Niagara IceDogs, Plymouth Whalers rid themselves of upstart Gens, Storm; OHL post-game questions

Canadian world junior goaltenders Mark Visentin and Scott Wedgewood pulled out all the stops to close out their teams first-round series on Sunday night. That leaves the Belleville-Ottawa and Mississauga-Barrie saw-offs as the only issues to being settled in an opening round that's been more tense than those to the east and west, where sweeps have been the rule more than the exception.

On with the post-game questions:

Plymouth 2 Guelph 1 (overtime; Whalers win Western Conference series 4-2) — Kitchener-Plymouth again? Between the big names, the fresh memory of going seven games last spring and the friction between Plymouth coach-GM Mike Vellucci and Rangers skipper Steve Spott, who used to work with the Whalers, the matchup should sell itself in both cities.

The top three scorers from the first round, the Whalers' Stefan Noesen and Rangers' Michael Catenacci and Tobias Rieder, are all involved. Each team has a key player — Whalers centre Alex Aleardi and Rangers defenceman Max Iafrate — who used to play for his opponent. Throw in the matchup of world junior netminders with Wedgewood and Anaheim Ducks second-rounder John Gibson in Kitchener's net and there shouldn't be many dull moments.

What was the source of the Whalers' improvement across the past four games? Stefan Noesen was prolific during the entire series and Wedgewood was solid in goal, but Plymouth buckled down defensively after those embarrassing first two losses. They played the entire series without overage defenceman Beau Schmitz, but seemed to miss him less and less as it went along. Part of that was that Guelph wearied as the series went on — at least until Sunday, when they played desperate. The likes of Carolina Hurricanes pick Austin Levi and undrafted Nick Malysa (team-best +7) picked up the slack.

How many sleeps until the Storm's 2013-13 season opener? The vibe for the Storm is vastly different from last season even though they finished with the same result, going out in six games to a Michigan team after a seventh-place finish. Coach Scott Walker, who got his team to be relaxed and ready only 24 hours after being humbled 9-3 in Game 5, can return 18 of the 21 players who dressed during the series. He and GM Mike Kelly won't, of course, but that is the base they will start from in June. The Storm have a good nucleus coming back, including 16-year-old Jason Dickinson (five points in the series) and Scott Kosmachuk, Tanner Richard and defenceman Matt Finn, who will each be drafted this summer.

There will be potential to get a junior-ready contributor with the No. 6 pick in this week's OHL priority selection draft. There could be room for another if Richard, the Swiss-born son of a Canadian father, is reclassified as a non-import player. That would allow Guelph to use its import slot to add skill from across the pond. (The Sarnia Sting did the same thing last season with German-born Nick Latta.)

Last season's Storm underachieved with 10 players in their age-19 and overage seasons. This season's only had five. The lone 19-year-olds, Francis Ménard and Cody McNaughton, each seem tailor-made to return next season. Guelph's overages, goalie Brandon Foote and defenders Stephen Gaskin and Kyle Pereira, each got a special sendoff before leaving the ice at the Sleeman Centre.

(Stick tap for the second question to Garth Twitchell, Storm season-ticket holder.)

Niagara 4 Oshawa 1 (IceDogs win Eastern Conf. series 4-2) — Is Visentin back in his groove? The Phoenix Coyotes prospect played a vintage Visentin game to finish off the series after having a couple of off nights by his standard last week. He was on the ball while the score was 1-1 in the second period. doing a split to stop Ottawa's most dangerous forward, fellow Phoenix pick Lucas Lessio, in the second period.

One of the best plays Visentin (27 saves) made wasn't even recorded in the save. In the second period, Oshawa hit the post and the puck was loose in the crease. Most of the time, someone's there to poke it in for the goal. Visentin just used his right skate to drag the puck under his body and get a whistle before anyone could pounce.

Why was this a perfect series finale for Niagara? Trading goals with the Generals was entertaining but probably wasn't ideal to IceDogs coach-GM Marty Williamson. For tonight's clincher, they sharpened their attention to detail defensively and seemed willing to wait them out before David Pacan scored two decisive third-period goals. The 4-1 scoreline was more in line with a lot of the IceDogs' games across the second half of the season. Their second-round opponents, (most likely) Brampton or Mississauga or Belleville, all rely on counter-attacking and waiting for more talented teams to drop their guard in the defensive zone. The IceDogs won't be able to erase their mistakes as easily against the Battalion as they could against the Generals.

Which NHL organization is secretly happy with the outcome? Probably the New York Rangers, since second-round pick Christian Thomas is free to finish the season in the American Hockey League. Thomas had four points in six games against a very good team, but that was actually less than what he contributed a season ago when the same two teams met in the second round. The diminutive winger could probably use the challenge after seemingly plateauing as a junior, judging by his stats.

Oshawa will have some positives to take out of the series, particularly 17-year-old Dan Altshuller stepping up in goal.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.