Happy New Year's OHL fans! Are you ready for a round of news, stats and notes?
Something happened to the Wolves over the Christmas break. Just
before the holiday break, Sudbury clipped off three straight
wins and positioned themselves to make some real noise. After
Christmas though, the Wolves dropped three straight games,
including two games to opponents with a weaker record, at game
time, than the Wolves.
Hopefully the new year will bring the team more positive
consistency.
In case no one noticed, the Wolves have had their most
penalized team crown taken away from them. Prior to this
season, the Wolves had lead the OHL in total penalty minutes in
2004-05 (1647) and 2005-06 (1820).
This season though, they currently sit fifth overall in the OHL
with 859 in 38 games. The Windsor Spitfires, co-owned by former
NHL tough guy Bob Boughner, leads the league with 933 penalty
minutes.
The Wolves still hold onto third place in the Central Division
and fourth overall in the Eastern Conference with a record of
18-16-2-2, good for 40 points.
Remember to tune into TSN today at 1:30 pm as Wolves
defenceman Marc Staal and Team Canada takes on either the
United States or Finland in a World Junior Championship (WJC)
semifinal match up. In four games so far, Staal has zero
points, but has played a steady and sound game.
Who's the hottest team in the OHL? The Plymouth Whalers of
course. This team has been tearing up the league with a
12-0-1-2 record in their last 15 games, and a 8-0-0-2 record in
their last 10 games.
They have barged up the league standings and now sit fourth
overall with a record of 24-10-1-2.
A big reason for their success has been the play of forward
Evan Brophey and rookie goalies Michal Neuvirth and Jeremy
Smith.
Brophey is third in league scoring with 65 points and has nine
goals and 28 points in his last 12 games.
Neuvirth and Smith are the league's top goaltending tandem bar
none. Neuvirth leads the OHL in save percentage with a .924
mark and is fourth in goals-against-average (GAA) with 2.56.
Smith is just as excellent with a GAA of 2.50, good for third
overall, and a .922 save percentage, good for second overall.
Rookies, such as London's Sam Gagner and Patrick Kane, have
lead the OHL in scoring since the start of the season. The run
of the rookies' domination in the top scorers chart is
over...for now.
Belleville veteran Tyler Donati, in his last OHL season, is
going out with a big bang. Donati recently took control of
first place in the OHL scoring race thanks in large part to a
wicked 10-game pace. Donati has 10 goals and 24 points in his
last 10 games, giving him 32 goals and 71 points in 37 games
overall. Donati has a four-point lead over Kane as of Tuesday,
Jan. 2.
