The Owen Sound Attack will kick off their quest for the J. Ross Robertson Cup on Friday, Mar. 24 at 7:30pm at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre.

Squaring off against the Western Conference's 6th seeded Kitchener Rangers, the 3rd seed Attack will play the first two games of the series on home ice before the match up shifts to Kitchener for games three and four.

Owen Sound finished the 2016-17 Ontario Hockey League regular season with the league's 2nd best record at 49-15-2-2, good for 102 points and 3rd in the conference.

Seven of their 49 wins came against the Rangers, whose only victory over the Attack in the regular season occurred back on Nov. 11, 2016.

Although Owen Sound dominated the regular season series, playoffs mark the start of a new journey and that 7-1 record against the Rangers is now in the Attack's rearview mirror.

And while the focus is now on the task at hand for the Bears, 2016-17 was a regular season to remember on a number of fronts for the Owen Sound franchise.

The Attack's 49-15-2-2 record not only set a new Owen Sound record for most wins in a season (surpassing the mark of 46 set in 2010-11 by the eventual League champions), but it also set a new mark for points in a season with 102.

A big reason for the Attack's record setting season was a 15 game win streak that spanned from Friday, Dec. 9 until Thursday, Jan. 26 and set a team record for most consecutive wins.

Individually, a number of Owen Sound skaters also broke out for big years, led by Michael McNiven's stellar play in net.

McNiven set two organizational records on the year, starting with most shutouts by a netminder in Attack franchise history. Between his regular season shutouts (11) and his playoff shutouts (1), McNiven's 12 clean sheets are two more than Jordan Binnington's 10 career goose eggs as a member of the Attack. The Montreal Canadiens prospect also surpassed Binnington for most wins in a single regular season, back stopping Owen Sound to 41 wins (most in the OHL) during the 2016-17 campaign.

Joining McNiven atop a franchise list in the 2016-17 regular season was captain Santino Centorame, who recorded seven goals and 66 assists on the season to pass Chris Bigras for most points all time by a defenceman in an Attack uniform. Centorame's 73 point season gives him 157 including 27 goals and 130 assists over 229 regular season games with Owen Sound, two more than Bigras' 155 career points.

The Attack also were the only team in the OHL to boast three 40 goal scorers, with Jonah Gadjovich (46), Nick Suzuki (45) and Petrus Palmu (40) all finishing in the Top 10 in the league's goal scoring race.

Suzuki and Palmu also finished inside the Top 10 in points, with 96 and 98, respectively. The duo was joined by Kevin Hancock, who broke out for 85 points on the year, once again making Owen Sound the only team to put three players inside the league's Top 10 producers.

Kitchener has an offensive weapon of their own that shouldn't be discounted either.

Florida Panthers prospect Adam Mascherin exploded in a big way this year, and joined the century club thanks to scoring 35 times and adding 65 assists. The 3rd year forward finished just ahead of Palmu and Suzuki in the league's point scoring race and will be a key to the Rangers' offence in the first round.

Fans who are looking to take in Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals can purchase at the MacVicar & McComb ReMax Attack Box Office, online at www.attackhockey.com, or by calling 519-371-7452.

Season ticket holders are reminded that they have until 1:00pm THE DAY BEFORE EACH GAME to claim their seats before they are released for sale to the general public.

A breakdown of the season series between the Attack and Rangers, courtesy of the OHL, can be found below.
Season Series:
Owen Sound won season series 7-1-0-0
Oct. 15, 2016 – KIT 3 @ OS 5 (OS: Palmu 2G, 1A)
Nov. 11, 2016 – OS 3 @ KIT 4 (KIT: Bracco 2G, 1A)
Nov. 25, 2016 – OS 6 @ KIT 2 (OS: Palmu 2G, 1A)
Dec. 30, 2016 – OS 3 @ KIT 0 (OS: McNiven 28 SV)
Jan. 8, 2017 – KIT 2 @ OS 5 (OS: Hancock, Centorame 1G, 1A)
Jan. 29, 2017 – KIT 4 @ OS 6 (OS: Centorame 1G, 3A)
Feb 23, 2017 – OS 5 @ KIT 0 (OS: Suzuki 2G, 1A)
Mar. 18, 2017 – KIT 2 @ OS 7 (OS: Suzuki 1G, 2A)

Playoff History:
The Owen Sound Attack/Platers and Kitchener Rangers have met in the OHL Playoffs five times, with their most recent meeting in 2012.
– 2012 KIT def. OS 4-1 – 1st round / 2006 OS def. KIT 4-1 – 1st round / 2005 KIT def. OS 4-0 – 2nd round / 1998 OS def. KIT 4-2 – 1st round / 1994 OS def. KIT 4-1 – 1st round.

Series Schedule:
Game 1, Fri, Mar 24 at Owen Sound – 7:30 p.m.
Game 2, Sat, Mar 25 at Owen Sound – 7:30 p.m.
Game 3, Mon, Mar 27 at Kitchener – 7:00 p.m.
Game 4, Wed, Mar 29 at Kitchener – 7:00 p.m.
Game 5, Fri, Mar 31 at Owen Sound – 7:30 p.m.*
Game 6, Sun, Apr 2 at Kitchener – 2:00 p.m.*
Game 7, Tues, Apr 4 at Owen Sound – 7:00 p.m.*
*if necessary

A full preview of the OHL's Western Conference Playoffs can be found HERE.

The Playoff Preview is presented by Joe Tomato's, located next to the Galaxy Cinemas on the Sunset Strip. Fans can enjoy half priced wings and appetizers at Joe Tomato's following each and every Attack home game simply by bringing their ticket stubs to their waiter or waitress.

The Attack Playoffs are powered by the all new 2017 Nissan Qashqai; a real game changer coming soon to Baywest Nissan.

source: media release, Owen Sound Attack