Saturday Highlights: Ivankovic grounds teddy bears in first OHL shutout

Mississauga Steelheads 5 vs. Erie Otters 0

Rookie goaltender Jack Ivankovic stopped all 48 Otters shots on Teddy Bear Toss night in Erie to earn his first career OHL shutout
Ivankovic’s 48 saves are the most by a Steelheads goaltender in a shutout effort, as well as the most by a 16-year-old rookie in a shutout in the past 25 years of OHL history
Mason Zebeski led the Steelheads with his first career OHL hat-trick, scoring all three goals in the second period
Luke Misa recorded a second consecutive three-assist outing to reach 100 career OHL points; Zander Veccia joined Misa with three assists
Mississauga wins all four games against the Otters to sweep the season series, improving to 14-7-0-0 atop the Central Division

Ottawa 67’s 3 vs. Oshawa Generals 2 – OT

Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Cooper Foster scored his second of the game with 2.5 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the 67’s over the Generals on a second straight day
Max Donoso carried a shutout early into the third period, however Oshawa’s Connor Lockhart ended the bid with his fourth of the season
New York Rangers prospect Dylan Roobroeck tied the game with 23 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime and help Oshawa earn a point
Ottawa rookie Nic Whitehead added two helpers, earning second star honours
Donoso was once again excellent for the 67’s, stopping 35-of-37 in the win
Ottawa wins their third straight to improve to 13-7-1-0, while Oshawa sits at 8-10-2-1

Guelph Storm 8 vs. Kitchener Rangers 6

Trailing 5-2, Guelph scored six unanswered goals to complete the comeback against the Rangers
Braeden Bowman recorded his first career OHL hat-trick, as well as a helper on Jake Karabela’s goal
Washington Capitals prospect Karabela finished with four points as well, recording a goal and three assists
Max Namestnikov continues extended his goal-scoring streak to four straight games
Kitchener’s Trent Swick earned a helper on Filip Mešár’s goal to extend his assist streak to six games
Damian Slavik relieved Brayden Gillespie, stopping 26-of-28 to earn the win for Guelph
The Storm have won three of their last four, improving to 13-8-0-1 for third place in the Midwest Division
After eight straight wins, the Rangers have lost their last two outings and own a record of 17-7-0-0

Flint Firebirds 7 vs. Niagara IceDogs 3

Three-point nights from Braeden Kressler (1-2-3) and Zacharie Giroux (1-2-3) led the Firebirds to their 11th win of the season
Nathan Aspinall brought down the teddy bears 7:07 into the first period
Chicago Blackhawks prospect Gavin Hayes added two goals for Flint
Two of Niagara’s three goals came on the PK; They now lead the OHL with 10 shorthanded goals, which is more than their total of power play goals (8)
Flint’s Simon Slavicek extends his point streak to 12 consecutive games, while Niagara’s Kevin He extends his to seven straight games
Owen Flores made 42 saves in the losing effort, while Edmonton Oilers prospect Nathan Day stopped 35 for the Firebirds
Flint wins their first game against the Niagara IceDogs since February 20th, 2020; the Firebirds improve to 11-10-1-1
Niagara has lost their last four games and now sit at 4-13-4-1

North Bay Battalion 6 vs. Owen Sound Attack 3

Tied at three in the third period, Dalyn Wakely scored the go-ahead goal with 5:48 remaining
Six different players scored for the Battalion to snap their two-game losing skid
Seattle Kraken prospect Ty Nelson recorded three assists
All three Attack goals on the night were unassisted as the Bears saw their five-game winning streak snapped
Owen Sound blueliner James Petrovski scored his first goal of the season
Carter George made 41 saves in the losing effort opposite Dom DiVincentiis, who made 29 saves for the Troops
North Bay wins their fourth consecutive game against the Attack; Owen Sound’s last victory against the Battalion came on December 15th, 2019
The Battalion climb to 11-8-4-1, one point back of first place Mississauga in the Central Division

Saginaw Spirit 6 vs. Sarnia Sting 1

Vegas Golden Knights prospect Matyas Sapovaliv (1-3-4) tallied four points as the Spirit tied a franchise record with their ninth straight win
Newly acquired overager Alex Christopoulos added a goal and two assists, giving him four points in four games with the Spirit
Carson Hall scored the lone goal for the Sting midway through the second period
The Spirit went 3-for-6 on the power play, while holding Sarnia to 0-for-3; the Spirit took the shooting column 41-19
The loss is Sarnia’s sixth in a row as the Sting fall to 9-14-0-0, five points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference
The Spirit go for a record 10th straight win on Sunday at home to Niagara; they sit three points back of first place Sault Ste. Marie in the West Division

London Knights 9 vs. Barrie Colts 3

San Jose Sharks prospect Kasper Halttunen scored his first career OHL hat-trick for the Knights, extending his point streak to 10 consecutive games in the process
Three Knights players recorded three points on the night, Easton Cowan (1-2-3), Jacob Julien (1-2-3) and Ruslan Gazizov (2-1-3)
Henry Brzustewicz of the Knights and Nolan Newton of the Colts both scored their first career OHL goal
Colts blueliner Grayson Tiller scored his first goal of the season
London went 3-for-5 on the power play, while keeping the Colts to 0-for-2
London’s Michael Simpson stopped 35-of-38 for the win, improving to 11-4-0-0 on the season
The Knights shake-off four straight losses, improving to 15-8-0-1 while Barrie falls below .500 at 10-11-0-0
The Knights snap a four game losing streak at Sadlon Arena, winning their first game in Barrie since January 4th, 2018