OHL This Week: Dec. 4 to 7, 2014

Wednesday December 3, 2014

By Josh Sweetland/OHL

The teddy bears take flight this weekend across the OHL as teams support local charitable organizations with the annual Teddy Bear Toss event.

The Peterborough Petes and Guelph Storm are featured on Sportsnet’s Friday Night Hockey installment this week as teams and players are getting geared up to round out the first half of the OHL season with some forward momentum heading into the holiday break.

The weekend will conclude with a big Friday night tilt, pitting the CHL’s top ranked Oshawa Generals against the Western Conference leading Erie Otters.

December gets underway in the OHL!

 

AT THE RINKS

Colts hold Teddy Bear Toss: The bears take flight on Thursday night in Barrie when the Colts score their first goal. Teddy bears will be on sale at the game for the price of $5, with proceeds going to the Darling Home for Kids, a non-profit hospice home for children. The bears collected at the Molson Centre will be gathered by the Barrie Fire Department and shared between the Toy Drive and The Women’s and Children’s Shelter.

Teddy Bear Toss in Kingston: The Kingston Frontenacs will be donating teddy bears collected at their annual Teddy Bear Toss game on Friday night to the Salvation Army Toy Drive. The Frontenacs battle the rival Belleville Bulls at the K-Rock Centre.

Steelheads collecting Toys for Tots: The Mississauga Steelheads are teaming up with Peel Regional Police, the Salvation Army and Canadian Tire to collect toys at Friday night’s home game against the Plymouth Whalers. Fans are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the Hershey Centre to be distributed to underprivileged children across the Peel Region. 

Whalers host 15th annual Teddy Bear Toss: The Plymouth Whalers continue a long standing tradition of the Teddy Bear Toss at Compuware Arena on Saturday night against the London Knights. The Whalers, who have scored in the first period of Teddy Bear Toss games in each of the last ten years, will be finding homes for the bears with help from the Plymouth United Way and the Kiwanis Club of Garden City, MI. 

Windsor holds Teddy Bear Toss Saturday: The fur will fly in Windsor on Saturday night when the Spits host the North Bay Battalion. Fans are encouraged to bring new or gently used teddy bears to the game.

Spirit hold Teddy Bear Toss and Post-Game Skate: North on I-75, the Saginaw Spirit will hold their Teddy Bear Toss on Sunday afternoon against the Guelph Storm. Be sure to stick around post-game for a skate with the Spirit and get autographs from your favourite players! 

Sting aim to continue strong Teddy Bear Toss tradition: The Sarnia Sting have collected over 45,000 teddy bears over the past 16 seasons, and enter their 17th annual Teddy Bear Toss on Sunday looking to add to that total considerably. Both Patrick White and Daniel Nikandrov have launched the bears from the stands in past years. Be sure to catch Sunday’s game against Sault Ste. Marie to see who the hero will be this season!

Knights hold 15th annual Teddy Bear Toss: The London Knights will be supporting the Salvation Army in their 15th annual Teddy Bear Toss game on Sunday afternoon at home to North Bay. The Knights collected 9,819 stuffed animals last season and have their sights on increasing that total this year!

Wolves collect toys on Sunday: The Sudbury Wolves are supporting the GLENCORE Toy Drive this Sunday at home to the Mississauga Steelheads. New and gently used toys collected will be given to children in need. Those who bring toys to the game will be entered into a draw to receive one of three $200 gift cards to the new Sudbury Centre.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Night in Oshawa: Dust off your ugly Christmas sweaters! The Oshawa Generals are supporting The Children’s Wish Foundation this Sunday when they take on the Erie Otters. Join the Generals in their #GetUglyGrantWishes campaign at the General Motors Centre and wear your ugliest Christmas sweater! The Generals delivered some holiday cheer this week with some of their favourite Christmas carols!  

 

STING’S DUPUIS NAMED PIONEER ENERGY OHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Sarnia Sting goaltender Taylor Dupuis is the Pioneer Energy OHL Player of the Week. The overage netminder went 3-0-0-0 last week, posting a 1.67 goals-against-average and a .950 save percentage. Dupuis turned aside 95 shots over his three starts.

A 20 year-old from New Liskeard, ON, Dupuis is in his third OHL season and second with the Sting after beginning his career in Sudbury. Dupuis is 8-4-0-0 this season with a 2.34 goals-against-average and a .932 save percentage.

