Welcome back to The Flyers CHL Prospect Report! This 8th edition covers the period that was in the CHL from Tuesday January 25th – Saturday February 12th.
WHL (Western Hockey League)
Connor McClennon #94 (RW) – Winnipeg Ice (WHL)
SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
2021-2022 | 39 | 33 | 24 | 57 | +29 | 134 | 49 |
- Friday night (Jan. 28) the Winnipeg Ice were back on the road as they faced the Moose Jaw Warriors. The opening period was a spirited affair with both sides failing to open the scoring and Moose Jaw edging out an 11-10 shots on goal advantage. Connor McClennon had a good opportunity to open the scoring off the rush coming down the right side, but his shot was turned away as the score remained 0-0. In the second period, Winnipeg opened the scoring as Tanner Brown blasted a one-timer for his 4th goal of the season at 1:23 to give the Ice a 1-0 lead. Moose Jaw’s Brayden Yager (a potential top five pick in the 2023 NHL Draft) put his wrist shot to good use as he scored twice high on the blocker side in 16 seconds to put the Warriors up 2-1. Just before the end of the period, Winnipeg would tie it up 2-2 as Jakin Smallwood scored his 17th on a two-on one break at 19:38. In the third period, Mikey Milne would score his 24th on a devastating backhand that exited the net faster than it went in to make it 3-2. After Moose Jaw tied the game 3-3, the Ice once again took the lead at 12:03 as Conor Geekie tipped in his 12th of the year. Moose Jaw battled back once again to tie the game 4-4 at 17:01, with the remainder of regulation time and overtime failing to crown a winner. In the shootout, the Warriors scored twice with Winnipeg failing to score as Moose Jaw defeated Winnipeg 5-4 in a game that saw them outshot 45-28. McClennon finished the game with no points, a -3 rating, 4 SOG, and 2 PIMs (Goaltender Interference).
- The game between the Winnipeg Ice and the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers for Saturday February 5th was postponed. The game will be scheduled for a later date.
- The game between the Winnipeg Ice and the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers for Sunday February 6th was postponed. The game will be scheduled for a later date.
- The Winnipeg Ice would play at home on Thursday night (Feb. 10) as they welcomed the Brandon Wheat Kings to the Cave. In the opening period, Winnipeg would take the 1-0 lead with a powerplay goal by Zachary Benson for his 13th of the season at 5:55. Connor McClennon would drive the left side and knock the puck in off a defender in front (originally credited to Owen Pederson) for his 29th goal of the season at 7:25 to make it 2-0. McClennon would strike again at 14:37 as he directed in his 30th of the season from the right side of the crease leaving no doubt at who would get credit as the Ice opened up a 3-0 lead. In the second period, Jakin Smallwood would make it 4-0 as he scored his 18th of the season at 11:57. The Wheat Kings would reply at 14:49 with an even strength goal to lower the deficit to 4-1 after forty minutes. In the third period, McClennon would score his hat-trick (31st of the season) as he one-timed the pass from Matthew Savoie at 2:54 to make it 5-1. Nolan Ritchie’s 18th of the season made it 5-2 at 9:08, but Savoie would score his 20th of the season at 11:13 to make it 6-2 and ensure the victory for the Winnipeg Ice over their Manitoba rival. McClennon finished the game with 3 goals (including the GWG), a +3 rating, and 5 SOG. McClennon was also named the First Star of the game.
- The Winnipeg Ice would continue their homestand on Saturday night (Feb. 12) as they welcomed the Swift Current Broncos to the Wayne Fleming Arena. In the first period, Ben Zloty did an excellent job controlling the puck at the point and made his way to the slot firing a pass that was blasted home by Connor McClennon for his 32nd of the season only 1:31 in as the Ice took a 1-0 lead. Zloty would also figure into the second goal for the Ice as he would grab another assist on Jakin Smallwood’s powerplay goal at 10:00 to make it 2-0. The Broncos would get a goal back at 17:48 to make it 2-1 after twenty minutes. In the second period, Winnipeg would only take 15 seconds to add to their lead as Chase Wheatcroft would score his 6th of the season and would score a second goal at 4:24 to make it 4-1. The Ice would then get their powerplay working as Jack Finley would score his 14th of the season as he redirected a McClennon shot at 4:48. McClennon would fire home his second goal of the game with a powerplay goal at 8:52 for his 33rd goal of the season and open up a 6-1 lead. Swift Current would score at 14:03, but Zachary Benson would reply for the Ice only 1:46 later to make it a 7-2 game. In the third period, Winnipeg did not take the foot off the gas pedal as they outshot Swift Current 19-4 and scored a final goal by Mikey Milne to overwhelmingly defeat Swift Current by a final score of 8-2. McClennon finished the game with 2 goals and 1 assist for 3 points, a +1 rating, and 3 SOG. McClennon was awarded the First Star of the Game for the second straight game.
