SOTI Weekend Preview – Weekend Starts Early

The Steelheads hit the road on Wednesday against the Sarnia Sting before returning home again to take on the S00 Greyhounds and the Kingston Frontenacs.

Toys for Tots

With the holiday season just around the corner, the Mississauga Steelheads will be hosting their annual Toys For Tots game on Sunday, November 27 at 2 PM when they take on the Kingston Frontenacs. The hockey club is once again proud to work alongside the Peel Regional Police and the Salvation Army to help make a difference for families in need over the holidays. Last season, The Toys for Tots game raised a record 582 toys and $735 in donations to support the Mississauga community. You can pick up your tickets for our Toys for Tots game by clicking here.

Trip to the Imperial City

Following a three game homestand, the Steelheads look forward to another busy week where they travel to Sarnia to face the Sarnia Sting at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena. This is the second match-up between the two teams this season after a positive outcome from the Trout just over a month ago.

In their last meeting on October 16, the Steelheads were able to pick up two points to defeat the Sting 3-2 in a close game. The game was also a physical one, with both teams spending some time in the box short-handed. With the Steelheads and Sting both starting the season off with similar records in a one-point differential, the matchup looks to be an exciting one.

Earning his first-career OHL win in the teams’ last meeting, Steelheads’ rookie and goaltender Ryerson Leenders was able to stop 33 out of the 35 shots he faced. Steelheads’ forward James Hardie also made a mark against the Sting scoring the Trouts third goal, which also happened to be the game winning goal. The Innisfil native will look to stand out once again on Wednesday with his powerful start to the season, currently leading his team in shots with 74. Hardie also has 21 points (10G, 11A) in 19 games played.

To ensure the Trout secure the victory they need to keep an eye on Sasha Patujov who is newly acquired to the Sting after being traded from the Guelph Storm. The winger has already tallied 5 points (1G, 4A) in his three games played with the Sting. Additionally the Trout need to be wary of Sting centreman, Marcus Limpar-Lantz who has picked up 18 points (6G, 12A) in his 21 games played. Limpar-Lantz may not be the one who scores the goals but he is the one who sets up the goals for his team especially on the power play, tallying six power play assists.

Welcome Back SOO

The Steelheads second game of the week will take place at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre when they take on the Soo Greyhounds this Friday night. This will be the first time both teams have met since January 10, 2020 and the first of two meetings between the teams this year. 

With the Steelheads off to a dominant start sitting in second place in their division with 25 points (11-5-3-0) and the Greyhounds at the bottom of their division searching for points with 18 (5-8-4-4), the Blue and White will need to come out strong to defeat their Western Conference competitors. 

The Steelheads will need to solve goaltender Charlie Schenkel early on to help secure the win. Playing in his second OHL season, Schenkel has recorded a 0.905 save percentage in 13 games played this season and is currently in fifth leading the league in this category. The Steelheads also need to shut down Greyhounds’ centreman Bryce McConnell-Barker. The New York Rangers prospect has 23 points (12G, 11A) in 21 games played, enough to lead the team in both goals and points.

The opposing team will need to beware of Steelheads’ centreman, Del Bel Belluz. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect has recorded 24 points (12G, 12A) in 18 games played, and is currently second on the Steelheads for points, with 10 of them coming off the power play. The Greyhounds need to also look out for Mississauga’s Zakary Lavoie who is in his second season with the team earning himself 17 points (10G, 7A) to start off the season.

Another Battle with the Fronts

The last game of the weekend will be on Sunday when the Steelheads host the Kingston Frontenacs for the second time this season. This game was also a close match-up after the Steelheads earned a dominating 4-3 win in overtime.

This will be an interesting game for Chicago Blackhawks fans, as two Blackhawks prospects will meet once again. Steelheads’ captain Ethan Del Mastro was drafted in the 2021 NHL Draft in the fourth round (105th overall) by the Blackhawks and Frontenacs’ Paul Ludwinski was drafted in the 2022 NHL Draft in the second round (39th overall) by the same team. In their last meeting, Del Mastro showed off both his offensive and defensive skills, earning himself a three point night, recording three assists to help his team get the win. 

Montreal Canadiens prospect Owen Beck also showed up against the Frontenacs, recording his second-career OHL hat trick, including the overtime winner. Beck has had a great start to the season, leading his team in points with 25 (14G, 11A) in 17 games played and currently sits fourth leading the league in goals. 

With the Steelheads besting the Frontenacs in their first meeting, Kingston will be looking for revenge. In order for Mississauga to take the second game, they will need to find a way to get the puck past Mason Vaccari who is currently third in the league for best save percentage with 0.908%. The Trout also need to watch out for Matthew Soto, who has recorded 19 points (7G, 14A) in 22 games played with one of those goals coming against the Blue and White in their last meeting.