Four of five final Petes games are on the road
The Petes hold an eight-point lead on the Oshawa Generals for first place in the OHL’s Eastern Conference but also have a much tougher schedule over the final two weeks.
The Petes have five regular season games remaining with four of them on the road and all but one have a winning record. They visit the Hamilton Bulldogs Friday and first place overall Erie Otters on Sunday. The Petes visit the Ottawa 67’s on Wednesday close out their home schedule Thursday against Hamilton and visit Oshawa on March 19.
The Generals have six games left with four at home and two on the road and only three against teams with winning records. They host Ottawa on Friday, visit Kingston Frontenacs on Saturday and host Kingston on Sunday. They host last-place Barrie Colts on Wednesday, visit Ottawa at 2 p.m. March 18 and visit Oshawa at 6:05 p.m. on March 19.
Special Teams
One major factor in the Petes improvement this season has been significant gains in specialty teams.
The Petes entered play Thursday with the OHL’s fifth best power play at 21.6 per cent. Last season it ranked 19th at 14.8 per cent.
The Petes penalty killing ranks eighth in the OHL at 81.2 per cent compared to 20th last season at 75.3 per cent.
Quick on the draw
Zach Gallant has the best faceoff winning percentage in the OHL’s Eastern Conference at 60.1 per cent entering play Thursday. He’s not the only Pete doing well in the circle as the club has an overall winning percentage of 54.4. Seven of the 10 Petes who have taken more than 100 faceoffs this year have a winning percentage over 55 per cent.
Gallant, who had six points in three games last week after returning from an eye injury, has 30 of his 44 points, entering play Thursday, at the PMC this season.
Roster notes
Cole Fraser returned Thursday after missing one game to an upper body injury. Nikita Korostelev missed his seventh game to a lower body injury but returned to full contact at Wednesday’s practice and is now listed as day-to-day. Also scratched for the Petes Thursday was Declan Chisholm.
OHL Alumni Golf Tournament
The OHL Alumni Association will hold its second annual OHL Alumni Golf Tournament at Devil’s Pulpit, one of Canada’s most acclaimed private golf clubs, in Caledon on June 5.
The tournament is one of several networking events focused on bringing together former players from all generations. Proceeds from the tournament will be donated to the Gudbranson Stem Cell Research Grant which helps fund research for stem cell treatments.
The inaugural Alumni Golf Tournament raised $3,600 with all funds pledged to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
For more information or to register visit https://event.hockeycanada.ca/EMS/Event.aspx?eid=42b138e8-2335-42c19e3c-7ab9a7e714b5.
Canada-Russia Series Hosts
Owen Sound and Sudbury have been named as hosts of the 2017 CIBC Canada Russia Series. Game 3 of the six game series goes Nov. 9 in Owen Sound before shifting to Sudbury on Nov. 13 for Game 4. The event returns to Owen Sound after Team OHL claimed 3-0 win there in 2015. Sudbury will be hosting the event for a CHL record fourth time following games in 2007, 2010 and 2013.