By: Chris McLachlin, OHA Media
Photos: Amy Hinchey & Gar FitzGerald

PJHL NORTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
Stayner Siskins (40-2-0-0) vs Mount Forest Patriots (31-7-0-2)

The 2018 PJHL North Conference Championship has one returnee from last year; the Mount Forest Patriots from the Pollock Division, and a new champion from the Carruthers Division as the Stayner Siskins defeated the Alliston Hornets. Game one of the 2018 North Conference Championship series is Thursday, March 22 at 8:10 PM at the Stayner Memorial Arena. The winner of the North Championship advances to the OHA Schmalz Cup Semifinals against the winner of the East Conference Championship between the Lakefield Chiefs and Port Hope Panthers.

This is the second straight season the Mount Forest Patriots have advanced to the North Championship, last year they faced Alliston and lost in five games. The last time the Stayner Siskins reached this far in the Schmalz Cup playoffs was in 2004 when they lost to Wingham in the Quarterfinals. Neither team has ever won the OHA Schmalz Cup; Stayner reached the Finals in 1992, losing to the Belle River Canadiens in six games. 

Stayner Siskins
The Stayner Siskins had a fantastic regular season, finishing in first place in the Carruthers Division with a record of 40-2-0, including 29 straight wins to start the season. The Siskins were one of the top offensive teams in the entire PJHL in the regular season, amassing 299 goals for an average of 7.12 goals per game, which placed them 2nd overall, finishing behind only the Napanee Raiders who averaged 7.55 per game. When you win 40 of 42 games, you need to be strong on both sides of the puck and the Siskins also gave up the 2nd fewest goals against per game at 1.93, again only the Napanee Raiders mark of 1.75 goals against was better. Offense; defense; the Stayner Siskins had it all in 2017-18. 

Offensively the Siskins are loaded with talent, including JD Falconer who had 103 points (56G, 47A) in 38 games to lead the Carruthers Division and was second in the PJHL. Right behind Falconer was Ben Hughes who had his second straight 100-point season, finishing with 38 goals and 62 assists in 40 games. Two other players, Jordan Taylor (36) and Lucas Jeffrey (30) surpassed the 30-goal plateau and nine players averaged more than one point per game. Stayner also received offensive contributions from their blue line as Liam Kendall was sixth in team scoring with 56 points (10G, 46A) in 38 games and Austin Fischer added 40 points (12G, 28A) in 36 games. Through 15 playoff games it’s been Fischer and Joey Visconti leading the way with 21 points apiece. 

Veteran junior goaltender Marcus Semiao provides the Siskins with outstanding goaltending and he had sparkling numbers in the regular season with a record of 25-1-0, 1 shutout and a 1.69 GAA and .946 SV%. Rookie backup Zach Levac provides exceptional depth at the position as he was 15-1-0, 1 shutout and a 2.26 GAA and .916 SV% in the regular season. In the Playoffs Semiao has played the bulk of the games with a record of 8-3 with 1 shutout and a2.40 GAA and .928 SV%. 

Stayner’s special teams are quite strong as you would imagine, their powerplay ranked 4th overall in the regular season at 27.7% and so far in the playoffs they have improved to 29.3% which is second only to the Port Hope Panthers at 38.6%. On the penalty kill the Siskins are just as strong, finishing 3rd overall in the regular season at 90.3% and in the playoffs they have been even stingier, killing penalties at a rate of 95.8% which is the best mark of any team still playing. 

Mount Forest Patriots
The Mount Forest Patriots defended their Pollock Division Championship by beating the Walkerton Hawks in six thrilling games, the first five of which went into overtime. The Patriots were the top team in the Pollock during the regular season with a record of 31-7-0-2. Mount Forest scored the most goals in the their division, averaging almost 5 goals per game, which was 15th overall and were the second best defensive team to the Kincardine Bulldogs in their division, giving up only 2.60 goals per game, which was 13th best in the PJHL. The Patriots are a well-structured and balanced team who rely on production up and down their lineup to be successful but also have some top-end talent to drive the offense.

