OHL Power Rankings: Week 14 – Jan. 8, 2024
There’s a new number one team on the list this week as the London Knights make their return to the top. Here’s a look at the 14th edition of the OHL Power Rankings.
Who’s up:
London Knights – up three spots to #1 this week
Winners of nine in a row, the London Knights are back on top of the pile for the first time since back in Week 2 on Oct. 10th. Regardless of who is in or out of the lineup, the Knights just seem to keep winning, stringing this run together with Easton Cowan, Oliver Bonk and Kasper Halttunen off at World Juniors while red hot goal-scorer Max McCue, who had a nine-game goal-scoring streak snapped on Saturday, served a three-game suspension. December’s OHL Player of the Month Ruslan Gazizov picked up where he left off to start January with a pair of goals last Wednesday against Erie.
Sudbury Wolves – up two spots to #4 this week
The Wolves have won four in a row and have points in six straight. Chances are they’re going to score at least five goals lately, with their offensive cast firing on all cylinders led by captain David Goyette, winger Quentin Musty and 19-year-old veteran Kocha Delic. Sudbury defeated a pair of highly ranked opponents this past week, besting Brantford 7-4 on Friday before defeating the first place Kitchener Rangers 7-5 on Saturday, leap-frogging them in this edition of the Power Rankings.
Oshawa Generals – up four spots to #8 this week
The Generals were .500 last week, but a pair of one-goal losses to Western Conference-leading Kitchener and Sault Ste. Marie was followed by dominance on the road in Michigan as the Gennies defeated the Flint Firebirds 10-2 on Saturday and the Saginaw Spirit 5-1 on Sunday. Overage forward Connor Lockhart scored his third hat-trick in less than a month on Saturday while Colorado Avalanche first round pick Calum Ritchie racked up five assists in the game. Sunday’s win was spearheaded by great goaltending from Jacob Oster, who backstopped Oshawa to victory despite being outshot 36-19. After a slow start, the Generals are creeping up the Eastern Conference standings, one point back of sixth place Ottawa.
Brantford Bulldogs – up one spot to #9 this week
The week began with a pair of losses in the north as the Bulldogs came up short in North Bay and Sudbury. The rise on this week’s rankings comes as a result of Sunday’s 4-2 win over the Mississauga Steelheads, one that came thanks to a pair of goals from Calvin Crombie. The Bulldogs have been masters of pushing games beyond regulation and staying in tight contests this season, sitting first in the East Division with a record of 18-12-6-1.
Kingston Frontenacs – up two spots to #11 this week
The Fronts seem to have the number of the Ottawa 67’s this season, beating them twice last week to improve to 5-0-1-0 against the Barber Poles. The wins sandwiched a 4-0 blanking at the hands of the Mississauga Steelheads on Friday. They’re still working on consistency, but the Frontenacs may have turned a corner in the last few weeks, even bringing in some added muscle down the middle with the addition of Peterborough Petes faceoff specialist and top scorer Jax Dubois over the weekend. Blueline acquisition Roman Schmidt has settled right in, recording nine points (4-5–9) through eight games with the Frontenacs.
Owen Sound Attack – up two spots to #14 this week
The Bears dipped down to #16 on last week’s list, but recovered with road wins over Erie and Niagara before falling 5-2 to the Guelph Storm at home on Saturday. Recent addition Konnor Smith has three points (1-2–3) through his first three games with Owen Sound while Sam McCue scored his first goal in an Attack uniform on Friday in Niagara. The Attack are on the road for six of their next seven games, with the lone exception coming Saturday against Ottawa at the Bayshore.
Sarnia Sting – up two spots to #15 this week
Sarnia won a pair of one-goal contests, defeating Peterborough and Barrie by scores of 2-1 before pushing the Guelph Storm to overtime on Sunday, falling 3-2. With the departure of Sandis Vilmanis, Andrew and Jacob LeBlanc to North Bay, the Sting are one of the youngest teams in the OHL. They’ll push for a playoff spot in the second half of the season, sitting one point shy of one entering a new week.
