Saturday Highlights: Shane puts on a show

 

KINGSTON 6, FLINT 1
Shane Wright (37, 38, 39) was at his best, scoring a natural hat-trick for his first in the Ontario Hockey League while setting a new Frontenacs franchise mark for goals by a rookie in a single season. His 37th of the campaign pushed him ahead of former Kingston Canadians forward Bernie Nicholls (1979-80) for first on the franchise list while he also reached 66 points on the season, tying Connor McDavid’s 2012-13 total as an exceptional status rookie. Wright wasn’t the only one going for the Fronts as Zayde Wisdom (28) had a goal and two helpers while Martin Chromiak picked up three assists, helping Kingston hand the Firebirds just their second loss in the last 19 games. Vitali Pinchuk (11) and Justin Pringle (3) also scored Kingston goals while Ryan Dugas stopped 43 of 44. Flint outshot Kingston 44-26 with Emmet Pierce (6) providing their lone goal. Rookie netminder Peyton Grainer made a relief appearance, stopping six of seven in his OHL debut. Kingston jumps back into an eighth place tie with Niagara in the Eastern Conference sporting a 19-35-2-2 record. Flint falls a point back of first place Saginaw in the West Division, owning a 39-19-1-1 record.
GAME CENTRE

 

OTTAWA 4, BARRIE 3 – OT
Joseph Garreffa set up Cameron Tolnai (7) 1:27 into overtime as the Ottawa 67’s skated to a 4-3 win over visiting Barrie on Sportsnet and NHL Network. Barrie managed to earn a point in the overtime loss as Josh Nelson (14) scored the tying goal with 6:30 remaining to force extra time. Garreffa (33), Jack Beck (6) and Daylon Groulx (15) also scored Ottawa goals while sophomore defender Alec Belanger picked up a pair of assists. Evan Vierling (13) had a goal and an assist for the Colts while Tyson Foerster (32) also made his way onto the scoresheet. Vancouver Canucks prospect Arturs Silovs made 32 saves in the loss as Ottawa outshot Barrie 36-24 including a 12-3 advantage in the third period. Ottawa rookie Will Cranley made 21 saves for the win as the 67’s improved to 46-11-0-1 with 93 points. The Colts miss out on an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot in a second straight game as they’ve now dropped three straight, falling to 27-25-4-2 for fifth in the Eastern Conference.
GAME CENTRE

 

NORTH BAY 5, ERIE 4
A three-goal second period barrage was enough to send the North Bay Battalion past the Erie Otters 5-4 on the road as Shane Bulitka (23) scored the shorthanded game winner. Erie heavily outshot North Bay 40-15 but goaltender Cameron Lamour stood tall with a 36-save performance to get the Troops back in the win column. David Campbell (2), Brandon Coe (20), Liam Arnsby (4) and Simon Rose (4) added North Bay goals while Nick Grima picked up a pair of assists. Jacob Golden (4) opened the scoring just 4:39 in for the Otters while Elias Cohen (7), Chad Yetman (37) and Max Golod (24) also scored Erie goals in the loss. The Otters have now lost three straight but remain three points up on the Soo Greyhounds for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference at 24-24-4-7. North Bay improves to 15-39-4-0, climbing to within eight points of the Niagara IceDogs and Kingston Frontenacs in the Eastern Conference.
GAME CENTRE

 

SAGINAW 8, HAMILTON 2
DJ Busdeker (19, 20, 21, 22) enjoyed a career night with four goals and an assist to his name as the Saginaw Spirit ran wild on the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs by a score of 8-2. Busdeker recorded Saginaw’s first four-goal game of the campaign, picking up a natural hat-trick in the first period. Carolina Hurricanes first round pick Ryan Suzuki (17, 18) would score a pair of his own while Blade Jenkins (14) and Jake Goldowski (14) added singles. Mason Millman picked up three assists while Damien Giroux had two in front of a 26-save performance from goaltender Tristan Lennox. Saginaw outshot Hamilton 43-28, going 4-for-7 on the power play. Jan Mysak (15) and Ryan Winterton (12) scored Hamilton goals while Arthur Kaliyev picked up an assist, pulling into a tie for the club’s all-time points lead. Saginaw has won four in a row, leading the West Division with a 38-16-3-2 record. Hamilton has dropped four straight, falling to 24-28-7-1, four points back of fifth place Barrie in the Eastern Conference.
GAME CENTRE

 

WINDSOR 6, GUELPH 3
Dallas Stars prospect Curtis Douglas (26, 27) had two goals and an assist to lead the Windsor Spitfires out of a five-game funk past the visiting Guelph Storm 6-3. The two teams entered play knotted with 70 points apiece but Windsor came out on top, outshooting the Storm 45-20 as Egor Afanasyev (28), Daniel D’Amico (22), Connor Corcoran (18) and Will Cuylle (19) joined Douglas in the goal-scoring department. Eric Uba (27, 28) was a bright spot in the loss for Guelph, scoring twice while adding an assist. Pavel Gogolev (42) also found the back of the net, while pitching in a pair of assists to bring his point total to 91 on the season. The Storm see a 10-game point streak go by the wayside as they fall to 31-20-3-5, two points back of the Spitfires in the Western Conference. Windsor improves to 33-19-6-0, holding down the fifth spot.
GAME CENTRE

 

KITCHENER 5, OWEN SOUND 4 – SO
The Kitchener Rangers overcame a 4-1 deficit as overage forward Liam Hawel (20, 21) scored twice before scoring the shootout winner in a 5-4 road win. Riley Damiani (28) and Serron Noel (17) added Kitchener goals while forward Matthew Sop picked up an assist in his OHL debut. Jacob Ingham made 37 saves over 65 minutes of play before turning aside all three shootout opponents he faced. Blueliner Brady Lyle (20, 21) scored a pair of goals for the Attack while Sergey Popov (18) and Igor Chibrikov (6) also found the back of the net. Lyle’s 21 goals are the most by an Attack defenceman since Bobby Sanguinetti in 2006-07. Kaleb Pearson picked up a couple assists while Mack Guzda made 37 saves, helping his team earn a point in the shootout loss. The win is Kitchener’s fifth straight as they climb to first in the Western Conference with a record of 38-14-5-2. Owen Sound sits seventh in the Western Conference at 28-22-4-4.
GAME CENTRE