Ontario Hydro Hockey League - OHHL

The OHHL Season Has Just Wrapped Up Its Week 7 Games, And I Got To Say, There Are A LOT! Of Surprises This Year.

Lets Start With The Fact That Last Years 1-2 At The End Of The Regular Season Are Currently 5-6 In The Standings. Or That The Lightning Have Already Eclipsed Last Years Wins Total, And We Are Just Finishing October!

The Lightning Have Been A Force This Year, Currently 5-2-0 Sitting In 2nd Place, They Lead The League In Goals After Finishing 3rd Last Year, and Are 2nd In Goals Against After Finishing At The Bottom Last Year. You Can Tell They Are Having A Lot More Fun Out On The Ice.

The Devils After Scoring Just 8 Goals In Their First 4 Games Have Picked Up 19 Over Their Last 3 Games. So It Looks Like They're Starting To Put The Pieces Together.

The Bruins Started The Season With Only 1 Win In Their First 5 Games, But Are Currently On A 2 Game Win Streak Since Then, Putting Up 17 Goals During The Streak Certainly Helps.

The Flames Are Starting To Faulter, After Allowing 19 Goals Through The Teams First 5 Games, Currently Have Allowed 21 Goals In Their Last 2 Games. This Team Needs A Win Fast If They Want To Avoid Going Down The Lightning Path Of Last Season.

The Rangers Seem To Always Keep It Close, But Just Miss Out On The "W" When Its All Said And Done. Currently With 2 Ties, And Having Lost Their Last 2 Games By 1 Goal, This Team Needs A Big Win To Really Boost Their Confidence, And Hopefully Pull Them Out Of Last Place.

There Is Currently A Very Tight Race At The Top Of The Scoring Leaders. John McLinden (Lightning) As Of Now Holds The Title With 21 Points In 7 Games, But Bobby Chapman (Stars) & Josh McCurdy (Bruins) Are Right Behind Him With 20. In 4th Place Is Another Lightning In Brad Bowness Who Currently Has 17 Points In Only 5 Games, Now Thats Some Sweet Point-Per-Game Stats (Also Currently Leads The League In That Stat). Mike Navo Of The Bruins Is A New Comer This Year And Already Seems Comfortable Out On The Ice. Currently Sitting In 5th Place With 15 Points Over 6 Games It Seems Him And Josh Are Working Out Just Fine Together.

The Flames Are Currently The Only Team To Not Have A Player In The Top 10 In Points, But Tim Saville (11 Points) Is Not Far Off. The Lightning And The Bruins Both Have 3 Players Each In The Top 10. Brad Bowness Currently Has The Record For Most Goals/Points In An OHHL Game This Season When He Notched 5 Goals and 2 Assists For 7 Points Against The Flames In Week 6.

Bob Lim Certainly Had No Problem Making The Swithc From Defence To Forward. His Previous High In Points Over The Last 3 Years Was A 23 Point Effort In 2008-2009. Bob Has Already Racked Up 12 Points Through 7 Games This Year, So Expect Him To Crush, Or Atleast Beat His Previous High.

Rob Brewer Currently Leads All Defenseman In Points With 12, And No One Is Really That Close To Him At The Moment.

As For The Collaboration Award, John McLinden Currently Has A +7. And Considering Last Years Winner (Mike MacArthur) Had A +14. John Doesnt Have Far To Go.

As For Goaltenders; Renewed Member Greg Hawco (Stars) Currently Leads All Goaltenders In Wins (4), And Goals Against Average (3.20). Tom Murray Up Until 2 Weeks Ago Was Playing Some Fine Goaltending (3.60GAA), But Back To Back 10+ Goals Against Has Dropped His GAA To Last (5.71).
Last Years Vezina Winner - Dave Harris - Hasnt Started His Season The Way He Wanted It To. Currently Winless Through 5 Games, Sporting A 5.20GAA. Dave Needs To Regroup And Come Back Much More Confident (Like He Was Last Season). Also It Would Help If The Rangers Could Pot A Few More Goals In Front Of Him (Currenlty 2nd Last In GF), That Always Helps.

I Hope You All Enjoyed The Write-Up As We Are A Quarter Of The Way Through The Season. Good Luck To Everyone The Rest Of The Way.

Josh McCurdy Had A Fantastic October Racking Up 5 Goals and 7 Assists For 12 Points In Just 3 Games. Josh Has Had Multiple Points In All His Games So Far This Season And Looks Like He Wants To Recapture The Scoring Title He Had From The 2009-2010 Season.

Gus Prokus Only Had To Play 1 Game To Capture The Goalie Of The Month Title. And It Always Helps When It's A Shutout. Gus Doesnt Play Goalie Much In The OHHL, He Is Always Willing To Help Out Teams In Need But Prefers To Play Out Where He Is Having A Very Respectable Season With 6 Points In 6 Games.

Congratulations To Both Winners! And Make Sure To Vote For This Months Player/Goalie Of The Month At The End Of November. Please Try And Only Vote Once For A Skater And A Goalie.

Thanks

The Flames Really Needed Some Help After Being Winless In The Teams Last 5 Games. The Stars Make A Goalie Swap With The Flames, And The Lightning Move Their Teams Leading Goal Scorer For More Of A Defensive Player

Greg Hawco Has Been Traded From The Stars To The Flames In Return For Flames Goaltender Tom Murray. Tom Has Been Struggling Lately For The Flames And Maybe A New Team Is What The Doctor Ordered For Him. Greg Hawco Who Is The Leagues Top Goaltender Through 9 Games This Season Will Definitely Help Out The Back End Of The Flames Struggling Defense.

Brad Bowness From The Lightning Who Is Currently Tied For The League Lead In Goals Has Also Been Traded To The Flames In Return For Defenseman Donnie Doran. Not Sure What The Book Is On Doran But With Only 1 Assist In 5 Games This Was Obviously A Trade Made To Improve Defense.

Lets See Now If The Flames Can Get Things Back On Track With Their New Personnel. Current Leading Scorer For The Flames (Tim Saville) Should Be Happy With His New Teammates, Lets See If He Can Gain Instant Chemisty With Brad And Continue His Career Year.

The Lightnings John McLinden May Have Suffered The Most From This. John Has A League Leading 16 Assists, And Im Sure A Lot Of Them Ended Up On Bowness' Stick. But There Is No Shortage Of Goal Scorers On That Team, Im Sure Chris Brailean (Who Currently Has 11 Goals) Will Continue His Scoring Ways, And Players Like Guy Comtois and Michael Kelsey Will Rise Up And Fill The Void.

These Trades Will Not Go Through Until Next Week Unfortunately So The League Remains The Same For Another Week. Tonights Matchups Include The Bruins vs Devils, Lightning vs Rangers, And The Stars vs Flames.

Week 10 Predictions:

Bruins - 6
Devils - 4

Rangers - 5
Lightning - 4

Stars - 6
Flames - 3

Bert Thibodeau and Greg Hawco Are Named Player/Goalie Of The Month For November

The Bruins Bert Thibodeau Had A Great November. Picking Up Goals In All 4 Of The Teams Games During The Month Which Also Included A 3 Goal Effort Against A Tough Rangers Defense. And On A Side Note Bert Has Tallied A Goal In His Last 7 Games Which Currently Has Him Tied With His Teammate Josh McCurdy For 2nd In The League With 17 Goals.

Greg Hawco Picks Up His 1st Goaltender Of The Month Award. Greg Has Had A Great Year So Far In The OHHL. Posting A 8-1 Record With A 3.67GAA. Greg Seems To Be The Front Runner This Year For The Vezina Trophy. But With A Lot Of Season Remaining Everyone Is Well Aware That Anything Can Happen In This League.

Team Reports

Stars

The Stars Currently Lead The OHHL In Points, 5 Points Up On The Rangers and Lightning Who Are Tied For 2nd. The Stars Have Had A Great Balance Of Goals For (Tied For 2nd In The League) And Goals Against (Lowest In The League) Last Years Leading Scorer Bobby Chapman Has Had A Good Start To The Year Currently In 3rd Place In The Scoring Race. Rob Brewer Has Really Stepped Up His Offensive Game This Year With 8 Goals and 13 Assists For 21 Points. Robs Previous High Was A 27 Point Season In 2008-09 and A 9 Goal Season Last Year. It Looks Like He Is On Pace To Break Both His Records. Surprises On The Season Have Been The Strong Play Of Erwin Chong and Kevin Kearns. Erwin Currently Has 11 Points in 13 Games Which Has Already Beaten His Last Years Total And Gives Him A Great Chance To Break His 2008-09 Total Of 18 Points. Kevin "Senor" Kearns aka Snipe Show Has Been On Fire Lately. Currently With 6 Goals On The Season And Back To Back Goals The Last Two Games Kearns Looks To Demolish His Last Years Total Of 10 Points. Newly Acquired Goaltender Tom Murray Has Had A Rough Start Losing His First 2 Games With His New Club. But The Offense Needs To Do More In Front Of Him, Things Should Turn Around Soon Enough.

Rangers

After Starting The Season 1-4-2 The Rangers Have Dug Themselves Out Of The Basement Going 5-0-1 In The Teams Last 6 Games. Backstop Dave Harris Has Really Stepped Up His Game Lately. Posting A 3.67GAA During The Teams Current Unbeaten Streak, He Has Given His Team A Huge Confidence Boost And Doesnt Look Like He Is Slowing Down. Leading Scorer Mike Bell Has Been Consistently Good Picking Up Multi Point Games In 4 Of His Last 6. Bob Lim's Switch To Forward Has Paid Off Greatly For Him. Currently With 18 Points On The Season, Bob Is Sure To Beat His Previous High Of 23 Points In 2008-09. Defensmen Mike Fabrizi Is Currently 4th On The Team In Points And Has Helped Out Big Time From The Point With 5 Goals This Season, With 3 Of Them Coming During The Teams Recent Streak.

Lightning

The Lightning Are The Opposite To The Rangers As They Started The Season Off Great Going 6-2-0, But Since Then Have Dropped Off With Only 1 Win In Their Last 5 Games, Which Included A Tough 9-3 Loss Against The Lower Seeded Bruins. John McLinden Still Leads The League In Points And At This Point Has The Early Lead For The Collaborator Award (Currently +10) John Has Yet To Have A Pointless Game This Season With 11 Of His 13 Games Being Multi Point Efforts. Chris Brailean Has Slowed Down In The Goal Category As Of Late. After Starting The Year With 9 Goals In 6 Games, Has Only 4 In His Last 6. He Has Picked Up Goals In His Last 2 Games So Possibly The Slump Is Broken. Captain Mike Kesley Has Been A Consistent Player This Year, He Has Already Beaten His Point Totals From His Previous Two Years. Mike Had A 5 Game Point Streak Going Up Until Last Weeks Game In Which He Was Shutout. Ken Kirby Has Had A Tough Time Lately, With 4 Of His Last 5 Games Giving Up More Than 5 Goals Ken Needs To Get Things Back On Track And Hopefully Everyone Around Him Will Do The Same.

Bruins

The Bruins Are The Most Up And Down Team Ive Seen All Season. This Teams Run Has Been Quite Funny. Going Winless In Back to Back Games 4 Times This Season Is Remarkable. This Team Has 2 Players In The Top 3 In Goals (Josh McCurdy, Bert Thibodeau). Josh Has Been Solid This Year. Currently With The Leagues Best Points/Game Ratio (3.00) He Has Kept This Team In Games All Year Long. Captain Bruno Jesus Has Been Pretty Invisible This Year On The Gamesheet. That Is Until Last Weeks 6 Assist Performance Which Has Vaulted Him Up Among His Teams Top Scorers. Goaltender Jeff Smith Has Been Consistent When Winning Or Losing. Jeff Has Won Every Game In Which He Lets Up Less Than 5 Goals. And Has Lost Every Game In Which He Has Given Up More Than 5 Goals.

Flames

After Having A Great Season Last Year The Flames Are On The Other Side Of The 8 Ball This Season With Only 9 Points (Currently 5th Place). They Recently Picked Up Brad Bowness From The Lightning In Hopes He Can Spark Some Offense. But Brad Has Already Missed 2 Games For Them So Lets Hope This Doesnt Become A Regular Thing With Him Or This Team Could Be In Trouble. Tim Saville The Teams Early Leading Scorer Has Faded A Bit Lately. After Starting The Season With 10 Points In 5 Games. Tim Has Missed 3 Of The Teams Last 8 Games And Only Has 6 Points During Those 8 Games. Lets Hope Him And Brad Can Create Some Chemistry And Bust Out Of Their Funks. Paul Glasgow Has Had A Great Last 3 Games. Picking Up 9 Points. Paul Is Half Way To Reaching His Last Years Total Of 32 Points. If He Keeps Up This Recent Play He Will Be Passing That Mark For Sure.

Devils

Currently In Last This Season The Devils Just Havent Been Clicking. This Team Has A Lot Of Skill On It. But Just Not Enough Dedication. Of The Teams Top 6 Scorers. Only 2 Of Them Have Played 10 Or More Games, With The Teams Leading Scorer (Mike Borsch) Playing Only 7 Games So Far. Dan Townsend and Brad Smith Have Been Doing As Much As They Can Out On The Ice, But Without Consistent Attendance This Team Will Be Hard Pressed To Regain Top Form. Vic DaRosa Picked Up His 1st Win In 6 Games Last Week Against The 1st Place Stars. Vic Played A Great Game But He Did Injury Himself Again. His Health Looks To Be An Issue This Year And Maybe Thats The Reason For The Teams Poor Showing. Vic Did Play Great Last Week Though So He Still Shows He Has Lots Of Life Left. Lets Hope The Teams Recent Victory Can Give Them A Boost And Hopefully String Together A Few More Wins.

Week 14 Predictions

Rangers Def Bruins (6-4)
Stars Def Lightning (7-5)
Flames Def Devils (4-3)

It's Now Week 18 And A Lot Of Things Have Changed In The OHHL. The Stars Are No Longer The Powerhouse They Looked To Be After Starting The Year 10-1. The Rangers Have Taken Over As The "Team To Beat" Going 7-1-2 In Their Last 10 Games. Josh McCurdy Looks To Run Away With The Scoring Lead. And Maybe Mike Borsch Should Make It Out To More Games, He Currently Averages Over 3 Points Per Game.

The Standings Are Looking A Lot Closer Going Into The Final 6 Games Of The Season. The Stars Are Currently 1 Game Up On The 2nd Place Rangers, With The Lightning Not Far Behind. Two Points Separate The Bottom 3 Teams. So It Is Still Anyone's Race Considering The Last Place Bruins Have The Most Goals For In The League. But At The Same Time They Also Have The Most Goals Against.

The Stars Have Lost 5 Of Their Last 6 Games, Being Kept Under 5 Goals In 4 Of Those 6 Games. The Devils Have Won 4 Of Their Last 5 Games With Two Of Those Games Being A Shutout Victory For Vic DaRosa. The Flames Have Won 3 Straight Combining For 21 Goals During The Streak. The Bruins Are Struggling Having Dropped 5 Of Their Last 7 Games, And 7 Of Their Last 10. The Lightning Have Almost Fallen Off The Earth, After Winning 6 Of The Teams First 8 Games. They Have Only 2 Wins In Their Last 9.

Josh MCurdy Currently Sits A Top The Scoring Leaders With 47 Points. Josh Currently Has 17 Points In His Last 5 Games Including A 4 Goal - 6 Point Effort Against The Lightning On December 8th. John McLinden The Former Leader Has Slowed His Production With Only 5 Points In His Last 4 Games. His Team Really Seemed To Miss Him Last Week After Being Shutout By The Devils. Tim Saville Has Been Lighting The Lamp Lately With 7 Goals In His Last 3 Games. But Only 2 Assists In His Last 8 Games Keeps Him From Being One Of The Top Point Getters In The League. Bob Lim Currently Sits Tied For 8th In Points With 24, Already Surpassing His Previous 3 Year Point Totals, Shows He Can Play Both Offense And Defense With Effectiveness. Gus Prokos Currently Sits In The Lead For The Collaborative Award With A +13. But Conrad Carbonell (+12) and Bruno Jesus (+10) Arent Far Behind. Rob Brewer and Tim Saville Currently Lead The League In Game Winning Goals With 4 A Piece.

Dave Harris Has Really Worked Hard To Get Himself Back Into The Talks For Vezina Trophy Candidate. After Starting His First 8 Games Going 2-3-3 With A 4.88GAA. He Has Been Rolling With His Team Going 5-1-1 With A 3.00GAA In His Last 7 Games. The Flames Greg Hawco Still Puts Up An Impressive Record, But His Goals Against Has Inflated. Starting The Season 5-1-0 With A 2.83GAA. Then Since His Trade To The Flames Has Gone 5-1-0 Again But This Time With A 4.33GAA. The Record Is Still Great, But He Is Leaving A Window Open For Another Goalie To Swoop In For The Title. And That May Be The Diamond In The Rough They Call Victor DaRosa. Vic Was Pretty Much A Writeoff For The Title After Posting A 3-7-2 Record With A 5.50GAA Through His First 12 Games. But Since Then Has A 3-1-0 Record With A 3.25GAA. Which Doesnt Seem That Impressive But Consider He Had A 10GA Game vs The Bruins 3 Weeks Ago And Those Numbers Are Actually Great. He Has 2 Shutouts In His Last 4 Games And Seems To Be Starting To Roll. If Vic Can Keep Up This Great Play He Can Easily Be A Nominee For The Vezina.

Fun Fact:
Kevin Kearns Currently Is Tied For 2nd On The Stars With 8 Goals. Kevin Had 8 Goals Combined Over His Previous 3 Seasons. The 8 Goals Also Have Him Tied For 16th In The League.

Week 18 Predictions:

Flames - 3
vs
Rangers - 3

Stars - 5
vs
Devils - 4

Bruins - 7
vs
Lightning - 6

Jody McClelland Had Points In Each Game During The Month Of December, Including Goals In 3 Of The 4 Games He Played. The Devils Went 2-2 During The Month To Keep Them Out Of Last Place. The Devils Are Hoping For More Players To Step Up In The Future If They Want To Get Out Of The Basement.

Ken Kirby Had A Fantastic December, Other Than A Tough Game Against The Bruins In Which He Allowed 9 Goals. Ken Went The Rest Of The Month Undefeated With A 2.67GAA. The Lightning Have Only Lost 2 Games This Year In Which They Have Scored 5 Or More Goals. So That Looks Like The Magic Number For Them.

Mike Borsch Recorded A Record 14 Point Points In Three Games During The Month Of January. Which Included An OHHL Record 7 Points In A Game Versus The Lightning On January 19, 2012. Mike Has Also Recorded A Point In Each Of His 12 Games He Has Attended This Season And Currently Has The Best Points Per Game Ratio In The League.

Greg Hawco Earned His Second Goaltender Of The Month Award After Posting A 3-0-0 Record With A 2.67GAA. Surprisingly Greg Has Yet To Record A Shutout This Season Despite Having The Best GAA In The League.

The 2012 OHHL Playoffs Got Underway Last Week As We Saw Another Great Season Come To A Close. The Stars Came Out On Top Of The Standings With A 14-8-1 Record. The Devils Finished With The Worst Record In The OHHL (7-13-3). The Rangers And Flames Remained Among The Top 3 Again This Year While The Bruins And Lightning Both Found Themselves In The Bottom 3 Again. Bobby Chapman Won His 2nd Scoring Title In A Row With Josh McCurdy Finishing 2nd Back-To-Back Years. Tim Saville and Rob Brewer Both Led The League In Game Winning Goals With 5. Dave Harris Had Another Great Year In Goal For The Rangers, Posting A 10-6-4 Record With A 3.65GAA. But It Was The Play Of Greg Hawco That Really Stood Out This Year, Posting A Dominating 14-2-0 Record With A LEague Leading 3.37GAA. Despite Leading The League In Shutouts, Vic DaRosa Just Couldnt Stay Consistent Enough To Put Together A Great Season Posting A 7-10-3 Record With A 5.28GAA, Injuries Have Been Plagueing Him All Season, But For Him To Notch 2 Shutouts In This League Is A Feat On Its Own.

Going Into The Playoffs The Standings Looked Like This:
1st - Stars
2nd - Flames
3rd - Rangers
4th - Lightning
5th - Bruins
6th - Devils

The Flames And Rangers Are Already Off To A 1-0 Start Defeating The Lightning And Devils. The Bruins and Stars Battled To A 8-8 Tie And Currently Sit In The Middle Of The Standings. It Is Usually Within The First 3 Games Of The Playoffs That You Get To See A Clearer Picture Of Who Will Be Playing In That Championship Game. So Each Team Knows How Important These Games Are, And For The Teams That Didnt Start Out 1-0, They Know They Are Facing An Uphill Battle.

