Hello OHL fans! Here's another round of OHL
notes and news to dig into. Sudbury Wolves' divisional rival,
Barrie Colts, have been on fire since they traded for overage
scoring sensation Rob Hisey on Dec. 1.
The Colts have forged a 4-0-2 record with
Hisey in the lineup, and the slick centre has produced five
goals and nine points and has yet to taste defeat as a member
of the Colts.
The Colts seem to have the Midas touch lately
when it comes to trades. Recently they also picked up goalie
Dan LaCosta from Owen Sound. In his first game with the Colts,
LaCosta stopped 38 shots in a 4-1 victory over Sarnia on Dec.
11. LaCosta was the game's first star.
Speaking of hot goalies, Belleville's rookie
stopper, Kevin Lalande, has been making a name for himself.
Lalande, a 11th round draft pick by the Bulls
in 2003, recently stopped 42 shots in a 2-1
overtime win over the Erie Otters.
Lalande has fashioned a 7-3-2 record and a
stingy .926 save percentage (all statistics are as of Tuesday,
Dec 14th).
Guelph goalie Adam Denis was spectacular in
the record-breaking London game last Friday night. The Knights
set the CHL record for the longest
undefeated streak at 30 games (28-0-2) with a
scoreless overtime draw against Guelph. Denis was in another
world making 48 saves, including 22
in the second period alone. He robbed
numerous Knights of sure goals all night.
The Peterborough Petes are shooting up the
standings in the Eastern Conference. The Petes are 8-2 in their
last 10 games, and own first spot in the East Division.
Part of the reason for the terrific surge has
been the play of sophomore winger Liam Reddox, who has four
goals and 16 points in his last 14 games.
The London Knights came close to finally
losing a game this season Sunday against Kitchener.
Kitchener held a 3-0 lead going into the
third period, but London scored three straight goals to tie the
game and send it to overtime.
London won in overtime thanks to a goal by
overage defenceman Bryan Rodney. London is now 29-0-2.
The Knights will be hard-pressed to continue
their undefeated streak over the next three weeks as four of
their top players are away trying out for World Junior
Championship rosters.
They include OHL scoring leader Corey Perry,
defenceman Danny Syvret, talented winger David Bolland and
Robbie Schremp, who is expected to crack the defending
world-champion U.S. National Team lineup.
The Wolves hit the road for three games this
week against Windsor, London and Brampton on Thursday, Friday
and Sunday, respectively.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure
out the Wolves are still having problems on the road.
So far this season, the Wolves have managed a
disappointing 3-12-0-1 record on the road. They have dropped
six straight on the road. Their last win was Nov. 7 against
Brampton.
At home, it's another story as the Wolves
have put together an impressive 11-2-3-1 record, including a
four-game home winning streak that started with a win over
Sarnia on Dec. 3.
The Wolves offence seems to be fine at home
and on the road. Team defence is another story. At home,
through 17 games, the Wolves have scored 57 goals, while
allowing only 34. On the road, The Wolves have scored 45 goals
in 16 games, but have allowed a whopping 66 against.
There has been a lot of talk about the Wolves
shoring up their defence recently, but will GM Mike Foligno
pull the trigger on a deal? Time will tell.
Speaking of defence, Kitchener's Andre Benoit
has taken the lead in scoring for defencemen. In 28 games,
Benoit has piled up 14 goals and 35 points. Syvret is second
with 33 points.
The Wolves' Rafal Martynowski and Ben Pouliot
have been red hot recently. Both are on impressive point
scoring streaks. Pouliot has a five-game
streak going with four goals and eight
points. Martynowski has a three-game streak going with three
goals and six points.