OHL Power Rankings: Week 2 – Oct. 10, 2023

We hope the turkey and time with friends and family was great! Hopefully you got to take in a game or two over the weekend, but even if you didn’t – we’ve got you covered with another set of Power Rankings. We made you wait an extra day for this one, so without further delay:

Who’s up:

North Bay Battalion – up six spots to #3 this week
You have our attention! The Troops took five of a possible six points last week, scoring big-time wins over both #1 ranked London and #5 ranked Owen Sound. The Battalion have returning Goaltender of the Year Dom DiVincentiis in top form the start the season. With him in the pipes, the Battalion can be outshot and still stand a very good chance of winning. For those of you who actually read this stuff, we said North Bay might have gotten a raw deal in last week’s rankings. Needless to say the Troops are back, baby.

Soo Greyhounds – up two spots to #10 this week
Even though coach John Dean wasn’t terribly impressed with his team’s effort to close out the weekend on Monday, we think the Hounds deserve some love after becoming the league’s first team to five wins this season. The Hounds return to the Soo with four of a possible six points, recovering from a 7-4 loss in Sarnia on Friday to defeat both Flint and Windsor. Sault Ste. Marie leads the OHL with 37 goals and boasts the league’s top scorer in overage forward Jack Beck, who has 12 points (3-9–12) through six games. Next week will be a good test for the Hounds as they square off with Ottawa and Owen Sound on home ice.

Brantford Bulldogs – up one spot to #12 this week
Sunday’s 6-1 loss in Mississauga certainly had us second-guessing this one, but the Dogs did beat Oshawa on a huge night for the franchise Saturday at the Civic Centre in Brantford. The Generals are coming in one spot behind Brantford on this week’s list. We’ll cut the Dogs a little slack after a tough northern road trip on the opening weekend of the season. They showed well at home on Saturday, and get the defending champion Peterborough Petes back at the Civic on Friday.

Kitchener Rangers – up one spot to #14 this week
One wouldn’t typically associate dropping two of three while surrendering eight goals in one of those losses with a positive outcome, but the Kitchener Rangers climb nonetheless. Sometimes it’s who you beat that matters, and the Blueshirts got the better of the Sarnia Sting on the road last Wednesday night. Sarnia bounced back and played well with a pair of wins on the weekend, but the Rangers will stay one step ahead. Kitchener and Sarnia meet next on Oct. 24th at The Aud.

Sarnia Sting – up two spots to #15 this week
The Sting didn’t get a lot of love in the preseason polls, but this young team can apparently score. Sarnia bounced back from a loss to Kitchener on Wednesday, racking up seven goals on the Soo Greyhounds Friday at the hive before putting six past the Windsor Spitfires on Saturday in Windsor. Marko Sikic was a bright spot for the Sting last week, potting his first career OHL hat trick in Friday’s win while Tyson Doucette has also emerged offensively, His four goals in five games are as many as he scored in 58 last season.

Who’s down:

Ottawa 67’s – down one spot to #4 this week
Last year’s regular season champions are off to a 1-2 start. They caught the Sudbury Wolves on the back end of a three-in-three, defeating them 5-2 at TD Place on Saturday afternoon. The 67’s were on the losing end of a 5-2 decision on Sunday in Kingston.

Guelph Storm – down one spot to #5 this week
The Storm put an 8-0 drubbing on Erie Friday night at the Sleeman, but couldn’t match the London Knights on Saturday in London, dropping a 4-1 decision in a game where they registered just 16 shots on goal.

Owen Sound Attack – down one spot to #6 this week
The Bears beat Kitchener 5-2 on Friday before things got interesting against the Erie Otters at the Bayshore on Saturday. A desperate Otters team was in the hunt for their first win and looked to be in good shape until the latter minutes of the third period as Deni Goure forced OT with 2:02 to spare. Sam Sedley set up Ethan Burroughs for the game-winner and Owen Sound looked to be ready to rise on this week’s list. The Attack suffered a setback on Monday in North Bay however. They couldn’t cash-in on a five-minute power play in the second period and suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Battalion. The Attack are on the road for their next three in a row with stops in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie next weekend.

Barrie Colts – down one spot to #7 this week
The Colts did end up getting the win, but coughed up a 6-3 lead against the winless Niagara IceDogs in the third period on Saturday. Jacob Frasca came through with the winner in overtime.

Sudbury Wolves – down one spot to #8 this week
North Bay got the raw deal in last week’s rankings, and Sudbury probably takes that distinction this time. The Wolves beat both Peterborough and Kingston to start the weekend before falling in Ottawa on Saturday. Not a bad road trip, all things considered. The Wolves get a crack at a pair of top-10 opponents next weekend, starting a four-game home stand against Owen Sound and Ottawa.

Mississauga Steelheads – down one spot to #9 this week
The Trout blanked the Niagara IceDogs on Thursday but lost in Oshawa a night later. The Steelheads looked great on Sunday afternoon against Brantford, with Porter Martone scoring a goal of the year candidate in a 6-1 triumph. Mississauga enters Week 3 at #9 on the list, but a looming three-in-three against Guelph, Saginaw and Erie will likely tell us if they’re worthy of a little more respect on this list.

Kingston Frontenacs – down one spot to #11 this week
The Fronts split the weekend, losing to Sudbury before beating Ottawa. Much like the aforementioned Steelheads, the Fronts have an opportunity to turn some heads on the road next weekend with a three-in-three with stops in Windsor, London and Niagara. They’ll play five of their next six games on the road.

Oshawa Generals – down two spots to #13 this week
The Gennies had mixed results last week, handing the Mississauga Steelheads their first loss on Friday before losing 5-2 on opening night at the Brantford Civic Centre on Saturday. Oshawa will come in one spot behind Brantford this week. They get another crack at the Bulldogs on Oct. 20th, but not before a three-in-three next week with matchups against top-10 foes in Saginaw, Barrie and North Bay.

Flint Firebirds – down three spots and off the list this week
The Birds are 0-3, but more than that, they already have a new head coach. The Firebirds dropped a 7-3 decision to the Soo Greyhounds in their first game under new bench boss Paul Flache Saturday night. They’ll face their in-state rival the Saginaw Spirit on Wednesday (streaming for free on CHL TV). We’ll give the Firebirds, who do have some veteran talent on the roster, some time to get things sorted out in Flint.