Rangers heating up, stretch winning streak to four
Filip Mesar, Francesco Pinelli and Roman Schmidt were all back in the Kitchener Rangers lineup this week and it showed in the win column as Kitchener defeated Guelph, Peterborough and Niagara to climb back to .500. Mesar had six points (4-2–6) in the three wins while Pinelli added five (2-3–5). The goaltending was there too, with Marcus Vandenberg holding down the fort and making a combined 81 saves in wins over the Storm and Petes before Marco Costantini took over on Friday and made 42 saves as the Rangers defeated the IceDogs 5-1 despite being outshot. 2023 NHL Draft prospect Carson Rehkopf is riding a six-game point streak with seven goals in that span.
Blink and it’s in the back of the net 🚨@CanadiensMTL prospect Filip Mesar showed off his lightning quick release with a pair of goals for the victorious @OHLRangers on Friday ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/vNYs3ky8vh
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) December 10, 2022
Frontenacs perfect on road trip
The Kingston Frontenacs returned home with six points following wins in Niagara, Erie and Hamilton. After defeating the IceDogs in a shootout on Thursday, the Fronts turned the tables on the Erie Otters Saturday night, scoring four straight third period goals in a 4-2 road win. Francesco Arcuri’s league-leading 23rd goal of the season was the deciding goal while Mason Vaccari turned in a 33-save effort. Sunday’s win in Hamilton featured the first career hat trick from Chris Thibodeau while Mitchell Brooks and Gabriel Frasca both had a pair of assists and rookie Jacob Battaglia had a goal and an assist. The Frontenacs are now 15-12-1-1 for second place in the East Division.
It’s the first-career #OHL hat trick for Christopher Thibodeau! 🧢🧢🧢
It’s the first multi goal game for the @KingstonFronts forward, helping powering the Fronts to a perfect 3-0 road trip 🎥 pic.twitter.com/52XSAHv8IR
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) December 11, 2022
Troops stay strong, climb to second in OHL standings
The North Bay Battalion are now the second-best team in the OHL, defeating the Saginaw Spirit on Sunday to improve to 20-8-0-1. The Batts took five of a possible six points on the weekend, with the win over Saginaw following a shootout loss to the Soo Greyhounds on Thursday and a 5-2 road win over the Mississauga Steelheads on Friday. Kyle Jackson and Matvey Petrov were both dishing out the assists last week, combing for nine while sophomore Anthony Romani scored three goals in as many contests. Romani’s teddy bear toss goal 12 seconds into Thursday’s game was the fastest in Battalion history. Winnipeg Jets prospect Dom DiVincentiis continues to lead the OHL with a 2.44 goals-against average.
Wakely puts Troops up 3-2 in middle of 3rd! pic.twitter.com/ASpJsPC7Pi
— North Bay Battalion (@OHLBattalion) December 11, 2022
Knights strong between the pipes, have wins in 14 of last 16
The Kitchener Rangers weren’t the only team getting great goaltending last week as the London Knights continued their winning ways at home over the weekend. Reigning OHL Goaltender of the Year Brett Brochu prevailed in a goaltending duel at home on Friday, making 31 saves before stopping three shootout opponents as the Knights beat the first place Ottawa 67’s 1-0. Rookie Zach Bowen took over at home on Saturday, making 35 saves as London defeated Peterborough 5-2 behind a pair of goals from Landon Sim to improve to 19-8-1-0 atop the Midwest Division. San Jose Sharks prospect Max McCue returned to the Knights lineup and had three assists in Saturday’s win. The Knights have won nine of 10 and 14 of their last 16.
You’re looking at the best goalie tandem in the league pic.twitter.com/hdTNZsdTwK
— London Knights (@LondonKnights) December 4, 2022
Generals finding success with wins in five straight
The Oshawa Generals are starting to see some results. The extended their winning streak to five games on Sunday night as Lleyton Moore scored the teddy bear toss goal and Ryan Gagnier netted the shootout winner in a 4-3 victory over the Barrie Colts. Boston Bruins prospect Brett Harrison has stayed hot with goals in five of his last six outings and points in nine of 10. Gagnier was a big contributor this past week, recording four points (1-3–4) in Tuesday’s 5-3 road win over the London Knights along with three (1-2–3) on Sunday. Rookie forward Beckett Sennecke has also been on the scoresheet, scoring twice in Friday’s 7-2 win over the Soo Greyhounds. The Generals currently hold down the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with an 11-13-1-2 record.
BRING DOWN THE BEARS!! 1-1!#OSHvsBAR pic.twitter.com/7QSCkSUY7A
— Oshawa Generals (@Oshawa_Generals) December 11, 2022
Flores solid as IceDogs pick-up three points
Owen Flores was kept busy and helped the Niagara IceDogs scoop up three points last week. He turned aside 35 shots in Thursday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Kingston Frontenacs before turning in a first star performance with 43 saves in Saturday’s 2-1 home win over the Mississauga Steelheads. The 18-year-old from Antioch, Ill. is 5-7-2-1 with Niagara this season after being acquired from the London Knights where he played to a 6-8-2-2 mark as a rookie in 2021-22. Sunday’s win was the first in the OHL for IceDogs head coach Ryan Kuwabara.
DANIEL MICHAUD WINS IT FOR THE ICEDOGS! 🐶
The big centreman redirects @RibauNathan‘s point shot and the @OHLIceDogs snap a five-gaming losing streak 🎥 pic.twitter.com/CxXJnElpi7
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) December 11, 2022
Morrison sets Bulldogs record, stretches point streak to 16 games
Win or lose, Logan Morrison is always finding the scoresheet of late. The Hamilton Bulldogs captain made franchise history on Wednesday, passing Matthew Strome to capture the club’s all-time assists record with the 133rd of his OHL career. Morrison remained productive through the weekend, scoring a pair including the game winner in Saturday’s 5-3 victory over Windsor before scoring in Sunday’s 5-1 loss to Kingston to stretch his current point streak to a League-high 16 games. The Guelph, Ont. native sits second in OHL scoring with 42 points (16-26–42) in 26 contests. Hamilton currently sits at .500, owning a record of 12-12-2-0 for fourth in the East Division.
.@LoganMorrison02 wins it for the @BulldogsOHL!🎥
📊 The captain extends his point streak to 1️⃣4️⃣ games, and @HayesAvery92‘s assist means he has points in his last 1️⃣3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/mmOwYRVWeH
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) December 10, 2022
Lombardi on a tear, climbs to third in League scoring
Detroit Red Wings prospect Amadeus Lombardi is one of the hottest players in the league right now. The Flint Firebirds forward is on a six-game point streak, with multi-point outcomes in five of those outings. He scored a hat trick in Saturday’s 6-5 road win over Sarnia, netting the game winner midway through the third period. A former 13th round OHL Priority Selection choice, Lombardi has 40 point (18-22–40) over 29 contests. He was Detroit’s fourth round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
#LGRW prospect Amadeus Lombardi nets his first @OHLHockey hat-trick! 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/f1zhhkQunz
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) December 10, 2022
Attack on the wrong side of three straight one-goal decisions
The Owen Sound Attack are making things interesting, but came away from a three-game weekend with just one point as they’ve now lost four straight. The Bears fell in back-to-back contests to the division rival Guelph Storm, managing to earn a point in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss on home ice. The Soo Greyhounds got the better of the Attack on Sunday afternoon at the Bayshore despite Servac Petrovsky’s league-leading third hat trick of the season. Owen Sound trails the first place London Knights by four points in the Midwest Division, owning a record of 16-10-2-1. They’ll be in London on Friday night before wrapping up the first half at home to Windsor on Saturday.
Servac Petrovsky almost brought the @AttackOHL back to tie on Sunday afternoon as the @mnwild prospect scored a pair of late power play goals to complete his third hat trick of the season 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/2aPSsY8KUw
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) December 12, 2022
Tough week at home for Otters
The Erie Otters rounded-out a four-game home stand last week and went 0-3 against Saginaw, Windsor and Kingston. Saturday’s loss to the Frontenacs saw Erie lead 1-0 for much of the game before Kingston scored four consecutive third period goals to take two points and drop Erie’s record to 10-13-0-3, one point out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Otters are without veteran forward Liam Gilmartin until Dec. 30 as he serves a 10-game suspension while crafty offensive catalyst Colby Saganiuk is out with an injury into the new year. Blueliner Christian Kyrou’s 28 assists are the second-most in the OHL as he leads the Otters offensively with 36 points (8-28–36). Spencer Sova leads the team in goals, scoring 13 from the back end this season. The Otters close out the opening half on the road this week, making stops in Sarnia, Windsor and Saginaw.
Soundbites (pres. by @Highmark) – Coach Adams looks ahead to next week’s practices and games. #OttersNation🦦 pic.twitter.com/D2FgPLMYN6
— Erie Otters 🦦 (@ErieOtters) December 11, 2022
