It’s a Family Day edition of OHL Power Rankings!
Who’s up:
Windsor Spitfires – up one spot to #2 this week
The Spitfires wrapped up seven straight at home with an 8-2 win over Sarnia on Thursday before falling to the Saginaw Spirit 3-2 in overtime on Friday as Michael Misa emerged as the hero. Windsor is home to Owen Sound on Family Day before a West Division three-in-three next weekend, taking on Sarnia, Flint and Saginaw.
Brantford Bulldogs – up two spots to #3 this week
The high-scoring Bulldogs are up to third on the list following back-to-back wins over the Niagara IceDogs. Friday’s hat-trick frenzy saw Nick Lardis, Marek Vanacker and Cole Brown all come away with three goals in a 10-1 outcome. Sunday’s affair in St. Catharines was closer as Brown earned first star honours with two goals and an assist in a 5-4 final. Lardis has scored a league-leading 56 goals and carries a 15-game goal-scoring streak into Monday.
Saginaw Spirit – up two spots to #5 this week
The Spirit are surging of late, defeating Sault Ste. Marie, Windsor and Sudbury last week. San Jose Sharks prospect Igor Chernyshov remains one of the hottest shooters in the league with nine points (3-6–9) in three games last week. Michael Misa made Spirit history on Saturday, scoring his 48th, 49th and 50th goals of the season, hitting the half-century mark in his 50th game. Misa carries a 19-game point streak into Sunday.
Erie Otters – up one spot to #9 this week
The Otters beat the Niagara IceDogs in a shootout before splitting decisions in Owen Sound under new head coach Kris Mallette. The Otters lost captain Carey Terrance to injury on the trip, but managed to beat the Bears on Saturday courtesy two goals from Sam Alfano that set the stage for a Malcolm Spence OT winner.
Owen Sound Attack – up one spot to #10 this week
The Attack beat the Erie Otters 8-5 on Friday, with rookie Pierce Mbuyi scoring three goals along with two helpers. Landen Hookey also scored a hat-trick. Owen Sound picked up a point in the back end of the back-to-back, falling 4-3 in overtime on Saturday. The Attack enter Family Day trailing the Soo Greyhounds by one point for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, holding a game in hand.
Brampton Steelheads – up three spots to #11 this week
The Trout won two-of-three on the road, beating Sudbury 7-3, losing in North Bay 4-2 and defeating Oshawa 4-2. Brampton has started to figure things out of late as they host Niagara on Family Day leading into matchups against Oshawa and London later this week.
North Bay Battalion – up two spots to #15 this week
The Troops had themselves a nice week, defeating divisional foes Brampton and Barrie to stay in the thick of things for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The boys in green beat their former teammates Anthony Romani, Dalyn Wakley and Owen Van Steensel in Barrie on Saturday as Lirim Amidovski scored the deciding marker in the 10th round of the shootout.
Ottawa 67’s – up one spot to #16 this week
The Barber Poles took back-to-back wins over Ottawa before falling to the Kitchener Rangers 5-1 on Sunday. The 67’s make their return to the power rankings for the first time since January 6. Top scorer Luca Pinelli sits one goal shy of 30 on the season.
Who’s down:
Kitchener Rangers – down two spots to #4 this week
The Blueshirts suffered back-to-back losses to begin the week, falling to Oshawa at home on Tuesday before dropping a 4-2 decision on Friday in Kingston. Cameron Reid, Jack Pridham and Adrian Misaljevic all had a goal and an assist in Sunday’s 5-1 win over Ottawa.
Barrie Colts – down two spots to #6 this week
Barrie dropped an 8-4 decision at home to London on Thursday and lost to some familiar faces on Saturday as the North Bay Battalion took a 5-4 shootout win. Barrie leads the Central Division by a nine-point cushion over Niagara and will visit the Kingston Frontenacs on Tuesday night, a game that was originally scheduled for Family Day.
Oshawa Generals – down one spot to #7 this week
The Gennies beat the Kitchener Rangers 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday, topped the Guelph Storm 7-5 thanks to a Beckett Sennecke hat-trick on Friday, and lost 4-2 at home to Brampton on Saturday. Jacob Oster enters a Family Day matchup at home to Erie one win shy of 70 career wins in a Generals uniform.
Niagara IceDogs – down three spots to #12 this week
The IceDogs are heading into the wrong direction, having lost seven in a row. The past week’s action included a 2-1 shootout loss to Erie, a 10-1 drubbing at the hands of the Brantford Bulldogs before making things more interesting on Sunday, losing to the Bulldogs 5-4. Ryan Roobroeck didn’t play either of Niagara’s past two games, and starting netminder Owen Flores left Sunday’s game with an injury. The IceDogs try and turn things around on Monday in Brampton.
Sudbury Wolves – down one spot to #13 this week
The Wolves won one of their three outings last week, defeating the Flint Firebirds 3-2 on the road Friday night while also suffering losses to Brampton and Saginaw that saw them surrender a combined 15 goals. The Wolves visit the Guelph Storm on Monday trailing sixth place Brampton by one point in the Eastern Conference.
Flint Firebirds – down one spot to #14 this week
The Firebirds were limited to just one game last week after Saturday’s matchup with the Guelph Storm was postponed due to weather. The ‘Birds lost their one encounter by a score of 3-2 against visiting Sudbury. The 22-25-2-3 Firebirds currently hold down sixth place in the Western Conference.
Peterborough Petes – down two spots and off the list this week
Peterborough’s playoff aspirations took a big hit in back-to-back losses to the Ottawa 67’s, but to their credit, the Petes bounced back to defeat the Kingston Frontenacs 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday. The Petes lost rookie standout Colin Fitzgerald to an injury on Friday and he didn’t play the rest of the weekend.
Sarnia Sting – down one spot and off the list this week
The Sting went 0-3 last week, losing to Guelph, Windsor and Sault Ste. Marie. Having dropped five in a row, Sarnia carries an 18-24-4-7 record into a Monday matchup at home to Saginaw.
