So for the 5th time in Owen Sound franchise history, the Attack will meet the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League Playoffs starting tonight at the Dom Cardillo Arena.
Owen Sound is 3 & 1 in these matchups and interestingly enough, Owen Sound has won every first round playoff meeting
Owen Sound won in 1994, again in 1998 on the Kyle Flaxey overtime goal & again in 2006 on the Mike Angelidis goal.
The Rangers lone series win was the memorable 4 game sweep in the second round of the 2005 playoffs, 2 of the 4 victories coming in overtime at the JD McArthur Arena on goals by David Clarkson.
Another trend I notice is that Owen Sound, dating back to 2004, is always matched against the same teams.
In 2005, Plymouth, then Kitchener.
In 2006, Kitchener, then London
In 2007, London again.
The Attack missed the playoffs in 2008 & 10, but met Windsor in 2009.
Then last year it was London, Plymouth, Windsor and then St Mike’s.
Coincidence ?
Never Sarnia. Never Erie. Never Saginaw. Never Sault. And not Guelph for 8 years.
So here we are with Kitchener…..again, and I’m not sure what to make of it.
In the regular season Kitchener won 4 of 6, yet the two Attack victories were among the best games Owen Sound played all season.
But the regular season, like previous Owen Sound-Kitchener playoffs, is ancient history and the recent history for Owen Sound isn’t great, a 4 game losing streak in which they’ve mustered just 4 goals.
So with great conviction, I establish Kitchener as the clear favorite and the Attack as the significant underdog going to Game 1 tonight at the Dom Cardillo Arena
I’m Fred Wallace