Tonights Games Feature:
Lightning vs Devils
Stars vs Rangers
Bruins vs Flames

The Loser Of The Lightning/Devils Game Is Going To Need A Lot Of Luck To Work Themselves Back Into The Top 2. And The Stars And Bruins Look To Even Up The League Standings With Wins Tonight. The Beauty Of A Round Robin Playoff Ensures All Teams Have A Shot At The Title, Regardless Of What Happened In The 23 Games Before This. Week 2 Of These Playoffs Begins Tonight, And I'm Pretty Sure Every Team Here Is Looking For The W.

Predictions For Tonights Games:
Devils Def Lightning 7-6
Stars Tie Rangers 4-4
Bruins Def Flames 4-3

The OHHL End Of Season Banquet Is On April 12th This Year At The Boston Pizza Down The Street. Tony Is Still Looking For Door Prizes and Table Prizes To Give Out So Get In Contact With Him If You Can Help Out (tony.alonzi@torsdc.ca)
Also For Next Season Its Equalization Time! So I Hope Everyone Is Prepared To Be Shuffled Around To Different Teams, I Know I Cant Wait To Play With The Rest Of The Guys In This Great League. Also Next Season Is The OHHL's 25th Anniversary. Me And Tony Are Currently Looking For Someone To Design A 25th Anniversary Logo For The League, So If Anyone Out There Has An Artistic Side Let Me (Robert.Chapman@Hydroone.com) or Tony Know.

Thanks And Good Luck In The Playoffs!

So This Writeup Is A Bit Overdue But Here It Is Anyways!

The 2011-2012 OHHL Season Was Another Great Success. Collectively 86 Players/Goalies Took The Ice From 6 Teams. The Regular Season Would See The Stars Getting Off To A Hot Start Going 10-1 To Open The Season. On The Flip Side The Defending Champion Flames Would Open With A Horrid 2-7-1 Record. But Things In This League Can Change Quickly, The Stars Would Only Pick Up 4 More Wins In The Last 12 Games Of The Season, And The Flames Would Roll A 10-2-1 Record To End The Season. The Stars Would Hold On To The Top Spot Though Edging Out The Flames and Rangers By 3 Points.

The Bruins and Devils Just Couldnt Get It Going During The Season. Be It Either Attendance Issues Or Poor Play These Two Teams - When Looking On Paper Have Some Of The Most Talented Players In The League.

The Scoring Title Would Once Again Go To Bobby Chapman, But It Wasnt Easy. Trailing In The Scoring For Most Of The Season To John McLinden and Josh McCurdy, Bobby Needed Hat Tricks In His Last 3 Games Totalling 20 Points Over His Last 5 Games. Greg Hawco and Dave Harris Would Battle It Out For Top Goaltender, Greg Would Took The Victory Putting Up Some Insane Numbers Going 14-2-0 With A 3.37GAA.

The Playoffs Continued Just The Way The Season Ended For The Flames, Unbeatable. The Flames Would Sweep The Round Robin Going 5-0. The Bruins and Devils Once Again Couldnt Get It Going Closing Out The Playoffs In The Religation Game. The Rangers and Flames Would Face Off In A Much Anticipated Championship Final, While The Stars and Lightning Played Teeter Totter In The Middle Of The Standings.

The Flames MVP Of The Season Greg Hawco Unfortunately Had Injured Himself Prior To The Championship Game And Had To Be Replaced By Devils Goaltender Vic DaRosa. Vic Battled His Heart Out, Like He Did All Season. But Just Couldnt Stop The Onslaught Of Ranger Scorers. The Rangers Would Take Home The 2012 OHHL Playoff Championship Trophy, Thanks In Part To Great Goaltending, Depth, And Captaincy From Bob Lim and Mike Bell. This Was Mike Bells 45th OHHL Championship (Not-Confirmed) But Its Close Enough.

At The Awards Ceremony For The End Of Year Banquet, There Was A Big Surprise. Dave Harris Was Named The Vezina Trophy Winner Based On His Teams Goals Against. To Much Of The Confusion Of The League; Dave Shook Tony's Hand And Waltzed Back To His Table With A Smirk On His Face. Later League Officials Got Together To Discuss This Dilemma And Determined That Greg Hawco Was The True Vezina Trophy Winner. When Trying To Reach Dave For Comment, All That Could Be Found Was A Signed Picture Of Himself Thanking Everyone For Making Him Look So Good On The Ice. Dave Though Would Finally Return The Trophy With A Few Dents And Stains. Apparently Dave Tried To Relive The Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Experience, But In This Case, No One Had Any Idea Who Dave Was Or What The OHHL Is, So The Night Got A Bit Messy.

The Lightnings Gus Prokus, And Bruins Conrad Carbonell Would Take Home The Collaboration Award For Having The Largest Gap Between Assists And Goals With 12. The Lightnings Ken Ronson Would Take Home The Broken Stick Award Picking Up 6 Goals, 7 Assists From The Point. The Rangers Stephen Burke Would Unfortunately Go Home With The Hands Of Stone Award (Hey! He Had The Same Totals As Ronson! LOL) And Josh "Goon" McCurdy Would Receive The Most Gentlemanly Award Which I Felt Was Well Deserved.

The 2011-2012 OHHL Year Is Finished Now But I Know Everyone Is Already Out On The Tracks Or In The Gyms Working Out For Next Season. So I Hope Everyone Enjoyed This Season And This Website As Much As I Did. Hope Everyone Has A Great Summer.

Cheers

The OHHL Is Already 7 Weeks In To The Season And Already We Have An Undefeated Team And A New Face At The Top Of The Scoring Race.

The Bruins (Captained by Bruno Jesus) Has been the team to beat so far this season. Currently undefeated with a ridiculous goal margin of +27. The next closest team is the 4-2 Devils (Captained by Jeff Robson) with a +4. So as you can tell one team is dominating the rest of the league. The Stars (Captained by Rob Brewer) and the Lightning (Captained by Mike Kelsey) are currently sitting in 3rd and 4th. The Stars have a -2 goal margin but have managed to stay 3-3. The Lightning have the 2nd most goals in the league but have also given up the 2nd most goals (36GF-36GA).
Now we get to the bottom of the standings, the Flames (Captained by Rick Descary) and the Rangers (Captained by Bob Lim) just havent been able to kick start a rally early on this season. The Rangers seem to be hurting the most with only 1 win on the season and a -19 goal margin. The Flames currently have the least goals for, 6 back from the next team (Stars & Rangers).

We have a 2nd year player leading the scoring race this season. Bruins Herschall Morgan sits atop the league with 7 goals 6 assists for 13 points in 5 games. The Rangers Josh McCurdy sits in 2nd place just 1 point behind, Josh also leads the league in goals with 8. The Stars Rob Brewer and another Bruin in Jody McClelland sit with 11 points. The scoring race was close last year so i couldnt imagine that changing much this season.

The goalies stats this year have been tough to track (if you dont sign your name on the gamesheet i dont know who started) The Bruins Savras Krotiris (2-0-0)(Probably Spelt Wrong) and the Devils Dave Harris (3-0-0) are currently the only two undefeated goalies this season and both have a 3.00GAA. Vic DaRosa has been his normal self, starting the season allowing 8 goals but since then has settled down allowing 11 goals in his previous 3 games. Jeff Smith currently has the most games played with 5 and has a respectable 2-2-1 record. Gus Prokus and Ken Kirby are both still searching for their first wins of the season (remember if you didnt write your name down on the gamesheet i dont mark you down as starting).

This should be another great season for the OHHL, This is currently the 25th year of the league and i can see this one being a memorable one. Thanks again to Tony Alonzi and all the captains who make this league a lot of fun to play in.

 

 

 So it shouldnt be a shocker to anyone that the Bruins are sitting atop the standings. They have played 18 games thus far and have only managed to lose 1 of those games, in a tight battle against the 2nd place Devils. With 5 games remaining, and now 7 points up on the Devils after last nights victory and Devils loss, the Bruins should cruise into the playoffs as the top team.

The Devils have looked like the #2 team all season, routinely beating the lower ranked teams, The Bruins and Stars are responsible for 4 of the teams 5 losses. Considering the Devils are 10 points up on the 3rd place team, the 1st and 2nd spots in the standings look wrapped up already. There is however a battle for that 3rd place spot. The Stars and Flames are currently tied with 15 points, the Lightning arent far behind with 12 points. The Lightning play the Stars and Flames in 2 of the next 3 weeks of games so we should have a better understanding by then on who wants that 3rd place spot. The Rangers just havent been able to get things going this season. They havent won back to back games all season, and there best run was a 2-1-1 record between October 25th and November 15th. After last nights loss to the Flames (In a game where everyone thought the game ended in a tie) that made it 5 straight losses for the Rangers. They need a spark during the next 5 weeks if they want any hope of competing in the playoffs.

Looking at the stats, Jody McClelland is just running away with the scoring lead. Currently with 52 points in 16 games (3.25 pts/gm) not to mention he also has 6 game winning goals. Granted Jody wouldnt have the numbers he has if it wasnt for fellow linemate and #2 on the scoring list John McLinden who sits with 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points. (Including 3 game winners and a game tying goal) Josh McCurdy of the Rangers is also having another strong season, currently 2nd in goals (22) and 3rd in points (36), he is the only Ranger in the top 15 scorers. The Bruins Bert Thibodeau so far owns the 4th place spot with 34 points (14G - 20A). And former Bruins leading scorer Herschel Morgan who has slipped to 5th in scoring but does have 8 points in his last 2 games. Other notables on the list are:
#6 Mike Bell - 13G - 18A = 31P
#7 Brad Sandbrook - 15G - 13A = 28P
#8 Mike MacArthur - 9G - 18A = 27P
#9 Jeff Robson - 11G - 13A = 24P
#10 Rob Brewer - 7G - 17A = 24P (Top Defenseman)

There has been a few players this year that just arent matching up with their pre season ranks, notably last years scoring leader Bobby Chapman who sits in 15th with only 21 points. Other notable players who are struggling are:
Brad Bowness (Last Season Ranked 6th With 42 Points - This Season Ranked 40th With 15 Points)
Bob Lim (Last Season Ranked 15th With 27 Points - This Season Ranked 43rd With 14 Points)
Mike Borsch (Last Season Ranked 5th With 45 Points - This Season Ranked 20th With 19 Points)
Tom Fischer (Last Season Ranked 14th With 27 Points - This Season Ranked 42nd With 14 Points)

As for Goaltenders, newcomer Savvas Krotiris has had the best record going 10-1-1 this season. Veteran netminder Dave Harris sits tied with Krotiris with a 3.25GAA. Harris however sports a 9-3-0 record. The battle for the Vezina this season should be a tight one. Vic DaRosa has been very consistent but his record hasnt been, after starting the season 2-5 with a 4.38GAA, he has gone 4-3 in his last 7 games with a 4.57GAA  So it seems his team has finally found out that 5 goals wins them a game. Jeff Smith has been up and down this season. After starting the year 0-2-1, he would go 4-1 in his next 5 with a 2.80GAA. But then follow that up losing 6 of his last 7 games with a 6.14GAA So it seems Jeff just needs to find out what he did during that great 5 game run earlier in the season and bring it back come playoff time. Gus Prokus is starting to heat up, winning his last 3 games(3.66GAA) after dropping the 3 games before that(7.67GAA). He is looking very strong going into the final stretch. And poor Ken Kirby hasnt gotten any support. His team cant seem to bail him out in any game that he lets up more than 3 goals. His 2 wins are in games he only let in 3 goals. But is 0-10-1 in games he lets in 4+. Lets hope the Rangers start thinking about playing more defensive in the remaining games or they might be in trouble.

The season has 5 weeks remaining, here are my predicitons of things to come:

> The Rangers Close Out The Season With Back To Back Wins (Ken Kirby Is A Huge Help In Those Games)
> The Bruins Finish Strong, Winning There Next 5 Games
> The Devils Prove That This Is A 2 Team League (Going 4-1 In There Next 5)
> The Flames Finish In 3rd
> The Lighting Just Survive The Rangers Late Season Rally To Hold On To The 5th Place Spot
> Jody McLelland Finished With 65 Points
> Bert Thibodeau Passes Josh McCurdy To Make It Bruins 1-2-3 In Scoring
> Ken Ronson Passes Rob Brewer In Points For Top Defenceman
> Dave Harris Finishes The Season With The Best GAA
> Savvas Krotiris Finishes The Season With The Best Win-Loss Record
> Ken Kirby Bring His GAA Under 6.00
> Vic DaRosa Records A Shutout Before Seasons End
> Bobby Chapman and Mike Borsch Finish Strong, Squeek Inside Top 10 In Scoring
> Jody McLelland Records Atleast 2 More Penalties Before The End Of The Seasons (Game Ejection Odds 7:1)

Hope you enjoyed the write up, hope for a great season the rest of the way!

The Ontario Hydro Hockey League (OHHL) Season Is Scheduled To Start September 12th This Year. I Hope Everyone Has Got Their Skates Sharpened And Sticks Taped, This Season Should Look Great With Every Team Receiving New Jerseys.

A Couple Team Name Changes To Note:

Flames are now the Red Wings
Rangers are now the Leafs
Lightning are now the Kings

The team colours look to all stay the same:

Bruins - Yellow
Leafs - Royal Blue
Kings - Black
Red Wings - Red
Devils - White/Red Trim
Stars - Green

The Bruins are reeling off a season in which they only recorded 2 losses. The Flames got the better of them come playoff time but last season was dominated by the boys in Yellow. There are a few new faces to the league this year but everyones team stayed relatively the same. There was a captain change in the Lightning (Kings) organization. Veteran Mike Kelsey finally decided to hang up the C and pass it on to Bobby Chapman. I know this league wanted to bring in more youth so i guess this is a start.

Everyone will be gunning for that scoring title again this year after Jody McClelland took off running with it last season. Dave Harris now has to contend with Greg Hawco again for that Vezina crown, but dont count out the other goalies in this league, anything can happen in the OHHL.

Game 1 kicks off with the Bruins taking on the Stars which should be a great contest. The Bruins are a scoring machine of a team, but the Stars have added some solid defensive depth so the score should stay close.
Prediction - Bruins Def. Stars 4-2

Game 2 has the two new team names facing off against each other in the Red Wings vs the Kings. Will Mike Borsch show up for game 1? He's currently listed as questionable (a status that follows him around most of the season) so this game could be skewed based on his attendance. Either way this game should be a high scoring affair.
Prediction - Kings Def. Red Wings 6-5

Game 3 pits the Leafs against the Devils. This is a tough one to call as both teams have a very good balance of skill. The Devils have one of the best two way players in Mike Bell and also boast last seasons Vezina Winner in Dave Harris. The Leafs on the other hand.....are the Leafs. Bob Lim chose a gutsy name for his club, lets hope the curse doesnt come along with it.
Prediction - Devils Def. Leafs 3-2

I hope everyone enjoyed the summer and kept in shape (beer curles count as weight lifting right?) i will see everyone on the 12th. Best of luck to all the teams this season. Also i will have the schedules up shortly.

Thanks,
Webmaster

Hello OHHL’ers, we are 10 weeks into the season. A lot of action has gone on so far, the Leafs look like the early team to beat with just 1 loss. The Bruins and Devils have been back and forth in the standings batting for that 2^nd place spot. The Red Wings have been up and down this season, going on winning streaks followed by losing streaks. The Stars and Kings have been bottom feeders most of the season but both are coming off high scoring games in which they both picked up points so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The Leafs have been that team that just doesn’t stop skating. A few solid pickups this year have turned this team into a powerhouse on offense and defense.  Lead by Captain Dan Townsend who is off to another good year, leading his team in goals with 10 and 2^nd in points with 18.  Steve Hibrant is having a great sophomore season leading his team with 22 points including 2 game winning goals.  Brad Smith has been his normal self, scoring 9 goals along with 5 assists in 10 games.  Newcomer Adam Balser has been a nice sparkplug for the Leafs racking up 13 points in 6 games during his rookie season.  Other notables are Kevin Rolston with 11 points and Mike Fabrizi with a solid 6 points in 6 games.  Gus Prokos is eyeing that Vezina trophy this year. He has so far posted a 6-1-1 record with a 3.50GA. Impressive numbers considering Gus had only 3 wins all of last season.  Let’s hope he can keep up his solid play between the pipes as the Leafs take on the Devils this week.  Next 5 Games Prediction (3-1-1)

The Bruins have been solid once again this season. Sporting a 5-3-2 record to open the year the Bruins currently have a 1 point lead over the Devils for 2^nd place in the OHHL.  Team Captain Bruno Jesus is leading an electric bunch. Bruno so far has 5 points in 7 games this season.  His teams scoring leader John McLinden has 18 points in 9 games so far this season. Johnny has been on a tear this season despite the fact his next best teammate has just over half his points. Defensemen Luis Simoes and Robin Doolittle are having great seasons from the point racking up a combined 19 points this year.  Ken Phan has burst out on the scene; he may be in line for most improved player this year with 10 points including 6 goals which ties him for 2^nd best on his team.  Other notables are Herschal Morgan who is looking like he is in good form with 9 points in 6 games.  Ken Kirby is off to a hot start, sporting a 5-2-2 record with a 3.78GAA in 9 games so far this season. Next 5 Games Prediction (3-2-0)

Here come the Devils! Led by Mike Bell and Captain Dave Harris, This team has a great core of players and having a Vezina winner and an Art Ross winner on the team really helps. Mr. Bell is off to another great start leading the league with 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points in just 7 games.  Mike’s 2 game winning goals are all that matters to him though.  Bert Thibodeau, Mike Kelsey, Paul Glasgow, and Jim Grassie all are tied for 2^nd on the team with 11 points.  Proving that this team has a great balance of scoring that has proven a challenge for opposing teams.  Other notables are defenseman Bill Patterson who has a solid 9 points from the blue line.  Dave Harris is looking for another Vezina trophy to put on his wall. He has been jockeying back and forth with other netminders so far this season but just recently has jumped back in the lead.  Look for this Devils team to stay in the top 3 the rest of the season.   Next 5 Games Prediction (2-1-2)

The Red Wings had personnel problems early on in the season but seem to have fixed the issue and are back on track.  Mike Borsch has the best points per game in the league scoring 18 points in just 5 games….a remarkable 3.6ppg.  You might as well start engraving the name plate for the Collaborator award, Mike MacArthur is an assist machine with 15 assists so far this season (leads the league) and a +14 he is almost a shoe in for the award at this point.  Captain Mauro Facca has been solid with 12 points in 10 games, Gary Gough started out on a tear but looks to have come back down to earth but still 11 points in 7 games is solid.  Other notables include Tom Fischer and Ken Ronson both playing great on defense while also chipping in with 13 combined points on offense.  Goaltender Greg Hawco has a very acceptable 3.78GAA but his 4-4-1 record could be better. Next 5 Games Prediction (1-3-1)

The Stars got a much needed win last week against the Red Wings scoring a season high 7 goals in the process.  Captain Rob Brewer has been solid so far with a point per game pace and 2 game winning goals, he surely is going his job.  Brad Sandbrook is having another great season with 12 points in 7 games, that weight loss sure looks to have helped his game.  Gary Schneider is keeping his game up averaging around a point per game as well.  Defensemen Greg Spooner and Erwin Chong have been great combining for 14 points, and newcomer Graham Moum is having a nice rookie year with 7 points in 6 games.  Goaltender Savas Krotis switched pads this season and his play seems to have suffered because of it.  His 1-5-0 record along with a 5.33GAA is not what he had planned but I am sure he will work out the kinks and get his game back in order. Next 5 Games Prediction (0-4-1)

The lowly Kings really needed a boost. A bunch of trades throughout the season didn’t seem to fix any problems the team had.  The last 2 games however have seen the team pick up 3 of a possible 4 points and scoring has no longer become a problem.  Stopping the goals however hasn’t really changed much.  Captain Bobby Chapman has picked up his game lately but his 10 points in 8 games has to be upsetting.  Team scoring leader Rob Sarmiento has been the player that can almost play anywhere. He hasn’t had a problem getting points whether it be at center, wing or on defense.  New to the league is Mark Van Tol and Mark Cullen who have both started out great in there rookie campaigns.  Van Tol has a solid 8 points in 6 games while Mr. Cullen has rocketed out of the gate in just 2 games Mark has collected 7 points.  Other notables include Jody McLelland who has a point per game pace but knows he can do better.  Then we have Eric Lindros Justin Honkawa.  A player who was a problem early on for the Stars in terms of attendance was eventually traded to the Kings in exchange for defenseman Conrad Carbonell. Justin’s 3 points in 3 games however may be a little under the teams expectations when they traded for last year’s Rocket Richard winner.  Goaltender Vic DaRosa has been a bit shaky this season with just 2 wins in 9 games and a league worst 6.22GAA. Vic knows he can do better, and the team in front of him knows they can help out more in their own end.  Next 5 Games Prediction (3-1-1)

 

I Hope Everyone Is Having A Lot Of Fun This Year, Good Luck To Teams The Rest Of The Season!

