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OHL Brampton Steelheads

Game Preview: December 3-6

December 4, 2015 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Brampton Steelheads News Release


The Steelheads will play three games in four nights starting tonight in St. Catharines when they take on the Niagara Ice Dogs in a pivotal division showdown. On Friday, the roles will be reversed as the Ice Dogs will make their first trip of the season to the Hershey Centre as the Trout will host the second game of a home and home between the two teams. Following Friday night's game, the Steelheads will remain in Mississauga as they welcome the Central Division leading Barrie Colts to town for a Sunday afternoon tilt.

The Steelheads last played on Sunday in Oshawa against the Generals where they played their third game in three nights. The Steelheads would take the game 3-2 in a shootout as Owen Tippett and Jason Smith scored for Mississauga. Tippett also had the only goal in the shootout as Jack Flinn would stop all three General shooters, including Domenic Commisso who had both Oshawa goals, for his 14th win of the season. Since returning to the team following his gold medal win at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge, Tippett has scored six goals in eight games, including his first career OHL multi-goal during a 7-0 win against North Bay on November 20th. Along with Tippett, Michael McLeod has been on a tear as the Mississauga native is on a 10 game point streak that's seen him record 6 goals and 8 assists in that span. The streak is tied for the longest on the season amongst Steelheads' players with Alexander Nylander who accomplished the feat between Oct 4th - Oct 29th.

Tonight & Friday vs. Niagara

The Steelheads and Ice Dogs are currently neck and neck in the Central Division as Mississauga sits in 2nd place with 30 points with Niagara on their tails in 3rd with 28 points and three games in hand. The two met back on October 29th at the Meridian Centre where Niagara would top in the Trout 4-2. Alexander Nylander opened the scoring with two goals in the first minutes of the game to give Mississauga the early 2-0. However, following Nylander's second, the Ice Dogs would score three times in a 6:50 span as Mikkel Aagaard, Brendan Perlini and Anthony DiFruscia would find the back of the net to give Niagara the 3-2. Jack Flinn's stellar second period kept the Steelheads in the game heading into the final frame. In the third though, the Ice Dogs would extend their lead to two as New York Islanders prospect Josh Ho-Sang would put one past Flinn to make it 4-2, which would inevitably win Niagara the win.

Leading the way for the Ice Dogs has been Josh Ho-Sang. In the team's first 25 games, the Toronto native has complied 8 goals and 26 assists and his 34 points on the year are good enough for 13th in OHL scoring. Last year, Ho-Sang began the season with the Windsor Spitfires but was just traded 11 games in to Niagara for Hayden McCool and two second draft picks. In 49 games with the Ice Dogs following the trade, Ho-Sang recorded 14 goals and 48 assists. In Niagara's playoff run that saw them fall in the second round to the Oshawa Generals, Ho-Sang had a goal and 15 assists for a team leading 16 points in 11 games.

Niagara also features forward Brendan Perlini and defenceman Vince Dunn who were both recently invited to Team Canada's World Junior Selection Camp for the upcoming 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship held in Helsinki, Finland. Following his 2013-14 season where he recorded 71 points (34 goals and 37 assists), Perlini was drafted 12th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2014 NHL Draft. This year, he has 22 points in 23 games, including 13 goals which is tied for first on Niagara. Perlini has previously represented Canada before at the 2014 World U-18 Championships where he recorded 3 goals and an assists in 7 games to help Canada claim the bronze medal. Dunn, who is a native of Lindsay, is one of the top defencemen in the OHL. His 24 points are second in the OHL in defencemen scoring, one point behind Erie's Travis Dermott and his 8 goals are tied for first amongst blueliners with Kitchener's Miles Liberati. Last year, Dunn recorded 18 goals and 38 assists for the Ice Dogs and was 6th in OHL scoring among defencemen. Dunn was rewarded for his stellar season as the sophomore was drafted in the 2nd round, 56th overall, by the St. Louis Blues in last year's NHL Draft.

Sunday vs. Barrie

The Steelheads will welcome the Barrie Colts to the Hershey Centre this Sunday afternoon as they will face off for the second time this season. The Colts currently lead the Central Division with 32 points and sit 2 points up on the Steelheads, who currently have 30 points, with three games in hands.

The two teams last played just over a month ago in Mississauga on November 1st where the Colts blanked the Trout 6-0. The game marks the only time this year that the Steelheads have not registered at least one goal in a game. Andrew Mangiapane and Julius Nattinen both scored twice, Kevin Labanc had a goal and two assists and Matt Brassard added his first of the season to give Barrie the commanding victory.

Leading the way for the Colts have been the play of Kevin Labanc and Andrew Mangiapane. Labanc, who is in his third OHL season, has 13 goals and 27 assists in 25 games and currently sits 7th in OHL scoring in 40 points. The San Jose Sharks prospect looks to improve upon his totals from last year as he put up 31 goals and 76 assists and was 7th in OHL scoring with 107 points. Mangiapane, who is a native of Bolton, has registered 15 goals and 17 assists in 23 games and is 15th in league scoring. Mangiapane's path to the OHL was a non-traditional journey as the talented forward was not drafted into the OHL, however, he earned a roster spot with the team before the 2013-14 season as a free agent tryout. In his first season, he did not disappoint as he recorded 24 goals and 27 assists. Last year, he was in the top 10 in OHL scoring with 104 points as he was one of three Colts' to accomplish that feat. Mangiapane was drafted in the 2015 NHL Draft in the 6th round, 166th overall, by the Calgary Flames.

Barrie's lead atop the division can also be contributed to their goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. Blackwood was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 2nd round, 42nd overall, in the 2015 NHL Draft. Currently, he is second in the league with a 2.39 GAA and leads the league in save % at .930. Blackwood was recently selected as one of two goalies selected by Hockey Canada to attend the National Junior Team's Selection along with the Charlottetown Islanders' netminder Mason McDonald. Blackwood's tenacious play also earned him November's Goalie of the Month as he posted a 8-2-0-0 record with a 2.00 GAA and a .942 save % and held opponents to one goal or fewer in 6 of his 10 games.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 4, 2015


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