Playoff Preview: Westport vs Carleton Place

By: Mason Detre

 

Ottawa, ON – The Westport Rideaus will host the Carleton Place Jr Canadians in game one of their best of seven Richardson Division Semi-Final on Monday March 4th inside the Westport Community Arena.

Schedule: Westport (27-12-5) vs. Carleton Place (25-16-3)

Game 1 Monday March 4th in Westport @ 8:00pm

Game 2 Tuesday March 5th in CP Arena @ 7:15pm

Game 3 Friday March 8th in Westport @ 8:00pm

Game 4 Saturday March 9th in CP Arena @ 8:15pm

Game 5 Monday March 11th in Westport @ 8:00pm *If necessary

Game 6 Wednesday March 13th in CP Arena @ 8:15pm *If necessary

Game 7 Friday March 15th in Westport @ 8:00pm *If necessary

This is the first time that these teams will face off in a series. Expect this series to come down to the wire because these teams finished six points apart in the Richardson Division standings. These two teams have a balanced roster this year. The Rideaus have a dominate offensive group while the Canadians can score but also can win with goaltending and defense. The Westport Rideaus won the Richardson Division title and were 4th in the league while Carleton Place finished 4th in the Division and 7th in the league standings.

Westport Rideaus won the season series 3-1, outscoring the Canadians 19-to-11. The last time these two teams met, it was on February 15th, and the Canadians beat them in overtime 3-2.

Westport’s keys to victory:

General Manager of the year Michael “Bundy” Seed says the keys for them will be discipline, matching CP’s intensity and work ethic. Seed also mentions that CP are a very fast and quick transitioning team, and that they have to be aware of that and neutralize them if we can roll all lines and stay fresh. Being disciplined will help us achieve this goal.

Blake Kettyle led the team with 38-goals, 42-assists and 80-points in 43-games. He also ended the season on a 16 game point-streak (15 G / 17 A) and will carry that into next season. Seed says that Blake Kettyle has been one of the top players in the league this year and expect’s him to continue to lead them offensively.

It’s not just Kettyle but as Seed mentioned that the Rideaus have a lot of depth with Hugh McHugh and Ty Nicholson each scoring 24 goals in the season. Michael Anson and Brock Boisclair collected 36 points and Anthony Ieradi had 18 points in 19 games. Seed says that their offence will be spread around the line up.

Seed said that their defense has been solid all year with veterans that have all played in the league. Alex Zoutis always gives them a chance to win every night. During the regular season, Alex Zoutis scored a goal on a delayed penalty when the Canadians put it in their own net from the Rideaus zone. Westport’s top defensive players are Matthew Seed and Tim Morton who each had 20+ points in the regular season.

Seed also talks about of how home ice is critical for them in the playoffs.

“Having home ice is a great accomplishment for us, we play well in our building as it’s smaller than most rinks… our team just seem t play week in our barn every night.”

Carleton Place’s keys to victory:

The Carleton Place Jr Canadians are coming off a big series win against Renfrew after coming back down 5-1 in game 2 to win in OT, then on Saturday night they comeback down 2-1. Kyle Lightfoot (3 G / 2 A), Oliver Carriere (3 G / 1 A), Gavin Browne (2 G / 2 A), Brendan Hill (3 G) and Ethan Wardman (3 A) all lead the way in this series.

Head Coach Trevor Peters says there are several positives but the number one thing is the character that they showed in every game, “When we got behind, the players dug in and pushed themselves and each other to be better. We play with and for each other,” said Peters.

In Game 2, there was a goaltending change where Bennett allowed five goals in that game and Bernard came in to make all 19 saves in the win. “We believe in ourselves, our identity and our culture. There is no quit in this team and will not let any game go without a fight.”

Starting tonight, they take on the Westport Rideaus which they lost their season series this year. The key is to stay discipline, don’t allow good chances and make adjustments for this series.

“Their forward group is very good, we need to contain them and now allow them quality chances to attack. We also need to stay out of penalty trouble. On the offensive side, we will make some adjustments from our series against Renfrew and look to create our own scoring opportunities,” said Peters on how to win the series.

Verdict: 

The Rideaus have had the Canadians number all season long. These teams are very well coached and have the offence. This series will go in either five or six games. We could potentially see one or two overtime heroes in this series.