Tonight the Barrie Colts (25-13-1-1) face off against the Mississauga Steelheads (18-21-2-1) at BMC. This will be the 3rd time of 6 that these teams will face one another this season. The Colts won the first 2 meetings with a 5-3 win at home and a huge 6-1 win in Mississauga in their last meeting.
The Steelheads are in 3rd place in the Central Division with 39 points. That is enough to be 6th in the Eastern Conference. They are in a 3 game losing streak and have been outscored 16-5 in those games. In the past 10 the team has a record of 3-5-1-1.
The Colts have won their past two games and have gone 9-1-0-0 in the last 10 games. A win tonight would help them get a little more of a lead on North Bay who trails by 2 points but has a game in hand. Andrew Mangiapane currently has an 8 game point streak that he is looking to extend. In those games 7 goals and 10 assists. Pretty good watching him average over 2 points a game in that stretch considering in three of those games he has totaled at least 3 points.
Keys to Success: Solid goaltending is always needed even though Mississauga has the 3rd fewest goals in the OHL with 113. They have also allowed the 5th most goals in the league so lots of shots is good too (obviously). The Steelheads are fighting for position here and this late in the season you can never count out any team. The Colts need to be aggressive but withing the rules so they don't spend the game in the penalty box.
Players to Watch: As noted earlier, Andrew Mangiapane looks to extend his current point streak. Labanc is also coming off of a 25 game point streak that was just ended. He no doubt will have motivation to get back on the score sheet. Blandisi is always worth keeping an eye on, especially since getting his NHL deal with the New Jersey Devils this week.
Tonight is also Alumni Night at BMC! Barrie native and Winnipeg Jet, Michael Hutchinson will be remembered for his 3 seasons here in Barrie!
Puck drop is set for 7:30 at BMC!
#GoColts
0 Comments