Ottawa West, Ontario – Tonight the Ottawa West Golden Knights and Embrun Panthers begin their best of three Wild Card Series at the Barbara Ann Scott arena at 7:15. Listed below are the scheduled times and places for the series.
- Game 1, Monday, February 25, 2018 – Barbara Ann Scott: 7:15
- Game 2, Wednesday, Feb 28 at 8:30 PM – Aréna d`Embrun Arena: 8:30
- Game 3, Thursday, Mar 01 at 7:15 PM – Barbara Ann Scott Arena: 7:15
PREVIEW | OWGK vs EMB – By: Dante De Caria, Comms Manager, CCHL
The Ottawa West Golden Knights and Embrun Panthers rivalry goes back many years if you think about it. The Panthers were the Metcalfe Jets before moving to Embrun and played against Ottawa West at least five times a year and always found a way to meet in playoffs. In the 2015/16 season, Ottawa West beat Metcalfe in six games. The only players left on Metcalfe that played in that heated series against West are Andrew Burke, Jeremy Barrie and Ottawa’s Luke Mulvihill.
Of course with Steve Sundin (OW) and Darrell Campbell (EMB) always coaching against each other – we should expect a hard fought series with one another knowing their strengths and weaknesses.
Season Series:
- Embrun Panthers 4, Ottawa West Golden Knights 2 – Thu, Sep 28
- Embrun Panthers 2, Ottawa West Golden Knights 5 – Thu, Nov 16
- Ottawa West Golden Knights 1, Embrun Panthers 5 – Fri, Dec 01
- Ottawa West Golden Knights 4 , Embrun Panthers 2 – Sun, Feb 18
The Season Series was tied at two after these two teams met one week ago in Embrun.
Who to Watch:
For the Embrun Panthers, the Golden Knights are going to have to watch out for Andrew Burke, Marc Brosseau and Justin Brennan offensively. Burke has always found a way to score against the Golden Knights and Justin Brennan has great speed from the backend and can go up into the rush easily. I’d also put a target on Marc Brosseau who scored 31 goals and 61 points this season. Darrell Campell says he is the flashiest player of the three but finds a way to make pretty plays. As for goaltending, Mr. Campbell can start either Sabourin or Gratton. They both had a save percentage over .900 and a goals against average under 3.00. As for some guys who didn’t light up the scoreboard but could be a factor for Embrun in this series – I’d look at Jacob Lamont, Noah Johnston and Tristen Whynot. Those three are big body players and will look to bully around the young Ottawa forwards and get under their skin.
For the Ottawa West Golden Knights, I’d expect Steve Sundin to get his team to just play simple hockey and capitalize on the power-play. Embrun is going to have to watch out for Luke Mulvihill who had 85 points this season. I think Franco Gagnon is also going to have to be a difference maker in the series. He’s a guy who has been known to be a great playoff performer and will need to make some nice plays, lay the body and score a goal or two. Outside the their top scorers, the Panthers are going to have to keep a close eye on Cameron Scrivens and Alex Wall who had been playing great hockey towards the end of the season. They are the two guys who set up guys like Mulvihill or Gagnon in the slot. But if Lecours can come back from injury, he will be the difference maker with his size and speed.
The Verdict:
Overall I think this series will be evenly matched. I’d expect to see some close games and I wouldn’t be surprised if the series goes to a full three games. I think the Golden Knights have more speed and skill but the Panthers have grit and toughness.
