Sunday Highlights: Sztuska stands tall on New Year’s Eve

Niagara IceDogs 6 vs. Guelph Storm 5 – OT

IceDogs blueliner Andrew Wycisk banged-home a Ryan Roobroeck-inspired rebound just 16 seconds into overtime
Niagara trailed Guelph 4-2 after two before a big start to the third period
2024 NHL Draft prospect Kevin He and rookie forward Ethan Czata both scored twice for the IceDogs
Overage defender Daniil Sobolev had a goal and two assists in the win for Niagara
Mike Levin and Ryan Roobroeck each collected a pair of helpers in the winning cause
Guelph captain Braeden Bowman led the way with a goal and two assists in the loss
Damian Slavik, who recently represented Slovakia at the World Junior A challenge, made his first start since Dec. 3rd for Guelph
Niagara improves to 9-21-4-1 while the Storm see their five-game winning streak snapped

Peterborough Petes 4 vs. Mississauga Steelheads 0

Liam Sztuska was sensational between the pipes, helping the Petes bounce-back from consecutive losses with a 52-save shutout
Jonathan Melee played in his 150th career OHL game, collecting an assist on a goal from Samuel Mayer who finished with a goal and a helper
Mississauga outshot Peterborough 52-51 as Steelheads netminder Ryerson Leenders made 47 saves
The Petes return to the win column, sitting fifth in the East Division with a record of 15-15-3-1

Oshawa Generals 4 vs. North Bay Battalion 3 – OT

New York Rangers prospect Dylan Roobroeck scored the game-tying goal late in regulation before netting the OT winner
Generals captain Stuart Rolofs notched a goal and an assist
Generals rookie Owen Griffin collected his first career OHL point with an assist Beckett Sennecke’s first period goal
Anthony Romani extended his current point streak to 12 games with his 27th goal of the season
Noah Bender earned the win in goal, making 24 saves for the Generals

Sarnia Sting 6 vs. Windsor Spitfires 5 – OT

Easton Wainwright scored on the power play 36 seconds into overtime, getting assists from rookies James Barr and Ryan Brown
Brown scored a pair of third period goals before adding an overtime assist for a three-point afternoon
Ryan Abraham tallied a pair of first period goals for Windsor, giving him 12 on the season
Oliver Peer extended his point streak to four games, scoring the equalizer late in regulation to send the game to overtime
The New Year’s Eve clash was played before a crowd of 6,416 in Windsor
Sarnia improves to 13-21-1-0

Saginaw Spirit 4 vs. Soo Greyhounds 3

Michael Misa had another strong performance against the Hounds, tallying a pair of early-period goals
Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Ethan Hay scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to secure the victory for Saginaw
Marco Mignosa extended his goal scoring streak to four games
Jack Beck scored a pair of goals in the loss, improving his season totals to 47 points (15-32–47) in 36 games
With the victory, 22-10-0-1 Saginaw is now four points back of the Hounds for first in the West Division, with three games in hand

Erie Otters 7 vs. Brantford Bulldogs 4

Fresh off an impressive performance at the World Jr. A Challenge, Erie’s Dylan Edwards tallied a pair of goals, his first and second of the season
Otters rookie Brett Hammond, the first overall pick from the 2023 U18 Priority Selection, scored his first career OHL goal in the victory
Otters blueliner Alexis Daviault and forward Pano Fimis each had a goal and an assist
Bulldogs rookie Jake O’Brien (0-3–3) and Chicago Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis (1-2–3) each collected three points
2024 NHL Draft prospect Marek Vanacker scored twice for Brantford
Ben Gaudreau stopped 26-of-30 for the win
Erie improves to a 16-13-4-0 record, and head into the new year on a two-game winning streak
The 17-10-6-1 Bulldogs continue to lead the East Division

London Knights 5 vs. Flint Firebirds 3

Winnipeg Jets prospect Jacob Julien had a solid afternoon, collecting a goal and three assists
Ruslan Gazizov extended his point streak to eight games with three points (1-2–3), his seventh multi-point game during that span
NHL Draft prospect Sam Dickinson had a goal and an assist in the winning effort while fellow draft eligible Sam O’Reilly extended his point streak to eight games with a goal and an assist
London scored three of their five goals on the power play, extending their run of consecutive games with a power play goal to 15
Ilderton, Ont. native Matthew Jenken scored for Flint; he suited up against younger brother Noah of the Knights
The Knights have won six games in a row, improving to 23-11-0-1, five points back of first place Kitchener in the Midwest Division

Barrie Colts 5 vs. Owen Sound Attack 2

Ben West was named the game’s first star, stopping 39-of-41 in the Barrie crease
NHL Draft prospect Cole Beaudoin’s penalty shot goal at the end of the second period was the eventual game-winner
NHL Draft prospect Riley Patterson led the way, tallying a goal and an assist in the victory for Barrie
Winnipeg Jets prospect Colby Barlow racked up 13 shots on goal, scoring his 11th goal of the season in the second period
Owen Sound outshot Barrie 41-31 in the loss
The Colts improve to 14-17-1-0, and now own an all-time record of 17-7-1-0 with one tie in their annual New Year’s Eve game