ACH: CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PREVIEW 
(1) Stoney Creek Generals (18-4-2) vs (2) Whitby Dunlops (18-6-0)

The 2017 Allan Cup Hockey Championship Series starts on Saturday, March 18 at 7:15 PM between the Stoney Creek Generals and the Whitby Dunlops at the Gateway Ice Centre. The Generals and Dunlops are playing for the coveted Robertson Cup and the chance to play in April for the Allan Cup in Bouctouche, New Brunswick.

The Stoney Creek Generals are the defending Allan Cup Hockey Champions and are coming off their second straight 18-4-2 regular season. The Generals enter the Championship Series after sweeping their Semifinals series 4-0 against the Dundas Real McCoys. The Whitby Dunlops enter the Championship Series after an 18-6-0 regular season where they finished in second place, just 4 points behind the Generals. The Dunlops swept the Thorold Athletics in 4 games in their Semifinals series to make it to the Championship Series.
 

Stoney Creek Generals

The Generals were the top scoring team in the ACH Regular Season, scoring 152 goals in 24 games, an average of 6.33 goals per game. Although no Generals were in the top 8 in league scoring, the team features a well-balanced and deep offensive attack led by Matt Dzieduszycki, Nathan Pageau and Jarrett Konkle who all finished the regular season with 33 points. Sean Blanchard provides even more firepower from the blueline as the 4-year veteran led all ACH d-men in scoring with 32 points and was named the league’s best defenceman. Dzieduszycki led the way in their Semifinal series win over Dundas with 9 points, including 6 goals in the 4 game sweep over the McCoys.

Defensively the Generals gave up the fewest goals in the regular season, just 89 in 24 games for a 3.71 goals against average. Their opponents in the Championship Series, the Whitby Dunlops, were the next best with an average of 4.42 goals against per game. The Generals rely on a three-man goalie rotation to man the nets as Daniel Svedin, Matthew Sagrott and Dave Brown split equal time during the regular season, with Svedin earning the honour of being named the league’s best goalie on the year. In their Semifinal series against Dundas, Brown played the first 3 games and Sagrott was between the pipes for the final game. 

With matching 9-2-1 records at home and away this year, the Generals had the best road record and the second best home record, behind only Whitby.

On special teams, Stoney Creek finished the regular season with the second-best powerplay at 25.3%, behind only the Brantford Blast at 26.7%, while their penalty killing was the best in the league at 86.1%.
 

Whitby Dunlops

The Dunlops were the second highest scoring team in the league this season, behind only the Generals, scoring 143 goals in 24 games for an average of 5.96 goals per game. Offensively the Dunlops are led by team captain Brett McConnachie and Corey Tamblyn who tied for 4th in league scoring with 36 points. Matt Baxter led the scoring from the blueline with 21 points, which was second in the league for defencemen. McConnachie led the Dunnies with 6 points in 4 games in their Semifinal series win over Thorold, with Andrew Doyle and Jason Dale leading the way with 3 goals each against the Athletics.

Whitby finished with the second best goals against average this year after giving up 106 goals in 24 games for an average of 4.42 goals per game. The Dunlops leaned heavily on goaltender Jason Guy who played the second-most minutes in goal in the ACH this year and led the league in wins with 15, 4 more than Thorold’s Colin Dunne. Of potential concern for the Dunlops entering the Championship Series, Guy was injured in Game 2 against Thorold and did not play in game 3 or 4 and his status is unknown at this time. However, backup Matthew Cadieux stepped in and played well, winning both games for the Dunlops, stopping 52 of 57 shots fired his way.

The Dunlops had the best home record in the ACH regular season, losing only once in 12 games at the Iroquois Park Sports Centre. The only loss came on November 12 at the hands of the Dundas McCoys by a score of 4-2. Since that game, the Dunlops have won 10 straight on home ice, including 2 in their sweep of the Athletics in the Semifinals.

The Dunlops had the 4th best powerplay in the regular season at 18.3% and the 4th best penalty kill at 79.1%
 

REGULAR SEASON – HEAD TO HEAD
Whitby won the season series 4-1
11/05/16    Whitby 6 at Stoney Creek 3     
12/10/16    Stoney Creek 3 at Whitby 6     
01/21/17    Whitby 6 at Stoney Creek 5 OT  
02/11/17    Stoney Creek 6 at Whitby 7 OT  
02/20/17    Whitby 4 at Stoney Creek 6   

Leading Scorers
Stoney Creek: Matt Dzieduszycki 7 PTS (5G, 2A), Justin Donati 6 PTS (3G, 3A)
Whitby: Corey Tamblyn 10 PTS (4G, 6A), Brett McConnachie 8 PTS (4G, 4A)

Goaltenders
Stoney Creek: Matthew Sagrott (2GP, 1-0-1, 4.11 GAA, .865 SV%), Daniel Svedin (2GP, 0-0-1, 7.39 GAA, .808 SV%), Dave Brown (2GP, 0-2-0, 5.51 GAA, .861 SV%)
Whitby: Jason Guy (4GP, 3-1-0, 3.97 GAA, .910 SV%), Matthew Cadieux (1GP, 1-0-0, 5.89 GAA, .957 SV%)

Special Teams
PP%: Stoney Creek (27.3%), Whitby (7.4%)
PK%: Stoney Creek (92.6%), Whitby (72.7%)

Click here to download the complete head to head comparison (PDF)

HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Semifinals:
Stoney Creek: beat Dundas 4 games to 0
Whitby: beat Thorold 4 games to 0

Click here to view Stoney Creek’s Playoff stats

Click here to view Whitby’s Playoff stats

Click here to view the full ACH Playoffs Brackets

2017 ALLAN CUP HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES SCHEDULE:
Game 1: Sat. Mar. 18 at 7:15 PM – Whitby at Stoney Creek
Game 2: Wed. Mar. 22 at 8:00 PM – Stoney Creek at Whitby
Game 3: Fri. Mar. 24 at 8:00 PM – Whitby at Stoney Creek
Game 4: Sat. Mar. 25 at 7:30 PM – Stoney Creek at Whitby
*Game 5: Sun. Mar. 26 at 6:30 PM – Whitby at Stoney Creek
*Game 6: Wed. Mar. 29 at 8:00 PM – Stoney Creek at Whitby
*Game 7: Sat. Apr. 1 at 7:15 PM – Whitby at Stoney Creek
(* if necessary)

Note: all games in Stoney Creek are played at the Gateway Ice Centre and all games in Whitby are played at Iroquois Park Sports Centre.