Friday Highlights: Home ice hat-tricks make the difference

Saginaw Spirit 5 vs. Guelph Storm 4 – OT

Trailing 4-2 late in the third period, the Spirit rallied for three unanswered with Vancouver Canucks prospect Josh Bloom scoring with 12 seconds left in OT
Michael Misa was the game’s first star, registering a goal and two helpers; Misa became the third-fastest exceptional status player in OHL history to reach 50 career goals, doing so in his 108th game
Vegas Golden Knights prospect Matyas Sapovaliv tied the score with just five seconds remaining in the third period
Alex Christopoulos and Caleb Mangone also scored for the Spirit as they outshot the Storm 43-27
NHL Draft prospect Zayne Parekh recorded an assist, setting a new Spirit record for defencemen with his 57th helper of the season
Storm captain Braeden Bowman set a new career-high with his 34th goal of the season
St. Louis Blues prospect Michael Buchinger had two assists for Guelph
Andrew Oke stopped 23 for the win opposite Brayden Gillespie, who made 38 saves for Guelph
Saginaw keeps pace with London atop the Western Conference, improving to 47-15-1-1
Guelph falls to 29-27-6-1, tied with Erie for fifth in the Western Conference

Oshawa Generals 8 vs. Sudbury Wolves 5

Reigning Cogeco OHL Player of the Week Dylan Roobroeck led the way with two goals and two assists as the Generals won a ninth straight contest
2024 NHL Draft prospects Beckett Sennecke (2-1–3) and Luca Marrelli (1-3–4) had multi-point showings
Oshawa climbed out to a 4-0 lead after one period, carrying the lead the rest of the way
Sudbury’s Dalibor Dvorsky and Chase Coughlan each had a goal and an assist
The Wolves outshot the Generals 29-25 in the loss
Oshawa improves to 37-19-7-2, three points up on Mississauga for first in the Eastern Conference
Sudbury has lost back-to-back games, falling to 35-21-4-3 and into a tie for fifth in the Eastern Conference

Sarnia Sting 6 vs. Flint Firebirds 5 – OT

Defenceman Mitch Young completed his first career OHL hat-trick 30 seconds into overtime, netting his 10th of the season for the game-winner
Tyson Doucette, Marko Sikic and Dennis Lominac also scored Sting goals; Sikic finished with a goal and three assists
Flint’s Oliver Peer had two goals and an assist, eclipsing 150 points in his OHL career
Sting captain Cooper Way played in his 200th career OHL contest
There were just three minor penalties in the game
Nick Surzycia earned the win in goal, making 26 saves opposite Flint’s Jacob Brown, who stopped 20
Sarnia improves to 24-36-3-1
The Firebirds earn a point, sitting one point back of seventh place Owen Sound with a record of 29-30-4-1

Kingston Frontenacs 6 vs. Peterborough Petes 3

Chris Thibodeau scored a natural hat-trick, giving him 20 goals on the season as the Fronts doubled-up the Petes
Linus Hemstrom scored twice for Kingston while Matthew Soto rounded-out the scoring
2024 NHL Draft prospect Jacob Battaglia had three assists in the win
Braydon McCallum scored twice and added an assist for Peterborough
Mason Vaccari made 22 saves for the win opposite Peterborough’s Zach Bowen, who made 27 saves in the loss
Kingston rebounds from a loss in Peterborough on Wednesday, improving to 30-31-4-0 for seventh in the Eastern Conference
The Petes fall to 20-36-7-1

Kitchener Rangers 9 vs. Owen Sound Attack 2

The Rangers rode out to a 7-0 lead as Matthew Sop scored his 41st and 42nd goals in a lopsided win
Luke Ellinas and Eduard Sale joined Sop with two goals and an assist
Newly-signed Calgary Flames prospect Hunter Brzustewicz recorded three assists, setting a new Rangers single season mark for helpers by a defenceman with 76
Carson Rehkopf, Luca Romano and Filip Mesar rounded-out the Kitchener scoring
Sam McCue scored both Owen Sound goals, coming just under two minutes apart in the third period
The Rangers outshot the Attack 44-28, going 4-for-7 on the power play
Attack forward Cedrick Guindon played in his 200th consecutive OHL game
Jackson Parsons stopped 26-of-28 for the win
Owen Sound’s Corbin Votary made his first start since Feb. 10th, turning aside 35 shots
Kitchener climbs to 41-21-2-0 while Owen Sound drops to 28-28-5-3, one point back of sixth place Guelph in the Western Conference

London Knights 6 vs. Soo Greyhounds 3

Ruslan Gazizov scored four times, giving him 34 goals on the season as the Knights beat the Greyhounds for the first time in 2023-24
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan tied a Knights franchise record, extending his point streak to 33 games with two assists
Jacob Julien and Kaleb Lawrence added London goals while Denver Barkey had a pair of assists
Brodie McConnell-Barker, Bryce McConnell-Barker and Jacob Frasca scored goals for Sault Ste. Marie
Chicago Blackhawks prospect Gavin Hayes collected three primary assists in the loss
Greyhounds forward Justin Cloutier played in his 200th consecutive OHL contest
Michael Simpson made 33 saves for the win while Sault Ste. Marie’s Charlie Schenkel stopped 25
London wins a fourth straight contest, improving to 47-14-1-3, two points up on Saginaw for first in the Western Conference
Sault Ste. Marie falls to 42-17-3-2 for third in the Western Conference

Mississauga Steelheads 3 vs. Niagara IceDogs 2

William Eggleton scored third period goals a minute-and-a-half apart to vault Mississauga into the lead as they’d defeat Niagara on home ice
Lucas Karmiris also scored for the Trout in front of 23 saves by goaltender Ryerson Leenders
IceDogs rookie Ryan Roobroeck scored his 27th goal of the season while Mike Levin netted #18
Mississauga outshot Niagara 43-25, improving to 36-21-8-0 atop the Central Division
Niagara has lost 10 straight games, falling to 16-40-6-1