Friday Highlights: Hounds win showdown in Kitchener

Soo Greyhounds 6 vs. Kitchener Rangers 3

• Trailing 3-2 late in the second, Justin Cloutier’s 15th of the season tied the score before Julian Fantino scored the game-winner 5:45 into the third, part of four unanswered Soo goals
• Tate Vader scored his first career OHL goal for Sault Ste. Marie while Alex Kostov, Brenden Sirizzotti and Kirill Kudryavtsev also found the scoresheet
• Trent Swick was a bright spot for Kitchener, joining Adrian Misaljevic with a goal and two assists
• Charlie Schenkel made 23 saves for the win, backstopping the Greyhounds to their sixth consecutive victory
• Hounds captain Bryce McConnell-Barker was out of the lineup with an injury
• Kitchener blueliner Andrew MacNiel made his OHL debut; he was the club’s fourth-round pick in 2023
• Sault Ste. Marie pulls to within two points of Western Conference-leading Kitchener, improving to 22-8-2-0

Game Centre & Highlights | Soo Post-Game | Kitchener Post-Game

 

Niagara IceDogs 4 vs. Kingston Frontenacs 1

• Niagara climbed out 2-0 in the first period, going-on to win 4-1 with multi-point outputs from Zakary Lavoie (1-2–3), Ivan Galiyanov (1-1–2) and Mike Levin (1-1–2)
• 2024 NHL Draft prospect Kevin He scored his 15th goal of the season
• Owen Flores turned aside 31-of-32, surrendering Kingston’s lone goal off the stick of Jacob Battaglia
• IceDogs forward Andrew Vermeulen returned to the lineup, playing for the first time since Nov. 18th
• Kingston blueliner Cameron Bergeron played in his first game since Oct. 14th
• The IceDogs wins consecutive games for the second time this month, improving to 8-18-4-1
• Kingston returns home from four straight on the road to drop to 14-16-1-0

Game Centre & Highlights | Niagara Post-Game

 

Brantford Bulldogs 5 vs. Barrie Colts 2

• Chicago Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis launched the teddy bears with his first of two goals on the night, giving him a total of 25 on the season
• Ottawa Senators pick Jorian Donovan had a goal and two helpers, becoming the new all-time top-scoring defenceman in Bulldogs history with his 23rd career goal
• Barrie drew within a goal after 40 minutes before Lucas Moore put things out of reach on the power play early in the third
• Brantford outshot Barrie 32-21, going 2-for-6 on the power play
• The Bulldogs improve to 15-9-5-1, sitting tied with Ottawa for the East Division lead
• Barrie falls to 12-16-0-0, five points out of the eighth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference

Game Centre & Highlights

 

Erie Otters 4 vs. North Bay Battalion 3

• Ondrej Molnar’s 10th goal of the season was the power play game winner with 7:18 remaining in the third period
• Georgy Toroptsev scored his first career OHL goal for the Otters, one that came on an assist from Matthew Schaefer
• Sam Alfano and Alex Messier also scored Erie goals as the Otters outshot the Battalion 39-26 in the win
• Ben Gaudreau turned aside 23-of-26 against his hometown team
• Paul Christopoulos, Justin Ertel and Anthony Romani scored North Bay goals; Romani extended his point streak to eight games
• Dom DiVincentiis and Ty Nelson remained out of the North Bay lineup after attending Canada’s National Junior Team Selection Camp
• Owen Van Steensel was out of the North Bay lineup
• Erie has won four in a row, improving to 14-11-4-0
• North Bay is now 14-12-4-1 for third place in the Central Division

Game Centre & Highlights | Erie Post-Game | North Bay Post-Game

 

Sudbury Wolves 6 vs. Flint Firebirds 4

• Tied at four, Evan Konyen scored his first of two on the night 8:08 into the third period to put Sudbury ahead of Flint for good
• Seattle Kraken prospect David Goyette was the game’s first star with two goals and two assists
• San Jose Sharks pick Quentin Musty finished the night with a goal and two assists
• Nick DeAngelis recorded a pair of primary assists, stretching his point streak to 12 games
• Dallas Stars draftee Tristan Bertucci racked up three primary assists for the Firebirds while overage centre Braeden Kressler scored twice
• Marcus Vandenberg turned aside 35-of-39, backstopping Sudbury to victory despite being outshot 39-22
• Sudbury has won three straight and has points in six consecutive games, improving to 16-10-2-1, one point back of first place Mississauga in the Central
• The Firebirds drop their fifth straight decision, falling to 13-15-2-1 with six-point cushion on ninth-place Sarnia in the Western Conference

