By: OHA Media
Photo: Ed McPherson/OJHL Images

The OJHL North-East Conference Semifinals start on Friday, March 16 in both series as the Aurora Tigers host the Cobourg Cougars and the Wellington Dukes host the Newmarket Hurricanes. Cobourg pulled off the only upset of the first round, beating the Kingston Voyageurs in five games, but the Cougars played well in the final months of the regular season so the defending RBC Cup Champions are not to be taken lightly. The Cougars will face the top seed in the Conference, the Aurora Tigers who took out the defending Dudley-Hewitt Cup Champion Trenton Golden Hawks in six games in the first round so the Tigers have proven their mettle. The other series features two very similar teams as the Wellington Dukes finished the regular season with just one more point than the Newmarket Hurricanes. Both series has a North team up against an East team, what will the North-East Conference Championship look like?

North-East Conference Semifinals:
(1) Aurora vs (5) Cobourg (starts Mar. 16)
(2) Wellington vs (3) Newmarket (starts Mar. 16)

Let's take a look at both series in the North-East Conference Semis and see how they matched up during the regular season.

Click here to view the full OJHL Playoff Bracket including schedules for each series below.

(1) Aurora Tigers (36-12-1-5) vs (5) Cobourg Cougars (29-20-2-3)
Aurora won the season series 3-1
     09/11/17    Aurora 6 at Cobourg 1   
     09/15/17    Cobourg 1 at Aurora 7   
     12/29/17    Cobourg 0 at Aurora 4   
     01/22/18    Aurora 1 at Cobourg 5  

Leading Scorers (head-to-head)
Aurora: Jake Bricknell 12 PTS (5G, 7A) - 4 GP
Cobourg: Connor MacEachern 2 PTS (1G, 1A) - 4 GP

Leading Scorers (regular season)
Aurora: Jake Bricknell 99 PTS (35G, 64A) - 53 GP
Cobourg: George Miranda 52 PTS (16G, 36A) - 47 GP

Top Goaltender (head-to-head)
Aurora: Bradley Van Schubert (3 GP, 3-0-0, 1 SO, 0.67 GAA, .972 SV%)
Cobourg: Jorgen Johnson (2 GP, 1-1-0, 2.50 GAA, .917 SV%)

Top Goaltender (regular season)
Aurora: Bradley Van Schubert (34 GP, 21-8-1, 5 SO, 2.24 GAA, .929 SV%)
Cobourg: Elliot Gerth (27 GP, 15-7-1, 1 SO, 2.77 GAA, .907 SV%)

Special Teams (head-to-head)
Aurora: PP - 20.0%, PK - 90.9%
Cobourg: PP - 9.1%, PK - 80.0%

Special Teams (regular season)
Aurora: PP - 21.5%, PK - 90.1%
Cobourg: PP - 18.3%, PK - 85.5%

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Quarterfinals:
Aurora: beat Trenton 4 games to 2
Cobourg: beat Kingston 4 games to 1

Click here to download the complete head-to-head comparison (PDF)
Aurora stats (Regular Season | Playoffs)
Cobourg stats (Regular Season | Playoffs)

(2) Wellington Dukes (33-13-3-5) vs (3) Newmarket Hurricanes (33-14-6-1)
Newmarket won the season series 2-1-1
     09/28/17    Wellington 1 at Newmarket 0     
     11/10/17    Newmarket 4 at Wellington 4 OT  
     01/18/18    Wellington 0 at Newmarket 2     
     01/31/18    Newmarket 4 at Wellington 3  

Leading Scorers (head-to-head)
Wellington: Ben Evans 3 PTS (2G, 1A) - 3 GP
Newmarket: Owen Ramsay 5 PTS (3G, 2A) - 4 GP

Leading Scorers (regular season)
Wellington: Mitchell Martan 67 PTS (26G, 41A) - 51 GP
Newmarket: Alex Ierullo 66 PTS (25G, 41A) - 52 GP

Top Goaltender (head-to-head)
Wellington: Jonah Capriotti (4 GP, 1-2-1, 1 SO, 2.41 GAA, .935 SV%)
Newmarket: Fraser Kirk (4 GP, 2-1-0, 1 SO, 1.96 GAA, .921 SV%)

Top Goaltender (regular season)
Wellington: Jonah Capriotti (36 GP, 21-11-3, 5 SO, 2.56 GAA, .923 SV%)
Newmarket: Fraser Kirk (41 GP, 27-9-3, 5 SO, 1.86 GAA, .923 SV%)

Special Teams (head-to-head)
Wellington: PP - 12.5%, PK - 85.7%
Newmarket: PP - 14.3%, PK - 87.5%

Special Teams (regular season)
Wellington: PP - 20.6%, PK - 86.9%
Newmarket: PP - 18.6%, PK - 85.2%

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Quarterfinals: 
Wellington: beat Pickering 4 games to 3
Newmarket: beat Markham 4 games to 2

Click here to download the complete head-to-head comparison (PDF)
Wellington stats (Regular Season | Playoffs)
Newmarket stats (Regular Season | Playoffs)

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