Monday Night Playoff Hockey

Grandville vs. West Ottawa (7 p.m. @ Georgetown) - After a mid-season stumble, Grandville is playing some of its best hockey in recent weeks, anchored by outstanding goaltending from junior Ryan Wysocki. The Bulldogs offense runs through seniors Andy Grypma and Ian Straayer, who each registered 30+ points on the season. The Panthers sport a more balanced attack, paced by Jed Grooters, Matt Jaiven, Kevin Holt and Noah Mihos, and their defensive unit can be pretty stingy. Look for a low-scoring affair.

Portage Central vs. Portage Northern (7 p.m. @ Wings) - Don't let the fact that PC won both games earlier this year fool you -- this will be a great crosstown rivalry game and promises to be the most competitive of the three meetings this year, including the last game which was an OT win for the Mustangs. PC is very balanced, with Jared Hook and Erik Hoffman leading the scoring parade, Chris Sandmeyer and Todd Miller leading the d-squad. Brogan Vandevelde has been consistently excellent all season, and has a handful of shutouts. Northern has run its offense by committee this year with big contributions from Nicco Braganini, Kevin Campbell and Doug Wheelright. Nick Kruse and Matt Duris anchor the defense, and Barry Toornman has Hasek-like moments in goal.

Mona Shores vs. Muskegon Catholic Central (5:30 p.m. @ Lakeshore) -- This first-round matchup features lots of story lines, including the battle of rookie coaches who were former assistants at Mona Shores. MCC has lots of offensive depth, lead by Adam Pieczynski, Kyle Kampenga and Evan Valk. In the d-zone, Erin Cutter clears the crease for freshman goalie Thomas Marine. The Sailors have lots of talent and lots of depth on both ends. JC Boyd and Adam Meloche score lots of goals, while Brock Carlston and Ryan Mylenek anchor the defensive corps in front of Scott Tiefenthal. My guess it that MCC coach Pat Rabbit (he of the legendary hat) tries to slow down the game and take Mona out of its flow, while MS Coach Charlie Link (he of no hat or hair) tries to make this one a track meet.

Reeths-Puffer vs. Grand Haven (7:30 p.m. @ Lakeshore) - Puffer beat Grand Haven twice this year in OK Tier 2 games, but neither was particularly easy. Both teams have outstanding goalies and use a few primary weapons to score goals. For MRP, the offense runs through Ben Sikkenga, while sophomore Eddie Young tends the goal. Grand Haven's offense starts with Derek Moore and Luke Reenders. Bucs netminder Sean Kittredge has seen a ton of rubber this season, and stopped most of it. This will be a 2-goal game, including an empty netter.

Lowell-Caledonia vs. GR Creston Central (6 p.m. @ Walker) - L/C's seniors lead the team to a Tier 3 crown and the best record in the school's history. They are loaded with offensive weapons -- Jordan Steger, Jon Kusava, Drake Chittenden, Justin Story and Bo Adams score tons of goals -- and junior netminder Corey Phillips has improved every week. They face a team from Creston Central that hasn't won game yet this season, but comes out and plays hard for the love of the game. Watch for C-C goalie Tabi Height, who can be quite acrobatic at times to keep the puck out of the net for the Rams.

Ottawa-Union vs. Rockford (8 p.m. @ Walker) - Ottawa Union's six wins this season stand as a high watermark for the program in recent years, a tribute to rookie coach Andy Soper's efforts to rebuild the program and strong play from seniors Kyle Carpenter and Jeff Zahm, plus some excellent goaltending from Tim Zmudka. The Rams, though, are playing some of their best hockey in recent weeks, handing Tier 1 champs Mona Shores their only league loss of the season and playing Forest Hills Central tough in two recent games. Senior Andrew Beeg has been a consistent go-to guy all season and senior Tyler Hall can light it up when he's on his game. Defensively, Sam Krueze is as complete a d-man as you'll find in West Michigan and junior Forrest Andrus is solid in net.

Forest Hills N/E vs. DeWitt (6 p.m. @ Griff's Icehouse) - The WMHSH Blog has to believe that there's been a lot of soul-searching in the FHN/E locker room in recent days. That's because FHN/E is flat out one of the most talented hockey teams in West Michigan, but they haven't been able to put it together lately. My money says that changes tonight. Look for big games from seniors Sam Swardenski, Matt McSween, Jeff Johnston, Nick Ullery and Andrew Rennaker to extend their high school hockey careers for (I'm sure they hope) another game with Forest Hills Central.

Forest Hills Central vs. Northview (8 p.m. @ Griff's Icehouse) - The Rangers have been, bar none, the hottest team in West Michigan down the stretch. They won the McMichigan Cup with a 3 OT win, and closed out the Tier 2 conference title with a convincing win against against Kenowa Hills. The senior line of Drew Preston, Morgan Feenie and Evan Hess is as good as you'll find locally and goalie Derek Hess can steal a game. Northview has had a tough season, but is looking to extend the careers of its own seniors, including Carolyn Harwood and goaltender Kyle Schutte. Steve Harwood and Matt Castle lead the Wildcats offensive attack.

Traverse City Central vs. Gladwin (7 p.m. @ Howe Arena) - The Trojans have been playing playoff-type hockey already this month, with a couple of hard-fought OT wins and two victories in the Trenton Showcase. They've gotten outstanding goaltending from both Hunter Kelly and Dan Spencer, while Shane Darrow and Luke Stricker have been go-to guys on O and D, respectively. They're looking to get back to Compuware, where they won it all in 2005-06.

Big Rapids vs. Gaylord (7 p.m. @ Ferris State) - A tough first round draw for the Cardinals, but at least it's on home ice. Sophomores Mike Hickson and Tom Hancock seem to generate lots of offense for 10th graders, while senior defenseman Nick Goodfellow and goalie Bob Butterfield keep games in reach. Gaylord can fly, but Big Rapids has the ability and size to slow things down. Big Rapids needs to play the kind of game it had against GRCC or FHN/E to win this one.