Saturday Highlights: Colts and Otters making playoff push

 

BARRIE 5, NIAGARA 4
The Barrie Colts defeated the first place Ottawa 67’s on Thursday, rebounding from a 6-3 loss on Friday to defeat the highly touted Niagara IceDogs in the third game of a three-in-three. 2019 NHL Draft prospect Ryan Suzuki (20) turned heads with a highlight reel goal and two assists as the Colts held off the IceDogs late for a 5-4 victory on home ice. Jason Willms (17), Nathan Allensen (4), Aidan Brown (12) and Dalton Duhart (11) also scored for Barrie while defencemen Tyler Tucker and Jack York each had a pair of assists. Kai Edmonds made 41 saves for the win as the Colts were outshot 45-23. Elijah Roberts (5), Matthew Philip (13), Kyen Sopa (19) and Ben Jones (37) scored for the Dogs as their five-game winning streak came to an end. The Barrie win pulls them to within one point of eighth place North Bay in the Eastern Conference with a 26-32-3-1 record. Niagara sits at 38-16-7-0, tied with the Sudbury Wolves at 38 points atop the Central.
GAME CENTRE

 

ERIE 5, SARNIA 3
Rookie defender Jamie Drysdale (7) had a goal and two assists as the Erie Otters came up with two big points in their push for a playoff spot. The Otters defeated visiting Sarnia 5-3 as Chad Yetman (20) scored what would stand as the game winner while goaltender Cole Ceci provided 29 saves. Gera Poddubnyi (26) found the back of the net as he surpassed Nikita Alexeev (1998-2001) for the most career games in an Otters uniform by a Russian born player while Kurtis Henry (6) and Maxim Golod (17) also found the scoresheet. The Otters went 3-for-4 on the power play as Mathew MacDougall picked up a pair of assists. Sarnia outshot Erie 32-24 as Hugo Leufvenius (35), Sean Josling (19) and Ryan McGregor (24) scored for the Sting. McGregor finished the night with a goal and two assists as Sarnia fell to 25-30-5-2 for seventh in the Western Conference. Erie pulls to within one point of eighth place Windsor, improving to 25-31-3-1 on the campaign.
GAME CENTRE

 

SUDBURY 5, OSHAWA 4
The Sudbury Wolves charged out to a 4-0 lead with some funny goals before holding on to defeat the visiting Oshawa Generals 5-4. Rookie standout Quinton Byfield (27, 28) continued his strong play, scoring twice to give himself points in 10 of his last 11 games while other Wolves markers came from Blake Murray (28), Macauley Carson (16) and Anthony DeMeo (3). A Generals goaltending change seemed to spark some life in the club as they scored four goals in the latter half of regulation to pull within one in the loss. Brandon Saigeon (37), Brett Neumann (40) and Nando Eggenberger (24) scored for Oshawa while overage winger Anthony Salinitri (42) potted a second period penalty shot. Sudbury outshot Oshawa 34-28, avenging an overtime loss to the Generals back on Feb. 18th. The Wolves pull into a tie for the Central Division lead with Niagara, improving to 39-17-3-2 with a fourth straight win. Oshawa loses in regulation for the first time since Jan. 27th, ending a run of 13 straight games recording at least a point.
GAME CENTRE

 

PETERBOROUGH 6, FLINT 2
The Peterborough Petes earned their third straight win, downing the Flint Firebirds 6-2 on the road as Winnipeg Jets prospect Declan Chisholm racked up four assists from the back end. Overage veteran Chris Paquette (27) had a goal and two assists while Zach Gallant (11), Michael Little (10), Liam Kirk (21), Adam Timleck (21) and Chad Denault (9) also scored for the men in maroon. The Petes outshot the Firebirds 33-25 as Hunter Jones recorded the win in goal. Cody Morgan (10) and Ty Dellandrea (20) scored Flint goals as the Firebirds fell to 12-45-5-0. The Petes improve to 29-29-1-2, good for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
GAME CENTRE

 

LONDON 4, HAMILTON 1
The London Knights skated to a 4-1 win in Hamilton as Liam Foudy (35), Connor McMichael (36), Billy Moskal (14) and Joey Keane (8) provided goals. Vegas Golden Knights prospect Jordan Kooy came within 41 seconds of a shutout, turning aside 27 shots for the win. Hamilton’s Arthur Kaliyev (50) broke-up the goose egg, becoming the first player in Bulldogs history to record 50 goals in a season. The Knights lead the Western Conference with a 43-12-6-1 record while Hamilton falls to 27-31-3-2 for seventh in the Eastern Conference.
GAME CENTRE

 

SAGINAW 7, KINGSTON 1
The kids came to play for the Saginaw Spirit as 16-year-old Ethan Cardwell (2, 3) scored a pair of goals for first star honours in a 7-1 win over visiting Kingston. Rookie centre Camaryn Baber collected a career-high four assists and first-year netminder Tristan Lennox made 30 saves for his sixth straight win. The Spirit outshot the Frontenacs 43-31 as Albert Michnac (18), Jake Goldowski (12), Reagan O’Grady (10), Damien Giroux (27) and Bode Wilde (18) also found the back of the net. Mason Millman, Blade Jenkins, and DJ Busdeker each had a pair of assists for Saginaw as the West Division-leading Spirit improved to 41-15-2-3 with a fifth straight win. Kingston’s Ryan Cranford (17) broke up Lennox’s shutout bid midway through the third period as the Frontenacs suffered their 13th straight road loss, falling to 13-47-1-1.
GAME CENTRE