Saturday Highlights: Parekh finds the highlight reel in overtime
Saginaw Spirit 5 vs. Brantford Bulldogs 4 – OT
- Zayne Parekh brought a sold out crowd to its feet 35 seconds into overtime, giving the Spirit a 5-4 win with his 28th goal of the season
- Parekh’s 28 goals are the most by an OHL defenceman in a single season since Mississauga’s Nic Hague scored 35 in 2017-18
- The Spirit trailed 3-1 midway through regulation before scoring three straight to pull ahead
- Brantford’s Marek Vanacker scored his 28th, 29th and 30th goals of the season for his first OHL hat-trick, forcing overtime with his equalizer late in the third period
- Parekh had assists from Matyas Sapovaliv and Michael Misa on the winner as the Spirit rebound from Friday’s loss to improve to 41-15-0-1
- Anaheim Ducks prospect Rodwin Dionicio scored twice for Saginaw while Ethan Hay and Sebastien Gervais also tallied
- Montreal Canadiens prospect Florian Xhekaj scored his 29th goal of the season; he has 17 of his 29 goals since Jan. 1st and is on a nine-game point streak
- Matteo Drobac made 53 saves to help the Bulldogs earn a point while Saginaw’s Nolan Lalonde stopped 22 for the win
- The Bulldogs pick-up a point and lead the Eastern Conference with a record of 32-16-7-2
Game Centre & Highlights | Saginaw Post-Game | Brantford Post-Game
London Knights 4 vs. Ottawa 67’s 3 – SO
- Third period goals from Caden Kelly and Cooper Foster brought the 67’s back even before London’s Denver Barkey won the game in a shootout
- Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan scored his 29th of the season, extending his point streak to 26 games, the longest in Knights history since Dave Gilmore went 33 games in 1993-94
- NHL Draft prospects Sam O’Reilly and Sam Dickinson also scored for the Knights, who win their fourth in a row and improve to 42-12-0-3
- Dickinson extended his current point streak to 10 games
- Owen Willmore stopped 31-of-34 followed by all three in the shootout to earn the win
- The 67’s earn a point, with 27 saves coming from Collin MacKenzie as they sit tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference at 29-19-5-2
Erie Otters 3 vs. Guelph Storm 2
- Erie trailed 2-0 in the first period before scoring three unanswered, with goals coming from Pano Fimis, Ondrej Molnar and Carey Terrance
- Anaheim Ducks prospect Terrance scored the deciding goal, his 28th of the season, just 55 seconds into the third period
- Vilmer Alriksson and Jett Luchanko scored Storm goals
- Jacob Gibbons stopped 23-of-25 for the win while Guelph’s Damian Slavik made 31 stops
- The Otters climb to within three points of sixth place Guelph in the Western Conference, improving to 25-26-4-1
- Guelph has lost four in a row and 11 of the last 12 games, falling to 26-24-5-1
Game Centre & Highlights | Erie Post-Game
North Bay Battalion 3 vs. Flint Firebirds 2
- The Troops trailed 2-0 after one period before scoring three unanswered to defeat the Flint Firebirds 3-2 on the road
- Justin Ertel got the North Bay scoring started with a penalty shot goal before Dalyn Wakely and Sandis Vilmanis followed
- Florida Panthers prospect Vilmanis scored the deciding goal 4:13 into the third period, giving him 18 goals in as many games since being acquired by the Battalion
- Matthew Wang and Coulson Pitre scored Flint goals; Pitre earned his 150th career point in the loss
- Winnipeg Jets prospect Dom DiVincentiis stopped 26-of-28 to earn the win, his 20th of the season and the 70th of his OHL career
- North Bay takes back-to-back wins in Michigan, collecting their 30th win of the season while also clinching a playoff spot on Saturday
- Firebirds rookie Jacob Brown made 23 saves in the loss, as Flint drops a third straight, falling to 24-28-3-1
Game Centre & Highlights | North Bay Post-Game | Flint Post-Game
Kingston Frontenacs 8 vs. Niagara IceDogs 1
- 2024 NHL Draft prospect Gabriel Frasca scored his first OHL hat-trick, one that came in natural fashion as he finished the night with a career-high four points (3-1–4)
- Jax Dubois opened the scoring just eight seconds into the game, tying a Frontenacs franchise record also held by Jason Snow (Nov. 17, 1988) and Chris Allen (Feb. 9, 1996)
- Linus Hemstrom joined Frasca with four points (1-3–4) in the win
- Mason Vaccari’s shutout bid was foiled with 10 seconds remaining on a goal by Niagara’s Ryan Vannetten
- The Fronts get back in the win column, improving to 27-27-2-0 for seventh in the Eastern Conference
- Niagara has lost four in a row, falling to 16-34-6-1
Game Centre & Highlights | Kingston Post-Game | Niagara Post-Game
Owen Sound Attack 6 vs. Windsor Spitfires 3
- Tied at two, Owen Sound got late second period goals from Servac Petrovsky and Ethan Burroughs to pull ahead for good
- Landen Hookey was the game’s first star, scoring twice for Owen Sound
- Burroughs scored goals 28 and 29 on the season while Colby Barlow lit the lamp for the 33rd time
- Spitfires rookie Jack Nesbitt scored twice; his first career multi-goal effort – he’s on a four-game point streak
- NHL Draft prospect Carter George made 35 saves for the win opposite Windsor’s Joey Costanzo, who also stopped 35
- The Attack improve to 26-24-5-2, leap-frogging Guelph into fifth in the Western Conference
- Windsor falls to 18-31-4-3
Game Centre & Highlights | Windsor Post-Game
Soo Greyhounds 6 vs. Peterborough Petes 2
- The Greyhounds spread the scoring around as four different players had a goal and an assist led by first star Kirill Kudryavtsev on the blueline
- Rookie forward Brady Martin had three assists for the Hounds while Justin Cloutier netted his 20th of the season
- Greyhounds rookie Landon Miller made 20 saves for the win
- Liam Sztuska made 36 saves for Peterborough as he faced at least 40 shots for the 13th time in his last 14 starts
- Sault Ste. Marie improves to 37-16-2-1, six points back of West Division-leading Saginaw
- The Petes have lost three in a row, falling to 17-32-6-1; they trail Barrie by eight points for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference
Game Centre & Highlights | Soo Post-Game | Peterborough Post-Game
Barrie Colts 4 vs. Mississauga Steelheads 1
- NHL Draft prospect Sam Hillebrandt was the game’s first star, turning aside 43 of the 44 shots he faced
- Colts captain Beau Jelsma scored twice, netting his 27th and 28th goals of the season; Jelsma has points in nine consecutive games
- Bode Stewart and Zach Wigle also scored Barrie goals as the Colts won despite being outshot 44-24
- Steelheads defenceman Parker Von Richter ended Hillebrandt’s shutout bid with 5:15 left in the third period
- The Colts climb to 23-28-3-0 and hold down eighth place in the Eastern Conference
- Mississauga falls to 29-21-6-0, sitting one point out of fourth in the Eastern Conference