Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Heading in Opposite Directions: Redux

Before I get to today's topic, the weekly Missouri Mavericks report will return next week, as I am preparing for this weekend's NHL All-Star weekend.

Today, there are two teams heading in opposite directions, one of them in the WHL and the other in the OHL. Heading up is the WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes, who are three points clear of Kelowna for the top spot in the league and are in the midst of a 10-game winning streak. They are the best offensive team, which has been a dramatic turnaround from the last two seasons in which they were terrible in just about every way possible. The Hurricanes will have a chance to extend that winning streak on Friday as they visit the Victoria Royals.



On the other side is the OHL's Flint Firebirds. It's been an eventful first season for the team formerly known as the Plymouth Whalers, as they've had to deal with the embarrassment of having their players walk out after the owner fired the coaching staff, only to rehire them a few days later, as well as a water crisis in the city. Currently, they sit nine points out of a playoff spot, but haven't won since December 18, when they beat Oshawa that evening. They have also only managed two points in that drought, getting overtime losses in both instances. The Firebirds are the third worst offense in the league, as only Guelph and Sudbury are worse, with leading scorer Will Bitten in a bad funk, as he scored last game, which ended an eight game goal scoring drought. It hasn't helped that Josh Wesley, Alex Nedeljkovic, and Connor Chatham were all traded prior to the trade deadline. The Firebirds hope to get back in the win column this Friday at Sarnia.

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