa has not been crowned OHL champion since 2001.
Game 1 is scheduled for Thursday night in Ottawa, while Game 2 is back at TD Place on Saturday.
The series comes to Guelph for Game 3 on Monday night and Game 4 on Wednesday.
If necessary, Game 5 is in Ottawa on Friday, May 10, and Game 6 would be in Guelph on Sunday, May 12.
If the series goes seven games, both teams will be forced to drive five hours back to Ottawa for Game 7 the next day on Monday, May 13.
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The teams are playing for a spot in the Memorial Cup tournament, which begins May 17 in Halifax.
Fans in Guelph can listen to all of the OHL finals games on Global News Radio 1460 CJOY with Larry Mellott.
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