CHL TV Game of the Week presented by Kubota | 3 Reasons to Watch – Greyhounds vs. Wolves
The CHL TV Game of the Week presented by Kubota brings a weekly free game to CHL TV throughout the 2021-22 regular season. The action continues Wednesday as the Soo Greyhounds visit the Sudbury Wolves with puck drop set for 7:05 p.m. Eastern.
To get you ready, here are three reasons why this OHL showdown is must-see TV:
Greyhounds’ dominant one-two punch ready to make the jump
It has been an exciting time for a pair of Greyhounds stars in centre Rory Kerins and left-wing Tye Kartye, both of whom recently signed three-year, entry-level contracts with the Calgary Flames and Seattle Kraken, respectively. The two talents have taken OHL by storm all season and are a big reason why the Greyhounds sit fourth in the OHL’s Western Conference with a 28-17-6-1 record and 63 points.
The Flames selected Kerins in the sixth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, and it looks like they got a steal as the budding forward is in the midst of a career year with the Greyhounds. The Caledon, Ont., native is second in OHL scoring with 88 points, third in assists with 55, and tied for fourth with 33 goals. He is also second among OHL players in game-winning goals with eight. A big reason why Kerins is having a breakout season can be attributed to last year when he joined the Flames’ AHL club in Stockton and learned from the pros.
This season, the 19-year-old centre has dazzled where in four games he has scored four or more points, including a six-point performance against North Bay earlier this season where he recorded his first career hat-trick. Kerins put his play-making skills on full display during February where he tallied eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in 11 games, highlighted by a three-point performance against London. Kerins has continued his strong February into March with back-to-back two-assist games against Sarnia and Windsor over the weekend. Kerins has had much success against Sudbury this season with seven goals and eight assists, bookended by a pair of four-point performances.
For Kartye, the undrafted and overage forward was on the Kraken’s radar after he attended training camp in September. A product of Kingston, Ont., Kartye has been a force this season, leading the league in power-play (17) and game-winning (9) goals. Kartye also ranks fifth league-wide with 33 goals and is in the top-20 in scoring with 58 points. The 20-year-old left-wing has demonstrated his incredible scoring touch this season with five multi-goal games, including his first career hat-trick against Barrie coming earlier this season.
Chosen in the eighth round of the 2017 OHL Priority Selection, Kartye has turned out to be a diamond in the rough, breaking his career high in goals and points previously set in the 2019-20 campaign when he netted 25 goals and collected 53 points. Kartye hopes to flash his scoring touch against Sudbury. In their most recent meetup, he scored twice and added an assist, marking his second three-point game against the Wolves this season.
Congrats Tye Kartye!
Overage @OHLHoundPower goal-scorer recently signed a three-year entry level #NHL contract with the @SeattleKraken.
DETAILS 📰: https://t.co/9Tc89C0WNZ pic.twitter.com/XHrLomjBin
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) March 5, 2022
Next great CHL star in David Goyette
When the Wolves called upon David Goyette in the first round of the 2020 OHL Priority Selection, they knew they had found a superstar in the making. The 17-year-old centre is making a case to be a first-round pick at the upcoming 2021 NHL Draft as he tops all OHL rookies in scoring with 54 points as well as 24 goals through 51 appearances. He is also third among all rookies with 30 assists. A native of Hawkesbury, Ont., Goyette has been one of the most exciting players in the CHL this season with three hat-tricks, including his four-goal performance against Kingston. He is in the midst of a six-game point streak which has seen him tally four goals and seven assists for 11 points, including a four-point performance against Barrie.
Goyette ranks 35th in NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings. Since then, he has gone on to score 21 goals along with 15 assists in the second half of the season. Due to his outstanding second half, he has been invited to participate in the 2022 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game later this month. As for the Wolves, the club is making a late push to make the OHL postseason and is just two points behind Peterborough for the final spot. Against the Soo this season, Goyette has recorded a goal and five assists.
The #OHL's top rookie scorer kept producing on Sunday as #NHLDraft prospect David Goyette (@DavidGoyette14) got in on a pair of goals with linemates Delic and Konyen for the @Sudbury_Wolves 🎥 pic.twitter.com/VxUGdWwkzw
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) March 7, 2022
Veteran goalies duel
Both Sudbury and the Soo have depended heavily on their veteran backstoppers this season. For the Greyhounds, it’s Tucker Tynan who joined the club in early December, while the Wolves have ran with Mitchell Weeks between the pipes.
For Tynan, the 19-year-old American-born goaltender has become the starter for the Soo, posting a record of 10-7-7-0 alongside a 3.57 goals-against-average and an .881 save percentage since joining the squad. He has recorded a pair of victories against the Wolves this season.
As for Weeks, the talented netminder has been a workhorse for the Wolves this season and has appeared in 46 games and played 2,626 minutes, topping the OHL. On the season, the overage goalie has recorded 19 wins with a 3.83 goals-against average and an .896 save percentage. A product of Barrie, Ont., Weeks leads his OHL counterparts in saves with 1,451. Weeks will look to pick up his second-straight win against the Soo on Wednesday after making 37 saves in their last contest.
Wicked glove save from Mitchell Weeks!@Sudbury_Wolves netminder flashes the leather for Thursday's @RealCdnSS #SaveoftheNight 🎥 pic.twitter.com/SLG3YEl2Cm
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) February 18, 2022