Art Ross Trophy
Mike Bell & Steve Hibrant

It’s nice to see a tie mid-way through the season (31 points apiece).  Both of these players have been on a tear and don’t look to be slowing down any time soon.  Mike has the better points per game but just by a fraction.  Steve finally caught up to the veteran with 13 points in his last 4 games, if he is able to keep up this pace he will leave the league in his dust but anything can happen In the OHHL.

My Prediction for End of Season Art Ross Winner – Mike Bell

Rocket Richard Trophy
Steve Hibrant

With 17 goals so far this season, Steve has a modest 2 goal lead on the next highest player, He has actually picked up more than half of his goals in the last 4 games so keeping his streak going after a 2 week break will be a huge factor in him holding onto the top spot.

My Prediction for End of Season Rocket Richard Winner – Steve Hibrant

Capgemini Collaborator Award
Mike MacArthur

Mike is starting to run away with this award. Currently at +15 with a whopping 19 assists already we can pretty much lock up Mike’s 3^rd Collaborator Award in the past 5 years.

My Prediction for End of Season Collaborator Award Winner – Mike MacArthur

Most Gentlemanly Award
Kevin Kearns, Charlie Gill, Derek Hughes, Tom Murray, Mike MacArthur, Rick Nathonson

This was a tough award so I figured I’d mention a player from every team that I enjoy playing with or against, and also looks to be having a lot of fun regardless of the score.  Anyone of these guys can win this award and I feel they each deserve it.

My Prediction for End of Season Most Gentlemanly Award Winner – Too Many Deserving To Pick One

Vezina Trophy
Dave Harris

Two goalies seem to be running away with it this year.  Dave Harris and Gus Prokos have distanced themselves from the pack and now are in a tight battle for the Vezina.  Gus has the better record by a win but Dave has allowed 3 fewer goals and also has a shutout under his belt.  This one should be a great finish.

My Prediction for End of Season Vezina Trophy Winner – Dave Harris

15 Games into the 2015/2016 season and this is my first write up! Sorry everyone it has been a busy season for me so I haven’t had as much time to dedicate myself to the site.  I hope everyone is enjoying the year as much as I am!

The Bruins this year look like the team to beat already with a 10 game unbeaten streak which was recently snapped by the last place Kings, who bet on that outcome?  The Leafs are right on the Bruins tail with an 8 game unbeaten streak this season which was snapped by the 5^th place Red Wings at the time. Both upsets happening on the same night.
Favorite Opponent – Devils (3-0-0 – 20GF / 10GA)
Least Favorite Opponent – Leafs (1-0-2 – 16GF / 11GA)

The Red Wings have been up and down all season mostly because of attendance issues. Starting the season 4-1 put them at the top of the standings going into the equalization meeting. Some roster changes must have really taken its toll as the team went on to post a 1-6 record over their next 7 games.  Recently they have stepped it back up going undefeated in their last 3.
Favorite Opponent – Stars (2-0-1 – 15GF / 9GA)
Least Favorite Opponent – Bruins (1-2-0 – 16GF / 17GA)

Last year’s playoff champions the Kings have had trouble putting the puck in the net and also defending it.  Currently with the 2^nd least amount of goals for and the most goals against they have struggled on both ends of the ice.  After just 2 wins in their first 9 games they have gone 2-3-1 in their last 6. But losing the last 2 games has them dropping further and further out of contention.
Favorite Opponent – Red Wings (2-1-0 – 12GF / 12GA)
Least Favorite Opponent – Stars (0-3-0 – 12GF / 27GA)

The Leafs have so far been the best team since draft day last year winning the president’s trophy in 2015 and currently sitting a point out of 1^st in 2016 the Leafs sure have built a solid squad from top to bottom.   This team has battled with the Bruins all season with a record of 0-1-2 vs them.  The Leafs kept opponents below 5 goals in all but 4 games this season which has been a huge reason they are at the top of the standings.
Favorite Opponent – Stars (3-0-0 – 18GF / 8GA)
Least Favorite Opponent – Bruins (0-1-2 – 11GF / 16GA)

The Devils have been another team that has struggled to get it going this season.  Funny enough both the Devils and Kings were in the playoff finals last year but this season find themselves at the bottom of the standings.  The Devils have failed to string together back to back wins this year which could be a huge reason this team can’t get any sort of rally started.
Favorite Opponent – Kings (2-1-0 – 15GF / 11GA)
Least Favorite Opponent – Bruins (0-3-0 – 10GF / 20GA)

The Stars have very much improved on last season’s totals currently on a 3 game undefeated streak which has moved them into 4^th place.  The Stars looked to be headed for the basement again after the first 7 games with a record of 2-5. But since then have put together a nice string of 8 games with a record of 3-3-2. 
Favorite Opponent – Kings (3-0-0 - 27GF / 12GA)
Least Favorite Opponent – Leafs (0-3-0 – 8GF / 18GA)

 

Newcomer Jeff Hohendorf has been on a tear this season! Having picked up atleast 3 goals in 5 of his games this season, he certainly has a nose for the net. His 29 goals and 8 assists on the year put him 7 points up on the 2^nd place scoring leader.   If there was an award for the Reverse Collaborator trophy his +21 is looking really nice right now! Fellow teammate Stephen Burke is also having a great season with 16 goals and 8 assists over his 13 games played.

Last year’s scoring leader as well as MVP Steve Hibrant is having another solid season. Currently in 2^nd place with 17 goals / 13 assists.  His Leafs team is sitting at the top of the standings just a half point back of the Bruins.  Captain Dan Townsend has assembled a great squad considering the Leafs have the best record over the course of the 2 years with a record of 23-8-7.  Here is how the other teams stack up:

Leafs = 23-8-7 (.697)
Bruins = 19-13-6 (.579)
Wings = 17-17-4 (.500)
Devils = 16-19-3 (.461)
Kings = 14-18-6 (.447)
Stars = 10-23-4 (.316)

The Devils players this season are struggling with no players in the top 10 in scoring.  They have had problems with attendance this season as no player has played in all 15 games and only 1 player has played in 14 games.  Mike Bell has been absent from half the games this season and this could be a huge reason for the teams losing record. 

The Kings have been trying hard this season but haven’t been able to find the right mix of offence and defence. Attendance has also been an issue as 2 of the team’s top players have combined to play less than the 15 games played so far this season. Vic DaRosa has had his struggles this season but the team in front of him isn’t giving him much help.  8 of the 14 games played this season have resulted in 5 GA or more.  

Red Wings this year picked up a bunch of new faces.  Nik Wang (24pts) and Tim Agar (22pts) are enjoying great seasons.  Chris Reid on defence has been a tough body to get around. The issue once again will be attendance.  Ken Ronson has only made 6 games. And the team leaders Nik and Tim have combined to miss 9 games this season.

Mike Borsch being traded to the Stars did nothing to stop his onslaught.  Starting the season with 8 goals / 3 assists (4 games) for the Red Wings, he was then traded and has racked up 13 goals / 5 Assists (6 games) for the Stars. Gary Schneider is having a throwback year with 17 points in 8 games this season.  Only 6 players on this team have played in 10 or more games and none have played atleast 13 games. The attendance for this team has been very poor this season forfeiting a game early on then luckily the Kings captain was nice and didn’t make him forfeit the next time around. (Maybe don’t beat us when we are being nice!! :P)

Goaltenders this season have been hit with the injury bug.  Dave Harris, Geoff Mitchell, Savvas Krotis and Gus Prokos have all missed atleast 5 games for their teams.  Gus seems to be making things work this was as he currently has the top GAA in the league sporting a 3.87 GAA and a solid 5-1-2 record.


Dave Harris is right on his tail and maybe injuries are to blame for his tough season. His record at 4-5-0 doesn’t sync up with his 3.89 GAA, somebody needs to start putting the puck in the net for his team.


Geoff Mitchell has had a nice rookie year so far with a 5-4-1 record and a respectable 4.00 GAA.  His team went through some early personnel changes that may have made it a little tough on him. It seems from the stats that he plays very well during a win (2.60 GAA) but during a loss it balloons to a (5.75 GAA)

Ken Kirby is putting on a clinic in the wins department currently with a 9-3-2 record (4 more wins than the next top goalie) His 4.79 GAA is his 2^nd best GAA in the last 5 seasons. His best was actually last season when he posted a 4.45 GAA in 22 starts for the Bruins. He has also matched his wins total from last season.

Savvas Krotis has the least amount of games played for the goaltenders this year. His 2-5-0 record is tough to swallow but his is coming off a 2 GA performance against the Devils so hopefully this will spark his 2^nd half.  He did win his 1^st game of the season and his last game he played. We can just forget about everything in between.

Vic DaRosa is having a tough season with a 3-10-1 record and a 5.86 GAA. I would believe these are worsts for him in his last 5 seasons.  His low point in the season game after a 3 game stretch vs the Stars, Bruins, and Devils he let him 27 goals.  Since then however he has been much better posting a 4.40 GAA over his last 5 games.

End of Season Standings Prediction:

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points
Bruins	16	4	3	35
Leafs	14	5	4	32
Red Wings	11	10	2	24
Devils	9	12	2	20
Stars	8	13	2	18
Kings	7	13	3	17

 

 

 

 

 

The OHHL gets kicked off tonight at Chesswood Arena.  Everyone will be looking forward to hitting the ice for the 2016/2017 season with some playing all summer and some going right from the ball diamond to the hockey rink. 

This year was the 2nd time the draft took place and players were once again shuffled around to different teams. The captains stayed the same but some of the team names have changed. Teams that will be in for this season are:

 

Blackhawks - Bobby Chapman (Last Year - Kings)

Bruins - Bruno Jesus

Canadiens - Mauro Facca (Last Year - Red Wings)

Leafs - Dan Townsend

Red Wings - Dave Harris (Last Year - Devils)

Whalers - Rob Brewer (Last Year - Stars)

 

Lets see if Rob Brewer can take home the championship again with his new team, early power rankings have them at the top in a lot of categories, we will see if they can live up to the hype.  

The Bruins looks like they went defense heavy stacking up on 5 dmen and atleast a few more swing men.  Lets see if this pays off as they also were able to grab Geoff Mitchell to put between the pipes which should make that back end tough to score on.

The Red Wings have switched ownership from Mauro to Dave this season in hopes he can rejuvenate the winning ways of the Wings.  Dave has a willy veteran squad and hopes that the knowledge on the ice will help win the gritty games.

The Leafs have great depth all throughout the lineup with not too many weak spots to notice. Dan Townsend was a great manager all through the last 2 seasons ranking as the top captain in winning percentage during that time. Lets hope his cunning tactics can work again, but this time without his right hand man Steve Hibrant.

The Blackhawks look to rebound after a tough season last year in which they finished near the bottom.  Stealing the top point getter over the last couple years, Steve Hibrant will certainly help this squad put the puck in the net. Lets just hope Justin Honkawa can find his pocket book this year.

The Canadiens or the Habs as i like to call them will be a tough squad to play this year. Some gritty players on D will make it hard to move in the offensive zone for most teams. Last years leading scoring Jeff Hohendorf has a nice cast around him and i feel could even improve on last years totals. This should be a fun team to watch but a tough team to play against.

I hope everyone has a great 2016/2017 season and make sure everyone is all paid up by Week 3 or risk being replaced by a waiting list player.

 

 

The OHHL enters its 7th week tonight with the following matchups:

4:45pm - Bruins (3-3-0) vs Canadiens (2-4-0)

5:45pm - Leafs (2-4-0) vs Whalers (3-3-0)

6:45pm - Blackhawks (2-4-0) vs Red Wings (6-0-0)

The Red Wings have bolted out to an early undefeated 6-0-0 record and a comfy 3 game lead on the 2nd place Whalers. Dave Harris has been a brick wall in net this year with a 4-0-0 record and a 1.50 GAA including a shutout, Dave has put himself into early Vezina candidacy.   Rookie Brett Stevens is raising some heads around the league as he currently sits in 2nd in scoring with 11 points and is tied for 2nd the league in goals with 6.   The Wings currently have 6 players with 6+ points, by far the most in the league.  Let's see if they can continue the hot streak they are on.
Next 5 Games Projection (3-1-1)

The Whalers have finally started to play some hockey after only scoring 5 goals in the first 3 games and boasting a lovely 0-3-0 record this team found a new book, forget turning the page.  Scoring 13 goals their last 3 games en route to a 3-0-0 record, crazy how scoring goals wins you games now a days.  The Whalers are back to .500 and actually sit in 2nd place so they are in a good spot going forward. The leading scorer for the team is Nik Wang who has been seen on Defense mainly this year...interesting tactic by captain Rob Brewer but it seems to be paying off. 
Next 5 Games Projection (3-2-0)

The Bruins score big when they win (25 goals in 3 wins) but have only found the score sheet 4 times in their 3 losses. The games they have lost recently have been low scoring affairs (4-1, 3-2).   Johnny Mac and Tim Saville have been firing on all cylinders to start the year, Tim currently leads the league in goals with 7 followed by Johnny with 6.  Secondary scoring will be the key factor for this team so lets hope guys like Ian McIntyre can pick up their game and find the back of the net. And maybe a bit more dedication from their captain Bruno Jesus who has made it to under 50% of the teams games.
Next 5 Games Projection (2-2-1)

The Blackhawks were the only winless team going into week 5's matchup against the Leafs.   Having scored a modest 13 goals in the 4 games prior to that, the Hawks have lit the lamp 15 times in their last 2 games finally looking like the team everyone suspected at the start of the year.  Steve Hibrant looks to take back his scoring title this year with 12 points in his first 6 games which currently places him at the top of the scoring leaders. Lineup issues seemed to be the problem at the start of the year with a lack of defense but it seems they have now figured something out that works.  Vic DaRosa had one of the worst starts to a season for a goalie with 25 goals against in 4 games, but since then has looked very sharp allowing only 5 goals in his last 2 games. With a lot of young talent on this team, the games will be exciting but the egos need to stay in check if this team wants to succeed.
Next 5 Games Projection (3-1-1)

The Leafs are a very unpredictable team.  They beat the Whalers and the Canadiens. Limiting them to 6 goals total in those 2 games.  But the 4 losses they have suffered have been very lopsided with 28 goals against and only 9 goals for.  This team was built defensively but guys like Sam Amodeo, Ken Ronson and Mike Boland all being held without a goal this season should raise some red flags.  Captain Dan Townsend has only 1 goal so far in 4 games so he is another player that is looking to bounce back in this next month.  Brad Smith has looked good netting 6 goals and 10 points to lead his team, but with only 2 players having 5+ points this team needs others to step up.
Next 5 Games Projection (1-4-0)

The Canadiens started off the season 2-0. But since then have been winless (0-4) and haven't had a game in which they allowed less than 6 goals.   The defensive end is an issue but really shouldn't continue given their strong D core. This could be a situation where back checking needs to be applied much more to help out in their own zone.  Scoring really hasnt been an issue with 6 players having multiple goals on the season.  This team has a lot of talent and has just done the flip of the Blackhawks first 6 games.  Lets see if this team can figure out their problems and get back to playing good hockey.
Next 5 Games Projection (1-3-1)

 

Looking at the season so far i decided to see who would be the best 10 players to assemble for a starting lineup if we were to have an All-Star game over the break.  

Lets break the teams up based on the Standings so far:

OHHL East (Red Wings/Blackhawks/Leafs)
OHHL West (Bruins/Whalers/Canadiens)

Starting Lineup for the OHHL East:

LW - Brett Stevens (Red Wings) - 11 Goals / 7 Assists / 18 Points
C - Brad Smith (Leafs) - 8 Goals / 5 Assists / 13 Points
RW - Steve Hibrant (Blackhawks) - 16 Goals / 12 Assists / 28 Points
LD - Robin Doolittle (Red Wings) - 9 Goals / 4 Assists / 13 Points
RD - Mike Bell (Red Wings) - 8 Goals / 14 Assists / 22 Points
G - Dave Harris (Red Wings) - 7 Wins / 2 Losses / 2.44 GAA / 1 SO

Other Notables:
Savas Krotis (Leafs)
Justin Honkawa (Blackhawks)
Mike Humphrey (Blackhawks)

Starting Lineup for the OHHL West:

LW - Kevin Bros (Bruins) - 4 Goals / 15 Assists / 19 Points
C - Johnny McLinden (Bruins) - 20 Goals / 9 Assists / 29 Points
RW - Mike Borsch (Whalers) - 12 Goals / 8 Assists / 20 Points
LD - Luis Simeos (Bruins) - 6 Goals / 8 Assists / 14 Points
RD - Nik Wang (Whalers) - 7 Goals / 12 Assists / 19 Points
G - Geoff Mitchell (Bruins) - 4 Wins / 4 Losses / 1 Tie / 4.11 GAA

Other Notables:
Bill Patterson (Canadiens)
Nick Pandza (Canadiens)
Tim Saville (Bruins)
Tom Kydd (Whalers)

 

OHHL’s HOLIDAY BREAK MID YEAR AWARDS

We have just reached the holiday break for the OHHL’s 2016/2017 season, so let’s get to some midseason fantasy awards.

Top picks and runner-ups for each award have been chosen based on team performance and individual player stat categories. Also note that picks have been made based on player performance during the first half of this season and not with further production in mind. 

