Sunday Highlights: Trout playoff-bound

Sunday March 6, 2016

One playoff spot remains in the Eastern Conference after the Mississauga Steelheads became the seventh club to nail down their place in the pursuit of the Robertson Cup on Sunday.

Draft eligible centreman Nathan Bastian had a pair of assists while Mason Marchment and Marcus Dickerson had goals in a 2-1 win over the Sudbury Wolves. The victory sends the Steelheads back to the OHL playoffs after the club missed out for the first time in eight years in 2014-15.

The Oshawa Generals and Hamilton Bulldogs continue their battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference this week.

Here’s a look at how things shook down around the OHL on Sunday.

MISSISSAUGA 2 SUDBURY 1 – Marcus Dickerson provided the winning goal in the opening half of the second period as the Mississauga Steelheads hung on for a 2-1 victory over visiting Sudbury to become the seventh Eastern Conference team to secure a playoff spot. Jack Flinn made 22 saves in goal while draft eligible centreman Nathan Bastian had a pair of assists as the trout improved to 31-29-1-3 on the season. Zack Bowman turned aside 30 shots in the loss for Sudbury while veteran blueliner Conor Cummins scored his fourth goal of the season.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

KINGSTON 6 WINDSOR 3 – The Kingston Frontenacs set a new single-season franchise record with their 43rd win behind Lucas Peressini’s 43 saves in Windsor on Sunday. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Stephen Desrocher earned first star honours with a goal and an assist as the Frontenacs defeated the Windsor Spitfires 6-3 in front of a national audience on Sportsnet, recording their eighth straight win. Conor McGlynn, Spencer Watson, Ryan Verbeek, Ryan Cranford and Juho Lammikko also had goals. Watson’s 38 tallies are the most by a Frontenacs player since Bobby Hughes netted 40 in 2006-07. Kingston managed to come away with two points despite Windsor going 3-for-8 on the powerplay with goals from Logan Brown, Brendan Lemieux and Bradley Latour. Windsor trails first place Sarnia by one point in the West Division, with the Sting currently holding a game in hand.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

SAULT STE. MARIE 5 GUELPH 4 – Boston Bruins prospect Zach Senyshyn scored his 40th and 41st goals of the season to lead the Soo Greyhounds past the Guelph Storm 5-4 on the road. Sault Ste. Marie’s 30th win also featured a goal and an assist from Bobby MacIntyre and Gabe Guertler, whose 25th goal of the season in the third period stood as the game winner. Guelph’s Jake Bricknell earned second star honours with a goal and an assist while blueliner Austin Hall had a pair of helpers. Marc Stevens, Givani Smith and Luke Burghardt also scored for the Storm while newcomer Cedric Ralph made his OHL debut. The Hounds improve to 18-10-4-1 on the road this season and sit two points behind sixth place Owen Sound in the Western Conference.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

LONDON 4 KITCHENER 1 – The London Knights had outstanding goaltending from Tyler Parsons, defeating the Kitchener Rangers 4-1 despite being outshot 32-24 on home ice. The Knights improve to 3-2 against Kitchener this season as Aaron Berisha, J.J. Piccinich, Olli Juolevi and Matthew Tkachuk found a way past Luke Opilka. London pulls to within two points of first place Erie in the Midwest Division, handing the Rangers their third straight loss. David Miller had the lone goal for Kitchener as the Rangers fall to eight points back of London in the Midwest Division but hold a seven point edge on Windsor for home ice in the first round of the playoffs. The Knights and Rangers will meet again on Tuesday in Kitchener.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

NIAGARA 4 ERIE 2 – Carolina Hurricanes prospect Alex Nedeljkovic made 40 saves while veteran forward Anthony DiFruscia scored twice to lead the Niagara IceDogs to a 4-2 win, taking their second straight at Erie Insurance Arena this season. Stephen Harper had a pair of assists against his former club while Graham Knott and Ben Jones found a way past Devin Williams in the Erie crease. The Otters had goals from Kyle Maksimovich and Dylan Strome in the loss as they see their lead atop the Midwest Division dwindle to just two points over second place London. The IceDogs sit five points back of third place North Bay in the Eastern Conference. Anthony DiFruscia surpassed Carter Verhaeghe for fourth place on the IceDogs’ all-time games played list over the weekend. He’ll end his OHL career behind past IceDogs in Andrew Agozzino, Alex Friesen and Michael Swift.
GAME SUMMARY  HIGHLIGHTS

OTTAWA 4 HAMILTON 1 – The Ottawa 67’s took a 4-1 win on the road, limiting the Hamilton Bulldogs to 19 shots as Artur Tyanulin led the way with a goal and an assist. Nathan Todd, Travis Barron and Dante Salituro also had goals for Ottawa while Leo Lazarev recorded the win between the pipes. Niki Petti’s 22nd of the season was the lone goal for Hamilton as the Bulldogs now trail eighth place Oshawa by two points with the Generals holding two games in hand to be played on Wednesday and Friday at home to Kingston and North Bay. 67’s captain Jake Middleton had two assists in the game to give him a career-high 29 points on the season. Ottawa joins Niagara, Peterborough and Mississauga as four teams separated by just two points in the middle of the Eastern Conference. One of those teams will earn home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

NORTH BAY 8 FLINT 2 – Mike Amadio and Brett McKenzie both had two goals and an assist as the North Bay Battalion took an 8-2 win in Flint. The Firebirds managed to outshoot North Bay 47-39 in the loss as Battalion goaltender Jake Smith made 45 saves. Zach Poirier (1-2–3) and Zach Shankar (0-3–3) also had three-point outings while Kyle Wood (0-2–2) and Justin Brazeau (1-1–2) produced multi-point figures as well. The Battalion came away with four of a possible six points on the weekend and hold a five point edge over fourth place Niagara in the Eastern Conference.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS