The Kitchener Rangers and the Belleville Bulls have both served notice that they will be formidable foes in the 2008 Memorial Cup. Kitchener has a berth in the Cup by virtue of being the host city. And since the Rangers won the OHL's Western Conference, it meant that the Bulls, who won the Eastern Conference, were awarded a berth in the Cup as well. In the meantime, the two teams will settle who will win the OHL championship and the J. Ross Robertson Cup to go with it.

The Rangers (53-11-1-3) got to the final by sweeping the Plymouth Whalers in Round One, outscoring them 29-11. Then they swept Steven Stamkos and the Sarnia Sting, although one game was extended to triple overtime. In the Western Conference final, the Rangers put down the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in five games including a series-ending 5-0 shutout.

Meanwhile, the Bulls (48-14-4-2) charged through the first three rounds in rather convincing fashion themselves, taking out the Peterborough Petes in five games, sweeping aside the Barrie Colts, and then knocking out John Tavares and the Oshawa Generals in five with a series-ending 11-0 blowout.

Unlike last year's final when the Sudbury Wolves (29-30-3-6), a very improbable finalist, fell to the Plymouth Whalers, this year's final will feature the two best teams in the OHL. At one time, the Bulls were riding a ten game winning streak in the playoffs, while the Rangers got their playoffs rolling with a nine game winning streak. During the regular season, the Bulls scored 280 goals in 68 games (third best in the 20 team league) and gave up 175 (third). The Rangers posted similar numbers as they scored 289 goals (second behind the Generals) and gave up 174 (second).

When it comes to offense, the Rangers are led by league-leading scorer Justin Azevedo who posted 43 goals and added 81 assists during the regular season. Azevedo, who more than doubled his point production of a year ago, centers a juggernaut line between Matt Halischuk, (13-46-59) in 40 games, and Nick Spaling (38-34-72). In 13 playoff games so far, Halischuk has matched his season output of 13 goals.

Kitchener's big three lead the playoffs in scoring as Azevedo has six goals and 21 assists, Halischuk has 12 assists to go with his 13 goals, and Spaling, a 38 goal scorer during the regular season, has nine goals and 14 assists. The Rangers have other offensive weapons too as Danish rookie Mikkel Boedker, who posted 29-44-73 totals in the regular season, has seven goals and 15 assists in the playoffs. Nazem Kadri is a 25 goal scorer with six goals and 13 assists in the playoffs while Mike Duco, who scored 32 times in the regular season, already has 12 in the playoffs. Talk about a scoring machine! The Rangers have three strong lines, anyone of which can give opponents plenty of trouble.

The Bulls aren't far behind the Rangers in the offensive category even though they have missed star forward Shawn Matthias in the playoffs. In 53 regular season games, Matthias posted 32-47-79 numbers before being sidelined with mononucleosis. Matthias, you may remember, was a second round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2006, who was traded by the Wings to Florida last year in the deal that sent Todd Bertuzzi to Detroit. Matthias has resumed skating and Bulls coach George Burnett hopes to have him back at some point.

Still the Bulls have several other weapons available. Captain Matt Beleskey posted 41-49-90 totals during the season and has eight goals and 14 assists in 14 playoff games. Bryan Cameron is another key contributer who scored 41 times and added 37 helpers during the regular season. And Adam Perry, brother of Anaheim Ducks star Corey Perry, posted 32-48-80 totals and has six goals and nine assists in the playoffs. Slovenian native Jan Mursak has chipped in with eight playoff goals and Eric Tangradi, a Ducks' draft pick, posted 24-36-60 numbers over the course of the regular season. In all, the Bulls boast eight players who have ten or more points in the playoffs.

Belleville has a strong core of veterans who are all stepping up and even youngsters like Stephen Johnston are making big contributions. Johnston, who scored two goals in 56 regular season games has doubled that in 14 playoff games. The Bulls can kill you on their power-play too as the Generals found out. In the 11-0 drubbing, the Bulls connected six times with the man advantage. Even on the penalty kill, the Bulls can be dangerous. In a 5-2 win over the Generals, the speedy Cory Tanaka, who has six playoff goals, scored a goal on a penalty shot after being hauled down while the Bulls were playing two men short.

Defensively, the Rangers and Bulls are very evenly matched. The Rangers are led by sensational Swiss defender Yannick Weber who packs some added offense to the Rangers' attack. Weber averages almost a point per game having scored 20 goals in 59 regular season games to go along with 35 assists. His consistency continues in the playoffs too where he has four goals and nine assists. Veteran rearguards Robert Bortuzzo and Dan Kelly also provide the Rangers with leadership and steady defense.

For the Bulls, who are as good as any team at shutting down a good offense, defenseman P.K. Subban, a second round selection by the Montreal Canadiens in 2007, leads the way along with defensemen Nigel Williams and highly regarded sophomore Shawn Lalonde. Already, Subban has six goals and ten assists in the playoffs while Williams, a second round pick of the Avalanche in 2006, has five goals and seven assists.

As a testimony to how well the Bulls defend their zone and prevent odd-man rushes, the Generals managed just one third period goal in five games against the Bulls. Also, the Bulls held two of the OHL's top scorers in John Tavares and Brett MacLean to just one goal between them.

Both the Rangers and Bulls have excellent goaltending. In Steve Mason and Josh Unice, the Rangers have two top-notch goalies who have split the playoff games to date. Mason spent some time in the Columbus Blue Jackets' training camp this season and then went on to help Canada win its fourth straight world junior title, when he was notified that he'd been traded from the London Knights to the Rangers.

For Belleville, Mike Murphy, who was named the OHL's goaltender of the year, has played the lion's share of playoff games. If he falters, Parker Van Buskirk is capable of picking him up.

You have to think the OHL Final would have been better if both teams were battling for a berth in the Memorial Cup. Regardless, we're in for some very entertaining hockey. These teams are so evenly matched that the loser could go on to win the Memorial Cup. It's a tough series to predict, but given that the Rangers were the number one ranked team in the CHL all year and have in Steve Mason a proven goalie, who has played in some big pressure games, the Rangers should win it in seven. Game One of the OHL final is tonight in Kitchener with Game Two in Belleville on Friday, May 2.