NEWS

Nate McDonald makes a save for the Whitby Fury this season. The NHL prospect and Cornell commit was traded to the Markham Royals this week. (Photo by Andy Corneau / OJHL Images)

By Ron Valentine

Sixteen games were played this week, four each Thursday to Sunday. Seven clubs had the holiday break off, including all four division leaders going in – Newmarket, Wellington, Oakville and Georgetown ­– as well as Burlington, Kingston and Markham.

The Markham Royals did however make a deal with Whitby that saw goalkeeper Nate McDonald arriving in exchange for forward Zach Sheedy, who had 32 points in 36 games for Markham.

McDonald, who was Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League MVP for the league champion Powassan Voodoos last year, committed to Cornell for 2018-19 early this season. He is on the NHL watch list for this June’s draft in Dallas.

McDonald had committed to play for Niagara University this season before a coaching change was made at the Buffalo-area school.

The OJHL schedule starts again Wednesday when the Aurora Tigers visit the Trenton Golden Hawks.

The time between now and the trade deadline on Wednesday, Jan. 10, will be well worth watching as the many clubs who feel they can finish the season strongly and get into good playoff runs search for that piece (or more) that could make a difference the rest of the way.

Let's look at the teams that were in action last week by division:

 

NORTH

The AURORA TIGERS took the Cougars of Cobourg 4-0 on a 29-save performance from Bradley van Schubert. It was the team's third straight shutout victory. Jake Bricknell scored the only necessary goal. Tigers president Jim Thomson was quick to praise the efforts of GM Dermot Anderson and head coach Vince Bellissimo. Anderson for his smarts in putting together this year's edition especially with the addition of players like Brock Welsh, Luca Esposito (his second term as a Tiger) and lately Austin Eastman and Joseph Mizzi. All four are quality, hard-working players, he says and they have been a big plus for the club. Bellissimo, a “gentle giant”, was the epitome of hard work when he played (in Canada the U.S and Europe), he noted and his no-nonsense approach to coaching has gained him the respect of the players. The Golden Hawks were in Aurora Saturday evening but the Tigers could not maintain the streak going down in extra time 3-2. Mizzi and Eastman did the scoring but the point gained could be a valuable one in the race for supremacy in the North.

The PICKERING PANTHERS split two home games, beating Whitby 7-2 but getting edged by the Stouffville Spirit 3-2. Against the Fury, Nathan Porter's second goal of the season was the game winner, as was his first in Kingston earlier this month. Adam Wheaton scored two and Dustyn McFaul chipped in with three assists. Ethan Langevin made 31 saves to get the club back to .500. Josh Argier had his team-leading 17th goal against Stouffville, one of his former teams, and Wheaton had the other. GM/Head Coach David Demarinis was happy with the team's performance against the Fury, he noted that their power play was working well and lauded McFaul's strong performance. The rookie, who is on the NHL watch list, is getting more confident now he says and it shows with each game. Solid goalkeeping kept them in it early and then they were able to control it later. His club were far from over-confident against the Spirit but they came up against a hot goaltender, their power play was not as good and they were just not able to finish their chances despite outshooting the visitors, he said. The next three are away from home for the Panthers, next week they are in Kingston and Oakville, a couple of tough ones for his road warriors.

The STOUFFVILLE SPIRIT said goodbye to a long losing streak in Pickering winning 3-2 with affiliate Matthew Zebedee scoring the game winner in the second frame. The Innisfil native is with the Richmond Hill Coyotes Midgets. Andrew Albano made 41 saves for his first win. Looking to make it two in a row in Mississauga it was a 4-2 scoreline but this time in the opponent's favour. Ex-Raider Connor McBroom and Clarkson commitment Kosta Manikis had the goals. Sunday's contest versus the Cougars of Cobourg did not go too well with Mathew Bazarin having the only goal in the 8-1 loss. The club will have the role of spoilers now as they continue to develop. Their fans will be able to look forward to two long home stands, six between Jan. 25 and Feb. 4 and then four between Feb. 10 and 19. The Spirit went more than four weeks between home games during December.

The LINDSAY MUSKIES had little to celebrate in St. Michael's going down to the Buzzers 12-4. A highlight was the two-goal performance from Ajax's Noah Vandervinne. Against the top-ranked Toronto Patriots Saturday night at the Westwood they were shutout 4-0 but Tyler Richardson made 47 stops with the Patriots last two coming late in the game. That leaves the Muskies with three wins at home and three on the road. Ten of their remaining 17 games will be at home.

