Oshawa Generals @ Ottawa 67's: Game Preview

Coming off a big 8-4 win against the Peterborough Petes this weekend, the Ottawa 67’s are back in playoff contention and will look to spark a new winning streak.  Joseph Blandisi and Ryan Van Stralen each had a pair of goals and a pair of assists in the win.  Blandisi has been solid for the 67’s all season.  He has 11 points in his past 4 games and is currently on a 4-game goal and point streak.   Travis Konecny also added 3 assists in the win to secure his OHL rookie scoring lead for another week.

The Oshawa Generals are one of the hottest teams in the OHL with a record of 8-1-0-1 in their past 10 games.  They are the second ranked team in the OHL and are currently on a 4-game winning streak.  The Generals were last in action on Sunday where they (also) beat the Petes 5-3 despite being outshot 40-21.  Generals Captain and Flyers prosect Scott Laughton had 2 goals, 5 points and finished with a +/- rating of +3.  Nepean native and Hurricanes prospect Daniel Altshuller stopped 37 of the 40 shots fired his way.

The Oshawa Generals are in town for their first of 6 meetings with the 67’s.  Last season, the Generals were dominate winning all 6 games by a total score of 24-14.  Boone Jenner scored 7 of the goals in 4 games that he suited up.  Jenner, currently playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets,  is one of the 10 Generals who are no longer on the team. 

Aside from their former captain Jenner, some other notable members no longer on the team are Scott Sabourin, Matt Petgrave and Leafs prospect Tyler Biggs who make up  4 of the Generals 5 top scorers last season.  Those 4 accounted for 111 goals and 346 points - that is 47.2% of their goals last season.  The Generals also feel the loss of Lucas Lessio who is now in the Phoenix Coyotes farm system.

Stepping up to fill some of this void is sophmore forward Michael Dal Colle who currently leads the team with 28 points.  Look for Dal Colle to have a breakout season after earning top line icetime which is great timing as he is expected to go in the first round of the upcoming 2014 NHL Entry Draft.  Captain Scott Laughton is off to another good start leading his team in goals and is right behind Dal Colle in scoring with 25 points. 

Also earning more icetime is Cole Cassels who is the son of former Ottawa 67’s Andrew Cassels.  Cole was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks and will looked to take on a bigger role and play in more important situation with 7 rookies (all Oshawa draft picks) coming into the lineup.

I don’t think anyone expected to see the Generals leading the OHL.  While Dal Colle, Laughton and Cassels have stepped up their production, the Generals have a pretty balanced attack with 6 of their players with 5 or more goals.

The loss of Matt Petgrave and Geoffrey Schemitsch will be missed, but the Generals still have a good core returing from last years squad that allowed less than 200 goals against last season.  Returning are Flyers prospect Colin Suellentrop,  Panthers prosect Josh Brown and Manotick native Will Petschenig who will log the bulk of the icetime.  Gens top draft pick, Mitchell Vande Sompel, from this past OHL Priority Selection will enter the lineup as a rookie. 

Random stats:

Konecny leads OHL in rookie scoring

Blandisi has a 4-game goal streak (6 goals) which is currently the longest streak in OHL (he also has a 4-game point streak with 11 points)

Cassels has a 3-game goal streak with 4 goals (he also has a 4-game point streak with 9 points

Dal Colle has a 4-game point streak with 9 points

Laughton has a 4-game point streak with 8 points

Ryan Van Stralen has a 3-game point streak with 6 points

Last game

2013-14 Regular Season Record

Ottawa 67's:  7-9-0-0
Oshawa Generals:  13-3-0-1

Players To Watch

Ottawa 67's

Joseph Blandisi - drafted 6th round to Colorado in 2013
Jacob Middleton - NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting B list

Alex Lintuniemi - NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting C list
Travis Konecny - 1st overall pick in OHL, NHL draft eligible 2015

