Playoff Picture

[SaginawGensFan]

JM Rizk is an assistant coach in Kitchener?? I am listening to the Kitchener feed on the internet & that's what they just said! BTW, they are in a shootout...

EDIT: Guelph beats Kitchener 2-1 in a shootout.

[spiritfan8]

Wow, I know they really liked him in Kitchener, but that would be news to me too.
If he is there, he'll be getting some extra experience tonight and the next game, as DeBoer got suspended for 2 games after his outburst on Sunday.

[SaginawGensFan]

Rizk is not listed on the Rangers website as an assistant, maybe it was a one time (or 2 time) thing.

[aj0512]

Updated standings...

5) Guelph, 2 games left, 75 points
6) Plymouth, 3 games left, 73 points
7) Sarnia, 3 games left, 72 points
8) Saginaw, 3 games left, 72 points

I know there's still a lot of hockey left to be played, but I think Guelph's win over Kitchener tonight pretty much gives them the 5th seed, barring a major letdown in remaining games against Owen Sound and Erie.

Erie at Sarnia is Thursday's big game. LET'S GO OTTERS!!!!!!

[donjohnson]

I will beat bpfox to the punch here because i guarantee he's thinking the same thing as he read the last post...

Guelph is still not in the driver's seat for the 5th seed...Plymouth can win their final 3 games, have 79pts and have more wins than Guelph which would give them the #5. Nevertheless, we're going to beat plymouth on Sunday so I guess it's a moot point.

[spiritfan8]

admin said:

JM Rizk is an assistant coach in Kitchener?? I am listening to the Kitchener feed on the internet & that's what they just said!

You were correct, SGF. Per the NOOF and the KW Record:

By Jeff Hicks, Record staff
Posted 5:48 p.m.


The Kitchener Rangers will have a new assistant coach behind the bench tonight in Guelph.

Former Rangers captain Jean-Michel Rizk, who’s university playing season at Laurier is over, has signed on to help coach his former team into May’s Memorial Cup.

The Rangers are shooting for a team-record 53rd win of the season tonight against the rival Guelph Storm.

Head coach Peter DeBoer is suspended. Team captain Matt Pepe won’t play due to a sore knee.
Rizk skated with the Rangers at practice on Tuesday

Ranger fans are positive on the move, per the NOOF.

Good for JM. I guess DeBoer wasn't kidding last year when he talked about how much he hated to trade him. I do hate that this is something good about the Rangers, though!

[MidlandSpiritFan]

Well, the Spirit definitely have an uphill battle if they do not want to end up as the 8th seed. Sarnia beat Erie tonight so here's where things stand heading into Friday night.

5) Guelph, 2 games left, 75 points, 33 wins, 79 points possible
6) Sarnia, 2 games left, 74 points, 36 wins, 78 points possible
7) Plymouth, 3 games left, 73 points, 34 wins, 79 points possible
8) Saginaw, 3 games left, 72 points, 32 wins, 78 points possible

Remaining schedules...

Plymouth: Friday @ Sault Ste. Marie, Saturday vs. Sarnia, Sunday @ Saginaw

Guelph: Friday vs. Owen Sound, Saturday @ Erie

Sarnia: Friday @ Kitchener, Saturday @ Plymouth

Saginaw: Friday vs. Windsor, Saturday @ Sault Ste. Marie, Sunday vs. Plymouth

Plymouth is the only team that controls it's own destiny at this point. If they win their remaining 3 games they get the 5th seed. They would have 79 points and 37 wins. Guelph could tie them at 79 points by winning their last 2 games but would only have 35 wins.

[aj0512]

Well after tonight's games, I'm not sure if I should be happy or upset. But a point is a point...just would have been nice to get that 2nd one. I hope it doesn't cost us getting the 7th seed or higher in the end. But as for Windsor...I don't know about that team. Mickey is still with them, that's for sure.

