Playoff Preview | Perth Blue Wings vs Westport Rideaus 43 years into the making

Westport, Ontario – Tonight the Westport Rideaus and Perth Blue Wings face off in the Richardson Division Semi Finals at Westport Community Arena at 8:00. Listed are the scheduled times and places for the series.

Game 1, Friday March 2 – Westport Arena: 8:00

Game 2, Sunday March 4 – Perth Arena: 7:30

Game 3, Wednesday March 7 – Westport Arena: 8:00

Game 4, Friday March 9 – Perth Arena: 7:30

Game 5, Saturday March 10 – Westport Arena: 7:30 (If ness.)

Game 6, Wednesday March 14 – Perth Arena: 7:30 (If ness.)

Game 7, Friday March 16 – Westport Arena: 8:00 (If ness.)

It will be the first time since 1975 that the Westport Rideaus and Perth Blue Wings faceoff in a playoff series. Westport is coming off a Wild Card series loss to Athens last year. This is the 19th straight year Westport has made the post-season.

The Perth Blue Wings on the other hand were upset last year against the Athens Aeros in seven games in Richardson Division Semi-Finals. They made the championship series two years ago by losing in 5 games against Casselman.

This series goes way back 43 years ago since these two teams faced off back in 1975. This should be a tight series with two red hot teams going on winning streaks towards the end of the season.

Season Series:

Westport Rideaus 2, Perth Blue Wings 0 – Fri, Oct 20

Westport Rideaus 2, Perth Blue Wings 1 – Sun, Nov 5

Westport Rideaus 4, Perth Blue Wings 2 – Fri, Dec 1

Perth Blue Wings 3, Westport Rideaus 2 OT – Sun, Jan 28

Westport did win their season series 3-1 but the games were close to the end during the season.

Who to Watch

For the Westport Rideaus, the Blue Wings will have watch out for Blake Kettyle, Ty Nicholson, and Skylar Choffe, and Hughie McHugh. Kettyle came down after spending time in Tier 1 with Smiths Falls to start the year and in over 28 games he’s collected 18 goals, 27 assists on the campaign. He’s a guy that is a really good passer and knows how to find open space for opportunities. Nicholson is only 16 years old and scored 20 goals in his first year with Westport. Mchugh also played for Smiths Falls to start the year until being sent down. McHugh had 17 goals, 17 assists, 34 points in 27 games with the Rideaus. Anson also has a really good shot if he finds open space.

As for Goaltending, Rideaus had goalies under 3.00 on the year. Alex Zoutis had a 2.30 Goals against average and Tessier had a 2.60 Goals against average. I would expect Alex Zoutis to be the starter to start the series. The Rideaus don’t have Corey Symington who last played on Jan 28. If he returns to the lineup sometime throughout the series then he could be a big factor.

For the Perth Blue Wings, the Rideaus will have to look out for Joey Laird and Colin Baggio. These have just outstanding chemistry since being acquired nearing the trade deadline. Laird had 27 goals, 54 assists, 81 points in total this season while Baggio scored 33 goals, 37 assists, 70 points. Laird has the speed, finding opening space and a good shot when open. Baggio does a great job winning one on one battles, find open space, making goalies look silly, and finds open passing lanes. LeBlanc scored 22 goals on the year and Blue Wings captain Mack Miller with 19 goals on the year could become a big playoff factor with the amount of goals these guys had throughout the regular season.

Expect Jonathan Peacock to be the starter and potentially be a playoff factor when it comes to defense. Blue Wings were 13-1-1 in their last 15 regular season games to get to this point.

The Verdict:

The Blue Wings losses against Westport in the season series, they didn’t have any top players until they were buying at the deadline. Rideaus still have the same team worth of young players and is a bright future. This series is going to be close and could go at least 6 games between these two teams. The most important thing coming into the series is, who is going to get good start?