Saturday Highlights: Defencemen deliver in overtime

HAMILTON 4, OTTAWA 3 – OT
– Down 3-1 to start the third period, a natural hat trick from Nathan Staios, capped by the overtime winner, brought the Hamilton Bulldogs all the way back to defeat visiting Ottawa.
– Anaheim Ducks prospect Mason McTavish picked up assists on all three Staios goals.
– Dallas Stars prospect Artem Grushnikov also scored for the Bulldogs.
– 2022 NHL Draft prospect Vinzenz Rohrer helped Ottawa pick up a point with two goals and an assist.
– Hamilton outshot Ottawa 46-12, including a margin of 16-2 in the third period.
– Marco Costantini made nine saves for the win while Ottawa’s Max Donoso stopped 42.
– Hamilton earns a sixth straight win to improve to 31-11-2-2.
– Ottawa drops to 21-24-2-3 for seventh in the Eastern Conference.
GAME CENTRE & HIGHLIGHTS

Hats off to Staios!????????????

Leading the @BulldogsOHL to a third period comeback, Nathan Staios scores 3⃣ unanswered to secure the overtime win???? pic.twitter.com/C4Rz3vouym

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 26, 2022

OWEN SOUND 3, GUELPH 2 – OT
– Sam Sedley scored his third goal of the season 2:37 into overtime as the Attack have bounced back from an eight game slide with back-to-back wins this weekend.
– Rookie forward Colby Barlow was impressive again, scoring twice in a second straight game to give him 19 goals on the season, tied for second-most by an OHL rookie.
– Cedrick Guindon picked up assists on both of Barlow’s goals while Ethan Burroughs set up Sedley for the OT winner.
– Matthew Papais scored twice for Guelph, with his first goal tying a franchise record just nine seconds into the first period. It’s the first Storm goal nine seconds into a game since Jamie Wright pulled it off on Mar. 18, 1994 at London. Before that, Sylvain Cloutier did it on Feb. 26, 1992 at the Bayshore.
– Nick Chenard made 33 saves for the Attack to earn the win.
– Guelph’s Jacob Oster was solid, turning aside 29 shots to help the Storm earn a point.
– Owen Sound climbs to sixth in the Western Conference with a 21-23-2-2 record.
– Guelph’s three-game winning streak ends but they earn a point, sitting at 24-16-4-1 for fifth in the Western Conference.
GAME CENTRE & HIGHLIGHTS

Thrilling overtime finish to @WoolleyWarriors Night in Owen Sound as Sam Sedley snaps one upstairs to give the @AttackOHL a second straight victory ???? pic.twitter.com/ODszvXIIk3

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 27, 2022

FLINT 8, SARNIA 3
– Riley Piercey scored a hat trick to give him 100 career OHL points as the Firebirds stretched their point streak to 11 games, taking care of Sarnia 8-3.
– The win was Flint’s third straight over Sarnia, outscoring the Sting 21-6.
– New York Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann racked up five points with a goal and four assists.
– Gavin Hayes earned third star honours with a pair of goals while Zacharie Giroux collected three assists.
– Sting rookie Max Namestnikov led the way with a goal and an assist.
– Luke Cavallin made 28 saves for the win opposite Sarnia’s Anson Thornton who stopped 27.
– Flint improves to 31-14-1-3 atop the Western Conference.
– Sarnia’s third straight loss sees the Sting fall to 19-21-3-1, tied for seventh in the Western Conference.
GAME CENTRE & HIGHLIGHTS

Firebirds Sweep 3-Game Series Over Sting With Wild 8-3 Victory Saturday. #WeAreFlint

????: https://t.co/0slp3EY579pic.twitter.com/zyikr4Y5DA

— Flint Firebirds (@FlintFirebirds) February 27, 2022

ERIE 2, SAGINAW 0
– Rookie netminder Nolan Lalonde made 23 saves for his first career OHL shutout as the Otters rebounded from an 8-1 loss to blank Saginaw.
– Brendan Sellan and Noah Sedore provided Erie goals, with Sedore hitting the empty net.
– Saginaw’s Tristan Lennox made 25 saves to earn second star recognition.
– Erie is now 19-24-1-2, one point back of Sarnia for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
– Saginaw falls to 17-30-1-0.
GAME CENTRE & HIGHLIGHTS

Sellan short-handed! ????

Daniel D’Amato connects with Brendan Sellan (@brendansellan22) on the 2-on-1 to put the @ErieOtters on the board ???? pic.twitter.com/lhZxIKSnb4

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 27, 2022

LONDON 3, SAULT STE. MARIE 0
– Nashville Predators prospect Luke Evangelista increased his OHL goal-scoring lead with a natural hat trick, scoring goals 39, 40 and 41 on the season. He now has 41 goals in 41 games.
– Brett Brochu stopped all 27 shots he faced for this second shutout of the season.
– Cody Morgan put together his second straight two-assist outing.
– Tucker Tynan made 21 saves in the loss for the Greyhounds.
– London’s 30th win puts them four points back of first place Flint in the Western Conference.
– The Greyhounds fall to 28-16-5-1, tied with the Knights with 62 points though London has five games in hand.
GAME CENTRE & HIGHLIGHTS

Evangelista stays HOT ????????????

It’s another hat trick! @PredsNHL prospect Luke Evangelista scores his 39th, 40th and 41st goal of the season for the @LondonKnights ???? pic.twitter.com/uuhTRzdjGk

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) February 27, 2022