Visors and Risers

The Greyhounds from Sault Ste. Marie only needed 29 shots on goal to score 6 goals and defeat the Kitchener Rangers by a score of 6-1 in front of home crowd of 3,800 fans. The Greyhounds opened up the scoring halfway into the first period when forward Bobby Macintyre scored on the power play and left-winger Boris Katchouk scored a shorthanded goal, the first of two for Katchouk that would end up being the game winner. Rangers right winger Joseph Garreffa scored their lone goal with 3 minutes left in the game, but it was too little too late at that point. Greyhounds rookie goaltender Matthew Villalta saved 40 of the 41 shots he faced for the victory while Rangers goaltenders Luke Opilka and LukeRichardson combined to save 23 of 29 shots in the loss. This victory pushed the season series between these two teams to 3-1-0 in favor of Sault Ste. Marie and the 5-year series to 12-7-0 in favor of the greyhounds. The Greyhounds next game will take place on the roa...

Friday March 10, 2017  Essar Centre, Marie Ontario Canada  Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (43-15-4, 2nd in Western Conference)    Vs.  Kitchener Rangers (34-25-4, 6th in Western Conference)  Credit therecord.com This game is a battle of two teams who have already punched their ticket to the OHL playoffs but are still fighting for better positioning for the postseason. Kitchener, Currently 6th in the Western Conference, is currently 14 points behind 5th ranked Windsor but is also in danger of being surpassed by 7th ranked Flint who is just two points behind. Sault St. Marie, currently 2nd in the Western Conference, is just 3 points behind Conference leading Erie who also holds the overall top spot in the league. Sault Ste. Marie:  Zachary Senyshyn  (Boston Bruins 2015 1st round pick, #15 overall) - One of two 2015 first round draft picks still playing in the OHL ( Dylan Strome ) - 60 points in 53 games this season (41 goals,...

Atlantic Hockey Showdown: Playoff Round #2  "RIT wins 2015 Title" (Credit Bryan Bennet)   Round #1 Results:   #10 AIC (0) Vs. #7 Mercyhurst (2) The Lakers swept the weekend behind an impressive all around team effort helping themselves get out of that three game losing streak to end the season. In Friday night's game the Lakers jumped out to a 3-0 lead before giving up three straight, Sophomore Forward Derek Barach would then score his second of the night late in the second period that eventually ended up as the game winning goal as the Lakers won 4-3. Saturday's game was a different story however, as the Lakers used a 4 goal second and 24 saves from Junior Goaltender Brandon Wildung to roll over AIC 5-0 and earn a sweep to move on to the next round. #11 Niagara (2) Vs. #6 RIT (1)  In easily the biggest upset of the playoffs thus far, the Niagara Purple Eagles managed to take down RIT, winning two out of the three games on the weekend. Niagara would...

The Erie Otters used an eight goal second period to absolutely dismantle the Niagara Ice Dogs 10-1 in front of 5,015 fans at the Erie Insurance Center. The first period was actually quite misleading as the Ice Dogs ended the period with a 1-0 lead despite being outshot 14 to 7 in said period. The second period was another story altogether as the Otters rattled off eight straight goals and 29 total shots, the Otters would fire home two more goals before the end of the game as well as outshooting the Ice Dogs 60-14, yes 60-14. The Otters were led offensively by Anthony Cirelli (3 goals), Christian Girhiny (2 goals), and Cam Lizotte (2 goals) and goaltender TroyTimpano stopped 13 of 14 shots for the victory. Ice Dogs goaltender StephenDhillon stopped 35 of 43 shots before rookie goaltender Colton Incze came in relief and stopped 15 of 17 shots to end the game. This was the 5 th time in Otters team history that the team had 60 or more shots in one game, it...

Ryan Mantha Finally Gets His Shot  Credit Harry Scull Jr. It has been a long time coming for Niagara Ice Dogs defenseman Ryan Mantha , but he has finally signed a 3 year entry level contract with an NHL team earlier today. After being drafted by the New York Rangers in the 4th round of the 2014 Entry Draft (#104 overall) Mantha continued to play for the Niagara Ice Dogs of the OHL, but was deemed to not be a part of the Rangers long term future and was never offered a contract. After becoming a free agent in June of this year, Mantha was invited to the Buffalo Sabres pre-season camp but was let go soon after. Mantha was soon after named the 2016/2017 captain of the Ice dogs and has been a solid offensive contributor to the team, producing 51 points (14 goals, 37 assists) in 58 games this season. Just following the NHL Trade Deadline today, the Edmonton Oilers announced that they had signed Mantha to a 3-year entry level deal.  In an Interview with The Buffal...

Friday March 3, 2017  Erie Insurance Center, Erie PA  Erie Otters (44-12-3, 1st in the Western Conference)    Vs.  Niagara Ice Dogs (20-29-10, 8th in the Eastern Conference)  Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images North America This is a Matchup of two teams in almost polar opposite positions in the standings. Erie, who clinched a playoff spot almost two weeks ago to the day, is just coming off of a 14 game win streak but more recently has been struggling with lower seeded teams due to injuries and lack of motivation. Niagara, who on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs baring a late season surge, has been unable to find a way to consistently win more than one or two games in a row. I believe that this matchup will be closer than you think, as Erie is most likely going to coast into the playoffs while Niagara is still fighting for their playoff lives. Erie:  Taylor Raddysh  (Tampa Bay Lightning 2016 2nd round pick, #58 overall)...

OHL in Primetime: LA Kings Prospect Erik Cernak traded to Tampa Bay  Credit NHL.com Just four days before the NHL trade deadline the LA Kings and Tampa Bay Lighting have completed a trade sending goaltender Ben Bishop and a 2017 5th round pick in the draft to Los Angeles and in return Tampa Bay receives Erie Otters Defensemen Erik Cernak, Goaltender Peter Budaj, and a 2017 7th round draft pick. Erik Cernak  Credit Hockeyfutures.com Cernak , a six foot tall 19 year old defenseman, is currently playing in his second season in the OHL for the Erie Otters. He was drafted by the otters in the first round of the 2015 OHL import draft, #54 overall, and in the second round of the 2015 NHL draft by the LA Kings, #43 overall.  In 82 total games Cernak has 32 points (7 goals, 25 assists) and a  +34 rating helping to lead the Otters to the playoffs in consecutive seasons. Cernak is now one of three Otters players who's rights are owned by Tampa...