The Oakville Blades, the top team in the OJHL, are getting plenty of love at home games this season. (Photo by Kevin Raposo / OJHL Images)

BY RON VALENTINE

It was a week with a few upsets, which goes to show that any team can end up on the right end of the final score this season in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. The Oakville Blades continue to lead the way overall with an .846 winning percentage  but the North York Rangers on .821 are on their tail. The Whitby Fury and the Cobourg Cougars are tied at .731. The Aurora Tigers check in at .714.

MONDAY- Conference player of the month Joseph Mizzi got his ninth and 10th goals of the season to give Aurora the lead 2-0 and they went on to top the Spirit 5-1 in the holiday matinee in Stouffville. A four-goal third period for the visitors made the difference. Jacob Ball, Hollander Thompson and Cameron Neaylon also found the mark for the winners. Connor May got a late one for the Spirit to spoil the shutout bid of Christian Filippetti. He has nine points in as many games. It was victory No. 8 for Aurora giving them a .750 winning percentage.

A goal at 1.04 of the overtime by the Burlington Cougars' Zach Lawrence  gave them the two points against Milton in the 4-3 final at the Appleby. The IceHawks left it late with Louis Latta scoring  making it 3-3 with 28 seconds left in the third period. The 20-year old German-born Latta previously suited up for the Sarnia Sting and the GOJHL's Brantford 99ers. The first five goals of the contest were all scored in the first period. Liam Haslam and Matthew Giannini put the 'Hawks up 2-0 early but the Cougars came storming back with markers from Noah Doyle, Matt Steen and Mitchell Morrison.

Jesse Hodgson made 47 saves to lead the Patriots to their 5-2 win against Mississauga at the Westwood arena. Veteran Michael Boushy netted the game decider. Mateo Dixon scored his first OJHL goal for the winners. Following a shaky start to the season the Patriots made it three wins in a row. The Chargers' captain Brandon Yeamans had a powerplay goal, the only one of the game, to put him at twenty points for the campaign.

Jett Alexander repelled 32 Junior Canadiens' shots to give the Rangers the 1-0 edge at the Carnegie. Matthew Mayhew, at the other end, saved 25 of 26. The game's goal came late in the first stanza by blueliner Harrison Rees with the man-advantage. The Rangers, with the win, move four points up on the J.C's in the South Division. 

A goal just over a minute into period two by Graham Dickerson would prove to  be the winner as Whitby got past the host Cobourg Cougars 3-1. Coleton Cianci's first OJHL goal put the home team up at just 13 seconds. Last season he played for the Navan Grads of the CCHL. With two seconds left in the first the Fury tied it up with a powerplay goal by Shane Bull. After a scoreless second period, Bull followed Dickerson's winner with another goal with the man-advantage. Luke Pearson's 35 saves were good enough for the win which gave the Fury a one point lead in the East over the Cougars.

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WEDNESDAY- Just one game on the menu with Georgetown crossing the border to play the Junior Sabres in Buffalo in a West Division matchup. Adam Tretowicz scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season, both on the powerplay, before the game was ten minutes old but the Raiders scored four unanswered. With a little under five minutes remaining in the third period Ty Glover got the Sabres within one, scoring his sixth and then with 3 seconds left and the 'keeper pulled he netted the goal that sent the game into OT. It was a big night for Glover and Tretowicz with four points each. Jonathan Hampton had a goal and two assists for the Raiders. Bailey Molella, Jordan Crocker and Josh Dixon had the other goals for the visitors. The 4-4- result was the League's seventh tie of the season.

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THURSDAY- Both games ended in 4-3 double overtime scores with the home team being the winner.

The Cobourg Cougars took a 3-1 lead into the third period in Kingston but two late third period goals thirty seconds apart by Andrew Kim, his fourth and fifth of the season, forced the extra time where Brendan D'Agostino, in his first contest for the Voyageurs, scored the winner early in the second session for the 4-3 final. D'Agostino had sixty points in the last regular season and playoffs for the Raiders. The Cougars lead 3-0 after the first period on goals from Riley McCutcheon, Ethan Doyle and Alex Mercier. Owen Ramsay had the first Kingston goal.

