The postseason continued across the GTHL as we celebrated Family Day and moved past the mid-point of February.
DING, ROUND 1
First-round series began in five divisions over the Family Day weekend:
Atom AA East – Round 1 | First to six points
(1) North York Knights vs. (8) Markham Islanders | Knights lead 4-0
Game 1: 5-1 Knights | Game 2: 8-1 Knights | Game 3: Sunday, Feb. 21
(2) Don Mills Mustangs vs. (7) Goulding Park Rangers | Mustangs lead 2-0
Game 1: 5-3 Mustangs | Game 2: Wednesday, Feb. 17
(3) Leaside Flames vs. (6) Forest Hill | Flames lead 2-0
Game 1: 5-1 Flames | Game 2: Tuesday, Feb. 16
(4) Ted Reeve Thunder vs. (5) York Mills | Thunder lead 2-0
Game 1: 4-3 Thunder | Game 2: Wednesday, Feb. 17
Peewee A East – Round 1 | First to six points
(1) Leaside Flames vs. (8) Ted Reeve Thunder
Game 1: Tuesday, Feb. 16
(2) Scarborough Ice Raiders vs. (7) Toronto Aeros
Game 1: Thursday, Feb. 18
(3) Goulding Park Rangers vs. (6) Don Mills Mustangs
Game 1: Wednesday, Feb. 17
(4) North York Knights vs. (5) North Toronto | Knights lead 2-0
Game 1: 4-3 Knights | Game 2: Thursday, Feb. 18
Bantam A East – Round 1 | First to six points
(1) Leaside Flames vs. (8) Markham Islanders | Flames lead 2-0
Game 1: 8-0 Flames | Game 2: Friday, Feb. 19
(2) Willowdale Blackhawks vs. (7) North Toronto
Game 1: Tuesday, Feb. 16
(3) Toronto Aeros vs. (6) West Hill Golden Hawks
Game 1: Wednesday, Feb. 17
(4) North York Knights vs. (5) Hillcrest Canadiens
Game 1: Tuesday, Feb. 16
Bantam AA West – Round 1 | First to six points
(1) Mississauga Jets vs. (8) Humber Valley Sharks | Series tied 1-1
Game 1: 2-2 tie | Game 2: Thursday, Feb. 18
(2) Mississauga North Stars vs. (7) Mississauga Braves | North Stars lead 2-0
Game 1: 2-0 North Stars | Game 2: Tuesday, Feb. 16
(3) Toronto Eagles vs. (6) Mississauga Terriers | Eagles lead 2-0
Game 1: 2-0 Eagles | Game 2: Tuesday, Feb. 16
(4) Vaughan Panthers vs. (5) Ice Warriors | Ice Warriors lead 2-0
Game 1: 4-2 Ice Warriors | Game 2: Tuesday, Feb. 16
Midget AA – Round 1 | First to six points
(1) Duffield Devils vs. (8) North York Knights | Series tied 1-1
Game 1: 2-2 tie | Game 2: Thursday, Feb. 18
(2) Mississauga Jets vs. (7) Toronto Aces
Game 1: Thursday, Feb. 18
(3) Toronto Aeros vs. (6) Toronto Eagles
Game 1: Wednesday, Feb. 17
(4) Ice Warriors vs. (5) Toronto Colts
Game 1: Tuesday, Feb. 16
SERIES UPDATES
Three of four Round 1 series wrapped up in the Atom AA West division over Family Day weekend:
The Toronto Wolverines (No.5), West Mall Lightning (No. 7) and Toronto Eagles (No. 9) all won their first-round series to advance to the division quarterfinals. The Toros (No. 6) and Mississauga Braves (No. 10) are tied 2-2 in their opening-round matchup; Game 3 goes tonight (Tuesday, Feb. 16) at MasterCard Centre (7:25 p.m.). Round 2 series are as follows (first to six points):
(1) Mississauga North Stars vs. (9) Toronto Eagles
(2) Mississauga Terriers vs. (7) West Mall Lightning
(3) Vaughan Rangers vs. (6) Toros OR (10) Mississauga Braves
(4) Vaughan Panthers vs. (5) Toronto Wolverines
ROUND 1 PREVIEWS
The Scotiabank GTHL Playoffs begin tonight in Atom AAA and four “A” divisions:
Atom AAA – Round 1 | First to eight points
The Toronto Marlboros (28-1-4, 60 points) suffered just one defeat en route to winning the Kraft Cup, but the Toronto Titans (26-3-4, 56 points) and Toronto Young Nationals (26-6-1, 53 points), the No. 2 and No. 3-ranked teams, also posted impressive regular-season records.
(1) Toronto Marlboros vs. (8) Toronto Red Wings
Streak: TML – Won 7 TRW – Lost 3
Last 10: TML – 9-0-1 TRW – 2-6-2
Season series: 5-0 TML, 7-2 TML, 4-1 TML
(2) Toronto Titans vs. (7) Mississauga Reps
Streak: TTI – Won 1 MRE – Lost 1
Last 10: TTI – 8-1-1 MRE – 6-2-2
Season series: 6-3 TTI, 4-1 TTI, 7-1 TTI
(3) Toronto Young Nationals vs. (6) Don Mills Flyers
Streak: TYN – Won 2 DMF – Won 3
Last 10: TYN – 6-3-1 DMF – 8-1-1
Season series: 8-2 TYN, 5-2 TYN, 4-2 TYN
(4) Vaughan Kings vs. (5) Toronto Jr. Canadiens
Streak: VAK – Lost 1 JRC – Won 1
Last 10: VAK – 6-4-0 JRC – 6-4-0
Season series: 4-2 VAK, 1-1 tie, 3-2 VAK
Atom A – Round 1 | First to six points
The Kraft Cup was captured handily in both Atom A divisions, with the Vaughan Rangers (35-1-0, 70 points) winning the West and North Toronto (34-0-2, 70 points) in the East. The Rangers suffered their only loss on Oct. 5 against the Vaughan Panthers (2-1 L), while North Toronto went undefeated, posting two ties in December.
