Ontario Hockey League action heads into the fifth week of the regular season schedule with 25 games beginning tonight through Sunday.
Here’s a look at what’s going on around the league:
AT THE RINKS:
Sting look to haunt Rangers in Halloween Game on Thursday: Get your costumes out! The Sarnia Sting are hosting their annual Halloween Game on Thursday night at home to the Kitchener Rangers. The best dressed fans in attendance will win great prizes including Detroit Red Wings tickets or a Sarnia Sting 34-game flex pack! For more information visit sarniasting.com.
Petes support Bras Around the Building campaign Thursday night: The Peterborough Petes are teaming up with the Canadian Cancer Society to collect bras for their annual Bras Around the Building campaign on Thursday night when they host the rival Oshawa Generals. For every new or gently used bra donated during the campaign, OLG will donate $1 to support breast cancer research. Campaign volunteers will be set up in the North Lobby at the PMC on Thursday.
Knights support Jumpstart Program on Friday: The London Knights are playing to give kids a sporting chance on Friday night at home to the Owen Sound Attack. The Knights will wear special Jumpstart themed jerseys for the game, and immediately following the game the jerseys will go live for auction on www.londonknights.com. All proceeds from this event, in addition to the donations at the door, will be donated to the Jumpstart program. The jersey auction will take place online until Sunday, November 8th at 10:00pm.
Otters host Family Night on Friday: Looking for a great deal? Look no further. It’s Family Night with the Erie Otters on Friday as a family of four can get into the game for the low price of $39. All fans in attendance can take advantage of special concession deals with $1 Smith’s hot dogs, $1 Popcorn, and $1 soft drinks! For more information on Erie Otters Family Nights, visit ottershockey.com.
Skate with the Otters on Saturday: Skate with your favourite Erie Otters on Saturday night! Taylor Raddysh, Alex DeBrincat, Nick Betz, Vanya Lodnia, Riley MacRae, Patrick Fellows and Mitchell Byrne will be skating with fans post-game after the Otters host the Saginaw Spirit on Saturday! For more information visit ottershockey.com.
Pink in the Rink with the Generals on Sunday: The Oshawa Generals host their second annual Pink in the Rink Night on Sunday at home to the Barrie Colts. Players will wear commemorative jerseys to be auctioned off online following the game. All proceeds from the sale of jerseys will go to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. For more information on the Generals Pink in the Rink Night, visit oshawagenerals.com.
Family Night in Sudbury on Sunday: Sunday Night is Family Night in Sudbury as the Wolves host the Hamilton Bulldogs. All youngsters 12 and under accompanied by an adult will be admitted for only $7.00 (walk-up only). Don’t miss out on the great price!
BATTALION’S ZACH BRATINA RECEIVES WEEKLY HONOURS:
Zach Bratina of the North Bay Battalion is the Pioneer Energy OHL Player of the Week for the week ending October 18 after leading the league with nine points in four games scoring an impressive eight goals and one assist with a plus-minus rating of plus-7. Bratina helped the Battalion claim six of a possible eight points this past week highlighted by the first two hat-trick performances of his career.
FOUR PLAYERS ENTER WEEKEND ON NINE GAME POINT STREAKS:
Four OHL players enter the weekend on nine game point streaks. Stephen Harper (Hamilton Bulldogs), Adam Mascherin (Kitchener Rangers), Taylor Raddysh (Erie Otters) and Spencer Watson (Kingston Frontenacs) have all strung together points in nine straight, leading their respective clubs. Travis Konecny (Ottawa 67’s) and Alexander Nylander (Mississauga Steelheads) are both on seven game point streaks while reigning Pioneer Energy OHL Player of the Week Zach Bratina (North Bay Battalion) is on a six game trend.
TIP TOP TAILORS OHL PLAYS OF THE WEEK – WEEK 4:
The London Knights and Erie Otters wow us with some incredible passing before Pioneer Energy OHL Player of the Week Zach Bratina takes the cake with some great individual moves in the fourth edition of the Tip Top Tailors OHL Plays of the Week.
GETTING ON THE BOARD: FIRST OHL GOALS IN 2015-16:
59 different players have scored their first OHL goal this season! Revisit their exciting milestones right here! Click on a player’s name below to watch his first OHL goal!
Vladislav Barulin, Daniel Beaudoin, Robbie Burt, Chase Campbell, Cole Candella, Jacob Cascagnette, Sasha Chmelevski, Ryan Cranford, Cam Dineen, Sean Durzi, Stepan Falkovsky, Christian Fischer, Morgan Frost, Ben Garagan, Brady Gilmour, Christian Girhiny, Ben Gleason, Brendan Harrogate, Jake Henderson, Noel Hoefenmayer, Aiden Jamieson, Ben Jones, Max Jones, Olli Juolevi, Boris Katchouk, Max Kislinger, Jack Kopacka, David Levin, Vanya Lodnia, Lukas Lofquist, Alan Lyszczarczyk, Riley MacRae, Ryan McGregor, Greg Meireles, Mitchell Mendonca, Jarrett Meyer, Christian Mieritz, Daniel Muzito-Bagenda, Julius Nattinen, Alex Nylander, Tyler Parsons, J.J. Piccinich, Zack Pittman, Isaac Ratcliffe, Daniel Robertson, Jason Robertson, Vili Saarijarvi, Jordan Sambrook, Eddie Schulz, Mikhail Sergachev, Kole Sherwood, Nicolas Sicoly, Dmitry Sokolov, Matthew Strome, Nick Suzuki, Robert Thomas, Owen Tippett, Matthew Tkachuk, Gabe Vilardi
ROGERS HOMETOWN HOCKEY TOUR A HIT IN KITCHENER AND NORTH BAY:
The Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour was a hit in both Kitchener and North Bay over the past two weeks, with communities coming together around the game we all know and love. Re-visit some of the great stories ranging from features on Kitchener native Mark Scheifele to a closer look at North Bay hockey standouts in Nick Kypreos, Chris Neil and Nick Paul. For those stories and more, visithometownhockey.com.