Ethan Samson #4 (D) – Prince George Cougars (WHL)
SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
2021-2022 | 46 | 9 | 18 | 27 | -17 | 160 | 34 |
- The Prince George Cougars began a road trip against the U.S. Division as they took on the Portland Winterhawks on Friday night (Jan. 28). In the opening period, Prince George struck first as Riley Heidt scored on a wrist shot from the slot for his 11th of the season to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead at 7:41. The Winterhawks tied the game at 11:30 to make it 1-1 and would outshoot the Cougars for the remainder of the game (47-27). In the second period, Tyler Brennan would make a stop outside his crease but give up a massive rebound that was put in by Clay Hanus to give Portland a 2-1 lead. The Winterhawks would score on one-timer at 14:22 to add some insurance and head to the break with a 3-1 lead. In the third period, the Winterhawks would add a fourth with Ethan Samson in the penalty box and former Cougars goaltender Taylor Gauthier would only allow one goal as Portland defeated Prince George 4-1. Samson finished the game with no points, an even rating, 4 SOG, and 4 PIMs (Interference and High Sticking).
- On Saturday night (Jan. 29) the Prince George Cougars were back in action as they visited the Everett Silvertips. Everett would open the scoring at 14:11 as Jackson Berezowski scored his 27th of the season after taking advantage of a puck deflecting off a Cougars player directly to him in the slot. With the man advantage, Prince George would tie the game 1-1 as Hudson Thornton pinched and did well to keep the puck in the offensive zone and was able to score off a bad angle near the goal line in the corner at 18:46. There was not much else to cheer for in this one for the Cougars as they were dominated in shots on goal in all three periods to the tune of 54-16 overall. In the second period, Ryan Hofer would score his 18th and 19th goals of the season to give the Silvertips a 3-1 lead. In the third period, Everett would score three seconds into a powerplay with Ethan Samson in the penalty box to make it 4-1. Berezowki would add his second of the game at 10:34 and Niko Huuhtanen would add another at 16:28 as the Everett Silvertips dominated the Prince George Cougars by a score of 6-1. Samson finished the game with no points, a -2 rating, 2 SOG, and 2 PIMs.
- Tuesday night (Feb. 1) the tour of the U.S. continued as the Prince George Cougars looked to rebound from a lopsided loss against the Tri-City Americans. Early on, Cougars goaltender Tyler Brennan made some key saves to keep the game scoreless. Prince George would strike first as Ethan Samson would carry the puck into the zone but would not get an assist as some good passing was eventually converted into a goal by Connor Bowie for his 9th of the season at 19:43. In the second period, Caden Brown scored his 4th of the season on turnover by the Americans that led to nice transition play by the Cougars at 16:23 to make it 2-0. The game was scoreless in the third period and Tyler Brennan stopped all 24 shots that he faced as the Prince George Cougars shutout the Tri-City Americans by a score of 2-0. Prince George also did a nice job on the penalty kill as the Americans went 0/5 on the powerplay. Samson finished the game with no points, an even rating, and 5 SOG.
- On Wednesday night (Feb. 2) the Prince George Cougars visited Spokane to take on the Chiefs. Both sides would fail to score in the opening period as Spokane outshot Prince George 15-7. With Ethan Samson in the penalty box for a slashing minor, Spokane would take the lead with a powerplay goal at 8:08 of the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Prince George would tie the game 1-1 at 17:23 as Koehn Ziemmer scored his 18th of the season. The lead would not last as the Chiefs would take a 2-1 lead with under 30 seconds remaining in the period through former Winnipeg Ice player Chase Bertholet. In the third period, the Cougars showed some resilience as they outshot the Chiefs 14-3 and were rewarded with a powerplay goal to tie the game 2-2. On the goal, Samson got a puck through from the point that was slid in by Riley Heidt for his 12th of the season at 14:57. With regulation time expiring, the game headed into overtime where Spokane got all of the shots on goal and capitalized on a powerplay with Raegan Wiles scoring his 5th of the season to lead Spokane to a 3-2 overtime win over Prince George. Samson finished the game with 1 assist, an even rating, 5 SOG, and 4 PIMs.
- Playing their third game in four nights on Friday night (Feb. 4) the Prince George Cougars continued their U.S. road trip with a game against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Seattle came out and pressed the Cougars in the opening period with a 15-6 shots on goal advantage. The Thunderbirds would score three even strength goals including two by Lukas Svejkovsky to lead 3-0 after twenty minutes. Although the second period saw the shots on goal even up with both teams getting 13 apiece, Seattle added to their lead only 30 seconds in to take a 4-0 lead. Prince George would grab a goal back late in the frame as Koehn Ziemmer scored his 19th of the season at 19:14 to make it 4-1. In the third period, Seattle once again dominated the shots on goal 20-3 (48-22 overall) and added three more goals (two even strength and one powerplay) to widen their lead to 7-1. Ryker Singer would score his 5th of the season on a breakaway at 19:08, but the Prince George Cougars were dominated and lost a 7-2 contest to the Seattle Thunderbirds. Ethan Samson finished the game with no points, a -1 rating, and 3 SOG.
