Friday Highlights: Spots secured

Friday February 26, 2016

The Owen Sound Attack and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds both used wins on Friday to secure Western Conference playoff spots on a busy night around the league.

Ethan Szypula joined Gemel Smith, Cameron Brace and Josh Bailey as the fourth Attack player in the past 10 years to record at least four goals in a game, leading the Attack to a commanding 10-2 victory in Mississauga. The Attack are headed back to the playoffs for a sixth straight season.

The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds used a big night from rookie Morgan Frost to punch their ticket to the playoffs for a third straight season. Frost’s goal and an assist led the Hounds to a 5-2 win over the Flint Firebirds.

Owen Sound and Sault Ste. Marie took wins in two of seven games around the league on Friday.

OWEN SOUND 10 MISSISSAUGA 2 – The Owen Sound Attack put forth their biggest offensive output since February 11, 2012 as Ethan Szypula scored four goals and added an assist in a 10-2 win over the Mississauga Steelheads. The Attack locked down a playoff spot in the commanding victory that also saw Justin Brack score twice while Petrus Palmu and Thomas Schemitsch each registered three assists. Owen Sound outshot Mississauga 39-15, going 2-for-3 on the powerplay to start a stretch of three games in four nights off on the right foot.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

SAULT STE. MARIE 5 FLINT 2 – Morgan Frost, Blake Speers, Jack Kopacka and Gustav Bouramman all had a goal and an assist as the Soo Greyhounds clinched a playoff spot with a 5-2 win in Flint. Joseph Raaymakers made 33 saves in goal as the Hounds were outshot 35-28. The win was Sault Ste. Marie’s seventh straight on the road dating back to February 4th as they avenged a Wednesday night loss to the Firebirds on home ice. Zach Grzelewski and Mathieu Henderson had goals for Flint in the loss.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

KINGSTON 6 LONDON 2 – The Kingston Frontenacs did the troops proud on Friday, defeating the London Knights 6-2 in military green to claim their third straight victory. Spencer Watson led the way with his 34th and 35th goals of the season while Lawson Crouse, Jason Robertson, Conor McGlynn and Warren Foegele also beat Brendan Burke in the London crease. Jeremy Helvig made 24 saves for the Frontenacs, improving to an impressive 15-2-0-1 mark on the season while also remaining unbeaten in regulation over a span of 17 games dating back to October 30th. Mitch Marner and Owen MacDonald provided goals for London as the Knights saw their four game winning streak come to an end.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

ERIE 4 NORTH BAY 0 – Devin Williams made 19 saves to earn his 36th win of the season, tying Ramis Sadikov’s single-season franchise mark set in 2011. Williams’ ninth career shutout brings him to one shy of tying an Otters franchise record as the overage netminder backstopped his club to a 4-0 win over the North Bay Battalion. Alex DeBrincat, Jake Marchment, Kyle Maksimovich and Dylan Strome provided goals with Taylor Raddysh pitching in with three assists. Strome earned first star honours with a goal and two assists on the night as the Arizona Coyotes prospect who recently surpassed Brad Boyes for second on the Otters franchise assists list recorded his sixth multi-point effort of the month. Battalion captain Mike Amadio saw his 12-game point streak come to an end as the Troops were shutout for the first time since November 20th.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

SARNIA 6 BARRIE 2 – The Windsor Spitfires took two points from the Barrie Colts on Thursday and the Sarnia Sting followed suit on Friday as Philadelphia Flyers prospect Travis Konecny led the way with two goals and an assist. Draft eligible blueliner Jakob Chychrun registered four assists in the 6-2 win while Devon Paliani and Brandon Lindberg each finished the night with a goal and an assist each. Andrew Mangiapane’s 43rd and Dylan Sadowy’s 36th stood as the lone goals for Barrie as the Colts drop their fourth decision in the last five games while seeing their record against Western Conference opponents fall to 11-10-0-1. The Sting hold a one point edge on Windsor atop the West Division headed into a matchup in Owen Sound on Saturday.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

KITCHENER 4 GUELPH 1 – A goal and two assists from Jeremy Bracco paired with two goals from Ryan MacInnis led the Kitchener Rangers past the Guelph Storm 4-1. Dawson Carty made 32 saves to improve to 12-1-1-0 on the season while Nick Magyar extended his point streak to six games with his ninth goal of the season. Rookie Liam Stevens’ sixth goal of the year was the lone marker for the Storm who suffered their third straight loss. Ryan MacInnis’ 36 goals are the most by a Ranger since Tobias Rieder’s 42 in the 2011-12 season. The Rangers trail second place London by one point in the Midwest Division.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

OTTAWA 8 SUDBURY 2 – The Ottawa 67’s took out a 7-0 lead on Sudbury on Friday enroute to an 8-2 final, halting their losing streak at four games as Montreal Canadiens prospect Jeremiah Addison led the way with two goals and an assist. 67’s rookie Austen Keating had a goal and two assists in just his second game back in the lineup after missing a month to injury. Dante Salituro and Artur Tyanulin each registered a goal and an assist while Nathan Todd gathered three helpers in the lopsided victory. The Wolves scored twice in the third as Alan Lyszczarczyk and Dmitry Sokolov found the back of the net. The 67’s trail fourth place Mississauga by one point in the Eastern Conference while the Wolves suffered their sixth straight loss.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS