Thompson’s week was highlighted by his first career four-goal and six-point game recorded Saturday during a special Alumni Night held in Erie to celebrate the Otters’ 1,000^th game in franchise history.  Thompson led the home team to an 8-2 win over the Windsor Spitfires and was named first star of the game.  His week also included a two-goal performance as third star of a 5-3 win over his former club the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on Friday night.

Thompson, a 20-year-old from Sault Ste. Marie, ON, is playing in his fourth OHL season and has 60 points including 34 goals and 26 assists in 51 games.  He has 14 points in 11 games with the Otters since being acquired from the Greyhounds on January 10.

Honourable mention this week goes to Thompson’s teammate Phil Varone who scored a goal with eight assists for nine points in two games.  Christian Thomas was also considered after leading the Oshawa Generals to three wins scoring three goals and six assists for nine points.  In goal, Mark Visentin of the Niagara IceDogs went 2-0-0-0 with a shutout victory posting a goals-against-average of 1.00 and save percentage of .967.

2010-11 OHL Players of the Week:

Jan. 31 – Feb. 6: Brett Thompson, Erie Otters

Jan. 24 – Jan. 30: Cody Lindsay, Ottawa 67’s

Jan. 17 – Jan. 23: Seth Griffith, London Knights

Jan. 10 – Jan. 16: Nicklas Jensen, Oshawa Generals

Jan. 3 – Jan. 9: Tyler Toffoli, Ottawa 67’s

Dec. 27 – Jan. 2: Joey Hishon, Owen Sound Attack

Dec. 13 – Dec. 19: Colin Behenna, Barrie Colts

Dec. 6 – Dec. 12: Nick Ebert, Windsor Spitfires

Nov. 29 – Dec. 5: Ryan Strome, Niagara IceDogs

Nov. 22 – Nov. 28: Greg McKegg, Erie Otters

Nov. 15 – Nov. 21: Christian Thomas, Oshawa Generals

Nov. 8 – Nov. 14: Tyler Toffoli, Ottawa 67’s

Nov. 1 – Nov. 7: Jason Akeson, Kitchener Rangers

Oct. 25 – Oct. 31: Justin Shugg, Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors

Oct. 18 – Oct. 24: Joey Hishon, Owen Sound Attack

Oct. 11 – 17: Garrett Wilson, Owen Sound Attack

Oct. 4 – 10: Nathan Moon, Kingston Frontenacs

Sept. 27 – Oct. 3: Greg McKegg, Erie Otters

Sept. 23 – Sept. 26: Alex Aleardi, Plymouth Whalers

McKegg became just the fifth player in Otters history to score shorthanded twice in one game, accomplishing the feat Saturday night in a 5-2 win over the London Knights.  His first tally held as the game-winner at 8:04 of the second period, while the second goal was an empty-netter at 18:52 of the third.  He added an assist for a three-point game as first star of the contest.  McKegg also recorded back-to-back two-point games scoring a goal and an assist Thursday despite a 5-4 loss to the Niagara IceDogs, and then recorded two assists on Friday night in a 7-3 loss to the Kitchener Rangers.

McKegg, an 18-year-old from St. Thomas, ON, was named Captain of the Otters this season and was selected in the third round, 62^nd overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.  Last season McKegg finished 11^th in league scoring with 85 points in 67 games.

Tyler Peters of the Sarnia Sting and Ryan Murphy of the Kitchener Rangers were also considered for the award this week.  Peters had six points in two games scoring three goals and three assists, while Murphy recorded a five-point game with a goal and four assists as first star of a 7-3 win over the Otters on Friday.  In goal, Scott Stajcer of the Owen Sound Attack won two games including a shutout victory posting a goals-against-average of 1.00 and save percentage of .972.

2010-11 OHL Players of the Week:

Sept. 27 – Oct. 3: Greg McKegg, Erie Otters

Sept. 23 – Sept. 26: Alex Aleardi, Plymouth Whalers

The playoff race has been alive and well for the last three weeks, with teams battling desperately to grab the final positions.

