Ottawa, Ontario – This Friday, March 16th at the Carleton Place Arena, The #1 ranked Carleton Place Canadians will take on the #8 ranked Rockland Nationals at 7:45pm.
SCHEDULE
GM 1 – FRI MAR 16 – 7:45 CP
GM 2 – SUN MAR 18 – 2:30 RCK
GM 3 – WED MAR 21 – 8:15 CP
GM 4 – THUR MAR 22 – 7:30 RCK
GM 5 – SAT MAR 24 – 7:15 CP (If needed)
GM 6 – SUN MAR 25 – 2:30 RCK (If needed)
GM 7 – TUE MAR 27 – 7:15 CP (If needed)
This will be the first playoff appearance for the Rockland Nationals since becoming the Nationals and the first time the franchise will be in the playoffs since the 2014-2015 season when they were Gloucester Rangers. This is familiar territory for the Canadians as they will look to try and go for their 5th consecutive championship.
SEASON SERIES
November 3rd – F | CPC 4, ROC 0 – ROCKLAND CIHA
December 10th – F/SO | CPC 3, ROC 2 – CARLETON PLACE ARENA
December 15th – F| CPC 7, ROC 2 – ROCKLAND CIHA
January 26th – F| CPC 4, ROC 0 – ROCKLAND CIHA
January 28th – F| CPC 6, ROC 4 – CARLETON PLACE ARENA
Carleton Place wins season series 5-0
WHAT TO WATCH
For Rockland, they are in a tough spot taking on not only one of the best teams in the CCHL but also facing one of the best team in all of Junior A Hockey in Canada. The team has had a great first year since becoming the Rockland Nationals establishing a core group of solid young players. They will have to try and get out in front early and often in this series in order to try and set a tone and a pace for themselves.
Sean Storr is going to be the guy that the Nationals will rely on to try and make saves. The Canadians have a very good offensive threat boasting 3 of the Top 10 points getters in the league. He will have to make some key saves for the Nationals if they want to keep competitive in this series.
The Nationals will also look to try and keep Mathieu Blanchette, their top points getter, active on opportunities. Rebounds, open shots, breakaways, any sort of opportunity, Blanchette will have to capitalize on.
For the Canadians, this spot is not unfamiliar for them. As mentioned previously, they boast 3 of the top 10 points getters in the CCHL with Sam Knoblauch, Travis Broughman, and Tim Theocharidis. Geoff Kitt hovers outside ranking 11th in points. The Canadians will look to maintain the system they have in place. If they stick to the gameplan that they have been going with throughout the regular season, they could just as easily make another go at the Finals.
Jeremie Forget has been lights out for the Canadians with this past month being no exception having a very low 0.90 GAA in the month of February. If he can keep that consistent play going, the Nationals will have a hard time getting by Forget.
One of the key players that helps to make the Canadians a threat is their playmaking defenseman in Tim Theocharidis. Theocharidis can not only cycle the puck very well but can also make good shots on net and become a scoring threat. He’ll be the playmaker to look out for on the Canadians.
Verdict
The Nationals need to control the game right from the get go and get the Canadians on their feet to start off games. If they can catch them off guard to start off, they can definitely make this series very interesting. When you go back to their season series, they had 2 games where they kept it very close bringing the Canadians to the shootout in one game. If the Nationals do that, they definitely have a shot.
For the Canadians, they have to stick to their system and gameplan and make sure to keep their playmakers active. Keep a good pace on the game and make the Nationals play their hockey.
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Written by: Zach McGibbon, CCHL Communications Intern