OHL Power Rankings: Dec. 9, 2024
The London Knights’ streak is over (not the Easton Cowan one), and the Peterborough Petes are back in Week 11 of the OHL Power Rankings!
Who’s up:
Kitchener Rangers – up one spot to #2 this week
The Rangers turned in another perfect weekend, stretching their winning streak to six games with wins over Brantford, Sault Ste. Marie and Windsor. Saturday’s 3-2 shootout win over the Spitfires, though narrow, was enough to vault the Blueshirts past the Spitfires and into second on the list. Jackson Parsons made 27 saves for his league-leading fourth shutouts of the season in Friday’s win. The Rangers won their Friday and Saturday games without head coach Jussi Ahokas, who has returned to Finland to tend to a family medical matter. Circle your calendar for Knights/Rangers on Sunday afternoon in London.
Kingston Frontenacs – up one spot to #7 this week
The Fronts get a bump following a one-goal loss to the Central Division leading Barrie Colts before beating the Sarnia Sting 6-2 at home on Sunday. Matthew Soto scored a hat-trick in Sunday’s win while Quinton Burns had two goals and two assists. The Fronts sit one point back of first place Oshawa in the East Division.
Sudbury Wolves – up two spots to #9 this week
The Wolves are rolling with points in nine of their last 10. Last week’s success featured home wins over American opponents Erie and Flint. Star forward Quentin Musty has been sidelined with an injury since Nov. 24th, but the Wolves haven’t skipped a beat, playing to a mark of 3-0-1-0 since that point. Overage captain Donovan McCoy was the OT hero in Saturday’s 5-4 win over Flint.
Niagara IceDogs – up two spots to #10 this week
The Dogs beat Brampton and Brantford, improving to 17-9-1-1. Owen Flores continues to be a workhorse, making 43 more saves in Sunday’s win to give him a league-leading total of 753 on the season, translating it into a .905 save percentage. Blake Arrowsmith’s first as an IceDog was the deciding goal in Sunday’s win over the Bulldogs. Ryan Roobroeck and Kevin He sit tied for the team goal-scoring lead with 20 apiece.
North Bay Battalion – up two spots to #13 this week
The Troops took three of four points last week, falling 4-3 in overtime to the Erie Otters before beating the Flint Firebirds 4-1 on Sunday. Anaheim Ducks prospect Ethan Procyszyn is the club’s leading scorer with 30 points (19-11–30) over 26 contests. He was the first star of Sunday’s win, registering a goal and two assists.
Peterborough Petes – up one spot to #16 this week
Don’t look now, the Petes have won three of their last four! Caden Taylor contributed OT heroics in Thursday’s comeback win over Sarnia before the Petes came close on Friday in Brantford, losing to the Bulldogs 4-3. The mighty maroon returned home on Sunday to defeat the Guelph Storm 5-3 thanks to two-goal efforts from both Martin Matejicek and Brody Partridge. After overcoming an early season injury, goaltender Easton Rye is 4-4 in the crease so far in 2024-25.
Who’s down:
Windsor Spitfires – down one spot to #3 this week
The Spits ended the week on a high note, beating the Saginaw Spirit 7-4 following Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Kitchener Rangers. Washington Capitals prospect Ilya Protas continues to do big things, registering five points (3-2–5) in a pair of games last week. Get ready for a couple big matchups this week as the Spits battle the rival London Knights in a home-and-home set.
Saginaw Spirit – down one spot to #8 this week
The Spirit were blanked at home by the Soo Greyhounds on Wednesday, bounced back in a big way in Saturday’s 6-1 win over the Oshawa Generals, before surrendering seven goals in a loss to the Windsor Spitfires on Sunday. The Spits have Saginaw’s number this year, defeating the Spirit in three of four meetings so far. Saturday’s win marked head coach Chris Lazary’s 200th in the OHL.
Brantford Bulldogs – down two spots to #11 this week
The Bulldogs continue to struggle with consistency, losing 6-3 in Kitchener on Tuesday before beating the last place Peterborough Petes 4-3 on Friday night. They came up short on Sunday in Niagara, losing 4-3 to the IceDogs. Brantford is 13-12-3-0 on the season.
Brampton Steelheads – down two spots to #12 this week
The Trout beat the Guelph Storm 7-4 in Wednesday’s school day game before losing a pair of 5-4 contests to Niagara and Erie. Mason Zebeski joined Angus MacDonell and Lucas Karimiris on Brampton’s injured list this past week, something the club has struggled with here in the opening half of the season.
Soo Greyhounds – down one spot to #14 this week
The Hounds snapped a four-game slide to beat Saginaw 2-0 thanks to a 38-save shutout from Landon Miller on Tuesday. It was downhill from there though as they fell 3-0 in Kitchener on Friday and 3-1 in Owen Sound on Saturday. The Greyhounds have now lost six of their last seven. They’ll get standout forward Brady Martin back from suspension on Wednesday night at home to Sudbury before hosting Niagara and Sarnia later in the week.
Ottawa 67’s – down one spot to #15 this week
The Barber Poles collapsed in the third period on Wednesday in Oshawa, losing 8-4 to the Generals before finding their feet in Friday’s 6-1 home win over the Sarnia Sting that featured a Luca Pinelli hat-trick. The 67’s came up short against the Barrie Colts at TD Place on Sunday, losing 2-1.
Flint Firebirds – down one spot and off the list this week
The Firebirds had a forgettable road trip, losing in Barrie, Sudbury and North Bay, though they managed to pick-up a point in Saturday’s overtime loss to the Wolves. The Flint offence has struggled at times in the opening half of the season. Their power play is 19th in the league, operating at 12.4%.