Adrian Nabuurs, who had a four-point night, was the ovetime hero in Newmarket's 4-3 win in double OT. Wellington's Quinn Hanna had the only goal of period one, it came on the powerplay. Ben Roger made it 2-0 in the second before Graeme McCrory got the Hurricanes on the board. Daniel Panetta made it 3-1 early in the third but two goals 33 seconds apart by Adam Trotman and Isaac Boer-Hersch made sure the game would go past sixty minutes. It was the Dukes' fifth overtime contest. As Head Coach John Druce noted before the game when they play the way they can the results are good but his young squad playing in the tough East Division has had its ups and downs in their busy start to the season. 

Following the games three teams, Whitby, Cobourg and Wellington, share the East Divison lead on 17 points.

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FRIDAY- All but two clubs in action on this night. Mississauga and Buffalo.

Just one game this week for Oakville who hosted the Junior Canadiens and recorded their League-leading tenth win of the season led by Will Barber's second shutout- he saved 25 shots. Spencer Kersten and Holden Doggett scored 20 seconds apart in period one. Teth Burles scored in the third. It was the fifth straight loss following a fast start to the campaign for the visitors. 3-0 final. That's a .846 winning percentage for the Blades through their first thirteen games. Thomas Maia and Kersten lead the way with sixteen scoring points. Barber has a 1.14 GAA after six games. He and Chris Elliot have combined for 1.77 goals against per game. 

The Patriots of Toronto travelled along the 401 to take on Trenton but came away empty-handed, losing 5-1. Brett Bannister scored their only goal with a little over five minutes left in the game with Anand Oberoi, the Golden Hawks' 'keeper stopping the other 32. Steven Elliott had the game winner and blueliner Chris Tamer had one shorthanded. Ethan Cardwell, Mason Hardy and Matt Nastasiuk (with an empty-netter) completed the scoring. This was the first of three straight on the road for the Patriots this weekend.

A large East Division matchup with Whitby the visitors in Wellington. Luke Pearson posted the shutout in the 4-0 win stopping 30 shots. Carson Gallagher and Shane Bull both had a goal and three points. The Fury and the Cougars now tied atop the Division with 19 points. It was 3-0 after one. Greg Smith and Brett Benham had the other goals. Benham now has four goals on the season, twin brother Brandon is also on the squad. Whitby team captain Greg Smith told me this is a special group of guys and while the great early start was not totally expected at the start of the season it quickly became obvious that this club has what it takes. He credits his linemates Gallagher and Shane Bull for leading the way and helping the team to get off on the right foot. Pearson may just be the best 'keeper in the OJHL right now, he says, and is he having fun to boot. 

North Division-leading Aurora doubled up Kingston 4-2 led by one goal and two assist performances form League-leading scorer Joseph Mizzi (25 points) and Tyler Davis. Jack Varga and Jacob Ball had singles. Both Mizzi and Davis's goals came with the man-advantage. For the Vees it was Brendan D'Agostino and Adam Kim. Jack Irvine was the winning goalie saving 28 Voyageurs' shots.

St. Michael's took on the South's top team, North York, on Bathurst where the Rangers continued their winning streak with three in a row and five of the last six in the 4-1 final. Jack Watson faced a barrage of 52 shots while Jett Alexander repelled just 20 for his ninth win. Dante Fantauzzi scored the winner while Ross Krieger had one shorthanded. A six-point lead for North York over the Junior Canadiens.

Pickering were at home to the Hurricanes in an all-North battle and the expected close encounter materialized with Newmarket taking a 5-4 overtime win on a goal from Graeme McCrory who had set up Cole Howran for a powerplay goal with 19 seconds left in period three to get to extra time. Playing his first game of the season back for the Panthers, Davis Teigen-Katsumi had a goal and two assists. 

