The Kitchener Rangers and the Barrie Colts are set to do battle in Game 1 of the Ontario Hockey League Championship Series on Wednesday.
The Rangers enter the series looking to continue a dominant Western Conference postseason run, while the Colts will look to ride the momentum of an impressive comeback in the Eastern Conference Final.
Kitchener entered the playoffs with the second-best record in the league at 47-14-7 and claimed the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
The Rangers cruised past the Saginaw Spirit in a four-game sweep in the first round and dispatched the Soo Greyhounds in five games in Round 2.
The Western Conference Final saw Kitchener take on the Windsor Spitfires, who rivaled them within the conference all season, winning the West Division with a 44-15-9 record.
Kitchener overpowered the Spitfires, skating past them in five games, led by the efforts of star forwards Sam O’Reilly and Christian Humphreys.
O’Reilly dominated over the Spitfires, recording four goals and eight points in the series, including four multi-point games.
The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect was the team’s key acquisition at the CHL trade deadline, getting him in a deal with the London Knights.
O’Reilly registered 29 goals and 71 points in 56 games split between London and Kitchener in the regular and was named the Red Tilson Trophy winner on Tuesday as the league’s most outstanding player.
The 6-foot-1 centre has 14 goals and 22 points in 14 playoff games as he returns to the OHL’s Championship Series for the fourth straight season after making the final three consecutive years with London.
Humphreys, 20, recorded two goals and eight points against Windsor with three multi-point games.
The Pittsburgh native is in his first full season with the team after coming from the University of Michigan midway through the 2024-25 campaign and recorded 27 goals and 85 points in 63 regular-season games.
He has seven goals and 19 points in 14 playoff games as the Rangers reach the OHL Final for the first time since they won the J. Ross Robertson Cup in 2008.
Barrie entered the playoffs after winning the Central Division with a 45-14-9 record to take the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Colts dispatched the Niagara IceDogs in five games in the first round then cruised past the Ottawa 67’s in five games in Round 2, leading to a date with the regular-season champion Brantford Bulldogs in the Eastern Conference Final.
Brantford jumped out to a 3-1 series lead limiting the Colts to just nine goals in the first four games.
Barrie kept themselves alive in Games 5 and 6 with overtime heroics from veteran forwards Brad Gardiner and Mason Zebeski, respectively.
The Colts then dominated the Bulldogs in Game 7, winning 5-0 on the back of a 40-save performance by netminder Ben Hrebik and two goals from Dallas Stars prospect Emil Hemming.
Hemming and co-captains Cole Beaudoin and Kashawn Aitcheson have led the way for the Colts in the playoffs, taking up three of the top four spots in OHL playoff scoring.
Beaudoin leads the way with 10 goals and 29 points in 15 games, despite missing Games 6 and 7 in the series against the Bulldogs.
The 6-foot-2 centre didn’t finish Game 5 for what head coach Dylan Smoskowitz initially said was a coaching decision based on his performance. However, Beaudoin went on to miss the final two games of the series for an undisclosed injury, according to reports.
Beaudoin was drafted 10th overall by the Utah Mammoth in 2024 and had 33 goals and 89 points in 54 games during the regular season.
Hemming has 12 goals and 24 points in 17 playoff games, including two goals in Game 7. The 6-foot-1 winger put up 26 goals and 63 points in 46 games in his second season in the OHL.
Aitcheson is the leader of the team’s defensive corps and leads all OHL defencemen with six goals and 23 points in 15 playoff games.
The New York Islanders prospect also led all OHL defencemen in scoring during the regular season with 28 goals and 70 points in 56 games and is known for his physical play.
This is Barrie’s first time in the OHL Championship Series since 2013, led by Mark Scheifele, Aaron Ekblad, and head coach Dale Hawerchuk. London defeated the Colts in seven games to advance to the Memorial Cup.
Barrie last won the J. Ross Robertson Cup and represented the OHL at the Memorial Cup in 2000.
