GAMEDAY PREVIEW: TOP PROSPECTS CLASH AS SPITS HOST FRONTS
SPITS HOST FRONTS
Windsor looking for 5th straight win
BY: EVAN MATHIAS
PREVIEW presented by MORTGAGE MIKE CELUCH
The Spits look to extend their winning streak to five games tonight as a pair of top NHL prospects meet at the WFCU Centre.
Red-hot Josh Ho-Sang, the reigning OHL Player of the Week, faces former teammate Sam Bennett and the Kingston Frontenacs (26-17-2-2), who make their only appearance of the season in Windsor.
Ho-Sang and Bennett, former teammates with the Toronto Marlboros Minor Midgets, were both taken with top-10 picks by their respective teams in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection.
Two years later, both are potential 1st round selections at this June’s NHL Entry Draft in Philadelphia.
YOUNG CATALYSTS
Ho-Sang and Bennett have been a huge part of the success of their teams.
Ho-Sang has recorded 11 points for Windsor (29-17-2-0) during its rip of victories, including a three-goal, four-point effort in a wild, 8-7 win over the Sarnia Sting on Sunday.
The 18-year-old forward has been prolific, with 23 goals and 62 points through 47 games; second only to Brady Vail (23G, 42A) in club scoring.
Bennett, NHL Central Scouting’s top-ranked North American skater for the 2014 NHL Draft in Philadelphia, is 6th in league scoring (27G, 41A). He leads a high-octane Fronts club that has manufactured 35 more goals (210) than the team with the second most in the Eastern Conference (Barrie, 175).
ONE-OFF REMATCH
When the two teams met earlier this month, Bennett (1G, 2A) and the Frontenacs got the better of Ho-Sang (1A) and the Spitfires in an eventual 4-2 win.
Tonight’s game also marks the return of former Spitfire Ryan Verbeek, who spent the first season and a half of his junior career with the club before being traded to Kingston in late December in exchange for Sam Povorozniouk and a 4th round pick in 2016.
Verbeek has nine goals and eight assists in 26 games since the deal, while Povorozniouk has six goals and six assists in 20 games.
HUMMAZING TICKET OFFER
To celebrate the launch of their delivery service at Just-Eat.ca, our friends at Hummazing are offering Spits fans a 2-for-1 ticket deal.
Simply visit the TekSavvy Box Office (Gate 2, WFCU Centre) and ask for the ‘Hummazing Spitfires Ticket Special”.
