OHL Roundup: Outdoor games highlight Sunday schedule

Sunday saw eight games around the Ontario Hockey League, including a pair of outdoor games, the first of their kind for the OHL.

Comerica Park in Detroit, Mich was the venue for a pair of OHL games held as part of the NHL’s Winter Classic, set for this week between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.

In Detroit, the early game was delayed two hours due to weather before Brady Vail set up three goals to lead the Windsor Spitfires (23-12-1-0) to a 6-5 win over the Saginaw Spirit (16-16-4-1). The Spitfires saw six different players light the lamp in the win. Ben Johnson, Brody Milne, Slater Koekkoek, Remy Giftopoulos, Cristiano DiGiacinto and Steven Janes scored for the Spitfires. Janes scored shorthanded at 14:37 of the third period for the eventual game-winner. Justin Sefton, Brandon Prophet, Daniel DeSousa, Eric Locke and Jeremiah Addison scored for Saginaw in the loss.

In Detroit, the second game saw Francesco Vilardi scored the shootout winner as the Plymouth Whalers (13-20-0-4) beat the London Knights (25-7-1-3) 2-1. Mathieu Henderson scored in regulation time for the Whalers while goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 44 shots and three of four London shooters in the shootout. Chris Tierney scored for the Knights in regulation time, tying the game and forcing overtime with a power play marker at 17:46. London goaltender Jake Patterson stopped 25 shots in the loss.

Sunday saw six other games in action along with the outdoor doubleheader.

In Guelph, Adam Craievich had a goal and two assists as the Guelph Storm (26-7-2-1) beat the Erie Otters (29-7-1-0) 5-2. Justin Auger added a goal and an assist in the win while Marc Stevens also set up a pair of goals. Robby Fabbri, Jason Dickinson and Chadd Bauman also scored for the Storm. Justin Nichols made 28 saves for Guelph. Connor Brown scored both goals for Erie while Michael Curtis added two assists in the loss. Goaltender Devin Williams stopped 31 shots for Erie.

In Kingston, Remi Elie had three goals and four assists as the Belleville Bulls (10-22-2-2) beat the Kingston Frontenacs (19-12-2-2) 9-6. Cameron Brace chipped in with three goals and three assists while Jordan Subban had a goal and three assists for Belleville. Stephen Harper added a goal and an assist while Niki Petti had the other goal for Belleville. Charlie Graham stopped 31 shots for the Bulls. Samuel Schutt had a pair of goals for Kingston while Sam Bennett and Spencer Watson had a goal and an assist each for the Frontenacs. Darcy Greenaway and Conor McGlynn chipped in with a goal each for Kingston. Evan McEneny set up three goals while Slater Doggett and Michael Moffat set up a pair of goals each in the loss.

In Mississauga, Erik Bradford had a goal and two assists as the Barrie Colts (19-14-1-2) beat the Mississauga Steelheads (15-19-1-3) 5-3. Andreas Athanasiou chipped in with a goal and an assist in the win while Liam Maaskant, Jake Dotchin and Mitchell Theoret also scored for the Colts. Josh Burnside had a goal and an assist for Mississauga. Bryson Cianfrone and Dylan Smoskowitz also scored for the Steelheads while Trevor Carrick set up a pair of goals.

In Sault Ste. Marie, Sergey Tolchinsky’s power play goal with 1.5 seconds left in the first period held up as the winner as the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (25-8-1-3) ended the Sudbury Wolves (19-10-3-3) nine-game winning streak by beating the Wolves 3-1. Patrick Watling and Jean Dupuy also scored for the Greyhounds in the win. Mathew Campagna scored the lone goal for the Wolves in the loss.

In Sarnia, Holden Cook scored the shootout winner as the Owen Sound Attack (19-12-3-3) beat the Sarnia Sting (12-20-1-3) 3-2. Justin Brack and Kurtis Gabriel scored for the Attack in regulation time while Kurtis MacDermid set up both goals. Nikolay Goldobin scored both goals for the Sting. Bryan Moore added two assists for Sarnia while goaltender Taylor Dupuis stopped 42 shots.

In Oshawa, Michael Dal Colle scored twice and set up another goal as the Oshawa Generals (25-10-0-3) doubled up the Ottawa 67’s (12-20-1-2) by a 6-3 score. Colin Suellentrop chipped in with a goal and two assists. Stephen Desrocher added a goal and an assist for Oshawa while Will Petschenig and Hunter Smith also scored. Cole Cassels set up three goals in the win. Joseph Blandisi had a goal and an assist for the 67’s in the loss while Ryan Van Stralen and John Urbanic had the other goals for Ottawa.