 

12 OHL PLAYERS INVITED TO CANADIAN NJT SELECTION CAMP

Hockey Canada’s Sport Chek National Junior Selection Camp gets underway on December 11 with 12 OHL players in attendance. Canada pursues its first gold since 2009 in Toronto and Montreal when the tournament begins December 26th.

Owen Sound Attack defenceman Chris Bigras is joined on the blueline at camp by Edmonton Oilers prospect Darnell Nurse from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

10 of the 17 forwards attending the camp are OHL talents, including Nick Baptiste (Erie), Lawson Crouse (Kingston), Michael Dal Colle (Oshawa), Jason Dickinson (Guelph), Max Domi (London), Remi Elie (Belleville), Robby Fabbri (Guelph), Connor McDavid (Erie), Nick Paul (North Bay) and Nick Ritchie (Peterborough).

Canada’s National Junior Selection Camp will take place at the MasterCard for Hockey Excellence in Toronto.

 

6 OHL PLAYERS INVITED TO TEAM USA SELECTION CAMP

A pair of goaltenders and four players will attend the United States National Junior Team Selection Camp in Boston, MA and Kingston, ON this month. The United States comes off a quarterfinal loss to Russia in 2014, failing to medal after winning gold in 2013.

Carolina Hurricanes prospect Alex Nedeljkovic (Plymouth) and New York Rangers draftee Brandon Halverson (Sault Ste. Marie) will vie for a spots in goal, while defenceman Anthony DeAngelo (Sarnia) will attend camp as well. On forward, Columbus Blue Jackets first round pick Sonny Milano (Plymouth), London Knights winger Michael McCarron and Oshawa Generals centreman Cole Cassels will also attend.

Both Nedeljkovic and Milano won gold with Team USA at the 2014 IIHF World Under-18 Men’s World Championship in Finland.

 

ALUMNI NOTES

Rychel, Laughton record first NHL point: Kerby Rychel and Scott Laughton have both had a memorable week. Both players recorded their first career NHL point on Tuesday night.

Former Windsor Spitfires and Guelph Storm forward Kerby Rychel made his NHL debut on Saturday night in Nashville and recorded his first NHL point on Monday against Florida, chipping in with an assist on Boone Jenner’s game winning goal.

An OHL Champion, Ivan Hlinka gold medalist and World Under-17 Hockey Challenge winner with Team Ontario, Rychel started this season with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons, recoring 13 points (6-7-13) in 22 games. The Tecumseh, ON, native was a first round pick by Columbus in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Laughton collected an assist on a Sean Couturier first period powerplay goal on Tuesday night in San Jose. Laughton has played in eight games this season after being Philadelphia’s 1st round (20th overall) pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

A 40-goal scorer and captain for the Oshawa Generals last season, Laughton has made the leap to pro this season and claimed AHL Player of the Week honours in October. Laughton played 230 career OHL games with Oshawa, recording 96 goals and 123 assists for 219 points.

Rieder sets rookie record: Former Kitchener Ranger Tobias Rieder had a memorable night with the Arizona Coyotes on Monday scoring two shorthanded goals in 58 seconds against the Edmonton Oilers as part of a 5-2 victory.  The goals were the fastest two shorthanded markers ever recorded by an NHL rookie. 

The native of Landshut, Germany, played three seasons with the Rangers from 2010-13 and was actually selected by the Oilers in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Draft.  After a full season with the AHL’s Portland Pirates last year, Rieder made his NHL debut with the Coyotes on November 2 and scored the game-winner against Washington.

Giordano named NHL’s 1st Star for November: Former Owen Sound Attack defenceman Mark Giordano is the NHL’s 1st Star of the Month for November. The Toronto native continues his career year, leading NHL defencemen in scoring with six goals and 20 assists in 26 games with a plus-15 plus-minus rating. 

Giordano’s sensational month of November included 16 points in 13 games to power the Flames to a 9-4-0 record, good for a regular season mark of 15-8-2. Giordano became the fastest Flames defenceman to reach 20 points in a season since 1993, doing so in 18 games to tie Al MacInnis’ historic mark. 

Ekblad, Trocheck paying dividends for Panthers – A pair of OHL graduates are turning heads as rookies in the NHL. Florida Panthers Aaron Ekblad and Vincent Trocheck are fitting right in with the cats in South Florida.

