Magic Number Watch
From now till the end of the season I will look at the magic number for each of the top 4 teams (by point percentage) to have not clinched a playoff spot to do so. A magic number is the total number of points a team needs to win or the team outside of the last playoff spot needs to lose before they can official clinch that spot.
Hamilton - 37
Barrie - 43
Niagara - 45
Kingston - 46
Sault Ste. Marie - 18
Kitchener - 37
Sarnia - 33
Windsor - 42
Games to Watch this week
Jan 12 London vs Hamilton: This game has lost some of its luster with London going into sell mode but they have picked up some great young talent in return. This should still prove to be a good test for the East leading Bulldogs.
Jan 12 Niagara vs Barrie: The Icedogs while not buyers are still no pushovers and will have a tough test vs division leading Barrie who will be reinforced with Andrei Svechnikov
Jan 13 Saginaw vs Kitchener: Both these teams have brutal schedules this week with Saginaw heading up to the Soo on Wednesday and the Rangers getting a pair of games against the Knights. This will be a good game against a pair of teams who should have home ice in the first round of the playoffs.
Division Quick Hits
The Petes fired HC Jody Hull this week and slapped the interim tag on Andrew Verner. The timing was odd and is a move that should have been made by the Petes when Jason Fortier was still available.... Jake Murray took home academic player of the month honours for the division
Nicholas Hauge has set a Steelheads franchise record with his 21st goal of the season.... Kai Edmonds of the Barrie Colts took home academic player of the month honours for the division.... Cole Candella played his 200th career OHL game
Evan Bouchard was named OHL defenceman of the month for December.... Alex Gritz took home academic player of the month honours for the division... Attack defenceman Sean Durzi picked up career OHL point number 100... By picking up a goal and an assist in his first game with his new team Brett McKenzie hit the 200 point mark on his OHL career.
The Soo Greyhounds saw their 23 game win streak come to an end with a shootout loss to Mississauga.... Still with the Hounds Mathew Villalta picked up his 50th career win on Sunday in only his 62nd career game which looks to be an OHL record for the quickest... Ty Dellandrea took hope academic player of the month honours for the division.... A trio of Greyhounds Frost, Villalta and Sandin took home Player, Goalie and Rookie of the month honours for December... My last tidbit on the Hounds I swear! Boris Katchouk returned from the World Juniors and scored a shorthanded goal against Guelph. It was his 13th of his career which ties him for 1st on the Hounds all time list.... Drake Rymsha played his 200th career OHL game this past week.... Mason Kohn picked up his 100th career OHL assist vs Sarnia on the 3rd, not bad for a former 10th round selection
(1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 34-3-3 Power Rank Percentage (PR%) .8535
It was a disappointing weekend for the Greyhounds as they were only able to pick up 5 out of a possible 6 points. Their worst weekend since October. 6 of the Greyhounds next 7 are at home so it is a perfect time to get the Essar Centre rocking and start a new run.
Games this Week: Jan 10 vs Sag; Jan 12 vs OS; Jan 13 vs Miss
(2) Hamilton Bulldogs 25-9-6 PR% .7388
A surprising loss to the surprising giant killers from North Bay stymied a perfect weekend for the Bulldogs. Their win Sunday vs Sudbury was closer than they would have wanted but they still got the job done.
Games This Week: Jan 12 @ Ldn; Jan 13 vs Fli
(3) London Knights 22-15-3 PR% .6804
The Knights like the Bulldogs had a perfect weekend stymied at the hands of the North Bay Battalion. It was the first subpar game by Jordan Kooy since Joseph Raaymakers went down with an injury.
Games This week: Jan 11 vs Kit; Jan 12 vs Ham; Jan 14 @ Kit
(4) Kitchener Rangers 25-13-2 PR% .6695
Rangers opened the week with a pair of wins before rejoining the CHL top 10. The promptly got outscored 13-2 in their next 2 games and moved to 0-5 while being nationally ranked. They have given up 30 goals in those 5 games.
