OHL This Week: Jan. 7 to 10, 2016
Thursday January 7, 2016
By Josh Sweetland/OHL
The World Juniors are complete and players return to the lineup across the league this week.
A new year is upon us! Let’s get caught up on what’s happening around the OHL.
AT THE RINKS:
Manon Rheaume drops the puck in Peterborough: Manon Rheaume, the first female to play in the NHL, will drop the puck prior to the Peterborough Petes’ tilt against the Oshawa Generals on Thursday. Rheaume is this year’s special guest for the second annual Face Off Against Dementia event as the Petes and Generals battle it out for the Face Off Against Dementia Trophy. For full details on Thursday’s event and a look at a little fun the Petes had earlier in the week, please visit gopetesgo.com.
Firebirds offer ticket discount in exchange for canned goods: Fans who bring five cans of food to the Dort Federal Event Center on Saturday can receive $5 off a silver ticket to see the Firebirds host the Niagara IceDogs.
Scout Night in Saginaw: The Spirit are welcoming scouts and their families from around the Great Lakes Bay Region for a fun night of hockey, food, a post-game skate and more when they host the Sarnia Sting on Saturday.
Grain Farmers of Ontario distributes mascot cards in North Bay: The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) will be distributing GFO Mascot hockey cards following the Battalion home game against the Ottawa 67’s on Sunday. 1,000 of these cards will be available for fans to collect upon exiting the Memorial Gardens.
COMMUNITY CORNER:
Colts surprise Minor Hockey Team during practice: A group of Barrie Colts accompanied by assistant coach Todd Miller took to the ice earlier this week, surprising a team of young Barrie Minor Colts for practice. Tim Horton’s provided free coffee, hot chocolate and timbits for the kids and their parents. Check out the video on the Colts’ Facebook Page.
Rangers visit Family and Children’s Services for ‘Rangers Night’: Kitchener Rangers Jake Henderson, Frank Hora, Jeremy Bracco and Gustaf Franzen paid a visit to Family and Children’s Services on Wednesday for ‘Rangers Night.’ The players spent time with the children, playing games and interacting before a question and answer period to end the evening.
Spirit donate over $5,000 to fight against Breast Cancer: The Saginaw Spirit have donated over $5,000 in proceeds from the 9th annual Pink Out Night held earlier in the season. The Spirit delivered a cheque for $5,454.50 to the Seton Cancer Institute on Wednesday.
COLTS’ KEVIN LABANC NAMED CHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
San Jose Sharks prospect Kevin Labanc of the Barrie Colts is the CHL Player of the Week for the week ending January 3 recording 13 points in four games including seven goals and six assists with an impressive plus-minus rating of plus-11 to open the league’s second half.
Labanc’s week was highlighted by a seven-point performance on Saturday night which tied a franchise record where he scored three goals and four assists earning first star honours in a 12-2 win over the North Bay Battalion.
TIP TOP TAILORS OHL PLAYS OF THE WEEK – WEEK 14:
Niagara IceDogs goaltender Stephen Dhillon headlines the Tip Top Tailors OHL Plays of the Week for Week 14 of the 2015-16 season. Dhillon makes a sprawling save on a nicely orchestrated passing play by the Barrie Colts to also earn the nomination for this week’s CHL Fan Choice Vote.
Fans can vote for Dhillon’s save at fanchoice.ca.
13 OHL PLAYERS EARN MEDALS AT 2016 WORLD JUNIOR HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP:
13 OHL players have earned medals at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Helsinki, with four returning home with gold as members of host Team Finland. Finland rallied for a thrilling overtime win over Russia while the United States defeated Sweden for bronze. 2016 marks Finland’s second gold in three years at the World Juniors and fourth in the history of the event. Full List
GETTING ON THE BOARD: FIRST OHL GOALS IN 2015-16:
Check out the players who have scored their first OHL goal in the past week! 129 different players have accomplished the milestone this season! Click on a player’s name below to watch his first OHL goal!
Kyle Auger, Luke Boka, Aidan Brown, Aaron Dart, Giordano Finoro, Jacob Friend, William Lochead, Justin Murray, Liam Stevens, Connor Warnholtz
ALUMNI NOTES:
15 OHL graduates named to NHL All-Star Game rosters: OHL graduates Ryan O’Reilly (Erie Otters), Steven Stamkos (Sarnia Sting), Matt Duchene (Brampton Battalion), Patrick Kane (London Knights), Tyler Seguin (Plymouth Whalers), Brandon Saad (Saginaw Spirit), John Tavares (London Knights), Taylor Hall (Windsor Spitfires), Corey Perry (London Knights), Aaron Ekblad (Barrie Colts), P.K. Subban (Belleville Bulls), Brent Burns (Brampton Battalion), Drew Doughty (Guelph Storm), Mark Giordano (Owen Sound Attack) and John Gibson (Kitchener Rangers) will compete in the 2016 NHL All-Star Game set for January 30-31 in Nashville. 15 of the 40 players selected to compete in the game are OHL graduates.
Rick Nash plays 900th career NHL game: London Knights graduate Rick Nash suited up in his 900th career NHL game on Tuesday, registering three assists in a 6-2 win over Dallas. The first overall pick of the 2002 NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nash has scored 390 goals and added 336 assists for 726 career regular season points between the Jackets and Rangers since 2002. Nash is a six-time NHL All-Star who won the Maurice Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer in 2003-04 with 41. He has also Olympic gold medals with Canada in 2010 and 2014. A native of Brampton, ON, Nash played two seasons with the London Knights from 2000-02, scoring 63 goals while adding 75 assists for 138 points in 112 career regular season games. He was named the OHL Rookie of the Year in 2001 after being London’s 1st round (4th overall) pick in the 2000 OHL Priority Selection.