- The Prince George Cougars played their last game on this U.S. road trip against the Everett Silvertips on Saturday night (Feb. 5). The Cougars are going to need every once of rest over their six day break to recover from this one as the Silvertips pounded 62 shots on goal against Tyler Brennan who really needed much more help from his teammates. In the opening period, Jackson Berezowski scored his 30th of the season with a wide open wrist shot in front at 4:55. A late goal at 18:28 would be added to put Everett up 2-0 after twenty minutes. The second period would see the Silvertips add another two goals at 6:31 and 9:37 to go up 4-0, and the third period would follow a similar script as the opening period with an early goal and a late goal sealing a dominant 6-0 win for the Silvertips over the Cougars. Everett goaltender Koen MacInnes stopped all 24 shots that he faced for the shutout. Prince George was guilty of allowing too much space and watching the puck far too often to be able to compete against one of the best teams in the WHL. About the only positive for the Cougars was that their penalty kill did not allow a powerplay goal on six opportunities (although their powerplay also could not convert on four chances themselves). Ethan Samson finished the game with no points, a -3 rating, 7 SOG, and 2 PIMs.
- Friday night (Feb. 11) had the Prince George Cougars return home as they faced the visiting Vancouver Giants. The opening period was evenly matched as both sides were able to create chances and the shots were fairly even with the Cougars having a 9-8 advantage. The Vancouver Giants opened the scoring at 16:04 as Ty Thorpe scored his 11th of the season on the powerplay to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. The second period was scoreless, but the Cougars upped their play and would outshoot the Giants 13-6 but were unable to tie the game. That would prove costly in the third period as the Giants would score two goals less than a minute apart (Lysell at 2:56 and Lies at 3:47) to open up a 3-0 lead. Tyler Brennan played a solid game other than wanting to correct the rebound that he gave up on the second goal, but he was pulled and Thorpe would score his second of the game into an empty net to make it 4-0. The Cougars would break the shutout at 19:12 as Carter MacAdams put forth a great individual effort with his stickhandling to roof a puck for his 7th of the season, but Prince George would lose the game to Vancouver by a score of 4-1. Ethan Samson finished the game with no points, a -2 rating, and 4 SOG.
- On Saturday night (Feb. 12) the Prince George Cougars hosted the Vancouver Giants for the second straight evening looking to avenge their 4-1 loss the night before. The opening period saw no goals and the Cougars held a 10-7 shots on goal advantage. In the second period, Vancouver would open the scoring as 2022 NHL first round pick Fabian Lysell scored his 15th of the season on the powerplay to give the Giants a 1-0 lead at 3:19. Prince George would push back and would beat goaltender Jesper Vikman but were not able to get past the post or crossbar. With Prince George on the powerplay, Vancouver would extend their lead to 2-0 on a shorthanded goal at 17:52 as Payton Mount would beat Tyler Brennan through the five-hole. In the third period, Ethan Samson would attempt a one-timer from the point only to snap his stick with the Giants scoring into an empty net to make it 3-0. Prince George would once again get a late goal to end the shutout as Carter MacAdams scored his 8th of the season at 19:28, but the Cougars would lose again to the Giants by a final score of 3-1. Samson finished the game with no points, a -2 rating, and 2 SOG.
QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
Elliot Desnoyers #91 (C) – Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
2021-2022 | 26 | 20 | 22 | 42 | +18 | 108 | 23 |
- The Halifax Mooseheads returned to action from the QMJHL stoppage of play due to the spread of the Omicron variant on Saturday night (Feb. 5) as they visited the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. In the first period, Chicoutimi scored the opening goal as Mooseheads goaltender Brady James was sprawled in no mans land leading to an easy tap in to make it 1-0 at 8:42. At 13:52, Elliot Desnoyers won an offensive zone faceoff directly to Jordan Dumais who scored his 17th of the season to tie it 1-1. In the second period, the Sagueneens would take the 2-1 lead at 11:36 with a powerplay goal through a quick wrist shot by Matej Kaslik. In the third period, James made some timely saves and was a little lucky as he was caught out of position to keep Halifax in the game. On a play that looked like the Sagueneens were offside, the Mooseheads quickly countered down the ice and Evan Boucher scored his 1st of the season to tie the game 2-2 at 18:16. Regulation time expired and in overtime, Evan Boucher would be the hero for the Mooseheads as his second goal of the game came from a Desnoyers pass on an odd man rush at 4:20 as the Halifax Mooseheads defeated Chicoutimi 3-2. Desnoyers finished the game with 2 assists, a +2 rating, 3 SOG, and was 9/31 on faceoffs.
- Sunday (Feb. 6) saw the Halifax Mooseheads continue their road trip as they visited the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. The first period was scoreless with the Drakkar outshooting the Mooseheads 11-6. In the second period, Halifax would open the scoring as Evan Boucher scored his 3rd goal of the season at 7:17 to make it 1-0. Baie-Comeau would reply with the man advantage at 11:03 to tie it 1-1, but Boucher would score his 4th of the season (and his second consecutive two-goal game) on the powerplay at 15:11 to make it 2-1 after forty minutes. Shots would be fairly even in the third period (15-13 for Baie-Comeau) but all the scoring would be done by the Drakkar. 14 seconds into the period, Evgeny Sapelnikov would tie it 2-2 and Xavier Fortin would add another 58 seconds later to make it 3-2. Sapelnikov added his second tally of the game at 16:48 to make it 4-2, and Baie-Comeau would add an empty net goal to defeat the Halifax Mooseheads by a score of 5-2. In truth, the score could have been more lopsided in that final period had Mooseheads goaltender Mathis Rousseau not stood tall on a few opportunities after allowing the third goal. Elliot Desnoyers finished the game with no points, a -1 rating, 4 SOG, 2 PIMs (Cross-Checking), and was 10 of 27 on faceoffs.
- On Tuesday night (Feb. 8) the Halifax Mooseheads travelled to Rimouski to face the Oceanic. Halifax would get on the board to take a 1-0 as Evan Boucher scored his 5th of the season despite pleas by a few Rimouski players that he interfered with the goaltender. The Oceanic would tie the game 1-1 at 12:23 with a great individual effort and superb stickhandling, but Robert Orr would score his 13th of the season only 33 seconds later to restore the Moosehead’s lead. Elliot Desnoyers would then get to work as he would score his 17th and 18th goals of the season at 15:02 and 18:47 to make it 4-1. Equally impressive was the fact that the Oceanic outshot the Mooseheads 20-9 in the opening period. In the second period, Rimouski would narrow the Halifax lead with a powerplay goal at 3:42 and an even strength goal at 10:23 to make it 4-3. In the third period, Attilio Biasca would score his 7th on the powerplay to make it 5-3 at 9:58. Desnoyers would get the hat-trick at 14:21 as he went to the front of the net and was rewarded with potting the rebound to make it 6-3. Rimouski would respond with a powerplay goal at 16:02 and an even strength goal at 17:25 to bring the Oceanic to within one. Desnoyers would score his fourth of the game (20th overall) into an empty net to give Halifax a 7-5 win over Rimouski. Desnoyers finished the game with 4 goals (including a GWG), a +4 rating, 4 SOG, and was 7/24 on faceoffs. It is the third time that Desnoyers has had a four-goal game in the QMJHL. Desnoyers was also named the game’s First Star.
OHL (Ontario Hockey League)
Jon-Randall Avon #10 (C) – Peterborough Petes (OHL)
SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
2021-2022 | 40 | 17 | 27 | 44 | -19 | 93 | 21 |
Brian Zanetti #9 (D) – Peterborough Petes (OHL)
SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
2021-2022 | 30 | 3 | 14 | 17 | -13 | 43 | 10 |
- On Tuesday night (Jan. 25) the Peterborough Petes faced off against the visiting Mississauga Steelheads who have climbed into the CHL’s Top Ten teams list. In the first period, Peterborough got things going with a powerplay goal only 1:30 in to take the 1-0 lead. Emmett Sproule saw his shot deflect twice in front as J.R. Avon thought he deflected home the goal but it ended up getting deflected a second time as Chase Stillman scored his 11th of the season. Things went downhill from there for the Petes as Mississauga asserted their dominance by outshooting the Petes in all three periods to the tune of 39-14 overall. Mississauga would tie the game on a sloppy backhand giveaway by Brian Zanetti which allowed the Steelheads to grab a shorthanded goal at 3:09 to tie the game 1-1. In the second period, Mississauga would grab the 2-1 lead at 6:48 as Ethan Del Mastro notched his 5th of the season. Petes goaltender Michael Simpson did well to keep the Petes in it, but in the third period the Steelheads would capitalize on the powerplay at 6:48 to take a 3-1 lead. With Sipson on the bench for the extra attacker, Zander Veccia would score his second goal of the game into the empty net as Mississauga handed Peterborough a 4-1 loss. Zanetti finished the game with no points, a -2 rating, and no SOG. Avon was named the Third Star of the game and finished with 1 assist, a -2 rating, 1 SOG, and was 7 of 13 on faceoffs.
