OHL Weekend Notebook: September 30, 2019

 

The OHL Weekend Notebook recaps the weekend that was with news, information and interesting facts from both on and off the ice. Here are 10 of the leading stories from the second weekend of 2019-20 OHL action.

Popov, Foerster, McMichael headline top single game performances
It was another weekend with no shortage of goal-scoring, with top single game performances coming from Owen Sound’s Sergey Popov, Barrie’s Tyson Foerster and London’s Connor McMichael.

Popov registered a goal and five assists in Thursday’s 10-0 road win over Barrie. The career-high performance came up one point shy of tying an Attack single game franchise mark.

Foerster turned in a big-time showing on Saturday night, scoring three goals while adding three assists as the Colts took it to the Mississauga Steelheads 7-3 on home ice. The Alliston, Ont. native was in on six of Barrie’s seven goals, coming one point shy of tying a Colts single game franchise record.

McMichael put up a career-high five points in Saturday’s 7-3 road win over the Hamilton Bulldogs, netting his second career hat-trick in the process. The Washington Capitals prospect rounded out the weekend with a league-leading seven goals, earning OHL ‘On the Run’ Player of the Week honours with seven points (5-2–7) over the weekend.

.@con91mcmichael up to his old tricks ????????????@Capitals prospect puts up a career-high 5️⃣ points against his former club as the @GoLondonKnights were looking mean in green ⚔️???? pic.twitter.com/fKWxPUgjQZ

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) September 29, 2019

Generals, Greyhounds start hot at 4-0
The Oshawa Generals and Soo Greyhounds are both off to 4-0 starts to the season, leading the Eastern and Western Conference respectively.

The Gennies took a 6-5 win in Niagara on Friday before a fun-filled home opener that ended in a 4-1 victory over the Kingston Frontenacs. The new kids have already made an impact in Oshawa with 2019 CHL Import Draft addition Oliver Suni leading the way with seven points (2-5–7). Rookies Brett Harrison and David Jesus have scored their first career OHL goals and newly added netminder Andrew MacLean has won four straight starts.

The Hounds have scored at least five goals in each of their four games this season, defeating Kitchener 5-2 at home on Friday before travelling to Saginaw for a 6-4 win on Saturday. 2020 NHL Draft prospect Jaromir Pytlik (2-5–7) is the team’s top scorer with seven points while Cole MacKay (3-3–6), Zack Trott (3-3–6) and Rory Kerins (3-0–3) have each scored three times. Sophomore blueliner Ryan O’Rourke is tied for the league’s early-season lead in plus/minus at plus-8.

A McShorty from @allan_mcshane takes Sunday’s #BestOfOHL honours.@CanadiensMTL prospect had ????➕???????? to help the @Oshawa_Generals improve to 4-0. pic.twitter.com/b5SsrQM5RB

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) September 30, 2019

Firebirds enjoy big home opening weekend
The Flint Firebirds skated to wins over the Niagara IceDogs and Sarnia Sting on Saturday and Sunday, opening the home portion of their 2019-20 schedule in style. Belarusian forward Evgeniy Oksentyuk scored a nice goal and added an assist while Ty Dellandrea and Evan Vierling scored shootout markers in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Niagara IceDogs. That was followed-up by an 8-5 win over the Sarnia Sting that saw Vierling put up a goal and two assists to earn first star honours. Flint has now won three straight and prepares for a road trip to Guelph and Owen Sound next weekend.

Belarusian boogie at the blue line ????????@ev_oksentyuk shows us how it’s done for his first career #OHL goal, giving the @FlintFirebirds an early lead in their home opener ???????? pic.twitter.com/zWCPWyd0Rj

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) September 29, 2019

Wolves find success at home
After a 1-2 road trip the start the season, the Sudbury Wolves got back to the comforts of home on Friday, defeating the Central Division rival North Bay Battalion 11-3 as overage winger Macauley Carson recorded a goal and three assists and Owen Gilhula tacked on two goals and a helper. The Wolves wrapped up the weekend in dramatic fashion, defeating the Kitchener Rangers 5-4 in a shootout as Quinton Byfield and Blake Murray converted on their opportunities.

Prime time toe drag! ????????

Get to know @chasestillman61, whose first #OHL goal takes Friday’s #BestOfOHL honours as the @Sudbury_Wolves won big in their home opener. pic.twitter.com/ESpzVpCJDL

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) September 28, 2019

Knights return to form with consecutive victories
The London Knights put an 0-2 opening weekend in their rearview mirror, defeating the Erie Otters and Hamilton Bulldogs in a pair of high-scoring performances. The Knights put up six against the Otters at home on Friday as Luke Evangelista had three assists and Brett Brochu made 23 saves to win his OHL debut. Connor McMichael burned his former team on Saturday in Hamilton, recording a career-high five points including his second OHL hat-trick in a 7-3 victory. Brochu got the start again, this time making 30 saves.

Friday’s addition of #NHL prospects @AlecRegula and @ryan_merkley to the @GoLondonKnights blue line paid immediate dividends in a 6-2 victory.