ALUMNI NOTES:
Brock McGinn scores first NHL goal in debut: It only took Brock McGinn 55 seconds to score his first NHL goal as the Guelph Storm graduate took a pass from linemate Kris Versteeg to beat Detroit’s Jimmy Howard in his NHL debut. A second round pick by the Canes in 2012, McGinn spent last season with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers recording 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points in 73 games. McGinn played in 227 career OHL regular season games along with 27 playoff contests. He was an OHL Champion with the Storm in 2014.
Nikolay Goldobin scores first NHL goal: Former Sarnia Sting winger Nikolay Goldobin became a beneficiary of playing with Big Joe in just his second NHL game. Goldobin took a feed from Soo Greyhounds graduate Joe Thornton to beat New York’s Jaroslav Halak 41 seconds into the second period on Sunday. Goldobin scored 68 goals over two seasons with the Sting from 2012-14 before spending a year in Finland. He’s a former first round pick of San Jose in 2014.
Agozzino, Khokhlachev, Quine among AHL’s early season scoring leaders: A few OHL graduates are off to hot starts in the American Hockey League this season. Niagara IceDogs grad Andrew Agozzino (3, 4-3–7), Windsor Spitfires alumnus Alexander Khokhlachev (5, 2-5–7) and Belleville Bulls graduate Alan Quine (6, 1-6–7) are all tied for second in the league with seven points each.
Petes grad D’Agostini named OUA Male Athlete of the Week: After a season in which he received the Scott Yanchus Award as the Guelph Male Rookie of the Year and was named the Top Goalie at the University Cup in Halifax, Peterborough Petes graduate Andrew D’Agostini is showing no signs of slowing down. Despite the Gryphons splitting their weekend series, D’Agostini was outstanding in net turning aside 71 of 73 shots against to be named the OUA’s Male Athlete of the Week. D’Agostini appeared in 190 games over five seasons in Peterborough from 2009-2014. The Scarborough, ON native was outstanding in the 2014 OHL Playoffs, recording a 2.84 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage in 11 games, helping lead the Petes to a first round series comeback against the Kingston Frontenacs after being down 3-0.
KEY WEEKEND MATCHUPS:
Kitchener Rangers (6-0-3-0) vs. Sarnia Sting (7-2-1-0)
Thursday October 22 at Sarnia
Two of the OHL’s hottest teams square off in Sarnia on Thursday amidst a crowd of ghosts and ghouls on hand for the Sting’s annual Halloween Game. The Rangers propelled themselves into the fifth spot on the BMO CHL Top-10 Rankings this week while the Sting earned themselves an honourable mention. The first meeting of the season between the two clubs is shaping up to be a good one.
Kingston Frontenacs (6-2-1-1) vs. Erie Otters (9-0-0-0)
Friday October 23 at Erie
The Kingston Frontenacs are picking up steam, but is the East Division’s first place club any match for the undefeated Erie Otters? Lawson Crouse, Roland McKeown and the Frontenacs visit the Otters on Friday to kick off a three-in-three weekend on the road that also features visits to Niagara and Guelph. 2015 OHL Goaltender of the Year Lucas Peressini will have to be sharp against Alex DeBrincat and the Otters’ league-leading offence.
London Knights (6-1-1-1) vs. Windsor Spitfires (6-1-3-0)
Sunday October 25 at Windsor
One of the oldest rivalries in the league keeps getting better as the London Knights visit the Windsor Spitfires on Sunday afternoon. The Spits were more than the Knights could handle a few weeks ago, taking a 6-5 overtime decision on October 2nd in London. Windsor will have their hands full this time around though, suiting up in their third game in four days upon returning from a northern road swing with visits to North Bay and Sudbury on Thursday and Friday. The Knights are playing a three-in-three of their own this weekend, hitting the ice in their third game to face Windsor in what’s shaping up to be a marathon finish between the two rivals.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
Thursday, October 22
Windsor at North Bay – 7:00pm
Kitchener at Sarnia – 7:05pm
Oshawa at Peterborough – 7:05pm
Flint at Barrie – 7:30pm
Friday, October 23
Kingston at Erie – 7:00pm
Oshawa at Ottawa – 7:00pm
Windsor at Sudbury – 7:00pm
Sarnia at Sault Ste. Marie – 7:07pm
Niagara at Guelph – 7:30pm
Owen Sound at London – 7:30pm
Peterborough at Kitchener – 7:30pm
Saginaw at Mississauga – 7:30pm
Saturday, October 24
Kingston at Niagara – 7:00pm
North Bay at London – 7:00pm
Saginaw at Erie – 7:00pm
Hamilton at Sault Ste. Marie – 7:07pm
Flint at Owen Sound – 7:30pm
Sudbury at Barrie – 7:30pm
Sunday, October 25
Kingston at Guelph – 2:00pm
Saginaw at Kitchener – 2:00pm
North Bay at Mississauga – 2:00pm
London at Windsor – 2:05pm
Peterborough at Ottawa – 3:00pm
Barrie at Oshawa – 6:05pm
Hamilton at Sudbury – 6:30pm
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Labanc, a 19-year-old from Staten Island, New York, is playing in his third OHL season with the Colts. The sixth round pick of the Sharks in the 2014 NHL Draft has 15 points through 12 games so far this season after recording 107 points in 68 games last season with a franchise record 76 assists.
OHL Writers 