The OHL Weekend Notebook recaps the weekend that was with news, information and interesting facts from both on and off the ice.
Battalion shuts down opposition
The North Bay Battalion have surrendered just one goal in their last five games. The Central Division-leading Troops defeated the Owen Sound Attack 4-1 on Wednesday, 2023 NHL Draft prospect Charlie Robertson blanked. the Oshawa Generals 3-0 on Friday night and Winnipeg Jets prospect Dom DiVincentiis was perfect on Sunday, stopping 27 in a 4-0 win over the visiting London Knights. DiVincentiis now has four shutouts on the season and leads the OHL with a record of 34-9-2-0 along with a 2.36 goals-against average and .918 save percentage. North Bay has surrendered 171 goals this season, the League’s second-lowest total. Newly-signed Dallas Stars prospect Kyle McDonald had a productive week, scoring four times in his three outings. He’s up to a club-leading 31 goals on the season.
Make it FOUR shutouts in the last FIVE games for the @OHLBattalion! 🧱🥅@NHLJets prospect Dom DiVincentiis turns aside all 27 shots he faced for his fourth shutout of the season as the Troops knock off the Knights on home ice 🎥 pic.twitter.com/skp2zMEnT2
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) March 12, 2023
Sting continue dominant stretch
The Sarnia Sting keep piling up the goals, and the victories. After a statement win over the Windsor Spitfires on Mar. 4th, Sarnia took back-to-back 6-3 wins on home ice this past week, defeating the Soo Greyhounds and Kitchener Rangers respectively. Nashville Predators prospect Nolan Burke continues his march to 50 goals, potting his fourth hat trick of the season on Sunday to bring him to 47. Teammate Ty Voit had a goal and two assists in the win, bringing him to 94 points (19-75–94) on the season and up over 200 in his OHL career. Sarnia continues to climb the OHL goal-scoring charts, up to a tie for fourth now with 260 as a team on the season. The race atop the West Division is still interesting, with Sarnia trailing Windsor by six points with seven games remaining.
45 ✔️ 46 ✔️ 47 ✔️
Have a night @burkie786 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/4uSjQQ1IWc
— x – Sarnia Sting (@StingHockey) March 12, 2023
Firebirds stay hot, run winning streak to seven
The Flint Firebirds won a pair of contests against the Erie Otters before defeating the Oshawa Generals 5-1 Sunday night, stretching their current winning streak to seven games. Chicago Blackawks prospect Gavin Hayes had a week to remember, scoring five goals while adding an assist as he now has 27 points in his last 16 games, helping Flint climb to fifth in the Western Conference. Winnipeg Jets prospect Dmitry Kuzmin reached 45 assists on the season last week, setting a new Firebirds club record in a single season by a blueliner. Getting behind early on Saturday night in Erie, the Firebirds switched up their netminders, with St. Louis Blues prospect Will Cranley coming in to get the win. He stopped 25 of 26 on Sunday night in Oshawa.
Saturday night hat trick for @NHLBlackhawks prospect Gavin Hayes 🎩🎩🎩
He has 25 points over his last 15 games, helping the @FlintFirebirds push their winning streak to six 🎥 pic.twitter.com/7jBEsnMGQa
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) March 12, 2023
Bulldogs have Ottawa’s number
The Hamilton Bulldogs have emerged as the team nobody wants to face in the first round of the playoffs. Hamilton doubled-up the first place Ottawa 67’s 6-3 on Sunday, marking the fourth time Hamilton has bested Ottawa this season. Mid-season additions Sahil Panwar and 2023 NHL Draft prospect Nick Lardis both had two goals and an assist as Hamilton improved to 33-26-4-0, two points up on Peterborough for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Veteran forward Lawson Sherk played a big part in Hamilton’s success last week, scoring five times while adding an assist as the Bulldogs stretched their current winning streak to four games.
No issues on clocks jumping ahead for Sahil Panwar! ⏰
The @BulldogsOHL overager opens the scoring and then sets up top #NHLDraft prospect Nick Lardis for his 35th and a quick 2-0 start for Hamilton on home ice pic.twitter.com/MfL1BOBIpf
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) March 12, 2023
Maggio, Wright fuel Spitfires to 40th win
The Windsor Spitfires won both of their contests last week, defeating the Guelph Storm 7-4 on the road Friday night before treating the WFCU Centre faithful to a 6-3 victory over the Kitchener Rangers on Saturday. Jacob Maillet had a strong outing against his former club Friday night, recording a goal and three assists while Alex Christopoulos netted a hat trick. The Spits maintained their momentum into Saturday as Matthew Maggio became the OHL’s first 100-point scorer, increasing his goal-scoring total to 49. Shane Wright earned first star honours in Saturday’s win with his first hat trick of the season. In his 14 games with the Spitfires, Wright has recorded 12 goals, 15 assists and 27 points.
Matthew Maggio’s incredible season continues! 💯 pic.twitter.com/DmLzM88kmB
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) March 12, 2023
Colts not slowing down
The Barrie Colts took back-to-back home wins last week, besting the London Knights 5-2 on Thursday before skating to a 5-2 triumph over the rival Sudbury Wolves at Sadlon Arena on Saturday. San Jose Sharks prospect Ethan Cardwell had six points (3-3–6) in the two victories as the Colts remain within striking distance of first place North Bay atop the Central Division, trailing them by five points. Evan Vierling continues his solid overage season, riding a current 11-game point streak while leading Barrie with 85 points (34-51–85) on the campaign. LA Kings prospect Brandt Clarke is on a 12-game point streak that dates back to Feb. 15th, with 22 points (6-16–22) coming in that span. Barrie is on a four-game winning streak entering this week as they prepare for a visit to Mississauga on Wednesday.
The @OHLBarrieColts earned their seventh win in eight games last night 🔥👀@SanJoseSharks prospect @EthanCardwell2 batted in the game-winning goal following a crazy sequence on the 5-on-3! 🎥 pic.twitter.com/8dY6Hbkpmy
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) March 10, 2023
Spirit do their part on home ice
The Saginaw Spirit took care of business against the two lowest-seeded teams in the Western Conference over the weekend. The Spirit beat the Erie Otters 4-1 on Thursday before Minnesota Wild prospect Hunter Haight picked up three primary assists in a 3-1 victory over the Soo Greyhounds at the Dow Event Center on Saturday.Rookie standouts Michael Misa and Zayne Parekh both remained out of the Saginaw lineup last week. New York Islanders prospect Tristan Lennox won both starts, improving to 25-15-1-2 on the season as Saginaw maintains a three-point cushion over the Flint Firebirds for home ice in the first round of the OHL Playoffs. The Spirit and Firebirds have never faced each other in the post-season, but fans in Mid-Michigan could be in store for an exciting clash if the standings hold steady in the final weeks of the season.
No 16-year-old defenceman in #OHL history had ever scored 20 goals… until Zayne Parekh accomplished that feat!
Get #MicdUp with the @SpiritHockey rookie blueliner during warmup! 🎙️: pic.twitter.com/IiyRxtI2hV
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) March 9, 2023
Generals, Frontenacs both go winless in quest for playoff berth
The battle for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference is an interesting one, with both the Oshawa Generals and Kingston Frontenacs crawling to season’s end – both dealing with injuries along the way. The Gennies have lost their last six games, with their latest setback coming at the hands of the Flint Firebirds on Sunday night. Top 2023 NHL Draft prospect Calum Ritchie didn’t see action last week and rookie standout Beckett Sennecke returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing three games. Kingston defeated the Peterborough Petes 5-4 on an Alec Belanger OT winner on Thursday before dropping a pair of outings to close out the week. The Fronts trail the Generals by one point for the eighth seed. Kingston is on the road in London, Sarnia and Kitchener next weekend. The Fronts and Generals play each other two more times, with games coming up on Mar. 22nd and Mar. 26th to close out the regular season.
The Kingston Frontenacs and Mississauga Steelheads squared off on Saturday, March 11th at Leon’s Centre. Here are the best action shots from the game.#FrontsHockey | @OHLHockey | @MNP_LLP
📸 @robert_boucher & Eric Schwar pic.twitter.com/RhIyQ3WKBl— Kingston Frontenacs (@KingstonFronts) March 12, 2023
Greyhounds eliminated from playoff picture
The Soo Greyhounds will miss out on the OHL Playoffs for the first time since 2012, dropping all three of their games last week as Kitchener and Owen Sound claimed the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference. The 18-30-9-6 Greyhounds battled the injury bug throughout the season, just recently seeing the return of 2023 NHL Draft prospect Andrew Gibson to the back end. The Hounds have a bid in to host the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Kia with current scoring leader, captain and New York Rangers prospect Bryce McConnell-Barker expected to be a core piece of their squad moving into 2023-24. Blueliner Kirill Kudryavtsev signed a three-year entry-level NHL contract with the Vancouver Canucks late last week.
Congrats Kirill Kudryavstev!@OHLHoundPower blueliner has signed a three-year entry-level #NHL contract with the @Canucks, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 #NHLDraft.
DETAILS 📰: https://t.co/gVZYsykQfw pic.twitter.com/WpD7gNtqf9
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) March 11, 2023