Former OHL standouts get change of scenery: OHL graduates Richard Panik (Guelph Storm) and Jeremy Morin (Kitchener Rangers) have been involved in a trade, with Panik going to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Morin who joins the Toronto Maple Leafs. Panik, who has played 151 career NHL games between Tampa Bay and Toronto, joins the Hawks after registering nine goals, 16 assists and 25 points in 33 games with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Morin heads to Toronto after collecting nine goals, 13 assists and 22 points in 28 games with the Rockford IceHogs. Panik played in two OHL seasons with the Windsor Spitfires, Belleville Bulls and the Guelph Storm from 2009-11, appearing in 111 career regular season contests while collecting 48 goals, 49 assists and 97 points. Morin played one season with the Kitchener Rangers in 2009-10, scoring 47 goals while adding 36 assists for 83 points in 58 regular season contests.
Seth Griffith named AHL Player of the Month: London Knights graduate Seth Griffith has been named the AHL Player of the Month for December after tallying six goals and 11 assists for a league-high 17 points in 11 games. The Providence Bruins forward chipped in on more than half of the Bruins’ 32 goals with him in the lineup. The 23 year-old Griffith is tied for sixth in the AHL in scoring with 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 25 games for Providence this season. A fifth-round draft choice by Boston in 2012, the Wallaceburg, Ont., native has totaled 42 goals and 69 assists for 111 points in 133 AHL games over his three professional seasons, along with six goals and five assists in 32 NHL contests with Boston. Griffith played four OHL seasons with the London Knights from 2009-13, appearing in 207 regular season games and collecting 102 goals, 129 assists and 231 points.
Mike Angelidis named AHL All-Star captain: Owen Sound Attack graduate Mike Angelidis will serve as a team captain at the 2016 AHL All-Star Classic in Syracuse, New York on January 31st and February 1st. Currently in his 10th professional season, Angelidis has two goals, six assists and eight points in 26 games with the Syracuse Crunch this season and was recently reassigned by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 30-year-old native of Woodbridge, Ont., has appeared in 605 regular-season games in his AHL career, totaling 121 goals and 132 assists for 253 points and posting at least 10 goals and 100 penalty minutes in eight straight seasons from 2007-15. Angelidis played four OHL seasons from 2002-06, appearing in 240 career regular season contests while collecting 78 goals, 54 assists and 132 points.
KEY WEEKEND MATCHUPS:
Erie Otters (32-4-1-0) vs. North Bay Battalion (19-14-1-2)
Thursday January 7 at North Bay
Winners of eight straight at home, the North Bay Battalion will have their streak tested against the CHL’s top ranked Erie Otters who enter the weekend as winners of five straight.
The Battalion have surged in the Central Division of late, winning seven of their last 10 contests as Defenceman and Rookie of the Month Cam Dineen comes off an excellent month of December while veteran Mike Amadio leads the team in scoring with 52 points (22-30–52) in 36 games.
The Otters will have captain Dylan Strome and sophomore scorer Alex DeBrincat back in the lineup after their tours of duty at the World Juniors.
Sarnia Sting (19-11-4-1) vs. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (17-15-4-1)
Sunday January 10 at Sault Ste. Marie
The Sarnia Sting and the Soo Greyhounds are locked in a heated West Division battle as both clubs have found ways to come away with points of late.
The Sting hold a four point lead over Sault Ste. Marie entering the weekend, having defeated the Greyhounds in each of their prior meetings this season. Overage winger Matt Mistele has proven to be a valuable addition to the Sting lineup with 16 points (9-7–16) through his first 10 games with the club.
The Hounds feature Boston Bruins first round pick Zachary Senyshyn who comes off a red hot month of December that saw him collect 11 goals, six assists and 17 points in nine games.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
Thursday, January 7
Erie at North Bay – 7:00pm
Oshawa at Peterborough – 7:05pm
Owen Sound at Windsor – 7:05pm
Mississauga at Barrie – 7:30pm
Friday, January 8
Oshawa at Kingston – 7:00pm
Flint at London – 7:00pm – Sportsnet CHL Friday Night Hockey (Sportsnet East, Ontario, Pacific)
Peterborough at Ottawa – 7:00pm
North Bay at Sudbury – 7:00pm
Niagara at Saginaw – 7:05pm
Owen Sound at Sarnia – 7:05pm
Erie at Sault Ste. Marie – 7:07pm
Barrie at Guelph – 7:30pm
Hamilton at Kitchener – 7:30pm
Saturday, January 9
Mississauga at Ottawa – 1:00pm
Guelph at London – 7:00pm
Hamilton at Peterborough – 7:05pm
Sarnia at Saginaw – 7:05pm
Windsor at Barrie – 7:30pm
Niagara at Flint – 7:30pm
Kingston at Owen Sound – 7:30pm
Sunday, January 10
Flint at Guelph – 2:00pm
Kingston at Kitchener – 2:00pm
Ottawa at North Bay – 2:00pm
Erie at Sudbury – 2:00pm
Sarnia at Sault Ste. Marie – 2:07pm
Windsor at Oshawa – 6:05pm
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