- Thursday night (Jan. 27) saw the Peterbrough Petes back in action as they welcomed the Kingston Frontenacs to the Peterborough Memorial Centre. In the opening period, the Petes struck quickly for the second consecutive game as Chase Stillman got his 12th on the powerplay only 1:00 into the game with J.R. Avon and Brian Zanetti both grabbing assists on the goal. The Petes would add to the lead and make it 2-0 as Emmett Sproule pounced on an Avon deflection in front to score his 16th at 7:46. Kingston would get a goal back with only 12 seconds remaining in the period as Shane Wright fluttered a puck past Tye Austin for his 14th of the season to make it 2-1. In the second period, Tucker Robertson uncharacteristically gave the puck away to Zayde Wisdom who tied the game 2-2 with his 1st goal of the season at 4:13. The Frontenacs would take the lead at 17:49 with an even strength goal by Francesco Arcuri to make it 3-2 after forty minutes. In the third period, Wright would grab assists on Wisdom’s second of the game at 2:45 and Lucas Peric’s 10th of the season to extend the Kingston lead to 5-2. Sam Alfano would grab a breakaway goal at 12:14 for his 8th of the season, but Martin Chromiak’s 18th goal at 16:37 on a breakaway of his own ensured that Kingston would defeat Peterborough by a score of 6-3. Zanetti finished the game with 1 assist, an even rating, and 1 SOG. Avon registered 2 assists, an even rating, 2 SOG, and was 7 of 13 on faceoffs.
- Saturday night (Jan. 29) had the Peterborough Petes play the visiting Oshawa Generals. Peterborough got the opening goal while shorthanded as Tucker Robertson scored his 22nd of the season off a nice feed from Emmett Sproule at 12:16 to make it 1-0. The Petes would go up 2-0 at 16:55 as Sproule would get his second assist of the period on Kaspars Ziemins 5th goal of the season. In the second period, J.R. Avon would score his 16th of the season into a yawning cage with a nice assist from Nick Lardis at 14:36 to make it 3-0. The Generals would get one back at the end of the period to make it 3-1 as Calum Ritchie scored his 18th on he powerplay at 18:17. In the third period, the Generals would close the gap to 3-2 at 8:57 but Ziemins would score his second of the game for some insurance to put the Petes up 4-2 at 10:25. Michael Simpson made some great stops for the Petes and Peterborough would be rewarded with an empty-netter as Johnathan Melee jumped out of the penalty box to go in alone and score his 7th of the season. The Peterborough Petes would defeat the Oshawa Generals by a final score of 5-2. Avon finished the game with 1 goal and 1 assist for 2 points, a +1 rating, 4 SOG, and 2 PIMs (Hooking minor). Brian Zanetti did not dress for the game.
- On Sunday (Jan. 30) the Peterborough Petes travelled to Oshawa for the second half of a home and home set against the Generals. In the opening period, Oshawa saw a 14-7 shots advantage and would open the scoring at 4:26 to take a 1-0 lead through Stuart Rolofs. Only 10 seconds later, a great forecheck from Emmett Sproule would lead to Tucker Robertson slamming home his 23rd goal of the season. Oshawa would get two more goals from Luke Torrence (a rocket of a wrist shot) and Cameron Butler to hear into the intermission with a 3-1 lead. In the second period, the Petes would get the only goal of the frame as Sam Alfano scored his 9th at 8:57 to make it a 3-2 deficit. In the third period, Peterborough would tie the game 3-3 on Nick Lardis’ 12th goal of the season only 2:17 in, but before the goal was announced the Generals Brett Harrison would score 19 seconds later with what would be the game winning goal as the Oshawa Generals exacted revenge on the Peterborough Petes by handing them a 4-3 loss. J.R. Avon finished the game with no points, a -1 rating, and 2 SOG. He only won 3 of 16 faceoffs and struggled at the dot. Brian Zanetti did not play for the second straight game and was listed as having an upper body injury.
- The Peterborough Petes kicked off the month of February by hosting the Ottawa 67’s on Thursday night (Feb. 3). Ottawa opened the scoring in the game by scoring two goals in 47 seconds as Vinzenz Rohrer scored his 12th of the season and Brady Stonehouse took full advantage of a horrific giveaway by Josh Kavanagh for his 11th at 11:33 and 12:20 to give the 67’s a 2-0 lead. Peterborough would grab one back late in the period as Johnathan Melee scored his 8th of the season off a rebound in front at 18:29 to make it 2-1. In the second period, Melee would score his second as Ottawa defenseman Jack Matier coughed up the puck in the slot to tie the game 2-2 only 1:51 in. Ottawa would take a 3-2 lead at 8:06 as Teddy Sawyer scored his 2nd of the season. Petes goaltender Tye Austin made some big saves in the latter part of the second period and in the third, but Peterborough was not able to find the equalizer as the 67’s downed the Petes by a score of 3-2. J.R. Avon finished the game with no points, a -1 rating, 0 SOG, and was 2 of 7 on faceoffs. Brian Zanetti missed his third straight game with an upper body injury.
