With Wednesday night's win over the London Knights in the rear-view mirror, the Owen Sound Attack will now turn their attention to a big weekend of action that includes the team's annual Bears In Blue men's cancer fundraiser.
But before the Attack don their special blue jerseys on Saturday night when the Mississauga Steelheads come to town, they must first travel to Kitchener for another Midwest Division match up against the Rangers on Friday, Nov. 25.
Owen Sound and Kitchener will be meeting for the 3rd time in 2016-17 when the puck drops at 7:30pm at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Friday night, with both teams having captured a victory on home ice in the season series.
Thanks to their thrilling 2-1 shootout win over league leading London on Wednesday night, the Attack enter the weekend with a record of 13-11-1-0 and 27 points, which keeps them locked in at 4th place in the Midwest Division.
Kitchener, meanwhile, was also victorious on Wednesday night and remains four points ahead of Owen Sound in the playoff race.
The Rangers potent offence is paced by a pair of players who are both top five in OHL scoring.
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Jeremy Bracco leads the way for Kitchener with 16 goals and 43 points, which has him 2nd in the overall points race. Adam Mascherin is also a big part of the Rangers' powerful offence, having scored 15 times and added 26 assists over the course of 22 games on the year.
But they will be in tough with Owen Sound goaltender Michael McNiven, whose impressive 40 save performance in the win over London on Wednesday has moved him into 1st overall in the OHL in both goals against average and save percentage.
McNiven, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, has compiled a 2.26 GAA and .922 SV% while putting together an 11-5-1-0 record.
The Georgetown native has also been receiving help from Owen Sound's two leading point scorers in Petrus Palmu and Nick Suzuki.
Despite being held off the scoresheet on Wednesday night, Palmu's 31 points on the year has kept him in the league's top 10 in scoring, while Suzuki tallied his 13th goal of the season against London to give him 30 points in 25 games played.
Eligible for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Suzuki scored 20 times and recorded 17 assists as a rookie in 2015-16 and has already equalled his mark for helpers this season.
Friday night's contest in Kitchener will be available for fans live on Rogers Local 53 as well as on Kia of Owen Sound/Terry's Trailer Service Bear Radio.
Following that game, the Attack will return back to Owen Sound for Saturday night's Bears In Blue game against the Mississauga Steelheads.
The Steelheads, who will be home to Sault Ste. Marie on Friday night, are currently in 4th place in the Central Division with a record of 6-9-3-3 and are led offensively by draft eligible forward Owen Tippet who has scored 16 times and added nine helpers in 21 contests this year.
Saturday's game, which gets underway at 7:30pm, will see the Attack don special blue jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game in a live auction in sections Q&R of the Bayshore in support of men's cancer research. The Canadian Cancer Society Bluewater Office will also be on hand for a silent auction that will run throughout the game with all proceeds also benefiting men's cancer research.
Upon exiting Saturday's game, Investor's Group staff will be on hand to ensure that everyone receives a branded bag in support of the Investor's Group Attack Hunger night, which is taking place on Saturday, December 3rd. Fans can use this bag to bring their non perishable items to December 3rd game and simply drop it in the designated locations.
To purchase tickets for Bears In Blue, or any Attack home game, fans can visit the MacVicar & McComb ReMax Box Office, go online to www.attackhockey.com, or call 519-371-7452.
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