READ ????: https://t.co/RnmcXDTDZp pic.twitter.com/pJ5IGC1hQq

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) September 28, 2019

Solovyov emerges as big name for Spirit
Though not too many people had heard of him two weeks ago, Belarusian blueliner Ilya Solovyov has made a name for himself through five games this season. The 19-year-old CHL Import Draft selection has 11 points (1-10–11) on the year, putting up an impressive five-point showing (1-4–5) in Friday’s 9-3 road win over the Sarnia Sting. The 6-foot-3, 210Ib. defender has also thrown his weight around as opposing forwards take note when he steps onto the ice. Solovyov was taken with the 53rd overall pick of the 2019 CHL Import Draft.

#CHL Player of the Night is Ilya Solovyov with 1️⃣???? & 4️⃣???? tying a @SpiritHockey single game points record by a defenceman with 5️⃣ in just his third career @OHLHockey contest: https://t.co/lV11c7s4vB pic.twitter.com/6dTG8QTIkD

— CanadianHockeyLeague (@CHLHockey) September 28, 2019

Attack power play on fire to start the season
If they haven’t already, the Owen Sound Attack will have opponents thinking twice as taking penalties in the near future if their power play continues its scorching hot pace to start the season. The Bears are 9-for-20 on the man advantage as Daylon Groulx has scored three power play goals while overage blueliner Brady Lyle has netted a pair. Much of that damage was inflicted on the Barrie Colts Thursday night as the Bears went 6-for-10 in a 10-0 road win. The Attack come away from a 2-1 weekend with a 2-1-0-1 record.

Second time’s a charm for @mphilip_18 ????@AttackOHL overage winger slaps a rolling puck into the net for the game winner with 39 seconds to spare ???? pic.twitter.com/FlJ4F8upzB

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) September 29, 2019

Petes knock-off CHL’s number one team for second time
The Peterborough Petes only played once this past weekend, but the win was a big one. The men in maroon defeated the CHL’s top-ranked Ottawa 67’s 3-2 in the nation’s capital, spoiling home opener festivities after the Barber Poles unveiled their Eastern Conference and East Division championship banners. Petes captain Zach Gallant scored the game winner with 6:55 remaining while Hunter Jones got the win in goal with 26 saves. The Petes have twice defeated the top ranked team in the country now after first doing so against the London Knights on Sept. 20th.

No luck on the backhand, but @SanJoseSharks prospect @zachgally follows up on the rebound and bangs home the third period game winner.@PetesOHLhockey take it 3-2 in Ottawa. pic.twitter.com/QktB1zmALS

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) September 29, 2019

New wave of goaltenders showing well early
With the graduation of big names like Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Michael DiPietro, Kyle Keyser and Stephen Dhillon, OHL clubs have been looking for new faces to step up and fill the void and a number of rookies have answered the bell. Brett Brochu (London), Tucker Tynan (Niagara), Xavier Medina (Windsor), Nick Chenard (Owen Sound), Marco Costantini (Hamilton), Owen Bennett (Guelph) and Aidan Campbell (Erie) all showed well over the weekend, with several of those names enjoying successful OHL debuts. Stay tuned to OHL action to see these names take the next step in their development.

A nice introduction to the league Saturday night.

????#MadeForMore pic.twitter.com/QYsJIut2dN

— Owen Sound Attack (@AttackOHL) September 30, 2019

Fronts, Sting and Trout still looking for first win
Three OHL clubs remain winless through two weekends of action. The Kingston Frontenacs (0-2-1-0), Mississauga Steelheads (0-4-0-0) and Sarnia Sting (0-3-0-0) have all been close, but have yet to pull out two points.

One of the league’s youngest teams, the Frontenacs saw first overall pick Shane Wright score his first OHL goal on Sunday in Oshawa. Offence has been limited for Kingston though as they’ve scored just four times through their first three games.

The Steelheads received some good news as Dallas Stars first round pick Thomas Harley re-joined the club this past weekend, recording four points (1-3–4) over two losses. The Steelheads are off to a slow start but have a number of talented players in their lineup including NHL picks Cole Schwindt (Florida), Keean Washkurak (St. Louis) accompanying Harley. The Trout were without overage winger Nick Isaacson due to injury this past weekend.

The Sarnia Sting have dropped three straight to start the season, surrendering 21 goals in the process. The Sting have been without injured captain Ryan McGregor along with suspended forward Jamieson Rees while promising young rookie netminder Ben Gaudreau makes his way back from an offseason injury. Overage winger Sean Josling broke out for four points (1-3–4) in Sunday’s 8-5 road loss in Flint while 2020 NHL Draft prospect Jacob Perreault has four points (1-3–4) through his first three games.

Congrats Thomas Harley!@OHLSteelheads defenceman and 2019 1st round #NHLDraft pick recently signed a three-year entry-level #NHL contract with the @DallasStars.

DETAILS ????: https://t.co/rH7CRYlT77 pic.twitter.com/s6wkfB6P1d

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) September 26, 2019