- Brian Zanetti returned the Petes lineup on Saturday night (Feb. 5) as Peterborough welcomed the visiting Niagara IceDogs to town. In the first period, Zanetti made his return pay immediate dividends as he scored a powerplay goal with a shot from the point (his 3rd) at 7:37 with fellow Flyers prospect J.R. Avon getting an assist on the play. Niagara would tie the game 1-1 with a powerplay goal of their own with only two seconds remaining until the intermission. In the second period, Sam Alfano was awarded a penalty shot at 1:50 and converted for his 10th of the season to give the Petes a 2-1 lead. Peterborough would extend the lead to 3-1 as Nick Lardis scored his 13th of the season at 6:01 after capitalizing on a turnover. The pendulum would swing though as Niagara would score a powerplay goal and an even strength goal 37 seconds apart to tie the game 3-3. The Petes would escape the period with a 4-3 lead as Justin DeZoete scored his 6th of the season at 16:54. In the third period, Niagara would tie the game 4-4 at 7:40 only to see Peterborough regain the lead as Konnor Smith scored his 2nd of the season to make it 5-4 at 8:26. The IceDogs would tie the game once again at 16:06 with a powerplay goal, and regulation time would end with the score 5-5. In overtime, Peterborough’s Joe Carroll would be the hero as he scored his 12th of the season after knocking home Avon’s pass from behind the net to give the Petes a 6-5 overtime victory. Zanetti finished the game with 1 goal, an even rating, 4 SOG, and 2 PIMs (Hooking). Avon registered 2 assists, a +2 rating, and 3 SOG. He won only 5 of 14 faceoffs.
- Sunday (Feb. 6) had the Peterborough Petes travel to Hamilton to take on the Bulldogs. In the opening period, Ryan Winterton scored his 6th goal of the season on the powerplay with a nice wrist shot from the point to make it 1-0 at 5:24. In the second period, the floodgates opened and the Bulldogs scored early and often with a total of five goals on only eleven shots. Winterton got his second of the game only 45 seconds in, Mysak’s 24th at 4:19, a shorthanded goal at 17:00, and even strength goals at 18:59 and 19:50 to make it 6-0. In the third period, Peterborough would break the shutout with Chase Stillman scoring his 13th of the season at 5:32 to make it 6-1. At 16:04, Tucker Robertson banked a puck in off of Bulldog’s defenseman Staios for his 24th of the season to make it 6-2. But Mysak would tally his second goal of the game by swatting a saucer pass out of mid-air to demonstrate exceptional hand-eye coordination to make it 7-2. Jax Dubois would finish off the scoring in this game with his 4th of the season, but it was a decisive victory for Hamilton as the Bulldogs defeated the Petes 7-3. Brian Zanetti finished the game with no points, a -3 rating, and 0 SOG. J.R. Avon also finished with no points, a -3 rating, 1 SOG, and was 5 of 16 at the faceoff circle.
- On Wednesday night (Feb. 9) the Peterborough Petes traveled east to face the Kingston Frontenacs. In the opening period, the Petes would strike first on the powerplay as Emmett Sproule scored his 17th of the season to give Peterborough a 1-0 lead at 11:19. The Frontenacs would tie the game 1-1 in the final minute of play as Francesco Arcuri potted his 20th on a breakaway at 19:41. There would be no momentum gained for either side as the second period would be scoreless, although the Petes generated some nice chances but could not solve Frontenacs goaltender Leevi Merilainen with both teams registering 13 shot on goal. In the third period, J.R. Avon would elect to pass on a two-on-one break and Jax Dubois would make no mistake as his 5th of the season would give the Petes a 2-1 lead at 6:48. The Frontenacs would pull the goalie looking to tie the game late, but Joe Carroll would dash those hopes with his 13th of the season as the Peterborough Petes would defeat the Kingston Frontenacs 3-1. Brian Zanetti would not register a point, have an even rating, and registered 2 SOG. Avon finished the game with 1 assist, a +2 rating, 2 SOG, and was 6/11 on faceoffs.
- Thursday night (Feb. 10) had the Peterborough Petes in action for the second consecutive evening as they welcomed the Ottawa 67’s to the Peterborough Memorial Centre. Only 11 total shots for both teams was generated in the opening period, but the Petes would get a powerplay goal to take the 1-0 lead as Brian Zanetti and J.R. Avon passed the puck back and forth to one another before Avon sent a cross-ice feed to Joe Carroll who slapped home his 14th of the season. In the second period, the Petes would extend the lead to 2-0 as Chase Stillman scored his 14th with the man advantage at 10:22 with a deft deflection. Ottawa would get one back with the man advantage at 13:56 to narrow the gap to 2-1 after forty minutes. In the third period, Avon would score his 17th goal of the season with a wrist shot from the left slot off a hard feed from Nick Lardis at 4:54 to make it 3-1. At 16:09 the Petes would put the game away and ensure the two points as Tucker Robertson would steal the puck and make some nifty dekes to bury his 25th of the season as the Petes would defeat the 67’s by a score of 4-1. Zanetti finished the game with 1 assist, a +2 rating, and 1 SOG. Avon registered 1 goal and 1 assist for 2 points, a +2 rating, 4 SOG, 4 PIMs (double minor for High Sticking), and was 6 of 16 at the faceoff circle. Avon was also named the game’s Third Star.
