2016-17 OHL Season

This is the 2016-17 Ontario Hockey League season. This is the league's 47th season dating back to its' founding as the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League.
There are currently 20 teams in the OHL; 16 are based in the Canadian province of Ontario,three teams in the American state of Michigan and one team in the American state of Pennsylvania. Out of the 18 teams based in Ontario, 15 teams are in Southern Ontario, and 3 teams are in Northern Ontario.
The 20 OHL clubs play a 68 game unbalanced schedule, which starts in the third full week of September, running until the third week of March. Ninety per cent (90%) of OHL games are scheduled between Thursday and Sunday to minimize the number of school days missed for its players. Ninety-five per cent (95%) of the players in the league are attending high school or college.
==Rule changes==
The league adopted a Blindside Hit Rule whereby there will be a penalty assessed for those players who check an opponent from the blindside.  Based on the discretion of the referee, a minor, major and game misconduct or match penalty may be assessed. Such infraction would also be subject to review and possible supplementary discipline by the league.
In addition, the league took further steps to address fighting in the game by lowering the threshold prior to automatic disciplinary action being assessed from 10 fights per player per season to three fights per player per season. Players exceeding such threshold will be subject to an automatic two game suspension, for each fight exceeding the threshold. If a player is instigated upon, the fighting major is not included in the player’s total number of fights.
The league has also made an adjustment to its icing rule in adopting the current NHL hybrid icing.
==Franchise changes==
none
==Current member teams==
Ontario Hockey League	Ontario Hockey League 	Ontario Hockey League 	Ontario Hockey League 	Ontario Hockey League
Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference
Division 	Team 	City 	Arena 	Capacity
East 	Hamilton Bulldogs 	Hamilton, Ontario, Canada 	FirstOntario Centre 	17,383
East 	Kingston Frontenacs 	Kingston, Ontario, Canada 	Rogers K-Rock Centre 	5,614
East 	Oshawa Generals 	Oshawa, Ontario, Canada 	General Motors Centre 	6,125
East 	Ottawa 67's 	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 	TD Place Arena 	9,862
East 	Peterborough Petes 	Peterborough, Ontario, Canada 	Peterborough Memorial Centre 	4,329
Central 	Barrie Colts 	Barrie, Ontario, Canada 	Barrie Molson Centre 	4,195
Central 	Mississauga Steelheads 	Mississauga, Ontario, Canada 	Hershey Centre 	5,612
Central 	Niagara IceDogs 	St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada 	Meridian Centre 	5,300
Central 	North Bay Battalion 	North Bay, Ontario, Canada 	North Bay Memorial Gardens 	4,043
Central 	Sudbury Wolves 	Sudbury, Ontario, Canada 	Sudbury Community Arena 	4,640
 	 	 	 	
Division 	Team 	City 	Arena 	Capacity
Midwest 	Erie Otters 	Erie, Pennsylvania, USA 	Erie Insurance Arena 	6,833
Midwest 	Guelph Storm 	Guelph, Ontario, Canada 	Sleeman Centre 	4,715
Midwest 	Kitchener Rangers 	Kitchener, Ontario, Canada 	Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex 	7,777
Midwest 	London Knights 	London, Ontario, Canada 	Budweiser Gardens 	9,046
Midwest 	Owen Sound Attack 	Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada 	Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre	3,500
West 	Flint Firebirds 	Flint, Michigan, USA 	Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center	4,021
West 	Saginaw Spirit 	Saginaw, Michigan, USA 	Dow Event Center 	5,527
West 	Sarnia Sting 	Sarnia, Ontario, Canada 	RBC Centre 	5,500
West 	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada	Essar Centre 	4,928
West 	Windsor Spitfires 	Windsor, Ontario, Canada 	WFCU Centre 	6,450
==Standings==
===Eastern Conference===
====Eastern Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Peterborough Petes 	68	42	21	2 	3 	239	221	89
Oshawa Generals 	68	40	23	3 	2 	228	215	85
Kingston Frontenacs	68	33	26	5 	4 	179	200	75
Hamilton Bulldogs 	68	33	27	4 	4 	238	225	74
Ottawa 67's 	68	26	34	7 	1 	221	271	60
====Central Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Mississauga Steelheads	68	34	21	6 	7 	240	219	81
Sudbury Wolves 	68	27	34	7 	0 	207	265	61
Niagara IceDogs 	68	23	35	6 	4 	207	274	56
North Bay Battalion 	68	24	38	4 	2 	192	261	54
Barrie Colts 	68	17	44	6 	1 	192	291	41
===Western Conference===
====Midwest Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Erie Otters 	68	50	15	2 	1 	319	182	103
Owen Sound Attack	68	49	15	2 	2 	297	177	102
London Knights 	68	46	15	3 	4 	289	194	99
Kitchener Rangers	68	36	27	3 	2 	244	251	77
Guelph Storm 	68	21	40	5 	2 	202	297	49
====West Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	68	48	16	3 	1 	287	208	100
Windsor Spitfires 	68	41	19	5 	3 	232	185	90
Flint Firebirds 	68	32	28	3 	5 	229	242	72
Sarnia Sting 	68	31	30	6 	1 	257	277	69
Saginaw Spirit 	68	27	32	7 	2 	204	248	63
==2017 J. Ross Robertson Cup Playoffs==
===Format===
The J. Ross Robertson Cup playoffs consist of 16 teams,the top 8 from each conference. The teams play a best-of-seven game series, and the winner of each series advances to the next round. The Eastern Conference champion is awarded the Bobby Orr Trophy and the Western Conference champion is awarded the Wayne Gretzky Trophy. The two conference champions compete for the J. Ross Robertson Cup and a berth in the 2017 Memorial Cup being held at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario from May 19 to 28, 2017. If the Windsor Spitfires win the league playoffs the other finalist will qualify as the league's representative for the Memorial Cup tournament.
===East Quarterfinals===
*Peterborough Petes defeated Niagara IceDogs 4 games to none
*Mississauga Steelheads defeated Ottawa 67's 4 games to 2
*Oshawa Generals defeated Sudbury Wolves 4 games to 2
*Kingston Frontenacs defeated Hamilton Bulldogs 4 games to 3
===West Quarterfinals===
*Erie Otters defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to none
*Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defeated Flint Firebirds 4 games to 1
*Owen Sound Attack defeated Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 1
*London Knights defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 3
===East Semifinals===
*Peterborough Petes defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4 games to none
*Mississauga Steelheads defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 1
===West Semifinals===
*Erie Otters defeated London Knights 4 games to 3
*Owen Sound Attack defeated Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds  4 games to 2
===East Final===
*Mississauga Steelheads defeated Peterborough Petes 4 games to none
===West Final===
*Erie Otters defeated Owen Sound Attack 4 games to 2
===J. Ross Robertson Cup Final===
*Erie Otters defeated Mississauga Steelheads 4 games to 1
Category:2017 in hockey
Category:Ontario Hockey League seasons