Monday, February 6, 2012

2012 OJHL PLAYOFF DATES ANNOUNCED

Press Release

The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) today announced the playoff dates in the race for the 2012 OJHL Championship. The OJHL regular season officially ends on Sunday, February 12, 2012 with the first round of the playoffs beginning on Monday, February 13, 2012.

The playoffs will feature Divisional play-downs with the champions of the North and West Divisions squaring off in the North-West Conference Championship and the champions of the South and East Divisions facing off in the South-East Conference Championship.

Playoff dates, format and structure are as follows:


Preliminary Round:

• Preliminary Round series to be completed between February 13-20, 2012
• Top two teams in each Division to receive a bye
• Remaining four best teams will play as follows – 3rd place vs. 6th place & 4th place vs. 5th place
• Play a Best-of-Five series
• The top two teams, ranked by winning percentage, to receive home-ice advantage in the Preliminary Round


Divisional Semi-Final:

• Divisional Semi-Final series to be completed between February 21 – March 4, 2012
• 1st place in Division to play lowest remaining seed in Division
• 2nd place in Division to play second-lowest remaining seed in Division
• Play a Best-of-Seven series
• The 1st & 2nd place teams will receive home-ice advantage in the Divisional Semi-Final


Divisional Championship:

• Divisional Championship series to be completed between March 5-March 18, 2012
• Divisional Semi-Final winners to face-off (highest remaining seed receiving home-ice advantage)
• Play a Best-of-Seven series


Conference Championship:

• Conference Championship series to be completed between March 19 – April 1, 2012
• North Division champion to play West Division champion (highest seed based on winning percentage receives home-ice advantage)
• South Division champion to play East Division champion (highest seed based on winning percentage receiving home-ice advantage)
• Play a Best-of-Seven series

OJHL Championship Series for the Frank L. Buckland Trophy:

• OJHL Championship Series to be completed between April 2-15, 2012
• Winner of each Conference Championship series to play (highest winning percentage receiving home-ice)
• Play a Best-of-Seven series


Dudley Hewitt Cup, Central Canadian Junior ‘A’ Championship:

• Four team tournament to be played in Thunder Bay, Ontario from April 17-21, 2012
• OJHL Champion will represent the Ontario Junior Hockey League, playing the NOJHL champion, the SIJHL champion and the host club from the SIJHL


RBC Cup, National Junior ‘A’ Championship:

• Five team tournament to be played in Humboldt, Saskatchewan from May 5-13, 2012
• Dudley Hewitt Cup champion will represent Central Canada, playing the Eastern champion, the Western champion, the Pacific champion and the host club, Humboldt Broncos (SJHL)


Be sure to follow all the action on OJHL Live at http://ojhl.neulion.com/ojhl/, or for more information on the current OJHL regular season standings or to view the playoff structure, please visit our website at www.ojhl.ca.

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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