OHL Power Rankings: Nov. 4, 2024

Flexing some Midwest Division muscle in the latest edition of OHL Power Rankings as the London Knights, Kitchener Rangers and Erie Otters are all inside the Top-5!

Who’s up:

London Knights – up one spot to #2 this week
Wins over Sault Ste. Marie and Owen Sound have extended London’s winning streak to six games. Easton Cowan’s overtime winner on Sunday at the Bayshore extended his run of consecutive regular season games with a point to 46.

Kitchener Rangers – up five spots to #3 this week
The Rangers are riding a nine-game winning streak, defeating Sarnia, Sudbury and Saginaw at the Aud last week. Adrian Misaljevic had the biggest single-game performance by a Ranger so far this season on Saturday, producing three goals and three assists in an 8-4 win over Sudbury.  Blueliner Cameron Reid also had a productive week, producing seven points (2-5—7) from the back end.

Erie Otters – up five spots to #3 this week
The Otters are winning some tough matchups, beating Eastern Conference foes Brantford and Barrie to accelerate their climb. Erie has defeated Barrie twice in the last two weeks, with strong goaltending performances from Noah Erliden. The offence has worked by committee, with Carey Terrance, Pano Fimis, Malcolm Spence and Sam Alfano all factoring into the attack.

Oshawa Generals – up one spot to #9 this week
The Gennies are winners of four straight and seven of their last eight, beating Sarnia and Brantford by scores of 5-2 last week. OHL Defenceman of the Month Luca Marrelli picked up where he left off, joining Beckett Sennecke in producing five points for the Generals in the two wins. The Generals look to keep the Peterborough Petes winless when they visit the PMC on Tuesday night.

Soo Greyhounds – up two spots to #11 this week
The Hounds continued their strong play on the road, becoming one of just two teams to beat the Windsor Spitfires in regulation when they did so by a score of 3-1 on Wednesday. The Hounds gave the London Knights a challenge on Friday at Canada Life Place, falling 4-3. They bounced back to beat the Flint Firebirds 4-0 behind 32 saves from Charlie Schenkel in his return to the lineup. Both Schenkel and Landon Miller have been very good for the Hounds of late, while the return of veteran Marco Mignosa has jumpstarted the offence as he led the league with eight points (4-4—8) over three outings.

Sarnia Sting – up one spot to #13 this week
The week didn’t start well as the Sting were outscored 11-3 in losses to Kitchener and Oshawa, but they rebounded for an impressive 5-3 road win in Brampton on Saturday behind a pair of goals from Easton Wainwright. The Sting, though young, have been competitive so far this season and proven to be a tough two points.

Who’s down:

Barrie Colts – down three spots to #5 this week
After a solid stretch that saw them peak at the top of the list, the Colts are back down to five following their second loss to the Erie Otters in the last two weeks. The Colts beat the Niagara IceDogs 7-3 on Thursday, getting four points (1-3—4) from defenceman Beau Akey. They couldn’t solve Erie netminder Noah Erliden on the road Saturday night, falling 4-0.

Saginaw Spirit – down two spots to #6 this week
The Spirit beat the Owen Sound Attack 6-2 at the Bayshore on Saturday but went away empty-handed on Sunday in Kitchener, falling to the red hot Rangers by a score of 4-2 as Michael Misa saw a 14-game point streak come to an end.

Brampton Steelheads – down two spots to #7 this week
The Trout won two of three, with those two victories coming over unranked North Bay. Their loss in-between came at the hands of the Sarnia Sting on Saturday at home. There’s some real offensive fire here, but the Trout have had spells of inconsistency as well, something they’ll try and work through against East Division foes Ottawa, Kingston and Brantford next weekend.

Niagara IceDogs – down one spot to #8 this week
The Dogs got knocked down a peg by Central Division rival Barrie on Thursday, losing 7-3 at the Meridian Centre. They managed to come back with a win on home ice Sunday afternoon as Kevin He scored the OT winner in a 4-3 triumph over Sudbury.

Brantford Bulldogs – down four spots to #10 this week
While the Bulldogs have had stretches of dominance in the opening month-and-a-half of the season, they’ve also waved a white flag on a couple occasions, this being the second week they’ve turned in a winless performance. Brantford lost to Erie, Sudbury and Oshawa despite two substantial additions to the blueline in “Czechmates” Tomas Hamara and Adam Jiricek.

Flint Firebirds – down three spots to #14 this week
The Birds were nearly shutout in three straight games, saved by Xavier Tessier’s marker 11:23 into the third period on Sunday in Windsor. Flint’s offence scuffled in losses to Windsor (x2) and Sault Ste. Marie. They try and get going on Friday night at home to the winless Peterborough Petes.