OHL Writers

SAPOVALIV AND COSTANTINI NAMED OHL TOP PERFORMERS OF THE WEEK

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Dominic Tiano

Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League today announced Top Performers of the Week for the week of playoff games ending Sunday, April 3rd, 2023.

Spirit’s Matyas Sapovaliv Named Cogeco OHL Player of the Week

Vegas Golden Knights prospect Matyas Sapovaliv of the Saginaw Spirit is the Cogeco OHL Player of the Week, recording three goals, three assists and six points in a pair of playoff contests.

Helping the Spirit take a 2-0 first round series lead over the in-state rival Flint Firebirds, Sapovaliv started the week with a trio of assists in a 7-1 Game 1 victory on Thursday night. He proceeded to pick-up first star honours on Friday, scoring a hat trick as the Spirit defeated the Firebirds 4-1 at the Dow Event Center.

A 19-year-old centreman from Kladno, Czechia, Sapovaliv led the Spirit with 27 goals, along with 29 assists and 56 points over 61 games this past season. The 6-foot-3, 190Ib. pivot recorded 52 points (18-34–52) over 68 games as a first-year player last season. Sapovaliv was instrumental in Czechia’s silver medal finish at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, being named one of his country’s top-three players in the tournament with seven assists in as many contests. Originally Saginaw’s first round (15th overall) pick in the 2021 CHL Import Draft, Sapovaliv was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round (48th overall) of the NHL Draft last summer.

Also considered for the award this week, Kitchener Rangers captain Francesco Pinelli scored a pair of shorthanded goals and added three assists for five points in a pair of victories.

2022-23 Cogeco OHL Players of the Week – Playoffs:
Mar. 27 – Apr. 2: Matyas Sapovaliv (Saginaw Spirit)

2022-23 Cogeco OHL Players of the Week – Regular Season:
Mar. 20 – Mar. 26: Ethan Miedema (Kingston Frontenacs)
Mar. 13 – Mar. 19: Brandt Clarke (Barrie Colts)
Mar. 6– Mar. 12: Sahil Panwar (Hamilton Bulldogs)
Feb. 27 – Mar. 5: Christian Kyrou (Sarnia Sting)
Feb. 20 – Feb. 26: Braeden Bowman (Guelph Storm)
Feb. 13 – Feb. 19: Nolan Burke (Sarnia Sting)
Feb. 6 – Feb. 12: Sean McGurn (London Knights)
Jan. 30 – Feb. 5: Matthew Maggio (Windsor Spitfires)
Jan. 23 – Jan. 29: Sahil Panwar (Hamilton Bulldogs)
Jan. 16 – Jan. 22: James Hardie (Mississauga Steelheads)
Jan. 9 – Jan. 15: Colby Barlow (Owen Sound Attack)
Jan. 2 – Jan. 8: Bryce McConnell-Barker (Soo Greyhounds)
Dec. 26 – Jan. 1: Connor Lockhart (Peterborough Petes)
Dec. 12 – Dec. 18: Evan Vierling (Barrie Colts)
Dec. 5 – Dec. 11: Ryan Gagnier (Oshawa Generals)
Nov. 28 – Dec. 4: Quentin Musty (Sudbury Wolves)
Nov. 21 – Nov. 27: Jorian Donovan (Hamilton Bulldogs)
Nov. 14 – Nov. 20: Matthew Poitras (Guelph Storm)
Nov. 7 – Nov. 13: Brody Crane (London Knights)
Oct. 31 – Nov. 6: Matvey Petrov (North Bay Battalion)
Oct. 24 – Oct. 30: Deni Goure (Owen Sound Attack)
Oct. 17 – Oct. 23: Owen Beck (Mississauga Steelheads)
Oct. 10 – Oct. 16: Matthew Maggio (Windsor Spitfires)
Oct. 3 – Oct. 9: Pavel Mintyukov (Saginaw Spirit)
Sept. 29 – Oct. 2: Tucker Robertson (Peterborough Petes)

Rangers’ Marco Costantini Named OHL Goaltender of the Week

Marco Costantini of the Kitchener Rangers is the OHL Goaltender of the Week, going 2-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average, .952 save percentage and a shutout in two outings last week.

Costantini helped the Rangers climb out to a 2-0 first round series lead against the Western Conference’s first place Windsor Spitfires. The overage netminder turned aside 29 of 32 shots on Thursday night as Kitchener opened the series with a 5-3 road win. He posted his fourth career OHL playoff shutout on Saturday, stopping all 31 shots he faced as the Rangers blanked the high-scoring Spitfires 4-0. It marked the first time the Spits have been shutout in a game since Mar. 24, 2019, a span of 225 contests.

A 20-year-old from Hamilton, Ont., Costantini was last year’s runner-up for the OHL Goaltender of the Year Award, backstopping the Hamilton Bulldogs to an OHL championship. He’s played to a 24-17-5-0 record with a 3.23 goals-against average and .900 save percentage with four shutouts over 47 games between Kitchener and Hamilton this season. He owns a career OHL record of 65-41-13-2 with a 3.18 goals-against average and .898 save percentage and 10 shutouts over 126 regular season games. Costantini attended rookie camp with the Toronto Maple Leafs in October.

Also considered for the award this week, Saginaw Spirit netminder Tristan Lennox went 2-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage, guiding his team to a 2-0 lead in their first round playoff series. Michael Simpson of the Peterborough Petes also played to a 2-0 mark, posting a 1.50 goals-against average and .957 save percentage last week.

2022-23 OHL Goaltenders of the Week – Playoffs:
Mar. 27 – Apr. 2: Marco Costantini (Kitchener Rangers)

2022-23 OHL Goaltenders of the Week – Regular Season:
Mar. 20 – Mar. 26: Collin MacKenzie (Ottawa 67’s)
Mar. 13 – Mar. 19: Liam Sztuska (Peterborough Petes)
Mar. 6 – Mar. 12: Dom DiVincentiis (North Bay Battalion)
Feb. 27 – Mar. 5: Dom DiVincentiis (North Bay Battalion)
Feb. 20 – Feb. 26: Michael Simpson (Peterborough Petes)
Feb. 13 – Feb. 19: Tristan Lennox (Saginaw Spirit)
Feb. 6 – Feb. 12: Zach Bowen (London Knights)
Jan 30 – Feb. 5: Nate Krawchuk (Sudbury Wolves)
Jan 23 – Jan. 29: Jacob Oster (Oshawa Generals)
Jan 16 – Jan. 22: Mason Vaccari (Kingston Frontenacs)
Jan 9 – Jan. 15: Matteo Drobac (Hamilton Bulldogs)
Jan. 2 – Jan. 8: Max Donoso (Ottawa 67’s)
Dec. 26 – Jan. 1: Michael Simpson (Peterborough Petes)
Dec. 12 – Dec. 18: Marco Costantini (Kitchener Rangers)
Dec. 5 – Dec. 11: Owen Flores (Niagara IceDogs)
Nov. 28 – Dec. 4: Dom DiVincentiis (North Bay Battalion)
Nov. 21 – Nov. 27: Brett Brochu (London Knights)
Nov. 14 – Nov. 20: Michael Simpson (Peterborough Petes)
Nov. 7 – Nov. 13: Joe Ranger (Sudbury Wolves)
Oct. 31 – Nov. 6: Tristan Lennox (Saginaw Spirit)
Oct. 24 – Oct. 30: Carter George (Owen Sound Attack)
Oct. 17 – Oct. 23: Collin MacKenzie (Ottawa 67’s)
Oct. 10 – Oct. 16: Ivan Zhigalov (Kingston Frontenacs)
Oct. 3 – Oct. 9: Alessio Beglieri (Mississauga Steelheads)
Sept. 29 – Oct. 2: Ben Gaudreau (Sarnia Sting)

About the Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is a proud member of the Canadian Hockey League which is the world’s largest development hockey league with 60 teams in nine Canadian provinces and four American states. In addition to the OHL, the CHL is made up of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. The CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League and U SPORTS than any other league.