Who’s down:
Saginaw Spirit – down one spot to #2 this week
We’ve said it a few times before – it’s tough to stay at the top in the OHL Power Rankings. The Spirit won a showdown in Kitchener to start the week, defeating the Rangers 3-2 on Thursday before returning home to defeat Peterborough on Saturday. The Spirit weren’t able to solve Jacob Oster on Sunday, losing 5-1 to the Generals, their second loss to Oshawa this season. The Spirit enter the week trailing the first place Soo Greyhounds by four points in the West Division.
Soo Greyhounds – down one spot to #3 this week
Like Saginaw, the Greyhounds started the week strong, blanking Oshawa 1-0 on Wednesday before besting the Guelph Storm 5-2 on Friday night. Sault Ste. Marie came out flat on Saturday night in Barrie, losing 5-1 to the Colts. Rookie netminder Landon Miller started all three games on the road trip and performed well, coming away at 8-3-0-1 on the season. The Hounds made a pair of big additions on Sunday, bringing in forwards Gavin Hayes from the Flint Firebirds and Jacob Frasca from the Barrie Colts. The home faithful will get to see their two newest Greyhounds in a pair of home games this week against Guelph and North Bay on Friday and Saturday.
Kitchener Rangers – down two spots to #5 this week
The Blueshirts had an action-packed four-game schedule last week, entering the new year with a 3-2 road win over Oshawa before coming up short by a similar score at home to Saginaw on Thursday. The Rangers hit the road north for the weekend, surrendering a 5-2 lead to fall 7-5 in Sudbury on Saturday before coming up with a third period winner courtesy Justin Bottineau in Sunday’s 3-2 victory in North Bay. After burying a hat-trick on Saturday in Sudbury, Carson Rehkopf left the game with an injury and didn’t return for the rest of the weekend. Montreal Canadiens prospect Filip Mesar didn’t see action over the weekend, returning from World Junior duty with Slovakia.
Guelph Storm – down one spot to #6 this week
The Storm started the week with a 5-2 loss to the Soo Greyhounds on Friday, continuing their three-in-three by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 5-2 at the Bayshore on Saturday. Braeden Bowman scored the overtime winner in Sunday’s 3-2 victory over the Sarnia Sting, with Damian Slavik providing some timely saves to secure the two points. Guelph sits tied with Saginaw for fourth place in the Western Conference entering a tough week with road stops in Sault Ste. Marie and Saginaw.
Mississauga Steelheads – down two spots to #10 this week
Below .500 in their past 10 games, the Trout are at their lowest spot on the Rankings so far this season following a 4-2 loss to the Brantford Bulldogs on Sunday. Mississauga had a strong showing in Kingston on Friday, with Ryerson Leenders turning in a 29-save shutout in a 4-0 victory. The Steelheads lost to the London Knights by a score of 5-3 on Saturday as overage veteran Dean Loukus recorded an assist in his debut.
Erie Otters – down three spots to #12 this week
The Otters took back-to-back losses against Midwest Division foes, falling to London and Owen Sound before ending the week on a high note with a 4-3 shootout win over Windsor on Saturday. Erie looks to get World Junior gold medalist Carey Terrance (United States) and Slovak forward Martin Misiak slotted back into the lineup for matchups against Barrie, Kitchener and Flint this week.
Ottawa 67’s – down two spots to #13 this week
The 67’s come in at their lowest spot yet following two losses to the Kingston Frontenacs along with a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the North Bay Battalion last week. General manager James Boyd made some moves over the weekend, acquiring overagers Braeden Kressler from the Flint Firebirds and Sam Mayer from the Peterborough Petes. Ottawa looks to rebound and snap a six-game losing slide on the road in Brantford, Owen Sound and Kitchener next weekend.
Barrie Colts – down one spot to #16 this week
The Colts suffered losses against Sarnia and London before one of their biggest wins of the season on Saturday, defeating the West Divison-leading Soo Greyhounds by a score of 5-1. Jacob Frasca scored a pair of goals in his final game as a Colt, being dealt to the same Greyhounds over the weekend with fellow overager Brenden Sirizzotti coming back the other way. The Colts continue their pursuit of a trip to the OHL Playoffs in Erie and Niagara this week.
Peterborough Petes – down three spots and off the rankings this week
The Petes have dropped nine of their last 10, suffering three consecutive losses in Sarnia, Flint and Saginaw over the weekend. Their youth movement is in full swing, with overage veterans Sam Mayer (Ottawa) and Jax Dubois (Kingston) dealt to other East Division teams on Sunday.