The Western Conference has already been decided, but there are still three spots available for four teams in the Eastern Conference; Peterborough (58), Niagara (57), Sudbury (56) and Oshawa (53).

Other than the jostling for spots six through eight, the Brampton Battalion (62) sit in fifth and by the end of next week, they could end up as low as seventh.

In the West, as mentioned, all eight positions have been clinched, but spots four through eight have yet to been decided.

As well, London (97) sit five points behind Windsor (102) in the battle for top spot with three games remaining for both.

First a look at the overall standings from both Conferences, followed by the key match-ups beginning Wednesday night.

x = Teams who have clinched a playoff spot.
y = Teams who have clinched the title

Games To Watch This Week

Friday

7:00 pm *
@ the John Labatt Centre in London
Windsor
London

* If London wins, they could set themselves up to take the Conference title with a win in their final game on Sunday

7:30 pm
@ the Sleeman Centre
Erie
Guelph

*One of the only head-to-head battles with close teams within range of each other in the final week.  Beginning only three points apart, this game could have a huge bearing on where both teams finish in the standings.

Saturday

7:00 pm
@ the Peterborough Memorial Centre
Oshawa
Peterborough

* If Peterborough loses their game earlier in the week in regulation, and the three other teams chasing them win, Oshawa has a chance to capture a playoff berth and eliminate the Petes at the same time.  If Peterborough wins however, it could effectively end Oshawa’s playoff hopes.

7:30 pm
@ the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre
Guelph
Owen Sound

*If Guelph loses and Saginaw wins their game today, they will finish in eighth place and end up facing the difficult task of taking on the Barrie Colts in the first round

Sunday – The final day of the season

2:00 pm
@ the Powerade Centre
Kingston
Brampton

*If Brampton wins, they lock up fifth place in the Eastern Conference, and set up a date with the much improved Kingston Frontenacs.  A key to their success  has been the play of Cody Hodgson, who has 20 points in 12 games since coming back from a severe back injury.

2:00 pm
@ the Ottawa Civic Centre
Sudbury
Ottawa

*Sitting in eighth place, this could be Subury’s last chance to squeak into the playoffs if they lose two of their games early in the week and Oshawa runs the table winning all three of theirs.

2:00 pm
@ the Compuware Arena
Saginaw
Plymouth

*If Plymouth is unable to win two of their first three games during the week, they will need at least a point to secure fourth place in the West and home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

I will be back next week with an in-depth look into the first round of the playoffs.

Cody Hodgson is back.

No not that back; the injury that has kept Hodgson sidelined since playing his fifth exhibition game for the Canucks in September.

Back as in returning – potentially – to the lineup for the Ontario Hockey League’s Brampton Battalion tomorrow night against the Erie Otters.

With the Battalion sitting last in the OHL in goals scored, Hodgson’s offensive prowess will definitely be a welcome addition to a team trying to lock down the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

His offensive skills were on display numerous times last season during Brampton’s magical run to the OHL finals, as well as Team Canada’s “drive for five” gold medals at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

The reigning CHL Player of the Year scored 43 goals and 49 assists for 92 points in 53 games last year for Brampton, and lead Team Canada in scoring with 16 points in six games.

However, even with the report in the Vancouver Sun that Hodgson will play, Battalion coach Stan Butler is still unsure of whether his star player will suit up or not.

“He’s practicing right now, it’s still day-to-day,” Butler said.  “If he’s feeling better then I will think he’ll be playing sooner rather than later.”

Butler also believes that it’s been very frustrating for Hodgson having been forced to watch from the sidelines all season.

“It’s been difficult for him but I think the most important thing is that he makes sure when he’s back he’s back for good,” Butler said. “He’s got a long career ahead of him so you have to make sure he can have that.”