Oshawa Generals

Scott Laughton – drafted 1st round, 20th overall by Philadelphia in 2012

Cole Cassels – drafted 3rd round, 85th overall by Vancouver in 2013

Colin Suellentrop – drafted 4th round, 116th overall by Philadelphia in 2012

Josh Brown – drafted 6th round, 152nd overall by Florida in 2013

Daniel Altshuller – drafted 3rd round, 69th overall by Carolina in 2012

Michael Dal Colle – NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting A list

Overagers

Ottawa 67’s: Ryan Van Stralen, Philippe Trudeau

Oshawa Generals: Brian Hughes, Colin Suellentrop

Leadership Squad

Ottawa 67’s:  Taylor Fielding (A), Ryan Van Stralen (A), Joesph Blandisi (A)

Oshawa Generals:  Scott Laughton (C), Cole Cassels (A), Colin Suellentrop (A)

Potential Scratches

Ottawa 67's:  Mike Vlajkov, Taylor Davis, Adrian Sloboda
Oshawa Generals:  ?*follow us on twitter (@msconduct or @A_Quevillon) for game day scratches

Oshawa Generals

Who's Gone?

Adam Lloyd – playing with the Carleton Place Canadians in the CCHL

Johnny McGuire – playing with the Rochester Americans as a free agent in the AHL

Tyler Biggs – playing in the Toronto Maple Leafs farm system, Toronto Marlies in the AHL

Boone Jenner – playing with the Columbus Bluejackets in the NHL

Scott Sabourin – graduated, playing with the Manchester Monarchs as a free agent in the AHL

Trevor Morbeck – playing with the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL

Lucas Lessio – playing in the Phoenix Coyotes farm system, Portland Pirates in the AHL

Matt Petgrave – graduated

Geoffrey Schemitsch – graduated, playing in the Tampa Bay Lightning farm system

Simon Karlsson – playing with the Karlskrona HK in the Swedish Elite league

Who's New?

Jacob Busch – Oshawa’s 7th round pick, 130th overall in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection

Sam Harding – Oshawa’s 2nd round pick, 31st overall in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection

Jimi Kuronen – Oshawa’s 1st round pick, 44th overall in the 2013 CHL Import Draft

Daniel Robertson – Oshawa’s 4th round pick, 61st overall in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection

Stephen Desrocher – Oshawa’s 6th round pick, 131st overall in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection

Mitchell Vande Sompel – Oshawa’s 1st round pick, 14th overall in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection

Shawn Mabley – Oshawa’s 12th round pick, 234th overall in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection

Josh Sterk – acquired from the Kitchener Rangers in the off-season

Ottawa Connection

Will Petschenig – native of Manotick, ON.  Last played with the Cornwall Colts of the CCHL?

Owen McDade – native of Combermere, ON.  Last played for the Pembroke Lumber Kings in the CCHL

Daniel Altshuller – native of Nepean, ON.  Last played for the Nepean Raiders in the CCHL

Cole Cassels – his father Andrew Cassels played 3 seasons with the 67’s

Last season

2012-13 Regular Season Record

Ottawa 67's:  16-46-0-6
Oshawa Generals:  42-22-1-3

2012-13 OHL Playoffs

Ottawa 67's:  Did not qualify
Oshawa Generals: Eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals by the Barrie Colts in 4 games

2012-13 Head-To-Head Stats

Record: 6-0-0-0 for Oshawa (0-4-0-2 for Ottawa)
Combined score: 24-14 for Oshawa

Top scorers

Ottawa 67's

Ryan Van Stralen - 3 goals, 2 assists in 6 games
Remy Giftopoulos - 3 goals, 1 assist in 3 games

Sean Monahan - 2 goals, 2 assists in 5 games

Brendan Bell – 1 goal, 3 assists in 6 games

Oshawa Generals

Boone Jenner – 7 goals, 0 assists in 4 games

Tyler Biggs – 3 goals, 4 assists in 4 games

Trevor Morbeck – 1 goal, 5 assists in 7 games