Petes’ Michael Simpson named OHL Goaltender of the Week
Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Michael Simpson of the Peterborough Petes is the OHL Goaltender of the Week for the third time this season, going 3-0 with a shutout, a 1.33 goals-against average and .963 save percentage.
Simpson was in the crease for Peterborough’s 4-0 Family Day win over the Sudbury Wolves as he turned aside all 45 shots he faced for his second of back-to-back shutouts, earning first star recognition for his fifth clean sheet of the season. He turned aside 41 of 43 shots that came his way on Thursday as the Petes defeated the West Division-leading Windsor Spitfires 6-2. The 6-foot-1, 198 lb. goaltender was back between the pipes on Friday, backstopping the Petes to a 5-2 road victory over the Oshawa Generals where he made 19 saves for the win. Simpson closed out the weekend with a total of 105 saves over three games played.
A 20-year-old from London, Ont., the 23-16-1-2 Simpson leads the OHL in saves (1,211), save percentage (.917) and shutouts (5) along with a 2.62 goals-against average through 43 games. The second-year netminder played to a 20-18-3-1 mark in 2021-22, registering a 3.56 goals-against average and .891 save percentage. Simpson was a 10th round (193rd overall) pick by the Petes in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection from the London Jr. Knights U16 program.
Also in the running for the award this week, Owen Sound Attack rookie netminder Carter George turned aside 76 shots, going 1-1 with a 1.51 goals-against average and .962 save percentage. Tristan Malboeuf of the Hamilton Bulldogs played to a 2-1 mark with a 1.70 goals-against average, .949 save percentage and a shoutout victory.
2022-23 OHL Goaltenders of the Week – Regular Season:
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)