 

EAST

The TRENTON GOLDEN HAWKS were in Aurora for a Saturday night ice discussion and they extended their unbeaten streak to five games beating Aurora 3-2 in overtime. Mac Lewis gave them an early lead but they needed a Max Ewart goal with just over five minutes left in the third to send the game into overtime. Sault Ste. Marie's Caleb Boman took just 29 seconds to nail down the extra point on his 16th. goal of the campaign. It was win No. 11 on the road for them this season. They celebrated New Year's Eve afternoon at the Iroquois Centre in Whitby but not in the way they wanted. Highlighting the unpredictability of the OJHL this season, they dropped a 5-1 decision to the Fury with Ewart scoring the goal. 

The COBOURG COUGARS fought to a 4-4 tie, their second of the season, at home against Mississauga. In a game where all the goals were scored inside the first thirty minutes. Matthew Bumstead scored the one that would ultimately force the extra time. Riley McCutcheon scored his first in a Cougar uniform since coming to the team from the Fury. A visit to Aurora came next but no points here as they were shutout 4-0 by the Tigers. To wrap up the busy week they were in Stouffville Sunday afternoon and they finished the year on a very positive note winning 8-1. Madoka Suzuki, George Miranda and former Spirit prospect Brodie McDougall had two goals in the victory.

The WHITBY FURY suffered a 7-2 setback in Pickering. Blueliner Joe Roy scored his first of the season to tie the game at twos very early in the second but that would be it for the team's offensive output on this afternoon. Jason Stachelbeck, with his 10th as a Fury player and 18th overall in the OJHL, had the other score. Sunday afternoon, they had a chance to extend their home winning run up to eight games against the Golden Hawks who came in with no defeats in their last five tries and they did it in fine style recording a 5-1 victory. Matt Sherwin got into double digits in goals with two. Matt Latin assisted on the team's first three goals and Luke Pearson repelled 23. If the club could replicate this form on the road they would have few worries about a postseason spot.

 

SOUTH

The TORONTO PATRIOTS continued their strong performances at home with a 4-3 win over Buffalo with Colton Kalezic netting a pair and adding an assist and Dante Spagnuolo scoring one and getting two helpers. They led 4-1 after two. Lindsay were in town Saturday night and Owen Liskiewicz made 23 saves in their 4-0 win. Andrew Petrucci had goal No. 35 and Brett Bannister a pair, one shorthanded. to give him 18 on the season. The win put them tied with Oakville atop the South on 57 points. Dec.31 saw them on Alder Street to take on the Flyers and they moved into top spot in points with a convincing 6-1 victory. This was the Bannister and Spagnuolo Show, with Brett notching two goals (giving him 20 for the campaign) and three assists and Dante, who got an assist on all their goals. Kalezic had three more and Captain Petrucci got goal 36. Tyler Fassl was busy-ish saving 27. Four in a row now and they will be tough to catch on this form. 29-7-0-1 to end the year. Their 175 goals scored represent by far the highest output in the League.

The NORTH YORK RANGERS won their only game of the week and it was a big one in the Pond against the J.C's. Thornhill's Grayden Gottschalk's lucky 13th of the season in the middle of the third was the decider. Nick Campoli (shorthanded) and Ross Kreiger had the other two, No. 14 for them both. Jett Alexander had to make 27 stops to record win No. 10 for him and kept his club in the game as they could only muster three shots themselves in the third. "A great end to the year" declared GM Claude Desjardins, noting the win was a four-point game and was as exciting for his players to play in as it was to watch. He is very proud of the guys and looks forward to the ongoing battle in the South.

The TORONTO JUNIOR CANADIENS had little trouble against the IceHawks winning 11-1, with Matthew Falls more than doubling his season goal output with the hat trick and Matthew Di Cesare netting his ninth and tenth of the season. Artur Terchiyev had a goal and four points on the night. Jake Joffe had two assists to move his season total to 54 points. The following night they lost a tough one at home to fellow Southerners, the North York Rangers, by a 3-2 count. Eric Ciccolini scored his fourth since joining the club from Milton and Jason Pineo added his ninth of the campaign.  Going into the New Year have amassed 25 wins and have 14 games left. Head coach Jeff Angelidis likes to approach his club's games one at a time and he has his team preparing now for their next one against the Patriots. He is happy with the performance of his club after 40 games played (the first team to reach that mark this season) but notes that they are carrying just six blueliners. All are playing well but an extra D-man that might be available before the trade deadline would give them the depth needed for the last part of the season and the playoffs, he said. The performance of his high-profile players like Jack McBain, Jake Joffe and Brayden Sampson has been stellar but the coach mentioned three other players whose contribution has been very valuable although they sometimes play “in the shadows” – improving defenceman Di Cesare, skillful rookie forward Ciccolini and sparkplug Mathew Rehding. It's all about keeping everything on an even keel, he says, and staying steady and composed on the ice.

