IceDogs’ Ritchie OHL Player of the Week

Press Release

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Niagara IceDogs’ forward Brett Ritchie is the OHL Player of the Week after scoring 10 goals and three assists for 13 points in three games with a plus-minus rating of plus-7 for the week ending November 4.

Ritchie tied a pair of single-game franchise records and led the IceDogs to three straight wins last week beginning with a 2-0 victory over the Kitchener Rangers where he scored a goal and an assist.  On Saturday night he became the seventh player in franchise history to record six points in a game when he netted four and added two assists as first star of a 9-4 win over the Guelph Storm.  He followed up that performance with a five-goal game Sunday as first star of a 6-4 win over the Peterborough Petes.  Ritchie’s five-goal effort marked just the second time an IceDog scored five times matching teammate Ryan Strome who accomplished the feat last season, but marks the first time any IceDog player has scored back-to-back hat-tricks.

Ritchie, a 19-year-old from Orangeville, ON, is playing in his fourth OHL season and was selected in the second round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars.  Third in league scoring with 29 points in 19 games, Ritchie will compete in the 2012 SUBWAY Super Series with Team OHL on Thursday November 8 in Guelph.  With the three wins last week the IceDogs are now tied for first in the OHL’s Eastern Conference with 25 points.

Also considered for the award this week were fellow IceDogs Ryan Strome and Mitchell Theoret.  Both New York Islanders prospects, Strome had 12 points in three games scoring three goals and nine assists, while Theoret produced two goals and six assists for eight points in three games.  In goal, Daniel Altshuller of the Oshawa Generals went 2-1-0-0 with one shutout posting a goals-against-average of 1.68 and save percentage of .948.


(Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)