Friday Highlights: 67’s in with a win

Friday March 4, 2016

The Ottawa 67’s are headed back to the playoffs for a second straight season after Adam Craievich scored two goals against his former club in a 6-2 win over the Guelph Storm.

Los Angeles Kings prospect Jacob Middleton earned first star honours with three assists in the victory while Dante Salituro, Jeremiah Addison and Artur Tyanulin all had a goal and an assist.

The 67’s are the fourth Eastern Conference team to clinch a playoff spot, doing so in one of eight games around the league on Friday.

OTTAWA 6 GUELPH 2 – Adam Craievich scored twice against his former club as the Ottawa 67’s clinched a playoff spot in a 6-2 victory over the Guelph Storm. Ottawa snapped a three game skid with a goal and an assist from Dante Salituro, Jeremiah Addison and Artur Tyanulin while captain Jacob Middleton earned first star honours with three assists. Rookies Nicolas Sicoly and Brock Philips scored for the Storm who have now dropped six straight decisions.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

SARNIA 2 WINDSOR 1 – The Sarnia Sting gained two big points on the Windsor Spitfires in their quest for West Division supremacy. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nikita Korostelev led the way with a goal and an assist while Sam Studnicka also found the back of the net in a 2-1 home ice victory over the Spitfires to take a three point lead atop the West Division. Charlie Graham made 27 saves in goal, being beaten just once in the game as Windsor’s Christian Fischer extended his current point streak to six games with his 34th goal of the season. Sarnia improves to 3-1 against Windsor on the season. The two clubs have two meetings left on the schedule, clashing on Thursday in Windsor before wrapping up the regular season on March 20th in Sarnia.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

ERIE 4 KITCHENER 3 SO – The Erie Otters rallied back from a 2-0 deficit on the road to edge the Kitchener Rangers 4-3 in a shootout, improving to 7-0 in shootouts this season. Alex DeBrincat’s goal and two assists led the way to victory for Erie as the Otters bounced back from a lopsided loss in London on Thursday to improve to 5-1 against Kitchener this season. Dylan Strome and Vanya Lodnia both beat Kitchener’s Luke Opilka in the shootout before Taylor Raddysh netted the winner in the fifth round. Kitchener’s Adam Mascherin scored one minute apart in the first period for his 33rd and 34th goals of the season while Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Jeremy Bracco had a goal and an assist on the night. Erie’s Devin Williams made 34 saves for his 38th win of the season. Appearing in his 169th career regular season game, Williams surpassed Josh Disher for the most games played by a goaltender in Otters history.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

KINGSTON 5 SAGINAW 3 – A 3-0 lead wasn’t enough to hold off the Kingston Frontenacs on Friday in Saginaw as they rallied back for a 5-3 victory behind a pair of goals from both Lawson Crouse and Jared Steege. Kingston’s first win in Saginaw since October 15, 2004 saw Crouse net the winner with 7:13 to go in the third as goaltender Lucas Peressini picked up the win in relief. Ryan Cranford also scored for the Fronts while Conor McGlynn notched two assists as the East Division champs notched their sixth straight win. Kingston outshot Saginaw 46-23 as Evan Cormier made 41 saves for the Spirit. Saginaw had goals from Kris Bennett, Artem Artemov and Tye Felhaber.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

LONDON 6 SAULT STE. MARIE 4 – The London Knights were able to slow the Soo Greyhounds down on Friday night, handing them a rare regulation road loss as Christian Dvorak had two goals and two assists in a 6-4 triumph. Aaron Berisha scored his 37th and 38th goals of the season while draft eligibles Matthew Tkachuk (0-2–2) and Olli Juolevi (1-0–1) also contributed. Greyhounds forward Zach Senyshyn scored in a third straight game to bring his season total to 39 while Blake Speers, Makar Tokarev and Jack Kopacka also tallied. The Hounds were outshot 40-27 as the Knights took their third straight win to remain within four points of first place Erie in the Midwest Division. The loss sees Sault Ste. Marie fall four points behind sixth place Owen Sound.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

OSHAWA 4 MISSISSAUGA 2 – The Oshawa Generals collected two big points as Anthony Cirelli (0-3–3), Kenny Huether (1-2–3), Mitchell Vande Sompel (1-1–2) and Jalen Smereck (1-1–2) combined to lead them over the Mississauga Steelheads 4-2. Oshawa provided four unanswered after falling behind 2-0 in the first period. The Generals have now won three straight and collected points in each of their last five contests to hold a four point lead over Hamilton for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Everett Clark and Nicolas Hague scored for the Steelheads who have lost three straight entering a big Saturday night matchup in Peterborough.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

BARRIE 6 NIAGARA 3 – The Barrie Colts rolled to their third straight win while snapping a four game skid on the road as Anaheim Ducks prospect Julius Nattinen had two goals and an assist in a 6-3 win over Niagara. The Colts prevailed despite being outshot 52-34 as Mackenzie Blackwood turned aside 49 shots to earn his 80th career OHL victory. OHL leading scorer Kevin Labanc tallied his 37th and 38th goals of the season to bring him within four points of Sheldon Keefe’s single season franchise record of 121 points set in 1999-00. Calgary Flames prospect Andrew Mangiapane extended his point streak to six games, notching his third consecutive multi-point outing with a pair of assists. Niagara goals came from Jordan Maletta, Ben Jones and Anthony DiFruscia as the Dogs suffered their third straight loss.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

OWEN SOUND 5 SUDBURY 3 – 17-year-old defenceman Sean Durzi had a career-high two goals and an assist to lead the Owen Sound Attack to a 5-3 win in Sudbury. Owen Sound’s third straight victory saw the blueline provide offensive contributions as Markus Phillips had a goal and an assist while Tyler MacArthur finished the night with three helpers. St. Louis Blues prospect Liam Dunda had a goal and an assist while overage veteran Josh Sterk provided the game winner with 5:28 to go in the third period. The Wolves had goals from the blueline as well as rookie Brandon Bastasin and sophomore Cole Mayo both found the back of the net while rookie winger Dmitry Sokolov finished the night with a goal and an assist. The Attack victory puts them four points ahead of seventh place Sault Ste. Marie in the Western Conference. The win also marks the sixth straight season that the Attack have reached the 30-win mark.
GAME SUMMARY