2023 OHL CUP DAY 4 SUMMARY

Posted on April 2, 2023 by Dominic Tiano

Toronto, Ont. – The stage is set for the 2023 OHL Cup Championship Final on Monday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto as the GTHL Finalist Toronto Jr. Canadiens (6-0-0) will square off with the wild card entry Vaughan Kings (4-2-0) when the puck drops at 7:00pm.

Monday’s game will air for free on CHL TV, and can also be seen across the province on OHL Action Pak channel 466. Tickets to the Championship Final can be purchased for $12.00 on TicketMaster.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s action, with a number of closely-contested matchups throughout the day:

2023 OHL Cup Quarter-Final Results:

Quarter-Final #1: Toronto Marlboros 2 vs. Waterloo Wolves 3
Wolves MVP – Brady Martin (3G)
Marlboros MVP – William Moore (1G)
Recap – Stats

Quarter-Final #2: London Jr. Knights 1 vs. Toronto Jr. Canadiens 4
Jr. Canadiens MVP – Luca Romano (3G)
Jr. Knights MVP – Parker Snelgrove (1G)
Recap – Stats

Quarter-Final #3: Peterborough Petes 3 vs. Toronto Nationals 2 – 2OT
Petes MVP – Kaiden Harmon (2G)
Nationals MVP – Callum Mainville (1A)
Recap – Stats

Quarter-Final #4: Vaughan Kings 3 vs. Barrie Colts 2
Kings MVP – Stefan Chukharev (2G)
Colts MVP – Logan Hawery (1G)
Recap – Stats

2023 OHL Cup Semi-Final Results:

Semi-Final #1: Waterloo Wolves 0 vs. Toronto Jr. Canadiens 4
Jr. Canadiens MVP – Nico Armellin (26 SV SO)
Wolves MVP – Hunter Solomon
Recap – Stats

Semi-Final #2: Vaughan Kings 4 vs. Peterborough Petes 2
Kings MVP – Vasily Serov (1G)
Petes MVP – Will McFadden (1G)
Recap – Stats

Toronto Jr. Canadiens captain Jake O’Brien climbed into the OHL Cup scoring lead, potting a pair of goals in Saturday’s semi-final win to give him 15 points (6-9–15) through six games. Toronto Marlboros forward Aidan Lane, who led heading into Saturday, finished up with 13 points (8-5–13) over five games. Waterloo Wolves captain Brady Martin, who scored a hat trick in Saturday’s Quarterfinal game, finished tied with Lane in the goal-scoring department, lighting the lamp eight times in six outings. OHL Cup Scoring Leaders

In goal, the Toronto Jr. Canadiens twin duo of Nico and Alexander Armellin have combined to go 6-0 with a minuscule 0.67 goals-against average and .971 save percentage with three shutouts. OHL Cup Goaltending Leaders

The showcase provides fans and scouts one last opportunity to see many of the top U16 AAA players from across Ontario and parts of the United States compete for the OHL Cup performing against the best competition prior to the 2023 OHL Priority Selection on April 21st and 22nd.

For more information, visit OHLCup.ca.

OHL End of Season Draft Eligible Statistical Leaders

Posted on April 1, 2023 by Dominic Tiano

Colby Barlow of the Owen Sound Attack. Photo by Luke Durda/OHL Images

Another Ontario Hockey League regular season has come to a close and the playoffs are in full swing. That means it’s time to look back at the regular season and the statistical leaders among players eligible for the 2023 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Colby Barlow of the Owen Sound Attack edged out Quentin Musty of the Sudbury Wolves by just a point and injuries limited Musty to just 53 games. Nick Lardis of the Hamilton Bulldogs made a late season push to finish third. Max Namestnikov has been on fire since being acquired by the Guelph Storm and his late season push left him just behind Luca Pinelli of the Ottawa 67’s.

No defenceman finished in the top 10 in scoring this season but Hunter Brzustewicz of the Kitchener Rangers was right there and led the blue liners in this draft class with 57 points. He also led the draft class in powerplay assists.

As to be expected, the Ottawa 67’s dominated the plus/minus category.

Here’s a look at the leaders in various categories. As always, we take great care in gathering stats but you should always refer to the OHL website for official stats.

