A pair of hard-working teams will clash when the OUA men's hockey playoffs begin this week.
The fifth-seed Brock Badgers will meet the fourth-seed Windsor Lancers for a best-of-three series in Round 1 on Wednesday, Feb. 12 in Windsor at 7:30 p.m. OUA.tv
The series shifts to St. Catharines when Brock hosts Game 2 on Friday, Feb. 14 at 7:15 p.m. Tickets
"Windsor is a big, solid and consistent team," said Brock head coach Marty Williamson, who has guided the Badgers to the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. "They have a great penalty kill, and block tons of shots."
Brock is 0-2 versus Windsor during the regular season this year. The Badgers outshot them in both contests, but couldn't completely solve Lancers goalie Jonathan Reinhart, who led the league with a 1,155 saves.
"Our team needs to play three periods and match them physically," said Williamson. "Goals will be tough to come by, so we need to take advantage of our opportunities."
The Lancers finished just ahead of the Badgers in the OUA West, however they finished the regular season with a negative goal differential and are 3-7 in their last 10 games.
Brock will have to contain playmaking defenceman Kody Gagnon, who is fourth in the league in assists and has helped the Lancers' special teams - power play (fourth best in OUA) and penalty kill (fifth) - become some of the top in the league.
"We are looking forward to the post season," said Windsor head coach Kevin Hamlin. "Our 'blue collar' group will need to be at our best, because Brock is an excellent team and they are well coached. We have always had a great rivalry with Brock and I know our guys are looking forward to the challenge."
Windsor will have their hands full with dangerous forwards Tyler Rollo, who leads the Badgers in scoring with 14 goals, Christian Girhiny, leads forwards with 18 assists, and a dynamic defenceman who leads Brock in scoring with seven goals and 28 points in 41 games: Jordan Sambrook.
Captain Connor Walters said their edge on the ice is the Badgers' work ethic.
"We pride ourselves on how hard we work and is a big staple in our game," he said. "Also, we believe that if we have all six defencemen, 12 forwards and goalie doing our jobs, and doing the little things right, that we are a very hard team to compete against especially heading into a playoff series."
If necessary, Windsor will host Game 3 on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
