It was a bittersweet Sunday afternoon for the Guelph Storm. They welcomed back Robby Fabbri to the lineup after he missed about eight weeks with an ankle injury sustained at the World Junior Championship. They defeated the Kitchener Rangers 3-1, registering 31 shots on veteran goaltender Jake Paterson. Finally, they clinched a playoff spot for the 23rd consecutive season. But they also bid farewell to one of their own.
Veteran defenceman Zac Leslie laced them up for the last time in a maroon uniform. Leslie is scheduled to have season-ended shoulder surgery, and therefore won’t be able to join his team in the post-season.
Leslie played four seasons with the Storm, and notably played in the Memorial Cup with the team last May.
The Storm wasn’t the only team to secure its place in the post-season. The Niagara IceDogs sealed the deal with a 5-2 victory over the North Bay Battalion on Saturday night.
Disciplinary action
There were a few suspensions to come out of the OHL over the course of the past week. Here’s a bit of a lowdown:
Justin Brack, LW, Owen Sound Attack Suspended for what has been reviewed as a check to the head stemming from a Feb. 25 game against the Barrie Colts
Trevor Murphy, D, Windsor Spitfires Currently leads the team in points. He was banned for five games for violating the league’s harassment and diversity policy. Murphy directed a comment at the Soo Greyhounds’ bench on Friday after teammate Anthony Stefano was slew-footed by forward Keigan Goetz.
Soo briefly claims first place title
The Oshawa Generals have touted their title of “First Place in the Country” for quite some time now, but they briefly traded places with the red-hot Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for a few hours on Sunday. The Soo’s ninth-straight win, which came against the London Knights, pushed them ahead with a 47-11-0-2 record and 96 points, but the Gens jumped right back up there after defeating the eighth-place Peterborough Petes 4-1. It’s safe to say both teams will be equally as threatening in their respective conferences, though I still think goaltending may be what ends up hurting the Greyhounds. Keep in mind: Oshawa-Peterborough could likely be a playoff matchup.
Three Stars of the Week
Anthony DeAngelo, D, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Has played a big role in terms of point production. You’ll recall the Tampa Bay first rounder was dealt to big-buying Greyhounds at the trade deadline from the Sarnia Sting, not long after acquiring big name Nick Ritchie. As of Sunday, has been riding a 19-game point streak. He had an especially impressive weekend, scoring eight points in two games, including five against the London Knights on the Sportsnet stage Sunday afternoon. He now leads all OHL defencemen with 77 points.
Taylor Raddysh, RW, Erie Otters By now, Erie winning by a score of 6-1 is far from surprising. But a hat trick by anyone who isn’t named McDavid, Strome, DeBrincat, or even Baptiste is a little more surprising. Hats off to rookie Taylor Raddysh who scored a natural in the first period versus Owen Sound game on Saturday.
Mitch Marner, RW, London Knights Here’s a name we’re all extremely familiar with. Currently topping the league at 119 points, Marner notched three goals and 11 points in four games, including six points against the Saginaw Spirit in a whopping 12-3 victory. (The score was 11-3 after the first two periods, by the way.)
NHL Draft Tracker
Rasmus Andersson, D, Barrie Colts In keeping with high-scoring defencemen, Barrie’s Rasmus Andersson is fourth in blueline scoring. Not to discredit him whatsoever, but he’s playing with some strong players.
Mitchell Vande Sompel, D, Oshawa Generals And right behind Andersson sits Vande Sompel, putting up big numbers for the Oshawa Generals with 56 points in 52 games. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what (I can only assume will be) a lengthy playoff run or will do to his draft stock.
Dante Salituro, C, Ottawa 67’s I still think Salituro is way under the radar, and I promise it has nothing to do with the fact that I live in Ottawa. I understand he’s small, but I’d expect his team-leading point production to push him into the spotlight. He’s currently 12th in goals with 35, you don’t hear hear a whole lot about this guy. Again, maybe a long playoff performance will give him a push—same for Travis Konecny, not that he needs it nearly as much.