Points Leaders
Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Colby Barlow	Owen Sound Attack	59	46	33	79
Quentin Musty	Sudbury Wolves	53	26	52	78
Nick Lardis	Hamilton Bulldogs	69	37	28	65
Luca Pinelli	Ottawa 67’s	67	29	34	63
Max Namestnikov	Guelph Storm	65	39	22	61
Beau Jelsma	Barrie Colts	67	31	30	61
Coulson Pitre	Flint Firebirds	59	25	35	60
Carson Rehkopf	Kitchener Rangers	68	30	29	59
Calum Ritchie	Oshawa Generals	59	24	35	59
Denver Barkey	London Knights	61	22	37	59
Goal Scoring Leaders
Player	Team		GP	G	GPG
Colby Barlow	Owen Sound Attack		59	46	0.78
Max Namestnikov	Guelph Storm		65	39	0.60
Nick Lardis	Hamilton Bulldogs		69	37	0.54
Brady Stonehouse	Ottawa 67’s		68	37	0.54
Beau Jelsma	Barrie Colts		67	31	0.46
Carson Rehkopf	Kitchener Rangers		68	30	0.44
Dalyn Wakely	North Bay Battalion		66	30	0.45
Carey Terrance	Erie Otters		67	30	0.45
Luca Pinelli	Ottawa 67’s		67	29	0.43
Zakary Lavoie	Niagara IceDogs		69	29	0.42
Assist Leaders
Player	Team		GP	A	APG
Quentin Musty	Sudbury Wolves		53	52	0.98
Hunter Brzustewicz	Kitchener Rangers		68	51	0.75
Tristan Bertucci	Flint Firebirds		63	39	0.62
Patrick Thomas	Hamilton Bulldogs		66	39	0.59
Dylan Roobroeck	Oshawa Generals		68	38	0.56
Denver Barkey	London Knights		61	37	0.61
Beau Akey	Barrie Colts		66	36	0.55
Rodwin Dionicio	Windsor Spitfires		50	35	0.70
Coulson Pitre	Flint Firebirds		59	35	0.59
Calum Ritchie	Oshawa Generals		59	35	0.59
Defencemen Point Leaders
Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Hunter Brzustewicz	Kitchener Rangers	68	6	51	57
Rodwin Dionicio	Windsor Spitfires	50	15	35	50
Tristan Bertucci	Flint Firebirds	63	11	39	50
Beau Akey	Barrie Colts	66	11	36	47
Oliver Bonk	London Knights	67	10	30	40
Spencer Sova	Erie Otters	68	16	23	39
Matthew Mania	Sudbury Wolves	67	10	28	38
Chas Sharpe	Mississauga Steelheads	64	5	26	31
Powerplay Goals
Player	Team			GP	PPG
Carson Rehkopf	Kitchener Rangers			68	16
Colby Barlow	Owen Sound Attack			59	13
Carey Terrance	Erie Otters			67	13
Max Namestnikov	Guelph Storm			65	12
Brady Stonehouse	Ottawa 67’s			68	11
Powerplay Assists
Player	Team			GP	PPA
Hunter Brzustewicz	Kitchener Rangers			68	23
Alex Assadourian	Niagara IceDogs			66	15
Oliver Bonk	London Knights			67	15
Spencer Sova	Erie Otters			68	15
Quentin Musty	Sudbury Wolves			53	14
Plus/Minus Leaders
Player	Team			GP	+/-
Luca Pinelli	Ottawa 67’s			67	+30
Will Gerrior	Ottawa 67’s			68	+28
Brady Stonehouse	Ottawa 67’s			68	+28
Cooper Foster	Ottawa 67’s			63	+26
Matthew Andonovski	Kitchener Rangers			67	+25
Dalyn Wakely	North Bay Battalion			66	+24
Brody Crane	London Knights			68	+23
Ruslan Gazizov	London Knights			56	+22
Matthew Mayich	Ottawa 67’s			64	+22
Wyatt Kennedy	North Bay Battalion			63	+21
Penalty Minutes Leaders
Player	Team		GP	PIM	M/G
Connor Clattenburg	Soo Greyhounds		56	115	2.05
Quinton Burns	Kingston Frontenacs		54	106	1.96
Ryan Humphrey	London Knights		60	92	1.53
Angus MacDonell	Mississauga Steelheads		64	92	1.44
Djibril Toure	Sudbury Wolves		57	91	1.60
Faceoff Leaders (minimum 585 faceoffs)
Player	Team	GP	FOA	FOW	%
Ethan Larmand	Sudbury Wolves	50	607	340	56.0
Pano Fimis	Erie Otters	55	1001	542	54.1
Denver Barkey	London Knights	61	635	343	54.0
Beau Jelsma	Barrie Colts	67	721	384	53.3
Calum Ritchie	Oshawa Generals	59	779	413	53.0
Alex Pharand	Sudbury Wolves	67	585	303	51.8
Brad Gardiner	Ottawa 67’s	68	736	380	51.6
Longest Goal Scoring Streak
Player	Team	From	To	Gms	Goals
Colby Barlow	Owen Sound Attack	11/12	12/4	10	13
Colby Barlow	Owen Sound Attack	12/30	1/17	8	9
Nick Lardis	Hamilton Bulldogs	1/21	2/7	6	7
Longest Assist Streak
Player	Team	From	To	Gms	Assts
Quentin Musty	Sudbury Wolves	11/20	12/28	11	20
Hunter Brzustewicz	Kitchener Rangers	10/1	10/30	10	13
Ryan Abraham	Windsor Spitfires	10/14	10/29	8	14
Longest Point Streak
Player	Team	From	To	Gms	Pts
Quentin Musty	Sudbury Wolves	10/29	12/28	18	35
Colby Barlow	Owen Sound Attack	11/9	12/4	11	21
Nick Lardis	Hamilton Bulldogs	1/13	2/7	10	21
Shots On Goal Leaders
Player	Team			GP	SOG
Colby Barlow	Owen Sound Attack			59	294
Brady Stonehouse	Ottawa 67’s			68	244
Zakary Lavoie	Niagara IceDogs			69	237
Spencer Sova	Erie Otters			68	223
Carey Terrance	Erie Otters			67	214
Goaltenders Leaders – Goals Against Average (minimum 1556 minutes)
Player	Team	GP	Min	GA	Avg
Collin MacKenzie	Ottawa 67’s	30	1567	49	1.88
Joey Costanzo	Windsor Spitfires	40	2158	109	3.03
Charlie Schenkel	Soo Greyhounds	31	1753	102	3.49
Alessio Beglieri	Mississauga Steelheads	38	2118	128	3.63
Corbin Votary	Owen Sound Attack	30	1628	101	3.72
Nathan Day	Flint Firebirds	32	1659	108	3.91
Nolan Lalonde	Erie Otters	41	2211	151	4.10
Jacob Oster	Oshawa Generals	49	2555	179	4.20
Owen Flores	Niagara IceDogs	42	2209	169	4.59
Goaltending Leaders – Save Percentage (minimum 1556 minutes)
Player	Team	GP	SH	SVS	SV%
Collin MacKenzie	Ottawa 67’s	30	682	633	0.928
Joey Costanzo	Windsor Spitfires	40	1099	990	0.901
Charlie Schenkel	Soo Greyhounds	31	958	856	0.894
Owen Flores	Niagara IceDogs	42	1557	1388	0.891
Corbin Votary	Owen Sound Attack	30	862	761	0.883
Nathan Day	Flint Firebirds	32	856	748	0.874
Jacob Oster	Oshawa Generals	49	1406	1227	0.873
Nolan Lalonde	Erie Otters	41	1141	990	0.868
Alessio Beglieri	Mississauga Steelheads	38	964	836	0.867
Goaltending Leaders – Wins
Player	Team	GP	W	L	OL
Joey Costanzo	Windsor Spitfires	40	26	6	2
Collin MacKenzie	Ottawa 67’s	30	21	2	3
Alessio Beglieri	Mississauga Steelheads	38	19	15	3
Zach Bowen	London Knights	26	17	4	0
Nicholas Surzycia	Sarnia Sting	29	17	5	3
Nathan Day	Flint Firebirds	32	17	10	0
Jacob Oster	Oshawa Generals	49	17	23	4
Nate Krawchuk	Sudbury Wolves	25	13	7	1
Brayden Gillespie	Guelph Storm	25	13	6	3
Charlie Robertson	North Bay Battalion	21	12	6	0
Corbin Votary	Owen Sound Attack	30	12	9	4
Goaltending Leaders – Shutouts
Player	Team			GP	SO
Charlie Robertson	North Bay Battalion			21	3
Jacob Oster	Oshawa Generals			49	3
Charlie Schenkel	Soo Greyhounds			31	2
Liam Sztuska	Peterborough Petes			19	1
Marcus Vandenberg	Kitchener Rangers			23	1
Brayden Gillespie	Guelph Storm			25	1
Nate Krawchuk	Sudbury Wolves			25	1
Zach Bowen	London Knights			26	1
Mason Vaccari	Kingston Frontenacs			29	1

2023 OHL CUP DAY 3 SUMMARY

Posted on April 1, 2023 by Dominic Tiano

Toronto, Ont. – Round robin play at the 2023 OHL Cup hosted by the Greater Toronto Hockey League concluded on Friday with a total of 12 games on the schedule.

