Thursday, February 9, 2012

OHL Top Performers for January

Press Release

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the top OHL Performers of the Month for January, 2012, including forward Shane Prince of the Ottawa 67’s, defenceman Ryan Murphy of the Kitchener Rangers, rookie forward Radek Faksa of the Rangers, and goaltender Mark Visentin of the Niagara IceDogs.

OHL Player of the Month – Shane Prince, Ottawa 67’s
Shane Prince led the OHL in scoring in January with 24 points in 12 games netting a league-high 12 goals plus 12 assists leading the Ottawa 67’s to nine wins.  In those nine wins he scored three game-winning goals and also recorded the insurance marker in four other victories.  Prince also produced a league-high plus-minus rating of plus-16 and recorded a point in 11 January games with six multi-point performances and finished the month with a nine-game scoring streak.  He was recognized as a star of the game five times including one first star performance on January 19 when he recorded a career-high six points with two goals and four assists in a 9-4 win over the Peterborough Petes.
 Prince, a 19-year-old from Spencerport, New York, claims Player of the Month honours for the first time in his four-year OHL career.  Selected 61st overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Prince is currently sixth in OHL scoring with a career-high 30 goals along with 36 assists for 66 points in 41 games and is tied for the league-lead with a plus-minus rating of plus-31.


OHL Defenceman of the Month – Ryan Murphy, Kitchener Rangers
Ryan Murphy led all OHL defencemen with 21 points in 12 games scoring five goals and recording a league-high 16 assists along with a plus-minus rating of plus-8 for the Kitchener Rangers.  He helped the Rangers win nine games in January and recorded a point in 10 of their 12 contests including seven straight games to end the month producing five multi-point performances in that stretch.  Murphy had two four-point games where he scored the game-winning goal plus three assists both nights including January 15 in a 5-2 win over the Kingston Frontenacs where he was named first star, and January 21 in a 5-4 win over the Belleville Bulls where he received second star honours.  In January Murphy also became just the second defenceman to claim OHL Player of the Week honours this season for the week ending January 22.
Murphy, an 18year-old from Aurora, ON, claims Defenceman of the Month honours for the first time this season after winning the award in October and December of last season.  Selected by the Carolina Hurricanes 12th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Murphy is currently fifth in scoring among OHL defencemen with 36 points in 33 games.


Kal Tire OHL Rookie of the Month – Radek Faksa, Kitchener Rangers
Radek Faksa of the Kitchener Rangers claims Kal Tire OHL Rookie of the Month honours for the second time this season after leading all rookies in scoring with 14 points in 10 games recording six goals and eight assists with a plus-minus rating of plus-10.  He recorded a point in eight of his 10 games and matched a career-high with a seven-game point streak.  He produced five multi-point games which included two second star performances on January 20 in a 9-1 win over the Kingston Frontenacs where he scored the game-winner plus an assist, and on January 25 when he scored his third multi-goal game of the season tallying twice including the game-winner in an 8-3 win over the London Knights.
Faksa, an 18-year-old native of the Czech Republic leads all rookies in scoring with 48 points in 44 games and also represented his country at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship in Calgary and Edmonton.  Selected by the Rangers 22nd overall in the 2011 CHL Import, Faksa is eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and was recently ranked fourth overall among North American Skaters by NHL Central Scouting and competed at the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.


Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month – Mark Visentin, Niagara IceDogs
Mark Visentin posted a 7-0-0-0 record between the pipes for the Niagara IceDogs in January recording three shutout victories with a goals-against-average of 0.86 and save percentage of .964.  He allowed just six goals and made 162 saves as the IceDogs jumped to first place in the Central Division standings.  He became the first goaltender this season to win OHL Player of the Week honours and later claimed the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week award for the week ending January 29 following his third straight shutout.  His shutout victories included a 21-save performance as third star of a 9-0 win over the Peterborough Petes on January 22, a 26-save performance as second star of a 6-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on January 26, and on January 29 when he stopped all 15 shots as second star of a 3-0 win over the Brampton Battalion.
Visentin, a 19-year-old from Waterdown, ON, claims his first career Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month award in this his fourth season.  Selected by the Phoenix Coyotes 27th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Visentin also represented Canada and won bronze at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship.  He currently has a 20-7-0-2 record with a league-high seven shutouts and is second in the league with a goals-against-average of 2.27 along with his .917 save percentage.

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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