Erie out-Foxes Saginaw late, Ekblad and Colts eke out second win: OHL post-game questions

Sault Ste. Marie salvages a split by chasing Owen Sound goalie Brandon Hope during a decisive win; Erie ekes out another tight win over Saginaw on a Connor McDavid overtime assist and Barrie, Guelph and London are also out to 2-0 series lead. On with the post-game questions:

Western Conference

London 6 Windsor 3 (Knights lead 2-0, Spitfires host Game 3 on Tuesday) — What does one make of London GM Mark Hunter's take on the events that set off a second-period line brawl? The uneasy relationship junior hockey has with fighting came to the fore after the teams had a dust-up in the second period, after London had already got out to a 5-0 lead. Given the reputation Hunter and London coach Dale Hunter had in their playing careers, the GM's condemnation of Windsor's Cristiano DiGiacinto might come off like concern trolling. But there was a shred of truth buried within it.

From Ryan Pyette:

As recently as 2009, the Knights ranked second in the OHL in fighting majors. Across the past five seasons, London has typically been in the meaty part of the curve while the volume of fights has declined league-wide, ranking no higher than eighth. In other words, under the Hunters London's hardly become doves on ice, but it doesn't go look for fights. That doesn't mean there's a correlation. But at least there's some acknowledgement that having teenage players whaling at each other, all out in the open, doesn't reflect well on a developmental hockey league.

Erie 4 Saginaw 3, overtime (Otters lead 2-0, Spirit host Game 3 on Monday) — How long do the Otters ride with Devin Williams in goal instead of Oscar Dansk? Short answer: until Williams gives coach Kris Knoblauch reason to make a change. The 18-year-old, who's facing his hometown team, was more composed early in Game 2 than in the opener, finishing with 22 saves on 25 shots after the Spirit staged the late rally that forced overtime.

Given Dansk's mantle as the starting goalie for Sweden at the world junior, it was a shocker. But the 19-year-old Columbus Blue Jackets pick had some winter blahs, with a 2.81 average and .882 save percentage from Feb. 1 through the end of the regular season. Williams also shut out Saginaw in early March, which might seem like the basis for the hunch.

It would have been interesting to see how Williams would have held up in a long overtime, but McDavid and Dane Fox prevented that from happening.

Does Saginaw have at least one W in it? Spirit goalie Jake Paterson (82 saves, .911 save pct. through two games) is eminently capable of being a difference-maker and his mates up front have been opportunistic in forcing each game to the wire, so it's reasonable to believe there will be at least a Game 5 back in Erie. Saginaw is playing the hell out of 19-year-old defenders Jesse Graham and Jacob Ringuette and overage Justin Sefton, though, and any slip by one of those three could sink its chances. Fox's winner came after Graham had the puck stolen by McDavid.

Guelph 3 Plymouth 0 (Storm lead 2-0, Whalers host Game 3 on Tuesday) — What can Storm supporters take out of that win? (A) at least the Storm can win ugly; and (B) sophomore goalie Justin Nichols seems playoff-ready. Granted, the Whalers only averaged 2.65 goals in the regular season, but it challenged Nichols steadily on Saturday. The 18-year-old made 30 saves, including a flashy glove stop late in the second period when the Whalers had a long one-minute, 44-second 5-on-3 advantage.

Beyond that, the series is going pretty much as expected. Guelph ultimately sat out 45-goal scorer Robby Fabbri, who took a check to the head on Friday. Plymouth's best veteran forward, Ryan Hartman, was also tossed with a game misconduct for abuse of official.

Sault Ste. Marie 7 Owen Sound 3 (tied 1-1, Attack host Game 3 on Monday) — What did the 'Hounds do to avoid a repeat of their Game 1 loss? To be honest, the way the 'Hounds got their early goals made it loud and clear that it had this one in the bag. Sergey Tolchinsky snuck into the high slot to bury a rebound in the fifth minute, and 18-year-old Michael Bunting (2G, +2) crashed the crease to poke in the 2-0 goal roughly 10 minutes later. Owen Sound wasn't capable of coming back for the second night in a row.

The 'Hounds were much more aggressive than in Game 1. The game was essentially over after it went up 4-0 on a tic-tac-toe goal from Bryan Moore off some deft feeds by Phoenix Coyotes prospect Tyler Gaudet and overage Patrick Watling. That veteran line might be the Soo's trump card later on in the post-season.

Eastern Conference

Barrie 4 Sudbury 3, overtime (Colts lead 2-0, Wolves host Game 3 on Tuesday) — Where has Barrie had the edge through a pair of one-goal games? The Colts, for one, have Aaron Ekblad along the back line, which is a major reason why they have killed off 13-of-14 Wolves power plays with a short-handed goal to boot. Its overage forwards, Tyson Fawcett (two assists Saturday) and Zach Hall (two goals, including the aforementioned shorty and the OT winner on a solo effort), also provided amply through the first two games. Nineteen-year-old Jake Dotchin, an unsigned Tampa Bay Lightning pick who was the forgotten man on Barrie's back line during its 2013 playoff run, has also been strong on the Colts second pairing.

Sudbury, which faces a must-win Game 3, has simply not played well enough to win. It was tough for either team to be consistent Saturday, where there were 12 power plays awarded in the first two periods, but that can't be an excuse when it affects both teams. The Wolves have yet to get a point from leading scorer Nick Baptiste through the first two games. Centre Mathew Campagna did net the last-minute tying goal, which might bring him to life.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.