Garrett Wilson pacing the Attack

By Aaron Bell

There was a collective sigh of relief at the Harry Lumley Community Centre in Owen Sound when Owen Sound Attack captain Garrett Wilson returned to the ice after falling awkwardly in the second period of Saturday’s game against the Barrie Colts.

The Attack are already playing without scoring star Joey Hishon, who has been sidelined with a wrist injury suffered at the Colorado Avalanche camp. Losing Wilson as well could have derailed a terrific start to the season.

Wilson returned to score the winning goal and was the first star, pushing the Attack to a 7-5 win over the Colts. It was Owen Sound’s eighth straight win and pushed their record to 8-1-0-0.

“The knee is fine,” Wilson said after the game. “I just of fell on it awkwardly when I got hit. I put pressure on it and it was still stable. It’s all right – I’m feeling good.”

It’s easy to understand why Wilson is feeling good these days. It’s been a start to remember for Wilson and the Attack so far in the young 2010-11 season.

The third year winger is the captain of the Attack and is leading the way offensively with a league-high 12 goals to go along with five assists. He is tied for fourth in the OHL scoring race with 17 points in nine games.

Wilson enjoyed a breakout season last year with 36 goals and 62 points in 65 games and is looking to help the Attack to a resurgence this season.

“We’re just sticking to what (coaches) Mark Reeds and Terry Virtue are teaching us,” Wilson said. “We’re trying to get lots of pucks to the net, get traffic in front and we’re just finding ways to put the puck in the net right now.”

Wilson said that Owen Sound’s secret to success so far this season is anything but a secret.

“It’s just the hard work ,” said Wilson, the OHL’s player of the week. “We’re putting it in in practice and it’s transferring over to the games right now. We’re just sticking tight defensively and just keeping it simple. We’re getting pucks on net – trying to get as many shots as we can every night and right now it’s working for us.”

Wilson has welcomed new teammate Liam Heelis into the lineup from the Peterborough Petes.

They frequently line up together on Owen Sound’s top line and are already enjoying some chemistry. They combined for a short-handed goal in the second period that helped in their win over the Colts.

“He was a great acquisition from Peterborough,” Wilson said. “He’s definitely been huge for us so far this year. Hopefully he can keep it up and keep doing this for the rest of the year.”

The Attack sit one point behind the Saginaw Spirit for first place in the OHL standings with two games in hand. They have a busy week with a home game against the Plymouth Whalers on Wednesday before a home-and-home with the Sarnia Sting.

“We’re keeping an eye on it (the standings) but when it comes down to it, it comes to us winning games,” Wilson said. “We try not to focus on the other teams too much. We just try to worry about ourselves and take it game by game. We’re trying to keep this streak going here.”