AWARD	WINNER	REASON
Overall MVP	John McLinden	The Little General is getting things done this year leading the league in points with 29 and so far leading his team to 2nd place in the standings.  Johnny Mac has been a threat on the ice this year and we haven’t seen this kind of production from him since his days with Jody McClelland.  This would also mark the first time Johnny has led the league in scoring so I am sure it’s in the back of his mind with 8 games remaining in the season. A regular playmaker. This year, Little Mac (Punch-out reference) has switched up his game with 20 goals (4 more than 2nd place) and doesn’t seem to be letting up with 9 of those goals coming in his last 3 games.
Runner-Up	Mike Bell	Mike Bell doesn’t need an introduction….let’s just say he leads all players in goals and assists since 2005.  This year his attendance has been down a bit but his production has been top notch. Currently with 8 goals (3 GWG) and 14 assists, he leads the 1st place Red Wings in assists and points and seems to be gelling well with rookie Brett Stevens.
Center MVP	Nick Pandza	This was a tough decision based on the fact Nick plays on the last place Habs and isn’t even in the top 5 in scoring.  This was a pick based outside the stats as he has had a good year (18pts in 12 games) but more the fact he has been one of the only consistent means of scoring for his club.  Nick always plays hard and battles for the puck, if there was ever a mid-season broken stick award to hand out id give it to this guy.
Runner-Up	Mike Borsch	So we go from hard working to Mike Borsch….now say what you want about his work ethic on the ice, the guy produces. Currently 4th in scoring with 20pts in 9 games, Mike has a nose for the net and once again this year adds his name to the record books with a 6pt night on Oct 27th.  Now if we could only get him to ditch those swim shorts he wears over his pants!….does look good when he dives though.
Winger MVP	Steve Hibrant	The 2014/2015 scoring leader, Steve Hibrant has been his old self this year. Currently sitting in 2nd in points with 28.  Steve has been quoted as saying “That Pizza is Mine!” in reference to the free pizza for a year awarded to the OHHL’s scoring leader.  Let’s hope his teammates can help him out a bit as no one has come close to his point total this year and at times looks like a one man show on the ice.
Runner-Up	Tim Saville	Tim Saville has been a regular on the score sheet this year with 10 goals in 10 games. This comes after a few seasons in which his attendance was down.  Prior to this Tim was a regular goal per game type of player.  He knows where to be in the offensive zone and usually doesn’t make a mistake in converting on his chances. He has also begun repaying his teammates for all the great passes as he has 4 assists in his last 4 games.
Defenseman MVP	Robin Doolittle	Sometimes I forget this guy plays defense with how much skating he does all over the ice.  Robin has been in this league a lot longer than most would know (and I regret not adding to my list below). But I think it’s the speed and chances he creates on the ice with his speed that hides his age.  Currently with 9 goals in 10 games this year Robin has picked up his offensive game.  Robin has only surpassed 10 goals in a season 3 times since 2005 and only once since 2007.  His career high was 14 during that 06/07 season so let’s see if he can set a personal record this year.
Runner-Up	Nik Wang	A converted forward (and a damn good one at that) it was tough to give this award to him…so I gave him the runner-up instead.  Nik currently sits in 5th place in the scoring race and from a Dman that’s very impressive.  He has also made it out to all 13 of his team’s games so the dedication is playing a big factor towards his success. (Only 10 players in the league with all 13 games played) Nik also has points in all but 1 of those games, the one being a 2-1 victory, so I think he gets a pass in that game.
Goalie MVP	Dave Harris	This was a no brainer.  Dave is posting his best GAA in the last 5 years (2.44GAA) and the best GAA in the league since Greg Hawco’s - 2.25GAA in 2013/2014.  Dave’s Red Wings currently sit atop the standings with a 10-2-1 record and with 18 less goals against then the next best team, only an injury can ruin his chances at the Vezina this year…..you don’t believe in voodoo magic do you Dave?
Runner-Up	Savas Krotis	If you take a look back at this guy’s name throughout the years you will see it change ever so slightly every year…I am hoping this year I finally got it right!  At one point actually thinking his name was taken from Game of Thrones when we was called Savvas Krotiris.   Savas has been on his A game this year and if it wasn’t for one hiccup game in which he allowed 7 goals he has owned a very impressive 2.50GAA.  You would never think with those numbers he would have a losing record, but with a 2.25GAA during wins and a 3.60GAA (Best GAA in the league) during losses he has somehow found a way.
Big Surprise	Kevin Bros	Kevin is already in unfamiliar territory as he has surpassed his previous career high of 18 points set just last year.  This is Kevin’s 4th season in the OHHL and in each year he has matched or surpassed his previous years point totals.  This year Kev has mixed it up a bit.  For his career he has a 24G/26A split but this year has gone pure playmaker with 4 goals and 15 assists so far in just 11 games.  This time next year I don’t think it will be a surprise to see him improving once again on his point totals.
Runner-Up	Tom Kydd	This was a tough one to determine. After Kevin there really hasn’t been anyone playing above and beyond their normal talent.   Tom has been good this year and he is currently having a career year in points per game with 15 in 9 games.  Last season he finished with 18 points in 15 games.  Tom has been in the league now since 2005 when the stats were being tracked and in that season actually put up 43 points to finish 3rd in scoring.  Since then he has only mustered a season high 18 points which he has done twice.  This year looks like the year he will get back over 20 points, and he can do it at a very impressive pace.
Big Underachiever	Jeff Hohendorf	Well this was a no brainer in my mind.  Sure his attendance has been down this year but most importantly he went from a 40 goal scorer to a player on pace for 20 goals.  A Big dip in production and I think its always effecting his team which currently sits in last with the 2nd least goals for.  This has to be a big change of scenery for Jeff who last year led the league in goals, points and his team also led the league in goals.  He has had 3 multi goal games this year but has either followed it up with a goal less game or a couple no shows.  The attendance plays a big factor in your team’s success, especially when your one of the elite scorers in the league.
Runner-Up	Jody McClelland	This was a tough one to pick as there were a few deserving candidates of this. I decided on Jody mostly based on the fact this is the first season in which he is not producing at least a point per game (at most times closer to 2 points per game) You could attribute this to the fact the Whalers have 7 players with at least 5 goals or more (Most in the league).  Or the fact that he has swapped from forward to defense a bunch of times this year possibly throwing off his chemistry with line mates.  I can’t see Jody finishing the year below a ppg but he is a big producing player and needs to get rolling to help his team.
Top Rookie	Brett Stevens	Brett has been a fantastic spark for the Red Wings this year.  He plays the game quick and doesn’t try and get to flashy with the puck.  He has been gelling very well with teammates Mike Bell and Robin Doolittle and that has allowed Brett to work his way into the top 10 in points and currently sits tied for 4th with 11 goals.  He is a long way from the leading scorer but I feel this kid could be a regular at the top of the leader board.
Runner-Up	Gaetan Boutin	On to the big man they call G from the Blackhawks.  Standing at about 6’9” on skates he towers over pretty much everyone in the league.  After starting the year off a bit slow mainly due to lack of play time in previous years, G has ramped it up as of late. With 7 points in his last 3 games he has worked himself up to almost a point per game and I feel that won’t be a problem come years end.  He has found chemistry with players like Steve Hibrant and Justin Honkawa so in the words of Mr. Cheezle “I had a dream last night. I dreamt I was a dove flying over the sea. And then I dove into the Ocean….And I swam with the dolphins.  I was two animals joined as one….which meant – good things are coming.  Good things.”
Over Performing Team	Bruins	Now you would think to pick the obvious team at the top with all the old guys right? Nah I know what veterans can do for a club.  The Bruins this year have been on fire.  Whether it be Johnny Mac firing on all cylinders with an insane 29 points in 12 games, which includes 20 goals (3 off his highest in the last 5 years) Other notables include Kevin Bros who is having a career year, in fact his 19pts are his highest ever in his career, and he still has another 8 games to play. Luis Simoes has been a stud on the blue line with 14 points in 10 games and ringer Paul O’Grady has only been to 8 games this year.
Runner-Up	Red Wings	Now on to the old guys veterans. The Red Wings have been the team to beat this year all thanks to their GPS which allows them to remember how to get to the rink every week. Ok that was uncalled for…but it’s hard not to be a little ticked off when you see these guys fill the net night after night.  The veteran leadership on this team is immense with names like Bell, Fischer, Glasgow, Rolston, Murray, Grassie, Fabrizi and of course Stevens this team just oozes veteran talent.  Add in a few young guns and this team is a well-oiled machine….let’s just hope they have enough WD40 to make it through the playoff grind.
Under Performing Team	Blackhawks	This was a tough one to award. Both teams listed here came out of the draft as unanimous front runners for the president’s trophy this year.  Both have underperformed with the Hawks having the worse of the two records they get the nod.  The Hawks have 2 of the past 5 art ross award winners and another two players who have dominated the collaborator trophy the past 4 years.  Most people put this team at the top. But sadly this team has struggled mightily this year and currently sits in 4th place having only 1 win in their last 5 games.
Runner-Up	Whalers	The Whalers are another team who after leaving draft day must have had high hopes for the season at hand.  They have been the most up and down team on the season with their actual game results showing a pattern… of a roller coaster.  With 36 goals during their 6 wins and 16 goals during their 6 losses its apparent this team is all about momentum.
Top Captain	Dave Harris	Dave has led be example this year with his play on the ice.  Leading all goaltenders in wins, and also having the lowest loss and GAA totals.  A recent injury has caused his attendance to dip but expect to see him back in the new year.
Runner-Up	Bruno Jesus	Now you are probably wondering why a captain with 7 games played deserves the runner up award…..The Bruins are 3-3-1 with their captain in attendance but skyrocket to a 4-1 record in his absence. The strategy of not playing seems to be paying off as his team sits in 2nd place in the standings.

 

Second-Half Sleeper Picks:

Blackhawks – Justin Honkawa (12GP – 8G – 7A – 15P) – Justin for the first time in his career paid on time….well let’s just say he wasn’t the last to pay.  And another first was Justin showing up to the team’s first 5 games of the season. This apparently threw his equilibrium off as he was under a point per game after his first 7 games of the season.  Now for those that know Justin, this was a tough time for the youngster. He battled his demons and even contemplated hanging em up before finally deciding “since I can’t score I might as well play Defence”.  With the injury to captain Bobby Chapman there was no one to tell him other wise and since joining the D corps his offensive production has increased.  Let’s see if this continues into 2017 or if his demons will once again get the better of him!

Bruins – Paul O’Grady (8GP – 6G – 7A – 13P) – Paul is new to the league this year so unless I know all about him there is really no reason why I should think he would break out in the 2^nd half would there be?  Well from what I have been told about Paul, he comes from a solid hockey background and in the couple times he has faced my team he has put up some solid numbers. So maybe I am a bit biased here but looking at the fact he only has 13 points on the season and 6 of them coming in the 2 games vs my team, I know he has a lot more talent the rest of the league just hasn’t seen.  Dedication level seems to be the issue here for the Bruins rookie.  I wouldn’t doubt the Bruins give the Red Wings a run for 1^st if O’Grady is in attendance.

Canadiens – Bert Thibodeau (11GP – 2G – 5A – 7P) – The #5 overall point leader in the OHHL since 2005, Bert is having one of his lowest production years of his career.  With no seasons below 20 points and being a regular in the top 15 in scoring each of the past 5 years, this has to be a bit of a shock for the veteran.  This also marks the first time since 2011 that he has gone at least 10 games without a multi-point game.  It’s also hard to see Bert with only 2 goals this year which includes a current 7 game goal drought.  Possibly not building any chemistry with his line mates has caused Bert’s decline in stats. Whatever it is I hope captain Mauro Facca can shuffle the lines around to get his production going again.

Leafs – Dan Townsend (10GP – 1G – 3A – 4P) – So we go from a struggling legend in the league to a Captain who’s game has pretty much done a face plant. Since joining the league back in 2010, Dan has never had a season in which has finished under 20 points and had a career high 39 points in 2014/2015.  This year however Dan has racked up a whopping 4 points including just 1 goal in 10 games so far this season.  This is a shock to a lot of people around the league as Towner has always had good vision and can create chances with his playmaking abilities.  The loss of winger Steve Hibrant can be attributed to a reason for the drop in production but to the extent it’s dropped is mind blasting.  The Leafs have two dominate centers in Dan and Brad Smith, so maybe a switch to the wing for one of them is the move they need to get things going for Dan and for his struggling Leafs team.

Red Wings – Tom Fischer (8GP – 2G – 0A – 2P) – Tom has never been a big point producer but did have a career high 30 points in 2009/2010 which ranked him tied for 6^th in scoring that year.  Over the past 5 seasons he has averaged around a 15 point season so I would think his 2 points so far going into the break is a bit of a concern.  He has however matched his goal total from last season, just looking for the assists to start rolling in.  This will also be the first time not playing at least 15 games in a season. (Tom was a regular playing 20+ games a season, in fact 4 of his last 5 seasons he has played at least 20 games).  Maybe being the iron man for some many years is finally catching up with his body or if there is something else on his agenda this year.  If his attendance increases in the 2^nd half it will only mean problems for the opposition as his defensive game is one of his strongest suits.

 

Whalers – Tim Agar (10GP – 6G – 4A – 10P) – Tim started in the OHHL back in 2011/2012 but it was only a short stint on the Stars in which he racked up 10 points including 7 goals in just 6 games.  Travel issues made it tough for him to make it out the next few years until he made his triumphant return last year for the Red Wings.  Tim would have a great season playing in 19 games and finishing tied for 7^th in scoring with 30 points.  We fast forward to today and Tim sits with 10 points in 10 games, something I am sure he isn’t thrilled with.  In the last 4 games Tim has been back to his old ways putting up 4 goals and 3 assists.  I have no doubts he will keep things going the way they have recently. The switch up of his normal line mate Nik Wang to defense can be a big factor as these two have played together for years outside the OHHL.  The talent on this team is endless so I wouldn’t doubt him finding chemistry with someone new and I predict a strong finish amongst the top 15 scorers.

 

PLAYERS OF THE MONTH

SEPTEMBER

PREDATORS - NIK WANG - 3 GP / 4 GOALS / 4 ASSISTS / 8 POINTS

MAPLE LEAFS - VIC DAROSA - 3GP / 2 WINS / 1 LOSS / 5.00 GAA

OCTOBER

RED WINGS - DANIEL ALONZI - 4 GP / 8 GOALS / 7 ASSISTS / 15 POINTS

PREDATORS - CHRIS KIMBLE - 4 GP / 4 WINS / 3.25 GAA

NOVEMBER

GOLDEN KNIGHTS - SEAN BEATTIE - 4 GP / 10 GOALS / 5 ASSISTS / 15 POINTS

GOLDEN KNIGHTS - KEN KIRBY - 5 GP / 5 WINS / 3.40 GAA

DECEMBER

CANADIENS - IAN MCINTYRE - 3 GP / 3 GOALS / 8 ASSISTS / 11 POINTS

CANADIENS - GEOFF MITCHELL - 3 GP / 3 WINS / 2.67 GAA / 1 SHUTOUT

JANUARY

RED WINGS - DANIEL ALONZI - 4 GP / 5 GOALS / 9 ASSISTS / 14 POINTS

CANADIENS - GEOFF MITCHELL - 3 GP / 2 WINS / 1 LOSS / 3.00 GAA

 

FEBRUARY

RED WINGS - DANIEL ALONZI - 4 GP / 7 GOALS / 10 ASSISTS / 147 POINTS

CANADIENS - GEOFF MITCHELL - 4 GP / 3 WINS / 1 LOSS / 3.50 GAA

 

SCHEDULE / RESULTS

WEEK 1 RESULTS

Predators (9) Def Penguins (6)

Golden Knights (4) Tie Canadiens (4)

Maple Leafs (5) Def Red Wings (4)

WEEK 2 RESULTS

Penguins (5) Def Maple Leafs (3)

Golden Knights (9) Def Red Wings (2)

Predators (5) Def Canadiens (2)

WEEK 3 RESULTS

Maple Leafs (9) Def Canadiens (6)

Penguins (7) Def Red Wings (2)

Predators (10) Def Golden Knights (8)

WEEK 4 RESULTS

Red Wings (6) Def Canadiens (3)

Predators (8) Def Maple Leafs (3)

Golden Knights (9) Def Penguins (2)

WEEK 5 RESULTS

Penguins (9) Def Canadiens (6)

Golden Knights (5) Tie Maple Leafs (5)

Predators (6) Def Red Wings (1)

WEEK 6 RESULTS

Red Wings (9) Def Maple Leafs (5)

Predators (6) Def Penguins (5)

Canadiens (5) Def Golden Knights (4)

WEEK 7 RESULTS

Predators (5) Def vs Canadiens (4)

Maple Leafs (8) Def Penguins (4)

Golden Knights (8) Def Red Wings (5)

WEEK 8 RESULTS

Golden Knights (7) Def Predators (3)

Canadiens (4) Def Maple Leafs (0)

Penguins (7) Def Red Wings (3)

WEEK 9 RESULTS

Golden Knights (9) Def Penguins (5)

Red Wings (5) Def Canadiens (1)

Predators (11) Def Maple Leafs (2)

WEEK 10 RESULTS

Predators (8) Def Red Wings (5)

Golden Knights (8) Def Maple Leafs (3)

Canadiens (11) Def Penguins (6)  

WEEK 11 RESULTS

Golden Knights (7) Def Canadiens (4)

Maple Leafs (8) Def Red Wings (5)

Predators (10) Def Penguins (6)

WEEK 12 RESULTS

Golden Knights (5) Def Red Wings (2)

Predators (3) Tie Canadiens (3)

Penguins (5) Def Maple Leafs (3)

WEEK 13 RESULTS

Penguins (5) Def Red Wings (4)

Predators (8) Def Golden Knights (2)

Canadiens (9) Def Maple Leafs (5)

WEEK 14 RESULTS

Predators (5) Def Maple Leafs (4)

Penguins (7) Def Golden Knights (5)

Canadiens (1) Def Red Wings (0)

WEEK 15 RESULTS

Canadiens (7) Def Penguins (3)

Red Wings (8) Def Predators (4)

Golden Knights (8) Def Maple Leafs (2)

WEEK 16 RESULTS

Predators (9) Def Penguins (4)

Golden Knights (4) Def Canadiens (3)

Red Wings (11) Def Maple Leafs (5)

WEEK 17 RESULTS

Penguins (6) Def Maple Leafs (4)

Red Wings (6) Def Golden Knights (2)

Canadiens (7) Def Predators (4)

WEEK 18 RESULTS

Maple Leafs (3) Def Canadiens (1)

Red Wings (3) Def Penguins (2)

Golden Knights (7) Def Predators (3) 

WEEK 19 RESULTS

Canadiens (5) Def Red Wings (2)

Predators (6) Tie Maple Leafs (6)

Golden Knights (9) Def Penguins (7)

 

WEEK 20 RESULTS

Golden Knights (6) Def Maple Leafs (4)

Canadiens (8) Def Penguins (3)

Red Wings (7) Def Predators (5)

 

WEEK 21 RESULTS

Red Wings (10) Def Maple Leafs (3)

Penguins (11) Def Predators (5)

Golden Knights (5) Def Canadiens (3)

 

WEEK 22 RESULTS

Golden Knights (7) Def Red Wings (5)

Canadiens (4) Def Predators (2)

Penguins (4) Def Maple Leafs (2)

 

WEEK 23 RESULTS

Predators (7) Def Golden Knights (4)

Red Wings (7) Def Penguins (5)

Canadiens (5) Def Maple Leafs (4)

  

After what felt like a short summer the Ontario Hydro Hockey League enters its 31^st season. 

Every two seasons the OHHL hosts a draft night to shuffle up the teams in the league.  After two dominant seasons by Dave Harris and his Red Wings in which the team went 33-10-3, claiming the president’s trophy both years and also taking home the OHHL Championship last season.  Will the Red Wings be able to duplicate their success through to 2020? When you have a 5 time Vezina winner between the pipes, anything is possible.

This year we had two captains step down.  The Bruins’ Bruno Jesus was one of the longest running captains in this league but decided to finally hang up the C.  He has opted to stay on as a player which is great for the league! But not so great for opponents sticks lined up against him.  Leaf’s Captain Dan Townsend has also decided to step down after only a few years as captain due to personal reasons and won’t be playing this season. We wish him all the best!

Kevin Bros joined the league back in 2013 and since then has been a very upbeat personality on and off the ice.  Kevin will be taking over for Bruno as captain.  Bruno’s Bruins were retired at the end of last year with Bruno stepping down.  Kevin has decided he will move his management talents to Nashville and the Predators.  Wishing Kevin the best of luck in his first season as captain!

Taking over for Dan Townsend and the Leafs will be Tim Agar.  Tim had a trial run in the league back in 2011 playing in only 6 games but the commute to the rink made it impossible for him to commit full time.  He would rejoin the league again in 2015 and has had success over the last 3 years averaging 23 points a season.  Tim’s first move as captain was to change his team name from the Leafs to the Maple Leafs, “Bold move Cotton”.  I hope Tim and his team can save the Leafs name after a couple rough seasons for the boys in blue.

Other team name changes included Rob Brewer who decided to trade in his Whalers Green for the Penguins Baby Blue.  Bobby Chapman decided to copy last year’s Stanley Cup Finals teams and went with the Golden Knights name/logo along with the Capitals colours. (Obviously hoping for the same success)

Mauro Facca (Canadiens) and Dave Harris (Red Wings) were the only captains to stay with their original team names.  These were also the two teams that finished 1^st and 2^nd during the regular season last year so I guess you don’t mess with success.

Now that all the teams were drafted and the season kicked off last week, let’s takes a look at how everyone is looking.