The St. MICHAEL'S BUZZERS were in offensive overdrive against Lindsay beating them 12-4 for by far their biggest goal output of the season. Leading the way in the club's sixth straight home victory were Colton Trumbla and Ty Jackson each with the hat trick and two assists and Dylan Jackson and Cameron Searles both with two goals and five points. Carm Alberga and Jonah Alexander had three helpers apiece. Saturday afternoon they were looking to extend that run to seven taking on Buffalo but it was not in the cards as they fell 3-1 to the Junior Sabres with their only goal coming just over three minutes in from Dylan Jackson, his 23rd, tops on the team. A visit to Mississauga Sunday afternoon saw the team go down 3-0 before Searles got two consecutive in the third but the Chargers got two empty-netters in the 5-2 loss. Their next three matches are all at home.

The MISSISSAUGA CHARGERS are in a race for survival into the postseason. Following their 4-4 tie in Cobourg Thursday, head coach Joe Washkurak noted that it was a really important stretch for his team. Home games against the Spirit, on Saturday and the Buzzers on New Year's Eve would be critical, he said, to keep them in the hunt for postseason action in the South/West. They have been playing shorthanded, Joe pointed out, especially on the blueline where forward Kyle Lewis had had to fill in and the absence of leading scorer Chris Karabassis has hurt the team. He was happy with the point gained against the Cougars but looked for wins on the weekend. In Cobourg Matthew Brassard led the way with two goals, Max Routledge had three assists and goalkeeper Luca Durante was hot again making 50 stops. Brassard had the winner against the Spirit on a shorthanded goal in the second period in their 4-2 squeaker in which Christian James-MacDonald had his first goal of the season and Orion Hexamer his ninth and Samson Scholten had an empty-netter. The Buzzers were in New Year's Eve for a four-pointer and the Chargers got the win they needed 5-2 with Kyler Matthews having the game winner. Brandon Yeamans picked up three assists and Luca Durante made 34 saves. The five points gained this week keep them very much in the mix.

 

WEST

Prior to the BUFFALO JUNIOR SABRES’ two road games this week GM Charlie Mendola said he liked his young group. "We are pleased with the progress of our team this season,” he said. “With 13 of our players experiencing junior hockey for the first time, first-year head coach Nick Tuzzolino and his team has worked extremely hard to build a culture and structure for our team. At the holiday break, we are happy with the growth of our team, but are working to ensure progression and consistency as we move through the last 21 games of the regular campaign."  

"This season, our program has been fortunate.  We have had players like Anthony Hora and Ben Kraws receive a call up to the USHL.  Additionally, RW Trevor Peca committed to play NCAA Division I hockey at Miami of Ohio. With that said, Coach Tuzzolino and I are very proud of the leadership and production of some of our veterans like Christian DiFelice, Adam Tretowicz, Matthew Jakubowski, and Ryan Sidorski.  Not to be outdone, some of our first-year players are transitioning and developing quickly as we are seeing great work from Zach Nazzarett, Ethan Kirbis, Michael Sciore, Matt Stanek and (goalie) Brian George. As all teams, we have a tough stretch these next 20 games. Every club in our league is strong and are coached very well. We are focused on preparation each day in practice to ensure that we will be a consistently tough opponent every night."

In action this week, the Sabres got behind the Toronto Patriots 4-1 after two complete but a couple of quick goals early in the third from Tretowicz, his 19th, and Scott Ramaekers made for an interesting finish. However, another one would not be forthcoming and the final was 4-3 Patriots. Saturday afternoon they were in Toronto at St. Michael's Arena and backed by Jeremy Forman's 26 saves they got back to their winning ways with Nick Alfieri, who had just two goals coming in, getting a pair while Anthony Hora had the other to propel them to the 3-1 victory. The club has now closed to within six points of the first-place Raiders.

The ORANGEVILLE FLYERS had just the one contest this week and it was of the very tough variety on New Year's Eve with the Patriots at the other end of the ice. It all started well with Masson Sarris scoring inside the first minute of the game but the South Division leaders would come back with six unanswered. Sixteen left for the Flyers, nine of those against West Division opponents.

The MILTON ICEHAWKS have to look for plusses wherever possible and in this one – an 11-1 setback against the J.C.'s – it would have to be the first goal of the season for Will McQueen. It came on the power play in the third period assisted by Zac Sirota and Sebastian Cirillo.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone involved in the OJHL, on the ice and off, a safe, happy and successful New Year.