Sidebars to Kingston-Oshawa series
It will be no ordinary playoff series when the Kingston Frontenacs take on the Oshawa Generals in a first-round, best-of-seven, Ontario Hockey League Eastern Conference set.
While first-place Kingston rang up 97 points, which was 35 more than eighth-seeded Oshawa during the regular season, this is a series with sidebars not related to where the two teams finished in the standings.
Story-lines to the series include:
* Kingston bench boss Paul McFarland and Frontenacs assistant coach John Goodwin both previously coached in Oshawa. McFarland is a former assistant coach with the Generals from two seasons ago while Goodwin worked as both an assistant and the head guy in Oshawa dating back more than 20 years ago.
* The last time Kingston won a playoff series, which was way back during the 1997-1998 season, it defeated an Oshawa team that was coached by none other than the aforementioned Goodwin.
* When Oshawa won the Memorial Cup last spring, key players for the Generals were high-scoring left winger Michael Dal Colle and plum defenseman Stephen Desrochers. Both star players were since traded by the rebuilding Generals to Kingston during the 2015-2016 season.
PHOTO: Kingston Frontenacs assistant coach John Goodwin is a former coach with the Oshawa Generals. (Photo by Ali Pearson.)
This series is definitely intriguing! Kinda hope Sporstnet will broadcast a game or two!
sorry but John Goodwin is looking a bit too much like John Goodman in that photo…lol
Oshawa will be in tough this series.
Another story line is recently traded defenceman Stephen Desrochers of the Frontenacs (Leafs prospect) is playing his former team the Oshawa Generals.
Brad, my story line does mention Desrochers playing his former team.
Shoot my bad Randy, I have a bad habit of reading half a paragraph…lol.