2023 OHL Cup Day 3 Results:

Game 29 – Northern Ontario Hockey Association 5 vs. Don Mills Flyers 3
NOHA MVP – Max Campbell (1G)
Flyers MVP – Shamar Moses (1G, 2A)
Recap – Stats

Game 30 – Waterloo Wolves 6 vs. Peterborough Petes 5 – OT
Wolves MVP – Brady Martin (2G, 2A)
Petes MVP – Kaiden Harmon (1G)
Recap – Stats

Game 31 – Thunder Bay Kings 3 vs. Sun County Panthers 2
Kings MVP – Carter Poddubny (2G)
Panthers MVP – Matteo Vilardi (1G)
Recap – Stats

Game 32 – London Jr. Knights 4 vs. Mississauga Senators 2
Jr. Knights MVP – Parker Snelgrove (2G)
Senators MVP – Caden Taylor (2G)
Recap – Stats

Game 33 – TPH Hockey 5 vs. Halton Hurricanes 3
TPH MVP – Cole Peters (1G)
Halton MVP – Matthew Schaefer (1A)
Recap – Stats

Game 34 – Vaughan Kings 4 vs. York-Simcoe Express 2
Kings MVP – Carter Kostuch (1G)
Express MVP – Isaac Oldenhof (1G)
Recap – Stats

Game 35 – Barrie Colts 3 vs. Southern Tier Admirals 1
Colts MVP – Hudson Wiles (1G, 1A)
Admirals MVP – Aiden Zimmerman (1G)
Recap – Stats

Game 36 – Mississauga Rebels 3 vs. Peterborough Petes 2
Petes MVP – Cohen Bidgood
Rebels MVP – Daniel Giusti (35 SV)
Recap – Stats

Game 37 – Toronto Nationals 5 vs. Huron-Perth Lakers 4
Nationals MVP – Kieran Riley (1G)
Lakers MVP – Teague Vader (2A)
Recap – Stats

Game 38 – Toronto Jr. Canadiens 9 vs. Sun County Panthers 0
Jr. Canadiens MVP – Michael Lavigne (1G, 1A)
Panthers MVP – Joe Gingras
Recap – Stats

Game 39 – London Jr. Knights 5 vs. Whitby Wildcats 4
London MVP – Zander Kechego (1G, 1A)
Whitby MVP – Griffen Boyle (1G)
Recap – Stats

Game 40 – Toronto Marlboros 4 vs. TPH Hockey 0
Marlies MVP – Aidan Lane (1G, 1A)
TPH MVP – Matthew Lansing
Recap – Stats

The Toronto Jr. Canadiens emerge as the only 4-0 team in the OHL Cup’s Round Robin stage as the twin goaltending duo of Nico and Alexander Armellin surrendered just two goals across their four victories. JRC also led all teams with 21 goals-for. OHL Cup Standings

Toronto Marlboros forward Aidan Lane continues to lead the 2023 OHL Cup through Friday’s matchups, scoring eight goals and adding four assists for 12 points in four games. Mississauga Senators forward Caden Taylor finished his showcase with 10 points (6-4–10). OHL Cup Scoring Leaders

Saturday’s quarterfinal schedule is set as eight teams are left standing in their quest for OHL Cup supremacy. A total of three wild card entries including the Toronto Nationals, Vaughan Kings and Barrie Colts are through to the next round.

Saturday’s Quarter-Final Schedule:
Quarter-Final #1 – Toronto Marlboros (3-1-0) vs. Waterloo Wolves (3-1-0) (10:00am – Rink 2)
Quarter-Final #2 – London Jr. Knights (3-1-0) vs. Toronto Jr. Canadiens (4-0-0) (10:30am – Rink 1)
Quarter-Final #3 – Peterborough Petes (2-2-0) vs. Toronto Nationals (3-1-0) (11:45am – Rink 2)
Quarter-Final #3 – Vaughan Kings (2-2-0) vs. Barrie Colts (3-1-0) (12:15pm – Rink 1)

All tournament games feature live scoring complete with the OHL’s Game Centre module.

All games are available live and on demand through GameOnStream.

Quarter-Final and Semi-Final action goes Saturday, culminating in Monday’s Championship Final at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. The OHL Cup Championship Final can be seen streaming live for free on OHL Live. Tickets to the Championship Final can be purchased for $12.00 on TicketMaster.

The showcase provides fans and scouts one last opportunity to see many of the top U16 AAA players from across Ontario and parts of the United States compete for the OHL Cup performing against the best competition prior to the 2023 OHL Priority Selection.

For news and updates on the 2023 OHL Cup, visit ohlcup.ca.

2023 OHL CUP DAY 2 SUMMARY

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Dominic Tiano

Toronto, Ont. – The 2023 OHL Cup hosted by the Greater Toronto Hockey League continued on Thursday with a total of 12 games on the Round Robin schedule.

2023 OHL Cup Day 2 Results:

Game 17 – York-Simcoe Express 1 vs. Sun County Panthers 1
Express MVP – Rylan Singh (1G)
Panthers MVP – Zach Jovanovski (42 SV)
Recap – Stats

Game 18 – London Jr. Knights 3 vs. Southern Tier Admirals 2
London MVP – Ethan Weir (1A)
Admirals MVP – Noah Read (1G, 1A)
Recap – Stats

Game 19 – Halton Hurricanes 6 vs. Huron-Perth Lakers 1
Halton MVP – Kayden Newton (24 SV)
Lakers MVP – Hayden Barch
Recap – Stats

Game 20 – Don Mills Flyers 5 vs. Waterloo Wolves 4
Flyers MVP – Max Anderson (2G)
Waterloo MVP – Sam Black (2G)
Recap – Stats

Game 21 – Team NOHA 2 vs. Mississauga Rebels 1
NOHA MVP – Alex Hall (23 SV)
Rebels MVP – Russell Mackrell (23 SV)
Recap – Stats

Game 22 – Barrie Jr. Colts 2 vs. Whitby Wildcats 1
Barrie MVP – Ethen Fines (1G)
Whitby MVP – Drew McLennan
Recap – Stats

Game 23 – Toronto Nationals 1 vs. TPH Hockey 0
Nationals MVP – James Meredith (36 SV SO)
TPH MVP – Brody Schocker (20 SV)
Recap – Stats

Game 24 – Vaughan Kings 5 vs. Thunder Bay Kings 0
Vaughan MVP – Carter Kostuch (2G, 2A)
Thunder Bay MVP – Carter Poddubny
Recap – Stats

Game 25 – Mississauga Senators 4 vs. Southern Tier Admirals 1
Senators MVP –Caden Taylor (2G, 1A)
Admirals MVP – Michael Kucherway (1G)
Recap – Stats

Game 26 – Toronto Jr. Canadiens 4 vs. York-Simcoe Express 0
Jr. Canadiens MVP – Alexander Armellin (18 SV SO)
Express MVP – Justin Handsor
Recap – Stats

Game 27 – Peterborough Petes 6 vs. Don Mills Flyers 1
Petes MVP – Nate Curson (1G, 1A)
Flyers MVP – Dylan Tsherna (1G)
Recap – Stats

Game 28 – Toronto Marlboros 7 vs. Halton Hurricanes 2
Marlboros MVP – William Moore (2G, 1A)
Hurricanes MVP – Tyler Hopkins (1G)
Recap – Stats

The GTHL Finalist Toronto Jr. Canadiens enter Friday’s action as the lone 3-0 team in the showcase while the OMHA champion Peterborough Petes (2-0) and ALLIANCE semi-finalist Sun County Panthers (1-0-1) are also undefeated. OHL Cup Standings

Toronto Marlboros forward Aidan Lane maintained his tournament scoring lead following Thursday’s action as he’s produced seven goals, three assists and 10 points in just three contests. Mississauga Senators underage forward Adam Valentini trails with nine points (2-7–9) in three outings. OHL Cup Scoring Leaders

In goal, Toronto Nationals goaltender James Meredith turned-in a 36-save shutout on Thursday, improving to 2-0 while stopping 59 of the 61 shots he’s faced to lead the way in the crease. OHL Cup Goaltending Leaders

All tournament games feature live scoring complete with the OHL’s Game Centre module.

