The defending OHL and Memorial Cup Champions are set to defend their OHL tonight after completing a thrilling comeback from a 3-0 series deficit in the Western Conference Finals vs. the Kitchener Rangers on Sunday afternoon. The Spitfires become only the 3rd OHL team to overcome a deficit to win a series (Ottawa over Oshawa 1988, Windsor over Sault Ste. Marie 2005)

As a result, the Eastern Conference Champions, the Barrie Colts await the Spitfires to arrive for Game 1 this evening. Here is a series preview courtesy of Aaron Bell of the OHL:

OHL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PREVIEW

They were the top teams in the OHL's Eastern and Western Conferences during the regular season and now the Barrie Colts and Windsor Spitfires will get the chance to show who is the best when they meet in the Rogers OHL Championship Series for the Robertson Cup.

"I think everybody's been waiting for this one all year," said Spitfires' captain Harry Young. "This series is going to have a little bit of everything."

The Rogers OHL Championship Series starts on Tuesday in Barrie (7:35 p.m. on Rogers TV, TV Cogeco and the OHL Action Pak). Game 2 is Thursday in Barrie before the series moves to Windsor for Game 3 on Sunday and Game 4 on Tuesday.

The Colts come into the finals as the Hamilton Spectator Trophy winners as the OHL's top regular season team. They put together a franchise best 57 wins and 116 points in the regular season and have steamrolled through the first three rounds of the playoffs with a 12-1 record.

Meanwhile, the Spitfires come in as the defending Robertson Cup champions and are looking to become the first team to win back-to-back Memorial Cup championships since 1995.

"Probably since the (trade) deadline, I think fans of the league were hoping this (series) would happen," said Colts' coach Marty Williamson. "We know that if you want to try to be the best then you've got to beat the best - and that's what they are."

"I think it's going to be exciting for the fans and for the league," said Spitfires' coach Bob Boughner. "Justifiably, the best two teams are left and I think it will be a great battle. I know our guys are looking forward to it. I think it will be a very exciting series for everybody to watch."

The Colts opened the playoffs with a sweep of the Sudbury Wolves and then swept the Brampton Battalion to earn a berth in the Rogers Eastern Conference Championship Series. They won the Bobby Orr Trophy after knocking off the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors in five games and are making their first appearance in the OHL Championship Series since 2002.

"We've had a couple of days off now and we just want to get back at it," said Colts' captain Stefan Della Rovere. "A lot of us in the room haven't been this far in the playoffs before. We're excited to get our feet wet and get into it."

After winning the Robertson Cup and then the Memorial Cup last Spring, the Spitfires put together another tremendous regular season with 50 wins and 106 points this year. They also swept through the first two rounds of the playoffs, eliminating the Erie Otters and then the Plymouth Whalers to earn a berth in the Rogers Western Conference Championship Series.

The Spitfires won the Wayne Gretzky Trophy on Sunday with a 4-1 win over the Kitchener Rangers in Game 7 of that series to complete an incredible comeback after losing the first three games of the series.

"Our job today as a staff and the players themselves is to try to get re-focused," Boughner said. "Obviously we went through an emotional series. (We) dug ourselves a huge hole and a credit to the players - we made our comeback. It was a feel-good thing last night and we enjoyed it but this morning you get up and re-focus and re-energize for what's going to be, I think, a huge series for both teams."

The Colts enjoyed a five-day break after eliminating the Majors last Wednesday while the Spitfires obviously took a tougher road through the Western Conference championships. Boughner said that he doesn't expect that to have a negative effect on his team.

"We're like any team at this part of the season," Boughner said. "We've got a lot of guys banged up and bruised up and tired and sore but when you're four wins away from going to the Memorial Cup, guys find ways to overcome that and battle."

The Colts won both regular season matchups, including a 4-2 win in Windsor on January 14 and then skated to an 8-5 win in Barrie on February 20.

"I think you throw out the regular season - this is a whole different animal," Williamson said. "The weight and pressure in the final - you never know what the different reactions are to it. They're on a four game winning streak, we're on a three-game winning streak and we're ready to start again on Tuesday."

The winner of this series will represent the OHL at the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Brandon, MB and will open the tournament on May 14 against the host Brandon Wheat Kings.

Despite holding home-ice advantage and being considered a slight favourite in this series, the Colts also possess significantly less playoff experience in comparison to the Spitfires. It was the experience that enabled Windsor to stave off elimination successfully vs. Kitchener.

In addition, most pundits consider the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League to be significantly tougher than the Eastern Conference this past season. So although Windsor finished 10 points behind Barrie in the overall regular season standings, these teams have little to choose between them.

In the end, I believe Windsor's playoff experience, the momentum carrying them from their comeback over Kitchener along with their superior high-end talent (Taylor Hall, Ryan Ellis, Adam Henrique, Greg Nemisz, Cam Fowler) will be too much for Barrie to handle in a seven-game series.


PREDICTION: Windsor in 6 games



Rogers OHL Championship Series for the Robertson Cup

Barrie Colts vs. Windsor Spitfires

Game 1 - Tue Apr 27 7:35 PM Windsor at Barrie (Rogers TV/TV Cogeco)
Game 2 - Thu Apr 29 7:35 PM Windsor at Barrie (Rogers TV/TV Cogeco)
Game 3 - Sun May 2 4:05 PM Barrie at Windsor (Rogers Sportsnet)
Game 4 - Tue May 4 7:05 PM Barrie at Windsor (Rogers TV/TV Cogeco)
Game 5 - Thu May 6 7:35 PM Windsor at Barrie * (Rogers TV/TV Cogeco)
Game 6 - Sat May 8 7:05 PM Barrie at Windsor * (Rogers TV/TV Cogeco)
Game 7 - Mon May 10 7:35 PM Windsor at Barrie * (Rogers TV/TV Cogeco)

* if necessary