Bennett’s back in town
It’s official! The Kingston Frontenacs are about to get a much-needed offensive boost in prized Calgary Flames prospect Sam Bennett. The Frontenacs are in seventh place with 52 points and have the hungry Peterborough Petes hot on their tail with 50 points. They say timing is everything, right?
Bennett makes a triumphant return in a black-and-yellow jersey Wednesday night after a lengthy rehab following his shoulder surgery in October. He told Calgary reporters he’s "dying to get his first game in." Sam Bennett on Twitter
It also sounds like the Guelph Storm will regain Robby Fabbri this weekend. You’ll recall watching him being helped off the ice by his Team Canada teammates after colliding with a Denmark defenceman during the World Junior Championship. Poor Fabbri has been riddled with injuries on and off since last summer. Here’s hoping that St. Louis has big plans for him sooner than later and that he stays healthy enough to fulfill them.
Ottawa, Barrie clinch playoff berths
You can add the Barrie Colts and Ottawa 67’s to the list of teams guaranteed to get a taste of the postseason. Ottawa had missed the playoffs the past two seasons in a row, finishing last in the Eastern Conference both years. The 67’s had their hot streak halted by none other than the first place Oshawa Generals who, as a result, clinched the top of the East Division yesterday afternoon. A point against the Gens would’ve guaranteed the 67’s their spot, but a loss from the Mississauga Steelheads did the same.
Make that six losses in a row for the Steelheads who fell out of a playoff berth last. You can’t help but wonder how the team could have held it together a little stronger this half of the season had Spencer Martin been healthy, but it goes without saying their offense has been faltering – offense that l maintain should have been better than they are. Ah well, I’m looking forward to Mikey MacLeod’s sophomore season.
Comeback Kings
Comebacks, anyone? Owen Sound and Niagara made for a couple noteworthy stories.
The Sarnia Sting, comfortably in seventh place (well, as comfortable as one can be in seventh place) had a 5-1 leg up on the Attack midway through the second period. Owen Sound then notched seven unanswered goals past Sarnia netminder Taylor Dupuis. The Sound’s collective eight-goal night equated to a five-point showing for overager Erik Bradford (who’s been lighting up with his new team since his arrival during deadline week) and four points for Santino Centorame. Talk about a wake-up call…
I half expected Dupuis to react with a lighthearted tweet, something he’s been known to do in the past following mishaps. Maybe that one hurt too much, and I don’t blame him in that sense.
Big comeback #2 stars the Niagara IceDogs, who are making quite the Eastern Conference push in general. But Sunday evening proved to be yet another high-scoring game for the club, something we should be fairly accustomed to seeing by now. The IceDogs rallied back from a 4-1 deficit against the North Bay Battalion, scoring five goals in the final twenty minutes to come out on top 6-5.
Battalion cooling down?
Which leads me to my next point: it’s been a bit of a rough go for the Battalion. They’ve lost four in a row (two of which they were outscored by four goals), and quite frankly, haven’t had the strongest showing since the deadline. Not the showing I had imagined, having loaded up front with guys like Nick Moutrey and Ryan Kujawinski, but perhaps someone needs to light a fire underneath their defensive core, on account of their goals against looking pretty worrisome this past weekend. Perhaps being booted out of third place will spark that much-needed fire.
Three stars of the Week:
Jared McCann, C, Sault Ste. Marie: The Greyhounds can score…boy, can they ever… and that important Jared McCann-Michael Bunting-Sergey Tolchsinki line have sported some unbelievable chemistry. It’s no surprise that McCann notched 11 points in three games. I can’t wait until everyone takes note of what these guys can do during the playoffs.
Joseph Blandisi, C, Barrie Colts: Over the last week or so, it appeared that players were traded places in terms of who had the most goals in the league attached to their name. Blandisi kind of blew everyone else out of the water with six goals this weekend, bringing his total up to 46 goals. Below him, the race is pretty tight. Bertuzzi is next in line with 41, which leads me to believe Fabbri’s return might make it that much more interesting.
Alex Nedeljkovic, G, Plymouth Whalers: Time for some goalie love. It seems like the Whalers have the last place slot in the Western Conference pretty much filled in, but only seven points separate eighth and 10th, so it’s not over ‘til it’s over. Nedeljkovic remains one of the club’s prized players as the current roster stands. He made 117 saves over the span of three games in three days, and helped guide his team to wins over the Sarnia Sting (who have also now lost four straight games) and the eighth place Saginaw Spirit. Their loss of the weekend came against the Spitfires in a 2-1 result. Both teams put 43 shots on net, so I have to give Windsor goaltender Alex Fotinos some kudos for that one as well.
NHL Draft Tracker:
Mitch Marner, RW, London Knights: No stranger to a multi-point game (and affirmed by his 100-point marker last weekend), Marner recorded another ten points over the weekend, including a (surprise, surprise) five-point game against the poor Sarnia Sting. I don’t know, does allowing five goals from Marner in a single game even sting anymore at this point?
Connor McDavid, C, Erie Otters: The junior hockey phenom had yet another five-point game, this time against the Peterborough Petes in an 8-2 victory, extending his point streak to 21 consecutive games.
Dylan Strome, C, Erie Otters: As far as milestones go, Dylan can add his name to the list of players to also reach 100 points in their draft year. You’ll find his older brother’s name on that list not too far back.
Lastly, we can’t let this clip of Josh Brown seeking what I can only imagine is revenge on Lawson Crouse in lieu of last weekend’s baseball swing (that went largely ignored by the league):
