A viewer’s guide to the East semifinal

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This article was published 12/11/2011 (5419 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Who: Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Montreal Alouettes

When: Sunday, noon

Where: Olympic Stadium

TV: TSN

At Stake: The winner advances to face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Canad Inns Stadium in the East final on Nov. 20; the loser is eliminated.

Storyline: The Als are the two-time defending Grey Cup champions and have won the East in each of the last three seasons. But Montreal’s ship is listing badly coming into this one. For starters, they are riding a three-game losing streak and are surely regretting blowing all those opportunities to wrestle the East Division title away from Winnipeg in the final weeks of the season. Second, they come into this weekend off the worst performance by a Montreal team in recent memory — a 43-1 humiliation at the hands of the B.C. Lions last weekend. And finally, their eternal ace in the hole — Anthony Calvillo — has looked more like a joker lately, mustering just 63 yards passing last week. That’s not a typo — 63 yards in four quarters.

On the flip side, the Ticats are riding a two-game losing streak of their own and looked hopeless in an ugly loss to Toronto last weekend. True, Ticats coach Marcel Bellefeuille has been tinkering with his lineup and trying out different combinations — including a two-quarterback rotation — ever since anything other than third place in the East became out of reach for the Tabbies. But there’s still value in momentum heading into the playoffs and Hamilton has absolutely none right now. A two-QB attack of Kevin Glenn and Quinton Porter will be looking to exploit a battered and vulnerable Montreal defence; but if you’re counting on Glenn, in particular, to rise to the occasion in a big game, you’re going to have to discount a lot of his past performance in the playoffs.

Who Do the Bombers Want to Win? — Pick ’em. Winnipeg is 3-0 versus Hamilton this year and 2-1 against Montreal. And that one loss to Montreal should have been a win, coming only after Winnipeg couldn’t score the winning TD from the one-yard line despite having two tries in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.

Key Matchup — Ticats rush end Justin Hickman vs. Montreal QB Calvillo. Winnipeg defensive co-ordinator Tim Burke has proven this season that the way to throw Calvillo off his game — perhaps the only way — is through a consistent rush and constant harassment. Hickman finished the season tied for the CFL sacks lead with Winnipeg’s Odell Willis and leads what can be a very effective front seven for Hamilton.

For Dessert: The West semifinal, featuring the Calgary Stampeders visiting the Edmonton Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium, will follow immediately afterwards. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (TSN). The winner advances to face the B.C. Lions in Vancouver in the West final on Nov. 20; the loser is eliminated.

— Wiecek