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Majors Announce Eastern Conference Championship Schedule

April 16, 2011 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Mississauga St. Michael's Majors News Release


Mississauga, ON - The Mississauga St. Michael's Majors are pleased to announce their Eastern Conference Championship series schedule with the Niagara IceDogs. Tickets are available now at the Hershey Centre box office or visiting ticketmaster.ca.

The Majors will continue to play with home ice advantage thanks to having the best record in the Ontario Hockey League this season. The IceDogs were the third seed in the Eastern Conference, despite having the second best record. Ottawa had the second seed by virtue of winning the Eastern Division.

The series kicks off this Tuesday night in Mississauga at 7:00 PM with game one. The entire series schedule is as follows:

GAME 1: TUES, APRIL 19 @ 7:00 PM HERSHEY CENTRE

GAME 2: THURS, APRIL 21 @ 7:00 PM GATORADE GARDEN CITY COMPLEX

GAME 3: SAT, APRIL 23 @ 7:00 PM HERSHEY CENTRE

GAME 4: MON, APRIL 25 @ 7:00 PM GATORADE GARDEN CITY COMPLEX

GAME 5: TUES, APRIL 26 @ 7:00 PM HERSHEY CENTRE *

GAME 6: THURS, APRIL 28 @ 7:00 PM GATORADE GARDEN CITY COMPLEX *

GAME 7: FRIDAY, APRIL 29 @ 7:30 PM HERSHEY CENTRE *

*IF NECESSARY

It will be the first playoff meeting between the two teams since the 2008 playoffs. That was the first year since the franchises moved to Niagara and Mississauga respectively.

The series will boast several intriguing match ups. Mississaugan's will be eager to see which team's marquee player, Casey Cizikas or Ryan Strome, will step up for their respective teams. Both are Mississauga natives and are sure to have a lot of support in the stands at the Hershey Centre.

2011 National Junior Team Member Cizikas is not the only alumnus of the 2011 World Juniors in the series. Team Canada Coach Dave Cameron will have the Russian sniper who helped break Canadians hearts, Maxim Kitsyn in his line up against the IceDogs. Cameron, Cizikas and Kitsyn will be looking to better IceDogs goaltender Mark Visentin, who was a key part of the Canadian team.

Visentin will be going head to head with Majors goaltender JP Anderson. The two not only competed for a spot on the Canadian Junior roster, a spot which Visentin eventually won, but they were also two of the top goaltenders in the OHL throughout the season.

The two coaches also have some history together. Last season, Cameron led the Majors to the Eastern Conference Final while IceDogs Head Coach Marty Williamson was in charge of the Barrie Colts. Williamson's Colts took the series and the Eastern Conference before losing in the OHL Championship Series to the Windsor Spitfires.

There's also a slightly nostalgic storyline in this series. IceDogs defenseman Tim Billingsley will be facing his former team as will Majors forward Chris DeSousa. The two overagers began their OHL careers during the 2006-07 season - Billingsley with the then Toronto St. Michael's Majors and DeSousa with the then Mississauga IceDogs.

Tickets for the series are on sale now and can be purchased at the Hershey Centre box office, ticketmaster.ca or by calling 905-502-7788 x. 1.

And don't forget that 500 individual tickets to each round robin game and the semi final of the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup will be released Monday morning, April 18, at 10:00 AM. Get your tickets at the Hershey Centre box office or by visiting ticketmaster.ca.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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