Game Sheets: Weekend Preview
By: Steve Irving
Photo: Aaron Bell – OHL Images
The 67’s continue their 2 week road trip Saturday night with a game at the Erie Insurance Arena against the Erie Otters, before heading to Guelph on Sunday for a 2 p.m. matinee. The 67’s are looking for their 3rd road win of the year after beating Niagara on Thursday night.
The 67’s win came in their first appearance at the brand new Meridian Centre. The 4-1 win moved the 67’s up to 6th place in the Eastern Conference after their first 13 games. Newcomer Trent Mallette scored a pair for the 67’s, while Erik Bradford and Jeremiah Addison also found the score sheet. Carter Verhaege scored the lone goal for Niagara. Liam Herbst stood tall in net for the 67’s turning away 25 of 26 shots.
The 67’s will miss Travis Barron this weekend as he is representing Canada at the Under-17 World Championships in Sarnia. Taylor Raddysh (Erie) and Matthew Hotchkiss (Guelph) will also represent Canada.
Erie Otters
The 2014 Western Conference Finalists came into the season as one of the top-ranked teams in the OHL and, so far, have not disappointed. A pair of Otters are the top scorers in the OHL right now – Connor McDavid (11g, 23a) and Dylan Strome (10g, 21a). They also boast the top scoring rookie in Alex DeBrincat, who is fifth in league scoring. Patrick Murphy is leading the team’s defencemen in scoring, averaging almost a point-per-game. The Otters have the top-ranked power play and ninth-best penalty-killing unit.
Guelph Storm
Sunday’s meeting will be the first of two between the 67’s and the defending Memorial Cup and OHL Champions this year. The Storm have a 7-0-4-1 record on the year and their leading scorer is Tyler Bertuzzi, a second-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings. The Storm also have a pair of NHL first rounders in Robby Fabbri (STL) and Jason Dickinson (DAL). Other drafted players are Ben Harpur (OTT, fourth round) and Zac Leslie (LA, sixth round). Guelph has the 15th ranked power play and sit dead-last in OHL penalty killing.
