Weekend Preview – Jan 14, 15 & 16

Here’s what you need to know coming into this weekend’s games…

After making bold moves before Monday’s trade deadline, the Colts are back in action starting on Thursday, January 14^th to begin their fourth three-in-three this season, and second three-in-three weekend in a row. Thursday, the Colts will travel to Erie where they will be taking on the Erie Otters for the second and final time this season. Then, the Colts work their way back towards Barrie and make a stop in Hamilton Friday night to take on the Bulldogs. Saturday night, the Colts are back at the BMC to take on their Central Division rival, the North Bay Battalion. Rolling into the weekend, the Colts lead the Central Division by two points over the Niagara IceDogs, and they sit second in the Eastern Conference, only behind the Kingston Frontenacs.

Erie Otters (34-5-1-0) vs. Barrie Colts

• Thursday night’s meeting in Erie will be the second and last time this season that the Colts and the Otters will go head to head. In their previous meeting in Barrie back in October, the Otters got the best of the Colts, walking away with a 4-3 win.
• Despite being away participating at the World Junior Championship, Arizona Coyotes prospect, Dylan Strome, leads the team with 61 points. Nylander has 19 goals and 42 assists through 28 games played, also showing a plus/minus of plus 17.
• Through 40 games played, the Otters find themselves in second place for their overall power play. The Otters are running at 25.7%, having scored 36 times through 140 chances. The Colts aren’t too far behind, as they are running at 19.3% efficiency and find themselves holding down 10^th place for their overall power play. The Colts have scored 32 goals through 166 chances. The Otters have only given up 3 shorthanded goals against, while the Colts have given up 6. On the flip side, both the Colts and Otters are very close in the standings. Erie has the edge though as they sit in third place for their overall penalty kill, shutting the door 85.5% of the time, while the Colts are in fifth, rolling with an 84.1% efficiency. The Colts have 10 shorthanded goals for, while the Otters only have four.
• The Otters roll into the weekend with a home record of 17-3-0-0, only having lost 5 games all season, while the Colts away record sits at 11-7-0-0.

Hamilton Bulldogs (14-23-3-0) vs. Barrie Colts

• Friday night’s game in Hamilton will be the third time this season that these two teams take the ice against each other. Currently, the teams are split in their season series as they have each picked up a win. The Bulldogs claimed the first win in Hamilton, while the Colts claimed the second win in Barrie.
• Bulldogs left winger, Michael Cramarossa currently leads the team with 32 points. He has tallied 10 goals and 22 assists through 36 games played this season. Rookie, Matthew Strome, leads Bulldogs rookies with 5 goals and 8 assists, for 13 points in 34 games played.
• The Bulldogs power play sits 14^th in the league, cruising at 17.6% efficiency. They have scored 29 power play goals this season off of 165 chances and have only given up four shorthanded goals against. The Colts continue to hold down the middle of the league as they sit in 10^th with their overall power play, running at 19.3%. In terms of their penalty kills, the Bulldogs just slip outside of the top 10, claiming the 11^th spot. They penalty kill is efficient 80.3% of the time and they have scored 5 shorthanded goals for. The Colts are fifth in the league with their penalty kill as they are 84.1% effective on shutting the door. The Colts are also second best in the league as they have scored 10 shorthanded goals.
• The Bulldogs have a record of 8-8-2-0 this season at home, while the Colts are 11-7-0-0 when playing on the road.

Barrie Colts vs. North Bay Battalion (20-15-2-2)

• Saturday night’s game against the Battalion is a continuation of the battle between the two rivals. So far this season, the Battalion and Colts have met three times, with the fourth being on Saturday. All of their meetings though have come within a month of one another. The Battalion currently have found the better of the Colts on two of the three occasions, but the Colts did make a statement game in the second meeting, putting up 12 goals in their 12-2 win.
• Los Angeles prospect Mike Amadio currently leads the Battalion with 54 points. He has 23 goals and 31 assists through 39 games, and also leads the team with a plus 7 rating. Battalion rookie, Cam Dineen leads rookies and is tied for second in points on the team with 34 points through 39 games. He has registered 7 goals and 27 assists through that time.
• North Bay’s overall power play is good for 7^th in the league among all teams. They are 20.0% successful on their power play chances, scoring 30 goals over 150 opportunities. The Colts are only 0.7% less successful than the Battalion, going 32 for 166 on their chances on the power play this season. On the penalty kill, both teams again are close, with the Battalion edge out the Colts and shut the door 84.6% of the time, putting them in 4^th, while the Colts are in 5^th at 84.1% efficiency. However, the Battalion do have a league high 16 short-handed goals for, while the Colts have 10.
• The Battalion have a road record of 5-9-2-2, while the Colts are 13-7-0-1 at home.
   

Colts Notes

• Kevin Labanc leads the Colts with 72 points in 37 games played. He has tallied 26 goals and 46 assists, now having tallied 17 points in 5 games.
• Seven other Colts have double digit goals (Mangiapane 20G, Sadowy 20G, Scott 16G, Radke 15G, Stefano 13G, James 13G, Nattinen 10G)
• Kevin Labanc is on an eight game point streak where he has recorded 23 points.
• Andrew Mangiapane is on a six game point streak where he has recorded 14 points.
• Rasmus Andersson is on a three game point streak.
• Justin Murray leads the Colts rookies with 9 points. Murray has 1 goal and 8 assists through 38 games played.
• Milestone alerts:
  • Andersson enters the weekend with 98 OHL career points.
  • Stefano enters the weekend with 90 OHL career points.
  • DiTomaso enters the weekend with 44 OHL career points.