5) Guelph: 1 game left, 77 points
6) Sarnia: 1 game left, 74 points
7) Plymouth: 2 games left, 73 points (34 wins)
8) Saginaw: 2 games left, 73 points (32 wins)

Remaining schedules...

Guelph: Saturday @ Erie

Plymouth: Saturday vs. Sarnia, Sunday @ Saginaw

Sarnia: Saturday @ Plymouth

Saginaw: Saturday @ Sault Ste. Marie, Sunday vs. Plymouth

With tonight's results, Saginaw cannot catch Guelph for the 5th seed, nor can Sarnia. Saginaw can tie them, but Guelph owns the tiebreakers. The only team who can catch them is Plymouth, who must win both of their remaining games to finish 5th.

Windsor's comeback win tonight probably changes the complexity of tomorrow's Spirit game against the Soo. The Soo needs a win in their final game to win the division. Had we won tonight, the Soo probably would have rested some of their top players. Who knows.

Who do we root for tomorrow, Plymouth or Sarnia? If Saginaw and Plymouth both win on Saturday, that will assure Sarnia of playing Kitchener in the 1st round, while the Spirit and Whalers slug it out on Sunday for the 6th seed. So I guess I'll be rooting for Plymouth, but we gotta win, too.

[spiritfan8]

Your last sentence sums it up. If we don't win, it doesn't matter what anyone else does........

The Soo people on the NOOF are not happy w/ our last second loss, and are promising to basically kick our tails tomorrow night.........

[bpfox]

The playoff implication of tonight's match ups are even more complicated than listed here. Let's not forget Guelph. They don't have lock on 5th as everyone wants to think. Erie will be looking to end their season on a positive note. A win over Guelph would do that. Don't laugh, 15 of Erie's 17 wins have come at home. If the Storm go into Erie thinking 5th place is a lock, they just might find them in a position of needing the Spirit to beat the Whalers on Sunday to lock up the 5th spot. An Erie win would also give the Whalers a shot at 5th and extra motivation for Sunday's game. The bottom line here is that 5th is the big prize in all of this and the Spirit no longer have a shot. Of the top 4 teams, London is by far the weaker opponent and ripe for a first round upset. 6th and 7th are going to get the Soo or Windsor and at this point It could be either team either way. So, by all means, root for Plymouth to win tonight. If they do, the Spirit can lose tonight and still gain 7th place with a win over Plymouth on Sunday.

So let's hope the Spirit win tonight. Let's hope the Whalers win tonight and let's hope the Storm win as well. If that happens, Sunday's game won't mean that much, but that's ok. I think we have had enough drama the last month or so anyway. I can live with either 6th or 7th place at this point. 5th is gone and 8th still sucks so 6th or 7th will be just fine thank you very much. Now let's just hope we don't have a bunch of overtime games tonight and mess up all of the scenarios even more. Peace.

Just for the record, the Soo can lose to Saginaw tonight and still win the division. If they win tonight they win the division, but for Windsor to win the division they need the Soo to lose tonight and they need to beat Kitchener tomorrow. The Soo has more wins than Windsor so owns the first tie breaker.

[spiritfan8]

Frankly, I am getting a headache from thinking all this through.
I found myself awake at 0300 pondering the various scenarios........Enough!!!!!

[bpfox]

spiritfan8 said:

Frankly, I am getting a headache from thinking all this through.
I found myself awake at 0300 pondering the various scenarios........Enough!!!!!

Hey, it's way better than contemplating who the Spirit will take with it's 1st overall pick in the up coming OHL draft. Let's hope we don't ever return to those days.

[spiritfan8]

Amen to that, brother.
I actually caught myself last night starting to complain to The Spouse about how nerve wracking this all was. Before the words were out of my mouth, I remembered when we had nothing to play for after early February. Give me hypertension and ulcers any day!

[SaginawGensFan]

Well, the game vs. Plymouth tomorrow will decide who we play in the 1st round... if we win we play the Soo, if we lose we get Kitchener.

[acin]

honestly, i think we play better against kitchener than the soo :/