Both players factored into a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday. Ekblad provided the game winning goal and was plus-2 while Trocheck took first star honours after recording a goal and two assists and a plus-3 rating.

The first overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft this past summer, Ekblad has burst onto the scene in Florida, recording four goals and nine assists through his first 23 NHL games. The Belle River, ON, native is seeing big minutes as an 18 year-old in the NHL. Ekblad has received glowing reviews from Panthers Head Coach Gerard Gallant. “Kids that age usually have a lot of trouble playing defence and making decisions,” Florida coach Gerard Gallant told ESPN on Tuesday. “Not this guy.”

Trocheck was Florida’s third round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. The Pittsburgh, PA, native recorded 299 points (120-179-299) over 264 OHL games with both Saginaw and Plymouth from 2009-2013. After a successful year in the AHL last season, Trocheck has been working to establish himself in the NHL. “He’s a competitor. He’s got good skill and good talent, but he competes every night and every shift and he wants to win. He’s a battler,” Gallant said of Trocheck. “We really like the way he handles the puck and goes hard to the net.”  

Prince takes weekly AHL honours: Former Kitchener Ranger and Ottawa 67 Shane Prince is the AHL Player of the Week after recording five goals and an assist in three games. The second round draft pick by the Ottawa Senators in 2011 is off to a strong start this season with nine goals and eight assists through his first 18 games with Binghamton. The 244 game OHL veteran is in his third AHL season.

Meurs named ECHL Player of the Week: Garrett Meurs is the ECHL Player of the Week after the Fort Wayne Komets forward recorded four goals and an assist in three games to help lead his club to a 3-0-0-0 record last week. The 21 year-old former Plymouth Whalers forward is a native of Ripley, ON, and has spent the majority of his time in the ECHL this season after suiting up for 64 games last year with the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters.

Meurs was Plymouth’s 1st round (13th overall) pick in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection and went on to 192 points (78-114-192) in his 265 career OHL games, all spent with Plymouth. He was Colorado’s 5th round (123rd overall) pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Chiarot recalled by Jets: With an injury to Tobias Enstrom, the Winnipeg Jets have recalled former Guelph Storm, Sudbury Wolves and Saginaw Spirit defenceman Ben Chiarot from the St. John’s IceCaps. A big 6’3″, 222Ib defender from Hamilton, Chiarot has spent the last two seasons in the American Hockey League, recording 12 goals and 31 assists in his 168 games there.

Chiarot made his NHL debut last season, but has had a good start to his 2014-15 campaign in St. John’s recording 9 points (4-5-9) in 24 contests. Chiarot played in 229 career OHL games, collecting 70 points (20-50-70).

 

KEY WEEKEND MATCHUPS

Guelph Storm (14-10-0-1) vs. Niagara IceDogs (8-17-0-0)

Thursday, December 4 at Niagara

Both teams will have a fresh face in the lineup on Thursday night when the Guelph Storm visit the Niagara IceDogs. Both teams are 6-4 over their past 10 games and are trying to keep pace in two competitive divisions. 

Guelph acquired overage forward Luke Cairns from the Saginaw Spirit on Tuesday. He’ll make his Storm debut, joining recently acquired fellow overage forward Chris Marchese in Guelph’s forward ranks. The two veteran additions will try and kickstart a Guelph offense that includes the likes of St. Louis Blues first round draft pick Robby Fabbri and fellow Canadian National Junior Selection Camp invite Jason Dickinson.

The Niagara IceDogs, who have battled the injury bug through the first third of this season, will have arguably their most dangerous offensive threat back in the lineup on Thursday in Arizona Coyotes first rounder Brendan Perlini. The big winger, who scored 34 goals and 37 assists in 58 games last season will rejoin make his season debut with the Dogs after being sidelined by a hand injury.

While having their trials away from home this season has slowed them down in the standings, the IceDogs have a respectable 6-4-0-0 record at home in their new facility.

The reigning OHL Champion Storm took four of a possible six points on their northern road swing last weekend and have proven that they can skate with any team in the league. With a pair of recent wins over Erie and a 4-1 triumph over the Oshawa Generals last Friday, Carter Verhaeghe, Josh Ho-Sang and the IceDogs are gradually overcoming a slow start to the season.