Round Robin action concludes on Friday with 12 games on the schedule. Quarter-Final and Semi-Final action goes Saturday, culminating in Monday’s Championship Final at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. The OHL Cup Championship Final can be seen streaming live for free on OHL Live. Tickets to the Championship Final can be purchased for $12.00 on TicketMaster.

All games are available live and on demand through GameOnStream.

The showcase provides fans and scouts one last opportunity to see many of the top U16 AAA players from across Ontario and parts of the United States compete for the OHL Cup performing against the best competition prior to the 2023 OHL Priority Selection.

For news and updates on the 2023 OHL Cup, visit ohlcup.ca.

OHL Eastern Conference Playoff Preview

Posted on March 30, 2023March 29, 2023 by Dominic Tiano

Western Conference Preview can be found here.

(1) Ottawa 67’s vs (8) Oshawa Generals

From the drop of the first puck, the Ottawa 67’s have been the OHL’s best team while the Oshawa Generals didn’t qualify for the playoffs until the final weekend. Ottawa would finish a measly 49 points ahead of Oshawa. The 67’s would finish 4^th in goals scored, the Generals 14^th. The 67’s would finish 1^st in goals against, the Generals 18^th.

However, the Generals have the league’s third best powerplay versus seventh best for Ottawa. That powerplay will be in tough against Ottawa’s second-best penalty kill. Oshawa is tenth-best.

Ottawa is led by Logan Morrison (free agent) who was acquired on trade deadline with 94 points. They also acquired star defenceman Pavel Mintyukov (Anaheim Ducks) who has 88 points. They have 7 twenty goal (or more) scorers on their roster and 3 more with 19 goals each.

Oshawa is led by veteran Ryan Gagnier (free agent) with 69 points, Stuart Rolofs (free agent) with 61 points and Calum Ritchie (draft eligible) with 55 points.

Prediction: Ottawa in 4 games.

	Ottawa 67’s	Oshawa Generals
Regular season record	51-12-3-2	26-36-1-5
Head-to-head	7-0-1-0	1-5-0-2
Home record	29-4-0-1	14-17-1-2
Away record	22-8-3-1	12-19-0-3
Goals scored	286	235
Goals against	171	290
Powerplay overall	23.8%	25.6%
Powerplay at home	26.1%	25.6%
Powerplay away	21.0%	25.5%
Penalty kill overall	84.1%	78.0%
Penalty kill at home	84.8%	78.0%
Penalty kill away	83.3%	78.0%
Powerplay vs opponent	41.9%	28.6%
Penalty kill vs opponent	71.4%	58.1%
Leading after 1st	26-3-2-0	13-5-0-2
Leading after 2nd	41-0-0-0	20-2-0-2
Trailing after 1st	7-8-1-1	4-22-0-1
Trailing after 2nd	2-12-1-1	2-30-1-2
1-goal games	13-2-3-2	11-8-1-5
2-goal games	9-5-0-0	4-8-0-0
3 goal games	12-4-0-0	6-7-0-0

Prediction: Ottawa in 4 games

(2) North Bay Battalion vs (7) Mississauga Steelheads

	North Bay Battalion	Mississauga Steelheads
Regular season record	48-17-2-1	31-31-6-0
Head-to-head	4-2-0-0	2-4-0-0
Home record	27-5-1-1	18-14-2-0
Away record	21-12-1-0	13-17-4-0
Goals scored	285	226
Goals against	183	258
Powerplay overall	22.9%	19.9%
Powerplay at home	25.0%	21..3%
Powerplay away	20.9%	18.0%
Penalty kill overall	87.1%	72.5%
Penalty kill at home	90.3%	72.5%
Penalty kill away	86.4%	72.4%
Powerplay vs opponent	27.6%	13.6%
Penalty kill vs opponent	84.4%	73.9%
Leading after 1st	29-0-0-1	12-1-1-0
Leading after 2nd	37-1-0-1	20-2-2-0
Trailing after 1st	8-13-1-0	6-18-3-0
Trailing after 2nd	2-16-0-0	4-22-3-0
1-goal games	9-5-2-1	19-6-6-0
2-goal games	10-6-0-0	2-6-0-0
3 goal games	12-4-0-0	4-7-0-0

North Bay has the OHL’s 9th best powerplay versus 16^th best for Mississauga. To make matters worse for Mississauga, North Bay has the league’s best penalty kill versus the league’s worst for the Steelheads. Head-to-head, the two teams are closer than one might have expected.

This series puts North Bay’s 5^th best offence against Mississauga’s 11^th best defence and Mississauga’s 16^th best offence against the league’s 2nd best defence.

North Bay is led by Matvey Petrov (Edmonton Oilers) with 93 points, Kyle Jackson and Ty Nelson (Seattle Kraken) with 83 and 76 points respectively. Mississauga is led by James Hardie (free agent) with 82 points, Zander Veccia (draft eligible) with 45 points and Luke Misa (2024 draft) with 43 points.

Prediction: North Bay in 4 games.

(3) Barrie Colts vs (6) Hamilton Bulldogs

	Barrie Colts	Hamilton Bulldogs
Regular season record	42-17-6-3	33-30-5-0
Head-to-head	2-2-0-0	2-2-0-0
Home record	21-9-3-1	16-16-2-0
Away record	21-8-3-2	17-14-3-0
Goals scored	284	226
Goals against	239	251
Powerplay overall	25.3%	20.7%
Powerplay at home	28.3%	19.3%
Powerplay away	22.3%	21.9%
Penalty kill overall	81.6%	77.3%
Penalty kill at home	84.2%	78.0%
Penalty kill away	78.9%	76.7%
Powerplay vs opponent	27.3%	37.5%
Penalty kill vs opponent	62.5%	72.7%
Leading after 1st	21-5-1-0	13-3-2-0
Leading after 2nd	25-2-2-1	20-1-0-0
Trailing after 1st	11-8-4-1	6-22-2-0
Trailing after 2nd	9-13-2-2	2-28-2-0
1-goal games	17-4-6-3	12-4-5-0
2-goal games	7-3-0-0	11-9-0-0
3 goal games	10-5-0-0	5-8-0-0

The Colts have the leagues 4^th best powerplay and penalty kill while Hamilton has the 13^th best penalty kill and powerplay. Now that’s consistency, right? And they split the season series so this one has got to be close again, right?

Barrie has the 6^th most potent offence while Hamilton is 15^th. Barrie also boasts the 6^th best defence while Hamilton 9^th.

Barrie is led by Evan Vierling (drafted New York Rangers but unsigned and is now a free agent) with 95 points, Ethan Cardwell (San Jose Sharks) with 90 points and Jacob Frasca (free agent) with 69 points. Hamilton is led by Sahil Panwar (free agent) with 69 points, Nick Lardis (draft eligible) with 65 points and Patrick Thomas (draft eligible) with 56 points.

Prediction: Barrie in 5 games.

