OJLL Second Round Playoff Preview

The march towards the Iroquois trophy continues tonight in Orangeville and Pickering, as the second round of the OJLL playoffs 2025 kicks off. If you have the opportunity to get out to a game this summer, check out the full schedule here. 

I wrote this morning about some takeaways from the first round, check that out here. But this afternoon, we turn our focus to the second round of the playoffs, where the four remaining teams will battle it out. It’s a battle between three teams that have competed in the Minto Cup since the pandemic, and one that is looking to re-establish their legendary roots. 

The series also present some major stylistic differences, with one more defensive and the other likely to be much more of a track meet. Let’s get into all the details you need to know!

Tale of the Tape 

Let’s start with Whitby and Beaches. They were the two highest scoring teams in the regular season, with the Warriors finishing with a league high 216 goals. Beaches finished right behind them with 214 goals, while no other team had more than 200 goals on the season. 

This series features three of the top five scoring players from the regular season including the likely league MVP in Lucas Littlejohn, who led scoring by a whopping 18 points. But he will compete against Willem Firth, who had a better points per game average, but played only 14 games while winning a championship with Cornell. 

In the other series, Orangeville had the league’s best defence this season, allowing a miniscule 149 goals. Peterborough was not far behind, allowing the fifth least goals per contest. While still effective on the other side of the ball, both teams were less dominant. Orangeville finished fifth in goals while Peterborough finished sixth. 

Team	Offensive Rank	Defensive Rank
Orangeville	5	1
Beaches	2	3
Whitby	1	8
Peterborough	6	5

Matchup History 

The Warriors lost both matchups to Beaches this year, including a 13-4 crushing in early July. Whitby rebounded vigorously after that, winning their final two games and then making it out of the first round. Josh Mills, Firth and Liam Aston all had hat-tricks in that one, as the Beaches had one of their best nights of the season. 

Of course, the matchup history goes further back. Whitby beat the Beaches in the 2022 Ontario Finals and in the Minto Cup. So there will be plenty of motivation for the veteran players on Beaches. 

Orangeville split their season series with the Lakers, with both teams winning on the road. The Northmen won 6-4 in Peterborough on June 20th, while Peterborough squeaked out an 11-9 victory at Tony Rose just 12 days ago. Did Orangeville have anything left to play for? No, but the Lakers will still take as much as they can from that victory. 

That game at Tony Rose also included 35 minutes in penalties. If there is one series that is more likely to see some fireworks, it is certainly this one. 

Keys for Each Team 

Orangeville – Get the Big Boys Going Early 

I wrote about it this morning, but Liam Matthews is one of the better big-game players in the game today, but he is also a player that loves momentum. When he can get going early in a game or series, he can be explosive in a way that few others can be. When Orangeville made their big runs last year, Matthews was usually in the middle of it. 

It’s especially important this year, as the Northmen don’t have the same overwhelming depth they have had in past seasons. Last year, veterans like Brian Jackman and Bowie Horsman were brought in at the deadline and scored some big goals for the Northmen. Even on the right side, Max Kruger and Dylan Sanderson are talented as they come, but will face either their first playoff run, or their first as the marquee option. That is never an easy adjustment.

More importantly, the Lakers have depth of their own. What Peterborough lacks is superstar talent like Matthews. He will need to be a difference maker. 

Beaches – Ride the Wave With Balanced Scoring 

Few teams have been through as much adversity as this Beaches one dating back to last year. Now they take the next step in their last run with this core group of players. I haven’t been able to attend as many games this year in person, but I have been impressed with the calm of the Beaches this season. 

Aside from maintaining that attitude, the Beaches have had success this year on the back of their depth scoring and balance. Firth is the headliner for good reason, but Kaleb Tataret scored 36 goals of his own and Liam Aston added 23 more. Deadline pickup Josh Mills has been a nice addition, with 12 goals and 13 assists in seven games. 

Last year, too much of the offence had to go through Firth. This year, they will need their second, third, fourth and fifth options to continue to chip in. 

Whitby – Win the Transition Game 

Tyden Redlick was the deadline acquisition for the Warriors from Alberta and continued to get better and better throughout the series, allowing 7 or fewer goals in three of the five games. Whitby can score, especially the two-headed monster of Littlejohn and Byrne, but Redlick will have to be sharp for them to have a chance. 

Another major factor will be his ability to make saves to spur transition. Jack Oldman is a FODE (Face Off Do Everything) for the Warriors. He finished this year with 46 points, an incredible number for a guy who takes every draw. Meanwhile Owen Tapper, who was also on the 2022 Minto Cup team, had 21 points of his own out the back door.

Whitby’s best hope is likely a higher scoring series with plenty of pace. If Redlick can hold up and the Warriors can run, they should be in a good spot. 

Peterborough – Muck it Up

Peterborough seems to have the right disposition as a team to take the Northmen deep in this series. For starters, the Lakers were one of just three teams to have more PIMs this year than the Northmen. Like it or not, intimidation is a factor in playoff lacrosse, and the Lakers are unlikely to get pushed around in the playoffs.

This will be especially important on the road, where Tony Rose can be an exceptionally difficult place to win games as a road team. Being up for the battle is only the beginning, but at least it gives them a chance. 

Peterborough will be happy to play low-scoring games with the Northmen. Offensively, they might struggle to score against this vaunted Northmen defence. But I would expect coach Hope and his team to take very few chances in transition, to grind down long possessions, and to try and mitigate Northmen runs against. 

I think Peterborough will be hard to kill. Their challenge will be staying in the fight long enough to win. 

X – Factors 

Peterborough – Sam Trumble 

Trumble is an athletic right-handed defender, so he figures to be the go-to option against Matthews and Deere. Guarding those two can be a delicate balance, as you need to be quick and defend Matthews well past the dotted line, while also avoiding exposing your back to a Deere pick. Trumble will be the guy for the Lakers in that role, and he must show up. 

Orangeville – Evan Constantopoulous 

The Northmen netminder has been a force all year, and when he is on, the Northmen will be nearly untouchable. But playoffs are another animal and no position is as mental as goaltender. The massive netminder must handle the pressure. 

Beaches – Josh Mills

Mills has two very important jobs, and might have a third as well. He need to score at an elite level, especially in the two-man game with Firth. He needs to help get Firth open, which will benefit himself, Firth, and the rest of the offensive players. And he must provide some brawn and protection should anything go awray on that side of the floor. Luckily for Beaches fans, he is capable of doing all three. 

Whitby – Jack Oldman 

I think it’s fair to say that Whitby enters as the under-dog. One of the ways to pull an upset is to control the momentum and flow of the game. Oldman has a unique ability and skill set to do just that.