Canadiens (Mauro Facca – Career Captain Record – 40W – 40L – 12T – 0.500 Win%)

The Canadiens are looking primed to make another run it this year as Mauro has assembled a very skilled group with some of the best players in the OHHL.  Johnny McLinden and Mike Borsch will be teamed up together for the first time ever I believe and knowing the damage they can do alone, seeing them together out their will be fun to watch.  McLinden ranks 2^nd all-time in OHHL scoring and Borsch is right behind him in 3^rd.  Adding solid veterans like Conrad Carbonell, Ian McIntyre and Chris Coady, this team is oozing with veteran talent.   A solid defensive core sits in front of one of the best goalies in the league in Geoff Mitchell (Career: 24W – 31L – 7T – 4.37GAA).  His Win/Loss totals don’t really match up with his talent but a few unlucky seasons in which his team couldn’t score should be to blame.  I am expecting a big bounce back in the Wins category this year and expect to see them near the top of the standings at the end of the season.
Season Prediction (12W – 10L – 1T = 25pts – 2^nd Place)

 

Golden Knights (Bobby Chapman – Career Captain Record – 48W – 51L – 16T – 0.487 Win%)

The Golden Knights decided to steal the model of the Red Wings last year taking Mike Bell and Robin Doolittle with the first two picks.  These two don’t need an introduction and will be looked to a lot as the key contributors on this team.  Losing Dan Townsend this year meant that Bobby was without a solid player up front.  Sean Beattie was added as his replacement one week after making his OHHL debut for the Penguins.  The trio of DJ Julian Della Vedova, Gaetan Boutin and John Mazzoli brought 3 relatively new players to the league together and it is rarely quiet in their dressing room.  Ken Kirby has added a few more parts to his equipment this year so watch out for the extender the next time he tries for a poke check.  Sam Amodeo and Mike Fabrizi should be busy this year as the breakout pass will be the key for this team.
Season Prediction (11W – 10L – 2T = 24pts – 3^rd Place)

 

Maple Leafs (Tim Agar – First Year as Captain)

The new look Maple Leafs come into this season with a lot of fire power up front with forwards Justin Honkawa, Jeff Hohendorf, Brett Stevens and Bert Thibodeau.  With forwards like that opposing teams are going to have their heads on a swivel.   The glaring issue with this team will be the back end which includes many veteran defencemen such as Greg Moum, Chris Thompson, Erwin Chong and Rick Hohedorf as well as Vic DaRosa in net.  I predict a lot of high scoring games for this team as I don’t believe many of those forwards are great on the back check.  Another issue this team will need to address is the attendance of Justin Honkawa and Jeff Hohendorf who on average miss almost 6 games a season.  Either way this team may have the best 5 players on the ice at one time and I feel they will be leaned on to carry this team, but can they survive the 23 game season?
Season Prediction (10W – 12L – 1T = 21pts – 5^th Place)

 

Penguins (Rob Brewer – Career Captain Record – 73W – 88L – 23T – 0.459 Win%)

The Penguins have a bunch of new recruits this year so time will tell what this team really can do.  The issue I have in giving them a decent ranking is that their Goalie Jeff Smith hasn’t played in 3 years.  I feel there will be a bit of a learning curve here as the OHHL has gotten a lot faster and the shots a lot harder. 
Jeff will have the luxury of having a lot of talent around him.  Steve Hibrant and Nick Pandza have been terrorizing opposing goaltenders in this league for years now so look for them to lead this team in points.  A defensive core of Rob Brewer, Rick Descary and Luis Simoes will ensure this team does all it can to preserve the win on the backend.  We welcome back Doug Fraser and Brad Bowness to the league after a couple years off.  We all know that come the equalization meeting Brewer will trade all his assets away to appease the league. For this Brewer, we thank you.
Season Prediction (8W – 11L – 4T = 20pts – 6^th Place)

 

Predators (Kevin Bros – First Year as Captain)

The Predators look to be a sneaky team this season.  Picking up the dynamic duo of Nik Wang and Alex Gulliver it was obvious Bros was tired of playing against them.  New addition Ryan Kyle Ellis looked solid in his debut last week and is my prediction for this year’s Rookie of the Year.  Chris Kimble had a strong rookie year in net last season for the Canadiens posting an 11-4-1 record.  It will be interesting to see how Kevin Bros lines up this squad with a lot of talent on scoring talent on the backend.  There is no doubt that having solid secondary scoring from Kevin Rolston, Greg Gowan and Rob Sarmiento will be this team’s key to victory.
Season Prediction (10W – 11L – 2T = 22pts – 4^th Place)

 

Red Wings (Dave Harris – Career Captain Record – 67W – 41L – 7T – 0.613 Win%)

We finally get to team Iceland from the Mighty Ducks, the Cobra Kai from Karate Kid, Scar from the Lion King (you get the picture).  Dave Harris and his Red Wings have been dominating the league since he took over as captain and no matter what always seems to find himself in the finals.  Will this finally be the year that Harris finally trips over a cliff? Doubtful.  The fact that the last time we had our draft two years ago I predicted the Red Wings to finish last, was I ever wrong about that one.  It’s become apparent that when Dave is on, his team is almost unbeatable.   Ken Ronson and Jon Rebick will anchor this team in front of Dave.  Daniel Alonzi (Son of Rocco and nephew of President Tony Alonzi) made his OHHL debut last week.  The chemistry was apparent right away between Rocco and his son, so I expect those two to do a lot of damage this year.  Derek Hughes, Tom Fisher, Mike Kelsey, Kevin Kearns and Kevin Kelner are all veterans of the OHHL so newcomers Daniel and Nick Di Pede have some great old-timers role models to look after.
Season Prediction (11W – 8L – 4T = 26pts – 1^st Place)

PLAYOFF ROUND ROBIN WEEK 1 RESULTS

Predators (6) Def Penguins (2)

Golden Knights (6) Def Canadiens (2)

Maple Leafs (8) Def Red Wings (1)

 

PLAYOFF ROUND ROBIN WEEK 2 RESULTS

Golden Knights (7) Def Red Wings (4)

Penguins (6) Def Maple Leafs (4)

Predators (5) Def Canadiens (3)

 

PLAYOFF ROUND ROBIN WEEK 3 RESULTS

Maple Leafs (6) Def Canadiens (1)

Penguins (6) Def Red Wings (4)

Predators (6) Def Golden Knights (2)

 

PLAYOFF ROUND ROBIN WEEK 4 RESULTS

Canadiens (4) Def Red Wings (3)

Predators (5) Def Maple Leafs (2)

Penguins (7) Def Golden Knights (3)

 

PLAYOFF ROUND ROBIN WEEK 5 RESULTS

Golden Knights (7) Def Maple Leafs (3)

Red Wings (5) Def Predators (0)

Penguins (5) Tie Canadiens(5) 

 

PLAYOFF CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND SCHEDULE

5th Place Game - Canadiens (1-3-1) vs Red Wings (1-4-0)

Bronze Medal - Golden Knights (3-2-0) vs Maple Leafs (2-3-0)

Gold Medal - Predators (5) Def Penguins (3)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The OHHL’s 32^nd Year wrapped up with a very exciting final between Kevin Bros’ Predators and Rob Brewer’s Penguins.  The Predators came into this final having gone 4-1 while the Penguins were 3-1-1 during the Round Robin.   The game would open up with tight checking and minimal offence. The Predators leading scorer Nik Wang would give the Predators the 1-0 lead; carrying the puck into the zone and firing a shot from the slot. The Predators were a very solid team at holding leads all year long so getting that all-important first goal was huge.  Moments later the Penguins would go on an odd man rush and from a broken play Nick Pandza would bang in a loose puck and tie the game 1-1.  The Predators would pick up another before the period ended when Nik Wang scored his 2^nd of the game to give his Predators a 2-1 lead going into the break.  The game would remain that score until around the 10 minute mark when Steve Hibrant would one time a pass from behind the net tying the game at 2-2.  In the same shift Steve Hibrant would fly down the left side and snipe short side to give his Penguins a 3-2 lead.   The Predators now trailing for the first time in the game started to see their year slip away as time ticked down.  They would strike back around the 5 minute mark when defenceman Alex Gulliver pinched up in the play and took a back hand shot that would beat Jeff Smith from a bad angle to tie the game 3-3.  The momentum seemed to shift with that goal and the Predators remained on the attack in the final minutes of the game.  Wouldn’t you know it, Nik Wang finds some open space and with about 3 minutes left would score a beauty goal in the slot to complete the hat trick and give his team the 4-3 lead.   The Penguins would pull their goalie in hope of some late game heroics but the Predators Chris Kimble shut the door.  A late empty netter by Greg Gowan would lock this game up and give the Predators a 5-3 victory.

 

The OHHL entered into its 32^nd season this year and it seems once again was a great success!  The Predators started out the season on a dominant run winning 9 of their first 10 games while the Canadiens and Red Wings went the opposite route winning only 3 games during that span.   The Predators however would fall right off a cliff in the 2^nd half finishing the season 2-6-1 over their final 9 games.  The Maple Leafs played the season a man short Thanks for nothing Honks! And just couldn’t keep up with some of the stronger teams in the league.  The Golden Knights would end up stealing the President’s Trophy from the Predators going 7-2 over their final 9 games.  Rob Brewer and his Penguins would once again play the Possum during the season finishing 10-13 and then going 3-1-1 in the Playoffs to lock up his finals spot. Classic Brewer.   This year’s OHHL Final was also the first to not include either Dave Harris or Geoff Mitchell for the first time in 5 years.  

 

The OHHL Scoring Title this year went to the newcomer Daniel Alonzi. (Anyone check his ID?) Daniel had a great year playing in all 23 games for his team and was one of the lone bright spots on an otherwise dull season for the Red Wings.  He would edge out the Predators Nik Wang in the final weeks which included an incredible 34 points in his final 9 games.  Daniels father Rocco Alonzi would take home the Collaborator Award which he was very excited about at the Banquet. (He was grinning from ear to ear!!) The Predators Alex Gulliver took home the Most Gentlemanly, fueled mainly by his willingness to help out the Red Wings every week.  The Hands of Stone Award went to Mike Borsch who was absent at the Banquet, I’m sure someone has delivered the great news to him!  Brett Stevens grabbed the Broken Stick Award but I feel this could have gone to a few guys on his team.  Geoff Mitchell would win his 2^nd career Vezina Trophy as the league’s top Goaltender once again breaking up Dave Harris’ chance of a 3 peat.  Henry Carbonell would continue his Iron Man Streak and once again take home the award as his games played streak is now up to 60 in a row.  Nik Wang would fail to win the scoring title but taking home the OHHL MVP is an even higher honor. 

 

Tony has some great awards that he hands out but I was thinking we should start having some online awards that we give out each year.  The awards below were either stat based or voted on by members of the OHHL.   Maybe down the road Tony will incorporate one of these into his Banquet awards. 

  

 

VOTED AWARDS

 

Most Improved Player Award
Ken Phan (Penguins) & Ken Kirby (Golden Knights)
This was a very tough award to come up with just one winner so I wasn’t surprised these two tied for the lead in votes.  Ken Phan had a career high in points (24) and assists (19) this year and it was evident his team needed him by their 1-3 record without Ken.  Ken Kirby is also just as deserving having won 14 games this season (Career High) and only having 6 losses in 22 games this was his best season in terms of winning %.

 

Here for Beer Award (Player Who Stuck It Out All Year Because of the Beer)
Derek Hughes (Red Wings)
Derek was an easy choice here.  Played all 23 games for his last place Red Wings and could always be seen smiling and enjoying a beer hours after his team was off the ice.   If there was ever a person who could win most Gentlemanly each year Derek would be that guy but he’s just so nice he lets others win instead. 

 

Playoff MVP
Steve Hibrant (Penguins)
Once again I’m going to say it....”Where was this last year for my Blackhawks?!”
Steve had an amazing Playoffs racking up 17 points in his team’s 5 games and also added 2 goals and an assist in his team’s 5-3 finals loss to the Predators.  Most often the Playoff MVP will go to someone on the winning team but it was hard to not recognize this effort. 

Try Hard Award (Win or Lose This Player Gave It 110%)
Erwin Chong (Maple Leafs)
This was a tough award to decide a winner and it could have gone to a lot of players in this league.  Erwin is that player who you could look at on the ice and never know if he’s winning or losing.  Erwin is always one to step up when he see’s someone he knows coming down his wing and loves to shout out a chirp and a laugh when you eventually lose the puck in his skates.  

Norris Trophy (Best Defenceman)
Robin Doolittle (Golden Knights)
This trophy is an odd one as the NHL really isn’t even certain if it’s for the best Defensive, Offensive or All Around Defenceman in the league.  I feel the All Around aspect is the best place to go and with that Robin got the votes.  Kyle Ellis was a close 2^nd but I feel his games played hurt him here.  Robin isn’t much of a surprise here as I’m sure we have all had games of frustration playing against him and his relentless checking.  I’d like to see what he can do when he isn’t nursing an injury!

Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward)
Mike Bell (Golden Knights)
Does anyone know who this guy is? Just kidding!  Mike Bell has been in the league since Day 1.  In fact I think there are some pictures of him building Chesswood Arena with his bare hands (Someone confirm this??). I wasn’t surprised that Bell was nominated for this award as I feel he is one of the few 200 foot players in the league (More like 150ft at Chesswood). This award could have also gone to his teammate Gaetan Boutin who I’m sure you saw if you looked up (About 7’ on skates), but Mike would always be leading the back check and for anyone willing to do that in this league, they deserve this award.

Jack Adams Award (Best Coach/Captain)
Bobby Chapman (Golden Knights)
I’ll say it again! At least we won something!

Cherry Picker Award (Can Always Be Seen Hovering Around Center Ice)
Jeff Hohendorf (Maple Leafs)
Poor Jeff.  The guy has a tough year being on a struggling Maple Leafs team and then goes down with an injury taking him out for half the season.  Jeff has the highest Goals per Game in the OHHL since 2011 and also his 111 goals over his last four seasons are 10 more than the next highest player during that span.  When you have those offensive numbers I don’t think you need to back check.

Best Dressing Room
Golden Knights
Whether it was Julian Della Vedova playing the dressing room DJ or Gus Prokos setting up his Olive Oil stand the Golden Knights dressing room always seemed to be rocking.  The music always seemed to go along with how the team performed, you could always tell the Knights lost when an REM song or Mad World was playing. 

The “No Show” Award (The Player Who Always Had Something Better To Do)
Donnie Doran (Canadiens)
Flashback to Week 6’s OHHL Trade Deadline.  Not much occurred except one trade in which the Predators gave up Donnie Doran for Henry Carbonell in what should have been a move to benefit the Habs.  Henry would go on to play in every game for the Predators supplying a grit not seen often in this league while Donnie would play in just 10 games this season.  Things probably would have been different for the Canadiens had a solid defenceman like Donnie been at more games.

 

 

STAT BASED AWARDS

Breakout Player of the Year Award (Biggest Increase in Points from Last Season)
Nik Wang (Predators)
This was an easy one to calculate as Nik went on to double his points total from 2017/2018.  This was a career year for him and finally a true showing of what this guy is capable of producing each week.   
 

Taking a Dump Award (Biggest Drop off in Points from Last Season)
Bert Thibodeau (Maple Leafs)
Just an unfortunate year for many players on the Maple Leafs,  Bert took the biggest hit but really only won this award because of a spectacular 2017/2018 season in which he put up 46 points.  Still having 10 points more than game, Bert didn’t have a bad season by any means.  Funny enough this was Bert’s 2^nd best season in the past 6 years which just happened to come after his best career season.  This award will mainly go to players who cannot keep up a high level of performance.

Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy (Top Goal Scorer)
Nick Pandza (Penguins)
The Goal Streak of 28 games set by Nick will be almost impossible to beat.  The play of the Pandza Bear is more like a Pandza Tank with his explosive ability to pick up the puck and fly down the ice for a goal.   Nick is only the 4^th player in the last 5 seasons to reach 30 goals in a season.

Most Clutch Award (Most GWG/GTG – Tie Goes To Most GWG)
Sean Beattie (Golden Knights)
Another newcomer to the OHHL,  Sean had a great first season in the league finish 6^th in season scoring and 2^nd in playoff scoring.  His 4 game winning goals this year sat him atop the league in this category.

 

Thank you again for a great season and hope you all have an amazing offseason.  See you in September!

 

 

 

Thursday, November 21, 2024

 

1. Rangers vs. Canucks (4:45 PM, Chesswood Arena)

• Prediction: Canucks win.

• Rangers are winless and have significant defensive issues.

• Canucks’ high-scoring offense (58 GF) should overpower the Rangers’ leaky defense (67 GA).

 

2. Leafs vs. Red Wings (5:45 PM, Chesswood Arena)

• Prediction: Red Wings win.

• The Red Wings’ strong defense (27 GA) will likely stifle the Leafs’ inconsistent offense.

• Leafs’ recent improvement could make it competitive, but Red Wings have the edge.

 

3. Predators vs. St. Pats (6:45 PM, Chesswood Arena)

• Prediction: St. Pats win.

• Predators’ defense (57 GA) is the league’s weakest, while St. Pats boast a potent attack (52 GF).

• Unless the Predators tighten up defensively, the St. Pats are favored.

 

Thursday, November 28, 2024

 

Canucks vs. Red Wings (4:45 pm)

The Canucks are undefeated in their last nine games and lead the league in goals scored (64).

The Canucks have the best offense in the league (64 GF, 5.82 GF/G). Their ability to outscore opponents has been key to their nine-game undefeated streak.

Canucks struggled against the Red Wings in their last meeting (2-2 tie on 10/24) but have momentum and an aggressive style that often overwhelms defenses.

The Red Wings have been solid recently, winning three straight, but the Canucks’ firepower and home advantage might be too much.

The Red Wings are solid defensively (31 GA, 2.82 GA/G, second-best in the league). Their disciplined play has helped them win three straight.

The Red WingsHistorically competitive with the Canucks, splitting games this season (2-2 tie on 10/24, but a convincing 7-5 win on 9/26).

Key Factor:

The Canucks’ high-scoring attack versus the Red Wings’ structured defense. The Canucks have shown they can adjust to tight games, giving them a slight edge.

Offensive Comparison

Key Players:

Canucks: Bobby Chapman (24 pts), Peter Grafos (24 pts), Louie Grafos (23 pts)

Red Wings: Adam DiStefano (19 pts, 14 G), Brett Stevens (18 pts), Bert Thibodeau (17 pts)

The Canucks’ top three scorers combine for 71 points, with consistent contributions from multiple players.

The Red Wings have slightly less depth, with their offensive production being more concentrated on their top forwards.

Defensive & Goalie Comparison

Red Wings: Andrew Stam (3.40 GAA, 6-2-2 record) provides strong stability in net.

Canucks: Ken Kirby (5.20 GAA) has an undefeated record but is more vulnerable defensively.

Trends

The Canucks excel offensively but allow more goals. The Red Wings have a more balanced team, with superior defense and goaltending.

Prediction:

Winner: Red Wings

Score: 5-4

Strong defensive play and timely saves from Andrew Stam should help the Red Wings outlast the Canucks’ high-scoring attack.

 

Predators vs. Rangers (5:45 pm)

The Predators are struggling with four straight losses, but the Rangers remain winless with a -32 goal differential.

The Predators’ superior talent and recent head-to-head results (Predators won 7-5 on 10/24) favor them.

Despite the Predators poor run (1-4-0 in their last 5), they’ve shown flashes of offensive capability (43 GF).

The Predators are defensively vulnerable (61 GA, 2^nd worst in the league next to the Rangers), but should have enough firepower to overcome a weaker opponent.

The Rangers are winless through 11 games and have been outscored by 32 goals (41 GF vs. 73 GA).

The Rangers lost to the Predators in both previous matchups this season (7-5 on 10/24, 6-4 on 9/19).

The Rangers show no sign of breaking their slump given poor defense and lack of goal support.

Key Factor:

The Rangers’ inability to close out games against anyone, including teams near the bottom like the Predators.

Offensive Comparison

Key Players:

Predators: Jeff Hohendorf (22 pts, 17 G), Steve Hibrant (18 pts)

Rangers: Chris McKeown (22 pts), Dan Alonzi (19 pts)

Both teams rely heavily on a few key players. The Predators’ Jeff Hohendorf has been particularly dominant, with league-leading goal-scoring efficiency (17 goals in 7 games).

Defensive & Goalie Comparison

Predators: Chris Kimble (5.50 GAA, 4-4 record) struggles with consistency.

Rangers: Dave Harris (4.78 GAA, 3-4-2) has been marginally better.

Trends

Neither team has strong defense, but the Predators’ offensive advantage, particularly with Hohendorf, could prove decisive.

A high-scoring affair with the Predators relying on their top-line scoring to overwhelm the Rangers.

Prediction:

Winner: Predators

Score: 6-4

A high-scoring affair with the Predators relying on their top-line scoring to overwhelm the Rangers.

 

St. Pats vs. Leafs (6:45 pm)

The St. Pats are undefeated in their last five games and recently beat the Leafs 4-1 on 10/24.

The Leafs are inconsistent and have struggled to contain high-scoring teams like the St. Pats.

The St. Pats are undefeated in their last five games (4-0-1) and tied for the league lead in points. They’ve scored 56 goals, second only to the Canucks, and are riding a hot streak.

The St. Pats dominated the Leafs in two previous games this season (4-1 on 10/24, 5-1 on 9/19).

The Leafs are struggling with consistency and goal-scoring against stronger opponents. Their -7 goal differential reflects defensive struggles (48 GA).

The Leafs last point vs a top-tier team came weeks ago against the Canucks (5-5 tie on 11/14).

Key Factor:

The St. Pats’ dynamic offense and consistency give them a clear edge over the Leafs, who haven’t shown they can match up well in this rivalry.

Offensive Comparison

Key Players:

St. Pats: Mike Bell (28 pts, 20 assists), John McLinden (25 pts), Brad Bowness (21 pts)

Leafs: John Mastrella (19 pts), Ryan Whittam (14 pts)

The St. Pats dominate offensively, with Mike Bell leading the league in points. Their top three players have significantly outperformed the Leafs’ leading scorers.

Defensive & Goalie Comparison

St. Pats: Jeff Smith (6.30 GAA) has struggled in goal, despite the team’s strong offense.

Leafs: Jordan DaCosta (5.00 GAA) has been slightly better, but the team lacks defensive support.

Trends

The St. Pats’ overwhelming offensive talent makes them difficult to stop, even with defensive vulnerabilities.

The St. Pats’ offense, led by Bell and McLinden, should dominate a Leafs team that lacks both offensive depth and defensive reliability.

Prediction:

Winner: St. Pats

Score: 7-3

The St. Pats’ offense, led by Bell and McLinden, should dominate a Leafs team that lacks both offensive depth and defensive reliability.

 

Key Standings Implications:

Canucks: A win secures sole possession of 1st place (18 points).

Red Wings & St. Pats: A win keeps them tied at the top, depending on the Canucks’ result.

Predators: A win could inch them closer to playoff contention.

Rangers: Still searching for their first win, but unlikely to find it here.

Preview for Tonight’s Games – December 5, 2024

 

Tonight’s triple-header at Chesswood Arena promises excitement as teams battle to climb the standings. Here’s a breakdown of the matchups and key storylines:

 

4:45 PM: St. Pats (7-3-2) vs. Red Wings (8-2-2)

 

The first-place Red Wings take on the surging St. Pats in a crucial matchup. The Red Wings are riding a four-game winning streak, powered by stellar performances from Adam DiStefano (15G, 6A) and Brett Stevens (8G, 12A). Goalie Andrew Stam has been a rock in net, boasting a league-best 3.45 GAA.

 

For the St. Pats, Mike Bell (9G, 20A) continues to pace the offense, while John McLinden and Brad Bowness provide additional scoring depth. St. Pats need a rebound after last week’s 5-2 loss to the Leafs. Expect a tight contest, with playoff implications on the line.

 

Key to Watch: Can the St. Pats defense limit the Red Wings’ dynamic attack?

 

Predictions:

Red Wings 4, St. Pats 3 (OT) – A close game with the Red Wings eking out a win.

 

 

5:45 PM: Predators (5-6-1) vs. Canucks (6-2-4)

 

The Predators look to build momentum after a nail-biting 5-4 victory over the Rangers, while the Canucks aim to end their four-game winless skid. Jeff Hohendorf leads the Predators with an impressive 19 goals in just eight games, but the team’s defensive struggles (65 GA) have held them back. Goalie Chris Kimble will need to step up against the Canucks’ high-powered offense.

 

The Canucks boast the league’s top scorer, Peter Grafos (11G, 15A), and a balanced attack led by Bobby Chapman and Louie Grafos. However, their goaltending has been inconsistent, and tightening up in their own zone will be critical to secure the win.

 

Key to Watch: Can the Canucks’ offense outgun the Predators’ explosive Jeff Hohendorf?

 

Predictions:

Canucks 6, Predators 4 – The Canucks’ offense gets back on track.

 

 

6:45 PM: Rangers (0-11-1) vs. Leafs (4-6-2)

 

The Rangers are still searching for their first win of the season and will face a Leafs squad that has shown signs of life, winning three of their last five. Chris McKeown (13G, 12A) has been a bright spot for the Rangers, but the team’s defensive woes (league-worst 78 GA) have left them vulnerable.

 

The Leafs are coming off a morale-boosting 5-2 win over the St. Pats, with standout performances from John Mastrella (6G, 14A) and Ryan Whittam (10G, 4A). Goalie Jordan DaCosta will look to build on his recent strong play.

 

Key to Watch: Can the Rangers finally crack the win column against the surging Leafs?

 

Predictions:

Leafs 5, Rangers 2 – Leafs take advantage of a struggling Rangers defense.

 

Let’s see how the action unfolds!

Tonight’s OHHL Predictions (December 12, 2024)

 

Game 1: Predators vs. Leafs (4:45 PM at Chesswood Arena)

 

Standings Impact: The Predators (6-6-1, 13 pts) have been inconsistent but are coming off two wins. The Leafs (4-7-2, 10 pts) sit at the bottom of the standings, struggling to find rhythm despite showing occasional sparks.

Key Players:

Predators: Jeff Hohendorf (29 pts in 9 GP, including 21 goals) and Dan Roberts (16 pts, including 14 assists) will likely lead their offense.

Leafs: John Mastrella (20 pts) and Ryan Whittam (14 pts in 8 GP) are the key offensive threats.

 

Goalie Matchup: Chris Kimble (Predators, 5.33 GAA) vs. Jordan DaCosta (Leafs, 5.00 GAA). Neither goalie has been stellar, but DaCosta has shown flashes of resilience.

 

Prediction: Predators win 5-4. The Predators’ potent offense edges out the Leafs in a high-scoring affair, although defensive struggles persist.

 

Game 2: St. Pats vs. Canucks (5:45 PM at Chesswood Arena)

 

Standings Impact: Both teams are Presidents Trophy candidates. St. Pats (8-3-2, 18 pts) are tied for first, while the Canucks (6-3-4, 16 pts) are just behind in third but are winless in their last five games.

 

Key Players:

St. Pats: Mike Bell (31 pts) and John McLinden (27 pts) have been offensive powerhouses.

Canucks: Peter Grafos (29 pts) and Bobby Chapman (26 pts) must rediscover their scoring touch to halt the skid.

 

Goalie Matchup: Jeff Smith (St. Pats, 6.18 GAA) vs. Ken Kirby (Canucks, 5.43 GAA). Both goalies are vulnerable, but Smith has been particularly leaky.

 

Prediction: St. Pats win 6-4. Bell and McLinden carry the offense, exploiting the Canucks’ recent struggles.

 

Game 3: Rangers vs. Red Wings (6:45 PM at Chesswood Arena)

 

Standings Impact: The Red Wings (8-3-2, 18 pts) are tied for first place and are one of the most balanced teams. The Rangers (1-11-1, 3 pts) are having a disastrous season but are coming off their first win.

 

Key Players:

Red Wings: Adam DiStefano (21 pts in 8 GP) and Brett Stevens (21 pts) lead a deep offensive lineup.

Rangers: Chris McKeown (30 pts) and Dan Alonzi (23 pts) have been productive despite the team’s struggles.

 

Goalie Matchup: Andrew Stam (Red Wings, 3.67 GAA) vs. Dave Harris (Rangers, 4.45 GAA). Stam has been the most consistent goalie in the league.

 

Prediction: Red Wings win 7-3. The Rangers’ defense won’t be able to contain the Red Wings’ relentless attack.

 

Key Takeaways

 

Streaking Teams: The Predators and Red Wings are likely to continue their momentum.

Players to Watch: Expect Jeff Hohendorf (Predators), Mike Bell (St. Pats), and Adam DiStefano (Red Wings) to be difference-makers.

Tight Races: The Canucks need a win to keep their hopes alive for back to back Presidents Trophies, but their recent form is concerning.

 

Ontario Hydro Hockey League (OHHL) 2024-2025 Season Recap and Predictions

The OHHL’s 2024-2025 season has been nothing short of thrilling, with tight games, standout performances, and surprising shifts in momentum. Let’s take a closer look at the season so far, key players, and predictions for the rest of the campaign.

Standings Recap

Current Standings

Team	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	GB	Last 5	Streak
Red Wings	15	10	3	2	22	69	44	-	4-1-0	Won 2
St. Pats	15	9	3	3	21	75	53	0.5	3-1-1	Undftd 3
Canucks	15	6	4	5	17	81	67	2.5	0-3-2	Winless 7
Leafs	15	6	7	2	14	57	63	4.0	3-2-0	Won 2
Predators	15	6	8	1	13	58	82	4.5	2-3-0	Lost 2
Rangers	15	1	13	1	3	56	91	9.5	1-3-1	Lost 2

 

The Red Wings and St. Pats are locked in a tight race at the top, with both teams delivering consistent performances. The Canucks started strong but have hit a rough patch, going winless in their last seven games. Meanwhile, the Leafs have quietly climbed up, showing resilience with recent back-to-back wins.

Key Highlights

Offensive Powerhouses

-          Mike Bell (St. Pats) leads the league with 34 points (12G, 22A), showcasing incredible playmaking skills.

-          The Grafos brothers (Canucks) continue to dominate, combining for 65 points this season.

-          Jeff Hohendorf (Predators) stands out with 24 goals, single-handedly keeping the Predators in contention.

Goaltending Excellence

-          Andrew Stam (Red Wings) has been rock-solid, posting a league-best 3.36 GAA and leading his team to 10 wins.

-          Jordan DaCosta (Leafs) has bounced back from a shaky start, contributing to the Leafs’ recent success.

Surprising Struggles

-          The Rangers continue to face challenges despite valiant efforts from Chris McKeown, who has racked up 32 points.

-          The Canucks’ slump is puzzling, given their offensive talent. A return to form from goalie Ken Kirby could help them break their winless streak.

Predictions for the Rest of the Season

1.      St. Pats’ Late Push for Glory

Current Form: 3-1-1 in the last 5 games, undefeated in 3

Strengths: The St. Pats boast an explosive offense led by Mike Bell (34 points), supported by John McLinden and Brad Bowness. Their ability to capitalize on the power play sets them apart.

Weaknesses: Inconsistent goaltending from Jeff Smith (5.77 GAA) has cost them key games.

Prediction:

-          The St. Pats are likely to continue their push for first place, riding their offensive firepower. However, they need their defense and goaltending to step up in high-pressure games. Expect close contests against the Red Wings and Predators.

-          The St. Pats have the tools to challenge for the top spot. With Mike Bell leading the charge and depth players stepping up, they’ll give the Red Wings a run for their money and predictors think they will win it all.
Predicted Record: 14-4-5 (1^st Place)
Key Games: Wins over the Rangers, Predators, and a sweep vs the Red Wings.

2.      Red Wings Let 1^st Place Slip

Current Form: 4-1-0 in the last 5 games, 2-game winning streak

Strengths: Consistency in both offense and defense, with key contributors like Adam DiStefano (27 points) and Brett Stevens (25 points). Goalie Andrew Stam is a stabilizing presence with a league-best 3.36 GAA.

Weaknesses: Occasional lapses in discipline and secondary scoring.

Prediction:

-          The Red Wings let the regular season trophy slip in their remaining 8 games going 4-3-1. Despite their solid defensive core and reliable goaltending,  a potential challenge lies in their upcoming matchups against the surging St. Pats and desperate Canucks.

-          With balanced scoring and strong defense, the Red Wings are still one of the best teams in this league. Their ability to win close games will be crucial as the playoffs approach.
Predicted Record: 14-6-3 (2^nd Place)
Key Games: Wins against the Leafs and Rangers, but losses to the Canucks and St. Pats.

3.      Canucks’ Turning Point?

Current Form: 0-3-2 in the last 5 games, winless in 7

Strengths: High-octane offense with Louie Grafos (33 points) and Peter Grafos (32 points) leading the way. Their offensive depth makes them dangerous.

Weaknesses: Lack of defensive stability and below-average goaltending from Ken Kirby (5.22 GAA) have led to high-scoring losses.

Prediction:

-          The Canucks’ winless streak is concerning, but their offensive talent should pull them out of this slump. They’ll likely win 4 of their last 8 games, enough to keep them in 3rd but not enough to challenge the top two teams.

-          Despite their struggles, the Canucks remain dangerous. If they solve their defensive woes, they can regain their early-season form and possibly challenge for a top 2 spot if the Red Wings or St. Pats struggle.
Predicted Record: 10-7-6 (3^rd Place)
Key Games: Upsets over the Red Wings and a split against the Leafs.

4.      Leafs Eyeing Playoff Surge

Current Form: 3-2-0 in the last 5 games, 2-game winning streak

Strengths: The Leafs are finding form at the right time, with players like John Mastrella and Jon Evangelista stepping up offensively. Their goaltending has shown flashes of improvement.

Weaknesses: Inconsistent performances earlier in the season and a tendency to lose focus late in games have hurt their record.

Prediction:

-          The Leafs are trending in the right direction and should be able to maintain their current position. Expect them to edge out key games against the Rangers and Predators but struggle against the Red Wings and St. Pats.

-          If the Leafs continue their upward trajectory, they could leapfrog the Canucks for third place. Look for Jon Evangelista and John Mastrella to spark their offense.
Predicted Record: 8-11-4 (4^th Place)
Key Games: Wins over the Rangers and Predators.

5.      Predators’ Struggling to Hold On

Current Form: 2-3-0 in the last 5 games, 2-game losing streak

Strengths: Jeff Hohendorf (32 points) is a standout performer, carrying the offense. The team plays with grit and determination, keeping games close.

Weaknesses: Defensive breakdowns and inconsistent goaltending from Chris Kimble (5.55 GAA) have been their Achilles’ heel.

Prediction:

-          The Predators will fight hard to climb the standings, but their defensive struggles might prove too much to overcome. They’re likely to split their remaining games, leaving them just short of 4^th place.
Predicted Record: 7-14-2 (5^th Place)
Key Games: Wins over the Rangers and a surprise victory over the Leafs.

6.      Rangers’ Tough Climb

Current Form: 1-3-1 in the last 5 games, 2-game losing streak

Strengths: Chris McKeown (32 points) has been a bright spot for a struggling team. Their effort level remains high despite the lack of results.

Weaknesses: The Rangers have the league’s worst defense (91 goals allowed) and lack depth beyond their top scorer. 

Prediction:

-          The Rangers’ woes will likely continue through the rest of the season. While they may pick up one more win, they’re destined to finish at the bottom of the standings.

-          The Rangers are unlikely to escape the basement, but players like Chris McKeown and Dan Alonzi will continue to make games competitive.
Predicted Record: 2-19-2 (6^th Place)
Key Games: Likely to pick up a win against the Predators or Leafs.

 

Key Upcoming Matchups

Jan 9: Leafs vs. Red Wings

•         Can the Leafs extend their winning streak against the league leaders?

Jan 16: St. Pats vs. Leafs

•         A critical matchup as both teams fight for playoff positioning.

Jan 23: St. Pats vs. Red Wings

•         This could decide who finishes the season on top.

With only 8 games remaining in the season for each team, here’s a projection for the scoring leaders, top goalie, and MVP based on their current stats, trends, and games played.

Projected Scoring Leaders

1.      Mike Bell (St. Pats)
Current Stats: 12 GP | G: 12 | A: 22 | PTS: 34
Projected Final Stats: 20 GP | G: 20 | A: 37 | PTS: 57

2.      Jeff Hohendorf (Predators)
Current Stats: 11 GP | G: 24 | A: 8 | PTS: 32
Projected Final Stats: 19 GP | G: 41 | A: 14 | PTS: 55

3.      Brad Bowness (St. Pats)
Current Stats: 11 GP | G: 14 | A: 17 | PTS: 31
Projected Final Stats: 19 GP | G: 24 | A: 29 | PTS: 53

4.      Chris McKeown (Rangers)
Current Stats: 13 GP | G: 17 | A: 15 | PTS: 32
Projected Final Stats: 21 GP | G: 27 | A: 24 | PTS: 51

5.      Louie Grafos (Canucks)
Current Stats: 15 GP | G: 17 | A: 16 | PTS: 33
Projected Final Stats: 23 GP | G: 26 | A: 24 | PTS: 50

6.      Johnny McLinden (St. Pats)
Current Stats: 13 GP | G: 13 | A: 18 | PTS: 31
Projected Final Stats: 21 GP | G: 21 | A: 29 | PTS: 50

7.      Peter Grafos (Canucks)
Current Stats: 15 GP | G: 15 | A: 17 | PTS: 32
Projected Final Stats: 23 GP | G: 23 | A: 26 | PTS: 49

8.      Adam DiStefano (Red Wings)
Current Stats: 10 GP | G: 19 | A: 8 | PTS: 27
Projected Final Stats: 18 GP | G: 34 | A: 14 | PTS: 48

9.      Dan Alonzi (Rangers)
Current Stats: 11 GP | G: 8 | A: 18 | PTS: 26
Projected Final Stats: 19 GP | G: 19 | A: 29 | PTS: 48

10.  Bobby Chapman (Canucks)
Current Stats: 13 GP | G: 15 | A: 13 | PTS: 28
Projected Final Stats: 21 GP | G: 24 | A: 21 | PTS: 45

Projected Top Goalie

1.      Andrew Stam (Red Wings)
Current Stats: 14 GP | W: 9 | L: 3 | T: 2 | GAA: 3.36
Projected Final Stats: 22 GP | W: 13 | L: 6 | T: 3 | GAA: 3.30

2.      Jordan DaCosta (Leafs)
Current Stats: 11 GP | W: 4 | L: 5 | T: 2 | GAA: 4.73
Projected Final Stats: 19 GP | W: 6 | L: 9 | T: 4 | GAA: 4.75

3.      Ken Kirby (Canucks)
Current Stats: 9 GP | W: 3 | L: 3 | T: 3 | GAA: 5.22
Projected Final Stats: 17 GP | W: 7 | L: 6 | T: 4 | GAA: 4.90

MVP Prediction

Top Candidates:

Mike Bell (St. Pats)
If the St. Pats finish first, Bell’s dual playmaking and scoring abilities make him a strong contender.

Jeff Hohendorf (Predators)
Hohendorf’s goal-scoring dominance will likely crown him the league’s most valuable player. His ability to carry the Predators’ offense has been unmatched, and his contribution in fewer games makes his performance even more remarkable.

Andrew Stam (Red Wings)
As the top goalie, Stam could win MVP if the Red Wings dominate the standings and his GAA remains solid.

Winner:

Jeff Hohendorf (Predators)
His projected 40-goal season is a game-changer in a league where scoring depth is vital.

 

Projected End of Season Standings

Team	GP	W	L	T	Pts
St. Pats	23	14	4	5	33
Red Wings	23	14	6	3	31
Canucks	23	10	7	6	26
Leafs	23	8	11	4	20
Predators	23	7	14	2	16
Rangers	23	2	19	2	6

 

The OHHL promises a thrilling conclusion to an already electrifying season. Every game matters, and every team has something to prove. Stay tuned for more excitement as the action heats up at Chesswood Arena!

 

 

 

 

 

Red Wings Dominate as Season Wraps Up

The 2025 hockey season came to an exciting conclusion, with the Red Wings asserting themselves as the clear frontrunners, finishing with an impressive 17-4-2 record (Tied the 2nd best season with 17 Wins and 4 losses). Their 36 points (Tied the 2nd best season) put them far ahead of the competition, cementing their dominance in the league. A seven-game winning streak (Tied 4th best win streak) to close out the season left no doubt about their strength heading into the postseason.

The Canucks, St. Pats, and Leafs battled for positioning in the standings, finishing within a few points of each other. The Canucks’ high-powered offense helped them secure second place, while the St. Pats, despite struggling in their final stretch, clung to third. The Leafs found a late spark, winning their last two games to finish fourth. Meanwhile, the Predators and Rangers had a tough season, with the Rangers finishing in the basement with only four wins (Tied 2nd worst season) and 9 points (Lowest point total in history).

Scoring Race: Louie Grafos Edges Out the Competition

The scoring title went to Louie Grafos (Canucks), who racked up 28 goals and 26 assists (54 points) in 23 games. With 9 of the 54 points coming in the final week which ranks as the 2nd most points ever in a game and 2nd most goals in a game (6). He edged out Red Wings sniper Adam DiStefano, who posted a league-best 32 goals in just 16 games, finishing with 48 points. Gianluca Conicella (Red Wings) and Mike Bell (St. Pats) tied for third with 47 points each, while Dan Alonzi (Rangers) rounded out the top five with 45.

One of the standout performances of the season came from Jeff Hohendorf (Predators), who finished with 27 goals in 17 games, a bright spot for an otherwise struggling Predators team.

Goaltending Leaders: Stam Stands Tall

Goaltending played a crucial role in the Red Wings’ success, with Andrew Stam leading the league in wins with 15 (Ranks as the 2nd most ever in a season) and goals-against average (3.05GAA - 6th best). His steady presence between the pipes gave his team confidence throughout the season.

Ken Kirby (Canucks) and Dave Harris (Rangers) had respectable seasons despite facing a high volume of shots, while Jeff Smith (St. Pats) and Jordan DaCosta (Leafs) struggled with inconsistency. Chris Kimble (Predators) had a rough year, finishing with the league’s highest goals-against average (5.94 - 5th worst).