If there is one positive to be taken out of Hodgson’s injury, it’s that his leadership skills have been on full display this season, helping many of the rookie players improve their game.

“He’s a leader the minute he wakes up in the morning until he goes to bed at night,” said Butler.  “That’s just his personality.”

The Battalion have a very busy weekend ahead of them, playing three games in four nights starting tomorrow.  If Hodgson doesn’t play against the Otters, then he should be able to go in Saturday’s game against the London Knights.

The first being the speed at which Liambas came into the hit on Fanelli who was shielded off from Liambas by his goalie returning to his net from behind where he left the puck for Fanelli. The second of which was the result of the injury Fanelli who remains out of action several months later with post concussion symptoms.

Zach Kassian received last week a suspension of 20 games for his hit on Barrie Colts forward Matt Kennedy. However, according to Branch’s reason for a season long suspension to Liambas, the same reasons could be taken into account for a much longer suspension for Kassian.

Kassian came across the ice to hit Kennedy at the same high rate of speed as Liambas on Fanelli and the result eerily similar with Kennedy now considering retirement because of the concussion caused by the Kassian hit.

So with the Kassian hit matching the two reasons given for the year long suspension of Liambas, why did Kassian only receive 20 games and not the remainder of the season?

Liambas’ hit on Fanelli was up against the boards causing the concussion to come more likely from Fanelli’s impact against the end glass, while Kassian’s hit came in the open ice, meaning any concussion to Kennedy was directly caused by the impact of Kassian to Kennedy. The injury related Kennedy came directly from the speed and force of the hit from Kassian, while Fanelli was surely injured by the speed and force of Liambas but was undoubtedly compounded by the fact that his head was knocked against a pain of glass. Thus the speed and force of the Kassian hit could be considered to be of a higher rate with Kassian than that of Liambas although undoubtedly both players do go into a glide before actually making contact with the player.

It is that glide that allowed both players and their respective teams to make a case that each of the two hits was in fact clean. In a press release stating Liambas’ suspension, Branch noted that the case of the hit being clean was made by Liambas and that such a case could be made in many cases.

“Players must understand they shall be held accountable for their actions,” said Branch in the release. “We must all work towards improving the level of respect players have towards opposing players and the game in general.”

Once again those comments would suggest that the penalty to Kassian should be the same length as Liambas. So what exactly saved Kassian from sitting on the sidelines from the remainder of the season and the playoffs?

I would suggest that the fact that within days of his hit, Rouyn Noranda’s Patrice Cormier committed a much more vicious hit with an elbow to the head of Quebec Ramparts defenceman Mikael Tam. The elbow started to take some of the heat off of Kassian and his hit and while many tried to use the two as comparisons that only left everyone with the feeling of Kassian’s hit being of minor consequence. Had Cormier not committed his offense, surely the comparisons then would have turned to Kassian’s hit and the Liambas one and as noted above surely the comparison’s can be made.

Also the suggestion was made as to whether or not Cormier would be suspended for the rest of the regular season and playoffs as he is a highly touted draft pick and a player that was recently acquired by Rouyn Noranda in an attempt to make a deep run in their league playoffs. That did not happen however, as Cormier would be suspended for the balance of the season by the QMJHL showing that no one was above the laws of the league.

However, one must wonder if Kassian being a first round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres and was playing his first game for the Windsor Spitfires who gave up a lot in rising star Austin Watson to Peterborough, got off easy because of his star power.

Again Branch noted that the argument that it was a clean hit and Kassian never left his feet was heard and understood in his press release. However, it was about the lack of respect the players have for one another that concerned Branch and he felt the need to drop a 20 game suspension on Kassian. However, I wonder how respected Liambas must be feeling now as a former OHL player dumped aside by the league only to watch another player be shown some remorse for his own lack of respect for another player.

If I am Liambas I am asking why I didn’t get the same respect as a player from my league commissioner that he was and is asking me and my peers to show each other.