Attack, Colts Face Off in OHL Action

In the final of four games on the OHL schedule for this evening, the Owen Sound Attack visit the Barrie Colts for a 7:30 p.m. meeting. This is the sixth and final meeting between the teams this season, with Barrie having won four of the five meetings so far.

A LOOK AT: THE COLTS (37-19-2-2)

With 78 points, the Colts are second in the Eastern Conference behind the Belleville Bulls, and fourth in the OHL behind London, Belleville and Owen Sound. The Colts are one of three teams in their conference to have already clinched a playoff spot (along with Belleville and Oshawa) and are 4-4-2-0 in their last ten games.

The Colts are coming off a 2-0 victory over Guelph on February 28 and look to finish the month of February off strong, with just seven games remaining in the regular season.

Barrie has scored 215 goals this season, the most of any team in the Eastern Conference, and have allowed just 166 goals against; only Belleville has allowed fewer of Eastern Conference teams.

Six Colts skaters are averaging a point or better this season, kicking off with center Zach Hall. Hall leads the team in assists (50) and points (72) and averages 1.29 points/game. Twelve of his 22 goals this season have come on the power play.

Meanwhile, center Mark Scheifele, who had a stint with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, has 66 points in 39 games, including 12 power play goals. Right winger Steven Beyers has 63 points, while Andreas Athanasiou has 60 points in 58 games this season. Ryan O’Connor leads Barrie defensemen with 48 points (15-33) in 57 games this season.

Left winger Anthony Camara leads the Colts with 14 power play goals, while left winger Josh MacDonald’s two shorthanded goals are the most on the team.

Mathias Niederberger has won 30 of 50 games he’s appeared in this season, stopping 1504 of 1614 shots faced. Niederberger, 21, has a 2.39 GAA and .932 save percentage in his second season with the Colts. Alex Fotinos has appeared in 17 games with Barrie, stopped 418 of 465 shots faced; he has a 3.23 GAA and .899 save percentage.

Niederberger is third in the OHL in GAA, behind Belleville’s Malcolm Subban and Owen Sound’s Jordan Binnington, and is second in save percentage.

After tonight’s game, the Colts visit Mississauga on Friday before hosting a pair of games next week.

A LOOK AT: THE ATTACK (38-17-1-3)

Owen Sound is third in the Western Conference due to divisional sorting, but the team has 80 points on the season and is second-best in that regards in the conference, behind only London.

Despite only scoring 190 goals this season, the Attack are near the top of the league thanks to only allowing 144 goals against – the fewest in the OHL. They’re also the most penalized team of the OHL, with 1104 penalty minutes on the season.

Buffalo Sabres prospect Dan Catenacci leads the Attack in goals (34) and points (72), while he’s tied with defenseman Cody Ceci for the team lead in assists (38). Right winger Cameron Brace has 61 points (31-30) in 57 games, while center Gemel Smith has 42 points in 52 games.

Catenacci also leads the team with 109 penalty minutes. Another impressive statistic: 14 of his 34 goals have come on special teams.

Jordan Binnington has appeared in 43 games for Owen Sound this season. His 2.25 GAA and .931 save percentage are second and third in the OHL, while his 28 wins are fourth in the league. His six shutouts are second-most in the league, behind only Guelph’s Garret Sparks, who has seven on the season.

The Attack are 7-3-0-0 in their last ten games and look to extend a five-game winning streak in tonight’s game. They haven’t lost since February 13 and have recently put up wins over Guelph, NIagara, Peterborough, Barrie and Saginaw. They have eight games remaining on the schedule after tonight’s matchup and will play the next five games at home.