With some playoff series set in the Pollock Division, one playoff match-up will feature a classic rivalry.
It involves two teams heading in different directions than they've both been used to the past few seasons. The Hanover Barons have had a resurgent season, climbing out of the basement to clinch the 4th seed, while the Walkerton Hawks have endured a fall down the standings to 5th, somewhere they're not accustomed to after a sustained period of regular season dominance. This will be an intriguing battle between a veteran Hawks team that still boasts plenty of power, and an up-and-coming Barons team that found new life behind new leadership and brilliant goaltending.
The Barons had a solid year, a big plus for a team that was getting kicked around the last few years. The offense was not overly impressive, posting the lowest goal total in the division at 127. But the Barons do boast a few dangerous weapons up front who are young and will continue to push that total up for years to come. Brandon Richardson led the way with 38 points in 41 games, which included a team leading 19 goals. Impressive youngster Mark Aljoe showed signs of becoming a dominant player, as he had 31 points in 42 games, and had the team's second best goal tally at 18. Jordan Reaman pitched in 21 points in 37 games, and late addition Luke Hoelscher had 17 points in his 17 games in a Barons jersey. Hoelscher was acquired from league champs Mount Forest after he requested a chance to play with his brother Brock, also a forward. Brock had 7 points but only played 16 games. While not the scariest unit, there are some weapons here that Walkerton will need to be wary of.
Walkerton, on the other hand, didn't fare much better on offense, as they had just 136 goals for, good for 5th overall and just 2 better than 6th place Mitchell. The Hawks were used to having one of the best offensive units in the league for years, but departures and some injuries hampered their scoring ability a lot of nights this season. Still, there's quality to be found here in the top of the lineup, as it showed that depth scoring was an issue. Spencer Elder had a great year, leading the team with 44 points in 36 games which included a team leading 25 snipes. He was helped by the enigmatic Gary Mantz, who had an impressive 39 points in just 25 games. Mantz can at times look like the best player in the league, and the next shift look like he'd rather be somewhere else, but his talent and scoring ability is undeniable. Captain Justin Donnelly had 31 points in 37 contests, and Brady Stewart (24 points) Owen Torrie (23 points) round out a solid group of attackers.
On defense, Hanover is led by former Pollock Division champ and Mount Forest Patriot Brock Phillips. Phillips, also acquired in a trade early in the season, had an extremely solid year, breaking out for 33 points in 33 games in his first time being the "go-to-guy" on the back end. He is as solid a two-way defender as you'll find in the division. He is helped by the mobile Derek Cornfield (23 points) and big Quinton Maddock, a former Walkerton Hawk. Maddock, who had some injury woes this year, chipped in 14 points in his 22 games, and posted 111 PIMs, second only to Phillips' 171. The Barons have a bruising style that they lacked for many years. They aren't easy to push around in their own zone anymore, and that bodes well for their chances in advancing to the second round. Hanover ranked a respectable 4th in goals against at 135, just 2 worse than 3rd place Kincardine's 133.
The Hawks have really missed not only Maddock, but former defensive leader Josh Deyell, who aged out. Without those two, Walkerton have had to basically transform a once dominant and scary blue line. Brendan Welsh (29 points) and Austin Van Wyck (15 points) both returned and had solid years, but it wasn't the same as having the ever intimidating Deyell or the big smooth skating Maddock. Beyond those two, the production and steadiness dropped off. Welsh and Van Wyck combined for 10 goals, but after that the rest of the D only scored 8 goals, and when you take away the 4 Maddock scored before being traded, that's just 14, which contributed to the lower team goal total. 14 is a far cry from the 37 the D-core scored last year. Defensively speaking, Walkerton took a hit as well, allowing the 5th most goals at 179, way back of Hanover's 135 in 4th, and their own total last year of just 127. Walkerton still have quality here, but not near as much as they're accustomed to having.
In goal, Hanover have been ecstatic with the play of first-year goalie Brendon Landry. Landry had a record of 10-11-2 in 23 starts, a solid 2.85 GAA and a stellar .913 save percentage. As this team improves, they know they have a quality goalie, and his numbers will only get better. Backing up Landry is Luke Aulthouse, who went 5-11 with a respectable 3.01 GAA and very solid .907 save percentage, great numbers for a backup.
For Walkerton, it was a reversal in fortune for starter Matt Donnelly, who was arguably the best goalie last year at just 17. This year, behind a weaker team, he did all he could to keep the Hawks in every game he appeared, going 10-19-1 with a shutout, a 3.68 GAA and an impressive .896 save percentage. Given the heavier workload he endured most nights, those numbers are still impressive, and Donnelly can steal games by himself. His backup is Tyler Jackman, who started just 4 games, going 1-3 with a 5.46 GAA and a .852 save percentage.
On special teams, Hanover scored 31 power play goals but were dead last in power play percentage at 14.16 percent. Walkerton scored an identical 31 power play markers but were marginally better at 16.15 percent, good for 4th. On the penalty kill, Hanover were 4th best at 81.47 percent allowing 48 goals, while Walkerton was just behind in 5th at 81.07 percent, allowing 39 while short handed. The Barons took by far the most penalties this year at 1,124, which could put them in danger in the playoffs, while the Hawks only took 836, 4th most in the division.
This is a match-up of fairly even teams, usually the case when the 4th and 5th seeds clash. It will be interesting to see if the young upstarts from Hanover can take out a still veteran laden crew in Walkerton. This series offers many good story lines to follow. Enjoy the action. The series kicks off February 1st in Hanover at 8 pm.
(4) Hanover vs. (5) Walkerton Game 1 – Friday, February 1 at 8 p.m. in Hanover Game 2 – Saturday, February 2 at 8:20 p.m. in Walkerton Game 3 – Tuesday, February 5 at 8 p.m. in Hanover Game 4 – Friday, February 8 at 8:20 p.m. in Walkerton Game 5 – Saturday, February 9 at 8 p.m. in Hanover (if needed) Game 6 – Sunday, February 10 at 1:20 p.m. in Walkerton (if needed) Game 7 – Tuesdday, February 12 at 8 p.m. in Hanover (if needed)
