The CHL on Sportsnet gets its first look at the mighty Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, who play host to the London Knights Sunday afternoon.
Sault Ste. Marie is fresh off a victory Friday night against Windsor, while the Knights will play their third game in three days after a 12-3 win over Saginaw some 17 hours ago.
The Knights are rolling once again, having won seven straight and scored 42 goals over that stretch. The power play has been deadly and is now up over 30 percent on the season.
Sunday programming alert: Watch Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs London Knights on the four main Sportsnet channels at 3:00 p.m. ET || Broadcast schedule
With a good relief performance in goal against Kitchener Tuesday, a win at home on Friday Night Hockey against Guelph and a seven-save second period relief performance in Saginaw, Tyler Parsons is challenging for the No. 1 job going into the playoffs.
Defensively, the Knights are a little shy but quickly moving pucks, using the glass and taking advantage of the OHL’s icing rule has made this group more effective. Julius Bergman is like a fourth forward, yet still takes care of business in his own end. Chris Martenet, Tyler Nother and Aiden Jamieson are all big bodies. Victor Mete has cemented himself as a top-four guy and is excellent on the rush.
With two points against Saginaw, Max Domi pulled away from Dave Simpson to take sole possession of ninth spot on London’s all-time points list. He’s four points away from tying Jason Allison for eighth. Mitch Marner continues to pile up points and has opened up a nine-point lead on good friend Dylan Strome for the OHL scoring title. Matt Rupert, Josh Sterk and Aaron Berisha fill in the forward group nicely. Dale Hunter has been impressed with the production of his third and fourth lines of late.
In goal, the Greyhounds have one of the best in Brandon Halverson. He’s amongst the league leaders in just about every category and was one of three netminders to play for the U.S. at the world juniors.
On the back, the Greyhounds have an abundance of talent starting with Darnell Nurse and Tyler Ganly, but both are out of the lineup. Anthony DeAngelo has turned his game up a notch and leads all CHL defencemen in scoring. Rookie Gustav Bouramman is a great puck distributor, while Connor Boland has been a great addition. Colin White, Tyler Hore and Medric Mercier round out the group.
Up front, Sault Ste. Marie is a juggernaut with a deadly top six. However, a good chunk of that group is out of the lineup. Nick Ritchie, Justin Bailey and Blake Speers are unlikely to play, but there’s still plenty to like. First rounder Jared McCann is having a great year, while Sergey Tolchinsky can dance and dangle. Michael Bunting is established, while Zach Senyshyn is rated to go in the late rounds in June. Bryan Moore, Gabe Guertler, and Jean Dupuy are more than just depth guys.
London Knights — 37-20-0-3 (15-14-0-0 Road) 7W, Second Midwest Division, Third Western Conference
Individual Stats
In Goal
NHL Drafted/Signed Players
Max Domi (Arizona, 12th in 2013)
Christian Dvorak (Arizona, 58th in 2014)
Chandler Yakimowicz (St. Louis Blues, 172nd in 2014)
Julius Bergman (San Jose, 46th in 2014)
NHL Central Scouting
Mitch Marner — No. 7
Chris Martenet — No. 92
Brandon Crawley — No. 173
Under The Radar —
Matt Rupert — His game has evolved from being a reckless third liner to a point producing second liner in his overage year.
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 46-11-0-2 (26-2-0-1 Home) 8W, First West Division, First Western Conference, Third BMO Top 10
Individual Stats
In Goal
NHL Drafted/Signed Players
Darnell Nurse (Edmonton, Seventh in 2013)
Brett Ritchie (Anaheim, 11th in 2014)
Anthony DeAngelo (Tampa Bay, 19th in 2014)
Jared McCann (Vancouver, 24th in 2014)
Justin Bailey (Buffalo, 52nd in 2013)
Brandon Halverson (New York Rangers, 59th in 2014)
Michael Bunting (Arizona, 117th in 2014)
Tyler Ganly (Carolina, 156th in 2013)
Sergey Tolchinsky (Carolina, signed as FA)
Jean Dupuy (Buffalo, signed as FA)
NHL Central Scouting
Blake Speers — No. 44
Zachary Senyshyn — No. 56
Gustav Bouramman — No. 68
Colin White — No. 154
Under The Radar
Bryan Moore — He skates like the wind, plays bigger than his size and is difficult to matchup against when the ‘Hounds are healthy and he’s playing in the bottom six. Yet Moore’s still effective in a top-six role with a banged-up Soo squad.