 

North Bay Battalion (14-5-4-1) vs. Sarnia Sting (13-11-1-1)

Friday, December 5 at Sarnia

Pioneer Energy OHL Player of the Week Taylor Dupuis and the Sarnia Sting are heating up with calendar turning over into December. The Sting are winners of five straight games despite the recent absence of top pick Jakob Chychrun and Czech standout Pavel Zacha. Led offensively by draft eligible sophomore Nikita Korostelev and recently signed blueliner Anthony DeAngelo who inked with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, the Sting are creating a buzz in The Imperial City.

A lot of the success Sarnia has had this season has come against West Division opponents as the Sting boast a 6-1-1-1 record against interdivisional foes. Friday night’s challenge sees the North Bay Battalion kick off a three-in-three southern Ontario road trip with a 4-0-1-0 record over their last five contests.

Much like the strong goaltending Sarnia has received from Taylor Dupuis, North Bay’s Jake Smith has been an early season leader amongst OHL goaltenders, posting a 2.22 goals-against-average and .914 save percentage. The Oakville native went 6-2-1-0 with a 1.98 goals-against-average and .927 save percentage in the month of November.

Over half of North Bay’s games this season have been decided by one goal. The Troops are 4-4-4-1 in one goal contests this year and have had big contributions from Canadian National Junior Selection Camp invitee Nick Paul who leads the team with 18 goals and 13 assists for 31 points in 24 games. The Battalion have been road warriors this season, playing to a 7-2-1-0 record away from home.

 

Erie Otters (21-4-0-1) vs. Oshawa Generals (20-3-1-0)

Sunday, December 7 at Oshawa

The titans of the OHL’s Eastern and Western Conferences clash on Sunday evening in Oshawa, with the fourth nationally ranked Erie Otters paying a visit to this week’s top ranked team in the country, the Oshawa Generals. This game has all the makings of an exciting contest with abundant skill at both ends as both clubs close out their weekend.

Despite the absence of Connor McDavid, Erie hasn’t lost a whole lot of steam having won seven of the last 10 games. Draft eligible forward Dylan Strome has helped pick up the slack with 10 goals and 12 assists in 13 games last month while rookie Alex DeBrincat, who turns 17 on December 18, earned OHL Rookie of the Month honours for the second straight month. Blueliner Darren Raddysh was the OHL’s Defenceman of the Month for November, recording five goals and 12 assists in 13 games.

While the Otters boast an impressive resume, the Oshawa Generals enter the weekend as the top ranked team in the weekly BMO CHL Top 10 Rankings. Though they, like Erie, are missing a key centreman in Cole Cassels, the Generals still have the depth to power their way to victory.

New York Islanders first round pick Michael Dal Colle sits sixth in OHL scoring with 18 goals and 23 assists in 20 games. He, along with draft eligible blueliner Mitchell Vande Sompel and Ottawa Senators prospect Tobias Lindberg, helps fuel the OHL’s best powerplay that is currently running at 31.6% efficiency. In addition, the Generals are also owners of the league’s best penalty kill that currently sits at an 87.4% success rate.

Sunday’s matchup will set the tone for another encounter coming up on the schedule between the two clubs in Erie on December 13th.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE: DEC. 4-7

Thursday, December 4

Guelph at Niagara – 7:00pm

Oshawa at Peterborough – 7:05pm

Sault Ste. Marie at Windsor – 7:05pm

Mississauga at Barrie – 7:30pm

 

Friday, December 5

Belleville at Kingston – 7:00pm

North Bay at Sarnia – 7:05pm

Peterborough at Guelph – 7:30pm –  live on Friday Night Hockey (Sportsnet Ontario, West, Pacific)

Owen Sound at Kitchener – 7:30pm

Sault Ste. Marie at London – 7:30pm

Plymouth at Mississauga – 7:30pm

Niagara at Ottawa – 7:30pm

Oshawa at Sudbury – 7:30pm 

 

Saturday, December 6

Niagara at Kingston – 7:00pm

Erie at Belleville – 7:05pm

Barrie at Peterborough – 7:05pm

London at Plymouth – 7:05pm

North Bay at Windsor – 7:05pm

Sarnia at Saginaw – 7:11pm

Kitchener at Owen Sound – 7:30pm 

 

Sunday, December 7

Barrie at Ottawa – 2:00pm

Mississauga at Sudbury – 2:00pm

North Bay at London – 4:00pm

Guelph at Saginaw – 4:00pm

Sault Ste. Marie at Sarnia – 4:05pm

Erie at Oshawa – 6:05pm

 

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