Blair Butchart and Klayton Hoelscher are the 1-2 punch up front for the Patriots as Butchart led the team in points with 79 and assists with 56 while Hoelscher was tops in goals with 42. Mount Forest has a strong supporting cast behind their top two scorers as Riley Cribbin had 54 points in 38 games and Michael Stefanielli had 41 points in 33 games. Blueliner Shawn Lantz provides much of the offense from the backend and he was fifth in team scoring with 32 points in 30 games. So far through 10 playoff games it’s been Butchart leading the way with 20 points, including 14 assists and Hoelscher with 18 points, including 12 goals, of which 4 have been game winners.

In net the Patriots have been bolstered by the return of David Lobsinger to junior hockey as the former Kitchener Dutchmen netminder hadn’t played in two years and has performed exceptionally well for Mount Forest this year. In the regular season Lobsinger was 19-7-0 with 3 shutouts and a 2.40 GAA and .924 SV%. His backup, rookie Aidan Quish, was equally solid this year with a record of 12-2-0, 2.80 GAA and .913 SV%. In the playoffs it was all Lobsinger until the final two periods of the final game against Walkerton when he came out due to injury, but before that he was 7-2 with a 3.15 GAA and .896 SV%. Quish only played in 40 minutes in the final game but performed admirably; stopping all 15 he shots he faced to earn the win in the series-clinching game over the Hawks.

In the regular season the Patriots’ powerplay was 20.5% which was 23rd overall, and so far in the playoffs they have been operating at 22.4%, 10th best in the PJHL Playoffs. Similarly, the penalty kill was at 84.0% in the regular season which was 24th overall and has dropped to 77.8% in the playoffs, 42nd overall. 

THE TALE OF THE TAPE

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Stayner:
- beat the Orillia Terriers in 4 games in the Carruthers Division Quarterfinals
- beat the Penetang Kings in 6 games in the Carruthers Division Semifinals
- beat the Alliston Hornets in 5 games in the Carruthers Division Finals

Mount Forest: 
- first round bye in the Pollock Division Quarterfinals
- beat the Wingham Ironmen in 4 games in the Pollock Division Semifinals
- beat the Walkerton Hawks in 6 games in the Pollock Division Finals

LEADING PLAYOFF SCORERS
Stayner: 
1. Austin Fischer 21 PTS (14G, 7A)
2. Joey Visconti 21 PTS (10G, 11A)
3. Jordan Taylor 20 PTS (7G, 13A)

Mount Forest: 
1. Blair Butchart 20 PTS (6G, 14A)
2. Klayton Hoelscher 18 PTS (12G, 6A)
3. Michael Stefanelli 14 PTS (9G, 5A)

GOALTENDERS:
Stayner: 
Marcus Semiao (11 GP, 8-3, 1 SO, 2.40 GAA, .928 SV%)
Zach Levac (6 GP, 4-0, 2.64 GAA, .899 SV%)

Mount Forest:
David Lobsinger (10 GP, 7-2, 3.15 GAA, .896 SV%)
Aidan Quish (1 GP, 1-0, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 SV%)

STATS
Stayner: (Regular Season | Playoffs)
Mount Forest: (Regular Season | Playoffs)

Click here to view the PJHL North Conference Playoffs Brackets

2018 PJHL NORTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES SCHEDULE:
Game 1: Thu. Mar. 22 at 8:10 PM @ Stayner
Game 2: Sat. Mar. 24 at 8:00 PM @ Mount Forest
Game 3: Sun. Mar. 25 at 1:30 PM @ Stayner
Game 4: Tue. Mar. 27 at 8:00 PM @ Mount Forest
*Game 5: Thu. Mar. 29 at 8:10 PM @ Stayner
*Game 6: Sat. Mar. 31 at 8:00 PM @ Mount Forest
*Game 7: Sun. Apr. 1 at 1:30 PM @ Stayner
(* if necessary)

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