Zayde Wisdom #74 (RW) – Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
2021-2022 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 9 | +3 | 35 | 17 |
- On Thursday night (Jan. 27), the Kingston Frontenacs travelled to Peterborough to take on the Petes. In the opening period, the Frontenacs found themselves down 2-0 by the 7:46 mark which included allowing a powerplay goal only 1:00 into the game. Shane Wright brought the Frontenacs to within a goal as his knuckling shot somehow found the back of the net for his 14th of the season at 19:48. In the second period, Zayde Wisdom would tie the game 2-2 as he picked up his 1st goal of the season after taking the puck from Tucker Robertson and firing the puck home at 4:13. Francesco Arcuri would score his 17th of the season at 17:49 to give Kingston a 3-2 lead through forty minutes. In the third period, Kingston would continue to dominate the shots on goal (it would finish 46-28) and Wisdom would finish off a great pass from Wright for his second of the game at 2:45. Defenseman Lucas Peric would score his 10th of the season to make it 5-2 at 9:19. Both teams would trade breakaway goals as Sam Alfano converted his 8th of the season for the Petes at 12:14 and Martin Chromiak would get his 18th goal at 16:37 to ensure that the Frontenacs defeated the Petes by a score of 6-3. Wisdom finished the game with 2 goals, a +3 rating, and 7 SOG. Wisdom was also named the First Star of the game.
- The Kingston Frontenacs were back in action on Friday night (Jan. 28) as they hosted the Oshawa Generals. Kingston would outshoot Oshawa 14-8 in the opening period, and jumped out to a 1-0 lead as Martin Chromiak scored his 19th of the season at 6:17 off a nice feed from Shane Wright. With only 46 seconds remaining in the period, Francesco Arcuri potted his 18th of the season with Wright and Zayde Wisdom drawing assists on the play to make it 2-0. In the second period it was Oshawa that would do all the scoring as they outshot Kingston 10-7. Calum Ritchie would score his 13th of the season on the powerplay at 7:24 to get the Generals on the board, and Cameron Butler would get his 7th at 10:37 to tie the game 2-2. In the third period, Wisdom would enter the offensive zone and send a cross-ice pass to Chromiak who buried his second of the game only 41 seconds in to give Kingston a 3-2 lead. The Generals would respond at 4:46 as Ty Tullio tied the game 3-3 with his 18th of the season. The Frontenacs would get the winner as Alec Belanger got the puck off the faceoff and hesitated before getting his 4th goal of the season on a wrist shot at 7:30 that finished the scoring with the Frontenacs defeating the Generals 4-3. Wisdom finished the game with 2 assists, a +3 rating, and 1 SOG.
- On Sunday (Jan. 30) the Kingston Frontenacs travelled to Hamilton to take on the Bulldogs. In the first period, Hamilton struck first with a powerplay goal at 15:03 through Avery Hayes’ 22nd goal of the season to lead 1-0. In the second period, Jan Mysak and Ryan Winterton scored goals 16 seconds apart (3:15 and 3:31) to take a 3-0 lead. Winterton’s goal was impressive indeed as he let go a bullet of a wrist shot after he picked off a Shane Wright errant pass. Winterton would score his second goal of the game (his 4th) at 14:45 to make it 4-0. Jordan Frasca would get the Frontenacs on the board with a tremendous individual effort as he skated past two skaters to slide home his 23rd goal of the season at 16:17 to make it 4-1. In the third period, Francesco Arcuri would score his 19th at 7:37 to make it a 4-2 game. But Mysak would pot his 23rd into an empty net as the Hamilton Bulldogs defeated the Kingston Frontenacs by a score of 5-2. Zayde Wisdom did not register a point in this game and finished with a -1 rating, 1 SOG, and 2 PIMs (Roughing minor).
- On Thursday (Feb. 3) the Kingston Frontenacs travelled to Barrie to face the Colts. In the first period, Kingston would get the only goal despite only registering four shots on goal as Nathan Poole scored his 2nd of the season after gaining a head of steam and driving the net to get one past Mack Guzda to make it 1-0 at 9:51. In the second period, Kingston looked more like themselves as they dominated the shots on goal by a 19-9 margin. The Frontenacs would capitalize on an early powerplay as Jordan Frasca shoved in a rebound in front for his 25th of the season at 2:48 to make it 2-0. At 6:48, Braden Hache scored his 2nd of he season as he pinched in from the point and ripped an open wrist shot home to make it 3-0. In the final minute, the lead would be extended to 4-0 as Shane Wright fired a wrist shot in for his 16th of the season. In the third period, the Frontenacs would add a fifth goal as Francesco Arcuri potted his 19th at 3:57 to put the game well out of reach for the Colts. To their credit, Barrie would break the shutout at 7:51 with an even strength goal and add a powerplay goal at 15:18; but they would get no closer as Kingston took this contest by a score of 5-2. Zayde Wisdom finished this game with no points, an even rating, and 4 SOG.