Burlington welcomed the Spirit at the Appleby and got off to a very quick start going up 2-0 inside two minutes on goals by Jacob Buch and Keanan Stewart. Zach Lawrence upped the lead to 3-0 early in the second frame before Charlie DeFonseca and Kenny Styles got the Spirit back into it. Both goals were assisted by Kosta Manikis, who is one of four OJHL players on the NHL watch list. The Cougars wrapped it up in the third on scores from Mitchell Morrison and Mckay Hayes, the rookie's first of the season and in the process the team moves up to the .500 mark in the West..

Top vs bottom in the East as Cobourg journeyed to Lindsay but this was closer than the standings suggest with the visitors finally claiming the 5-3 victory. With his team leading 4-3 in the third Brodie McDougall could not convert on a penalty shot but Riley McCutcheon tabbed his second of the game for the insurance, this one coming while his club were playing short a man. Ex- Burlington Cougar, Milton IceHawk and Junior Canadien Noah Hippolyte-Smith scored the game-winning goal.

The Royals had the Admirals come calling and it was a wide open match with 108 shots on goal in total. Braedyn Aubin had the hat trick for Markham and Luca Esposito had a pair including the 6-5 dramatic game winner late in the second session of overtime. Brampton led 4-0 after two complete but could not withstand the Royals' finishing rush. The three scores moved the Royals' captain up to ten for the season. Head Coach Mike Galati had this to say following the win: "We’ve got a young team and guys that are learning as they go. We’ve been a little up and down this season so far, as long as we can manage our down times we’ll I think we will be fine. Our skilled guys and veterans have to show up most nights and they did in the third, that's for sure. Hopefully we can build on this big comeback and bring that same type of urgency and pace into Sunday at St. Mike's." 

The Raiders, looking to get something going, were in Milton for game two in the North Halton rivalry and this one belonged to veteran forward Jordan Crocker who got a hat trick, doubling his output for the season and also missed on a penalty shot. Josh Nixon had three assists and Jon Hampton two. Bailey Molella, Crocker and Justin Paul all found the net in  span of two minutes and twenty seconds. Georgetown won the contest 5-2. An oddity in this one, all of the seven goals scored  came in the first half of each period.

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SATURDAY-  Going into the game in Buffalo the Junior Sabres and Burlington were tied for second in the West with thirteen points and the team from NY went ahead with a 5-2 win led by two goals from Matt Novo and one each from Declan McDonnell, Alex Cicero and Spencer Smith. Matthew Stanek chipped in with three helpers. Repying for the Cougars were Mitchell Morrison and Zach Lawrence.

At home the Tigers were looking to improve their five point lead in the North as they played host to the East Division Muskies but the visitors dug deep to take the 4-2 decision. Lindsay scored twice in the first and third and Aurora got two in the second. Curtis Trolley transported the visitors with the winning marker just short of five minutes into the final frame. Dean Buchholz made 33 saves. Brennan Stapleton and Tucker Firth scored their first goals for Lindsay to give them the 2-0 lead.

Two teams looking for rebounds from previous night's losses met in Brampton as the Admirals took on the Spirit. A big performance by Rocco Andreacchi who had five of their goals in the 6-3 victory. He had the natural hat trick in the first period, one in the second and the empty net score in the third. Last season the native of Bolton had 19 goals and 41 points for the Orangeville Flyers. Aaron Dickson had the Admirals' other marker. Hudson Lambert assisted on three goals. Rocco, who turns 20 today, described his goals to me: "On the first, I had just left the penalty box, took the puck from the defenceman and got in on a break. The second we were on a powerplay and I got the rebound from (Hudson) Lambert's shot and it went in five-hole. The third came late in the first period and I got a pass from (Patrick) Del Vecchio and the puck hit the post and then the back bar of the net. The fourth was on the powerplay and again it was Lambert's shot that I was able to get the rebound in. The last one was into the empty net and once again Lambert set me up. The most goals in a game in the OJHL before this was two." Rocco feels that the team is now coming together and is happy to be playing at the Memorial Arena in Brampton especially after all the road games they had at the start the of the season.

