Saturday Highlights: Difference-makers emerge in overtime

Ottawa 67’s 3 vs. Flint Firebirds 2 – OT

Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Luca Pinelli scored the deciding goal just 17 seconds into overtime, his second of the game and 32nd of the season
67’s rookie Chase Yanni opened the scoring with his first career OHL goal
Overagers Samuel Mayer and Braeden Kressler each recorded a pair of assists for Ottawa
Nolan Dann and Gavin Ewles scored Flint goals; Ewles helped Flint earn a point against his former club, tying the score with 49 seconds remaining
Former Firebird Ian Michelone stopped 24-of-26 to record the win as Ottawa improves to 24-17-4-1 with points in each of their last six
The Firebirds pick-up a point, sitting eighth in the Western Conference with a record of 19-24-3-1

Niagara IceDogs 5 vs. Peterborough Petes 4 – OT

Callum Cheynowski set up Kevin He with 1:19 remaining in overtime as the 2024 NHL Draft prospect scored his 24th goal of the season
Ethan Czata, Ryan Roobroeck, William Stewart and Masen Wray also scored Niagara goals
Quinton Pagé was the game’s second star, scoring twice for the Petes
Niagara outshot Peterborough 47-33 as Charlie Robertson (29 saves) and Liam Sztuska (42 saves) were both busy
The Niagara win helps the Dogs pull to within five points of Peterborough at the bottom of the Eastern Conference
The Petes have won just one of their last 10, sitting three points out of a playoff spot with a record of 16-25-5-1

Saginaw Spirit 4 vs. Barrie Colts 3 – OT

Zayne Parekh setup Matyas Sapovaliv 57 seconds into overtime as the Spirit clawed back from a 3-2 deficit to beat Barrie at the Dow Event Center
Parekh scored his 23rd goal of the season 3:57 into the second, setting a new single season goal-scoring mark by a Spirit defenceman
Hunter Haight scored against his former club and Alex Christopoulos knotted the score at three with 6:15 left in the third period
Beau Jelsma, Cole Beaudoin and Riley Patterson each scored for Barrie
The Spirit outshot the Colts 40-22 as Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Nolan Lalonde secured his 12th consecutive win in the Spirit crease, a stretch that dates back to Nov. 3rd
Saginaw improves to 33-13-0-1, pulling into a tie atop the West Division with Sault Ste. Marie
Barrie’s Sam Hillebrandt made 36 saves to help his team earn a point; the Colts are eighth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 19-24-3-0

North Bay Battalion 6 vs. Brantford Bulldogs 4

The Battalion surrendered a pair of leads, but still managed to defeat Brantford behing a pair of goals from Anthony Romani
Romani became the OHL’s first 40-goal-scorer, and reached 75 points on the season with the game-winner 5:29 into the third period
Brice Cooke and Owen Van Steensel picked up a goal and an assist for North Bay while Dalyn Wakely and Ethan Procyszyn finished with two assists
Lawson Sherk followed-up his two goal performance on Friday with another marker for the Bulldogs in Saturday’s loss
Brantford outshot North Bay 27-21 as Dom DiVincentiis made 23 saves for the win
The Troops climb into a tie with Brantford for first in the Eastern Conference, improving to 25-15-6-2 with points in their last five games
The Bulldogs own a record of 25-14-6-2

Erie Otters 6 vs. Kitchener Rangers 1

Anaheim Ducks prospect Carey Terrance scored goals 13 seconds apart in the opening period, giving him 26 goals on the season
Kaleb Smith led the Otters offensively with a goal and two assists
Alex Messier, Ondrej Molnar and Wesley Royston rounded out the Erie scoring while Malcolm Spence recorded a pair of assists
Jacob Gibbons stopped 25-of-26, picking up his first win of the season; Kitchener’s lone goal came off the stick of defenceman Simon Motew
The Otters sit seventh in the Western Conference with a record of 23-20-4-0
Kitchener has lost six of their last seven games, holding a record of 31-17-2-0

London Knights 4 vs. Owen Sound Attack 3 – SO

London recovered from a 3-1 deficit as Easton Cowan and Oliver Bonk scored in the latter half of the third period to force overtime and a shootout
Philadelphia Flyers prospect Denver Barkey scored the shootout winner in the fourth round
Cowan’s goal extends his current point streak to 17 games
Colby Barlow scored twice on the power play for Owen Sound, making him the eighth player in Owen Sound Platers/Attack history to score 100 career goals
The Knights outshot the Attack 46-27, including a mark of 19-7 in the third period and overtime combined
Owen Willmore stopped 24-of-27 before turning aside all four Owen Sound shooters he faced in the shootout
Carter George made 42 saves, helping the Bears earn a point
London’s point streak hits 19 games as the Knights improve to 34-11-0-3 atop the OHL standings
Owen Sound has points in four straight, owning a record of 23-20-3-2