Games This Week: Jan 11 @ Ldn; Jan 13 @ Sag; Jan 14 vs Ldn
(5) Niagara Icedogs 21-12-5 PR% .6609
They picked up wins in the games they should win over Guelph and Sudbury before promptly getting thumped by the Fronts 8-3 on Sunday. While this Icedogs team clearly isnt a contender this year they are firmly entrenched as the 4th best team in the East and barring a total collapse should have home ice in the 1st round.
Games This Week: Jan 11 vs Eri; Jan 12 vs Bar; Jan 13 @ Eri
(6) Windsor Spitfires 22-13-3 PR% .6488
After gutting the team of all its prime assets except for star goalie Michael DiPietro the Spits still managed a perfect weekend on their Eastern Ontario road trip. With the draft cupboard restocked and plenty of young talent now in the fold it makes sense to hang onto DiPietro and let this talent develop with a league best insurance policy between the pipes. And if they are able to flip him for an '02 next year it will spread the 1st round talent out rather than make it so top heavy in a couple of years.
Games This Week: Jan 11 vs Sar; Jan 12 @ Sar; Jan 12 vs Sag
(7) Saginaw Spirit 21-14-3 PR% .6393
The Spirit split their games against the Sting this past week and added an OT win over the Otters. Saginaw keeps climbing the standings and based on what some West teams have done so far at the deadline they are in a prime position to claim the #4 seed. They have been quiet themselves on the trade front but may benefit nicely by standing pat.
Games This Week: Jan 10 @ SSM; Jan 13 vs Kit; Jan 14 @ Wsr
(8) Barrie Colts 23-13-3 PR% .6250
A rough 0-3 week for the Colts but it was a murderers row of games against Kitchener, London and the newly reloaded Frontenac's. Getting Svechnikov back will help for the rest of the season but has the shine on Leo Lazerev worn out?
Games This Week: Jan 11 vs Sby; Jan 12 @ Nia; Jan 13 vs NB
(9) Oshawa Generals 19-18-3 PR% .6000
The Generals opened the week with 2 wins which pushed their winning streak to 6 games. They then pushed the Greyhounds to overtime thus ensuring they win the season series vs the countries top ranked team before dropping their Sunday finale against Owen Sound. Keyser may be in line for a rest this week as the Generals play 3 in 3 although with a home and home against Kingston it may happen against Flint to start the week
Games This Week Jan 12 vs Fli; Jan 13 @ Kgn. Jan 14 vs Kgn
(10) Kingston Frontenacs 20-13-6 PR% .5902
The new look fronts opened the week by blowing a 2 goal 3rd period lead vs the Spitfires. They followed that up with a pair of wins over the Colts and the Icedogs scoring 14 goals in the process. The offence is starting to look dynamic and their matchup against Hamilton on January 19th will be must watch TV
Games This Week: Jan 12 vs Gue; Jan 13 vs Osh; Jan 14 @ Osh
(11) Sarnia Sting 27-12-2 PR% .5872
The Sting finally stopped the sliding with a pair of resounding wins vs Flint in Saginaw. They get another boost this week with Kyrou coming back but will he get an invite to the Olympic team? In the meantime what is already an exciting offence will only get better with the acquisition of Cam Dineen
Games This week: Jan 11 @ Wsr; Jan 12 vs Wsr
(12) Mississauga Steelheads 17-22-1 PR% .5712
The Steelheads had a fantastic week. Opening things up by taking down the Otters before ending the Greyhounds 23 game winning streak at home in a shootout before heading on the road and thumping the Rangers. With McLeod coming back maybe they can keep the good times rolling but this team has been so inconsistent you just dont know what you are going to get.