(4) Peterborough Petes vs (5) Sudbury Wolves

	Peterborough Petes	Sudbury Wolves
Regular season record	35-29-2-2	31-28-6-3
Head-to-head	1-2-1-0	3-1-0-0
Home record	18-13-1-2	18-11-3-2
Away record	17-16-1-0	13-17-3-1
Goals scored	247	272
Goals against	207	260
Powerplay overall	21.7%	17.0%
Powerplay at home	22.1%	15.9%
Powerplay away	21.3%	18.1%
Penalty kill overall	81.3%	75.3%
Penalty kill at home	80.2%	77.7%
Penalty kill away	82.4%	73.3%
Powerplay vs opponent	21.7%	17.6%
Penalty kill vs opponent	82.4%	78.3%
Leading after 1st	7-11-0-1	21-7-2-2
Leading after 2nd	31-4-1-0	26-4-2-1
Trailing after 1st	5-10-1-1	5-11-2-0
Trailing after 2nd	1-18-1-0	4-19-2-0
1-goal games	6-6-2-2	9-10-6-3
2-goal games	8-14-0-0	7-4-0-0
3 goal games	7-7-0-0	5-5-0-0

If this comes down to specialty teams then the Wolves may be in trouble. Peterborough has the 9^th best powerplay in the league and the 6^th best penalty kill. Sudbury has the leagues worst penalty kill and 3^rd worst powerplay.

If specialty teams aren’t the difference then you put Sudbury’s 7^th best offence against Peterborough’s 3^rd best defence. And Sudbury’s 12^th best defence would face Peterborough’s 12^th best offence.

Sudbury is led by David Goyette (Seattle Kraken) with 92 points, Quentin Musty (draft eligible) with 78 points and Landon McCallum (free agent) with 66 points. Peterborough is led by Tucker Robertson (Seattle Kraken) with 90 points, Connor Lockhart (Vancouver Canucks) with 79 points and Avery Hayes Free agent) with 77 points.

Flip a coin on this one.

Prediction: Sudbury in 6 games.

2023 OHL CUP DAY 1 SUMMARY

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Dominic Tiano

Toronto, Ont. – The 2023 OHL Cup hosted by the Greater Toronto Hockey League got underway on Wednesday with a total of 16 games on the Round Robin schedule.

2023 OHL Cup Day 1 Results:

Game 1 – Toronto Nationals 4 vs. Toronto Marlboros 2
Nationals MVP – James Meredith (23 SV)
Marlboros MVP – Aidan Lane (1G)
Recap – Stats

Game 2 – Mississauga Senators 7 vs. Barrie Jr. Colts 2
Senators MVP – Caden Taylor (2G, 3A)
Barrie MVP – Logan Hawery (1G)
Recap – Stats

Game 3 – Whitby Wildcats 3 vs. Southern Tier Admirals 1
Whitby MVP – Griffen Boyle (1G, 1A)
Admirals MVP – Trent Vaillancourt
Recap – Stats

Game 4 – Toronto Jr. Canadiens 5 vs. Vaughan Kings 1
Canadiens MVP – Nico Addy (3G)
Vaughan MVP – Ivan Galiyanov (1G)
Recap – Stats

Game 5 – York-Simcoe Express 8 vs. Thunder Bay Kings 1
Express MVP – Easton Mikus (1A)
Kings MVP – Andreas Mikrgiannakis (2G, 2A)
Recap – Stats

Game 6 – TPH Hockey 4 vs. Huron Perth Lakers 1
TPH MVP – Niko Smilovic (1G, 1A)
Lakers MVP – Zachary Houben
Recap – Stats

Game 7 – Waterloo Wolves 3 vs. Mississauga Rebels 1
Waterloo MVP – Noah Ricci (16 SV)
Rebels MVP – Daniel Giusti (21 SV)
Recap – Stats

Game 8 – Peterborough Petes 4 vs. Team NOHA 1
Petes MVP – Will McFadden (1G)
NOHA MVP – Alex Hall (32 SV)
Recap – Stats

Game 9 – Whitby Wildcats 3 vs. Mississauga Senators 2
Whitby MVP – Weslee Crosswell (2G, 1A)
Senators MVP – Jayden Connors (1G, 1A)
Recap – Stats

Game 10 – Barrie Jr. Colts 4 vs. London Jr. Knights 2
Barrie MVP – Logan Hawery (2G, 1A)
London MVP – Aiden Young (2G)
Recap – Stats

Game 11 – Sun County Panthers 4 vs. Vaughan Kings 3
Panthers MVP – Travis Rivest (1G, 1A)
Vaughan MVP – Ewan McChesney (2G, 1A)
Recap – Stats

Game 12 – Halton Hurricanes 6 vs. Toronto Nationals 4
Halton MVP – Brady Smith (2G)
Nationals MVP – Thanasi Marentette (2G)
Recap – Stats

Game 13 – Toronto Jr. Canadiens 3 vs. Thunder Bay Kings 1
Canadiens MVP – Jake O’Brien (1G, 2A)
Thunder Bay MVP – Travis VanderZwaag (33 SV)
Recap – Stats

Game 14 – Toronto Marlboros 7 vs. Huron Perth Lakers 4
Marlboros MVP – Aidan Lane (4G)
Lakers MVP – Carson Harmer (1G, 1A)
Recap – Stats

Game 15 – Mississauga Rebels 2 vs. Don Mills Flyers 1
Flyers MVP – Jimmy Lombardi (1A)
Rebels MVP – Tristan Delisle (1G)
Recap – Stats

Game 16 – Waterloo Wolves 3 vs. Team NOHA 2 – OT
Wolves MVP – Brady Martin (1G, 1A)
NOHA MVP – Nathan Maguire (38 SV)
Recap – Stats

The Toronto Jr. Canadiens, Waterloo Wolves and wild card entry Whitby Wildcats all played to 2-0 records to open the tournament.

Toronto Marlboros forward Aidan Lane is the OHL Cup scoring leader following Day 1, leading the event with six points (5-1–6) in two games.

All tournament games feature live scoring complete with the OHL’s Game Centre module.

Round Robin action continues on Thursday with 12 games on the schedule before wrapping up Friday with an additional 12. Quarter-Final and Semi-Final action goes Saturday, concluding with Monday’s Championship Final at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Tickets to the Championship Final can be purchased for $12.00 on TicketMaster.

All games are available live and on demand through GameOnStream.

ERIE OTTERS TO SELECT FIRST OVERALL IN 2023 OHL PRIORITY SELECTION PRESENTED BY REAL CANADIAN SUPERSTORE

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Dominic Tiano

Toronto, Ont. – The results from the 2023 OHL Priority Selection Draft Lottery are in, and the Erie Otters will be selecting first on April 21-22 when OHL member teams build toward the future in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection Presented by Real Canadian Superstore.

Each of the four non-playoff teams participating in the Priority Selection Lottery, the 20th place Niagara IceDogs (40 percent chance), 19th place Erie Otters (30 percent chance), 18th place Soo Greyhounds (20 percent chance) and 17th place Kingston Frontenacs (10 percent chance), had adjusted proportionate odds of drawing the first overall selection. The final results were determined by a computerized random number generator, with the process overseen and certified by Mr. Robert Bayne, partner with the law firm Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP.

The coveted top spot came down to a reveal between the Otters and the Niagara IceDogs, who will be selecting second overall.

The Otters will be adding their first Jack Ferguson Award recipient since they made eventual OHL and CHL Player of the Year Connor McDavid their first overall selection back in 2012. Another current-day NHL star in Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan O’Reilly was also selected first overall by Erie in 2007.

