Each week, Ryan Drury will preview the CKNX Cherrey Buslines OHA Hockey match-up, with pre-game analysis, reports, and quotes from the 2 teams.
This week's featured match-up features a team that is wracking up big numbers in dominant fashion, and another in the middle of the pack trying to reverse some troubling trends. The defending champion Mount Forest Patriots are storming through the Pollock Division in first place, while the Mitchell Hawks sit 4th after slipping from the top 3, yielding their spot to Kincardine. The two teams will meet in Monkton for the Central Perth Hockey Day, so a smaller rink may play a slight factor in how this game goes. Doubtful it bothers the Patriots much, but it will be interesting to see how Mitchell reacts not in their regular home rink. Last time these two met, Mount Forest were able to gring out a 2-1 comeback at home in a goaltender duel. It could be much the same tonight.
The Patriots continue to pile on offence, leading the division with 100 goals, just 46 against, and a massive +56 goal differential. Of those 100 goals, Klayton Hoelscher has 25. That's mind-boggling for one player to account for a quarter of a team's offence, but that isn't a sight on the rest of the team at all. Hoelscher's just been that darn good, and even without him, the team would have 75 goals, tied for 5th with Mitchell. Hoelscher may touch 50, something that rarely happens at this level. It's tough, but not impossible, especially the way his line is clicking. Arguably the best top line in local Junior C, Blair Butchart, Hoelscher, and Mike Stefanelli are running roughshod over opponents. Those players are the team's top scorers, and are 1-2-5 in league scoring. Butchart, tops with 43 points, has 32 helpers, almost certainly involved in every one of Hoelscher's tallies. Stefanelli remains such a swift two-way force, chipping in offence, playing physical and killing penalties. He's a Swiss Army knife for Head Coach Trent McClement. The line is perfect; Butchart the set-up wizard, Stefanelli the forechecking power forward, and Hoelscher the finisher. Scary for anyone, and the depth scoring from guys like Ryley Cribbin, Luke Hoelscher and Ryan Maksymyk make this team so formidable.
On the back end, captain Shawn Lantz just keeps providing the steady veteran presence that has made him a staple for the Patriots D. Everything flows through him, and it's hard to think of a night, or a shift, that he takes off. That's what leaders do, they set the tone, and Lantz is a master at it. His 18 points in 12 games speak to how well-rounded he is, and he quarterbacks the power play brilliantly, as he interchanges with Butchart at the half wall. The rest of this D-core is simple yet so effective. They aren't flashy, but they're always in position, and get pucks up quickly to forwards flying through neutral. Derick Acheson, Dylan Brown and Evan Kuhl play a rugged and reliable style, preferring to be back to smother opposing attacks than jump into rushes too much. The team has their identity figured out. They smother teams along the wall in their own zone forcing turnovers in favourable areas in the middle, and the D immediately look to spring the forwards as they hit the red line. They have the skill to frustrate, and the structure to nullify what other teams do. They're first for a reason.
In net, not much more can be said about what David Lobsinger is doing. The kid is simply excellent. A technically sound goalie who plays much bigger than he is, and cuts off angles better than anyone. He controls the crease and also loves to play the puck, making transitions from defense to offence from behind the net very smooth. His league leading .932 save percentage, 1.94 GAA and the record of 9-2-0 have some whispering a repeat MVP in net for the Patriots. In the 2-1 comeback in Mount Forest against these Mitchell Hawks, Lobsinger robbed Derek Elliot of Mitchell twice on breakaways, one in the third, to seal the slim win. He has the ability to get in shooter's heads. The 2 shutouts look pretty good, too. Backup Aidan Quish has been equally great, spelling off Lobsinger brilliantly with a 7-2-0 record, a .915 save percentage and a 2.66 GAA. Any night on the schedule, the Patriots have zero worry throwing whoever they want in net, and the numbers bare out that ease of mind.
Mitchell have been okay, but not great on offense, something they were excellent with last year. The depth scoring isn't quite where they want it, but the top end of their lineup is putting up great numbers. Blake Pickering leads the team with 31 points, while last year's divisional points leader Derek Elliot has 26. Expect him to heat up. What may cause some issues in tonight's game for Mitchell is that the team's third highest scorer, Jamie Shoemaker, is suspended one game alongside Ethan Hill. Losing two forwards for a game like this will hurt, especially for a team needing more scoring. Shoemaker's 18 points will be missed, as well as Hill's 11. But the top players can still carry the mail and Elliot came very close to scoring on Lobsinger in the last match-up, and you know he'll want to get one tonight. Mitchell's 75 goals have them 5th in the division, and they might have more if they weren't constantly killing penalties. Mitchell leads in PIMs by a landslide with 639, while Mount Forest has the lowest at 463. The Hawks can't afford to get in a special teams battle. It simply won't work in their favour.
On the back end, Mitchell continues to get solid contributions from Mackinnon Hawkins, who's smooth control and skating ability help him join the rush and create offense. His 13 points will continue to fluctuate as the team brings those PIMs down, and he gets more opportunity to run the show on the power play. Mitchell are still playing sound defense, and despite all the time shorthanded, they rank tied for 3rd in goals against with 60, tied with Kincardine. Pretty impressive all things considered. The play of Luken Van Pelt and Brett Denny, both with 11 points and both playing a physical game, is helping keep things in order in the Mitchell zone. As the team learns to be more responsible and take fewer penalties, the team's defensive numbers and the defense core's numbers will improve, as the Hawks like to jump into the rush a bit more with a mobile set of defenders.
In net, the Hawks don't have any issues. Curtis Laviolette and Tyler Parr form a great 1-2 punch in the crease. Parr was sensational in the 2-1 road loss in Mount Forest recently, going save for save with Lobsinger. Two tough bounces were what it took to beat him. Laviolette has seen 11 starts, going 6-4-1 with a stellar .920 save percentage and 2.50 GAA. Parr in 12 starts has gone 5-6-0 with a shutout, a .919 save percentage and a 2.62 GAA. The pair are very much a platoon, as they split the starts pretty evenly. Will Mitchell go back to Parr after he played so well last time against the Patriots? I'd bank on it. He was excellent that night and was holding the highest scoring team in the division off the scoreboard for 40+ minutes. He plays the type of battling goalie style that can fight off the rebounds and pressure the Patriots create. Though if Laviolette goes in, that's another challenge unto itself.
This should be an entertaining match-up, and should look a lot like the previous one. This has goalie battle written all over it again, and you should expect a 1 or 2 goal game to decide it. Puck drop is live tonight at 8:30 from Monkton, pre-game just after 8 live with myself and Steve Sabourin on CKNX AM920 and CKNX.ca.
