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by David Clark
A highly anticipated fight for first in the Western Conference recently took place, Game 1 of 3 this season between the streaking Owen Sound Attack and Saginaw Spirit. Going into the match, Owen Sound carried a 10-2 (20 Pt.) record while Saginaw was just ahead of those numbers; Saginaw sits with an 11-2-1 (23 Pts.) record, good enough for them to secure the top position in the league.
Last year was a tough year for the Attack who finished 9th in the Western Conference while Saginaw did a little better at 6th. Both teams have grown into a loftier position this year according to the BMO CHL Mastercard Top Ten Rankings where the Attack sit in the #5 spot and the Spirit are positioned at #3 in the country. Both teams were sleeping last year, not even getting close to the Top Ten.
The Spirit are pulling away from the pack in the OHL at this time but Owen Sound went into last night’s game on a six game winning streak, expecting to compete with a very strong Saginaw Spirit outfit.
After the game, the Attack had peppered goaltender Mavric Parks with 22 shots and 2 goals were taken out of that. On the other hand, the Spirit bettered that with 5 goals on 54 shots. Goalie Scott Stajcer of Owen Sound suffered his first defeat of the season but ended the game with a respectable 2.68 GAA and 8 wins – Stajcer relinquished 1 to the losing column after last night. Saginaw’s Mavric Parks is at the top of the OHL at the moment with a 2.08 GAA and a competitive 8-2 record to boast about. The score was in favour of the Saginaw Spirit at 5-2.
Two battle-hardened warriors in attendance last night were Joey Hishon of the Attack and Josh Shalla of the Spirit. Both contributed to the effort with 2 goals each.
The undisputed leader of the Owen Sound Attack, Joey Hishon is a savvy veteran who can decide a game for you when it counts the most. The Attack suffered last season when he was out due to injury in the early part of the year. This year, with Captain Garrett Wilson by his side, Hishon has deposited 9 goals and assisted on 6 with a total of 15 points for the season. Aside from Wilson, Joey is second on the team in goal scoring and became OHL Player of the Week for Oct. 18 to the 24th.
The Stratford, Ontario native has performed admirably with the Attack, the only team he has known since entering the OHL four years ago. He is a 1st round selection for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, 17th overall by the Colorado Avalanche. On Oct. 23rd, he also received the 1st star against the Sarnia Sting and will play for Team OHL at the 2010 Subway Super Series.
Garrett Wilson, formerly with the Windsor Spitfires (2007-2008) hails from Elmvale, Ontario and is playing his 4th season in the OHL as well, 3 with the Attack. He is 19 years of age and is a fourth round selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He’s a solid power forward at left wing showing a strong plus/minus right now, at + 14.
Garrett’s real claim to fame this season is his ability to find the net; he is second in league scoring just behind Ryan Strome of the Niagara Icedogs. He has 16 goals at the moment and a highly respectable 8 assists to go along with it. Like Joey Hishon, he has been the OHL Player of the Week (Oct. 11 to the 17th). Both Hishon and Wilson are featured in the “Mazda OHL Plays of the Week” contest with three highlight reel goals to show for their efforts. Wilson had two goals featured and Hishon had one.
Four Attack players have been selected to play in the Subway Super Series. Aside from Hishon and Wilson, Jesse Blacker, a defenceman and former Memorial Cup winner (2008-2009) with the Windsor Spitfires will be attending. The high-achieving, veteran goaltender Scott Stajcer will also join the group. Stajcer won the CHL Goaltender of the Week award for the week ending Oct. 3rd.
In the Spirit camp, after two goals last night at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre in Owen Sound, the veteran Josh Shalla deposited two in the net for the visiting team. Shalla is now tied with Brandon Saad for most goals on the team with 9. Saad is the overall point's leader on Saginaw with 16.
Brandon Saad is arguably one of the best American-born players to be active in the OHL. He was recently featured in USA Today because of his talent. He is expected to be a top pick in the 2011 NHL Draft.
It seems that the goals for Saginaw are spread around the roster somewhat. Brandon Saad, Captain Jordan Szwarz, Vincent Trochek and Michael Sgarbossa are all relatively close in the stats. With Owen Sound, you have a team with a couple of natural goal-scorers but Saginaw isn’t top heavy. The Spirit is a hard-working team where many score but its spread throughout the roster not by two or three individuals.
One of the real success stories this season for the Spirit is goaltender Mavric Parks who came in this year when Edward Pasquale graduated to better things after last season. Parks is a proven overage goalie who has a deep resume including an entire career playing with elite teams. With Kitchener, he performed very well with a 14-3-1 record and a 2.39 GAA but he really shone brightly with the Barrie Colts last year where he held a 2.34 GAA and sported a 25-5-1-1 winning record.
Parks is a veteran netminder from Eganville, Ontario who leads the OHL in GAA and Save Percentage at 2.08 and 0.939 respectively. His 8-2 record is second only to Scott Stajcer of the Attack who is at 8-1.
An honourable mention, import player Ivan Telegin has 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points and is positioned at centre on the top line for Saginaw. He has two seasons of Spirit hockey under his belt.
The Spirit take Round 1 but the Attack have two more opportunities to defeat the high-flying Spirit this season who are going in the right direction in a big way, early in 2010-2011. Coming from behind, Kitchener, London and Windsor could possibly inch their way in there if given the opportunity to do so because it’s still early in the campaign.
On Saturday, October 30th, Saginaw and Owen Sound were both defeated in a Shootout. The Saginaw Spirit were beaten by the London Knights by a score of 6-5 and Owen Sound was bested by an up and coming Kingston Frontenac team, 5-4. Owen Sound sent Hishon and Wilson into the Shootout but both of them came up empty. Like Kitchener and Windsor, The Knights are legitimate contenders in the West who showed the league’s best in the Saginaw Spirit that they know how to become a contender. This ain’t over yet!
