Round 2 is just about done across the O, Dub, and Q. Let us see how last week unfolded, beginning with the O, as is standard:

OHL:

Last week, three sweeps were finalized in the O, two in the East and one in the West. Oshawa Generals RW Connor Lockhart (selected in 2021 by Vancouver Canucks but went unsigned) was the overtime hero in a 4-3 extra frame triumph in Game 3 over the Ottawa 67’s. His team subsequently finished the job in Game 4 with a 4-1 victory, sending them to Round 3. G Jacob Oster (second star) stopped 31/32 and all four goals were netted by different goalscorers. C Owen Griffin (2025 Draft eligible) was the first star for scoring the game/series winner and tallying an additional assist to go with it.

The North Bay Battalion wrapped things up against the Sudbury Wolves upon a 6-5 OT victory in Game 3 against the Sudbury Wolves in an instant classic wherein they erased a 5-2 deficit in the third period, with C Dalyn Wakely wrapping things up in the extra stanza. They subsequently were met with little resistance in Game 4, initially scoring 3-0 while they were met with little trouble, then adding 2 more for a 5-0 final score and a ticket to the conference finals against Oshawa. Sudbury’s big three of David Goyette (Seattle Kraken), Dalibor Dvorsky (St. Louis Blues), and Quentin Musty (San Jose Sharks) had somewhat disappointing showings in this series. Had their performance been just a bit better, I am sure they would have presented more of a challenge to the superior North Bay roster. Can’t win ’em all, though, and in the words of Bill Parcells, “Power wins.”

In the West, the regular season champs London Knights ultimately dispatched their rival Kitchener Rangers in four, defeating them in a rematch of last year’s semis which London won in 5. Apart from Game 2’s 5-1 blowout, this series was close and competitive. However, in the last two games, Kitchener could not contain C Jacob Julien (Winnipeg Jets) as he tallied hat tricks in both matchups. London await the victors of the Saginaw Spirit-Soo Greyhounds semifinal. Those teams effectively traded blows in last week’s three matchups, with Saginaw (who host the Memorial Cup this year) winning Game 3 by a score of 7-2 before Soo took Game 4 by a score of 4-0. RW Calem Mangone subsequently delivered the OT winner in Game 5 for Saginaw in a 3-2 triumph, correspondingly giving them a 3-2 edge in the series. Game 6 is tonight at 7:07 PM ET. This series has been intense due to incidents such as Saginaw G Andrew Oke’s injury due to a collision with Soo C Bryce McConnell-Barker (New York Rangers) as well as touted Saginaw D Zayne Parekh (2024 Draft eligible) both receiving and giving a controversial hit. I am sure this will wrap up in very intriguing fashion.

WHL:

The conference finals for the Dub have been fully set in place, due to very quick series resolutions across the board in the semis. Regular season champions the Saskatoon Blades concluded a sweep of the Red Deer Rebels this past week, finishing things off with 8-5 and 7-0 wins in Games 3 and 4, respectively. LW Egor Sidorov (Anaheim Ducks) was in unbelievable form in the final two games, posting a hat trick in both, to go along with two assists and a +5 in the series clincher and earning the first star selection both times.

Saskatoon’s opponent in the conference finals will be another fearsome roster in the Moose Jaw Warriors, as Matthew Savoie (Buffalo Sabres) and his new environment defeated his long-time friend and former Winnipeg/Wenatchee teammate Conor Geekie (Utah) and the Swift Current Broncos in five games. Moose Jaw won Games 3, 4, and 5 by 5-3, 5-2, and 4-2 scorelines to advance. This series had some good hockey despite not every game being close and had a phenomenal backstory, so I am sad to see it come to an end early.

Last week, another top dog in the Dub, the Prince George Cougars, ended Tij Iginla (2024 Draft eligible) and the Kelowna Rockets’ season in another gentleman’s sweep. LW Matteo Danis delivered the goods just 1:22 into the extra stanza to grant Prince George a 4-3 OT win in Game 3. Kelowna would win Game 4 2-1, but Prince George would wrap affairs up with a decisive 6-3 win in Game 5, wherein RW Zac Funk (Washington Capitals) would tally a hat trick and earn the game’s first star.

The Cougars will face yet another juggernaut in the form of the Portland Winterhawks, who finished a sweep against the Everett Silvertips. The Tips were simply very unhealthy for this matchup and overwhelmed by an on-fire, deep, clicking Portland roster. A microcosm of this can be found in the deciding Game 4, wherein they were defeated 5-0 with five different Winterhawks tallying goals. One has to wonder what a full-strength Everett roster would have done in this series.

QMJHL:

The Baie-Comeau Drakkar swept the Acadie-Bathurst Titan this past week, as the regular season’s best team landed in the conference finals. This was clinched via back-to-back overtime victories in Games 3 and 4. Game 4 had some intrigue as Acadie-Bathurst RW/C Robert Orr [not that Robert Orr] (unsigned 2021 Carolina Hurricanes pick) scored back-to-back goals to force the extra frame. However, it was ultimately Baie-Comeau RW Justin Poirier (2024 Draft eligible) that finished his hat trick, earned the first star selection, and won the game and consequently the series. Baie-Comeau will be up against the Cape Breton Eagles, who had little trouble finishing off the Chicoutimi Sagueneens this past week, winning Game 3 by a score of 6-2 and Game 4 by an 8-5 scoreline (though Chicoutimi did threaten to come back with the netminder pulled before LW Angelo Fullerton buried the empty netter).

The Victoriaville Tigres dropped Game 3 to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies by a score of 4-1, but ultimately emerged forward as victors in Games 4 and 5 by respective scores of 5-4 and 4-3. Though all but one of their victories were by 1 or 2 goals, Victoriaville did pull off the only upset of the semis… at least so far. As it stands, the Drummondville Voltigeurs are up 3-2 against the Sherbrooke Phoenix, but who is to say the latter will not pull off a comeback? We will find out in less than an hour, as Game 6 gets underway at 3:00 PM ET. Expect updates across our different platforms.