Two teams trying to move up in the standings in the South met in Port Credit as the Chargers and the Patriots faced-off. The visitors led 3-0 after one complete then the Chargers scored three without reply in the second and they won the third 2-1 to eke out 5-4 decision. For the winners, Nicholas Aromatario scored twice and Matthew Brassard had three assists while defenceman Sam Pink recorded his first OJHL goal. The Patriots got two goals and four points from Dante Spagnuolo. 

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SUNDAY- Looking for two points to break a tie atop the East, Whitby, on a four-game winning run, hoped home ice would be the edge over Milton but it was not to be as the IceHawks emerged with the 3-1 win aided by two goals from their leading scorer Bryan Zurowski who now has eleven for the season and reached the 20 mark in points. Rookie Tristan Lennox was the winning goalkeeper making 36 saves. Josh Samanski scored the other Milton goal with Carson Gallagher replying for Whitby. All the scoring came in the second period. With the two points the IceHawks haul themselves out of the basement in the West Division. 

The Royals came in to play St. Michael's on a three-game winning streak scoring 23 goals in the process and they would score four more in this one but it would not be enough as the Buzzers came out with a 6-4 win. Colton Trumbla, who recently committed to RIT for next season, had a large game scoring three times giving him a league-topping 16 and a total of 21 points. Nick Davis had two goals for the Royals and Braedyn Aubin one, his 11th. Christos Rodis had a goal and three points for Markham and Jonah Alexander three assists for the winners.

The league's second-ranked Rangers, winners of their last three, looked to keep their unbeaten in regulation time home record intact against the Patriots and they did just that, posting a 4-0 win over the Patriots and in the process opening up an eight point lead in the South. It was win No. 10 of the season for the Rangers. It was the second shutout of the campaign for Jett Alexander who has played in all of the club's 14 games to date. He now sports a 1.62 GAA and a .939 save percentage. Ross Krieger (his eighth), on the powerplay, Nick Leshuk (No. 7), Joey Maziarz and Grayden Gottschalk (7) had the goals. Jett says he thrives on the heavy workload and praises his defencemen, the 'best backend in the League', five of whom are returnees – Marziarz, Harrison Rees, Dante Fantauzzi, Fedor Rudakov and Ryan Radisa – who make things easier. The whole club, led by captain Gottschalk, is dedicated to team defence, he says and the trades made prior to this season have really helped, especially Aidan Casey, an old teammate of Jett's came from the MHL, Ashton Stockie from the BCHL and Adam Panacci from the AJHL. 

Less than 24 hours after Saturday's meeting game two between the Junior Sabres and Cougars took place back at the HarborCenter and it would be another two points for the home team with Alec Cicero scoring twice and a goal and three points from Ty Glover in the deja-vu 5-2 result. Andrew Salt scored one shorthanded for Burlington. Things erupted in the last minute of the game with fighting majors assessed to the Sabres' Nathan Berke and Jeremy Swartz and Burlington's Josiah Degazon and Clark Hiebert. It was win eight on the season for the Junior Sabres and it puts them firmly in second place in the West.

The Junior Canadiens needed a 'W' in a big way following five setbacks. They were at the  ScotiaBank Pond and they would get it on a late third period powerplay goal from David Sherman. 4-3. J.C's. Jaeden Jackson and the two Matthew's- Falls and Zebedee completed their scoring. Ex-Buzzer Devlin Shanahan, Matthew Bridgwater and Brandon Yeamans had the Chargers' goals. Yeamans moved into second place in the pointscoring race with 22.

Knowing a win would move the Golden Hawks into third in the East they took to the road to play the Panthers in Pickering but it would not be their night as the home side got the best of it by a 4-1 count. Daniel Ebrahim's goal 30 seconds into the second period was the decider. Adam Wheaton, Nicholas Prestia (witth his first since arriving from Georgetown)  and Michael Cimini did the rest of the damage for the victors. Nathan Gooch chipped in with two helpers. Cameron Gaylor got Trenton ahead before the Panthers' three-goal outbreak in the second. 

Follow Ron Valentine on Twitter @ronandlynda