Game Centre & Highlights | Flint Post-Game

 

Guelph Storm 7 vs. Peterborough Petes 5

• A high-scoring, back-and-forth game went the way of the Storm as 2024 NHL Draft prospect Jett Luchanko starred with four assists, three of them primary
• The Petes led 3-1 early in the second before Guelph surged for four consecutive goals, taking control of the game
• Max Namestnikov scored twice while Washington Capitals prospect Jake Karabela had a goal and two assists
• Michael Buchinger and Braeden Bowman both recorded a goal and an assist
• Peterborough’s Jax Dubois had a big night, recording his first career OHL hat-trick while tacking on an assist; he also went 24-for-40 in the faceoff circle
• Braydon McCallum had a goal and an assist for Peterborough
• Guelph outshot Peterborough 34-27, including a tally of 22-5 in the second period before Peterborough took control 13-5 in the third
• The Storm improve to 18-12-1-1, one point back of second place London in the Midwest Division
• Peterborough has lost three in a row, falling to 14-12-3-1

Game Centre & Highlights | Guelph Post-Game | Peterborough Post-Game

 

Saginaw Spirit 2 vs. Sarnia Sting 1 – OT

• Alex Christopoulos scored the deciding goal with under three seconds remaining in overtime, banging in a rebound in the slot on the power play for his second of the night
• Jacob LeBlanc scored Sarnia’s lone goal, his seventh of the season
• Sting netminder Nick Surzycia was the game’s first star, making 31 saves
• Nolan Lalonde stopped 18-of-19 to earn the win for Saginaw
• The Spirit have won three in a row, improving to 19-9-0-1
• Head coach Chris Lazary earned his 154th career win behind he Spirit bench, tying Todd Watson for the most in team history
• Sarnia drops a third straight decision, earning a point to see their record move to 11-19-1-0

Game Centre & Highlights | Saginaw Post-Game

 

Oshawa Generals 7 vs. Mississauga Steelheads 3

• Generals captain Stuart Rolofs led the way with two goals and two assists while fellow overager Connor Lockhart scored twice, giving him nine goals in his last four games
• Tied at three late in the second, Lockhart scored the game-winner with just 11 seconds left in the period
• Matthew Buckley netted his 15th goal of the season, giving him 26 points (15-11–26) in as many games
• 2025 NHL Draft prospect Porter Martone was a bright spot for the Steelheads, finishing with two goals and an assist
• Jacob Oster stopped 23-of-26 in the win; Oshawa outshot Mississauga 42-26
• Oshawa’s second-straight win over the Steelheads sees them improve to 13-12-3-1, climbing to within two points of sixth-place Peterborough in the Eastern Conference
• The Steelheads fall to 17-11-2-0, leading Sudbury by one point atop the Central Division

Game Centre & Highlights | Mississauga Post-Game

 

London Knights 8 vs. Owen Sound Attack 2

• Owen Sound’s Ethan Burroughs opened the scoring with 4:01 remaining in the first period before London unloaded for five straight goals
• Winnipeg Jets prospect Jacob Julien scored his first OHL hat-trick, giving him 14 on the season
• Overage forward Max McCue extended his goal-scoring streak to six games, finishing the night with two goals and a helper
• Ruslan Gazizov was the game’s first star with a goal and four assists
• Philadelphia Flyers pick Denver Barkey had three assists in his return for Canada’s World Junior Camp; he has nine points (2-7–9) in his last three games
• London blueliner PJ Fagan II made his OHL debut; he was London’s third-round pick in 2023
• The Knights outshot the Attack 37-27, going 2-for-3 on the power play
• London improves to 19-11-0-1, tied with Saginaw for third place in the Western Conference
• Owen Sound falls to 15-13-2-0, six points behind fifth place Guelph in the Western Conference

Game Centre & Highlights | Owen Sound Post-Game