Final Standings:

Team	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	GB	Last 5	Streak
Red Wings	23	17	4	2	36	110	63	-	5-0-0	Won 7
Canucks	23	11	7	5	27	126	95	4.5	4-1-0	Won 1
St. Pats	23	11	8	4	26	100	87	5.0	1-3-1	Winless 3
Leafs	23	11	10	2	24	96	106	6.0	3-2-0	Won 2
Predators	23	7	14	2	16	87	131	10.0	0-4-1	Winless 5
Rangers	23	4	18	1	9	89	130	13.5	1-4-0	Lost 1

 

Looking Ahead

With the regular season wrapped up, all eyes turn to the playoffs. The Red Wings enter as the overwhelming favorites, but the Canucks’ explosive offense and the unpredictability of playoff hockey mean anything can happen. Can the St. Pats or Leafs pull off an upset, or will the Red Wings continue their dominant run?

One thing is for sure—it’s going to be an exciting finish to an incredible season!

 

 

 

2025 Playoff Game-by-Game Predictions

With the regular season complete, here’s how I see each playoff game playing out based on season performance, team momentum, and key player contributions.

 

Week 1: March 6, 2025

(1) Red Wings vs. (6) Rangers

• Season Series: Red Wings dominated 4-0 (6-0 Wings, 6-1 Wings, 7-3 Wings, 11-5 Wings)

• Prediction: The Red Wings’ top scorers—DiStefano, Conicella, and Stevens—are too much for the struggling Rangers. Andrew Stam continues his strong play in net.

• Winner: Red Wings (6-2)

(4) Leafs vs. (5) Predators

• Season Series: Leafs make light work of Preds going 3-0-1 (7-5 Leafs, 6-2 Leafs, 9-2 Leafs, 5-5 Tie)

• Prediction: The Leafs’ offense, led by Ryan Whittam and John Mastrella, overpowers the Predators, who have struggled defensively all season.

• Winner: Leafs (7-3)

(2) Canucks vs. (3) St. Pats

• Season Series: Close games - 2-0-2 Canucks (5-4 Canucks, 5-5 Tie, 5-5 Tie, 6-3 Canucks)

• Prediction: Louie Grafos leads the Canucks’ high-powered offense past a scrappy St. Pats team in a back-and-forth game.

• Winner: Canucks (5-4)

 

Week 2: March 13, 2025

(2) Canucks vs. (4) Leafs

• Season Series: A couple of high scoring games as Canucks take it 2-1-1 (10-2 Canucks, 4-3 Leafs, 5-5 Tie, 8-6 Canucks)

• Prediction: The Canucks’ offensive depth—Grafos, Chapman, and Peter Grafos—proves too much for the Leafs in a high-scoring game.

• Winner: Canucks (6-4)

(1) Red Wings vs. (5) Predators

• Season Series: Red Wings triumphed 3-1 (6-4 Wings, 6-2 Wings, 7-2 Wings, 3-1 Preds)

• Prediction: Red Wings continue their dominance over the Predators, with DiStefano and Conicella leading the charge.

• Winner: Red Wings (5-2)

(3) St. Pats vs. (6) Rangers

• Season Series: St. Pats won all matchups going 4-0 (5-2 Pats, 5-2 Pats, 6-4 Pats, 4-2 Pats)

• Prediction: St. Pats stay unbeaten against the Rangers, with Mike Bell and Brad Bowness leading the way.

• Winner: St. Pats (4-2)

 

Week 3: March 20, 2025

(5) Predators vs. (3) St. Pats

• Season Series: St. Pats go 3-1-1 (3-3 Tie, 4-2 Pats, 4-3 Pats, 5-3 Preds, 11-4 Pats)

• Prediction: St. Pats keep rolling, with Bell and McLinden proving too much for the Predators’ struggling defense.

• Winner: St. Pats (5-3)

(2) Canucks vs. (6) Rangers

• Season Series: Canucks dominated 4-0-1 (8-2 Canucks, 4-1 Canucks, 6-6 Tie, 9-5 Canucks, 9-3 Canucks)

• Prediction: The Rangers don’t have the firepower to keep up with the Canucks. Grafos racks up multiple points.

• Winner: Canucks (7-2)

(1) Red Wings vs. (4) Leafs

• Season Series: Red Wings steamroll to 4-1 series (6-2 Wings, 5-4 Leafs, 6-4 Wings, 7-2 Wings, 2-0 Wings)

• Prediction: The Leafs push hard, but the Red Wings’ combination of firepower and goaltending is too much.

• Winner: Red Wings (5-3)

 

Week 4: March 27, 2025

(2) Canucks vs. (1) Red Wings

• Season Series: Red Wings undefeated 4-0-1 (7-3 Wings, 3-1 Wings, 6-4 Wings, 2-2 Tie, 5-2 Wings)

• Prediction: The best two teams meet in a game that could go either way. The Canucks’ offense is explosive, but the Red Wings’ depth and goaltending prove decisive.

• Winner: Red Wings (4-3)

(4) Leafs vs. (3) St. Pats

• Season Series: Leafs finish strong going 3-2 (6-4 Leafs, 7-1 Leafs, 5-2 Leafs, 4-1 Pats, 5-1 Pats)

• Prediction: The Leafs’ offense takes control against a tough St. Pats team.

• Winner: Leafs (5-3)

(5) Predators vs. (6) Rangers

• Season Series: Preds start strong but lose final 2 matchups, still go 3-2 (8-1 Rangers, 7-5 Rangers, 5-4 Preds, 7-5 Preds, 6-4 Preds)

• Prediction: The Rangers pull off a close win in a battle of the bottom seeds.

• Winner: Rangers (4-3)

 

Week 5: April 3, 2025

(6) Rangers vs. (4) Leafs

• Season Series: Leafs win tiebreaker in final week to go 3-2 (8-7 Leafs, 6-2 Rangers, 8-1 Rangers, 2-0 Leafs, 6-4 Leafs)

• Prediction: Leafs take care of business and finish 3-2 in Playoffs, good for 3^rd place.

• Winner: Leafs (6-2)

(3) St. Pats vs. (1) Red Wings

• Season Series: Wings/Pats split 2-2-1 (2-1 Wings, 7-3 Wings, 6-2 Pats, 4-1 Pats, 7-7 Tie)

• Prediction: Red Wings finish off round-robin sweep and lock up 1^st place.

• Winner: Red Wings (5-2)

(5) Predators vs. (2) Canucks

• Season Series: Canucks edge this one out 3-2 (11-4 Canucks, 5-3 Preds, 6-5 Preds, 7-4 Canucks, 5-2 Canucks)

• Prediction: Canucks handle the Predators easily and finish the round-robin in 2^nd place.

• Winner: Canucks (6-3)

 

Championship Prediction

(1) Red Wings vs. (2) Canucks

• Season Series: Red Wings undefeated 4-0-1 (7-3 Wings, 3-1 Wings, 6-4 Wings, 2-2 Tie, 5-2 Wings)

• Playoff Series: Red Wings defeated Canucks 4-3

• Prediction: The final is a battle of the two best teams. The Canucks have offensive depth, but the Red Wings’ defense and Andrew Stam in goal make the difference.

• Final Score: Red Wings 4, Canucks 3 (OT)

 

2025 OHHL Playoff Champions: Red Wings

With their balanced attack, strong defense, and solid goaltending, the Red Wings cap off their dominant season with a championship win.

 

 

 

  Game-Summary-Rangers-vs-Red-Wings-01-08-26.xlsx  

   

In a high-tempo showdown between two long-time rivals, the Red Wings overcame an early back-and-forth battle to pull away from the Rangers thanks to a dominant middle frame and strong transitional play. With veteran Red Wings goaltender Dave Harris unavailable, the team turned to substitute netminder Andrew Stam, who was tested early but settled in as the game progressed.

1st Period – Trading Punches Early

The Red Wings struck first, capitalizing on a solo effort.

Adam Stevenson picked up the puck with speed and attacked the middle lane on a one-man rush. Using the Rangers defender as a partial screen, Stevenson snapped a quick shot from the slot that handcuffed Rangers goalie Kimble, sneaking through before Kimble could react. The early strike gave the Wings a surge of confidence.

But the Rangers responded with a hard-working shift deep in the offensive zone. A strong forecheck forced a turnover, and Mike Wilbore collected the puck and threaded a perfect pass into the crease. Matt Michael, positioned right on the doorstep, tapped it home to even the score — a textbook forecheck-and-finish sequence.

The Red Wings answered back soon after. Paul Bortussi spotted Jeff Hohendorf streaking through the neutral zone and delivered a perfectly weighted breakaway pass. Hohendorf pulled away from coverage and buried a clean shot past Kimble, restoring the Red Wings’ advantage.

But the Rangers refused to go quietly. Once again it was Matt Michael, this time creating his own magic on a solo rush. He weaved through the Wings’ defenseman with a slick dangle, cut into the slot, and fired a far-side shot that slipped past fill-in goalie Andrew Stam. Michael’s second of the period tied the game 2–2 and capped an entertaining opening frame.

2nd Period – Red Wings Take Control

The second period belonged entirely to the Red Wings, who found another gear offensively and overwhelmed the Rangers with sustained pressure.

They regained the lead when Chris Thompson corralled the puck along the side boards, stepped into open space, and executed a smooth inside-out dangle before ripping a glove-side snipe past Kimble. A highlight-reel release put the Wings up 3–2.

Moments later, Dan Alonzi extended the lead on a broken play that turned fortunate. Jumping into a 2-on-1 rush, Alonzi tried to feed a cross-ice pass, but the defender got a piece of it. The puck bounced straight back to Alonzi, who found himself staring at an empty cage after Kimble had committed hard to the expected pass. He calmly tapped it in for a 4–2 advantage.

The period’s final blow came off a faceoff. After a clean offensive-zone draw win, Gary Schneider fired a shot toward the net. With bodies converging, Brad Sandbrook battled his way inside, found the loose puck, and jammed it home. A pure net-front grinder’s goal gave the Red Wings a commanding 5–2 lead.

Final Thoughts

With their regular starting goaltender Dave Harris unavailable, the Red Wings turned to Andrew Stam, who had a rocky first period but stabilized as the team tightened its defensive structure in front of him. Once the Wings established their second-period momentum, Stam faced less chaos and delivered the solid, steady presence they needed to close out the game.

The Rangers showed flashes — especially through Matt Michael’s impressive first-period heroics — but ultimately could not match the Red Wings’ depth, transition game, and heavy second-period push.

The Red Wings skated away with a well-earned victory, powered by a balanced offensive attack and strong adaptability despite missing their usual starter between the pipes.

⭐ Three Stars of the Game

⭐ 1st Star – Andrew Stam (RED)

Stopped 19 of 21 shots including multiple big saves

⭐ 2nd Star – Matt Michael (RAN)

Scored 2 goals for the Rangers and was one of the lone bright spots on the team

⭐ 3rd Star – Chris Thompson (RED)

Game winning goal off a great shot from a primarly defensive defenceman

   

   Game-Summary-Predators-vs-Red-Wings-01-15-26.xlsx  

 

Wedge Erupts for Five as Predators Overwhelm Red Wings at Chesswood

The league-leading Predators delivered a statement performance on Thursday afternoon, dismantling the fourth-place Red Wings by an 7-3 final at Chesswood Arena.

In a game that featured pace, physical play, and brief pushback from the Red Wings, it ultimately became the Graeme Wedge show, as the Predators’ sniper authored one of the most dominant individual performances in OHHL history.

Fast Start Sets the Tone

The Predators wasted little time establishing control, opening the scoring at 13:39 of the first period when Graeme Wedge finished a textbook setup from Mark Pitton, who slipped the puck from behind the net to Wedge in front. Wedge wasted no time, hammering a one-timer glove side past substitute goaltender Walker Jordan.

Just over two minutes later, the Predators doubled their lead. Kevin Bros fired a low shot toward the crease that Greg Gowan expertly tipped, changing the angle enough to fool Jordan at 11:19.

The Red Wings showed resilience, answering back at 10:49. Dan Alonzi powered through a one-man effort off the draw, fired an initial shot, collected his own rebound, and found Rob Brewer in the slot. Brewer made no mistake, snapping a high-blocker finish to cut the deficit to one.

That momentum was short-lived.

At 3:49, Wedge struck again, pouncing on a loose rebound at the top of the crease and firing home his second of the period, restoring a two-goal Predators lead heading into intermission.

Second Period Turns Historic

The Red Wings once again pushed back early in the second. At 17:24, a chaotic net-front scrum saw Dan Alonzi sneak a backhand through the legs of Predators goaltender Andrew Stam, narrowing the score to 3–2 and briefly injecting life into the contest.

From there, it was all Predators—and all Wedge.

Sustained offensive pressure paid off at 14:17, when a deflected pass from Greg Gowan found Wedge wide open on the far side. The Predators winger buried it cleanly to complete the hat trick.

Less than six minutes later, Austin Lorett sprang Gowan on a breakaway at 8:33. Jordan made the initial save, but the rebound landed directly on Wedge’s stick, and the league’s hottest scorer calmly tucked away his fourth goal of the night.

Then came the exclamation point.

At 7:07, following two outstanding saves by Stam at the opposite end, the puck was launched down the ice. Gowan had time and space to survey the play before sending Wedge in alone once more. Wedge finished for his fifth goal of the game, capping what would have been a natural hat trick—if he hadn’t already scored twice earlier.

The Predators weren’t finished. At 2:08, Gowan jumped on another rebound in tight, slamming home his second goal of the game and sixth point of the night, extending the lead to 7–2.

The Red Wings grabbed one late consolation marker at 1:20, when Brewer stepped in from the point after a failed Predators clear and fired through traffic past a screened Stam for his second of the game.

Stars Shine Bright

There was no debate in the three-star selections.

⭐ First Star – Graeme Wedge (Predators)

Wedge finished with five goals and one assist, becoming just the 13th player in OHHL history to score five goals in a single game. He added a game-high +7 rating and an astonishing 11 shots on goal, dominating every shift.

⭐ Second Star – Greg Gowan (Predators)

Gowan was everywhere, recording two goals and four assists, a +6 rating, and seven shots, driving play and creating offense at will.

⭐ Third Star – Austin Lorett (Predators)

While he finished with “just” two assists, Lorett’s influence was undeniable. The Predators’ offensive quarterback logged a +6 rating, fired seven shots, and controlled the game at both ends of the ice.

Notes & Context

•  The Red Wings were without regular goaltender Dave Harris, with Walker Jordan stepping in.

•  Wings also added Rob Brewer and Tim Brown as substitutes, both making noticeable impacts.

•  The Predators dressed Tom Fisher as a substitute, who chipped in with a secondary assist during the offensive outburst.

•  With the win, the Predators improved to 12-2-1, reinforcing their position atop the OHHL standings.

Final Word

This one will be remembered less as a matchup between first and fourth place, and more as a historic offensive night. Against a competitive Red Wings side, the Predators showcased their depth, structure, and star power—while Graeme Wedge etched his name into league history with a performance for the ages.

   

Predators Capitalize, Down Canucks 5–3

The Predators skated away with a 5–3 win over the Canucks despite being outshot 29–20, leaning on opportunistic scoring and steady goaltending from Andrew Stam.

Canucks controlled much of the play, winning the faceoff battle 19–12 and applying sustained pressure for long stretches. However, the Predators made the most of its chances, converting efficiently and answering whenever the Canucks threatened to swing momentum.

The Predators were led offensively by Austin Lorett, who recorded two goals and consistently found open ice in high-danger areas. Mark Pitton and Liam Rhora each added a goal and an assist, while Frank Piacentini rounded out the scoring.

For the Canucks, goals from Bobby Chapman, Erich Hunsinger, and Riku Pekkola kept the game within reach. Alex Gulliver paced the Canucks with two assists, while Steve Hibrant and Tyler Daniel chipped in helpers.

Between the pipes, Andrew Stam turned aside 26 of 29 shots, weathering extended Canucks pressure to seal the win. Their inability to convert volume into goals proved costly as the Predators closed the door late.

⭐ Three Stars of the Game

⭐ 1st Star – Austin Lorett (PRE)

2 goals, constant offensive threat, game-breaking finisher.

⭐ 2nd Star – Andrew Stam (PRE)

26 saves on 29 shots, calm and reliable under pressure.

⭐ 3rd Star – Alex Gulliver (CAN)

2 assists, primary driver of Canucks offense.

   Game-Summary-Predators-vs-St-Pats-01-22-26.xlsx  

 

Predators Dominate Early, Cruise Past St. Pats 5–1

Thursday, January 22, 2026 – 4:45pm | Chesswood Arena

The first-place Predators (12-2-1) wasted absolutely no time asserting themselves Thursday afternoon, jumping out to a three-goal lead in the opening six minutes and never looking back in a convincing 5–1 win over the third-place St. Pats (9-5-1).

From the opening draw, the Predators looked locked in — and it showed immediately.

First Period – Blink and You Miss It

Just a couple minutes into the game (20:01 remaining), Greg Gowan (#9) sets the tone. Off a clean faceoff win, the puck moved quickly from Frank Piacentini to Aaron Fair, who spotted Gowan streaking behind the defence. Gowan slipped the puck five-hole on Jeff Smith, giving the Predators a shocking 1–0 lead before the St. Pats could settle in.

The pressure didn’t stop there.

At 19:07, a failed one-timer attempt at the blue line led to a turnover, and Austin Lorett (#77) capitalized by springing Liam Rhora (#95) on a breakaway. Rhora showed soft hands, beating Smith with a slick backhand deke to make it 2–0.

Less than three minutes later (16:20), Gowan struck again. Chipping the puck past the defender, he created a partial breakaway and ripped a low blocker-side shot past Smith to make it 3–0 Predators, all within the first six minutes of play.

Second Period – Skill Takes Over

Any hope of a St. Pats comeback was extinguished early in the second.

At 20:38, Frank Piacentini (#27) put on a highlight-reel performance, weaving through Ryan Rasphakdy, Robin Doolittle, Louie Grafos, and Rob Brewer before battling past Steve Fox at the net. The solo effort pushed the lead to 4–0 and had the bench buzzing.

The Predators kept rolling, and at 7:05, Liam Rhora struck again. Picking up the puck in the neutral zone, Rhora walked around Brewer with ease and, facing minimal back pressure, executed his trademark backhand deke for his second of the night and a commanding 5–0 lead.

Late Push Spoils the Shutout

With just over a minute remaining and their goalie pulled, the St. Pats finally found the back of the net at 0:32. Tom Fisher (#17) held the line and fired a shot that popped into the air. Steve Fox (#22) knocked it down and took a whack, Stam made the first save but Peter Grafos (#10) buries the loose puck to break Andrew Stam’s shutout bid.

It would be the only blemish on an otherwise stellar afternoon for the Predators netminder.

 

Stars of the Game

⭐ 1st Star – Andrew Stam (#1, Predators)

Stopped all but one shot, finishing with a .962 save percentage and calmly shutting the door during extended St. Pats pressure.

⭐ 2nd Star – Liam Rhora (#95, Predators)

Two goals, multiple great chances, and dominance at the dot, winning 70% of his faceoffs.

⭐ 3rd Star – Greg Gowan (#9, Predators)

Two goals in the opening period and strong two-way play, winning 58% of his faceoffs.

 

Final Word

 

This one was effectively over before it began. The Predators’ explosive start, elite individual skill, and structured defensive play overwhelmed the St. Pats, further cementing their place atop the standings. With contributions up and down the lineup — and Stam anchoring things from the crease — the Predators continue to look every bit like the team to beat.

   

   

Game of the Week Preview

Red Wings vs. St. Pats

📍 Chesswood Arena

🕠 5:45 PM – Thursday January 29, 2026

Two tightly packed teams in the standings square off tomorrow night at Chesswood Arena as the 4th-place Red Wings (6-9-1) visit the 3rd-place St. Pats (9-6-1) in a matchup that has already delivered fireworks this season.

Season Series: St. Pats Lead 2–1

• Oct 2: Red Wings 7, St. Pats 2
• Nov 6: St. Pats 8, Red Wings 5
• Dec 11: St. Pats 7, Red Wings 5
  
  

After the Red Wings dominated the opener, the St. Pats have answered back with two high-scoring wins, setting the stage for a pivotal rubber-match atmosphere.

