Team West Prevails 4-3 over Team East in 2026 Connor McDavid Top Prospects Game
PETERBOROUGH, ON – Team West scored twice in the third period to secure a 4-3 victory over the host Team East in front of a sold-out crowd at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Wednesday night.
Zachary Jovanovski (Guelph Storm) got the start between the pipes for Team West, while Matthew Minchak (Kingston Frontenacs) started for Team East.
Team West opened the scoring when Egor Barabanov (Saginaw Spirit) finished a forehand-backhand move off a feed from Rylan Singh (Guelph Storm).
Continuing a trend that defined much of the night, Team East responded quickly. Ryder Cali (North Bay Battalion) buried a power-play goal off a goalmouth scramble to knot the game at 1-1.
Adam Novotny (Peterborough Petes) energized the home crowd in the second period, redirecting a backhand deflection to give Team East its first lead of the game.
The @PetesOHLhockey put on a show on home ice!
Adam Novotny finished off the Adam Levac feed with a nifty move to earn the @deltabingo_ Play of the Night. pic.twitter.com/m1kI1jZajR
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) January 15, 2026
At the midway point of the second frame, the goaltenders made a swap with Stepan Shurygin (Saginaw Spirit) and Ryder Fetterolf (Ottawa 67’s), taking over in goal.
Nikita Klepov (Saginaw Spirit) pulled Team West even once again, capitalizing on a 2-on-1 opportunity after receiving a pass from Braidy Wassilyn (London Knights).
The Nikita Klepov goal that pulled things back to even for Team West at the #OHLTopProspects game!@SpiritHockey | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/nehOArrHO8
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) January 15, 2026
Early in the third period, Singh picked up his second point of the night, snapping a shot from the right circle. Later in the frame, Layne Gallacher (Guelph Storm) scored the eventual game-winning goal, giving Team West its first multi-goal lead of the contest.
Novotny added his second of the night on the power play to pull Team East within one with just over three minutes left, but that would be as close as the home side would get as Team West held on for the win.
Klepov and Novotny earned the Connor McDavid 97 Player of the Game Award for their respective teams.
“It was a good game, and a nice experience for everyone,” said Klepov after the win. “Our line had some pretty good chemistry. There’s a lot of skilled players here and it’s always fun to play with new guys.”
Team West Stats:
Nikita Klepov (Saginaw Spirit) – 1G, 2A (Named Team West’s Player of the Game)
Rylan Singh (Guelph Storm) – 1G, 1A
Egor Barabanov (Saginaw Spirit) – 1G
Layne Gallacher (Guelph Storm) – 1G
Callum Croskery (Soo Greyhounds) – 1A
Braidy Wassilyn (London Knights) – 1A
Lucas Ambrosio (Erie Otters) – 1A
Beckham Edwards (Sarnia Sting) – 1A
Jacob Xu (London Knights) – 1A
Zachary Jovanovski (Guelph Storm) – 19 SVS
Stepan Shurygin (Saginaw Spirit) – 15 SVS
Team East Stats:
Adam Novotny (Peterborough Petes) – 2G (Named Team East’s Player of the Game)
Ryder Cali (North Bay Battalion) – 1G
Caleb Malhotra (Brantford Bulldogs) – 2A
Vladimir Dravecky (Brantford Bulldogs) – 1A
Joe Salandra (Barrie Colts) – 1A
Adam Levac (Peterborough Petes) – 1A
Ondrej Ruml (Oshawa Generals) – 1A
Matthew Minchak (Kingston Frontenacs) – 12 SVS
Ryder Fetterolf (Ottawa 67’s) – 12 SVS
