The OHL Weekend Notebook recaps the weekend that was with news, information and interesting facts from both on and off the ice.
Spitfires stretch lead atop West Division
The Windsor Spitfires have seen their cushion atop the West Division reach 16 points, extending their current winning streak to seven with victories over Flint, Sault Ste. Marie and Saginaw last week. Shane Wright has remained out of the Windsor lineup with a lower body injury, but that hasn’t slowed down the Spitfires, who saw the long-awaited return of forward Ryan Abraham and goaltender Mathias Onuska last week. Abraham put up five points (1-4–5) in his first three games since going down with an injury on Nov. 25th. Liam Greentree continues to produce, stretching his current point streak to 10 games as he leads OHL rookies with 24 goals. In goal, Joey Costanzo became Windsor’s first 20-game winner since Michael DiPietro in 2017-18 while captain Matthew Maggio continues to lead the OHL in scoring with 41 goals and 84 points.
HIT THAT GRIDDY, RODWIN! 🕺
The @SpitsHockey defenceman plays the hero and puts home the overtime-winner to give Windsor their sixth straight victory 📽️ pic.twitter.com/mQBPVd6nQG
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 10, 2023
Knights’ winning streak reaches eight
The London Knights made quick work of both the Erie Otters and Guelph Storm on Friday and Saturday to stretch their current winning streak to eight games. After prevailing 5-4 over the Kitchener Rangers in a last minute comeback on Wednesday, the Knights outscored Erie and Guelph 13-2 on the weekend, continuing to find success despite an injury to starting goaltender Brett Brochu. Blueliner Logan Mailloux scored twice over the weekend, putting him in a tie for the league-lead with 19 goals by a defenceman. Sean McGurn (5-8–13), Ruslan Gazizov (1-9–10) and George Diaco (2-5–7) were all regular offensive contributors in four victories last week as London is well on its way to a fourth consecutive Midwest Division title, owning a record of 36-13-1-0.
Logan Mailloux gets his 1⃣9⃣th of the campaign and the @LondonKnights lead 3-0! 🎥
No defenceman has more goals than the @CanadiensMTL first-round pick 🚨 pic.twitter.com/jZi6Otvatd
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 12, 2023
Rangers see immediate improvement following shuffle
The Kitchener Rangers announced the dismissal of head coach Chris Dennis following Wednesday’s collapse against the London Knights, and came out to soundly defeat the defending OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs 8-1 on Friday thanks to hat tricks from both Matthew Sop and Carson Rehkopf. Kitchener bested the Barrie Colts 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night as Dallas Stars prospect Francesco Arcuri had two goals and two assists, setting up Danny Zhilkin’s game winner 3:25 into overtime. Rangers general manager Mike McKenzie, who has served as Kitchener’s head coach in the past, has returned to the bench alongside assistants Dennis Wideman, Brennan Menard and Brandon Merli for the balance of the 2022-23 season. A looming Tuesday night matchup with the London Knights will provide a good test for the new-look Rangers.
Zhilkin ends it in OT 🚨🎥@NHLJets prospect @ZhilkinDanny plays overtime hero and the @OHLRangers earn the extra point in Barrie 🦸♂️ pic.twitter.com/vaoDAgWQtu
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 12, 2023
Hounds earned five of six points last week
Entering the week sputtering with losses in seven straight, the Soo Greyhounds turned things around, picking up five of a possible six points. The Greyhounds, who have submitted their bid to host the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Kia, fell 5-4 on a Rodwin Dionicio overtime winner in Windsor on Thursday before heading to Saginaw where they’d find the win column as Charlie Schenkel made 30 saves and Mark Duarte scored the shooting winner in a 4-3 final. With a 12-1 drubbing at the hands of the Sarnia Sting last weekend still fresh in their minds, the Hounds turned the tables on Sarnia at GFL Memorial Gardens on Sunday afternoon as Brenden Sirizzotti scored twice in a 7-3 rout. The Greyhounds have kicked off a four-game home stand and three points back of Kitchener for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The D’Intino ➡️ Fantino connection 🔥
Jordan D’Intino’s beautiful setup for Julian Fantino helped sparked a 7-3 victory for the @OHLHoundPower, while also collecting Sunday’s #BestOfOHL honours📽️@MilkUPOntario | #MilkUPxOHL pic.twitter.com/ssk5cRRSxO
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 12, 2023
Trout triumphant on home ice
The Mississauga Steelheads improved to 6-2 on home ice since the OHL trade deadline last week, defeating Owen Sound and Sudbury on Friday and Saturday. Overage captain James Hardie continues to produce with five points (3-2–5) in the two victories while recent addition Angus MacDonell scored twice in Sunday’s shootout win over Sudbury, giving him 21 goals on the season. Rookie netminder Ryerson Leenders picked up both wins over the weekend, taking over for an injured Alessio Beglieri in Saturday’s win. The 16-year-old Leenders was the highest-drafted goaltender in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection and owns a 9-11-2-0 record this season. Despite moving out a number of veterans mid-season, Mississauga remains in the conversation for home ice advantage in the first round of the OHL Playoffs, sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 26-21-4-0.
Charlie Callaghan calls game! 👀
The @OHLSteelheads veteran defenceman ends it in a shootout! 🎥 pic.twitter.com/h2WnfyyEQa
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 12, 2023
Bulldogs have Peterborough’s number
The Hamilton Bulldogs were beaten soundly on Friday in Kitchener, but rebounded on Saturday at home in a 4-2 win over the Peterborough Petes. The Bulldogs, who dealt veterans Avery Hayes and Gavin White to Peterborough earlier this season, have defeated the Petes twice in two weeks. Former Petes winger Nick Lardis had a big showing on Saturday with two goals and an assist. The 2023 NHL Draft eligible has 27 points (15-12–27) in 15 games since joining Hamilton.
.@NickLardis91 just making it look easy 😍
The #NHLDraft-eligible winger showed a superb display of #BestOfOHL skill for the game-winner in a 4-2 @BulldogsOHL victory 🎥@MilkUPOntario | #MilkUPxOHL pic.twitter.com/bliIC0bCFm
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 12, 2023
Lombardi runs point streak to 10 as Firebirds top Owen Sound
The Flint Firebirds entered Sunday’s action in Owen Sound on a three-game losing slide before a goal and an assist from Detroit Red Wings prospect Amadeus Lombardi powered a 4-2 win at the Bayshore. Lombardi, who’s point streak has reached 10 games, continues to pace Flint offensively with 34 goals, 39 assists and 73 points in 53 games this season. The 19-year-old from Aurora, Ont. sits fifth in OHL scoring. He signed an entry-level NHL contract with Detroit on Dec. 23rd. Flint sits seventh in the Western Conference with a record of 24-25-3-1.
Goals in 5⃣ straight for Lombardi! 🔥
The @DetroitRedWings prospect scores his 34th of the campaign and the @FlintFirebirds strike first in Owen Sound 🎥 pic.twitter.com/5HX1V7foxU
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 12, 2023
Generals take key matchup against Sudbury
Entering Sunday’s action three points back of the Sudbury Wolves for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Oshawa Generals struck for eight goals, with overage forward Cameron Butler providing three of them, in an 8-5 win over the Wolves. Butler’s hat trick helped him reach the 20-goal milestone for the first time in his OHL career. Big centreman Dylan Roobroeck continued his strong play, extending his point streak to six games with a goal an an assist – he also won 16 of 25 faceoffs. The Generals now trail Sudbury by one point with a game in hand heading into a Wednesday night home date against the Hamilton Bulldogs.
First career #OHL hat trick for @Oshawa_Generals overage forward Cam Butler on Sunday! 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/rN6cSq9r8G
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 13, 2023
He has big day in Kingston as IceDogs snap slide
The Niagara IceDogs put an eight-game losing slide behind them on Sunday in Kingston as 16-year-old rookie Kevin He had two goals and two assists in a 5-2 win over the Frontenacs. Rookie defender Ryan Vannetten scored his first career OHL goal while recent addition Alex Assadourian hit double-digits on the season with his 10th tally. The IceDogs were outshot 33-18 but managed to come away with two points, improving to 10-33-6-1.
Kevin He LOVES to score 🔥
Zak Lavoie makes the perfect pass to the @OHLIceDogs rookie, as he taps in his 16th of the season to give Niagara a 1-0 lead in Kingston 📽️ pic.twitter.com/vo1B6Xuugo
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 12, 2023
67’s no match for Olympiques
The Ottawa 67’s had their hands full with the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques last week as the OHL’s first place team was outscored 9-3 in a pair of losses. Buffalo Sabres prospect Olivier Nadeau racked up six goals and an assist in the two Gatineau victories as the Olympiques improved to 34-12-4-2 for second place in the QMJHL’s Western Conference. Ottawa sits four points up on North Bay for first place in the OHL’s Eastern Conference, owning a record of 36-11-2-2. It wasn’t all bad news for the Barber Poles over the weekend as they defeated the Niagara IceDogs 6-1 on Friday behind a four-goal performance from Logan Morrison. The reigning OHL Playoff MVP enters this week with 30 goals on the season and 101 in his OHL career.
ICYMI: #LetsGoBuffalo prospect Olivier Nadeau scored four times as the @OlympiquesGAT took Game 1 of the Alexandra Cup Thursday night! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/BcWe6l9FeL
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) February 10, 2023