The OHL Priority Selection will once again be held over the course of two days, with Rounds 1-3 taking place beginning at 7:00pm on Friday, April 21. The proceedings continue on Saturday, April 22 starting at 9:00am with Rounds 4-15. The Priority Selection will be produced by YourTV, and streamed for free in its entirety on CHL TV.

2023 OHL Priority Selection First Round Order of Selection:

Erie Otters
Niagara IceDogs
Soo Greyhounds
Kingston Frontenacs
Niagara IceDogs*
Oshawa Generals
Mississauga Steelheads
Brantford Bulldogs
Sudbury Wolves
Kitchener Rangers*
Kitchener Rangers
Owen Sound Attack
Peterborough Petes
Guelph Storm
Flint Firebirds
Saginaw Spirit
Sarnia Sting
London Knights
Barrie Colts
Windsor Spitfires
North Bay Battalion
Ottawa 67’s

*- indicates compensatory pick

The 2023 OHL Priority Selection presented by Real Canadian Superstore will see the top players born in 2007 within OHL jurisdiction eligible to be selected on April 21-22.

In addition to live streaming on CHL TV, the Priority Selection will also be covered extensively on the OHL’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook accounts, as well as on the web at ontariohockeyleague.com.

OHL Western Conference Playoff Preview

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Dominic Tiano

Usually when I do these previews, I am pretty good at it with a success rate in the high nineties percentile. But this season it’s a crapshoot like I have not seen before, especially after how some teams loaded up at trade deadline.

I will come out of this looking either very smart or very stupid, but hey, it’s what we do right? So, here is a look at how the playoff teams stack up in their respective series along with some quick notes and of course, my predictions:

(1) Windsor Spitfires vs (8) Kitchener Rangers

	Windsor Spitfires	Kitchener Rangers
Regular season record	48-18-4-2	33-29-6-0
Head-to-head	4-0-0-0	0-3-1-0
Home record	25-5-2-2	19-11-4-0
Away record	19-13-2-0	14-18-2-0
Goals scored	320	257
Goals against	265	240
Powerplay overall	25.9%	21.1%
Powerplay at home	26.4%	22.7%
Powerplay away	25.4%	19.5%
Penalty kill overall	76.7%	77.4%
Penalty kill at home	75.5%	76.5%
Penalty kill away	77.8%	78.3%
Powerplay vs opponent	55.6%	50.0%
Penalty kill vs opponent	50.0%	44.4%
Leading after 1st	29-5-0-0	20-7-2-0
Leading after 2nd	38-0-0-1	28-2-3-0
Trailing after 1st	4-12-1-2	2-19-0-0
Trailing after 2nd	2-16-0-0	2-25-3-0
1-goal games	13-2-4-2	10-4-6-0
2-goal games	4-3-0-0	2-4-0-0
3 goal games	18-6-0-0	7-9-0-0

Talk about a team that went all in around trade deadline! The Windsor Spitfires added Shane Wright, Brett Harrison, Rodwin Dionicio, Aidan Castle and Jacob Homes to a roster that already had OHL leading scorer Matthew Maggio. The Rangers were no slouches either. They added Francesco Arcuri, Danny Zhilkin and Lleyton Moore.

The difference at the deadline is the Spitfires went from a good team to a great team. The Rangers on the other hand were inconsistent from the first puck drop. On paper, they should have been a good team but in the end are the eighth seed.

The Rangers best chance to defeat the Spitfires is to keep games close. Both teams can close it out when protecting the lead but that’s a tall task if the Spitfires are healthy and firing on all cylinders.

Prediction: Windsor in 5 games.

(2) London Knights vs (7) Owen Sound Attack

	London Knights	Owen Sound Attack
Regular season record	45-21-2-0	33-28-6-1
Head-to-head	3-3-0-0	3-3-0-0
Home record	22-11-1-0	17-12-5-0
Away record	23-10-1-0	16-16-1-1
Goals scored	269	248
Goals against	214	258
Powerplay overall	21..3%	19.5%
Powerplay at home	23.0%	24.2%
Powerplay away	19.7%	14.5%
Penalty kill overall	78.9%	77.1%
Penalty kill at home	76.9%	74.3%
Penalty kill away	80.4%	74.3%
Powerplay vs opponent	24.0%	13.0%
Penalty kill vs opponent	87.0%	76.0%
Leading after 1st	28-4-0-0	7-1-2-0
Leading after 2nd	30-4-0-0	24-1-2-1
Trailing after 1st	6-13-1-0	8-19-4-1
Trailing after 2nd	7-15-1-0	3-24-4-0
1-goal games	19-4-2-0	10-6-6-1
2-goal games	5-5-0-0	5-6-0-0
3 goal games	9-9-0-0	13-8-0-0

Yes, they split the season series. At trade deadline the Knights added Ryan Winterton and Ryan Humphrey, both with championship experience. Owen Sound added Landen Hookey, James Petrovski and Jackson Stewart.

London has the ability to shut things down and their blueline is solid with a good mix of defenders that can move the puck and shut it down with Logan Mailloux (Montreal Canadiens), Oliver Bonk (draft eligible), Jackson Edward (Boston Bruins) and Isaiah George (New York Islanders). That’s as good a top four as anybody. The key cog for London will be Brett Brochu in net, one of the best goaltenders in the OHL with something to prove.

Owen Sound has trouble scoring goals and are led by Colby Barlow (draft eligible) with 79 points in 59 games. However, the Attack offence is pretty spread out after Barlow with 4 other players scoring at least 20 goals.

Prediction: London in 6 games.

(3) Sarnia Sting vs (6) Guelph Storm

	Sarnia Sting	Guelph Storm
Regular season record	41-18-5-4	35-28-4-1
Head-to-head	2-0-0-2	2-1-0-1
Home record	21-7-4-2	19-11-3-1
Away record	20-11-1-2	16-17-1-0
Goals scored	298	254
Goals against	224	280
Powerplay overall	26.0%	24.6%
Powerplay at home	27.2%	28.2%
Powerplay away	24.6%	19.8%
Penalty kill overall	81.4%	73.5%
Penalty kill at home	82.5%	77.1%
Penalty kill away	80.3%	69.0%
Powerplay vs opponent	38.9%	16.7%
Penalty kill vs opponent	83.3%	61.1%
Leading after 1st	25-2-3-0	21-3-2-0
Leading after 2nd	32-0-3-2	23-1-2-1
Trailing after 1st	3-12-1-2	6-21-1-0
Trailing after 2nd	5-16-1-1	8-24-1-0
1-goal games	12-4-5-4	15-4-4-1
2-goal games	4-4-0-0	6-5-0-0
3 goal games	10-7-0-0	8-8-0-0

Two of the hottest teams since January 1 and both made some key acquisitions at the trade deadline. If this comes down to goaltending, the advantage goes to Sarnia with Ben Gaudreau (San Jose Sharks) a step ahead of Patrick Lever (undrafted) or the youngster Brayden Gillespie (draft eligible). If it comes down to special teams, Sarnia once again holds the advantage. Both teams possess quality powerplays with Sarnia’s being tops in the league while Guelph’s ranked fifth however, Guelph has the league’s second worst penalty kill while Sarnia was fourth best and Sarnia could feast on that.

