The schedules are (almost) set for the first round series in the 2026 GOHL Sutherland Cup Playoffs.
The eight conference quarter-finals get underway this week, with four of the series starting on Friday. The 2026 bracket — including all game schedule details — can be viewed here.
The defending Sutherland Cup champion Chatham Maroons clinched their first regular season conference title on the last day of the season. They enter the playoffs as the #1 seed in the Western Conference and will begin defense of their league title against the #8 St. Thomas Stars, marking the third GOHL playoff meeting between the teams and the 10th overall post-season match-up since 1966. The Maroons have won each of the last eight of those series.
Game 1 is 7:00pm Sunday at Chatham Memorial Arena.
Other Western Conference quarter-final series:
#2 Elmira Sugar Kings vs. #7 LaSalle Vipers (series details still to be determined)
#3 St. Marys Lincolns vs. #6 Strathroy Rockets (Game 1: Friday, 7:30pm at SMY)
#4 Stratford Warriors vs. #5 London Nationals (Game 1: Friday, 7:30pm at SFD)
The winner of the Western Conference will claim the Joe Thornton Trophy and advance to the Sutherland Cup final.
The Cambridge Redhawks — who were wire-to-wire leaders in the Eastern Conference and tied a GOHL record with a 45-win season — will start their quest for the franchise’s first Sutherland Cup by facing the #8 Caledonia Corvairs, a franchise with four Sutherland Cups, the most recent coming in 2016. This will be the first playoff meeting between the two teams since 2009 when each club was known by a different name. The Brantford Golden Eagles (predecessor of the Corvairs) swept the Guelph Dominators (predecessor of the Redhawks) in four games enroute to their first Sutherland Cup title.
Game 1 is Saturday, 7:00pm at the Galt Arena Gardens.
Other Eastern Conference quarter-final series:
#2 St. Catharines Falcons vs. #7 Ayr Centennials (Game 1: Friday, 7:00pm at SCF)
#3 Fort Erie Meteors vs. #6 Brantford Titans (Game 1: Saturday, 7:00pm at FEM)
#4 Pelham Panthers vs. #5 Port Colborne Sailors (Game 1: Friday, 7:15pm at PEL)
The winner of the Eastern Conference will claim the Tyson Downs Memorial Award and advance to the Sutherland Cup final.
Stay tuned to gohl.ca for detailed previews of all eight series.
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