OHL Power Rankings: Week 5 – Oct. 30, 2023
We’re officially through October and the OHL’s competitive balance is still developing from week-to-week. The Mississauga Steelheads hold on to #1 on this week’s list – but top spot in the OHL is still very much up for grabs!
Who’s up:
North Bay Battalion – up one spot to #2 this week
The Troops were in the conversation to be moving down the list a couple slots heading into Sunday before they found a way to come back and beat the rival Sudbury Wolves on home ice, salvaging the weekend and moving up one spot to #2. North Bay lost to Guelph and Brantford last week as the Battalion own a record of 6-4-2-1.
London Knights – up one spot to #3 this week
A quiet weekend for the Knights featured just one game, but it was a big one as they defeated the previously second-ranked Ottawa 67’s 3-2 in overtime. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect scored a pretty overtime winner on a setup from Max McCue as London improved to 7-4-0-1. Dale Hunter’s 908th career OHL coaching win pushed him ahead of the late Bert Templeton into second on the league’s all-time wins list.
Guelph Storm – up two spots to #4 this week
An impressive weekend from the Storm saw them defeat the North Bay Battalion 4-1 at the Gardens on Thursday night. Guelph lost to the Sudbury Wolves by a score of 5-2 on Friday, before returning home to soundly defeat the Ottawa 67’s 6-1 on Sunday afternoon. 2024 NHL Draft prospect Jett Luchanko had himself a big week, producing six points (2-4–6) in three games.
Sudbury Wolves – up one spot to #6 this week
The Wolves beat the Guelph Storm at home on Friday night as 6-foot-6 winger Kieron Walton scored a pair of quick second period goals to put the momentum firmly in Sudbury’s favour. The Wolves led North Bay 3-1 after one period on Sunday but the lead wouldn’t hold as Sudbury fell to 0-2 against the Troops this season in a 5-4 loss. St. Louis Blues prospect Dalibor Dvorsky has five points (2-3–5) through his first four games with Sudbury. Overage blueliner Djibril Touré, who scored twice in his season debut on Oct. 13th, has been sidelined with a wrist injury and didn’t play last week.
Kitchener Rangers – up two spots to #7 this week
The Rangers continue their ascent after originally not being included in the league’s top-16 during the preseason. The Blueshirts are the highest-scoring team in the league and beat both Sarnia and Erie at home last week. Kitchener surrendered a 4-2 lead on the Otters late in the third period of Friday’s game before Matthew Sop stepped up with the OT winner to bring the Aud to its feet. Kitchener lost 5-3 in Owen Sound on Saturday, this after previously defeating the Attack twice earlier this month. Blueliner Hunter Brzustewicz is riding a current 12-game point streak dating back to Sept. 30th.
Owen Sound Attack – up two spots to #9 this week
The Bears put a forgettable week behind them, going 2-0 with wins over both Kitchener and Oshawa under interim head coach Darren Rumble. Young goaltender Carter George continues to be a rock in the crease, stopping 62 of 67 shots to earn both wins last week. Overage blueliner Sam Sedley turned-in consecutive first star performances with a total of five assists in the two victories.
Peterborough Petes – up one spot to #13 this week
The Petes continued their strong start, defeating a pair of unranked teams in Niagara and Erie on the road to tie a franchise record of five straight road wins to begin the season. The Petes started slow in Niagara before eventually winning 4-3 in OT on a game winner by blueliner Sam Mayer. Liam Sztuska stole the show in Erie on Saturday with a 42-save performance as the Petes prevailed over the Otters by a score of 2-1. Connor Lockhart scored against his former club while Owen Beck scored the 50th goal of his OHL career. The Petes prepare for a home-and-home with the rival Oshawa Generals on Thursday and Friday. The Petes are 7-2-2-0 atop the East Division, and are due for a healthy power rankings bump if things continue to go well this coming week.
Flint Firebirds – up two spots to #14 this week
The Firebirds seem to have navigated through the turbulence of an early season coaching change, emerging with five of a possible six points from last week’s action. The Birds defeated the Soo Greyhounds 6-3 on the road Wednesday night, returning home to fall in overtime to those same Greyhounds by a score of 6-5 on Saturday. Flint bested rival Saginaw on Sunday afternoon as Gavin Hayes potted a pair in a 5-3 victory. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Braeden Kressler has given the Firebirds a nice boost, with 10 points (5-5–10) through nine games.
Who’s down:
Ottawa 67’s – down three spots to #5 this week
The Barber Poles drop for a second-straight week, beating Windsor on Thursday before losses in London and Guelph on Friday and Sunday. The 67’s took London to overtime on Friday in a 3-2 loss, but were out of gas on Sunday as the Storm won handily by a score of 6-1. With some travelling out of the way, the 67’s return to the nation’s capital for 13 of their next 16 games at TD Place.
Saginaw Spirit – down seven spots to #11 this week
We said last week that it was going to be a bit of a show-me week for the Spirit, and, well, it didn’t go great. Despite a big comeback effort with a pair of Michael Misa goals to force overtime, the Spirit fell 5-4 to the Soo Greyhounds at home on Friday. The offence dried up at home to Sarnia on Saturday in a 3-1 loss. The Spirit couldn’t match the rival Flint Firebirds on the road Sunday afternoon, losing 5-3. Misa was a bright spot for Saginaw with four goals and two assists. Goaltender Andrew Oke remained sidelined with an injury as Nolan Lalonde got the start in all three contests. The Spirit are at home next weekend, hosting Erie on Thursday and Mississauga on Friday.
Oshawa Generals – down three spots to #16 this week
The Gennies took back-to-back losses last week, falling 4-3 in Kingston on Friday before the Owen Sound Attack skated out of Oshawa with a 3-2 victory on Sunday night. Up next, the Generals have the rival Peterborough Petes in a home-and-home on Thursday and Friday.