WEST
(1) Vaughan Rangers vs. (8) Humber Valley Sharks
Streak: VAR – Won 31 HVS – Lost 1
Last 10: VAR – 10-0-0 HVS – 2-7-1
Season series: 6-2 VAR, 7-1 VAR, 5-1 VAR, 5-1 VAR
(2) Vaughan Panthers vs. (7) Toronto Royals
Streak: VAP – Won 12 TRO – Lost 1
Last 10: VAP – 10-0-0 TRO – 2-7-1
Season series: 5-2 VAP, 6-0 VAP, 3-2 VAP, 5-0 VAP
(3) West Mall Lightning vs. (6) Duffield Devils
Streak: WML – Won 9 DUF – Lost 1
Last 10: WML – 9-1-0 DUF – 1-5-4
Season series: 5-0 WML, 7-2 WML, 4-1 DUF, 5-1 WML
(4) Toronto Eagles vs. (5) Avalanche
Streak: TEG – Won 1 AVL – Lost 2
Last 10: TEG – 4-4-2 AVL – 4-5-1
Season series: 4-1 TEG, 4-1 TEG, 3-2 TEG
EAST
(1) North Toronto vs. (8) West Hill Golden Hawks
Streak: NTO – Won 14 WHG – Lost 4
Last 10: NTO – 10-0-0 WHG – 2-5-3
Season series: 6-0 NTO, 4-2 NTO, 7-4 NTO, 3-1 NTO
(2) Leaside Flames vs. (7) Markham Islanders
Streak: LEF – Won 1 ISL – Won 2
Last 10: LEF – 8-1-1 ISL – 4-4-2
Season series: 4-2 LEF, 4-0 LEF, 2-1 LEF
(3) Forest Hill vs. (6) Goulding Park Rangers
Streak: FHF – Won 1 GPR – Lost 1
Last 10: FHF – 8-2-0 GPR – 6-3-1
Season series: 2-1 FHF, 3-2 FHF, 5-0 FHF
(4) North York Knights vs. (5) Willowdale Blackhawks
Streak: NYK – Won 4 WIL – Lost 5
Last 10: NYK – 7-2-1 WIL – 1-7-2
Season series: 8-3 NYK, 4-3 WIL, 2-2 tie, 3-0 NYK
Peewee A West – Round 1 | First to six points
The Avalanche (29-5-2, 60 points) captured the Kraft Cup thanks in large part to an 11-game point streak in the final month (10-0-1). First-round opponents Humberview Huskies (24-8-4, 52 points) and Toronto Royals (17-15-4, 38 points) also finished the campaign on hot streaks, going 8-1-1 and 7-21 in their final 10 games, respectively.
(1) Avalanche vs. (8) Vaughan Panthers
Streak: AVL – Won 8 VAP – Lost 2
Last 10: AVL – 9-0-1 VAP – 4-6-0
Season series: 3-0 VAP, 5-0 AVL, 3-1 AVL
(2) Humberview Huskies vs. (7) Toronto Royals
Streak: HUM – Tied 1 TRO – Won 1
Last 10: HUM – 8-1-1 TRO – 7-2-1
Season series: 4-3 HUM, 2-1 HUM, 5-0 HUM
(3) Vaughan Rangers vs. (6) Toronto Eagles
Streak: VAR –Won 2 TEG – Lost 1
Last 10: VAR – 6-2-2 TEG – 5-4-1
Season series: 4-1 VAR, 9-3 VAR, 4-4 tie
(4) Toronto Wolverines vs. (5) West Mall Lightning
Streak: TWO – Tied 1 WML – Tied 1
Last 10: TWO – 3-4-3 WML – 4-3-3
Season series: 3-2 TWO, 1-1 tie, 2-2 tie
Bantam A West – Round 1 | First to six points
A 9-1-0 run to end the season helped the Vaughan Panthers (29-3-4, 62 poitns) clinch the Kraft Cup and a first-round bye in the Scotiabank GTHL Playoffs. The West Mall Lightning (27-4-5, 59 points) finished in second place to also move directly to the second round in the nine-team division. They will play the winners of the following matchups:
(3) Avalanche vs. (6) Humberview Huskies
Streak: AVL – Lost 2 HUM – Won 1
Last 10: AVL – 4-6-0 HUM – 6-3-1
Season series: 3-0 AVL, 2-1 AVL, 3-1 HUM, 2-1 HUM, 3-1 AVL
(4) Vaughan Rangers vs. (5) Humber Valley Sharks
Streak: VAR – Won 3 HVS – Lost 1
Last 10: VAR – 5-3-2 HVS – 5-4-1
Season series: 3-2 HVS, 3-0 VAR, 3-2 HVS, 4-0 VAR
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SCOTIABANK GTHL PLAYOFFS: SCHEDULES | ROUNDUP – FEB. 9
KRAFT CUP: SCHEDULES | STANDINGS | CHAMPIONS