 

Key Matchups to Watch

 

Alonzi + Stevens – Star Power Up Front

The Red Wings are powered by Dan Alonzi (#22), who enters the game as the league’s leading scorer with 35 points. Alonzi has been the engine behind the Red Wings offense and will be leaned on heavily to generate chances against a structured St. Pats defense.

Alongside him is Brett Stevens (#71), currently 4th in league scoring with 30 points. Stevens’ ability to finish in tight and push the pace makes him a constant threat, especially in transition.

 

Defence First: Brewer & Doolittle

The St. Pats counter with a defense-oriented pairing built for games like this.

• Robin Doolittle (#7) anchors the middle at center, known for shutting down top lines and winning key draws.
• Brewer (#16) patrols the blue line, bringing physicality and composure while keeping plays in front of him.

Together, they’ll be tasked with slowing the Wings high-octane attack and forcing the Red Wings to earn every inch of ice.

 

By the Numbers

St. Pats (3rd Place)

• Record: 9-6-1
• Goals For / Against: 68 GF / 67 GA
• Last 5: 3-1-1
  
  

Red Wings (4th Place)

• Record: 6-9-1
• Goals For / Against: 78 GF / 90 GA
• Last 5: 2-2-1
  
  

Red Wings offense can score with anyone, but defensive lapses have hurt them all season. Meanwhile, the St. Pats have quietly built consistency, relying on structure and timely scoring.

What to Expect

Expect a fast, physical, playoff-style game despite it being a regular-season matchup. The Red Wings will look to push tempo early, while the St. Pats aim to grind the game down, win battles, and frustrate the Wings’ top scorers.

With the standings tight and pride already on the line from earlier meetings, this one has all the makings of a true Game of the Week.

🕠 Puck drops at 5:45 PM at Chesswood Arena.

 

 

Red Wings vs St. Pats Boxscore/Game Summary

   

ST. PATS OUTGUN RED WINGS IN WILD 8–5 SHOOTOUT AS GRAFOS BROTHERS STEAL THE SHOW

 

In a game that felt more like playoff chaos than late-season jockeying, the St. Pats used a relentless offensive surge to pull away from the Red Wings, earning an 8–5 victory Thursday night in Ontario Hydro Hockey League (OHHL) action.

The win moves the St. Pats (9-6-1) further ahead of the Red Wings (6-9-1) in the standings as both clubs continue to battle before playoffs with just three games remaining in the 20-game season.

 

🔥 First Period: End-to-End Chaos

The Red Wings struck first just 3:19 into the contest when Adam Stevenson (#88) buried a perfect feed from Gary Schneider to open the scoring. (1-0 Red Wings) But momentum barely lasted a shift.

Moments later, Peter Grafos (#10) answered in highlight-reel fashion, stripping Schneider in the corner before going coast-to-coast and finishing with a slick forehand deke that left Red Wings goaltender Dave Harris frozen. (Tied 1-1)

The Wings responded quickly. Brett Stevens (#71) restored the lead on a tap-in after the St. Pats were caught pinching (2-1 Red Wings), then Jeff Hohendorf (#19) made it 3–1 by chipping the puck past the defence and finishing on the backhand. (3-1 Red Wings)

From there, the ice tilted hard.

Marc Villet (#22) converted a rebound after a strong rush by Louie Grafos (3-2 Red Wings), and Robin Doolittle (#7) tied the game with a clean breakaway finish off a feed from Steve Fox. (Tied 3-3) The St. Pats completed the comeback late in the frame when Louie Grafos (#34) ripped a shot through traffic to give the Pats their first lead. (4-3 St. Pats)

 

⚔️ Second Period: Grafos Takes Over

The Red Wings briefly clawed back into it early in the second. Another defensive breakdown allowed Adam Stevenson to notch his second of the night (Tied 4-4), and shortly after, Brett Stevens cleaned up a rebound to put the Wings back on top. (5-4 Red Wings)

That lead lasted less than two minutes.

Peter Grafos completely took over the game from that point on.

After receiving a pass from his brother Louie, Peter danced through defenders, broke ankles, and went bar-down glove side to tie the game (Tied 5-5). Moments later, a missed assignment behind the Red Wings net led to Rick Descary (#6) sniping from the slot to give the St. Pats the lead. (6-5 St. Pats)

The floodgates were officially open.

Peter Grafos added his third of the night by drifting into the slot unchecked and beating Harris low blocker (7-5 St. Pats), and Louie Grafos capped the offensive explosion with a solo rush, splitting the defence and finishing with a forehand deke. (8-5 St. Pats)

 

🧨 Late Drama

Tempers flared late in the game when Jeff Hohendorf took an unsportsmanlike penalty after a blocked slapshot sparked a confrontation with Jon Evangelista. Hohendorf’s aggressive stick lift sent Evangelista’s stick sailing over the glass, followed by a heated exchange with the St. Pats bench.

Despite the fireworks, the score held, and the St. Pats closed out the game without further damage.

 

🧤 Goaltending & Numbers

• Dave Harris (Red Wings): 26 saves on 34 shots (.765 SV%)
• Jeff Smith (St. Pats): 13 saves on 18 shots (.722 SV%)

While neither goaltender had their best night, the St. Pats’ ability to generate sustained pressure and capitalize on defensive miscues proved decisive.

 

⭐ Three Stars

1. ⭐ Peter Grafos (St. Pats) — 3G, 1A, dominant puck control, 10/15 on faceoffs
2. ⭐⭐ Louie Grafos (St. Pats) — 2G, 2A, constant offensive threat (7 shots)
3. ⭐⭐⭐ Rob Brewer (St. Pats) — 3A, +5 rating, steady two-way presence
   

🏒 Final Word

With offence coming in waves and the Grafos brothers leading the charge, the St. Pats sent a clear message heading into the final stretch of the OHHL season: they’re dangerous, confident, and peaking at the right time.

 

For the Red Wings, defensive lapses and missed assignments proved too costly — and with time running out, answers will need to come quickly.

   

🏒 OHHL GAME OF THE WEEK PREVIEW

Leafs vs. Red Wings

📍 Chesswood Arena | 🕡 Thursday, 6:45 PM

 

Two teams sitting back-to-back in the standings collide Thursday night as the 5th-place Leafs (5-12-0) visit the 4th-place Red Wings (6-10-1) in what has quietly become one of the most entertaining season series in the league.

Despite their records, offense has never been an issue when these two meet.

 

🔢 Season Series (Red Wings lead 2–1)

• Oct 9: Red Wings 8, Leafs 3
• Nov 13: Leafs 7, Red Wings 3
• Dec 18: Red Wings 10, Leafs 7

That’s 35 total goals in three games — nearly 12 goals per matchup — and there’s little reason to expect anything different this time around.

 

🔴 RED WINGS STORYLINES

The Wings enter the night holding a slim edge in the standings, but their recent form has been better than usual (2-2-1 in their last five). When they’re clicking offensively, they can overwhelm anyone.

• Dan Alonzi (#22, C) is having a monster season, sitting 2nd in league scoring with 35 points. He’s the engine of the Wings’ attack and has torched the Leafs multiple times this year.
• Brett Stevens (#71, RW) is right behind him, tied for 3rd in league scoring (32 points), giving the Wings one of the most dangerous 1-2 punches in the league.
• Dave Harris (#1, G) has shouldered a heavy workload. His 6.17 GAA and 4-8-0 record reflect a season where he’s faced constant pressure — but he’s already beaten the Leafs twice this year and won’t be intimidated by the stage.

If the Wings can tighten up defensively and give Harris early support, they’ll like their chances.

 

🔵 LEAFS STORYLINES

The Leafs are quietly surging, coming in 3-2-0 over their last five, and have already proven they can blow the doors off this Red Wings squad.

• Adam DiStefano (tied 3rd in league scoring, 32 points) continues to lead the Leafs’ offense.
• Justin Honkawa (9th overall, 27 points) adds another layer of firepower, making the Leafs far from a one-line team.
• The big question? Goaltending.  Neither of the Leafs goaltenders will be in attendance Thursday.
  
• Ken Kirby (2-11-0, 7.69 GAA)
• Walker Jordan (3-0-0, 3.67 GAA)

The Leafs will turn to a substitute goaltender, meaning defensive discipline from Julian Della Vedova (#16), Mike Borsch (#22), and Tim Agar (#23) will be absolutely critical.

If the Leafs can protect the middle of the ice and get even average goaltending, their recent momentum could be the difference.

 

🔥 WHAT TO WATCH

• Can the Leafs’ substitute goalie survive the early Red Wings push?
• Will Alonzi & Stevens continue their scoring tear?
• Does this rivalry deliver another high-octane, double-digit goal night?

 

🧮 FINAL SCORE PREDICTION

 

Red Wings 7 — Leafs 5

 

Why:

• Dan Alonzi continues his scoring tear (multi-point night)
• Brett Stevens chips in with at least one big goal
• Leafs keep it close behind DiStefano/Honkawa pressure
• Empty-netter seals it late

 

⭐ THREE STARS (Projected)

1. Dan Alonzi (Red Wings) – 2G, 1A
2. Brett Stevens (Red Wings) – 1G, 2A
3. Adam DiStefano (Leafs) – 2G

Buckle up. This one has fireworks written all over it.

Leafs vs Red Wings Boxscore/Game Summary

   

Leafs, Red Wings Settle for Wild 4–4 Draw After Late Controversy

In a matchup featuring two teams desperate to shift momentum, the Leafs and Red Wings played to a thrilling—and contentious—4–4 draw in Ontario Hydro Hockey League action last night.

The 4th-place Red Wings (6-10-1) entered the contest winless in three, while the 5th-place Leafs (5-12) were riding a modest two-game heater. Both clubs were forced to improvise in goal, with the Red Wings turning to Andrew Stam and the Leafs countering with Jordan DaCosta. The Wings were also short a skater, bringing in Natalie Schneider to line up alongside her father, Gary, adding fourth family duo to their lineup.

 

First Period: Fireworks Early

The Leafs wasted no time announcing their presence. Just minutes into the game, #13 Gianluca Conicella put the building on notice with a highlight-reel effort—dragging the puck around Brett Stevens before snapping a low-blocker snipe past Stammer to make it 1–0 Leafs.

The Red Wings answered late in the period. With 5:59 remaining, #19 Jeff Hohendorf stayed with a loose puck, collected his own rebound, and banked it in off Jordie DaCosta to knot the game at 1–1 heading into the break.

 

Second Period: Momentum Swings and the Dave Matus Show

The Red Wings grabbed its first lead when #22 Dan Alonzi finished off a gorgeous give-and-go with #19 Jeff Hohendorf, falling down as he snapped a glove-side shot home to make it 2–1.

The Leafs responded quickly. At 16:43, #22 Mike Borsch wired a high-blocker shot off a perfect feed from #91 Adam DiStefano, tying the game 2–2.

The Wings struck again at 12:03, and once again it was #22 Dan Alonzi. Splitting the defence, he grabbed his own rebound and buried his second of the night to restore the Wings lead at 3–2.

Then the game tilted.

With 11:07 remaining, Dave Matus put on a solo clinic—taking the puck in his own zone, going end-to-end, and finishing with a silky backhand deke to tie the game 3–3.

Seconds later, right off the ensuing draw, Matus struck again. Chipping the puck past a defender, he snapped a five-hole snipe on Stam to give the Leafs their first lead since the opening minutes, 4–3.

 

Late Drama and a Controversial Finish

With 4:03 left, the Leafs took a costly too-many-men penalty as DiStefano jumped early before Matus could get off. In a show of accountability, Matus volunteered to serve the penalty.

The final minute delivered pure chaos.

With roughly 30 seconds remaining, a deflected puck clearly struck the roof mesh—an automatic stoppage that never came. Referee Bruce allowed play to continue, and the Red Wings capitalized immediately. #71 Brett Stevens found Dan Alonzi alone in the slot, and Alonzi buried the tying goal just before the buzzer, completing the hat trick and sealing a 4–4 draw.

The Leafs players erupted in protest, but the goal stood.

 

By the Numbers 

Shots

• Red Wings: 31
• Leafs: 27

Faceoffs

• Red Wings: 14
• Leafs: 21

Goaltenders

• Jordan DaCosta (Leafs): 4 GAA, 27 saves on 31 shots (.871 SV%)
• Andrew Stam (Red Wings): 4 GAA, 23 saves on 27 shots (.852 SV%)

Faceoff Leaders

• Leafs: Adam DiStefano (11/16), Dave Matus (10/19)
• Red Wings: Dan Alonzi (8/19), Adam Stevenson (6/16)

Shot Leaders

• Leafs: Gianluca Conicella (9), Adam DiStefano (5)
• Red Wings: Jeff Hohendorf (10), Dan Alonzi (8)

Plus / Minus

• Leafs: Mike Borsch +2, Rob Sarmiento +2, Justin Honkawa −3
• Red Wings: Dan Alonzi +2, Jeff Hohendorf +2, Natalie Schneider −2

Points

• Red Wings: Dan Alonzi (3G, 1A), Jeff Hohendorf (1G, 2A)
• Leafs: Dave Matus (2G), Gianluca Conicella (1G, 1A)

 

Final Word

 

A night that had everything—highlight goals, family storylines, late penalties, and a controversial non-call—ended with both teams walking away frustrated but entertained. The Leafs showed resilience and star power, while the Red Wings leaned on Alonzi’s monster performance to snap their skid… even if the tying goal will be debated around the OHHL for a long time.

 

Three Stars of the Game

1st Star - (Red Wings) Dan Alonzi - 3 Goals, 1 Assist
2nd Star - (Leafs) Dave Matus - 2 Goals
3rd Star - (Red Wings) Jeff Hohendorf - 1 Goal, 2 Assists

   

🏒 OHHL Game of the Week Preview

Thursday, February 12 • 4:45 PM • Chesswood Arena

The Ontario Hydro Hockey League serves up a classic David vs. Goliath on Thursday afternoon as the 5th-place Leafs (5-12-1) try to keep their heater alive against the 1st-place Predators (15-2-1) at Chesswood Arena.

 

📊 By the Numbers

• Leafs: 82 GF • 117 GA
• Predators: 100 GF • 43 GA

On paper, this matchup screams Predators dominance—league-best defense, elite goaltending, and depth scoring everywhere. But hockey isn’t played on spreadsheets, and the Leafs are quietly trending up at the right time.

 

🔥 Recent Form

• Leafs: Undefeated in their last 3 games, sporting a 3-1-1 record over their last five
• Predators: Winners of 4 straight, 4-1 in their last five

Momentum meets momentum. Someone’s streak is ending.

 

🍁 Leafs to Watch

• Adam DiStefano — 13 GP | 17 G | 16 A | 33 P
  The engine. When he’s flying, the Leafs believe.
• Gianluca Conicella — 12 GP | 11 G | 17 A | 28 P
  Creative, slippery, and dangerous every shift.
• Justin Honkawa — 16 GP | 9 G | 18 A | 27 P
  Quietly one of the league’s most consistent producers.

 

🟠 Predators Power Core

• Austin Lorett — 17 GP | 14 G | 14 A | 28 P
  Big-moment scorer who sets the tone early.
• Greg Gowan — 13 GP | 12 G | 16 A | 28 P
  Clinical finisher with elite vision.
• Liam Rhora — 16 GP | 12 G | 12 A | 24 P
  Relentless pace and playoff-style edge.

 

🥅 Goaltending Matchup

• Predators: Andrew Stam — 15-2-1, 2.33 GAA, 1 SO
  The league’s ultimate safety net.
• Leafs: Walker Jordan — 3-0-0, 3.67 GAA
  Thrown straight into the fire with Ken Kirby still on IR.  

Jordan has been perfect in limited action—despite defeating the Predators 6-4 in their last meeting this will be a playoff style test for Walker.

 

📜 Season Series

• Oct 16: Predators win 8–1
• Nov 20: Predators win 8–3
• Jan 8: Leafs win 6–4

That January upset looms large. The Leafs know they can crack this code.

 

🔮 Prediction

Expect a fast start from the Predators and a desperate, punch-back response from the Leafs. Walker Jordan will need to be sharp early, while DiStefano’s line must convert on limited chances.

 

Game of the Week Pick:

Predators 5 — Leafs 3

 

But don’t blink—if the Leafs strike first, Chesswood could get real uncomfortable for the league leaders.

 

👀 Upset watch is officially ON.

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Predators Hold Off Short-Benched Leafs in 6–4 Track Meet

Final: Predators 6 – Leafs 4

The first-place Predators (15-2-1) showed why they sit atop the standings, but not before getting a serious scare from a short-staffed Leafs squad (5-12-1) that refused to quit.

Despite dressing just eight skaters and calling in reinforcements — Louie Grafos (St. Pats) and Brett Stevens (Red Wings) — the Leafs pushed the league’s top team to the brink in a wild, momentum-swinging affair.

 

First Period – Preds Capitalize Early

The opening five minutes featured just three shots total, but the calm didn’t last long.

At 17:44, Jason Priest opened the scoring after picking off a bad outlet from Mike Borsch and sniping blocker side past Walker Jordan. The Predators’ forecheck had teeth early — and they made it count.

The Leafs answered at 14:45. A crisp breakout from Julian Della Vedova sent Gianluca Conicella flying through the neutral zone. Conicella patiently dropped the puck to Louie Grafos, who wired it through traffic to tie the game 1–1.

But from there, the Predators’ depth took over.

• Kevin Rolston (11:36) buried a rebound after a Greg Gowan shot created chaos.
• Frank Piacentini (6:56) blasted a top-corner rocket after another Gowan setup.
• Aaron Fair (3:16) tucked home a wraparound after a scrum behind the net.

After a relatively quiet start, the floodgates opened — and the Predators skated into the intermission with a commanding 4–1 lead.

 

Second Period – Grafos Goes Supernova

The Predators extended their lead to 5–1 at 13:14 when Liam Rhora one-handed home a loose puck off a Jason Priest point shot.

At that point, it looked academic.

It wasn’t.

Louie Grafos took over the game.

• 10:24 – Grafos sprung Mike Borsch on a stretch pass, and Borsch slipped one five-hole to cut the lead.
• 9:12 – Grafos finished off a neutral-zone rush from Conicella and Tim Agar, beating Andrew Stam again five-hole.
• 2:47 – Grafos went end-to-end, deked to the forehand and buried his third of the night.

In between, Liam Rhora hammered home his second of the period at 6:06 — on a controversial no-call offside — restoring the Predators’ breathing room.

But make no mistake: the second period belonged to Grafos.

The emergency substitute finished with 3 goals and 1 assist, a +2 rating, won 10 of 15 faceoffs, and somehow shot a perfect 100% conversion rate on his chances. A heroic performance in a losing effort.

 

By the Numbers

Shots:

• Predators: 29
• Leafs: 17

Liam Rhora led all shooters with 9 shots, constantly testing Jordan.

Goaltending:

• Walker Jordan (Leafs): 23 saves on 29 shots (.793)
• Andrew Stam (Predators): 13 saves on 17 shots (.765)

Neither goalie will frame this one, but Jordan faced sustained pressure throughout.

Faceoffs:

The Leafs quietly dominated the dot:

• Justin Honkawa: 12/18 (66.7%)
• Louie Grafos: 10/15 (66.7%)

The Predators struggled in the circle, with Kevin Bros going just 2 for 11 (18%).

 

Top Performers

Leafs

• Louie Grafos: 3G, 1A, +2
• Gianluca Conicella: 2A
• Mike Borsch: 1G

Predators

• Liam Rhora: 2G, 1A, 9 shots
• Jason Priest: 1G, 2A, +4
• Kevin Rolston: 1G, 1A

Jason Priest’s +4 rating stood out — he was on the ice for four Predators goals and drove play from the back end.

 

The Big Picture

Coming in, the Leafs had momentum (3-1-1 in their last five, unbeaten in three), but the league-leading Predators — winners of four straight — flexed their offensive depth early and survived the late push.

For the Leafs, there’s something to build on. Down multiple goals, short on bodies, they didn’t fold. Grafos’ breakout performance and strong puck movement in transition showed flashes of what this team can be with Adam DiStefano back in the lineup.

For the Predators, it’s another two points — but perhaps a reminder that even first place can get uncomfortable in a hurry.

 

3 Stars of the Game 

⭐ 1st Star: Louie Grafos (Leafs)

3G, 1A, +2, 10/15 faceoffs

⭐⭐ 2nd Star: Jason Priest (Predators)

1G, 2A, +4

⭐⭐⭐ 3rd Star: Liam Rhora (Predators)

2G, 1A, 9 shots

 

The Predators stay hot.

 

The Leafs prove they won’t go quietly.