Keep on Rolling
School Day Game
The Brampton Steelheads (13-10-1-0) have an early start to their weekend, as they host the Guelph Storm (7-14-2-1) this Wednesday morning for their annual School Day game. The Steelheads and Storm met once earlier in the season where Brampton defeated Guelph by a score of 10-1.
The key for the Steelheads to win will be putting pressure on Guelph’s goalie Braydenm Gillespie. The veteran netminder enters Wednesday’s matchup on a hot streak, as over the past two games he has stopped 73 of the last 78 shots he faced, which earned him a star in each game. The Trout had no problem scoring on Guelph in their previous matchup, and they will look for that success to continue into tomorrow’s matchup.
Luckily for Brampton, they have the offensive firepower to do so. The Trout have no shortage of weapons with Porter Martone and Carson Rehkopf sitting in the top five for OHL scoring, while Luke Misa not too far behind, but it was Adam Zidlicky who stole the show last game. The Czech speedster tallied a hattrick and two assists when the teams faced off in October, which helped pave the way for a dominant Trout rout. If Zidlicky can play to the same level this Wednesday, the Steelheads should not have any problem beating the Storm.
Friday Night lights
After a short one-day break, the Steelheads are back in action again Friday night, as they travel to Niagara for a rematch with the IceDogs (15-9-1-1). The Trout and IceDogs faced off twice this season with each side taking a game. Most recently, Niagara travelled to Brampton for an epic game which needed a shootout to solve.
The IceDogs enter Friday’s matchup in the midst of a small skid, as they have dropped four of their last five games, so they will be hungry to get back into the win column. To fend off Niagara, the Steelheads will need to contain sophomore forward Ryan Roobroeck. The London native enters the weekend riding a ten game point streak, where he has recorded a total of 19 points. The emergence of Roobroeck has helped propel the IceDogs to OHL contender status.
With the IceDogs possessing such a high-powered offence, the Steelheads will need star goalie Jack Ivankovic to play at the top of his game. The second-year netminder has been excellent since he returned from representing the CHL in their inaugural CHL vs NTDP showdown last Wednesday, as he led the Trout to back-to-back wins last weekend. Brampton will look for another strong performance from Ivankovic as they look to climb up the Eastern Conference Standings.
Catch all the action of the road games at watch.chl.ca or listen live on Sauga960.
Teddy Bear Toss
The Steelheads return home on Sunday to host the Erie Otters (13-7-3-1) for their annual Teddy Bear Toss game. Fans are encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to throw onto the ice when the Steelheads score their first goal of the game. All Teddy Bears will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Peel. In the first two matchups between the Steelheads and Otters, the Trout scored in the first period, so make sure to be prepared to toss those Teddy Bears!
Sunday’s matchup will be a good opportunity to see some of the possible players for team Canada’s World Juniors roster, as four players in the game were selected to the selection camp. Carson Rehkopf, Porter Martone, Jack Ivankovic, and Matthew Schaefer will all be battling for a chance to represent their country in Ottawa this Christmas. Rehkopf is the only returning member from last year’s team, while Martone, Ivankovic and Schaefer are fresh off of representing team CHL last week.
Matthew Schaefer will not be the only Otter that Brampton needs to worry about, as Pano Fimis and Sam Alfano combined for nine points in the most recent matchup. The Steelheads will need to contain the pair of Overage forwards as they look to continue their hot streak.
Thankfully for the Trout, they have a defenceman who is very familiar with Fimis’ and Alfano’s games in Spencer Sova. The fellow Overage defender spent the first three seasons of his OHL career in Erie, before being traded to Brampton this summer. When Sova faced off against his former team in September he recorded two points, while earning a +4 rating. The Windsor native was not only effective at creating offence but also at not allowing the Otters to create offence. The Trout will hope for this to continue as they aim to end the weekend on a high.
It will be an afternoon you will not want to miss, so grab your tickets here.
