Hey OHL fans! It's time for another heap of stats and news,
so let's start with some Sudbury Wolves stuff first.
I tip my hat to Akim Aliu. The 16-year-old rookie proved his
true worth in Game One of their first round against Kingston.
At the end of the first period, Kingston veteran defender
Justin Wallingford - all six-foot-seven and 236-pounds of him -
slammed a Wolves' player, kicking off a wild scrum. In the
ensuing chaos, Aliu confronted Wallingford and didn't hesitate
to drop the gloves. Aliu went Wallingford toe-to-toe for almost
a minute before he was tagged with a solid shot right on the
button. Aliu dropped and lost the scrap, but he won plenty of
respect as there were a few Frontenacs players, namely Ben
Shutron, that were praising rookie Aliu for taking on the
Kingston beast.
It looks like Ben Pouliot is ready to dominate and really
take his game to another level. In the first two games against
Kingston, Pouliot was looking better than ever, making great
long passes, staying out of the box for needless scrums and
taking plenty of shots. He had three goals and four points in
the first two games. Simply put, he was a force to be reckoned
with.
Hopefully the Wolves regular season leading scorer, Nick
Foligno, learns something from Pouliot's efforts. Foligno
picked up just one assist in the first two games, and was in
the penalty box for 12 minutes, including eight in Game Two.
If the Wolves are going to go for a long run, Foligno has to
be on the ice, killing penalties, setting up goals and popping
goals himself. He can't help the team at all in the sin bin.
London's Rob Schremp is the OHL Player of the Week. The super
sniper piled up three goals and 10 points in just three playoff
games last week (all wins over Sault Ste. Marie).
There could be a few delays in playoff games this year as the
OHL recently announced it will make use of a video goal judge
to review all goals.
The judge will view all available television broadcasts from
the league's head office in Scarborough. In the case of
non-televised games, a league-appointed on-site video goal
judge will use any and all in-arena camera feeds available.
Video review of goals will be available in the following
situations:
- Puck crossing the goal line.
- Puck in the net prior to the goal frame being dislodged.
- Puck in the net prior to or after expiration of time at
the end of the period or game.
- Puck kicked into the net by a foot or directed in by
other means.
- Puck deflected into the net off an official.
- Puck struck with a high stick, above the height of the
crossbar, by an attacking player prior to entering the net.
It's about time the OHL stepped into the technology age.
