It's that time of year again: 16 teams are left in their quest to win the OHL championship and a chance to represent the league in the Memorial Cup. This year we're in for a great series. Here are the matchups and my predictions:

Eastern Conference

(1)Niagara Icedogs vs. (8)Oshawa Generals
(Niagara wins 4-1)

(2)Ottawa 67's vs. (7)Belleville Bulls
(Ottawa wins 4-1)

(3)Barrie Colts vs. (6)Mississauga St. Michaels Majors
(Barrie wins 4-3)

(4)Brampton Battalion vs. (5)Sudbury Wolves
(Brampton wins 4-2)

The East is something special, these teams are very evenly matched and this conference will be very fun to watch. I believe every game will be close — expect a lot of overtime.

My dark horse two weeks before playoffs was Oshawa, this is interesting because I picked Niagara to win the East, and I am sticking with Niagara to win the series in five games, I like Oshawa's high offensive calibre, but Niagara is far too strong in all areas in the game.

Western Conference

(1)London Knights vs. (8)Windsor Spitfires
(London wins 4-2)

(2)Plymouth Whalers vs. (7)Guelph Storm
(Plymouth wins 4-3)

(3)Kitchener Rangers vs. (6)Owen Sound Attack
(Kitchener wins 4-0)

(4)Sarnia Sting vs. (5)Saginaw Spirit
(Sarnia wins 4-1)

In the West: same story as the East with no upsets, although I will be watching two series closely: London/Windsor and Plymouth/Guelph. London is still not looking their sharpest and has struggled with Windsor this year splitting the season series — keep in mind these two teams have not won at home when playing each other. In the Guelph/Plymouth series (I have Guelph as my dark horse in the East), these two teams also split the season series, however Plymouth has the momentum going into the playoffs, in the last 10 games they have gone 9-1.

I've called the only first round sweep for the Kitchener Rangers to beat the Owen Sound Attack. The Attack has not beaten Kitchener this year, perhaps it's overdue, but I don't think that will happen in this series. Both teams are in a slump so it will be a very slow but a Kitchener-dominant series. If the defending champions, Owen Sound Attack, want to stand a chance, they will need to use their home ice to their advantage; they have some of the best fans in the league and that may be a factor if they can manage to steal a win on the road — a daunting task.