Games This Week: Jan 12 @ Sby; Jan 13 @ SSM
(13) North Bay Battalion 15-19-6 PR% .5668
5 out of a possible 8 points this week for Stan Butlers crew. They only managed 1 point in a pair of games against the hot Oshawa Generals. They followed that up with a pair of road wins over the #2 and #3 ranked teams this week in Hamilton and London. They seem to elevate their game to another level against the best as they also have wins this year against Sarnia and Kitchener as well as taking the Greyhounds to overtime twice earlier in the season. If they can just take care of business against the East we could see settle in a higher playoff spot than expected
Games This Week: Jan 11 vs OS; Jan 13 @ Bar; Jan 14vs Pbo
(14) Owen Sound Attack 16-16-1-5
The Attack pick up back to back wins for the first time since Nov 19 and Nov 22nd. They also picked up a shutout although their starting goalie had to leave that game injured. Their back up then stepped up and had his best game of his career. Could this team have turned a corner? I'll wait and see before I make any judgements but they are starting to get healthy and will have their world junior players return this week which will be a nice boost.
Games This Week: Jan 11 @ NB; Jan 12 @ SSM; Jan 14 @ Sby
(15) Guelph Storm 19-16-4 PR% .4849
The Storm gave up 13 goals in a pair of losses this week to Niagara and SSM. In fact they have now lost 20 straight games vs the Greyhounds. Those losses however sandwiched a win over Owen Sound on Friday so the weekend wasn't a total loss for the Storm
Games This Week: Jan 11 @ Pbo; Jan 12 @ Kgn; Jan 14 @ Ott
(16) Erie Otters 12-20-8 PR% .4522
The Otters have scored 3 goals in 5 straight games and 7 of their last 8. I dont know why but that just seemed to stick out to me. They finished 0-1-2 on the weekend and there must have been something about those Pure Michigan ads because they felt compelled to go to extra time with both Saginaw and Flint. Im looking forward to seeing how Hayden Fowler does on this team with more ice time. Should immediately slide in and become this their 3rd line centre.
Games This Week: Jan 11 @ Nia; Jan 13 vs Nia; Jan 14 vs Fli
(17) Ottawa 67s 16-19-4 PR% .4403
The 67s picked up 3 out of a possible 4 points but their win came against the Petes so I am still awaiting confirmation on if that was actually worth 2 points. They started off hot against the Spits on Sunday before falling in OT but noting could overshadow the performance of their social media team. It will be interesting to see if there are any changes in their approach next week.
Games This Week: Jan 12 @ Gat; Jan 13 @ Pbo; Jan 14 vs Gue
(18) Flint Firebirds 12-23-3 PR% .4142
The Firebirds took a licking from the Sting on Friday but rebounded with a win over the Otters on Saturday. This team seems to be playing much better hockey since trading some of their veterans but they face a few stiff challenges this week. In the mean time they should enjoy being out of the bottom 2 for the first time in months!
Games This Week: Jan 12 @ Osh; Jan 13 @ Ham; Jan 14 @ Fli
(19) Sudbury Wolves 11-23-6 PR% .3943
The Wolves did not dress O'Grady or Pezzetta Sunday vs Hamilton and still nearly skated away with a win. They were only able to pick up 1 point this week and are suddenly amongst the leaders in the race for Quintin Byfield. If they get one of the top 2 picks this year it will be the 3rd time in the last 4 years Sudbury has picked that high. There is enough to like about the direction the new regime is taking them to be willing to wait and see what fruits this bears.
Games This Week: Jan 11 @ Bar; Jan 12 vs Miss; Jan 14 vs OS
(20) Peterborough Petes 16-21-3 PR% .3800
After 1 point in 4 games this past week the Petes officially sitting on the outside of the playoff picture. With a veteran team expected to compete for the conference title this season has been an utter disappointment. Even though they have only 3 points in their last 10 they still have 35 points on the season which likely is enough to keep them out of a realistic shot at Quintin Byfield even if this team implodes more than it already has. The only thing the Petes fans can hope for is that their board is willing to eat the remaining years on the extension they gave Oke and find someone new to lead the charge.
Games This Week: Jan 11 vs Gue; Jan 13 vs Ott; Jan 14 @ NB
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