- The Kingston Frontenacs continued to hit the road as they played for the second consecutive night on Friday (Feb. 4) as they visited the Sudbury Wolves. The opening period went well for Kingston as they outshot Sudbury 15-6 and took the lead on the only goal of the period as Jordan Frasca notched his 26th goal at 17:35 off a nice pass by Francesco Arcuri. In the second period, Kingston still had the 18-11 shots advantage but this time it was Sudbury that would score the only goal of the period to tie the game 1-1 at 6:46. In the third period, the Frontenacs finally converted on a powerplay chance (they went 1/6 in the game) as Frasca scored his second goal of the game at 14:38 to make it 2-1. With exactly two minutes remaining, Paul Ludwinski scored his 8th of the season with the Wolves net empty to secure the road victory for Kingston by a score of 3-1. Sudbury goaltender Mitchell Weekes was excellent in this game and was named the First Star for keeping Sudbury in the game despite the drastic difference in shots on goal. Zayde Wisdom finished the game with no points, an even rating, and 4 SOG.
- The Kingston Frontenacs travelled to North Bay on Sunday (Feb. 6) to take on the Battalion. Paul Hughes opened the scoring for Kingston with his 2nd of the season at 10:22, but the Battalion would tie the game 1-1 only 1:22 later with a powerplay goal. In the second period, North Bay would score even strength goals at 6:21 and 8:32 to open up a 3-1 lead after forty minutes. In the third period, Brandon Coe would score his 27th of the season on a breakaway at 3:23 to make it 4-1 and the Battalion would add a shorthanded goal at 10:41 to open up a 5-1 lead. Although Shane Wright would grab his 17th of the season at 19:17, the Frontenacs were playing their third game in four nights and were guilty of too many giveaways and surrendering stretch passes as they lost to the Battalion 5-2. Zayde Wisdom did not dress for the game.
- Wednesday night (Feb. 9) had the Kingston Frontenacs host the visiting Peterborough Petes. Zayde Wisdom would dress in the game after missing the Frontenacs previous game. The game would turn out to be an even affair as the total shots on goal would only favor Kingston 31-29. The Petes would get on the board first in the opening period as they took advantage of a powerplay opportunity at 11:19 through Emmett Sproule’s 17th of the season to lead 1-0. The Frontenacs would score a final minute goal as Francesco Arcuri score his 20th of the season with 19 seconds remaining in the period and looking to build some momentum. While the shots were even at 13 apiece in the second period, it was Frontenacs goaltender Leevi Merilainen who kept the game tied at 1-1 with a few key saves. The deadlock would be broken in the third period as the Petes’ Jax Dubois would finish off a two-on-one with his 5th goal of the season while shorthanded at 6:48 to give Peterborough a 2-1 advantage. That one goal lead would last until late in the game; and with the Kingston net empty for an extra attacker, Joe Carroll would ice any hopes of a comeback with his 13th of the season as the Frontenacs would fall to the Petes by a score of 3-1. Wisdom finished the game with no points, a -2 rating, and 1 SOG.
- On Saturday night (Feb. 12) the Kingston Frontenacs hosted the visiting Mississauga Steelheads in what turned out to be a wild goal scoring affair. The game stared innocently enough in the first period with the Frontenacs enjoying the better of the chances but with the Steelheads only outshooting them 9-8. Kingston would score the opening goal with the man advantage at 3:24 as Jordan Frasca scored his 28th of the season from a Shane Wright feed to give the Frontenacs a 1-0 lead. Things got really wild in the second period. Mississauga would score at 0:31 and 6:31 to take a 2-1 lead. The teams would then alternate even strength goals with Kingston’s Francesco Arcuri (21st) and Ben Roger (1st) evening up the game 3-3 with a Mississauga goal sandwiched in between. Projected late first rounder Luca DelBelBelluz gave the Steelheads the 4-3 lead with a powerplay goal, but Shane Wright would find a rebound while shorthanded to tie the game 4-4 with his 18th of the season at 17:57. The eighth goal of the period was another powerplay goal by Mississauga at 18:46 as Owen Beck’s 16th put the Steelheads up 5-4 at the end of the second period. The third period saw less scoring, but not by much as another six goals were scored by both teams. Kingston would score four consecutive goals as Arcuri (22nd), Lucas Edmonds (20th), Wright’s second of the game (19th), and Paul Hughes (3rd) made the score 8-5 in favor of the Frontenacs. Mississauga would pull it to 8-6 at 17:19, but Lucas Edmonds scored his second goal of the game into an empty net at 18:54 to end a goal fest with Kingston defeating Mississauga 9-6. Zayde Wisdom finished the game with no points, a -1 rating, 1 SOG, and 9 PIMs after being assessed a two minute minor for tripping, a five minute major for fighting (with two extra minutes for instigating), and a misconduct.
***
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Manny Benevides