OHL Power Rankings: Oct. 28, 2024

The Windsor Spitfires departed at first overall in the OHL Priority Selection and have touched down at first overall in the OHL Power Rankings in the Week 5 edition.

Who’s up:

Windsor Spitfires – up two spots to #1 this week
The Spits are the new number one team on the OHL Power Rankings, forcing their way to the top with wins over Owen Sound and Niagara at the WFCU Centre. Liam Greentree leads the OHL in points-per-game with 26 (7-19–26) over 11 while Joey Costanzo is a perfect 9-0 in the crease. Windsor owns the league’s best power play, operating at an impressive 34.1%.

London Knights – up one spot to #3 this week
The Knights are back into the top-three, going 3-0 over the weekend with victories over Brantford, Saginaw and Sarnia. Easton Cowan continues to find the scoresheet, with a point in 44 consecutive regular season games dating back to November 25, 2023. Blueliner Sam Dickinson came up big for London, scoring the overtime winner in Friday’s 4-3 win over Brantford before adding another goal on Saturday in Saginaw.

Niagara IceDogs – up one spot to #7 this week
The IceDogs won two of three last week, beating Oshawa and Sarnia before dropping a hard-fought 2-1 decision in Windsor on Saturday. Niagara has benefitted from great goaltender as both Owen Flores and Charlie Robertson were sharp over the weekend. Offseason addition Andrei Loshko has proven to be a great find as the Seattle Kraken prospect has produced 17 points (8-9–17) over 12 games.

Kitchener Rangers – up three spots to #8 this week
Kitchener continues to surge, extending their winning streak to six games with points in 11 straight. The Rangers beat Erie on back-to-back nights with Adrian Misaljevic stepping up as the OT hero at Erie Insurance Arena on Saturday. Jackson Parsons was great in Saturday’s win, making 37 saves.

Soo Greyhounds – up three spots to #13 this week
Things are trending the right way for the Greyhounds, who have won four straight with Saginaw and Ottawa as their latest conquests. Utah Hockey Club prospect Noel Nordh enjoyed a great first week as a Greyhound, recording a goal and two assists in his debut on Friday. Charlie Schenkel is currently out with an injury, but Detroit Red Wings draftee Landon Miller stepped in and performed well on Friday.

Ottawa 67’s – up two spots to #15 this week
A 6-3 win over Sudbury on Sunday courtesy a Luca Pinelli hat-trick gets the Barber Poles back onto the list this week. Ottawa has been in a lot of close games this season, with a record of 2-3-1-1 in one-goal outcomes.

 

Who’s down:

Barrie Colts – down one spot to #2 this week
It’s tough to hold down the top spot. Barrie responded well from a 2-1 loss against the Erie Otters at home on Thursday, beating Brampton and Guelph to round-out the weekend. Dallas Stars prospect Brad Gardiner had two goals and an assist on both Friday and Saturday.

Saginaw Spirit – down two spots to #4 this week
The Spirit fell 5-3 in Sault Ste. Marie to begin the week on Wednesday before losing a 4-1 decision at home to London on Friday night. They returned to the win column Sunday, defeating the Owen Sound Attack 5-4 in a shootout as goaltender Kaleb Papineau won his OHL debut. NHL Draft prospect Michael Misa sits tied for the OHL lead in points, pacing all players with 17 goals over 13 games.

Erie Otters – down two spots to #9 this week
The Otters beat top-ranked Barrie to begin the week on Thursday before proceeding to lose consecutive games against rival Kitchener, who leapfrogged them in this week’s edition of the power rankings. NHL Draft eligible defender Matthew Schaefer made his season debut on Thursday, going on to record a goal and two assists over his first three games.

Oshawa Generals – down one spot to #10 this week
The Gennies dropped a 4-3 decision to Niagara on Thursday before coming back strong in wins over Kingston and Peterborough. We’ve yet to see the Generals play their best hockey consistently, but the return of Calum Ritchie from the Colorado Avalanche bodes well for Oshawa. Beckett Sennecke netted his first hat-trick of the season in Sunday’s 7-5 win at home to Peterborough.

Flint Firebirds – down one spot to #11 this week
Hey’d I’d be a little choked if I was Flint and I had to drop a spot despite wins over unranked opponents in Guelph and Owen Sound over the weekend. Flint lost a 2-1 shootout decision against Sarnia to begin the week on Wednesday morning. The surging Kitchener Rangers have forced their way up the list, resulting in a couple teams taking a step back. Big test for the Firebirds coming in a three-in-three next weekend, including a pair of matchups with top-ranked Windsor. Don’t worry Flint fans, we’ve got some good Firebirds news coming later this afternoon!

Sarnia Sting – down one spot to #14 this week
The Sting got the school day crowd goin’ on Wednesday, defeating Flint 2-1 in a shootout before losing at home to both Niagara and London.

Sudbury Wolves – down two spots to #16 this week
The Wolves defeated North Bay in a second straight meeting before losing 6-3 at home to Ottawa on Sunday afternoon. After Finn Marshall started the season hot in the crease, he’s cooled off a bit and Nate Krawchuk has taken on more goaltending minutes.

North Bay Battalion – down two spots and off the list this week
The Troops take their turn off the list this week, largely resulting from consecutive losses to Sudbury in recent weeks paired with being on the wrong end of a 6-2 decision at home to Kingston on Sunday. They’ve missed goal-scorer Anthony Romani, who has been sidelined with an injury since Oct. 11th.