The series features the two best playmakers in the league with Ty Voit (Toronto Maple Leafs) dishing the puck for Sarnia and Matthew Poitras (Boston Bruins) trying to work his magic for Guelph. Voit will be feeding pucks to 50 goal scorer Nolan Burke (Nashville Predators), 40 goal scorer Luca Del Bel Belluz (Columbus Blue Jackets) while Poitras will be feeding 39 goal scorer Max Namestnikov (draft eligible) and 33 goal scorer Braeden Bowman (undrafted).

Sarnia also holds the advantage on the blue line led by Christian Kyrou (Dallas Stars), Ethan Del Mastro (Chicago Blackhawks) and Ryan Mast (Boston Bruins).

Prediction: Sarnia in 6 games.

(4) Saginaw Spirit vs (5) Flint Firebirds

	Saginaw Spirit	Flint Firebirds
Regular season record	36-27-3-2	35-28-4-1
Head-to-head	5-3-0-0	3-4-1-0
Home record	17-16-0-1	18-13-2-1
Away record	19-11-3-1	17-15-2-0
Goals scored	244	291
Goals against	244	278
Powerplay overall	23.8%	20.2%
Powerplay at home	20.9%	21.5%
Powerplay away	27.6%	18.9%
Penalty kill overall	78.5%	78.3%
Penalty kill at home	78.8%	78.8%
Penalty kill away	80.0%	77.9%
Powerplay vs opponent	27.6%	25.0%
Penalty kill vs opponent	75.0%	72.4%
Leading after 1st	17-5-1-0	22-5-1-1
Leading after 2nd	23-1-1-0	25-1-0-0
Trailing after 1st	10-17-0-0	7-14-2-0
Trailing after 2nd	5-22-1-0	5-22-3-1
1-goal games	13-5-3-2	11-7-4-1
2-goal games	8-4-0-0	9-6-0-0
3 goal games	7-9-0-0	6-5-0-0

This may be the most even series in the Western Conference. Flint has a very good offence led by Amadeus Lombardi (Detroit Red Wings) and his 102 points. Gavin Hayes (Chicago Blackhawks) 81 points, Riley Piercy (undrafted) 70 points, Coulson Pitre (draft eligible 60 points and Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) provide a lethal offence.

Saginaw is led by Hunter Haight (Minnesota Wild) with 60 points Matyas Sapovaliv (Vegas Golden Knights) with 56 points and exceptional status rookie Michael Misa with 56 points (in 45 games). They also have 2024 draft eligible defenceman Zayne Parekh who set an OHL record for goals by a 16-year-old defenceman with 21.

This one will come down to the Western Conference fourth best defence (Saginaw) versus the third best offence (Flint).

Prediction: Flint in 7 games.

SAGINAW SPIRIT TO HOST 2024 MEMORIAL CUP PRESENTED BY KIA

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Dominic Tiano

Toronto, Ont. – For the first time in 26 years, the Memorial Cup presented by Kia will be hosted south of the border when next year the championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) will be held in Saginaw, Michigan. Although American cities have hosted the Memorial Cup on four separate occasions in the event’s 104-year history, never before has an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) American city held this prestigious tournament.

Tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m. EST / 10:00 a.m. PST, a press conference will be held at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw and be streamed live on CHL TV.

“We are thrilled to bring the Memorial Cup to the state of Michigan for the first time in the event’s history,” said CHL President Dan MacKenzie. “The Spirit and City of Saginaw submitted a remarkable bid and we have no doubt that they will do an outstanding job of hosting our CHL championship next year.”

Having arrived in Saginaw in 2002, the Spirit would be set to participate in their first-ever Memorial Cup next season. Over the last two decades, the three-time OHL West Division champions have seen over 55 of their players drafted by NHL teams, including Cole Perfetti, Filip Hronek, Owen Tippett, Brandon Saad and Vincent Trocheck, whose number 89 is the lone uniform retired by the Spirit franchise.

“On behalf of Dick Garber and the Saginaw Spirit franchise, we are grateful to the Memorial Cup Selection Committee. It is an honor for the community of Saginaw and the 400,000 people that call the Great Lakes Bay Region home to be the host of the 2024 Memorial Cup,” added Craig Goslin, President and Managing Partner of the Saginaw Spirit. “Saginaw is both honored and prepared. We respect and understand the significance that the Memorial Cup has in Canadian culture and we plan to illustrate this respect and honor throughout the event. It is our intent, that when it is completed, the CHL, all visiting players, staff, sponsors, fans and stakeholders, will leave by saying: ‘that was an exceptionally managed Memorial Cup and we had a fabulous experience.’”

Led by General Manager Dave Drinkill and Head Coach Chris Lazary, the Saginaw Spirit finished the 2022-23 season with a 36-27-3-2 record and will face off against the in-state rival Flint Firebirds in the first round of the OHL Playoffs beginning tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. EST / 4:05 p.m. PST on CHL TV. On the ice, the Spirit are highlighted by Exceptional Status forward Michael Misa, whose 56 points (22G, 34A) this past season were the most by an OHL rookie. The first pick of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection also averaged 1.24 points-per-game this season — the highest of any OHL Exceptional Status player and ahead of John Tavares’ 1.18 points-per-game average with the Oshawa Generals in 2005-06.

In addition to the 16-year-old Misa, the Spirit are filled with quality talent which includes team scoring leader Hunter Haight (a 2022 NHL second-round selection by the Minnesota Wild), Zayne Parekh (his 21 goals this season were the most by a 16-year-old defenseman in OHL history) and Matyas Sapovaliv, a Vegas Golden Knights second-round pick who scored a team-high 27 goals this season.

The Memorial Cup is one of the most coveted trophies in hockey. First awarded in 1919, in remembrance of the many soldiers who paid the supreme sacrifice for Canada in the First World War, the Memorial Cup was rededicated to the memory of all fallen Canadian Military Personnel in 2010.

Next year, in Saginaw, the Memorial Cup will be awarded for the 104th time in its history. The Spirit will be one of four teams to participate in the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Kia alongside the playoff champion from each of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and Western Hockey League (WHL). All games from the 2024 Memorial Cup will be nationally televised in Canada by TSN and RDS, as well as on NHL Network in the United States.

The 2023 Memorial Cup presented by Kia is scheduled to take place in less than two months, running from May 25 – June 4 in Kamloops, British Columbia. Viewers can watch all the action from this year’s CHL championship on NHL Network in the United States, along with TSN and RDS in Canada.

QUICK FACTS

An American City hasn’t hosted the Memorial Cup since Spokane held the honour in 1998 (which is where the Portland Winterhawks won their second & most recent Memorial Cup)
American cities have hosted the Memorial Cup four times in the event’s 104-year history and all of them have been in the United States Pacific Northwest (Portland – 1983 & 1986; Seattle – 1992; Spokane – 1998)
The first time an American city held the Memorial Cup was in 1983, when Portland both hosted the event & became the first non-Canadian based team to win the Memorial Cup
American CHL teams have won the Memorial Cup on four occasions, with the Chiefs being the last to accomplish the feat in 2008 (Portland Winterhawks – 1983 & 1998; Spokane Chiefs – 1991 & 2008)

About the Canadian Hockey League
The Canadian Hockey League is the world’s largest development hockey league with 52 Canadian and eight American teams participating in the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and Western Hockey League. The CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League and U SPORTS than any other league.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: