Tuesday Highlights: Standout showings round out 2019

 

BARRIE 4, GUELPH 3 SO
The Colts finished off 2019 in the W column off a 4-3 shootout win over the Guelph Storm on home ice. Guelph got on the board first thanks to leading scorer Pavel Gogolev (27) and Cam Hillis (12), but Barrie’s Nicholas Porco (6) and captain Jason Willms (16) responded to even things up at two apiece. Keegan Stevenson (13) briefly handed Guelph the lead, but another one from Willms (17) sent the game to extra time, where Tyson Foerster scored in the shootout to earn his team their second straight win. Barrie’s Jet Greaves saved 34 of the 37 shots that came his way, and Owen Bennett rounded out a 31-save performance. The Colts’ two points brings their record up to .500 at 15-15-2-1 in the Central Division’s second place seed. The Storm continue to lead the Western Conference with 47 points, just one point above the red hot Saginaw Spirit.
GAME CENTRE

 

NORTH BAY 5, SUDBURY 3
Luka Moncada’s three-point (2-1-3) afternoon boosted the North Bay Battalion to a second consecutive win, this time over the struggling Sudbury Wolves by a 5-3 tally. Brad Chenier (18) and Owen Robinson (8) traded goals before Moncada’s (15) league-leading sixth shorthanded goal of the season put North Bay in front and rookie Alex Christopolous (3) followed suit with his third career OHL goal. Second period goals from Moncada (16) and Nolan Hutcheson (8) kept the Troops in the lead, and Mitchell Russell (11) notched an empty-netter to jump ahead by three before Macauley Carson (9) cut the lead to a final 5-3. North Bay got three goals past Christian Purboo on eight shots before Mitchell Weeks stepped in for the remainder of the game, stopping 15 of 16 shots. Cameron Lamour rounded out a 26-save total in net for the Troops, improving to 2-1 with his new club. The Battalion earned their ninth win of the season while Sudbury falls to their sixth straight loss but remain first in the Central Division at 18-17-1-0.
GAME CENTRE

 

PETERBOROUGH 7, NIAGARA 3
Leading rookie scorer Mason McTavish’s (22, 23, 24) first period hat trick launched the Peterborough Petes to a 7-3 trampling of the Niagara IceDogs Tuesday night to wrap up the calendar year in the OHL’s first place position. Petes rookie J. R. Avon (2) was the first to strike with his second on the year, and Niagara’s Oliver Castleman (14) was able to tie things up midway through the opening period before Peterborough came back with five in a row that began with one from Cameron Butler (11). McTavish completed his second career hatty with a Zach Gallant (19) goal in between, capping off a seven-goal opening frame. Jonah De Simone (6) gave Niagara some more life early in the next period, but Gallant’s (20) second goal of the game widened the Petes’ lead once more. Jake Uberti (8) notched one final goal for the Dogs at the 11:07 point of the third. Peterborough outshot Niagara 35-25, as IceDogs rookie Josh Rosenzweig stopped 28 shots in his OHL debut. Tye Austin saw a 22-save night between the pipes. The Petes improve to 25-8-2-1 on the year, while McTavish’s career-high five point night keeps him atop the rookie scoring race with 24 goals and eight assists for 32 points in 31 games. The IceDogs fall to fourth in the Central Division at 13-15-4-1.
GAME CENTRE

 

WINDSOR 5, FLINT 2
The Windsor Spitfires soared past the visiting Flint Firebirds in a New Year’s Eve afternoon tilt. The opening frame saw the Spits jump out to 3-0 lead thanks to Cole Purboo (15), Will Cuylle (11), and Dallas Stars prospect Curtis Douglas (13). The two teams traded second period goals from fourth-year Firebird Jack Phibbs (10) as well as Nashville Predators pick and OHL rookie Egor Afanasyev (15). Cody Morgan (10) scored Flint’s second and final goal, while Tyler Angle (20) earned an empty netter for the final marker in Windsor’s second straight win. Shots on goal were 34-30 in Windsor’s favour, with Flint’s Anthony Popovich making 30 saves and rookie Xavier Medina finishing up with 28 for Windsor. The Spits sit eight points above the Firebirds in the West Division’s second place slot as they improve to 21-8-4-0, while Flint’s record drops to 19-15-0-0.
GAME CENTRE

 

MISSISSAUGA 5, HAMILTON 2
Florida Panthers pick Cole Schwindt (15, 16, 17) registered his second hat trick in three games for a 5-2 win in favour of his Mississauga Steelheads over the host Hamilton Bulldogs. Schwindt’s first goal came early in the game and was followed up by goals from 2020 NHL Draft prospect James Hardie (15) as well as Dallas Stars draftee Thomas Harley (16). The Fish extended their lead late in the second period thanks to Schwindt’s next goal. Hamilton defencemen Michael Renwick (2) and Cameron Supryka (2) both earned their second goals of the season within the final frame before Schwindt completed the hat trick on the empty net to hammer in Mississauga’s three-goal lead and round out an eight-point total (7-1-8) in his last three matchups. The Fish put 45 shots on Hamilton’s Zachary Roy, while Kai Edmonds faced 24 shots. The Trout jump to third in the Central Division, tied with Niagara at 31 points on the year, while Hamilton remains fourth in the East Division with a 15-19-2-0 record.
GAME CENTRE

 

LONDON 4, SARNIA 2
The London Knights handed the Sarnia Sting their fifth straight loss, doing so by a score of 4-2 in their annual New Year’s Eve clash. Sophomore forward Luke Evangelista (13, 14) scored twice to earn first star honours. Following a scoreless first period, rookie Sean McGurn’s (1) first OHL goal put his Knights on the scoreboard within five minutes before Billy Moskal (7) notched one in the period’s final minute. A four-goal final frame saw back and forth action that started with Sean Josling’s team-leading 26th goal of the season for the Sting. Evangelista gave the Knights a 3-1 lead with 4:33 left in the third period before Sarnia defender Justin Nolet (5) brought the Sting back within one. Evangelista (14) hit the empty net to seal the victory inside the game’s final minute. Ethan Langevin turned aside 39 of 42 shots in goal for Sarnia opposite London rookie Brett Brochu who stopped 29 of 31. The Knights remain tied with the Kitchener Rangers at 44 points on the season as they stick around in the Midwest’s second place spot. Sarnia continues to round out the bottom of the Western Conference and fall to 15-18-3-0.
GAME CENTRE

 

KITCHENER 6, ERIE 1
Fourth-year OHLer Jonathan Yantsis (22, 23) found the back of the net twice as his Kitchener Rangers wrapped up 2019 on a three-game win streak, defeating the Erie Otters 6-1 on the road. Rookie Francesco Pinelli (11) and Mike Petizian (6) were Kitchener’s first period scorers, and Brendan Hoffmann (6) was Erie’s lone scorer 49 seconds into the next frame. Four straight goals off the sticks of Yantsis, Declan McDonnell (8), and Greg Meireles (14) would seal Kitchener’s victory. Jacob Ingham earned his third consecutive win with a 35-save performance, and Erie rookie Aiden Campbell shut down 29 of the 35 shots he faced. Kitchener earns their 20th win of the season and continue to sit tied with London in the Midwest Division’s second place spot. Erie remains one point above the Owen Sound Attack and hover at fourth in the Midwest.
GAME CENTRE