Road to Memorial Cup daily: Petes, Battalion & Rangers earn much-needed Ws on Sunday
CHL THREE STARS
With only one game played in the WHL on Sunday, Red Deer’s Ben King (ANA) made sure to make the most of the spotlight that was on the Rebels and Blades in Saskatoon. The Anaheim Ducks prospect registered a point on all but one of the Rebels’ goals — scoring once and adding three assists in Red Deer’s 5-2 road victory over the Blades. King’s four-point outing in Saskatoon matched his career-best in the WHL playoffs, marking the third time in his career he’s hit this mark in the postseason and the second occasion during his team’s current chase for the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
Sunday was also highlighted by a glorious return for Kitchener Rangers captain Francesco Pinelli (LAK). Having just finished serving a three-game suspension, the Los Angeles Kings prospect came back into the lineup for the first time in the Rangers’ series against the Knights — which couldn’t have come any sooner. Pinelli scored two crucial goals, including his CHL-leading third short-handed marker of the postseason, to help give Kitchener a crucial win at home in front of a sellout crowd at the Aud. The 20-year-old now has seven points (4G, 3A) in four games this postseason as the Rangers now aim to even up the series on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in Sarnia, Benjamin Gaudreau (SJ) delivered another strong performance in net for the Sting. Having turned aside all 26 shots he faced in Game 1 for his first career playoff shutout, Gaudreau made 33 saves for an encore on Sunday. The 2021 Sharks third-round draft pick had a 119:20 shutout streak going in this series before Matyas Sapovaliv (LAK) snapped it to force overtime. Gaudreau shut the door from there, making some key saves in the extra frame to help the Sting score a 2-0 series lead.
OHL
Eastern Conference
(1) Ottawa vs. (4) Peterborough — Series tied 1-1
Game 2: Petes 2-1 67’s
- Brennan Othmann (NYR) and Gavin White (DAL) tallied the game’s first two goals as the Petes held on to a narrow victory in Ottawa
- Ottawa’s Jack Matier (NAS) scored late in the third for the 67’s, nabbing his first goal in six games
- Peterborough goalie Michael Simpson kept up his strong postseason play by making 25 saves — improving his GAA to 2.00 (2nd in the OHL) and SV% to .934 (T-2nd in the OHL)
- Ottawa’s Max Donoso turned aside 27-of-29 shots in defeat — the 19-year-old continues to pace the OHL in GAA (1.51) and SV% (.949) this postseason
- Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday in Peterborough
(2) North Bay vs. (3) Barrie — Series tied 1-1
Game 2: Battalion 5-2 Colts
- Kyle McDonald (DAL) scored twice, giving him an OHL-best nine goals this postseason, to help the Battalion gain a much-needed victory
- Kyle Jackson (SEA), Liam Arnsby (FLA) and Pasquale Zito (DET) rounded out the scoresheet for North Bay
- Jacob Frasca and Beau Jelsma recorded Barrie’s two goals
- Colts defenseman Brandt Clarke (LAK) recorded an assist to extend his point streak to 23 games (19G, 35A over that stretch) — Clarke now has an OHL-best 19 points (6G, 13A) in seven games this postseason
- North Bay’s Dom DiVincentiis (WPG) stopped 32 shots, improving his SV% to .934 (T-2nd in the OHL) and save total to 269 (most in the OHL) in the playoffs
- Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday in Barrie
Western Conference
(2) London vs. (8) Kitchener — London leads series 2-1
Game 3: Rangers 6-1 Knights
- In his return to the lineup following a three-game suspension, Rangers captain Francesco Pinelli (LAK) scored a pair of goals — he now has seven points (4G, 3A) in four games this postseason
- Pinelli’s first goal in Game 3 was short-handed, giving him a CHL-leading third SHG of the playoffs
- After giving up 10 goals in the first two games of this series, Rangers netminder Marco Costantini stepped up in a big way — stopping 30-of-31 shots in Game 3
- Francesco Arcuri (DAL), Roman Schmidt (TBL), Mitchell Martin and Ty Hollett also potted goals for Kitchener, while Matthew Sop recorded three assists
- Ryan Humphrey scored London’s only goal of the game, which was assisted by Connor Federkow and Sean McGurn (who extended his point streak to seven games)
- Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday in Kitchener
Francesco Pinelli set the Aud on fire with this one 🔥🔥@LAKings pick @CePinelli71 shows off his #BestOfOHL dangles to beat Brochu, netting his first goal of the series and kicking off a huge win for the @OHLRangers#MilkUPxOHL | @MilkUPOntario pic.twitter.com/0S2BnCVrFl
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 16, 2023
(3) Sarnia vs. (4) Saginaw — Sarnia leads series 2-0
Game 2: Sting 2-1 Spirit (OT)
- Luca Del Bel Belluz (CBJ) was the overtime hero, scoring the game-winner on the power-play to double the Sting’s lead in the series as it shifts to Saginaw
- Ty Voit (TOR) was Sarnia’s other goal scorer; he also had an assist in Game 2
- Saginaw’s Matyas Sapovaliv (LAK) forced overtime by scoring in the dying seconds of the game — he’s now ranked second in the OHL with eight goals and 16 points this postseason
- Following his Game 1 shutout, Benjamin Gaudreau (SJ) delivered again in a major way — turning aside 33 of the 34 shots he faced
- Gaudreau has allowed just one goal and made 59 saves through the first two games of this series
- Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday in Saginaw
DEL BEL BELLUZ CALLS GAME🔥🔥@BlueJacketsNHL pick @lucadelbel_ buries the overtime winner for the @StingHockey and they take a 2-0 series lead! 🎥#OHLPlayoffs | #SARvsSAG pic.twitter.com/TP23vNNeey
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 16, 2023
WHL
Eastern Conference
(2) Red Deer vs. (3) Saskatoon — Red Deer leads series 2-0
Game 2: Rebels 5-2 Blades
- Five different skaters found the scoresheet for Red Deer as the Rebels won another game on the road in Saskatoon to jump in front 2-0 in the series
- (ANA) Ben King (1G, 3A), Jhett Larson (1G, 2A) and (NYR) Jayden Grubbe (1G, 2A) put together multi-point efforts for the Rebels
- Christoffer Sedoff (VGK) and Carson Birnie potted the other goals for Red Deer
- Brandon Lisowsky (TOR) and Charlie Wright were the lone goal scorers for the Blades
- Despite the seven combined goals in this contest, both teams only found the target 36 times with Red Deer outshooting Saskatoon 20-16
- Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday in Red Deer
📽️ HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT 📽️
How did the @Rebelshockey get started Sunday?
Ben King did the thing, of course.@NutrienLTD | #WHLHoN@AnaheimDucks | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/iSXyAOBsjR
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 17, 2023
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