The OHL Weekend Notebook recaps the weekend that was with news, information and interesting facts from both on and off the ice.
Knights sweep three-in-three set
The London Knights are starting to find their groove, taking consecutive wins over Barrie, Windsor and Sault Ste. Marie. Brody Crane, Sean McGurn and Denver Barkey powered the offence as London came back to beat Barrie Friday night on Landon Sim‘s over time winner. Rookie netminder Zachary Bowen turned in a 38-save performance in Saturday’s 6-1 road win over the Windsor Spitfires, and London bested the Soo Greyhounds 4-2 Sunday afternoon thanks to a strong performance from “twins” Barkey and Easton Cowan. Second-year winger Ruslan Gazizov has started to find his scoring touch, netting his first two goals of the season over the weekend. The Knights have made up ground after a slow start to the season, now sitting second in the Midwest with a 9-6-1-0 record.
CRANER 🥶#2023NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/ydSZwYsouM
— London Knights (@LondonKnights) November 12, 2022
Spirit log six-point weekend
The Saginaw Spirit were a perfect 3-0, defeating Sarnia, Sault Ste. Marie and Peterborough with four goals scored in all three victories. Friday’s win in Sarnia came in dramatic fashion as Buffalo Sabres prospect Josh Bloom scored the shorthanded overtime winner on a breakaway. Anaheim Ducks prospect Pavel Mintyukov remains a force, recording five points (2-3–5) in the three wins to sit second in OHL scoring with 28 points (10-18–28) through 19 games. Overage defender Roberto Mancini was a factor in Sunday’s win, earning first star honours with a goal and an assist. He continues to see big minutes on the blue line alongside Mintyukov and fellow veteran Mitchell Smith. Saginaw’s success came without rookie sensation Michael Misa, who will return from British Columbia with a silver medal from his efforts at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN! 🫡@BuffaloSabres prospect Josh Bloom finishes it off in overtime to lead the @SpiritHockey to victory, capping off a WILD night in Sarnia 📽️ pic.twitter.com/BlRZzwTjze
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) November 12, 2022
Wolves offence busts out on home ice
The Sudbury Wolves picked up were they left off after an eight-goal outburst last Sunday, turning in back-to-back six-goal efforts in home wins over the weekend. 2023 NHL Draft prospect Quentin Musty had a goal and three assists in Friday’s 6-3 win over the Guelph Storm before scoring again on Saturday as Sudbury defeated the Kitchener Rangers 6-1. Rookie defender Jakub Chromiak scored his first career OHL goal while towering 6-foot-7 defender Djibril Toure continued his great start to the season with two assists, giving him nine points (5-4–9) in 14 games. Interim coach Ken MacKenzie had success in his final three games at the helm as son Derek takes the reins in a full-time capacity Friday night at home to the Barrie Colts.
Quentin Musty can REALLY shoot the puck 👀
The #2023NHLDraft-eligible forward with a gorgeous release to make it 3-0 for the @Sudbury_Wolves 🐺 pic.twitter.com/2scOFd97IH
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) November 13, 2022
Attack solve Otters in pair of high-scoring wins
The Owen Sound Attack had their hands full with the Erie Otters out of the gate on Saturday night, falling behind 5-3 after two periods. It was all Owen Sound from there as the Attack proceeded to score five unanswered third period goals headlined by a pair of tallies from rookie Tomislav Brennan in an 8-5 win. The Attack took care of Erie on Sunday afternoon as Minnesota Wild prospect Servac Petrovsky scored a hat-trick in a 6-3 decision. 2023 NHL Draft prospect Colby Barlow is back to 100% after being sidelined by an injury. He had five points (3-2–5) over the two wins while young netminders Corbin Votary and Carter George continued to hold down the crease in the absence of injured overager Nick Chenard. The Bears remained without veteran defender Teddy Sawyer and sparkplug centreman Gavin Bryant, both of whom are out with injuries.
Servac Petrovsky 🤝 first @OHLHockey hat-trick
The @mnwild prospect scored three times during @AttackOHL‘s win Sunday! 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/OENkvuAzHt
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) November 14, 2022
Ottawa keeps cruising, climbs to 15-1
The Ottawa 67’s kept the red light busy last week, scoring 19 goals to win three and stretch their winning streak to six games. Veteran forward Cam Tolnai continued to drive the offence, racking up seven points (2-5–7) to extend his point streak to 12 in wins over Kingston, Oshawa and Niagara. Sophomore defender Thomas Sirman (1-5–6) joined fellow rearguard Jack Matier (1-5–6) in marking up the scoresheet while Montreal Canadiens prospect Vinzenz Rohrer kept producing and has points in eight straight outings. Ottawa’s power play remains red hot, with 25 man advantage markers for a League-best 37.9% efficiency rate. Ottawa’s success came without suspended winger Tyler Boucher and injured Calgary Flames prospect Jack Beck, who has been sidelined since Oct. 28th.
The @Ottawa67sHockey power-play unit is on FIRE 🔥@PredsNHL prospect Jack Matier gives Ottawa their second consecutive goal on the man-advantage, as the 67’s lead by a pair after 20 minutes 📽️ pic.twitter.com/2a4oSHRD82
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) November 12, 2022
Bulldogs take two over the weekend
The Hamilton Bulldogs let one get away on Thursday night in Barrie, but rebounded in a big way on Saturday afternoon at home as Avery Hayes stole the show in a 3-2 overtime win over the Mississauga Steelheads. Hayes scored a highlight reel goal during regulation before firing home a power play one-timer in OT. He scored again in Sunday’s 5-3 road win over the Oshawa Generals as first-year winger Florian Xhekaj earned first star honours with two goals. The recent return of Dallas Stars prospect Gavin White to the Hamilton blue line has given the Bulldogs a shot in the arm. He’s recorded four points (2-2–4) through his first four outings. Captain Logan Morrison has been reliable per usual, riding a five-game point streak to recently pass Brandon Saigeon for third in Bulldogs all-time scoring behind Arthur Kaliyev and Matt Strome. Morrison collected his 200th career point on Sunday.
Avery Hayes with a little bit of #BestOfOHL magic 🪄@BulldogsOHL forward @hayesavery92 pulls off the no-move deke 🎥@MilkUPOntario | #OHLxMilkUp pic.twitter.com/Ru3h6e5hRu
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) November 13, 2022
Hardie hits century mark for Steelheads
James Hardie became just the second player in Mississauga Steelheads history to score 100 goals, joining Owen Tippett on Saturday in Hamilton as the Steelheads fell 3-2 in a shootout to the host Bulldogs. Hardie, who scored a hat trick in Friday’s 4-1 road win over the Kitchener Rangers, is in his fourth season with Mississauga and has 10 goals, nine assists and 19 points through 17 games. The Innisfil, Ont. native attended rookie camp with the Boston Bruins this past fall. His Steelheads sit second in the Central Division with a record of 11-4-2-0.
Congratulations to overager James Hardie, who recorded his 100th career OHL goal tonight against the Hamilton Bulldogs! 🥳 #MadeofSteel pic.twitter.com/GTHSJ35frx
— Mississauga Steelheads (@OHLSteelheads) November 12, 2022
Sting scrounging up points despite short blue line
The Sarnia Sting are grinding out points despite missing some key names on the back end. Sarnia earned a point in Friday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Saginaw Spirit as captain Nolan Dillingham had an abbreviated return after missing the first 15 games of the season to injury. He was back out of the lineup on Sunday in Guelph, joining Boston Bruins prospect Ryan Mast, Ottawa Senators draftee Chandler Romeo and local product Josh Hoover on the sidelines as newcomer Mitch Young made his OHL debut as one of five defencemen. The Sting came out on top in a shootout, improving to 9-6-2-1 for third place in the West Division. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Ty Voit continues to lead the OHL in scoring with 32 points (6-26–32) while linemate Nolan Burke has set the pace in goal-scoring, lighting the lamp 15 times.
Ty Voit turned on the spin cycle 🌀@MapleLeafs prospect helped setup Nolan Burke’s league-leading 15th of the season on Sunday as @StingHockey took a shootout win in Guelph 🎥 pic.twitter.com/p4qBgA2RdV
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) November 14, 2022
Othmann debuts in maroon and white
The Peterborough Petes made a splash over the weekend, acquiring New York Rangers first round pick and 50-goal scorer Brennan Othmann from the Flint Firebirds. Othmann finished serving a two-game suspension and debuted wearing #8 for Peterborough on Sunday in Saginaw as the Petes fell 4-2. Othmann, who hadn’t seen game action since Nov. 6th, was a minus-3. The Pickering, Ont. native will suit up at the PMC on Thursday night as the Petes take on rival Oshawa.
Who’s ready? 😎 pic.twitter.com/tWGVEHKWU3
— Peterborough Petes (@PetesOHLhockey) November 13, 2022
Petrov’s point streak continues
North Bay Battalion winger Matvey Petrov owns the longest point streak of the 2022-23 season, one that spans back to Oct. 7th and has lasted 14 games. The Edmonton Oilers prospect had an assist in Sunday’s 4-3 loss to visiting Kitchener, giving him 23 points (9-14–23) in 17 contests. The first overall pick of the 2020 CHL Import Draft, Petrov comes off a 90-point (40-50–90) with the Troops. He signed an entry-level NHL contract with Edmonton in November 2021.
Never saw it coming!
A beauty from Petrov to put the Troops up 2!#TroopsXXV pic.twitter.com/ao7hsbBx5M
— North Bay Battalion (@OHLBattalion) November 13, 2022
