All posts by Randy Russon

Back to back for Lady Cougars


By
March 16, 2024

Sault College Cougars have repeated as national champions of the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Division 2 women’s program.

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Dearing boys and Gartshore


By
March 16, 2024

Three members of the AA Under 18 Soo Jr. Greyhounds made impressions as affiliate players when the Blind River Beavers and Espanola Paper Kings faced off in a recent Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League game.

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Hounds set up for playoff run


By
March 15, 2024

Fear The North. That is the slogan that the Soo Greyhounds have taken on and are boosting ahead of the looming Ontario Hockey League playoffs.

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Flint clicks playoff ticket


By
March 14, 2024

They have clinched the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. And with five games to play in the regular season, the Flint Firebirds could still finish as high as fifth place.

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Lake State via Blind River


By
March 13, 2024

Another player from the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has a future Division 1, National Collegiate Athletic Association commitment with the Lake Superior State University Lakers. Blind River Beavers scoring sensation Daniel Vasic is projected to be at LSSU effective the 2026-2027 college hockey season.

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Howls from the Great North


By
March 11, 2024

Sudbury U18 Wolves have emerged from the pack as the regular season champions of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League. In what was a five team race for first place among the seven members of the Great North, the U18 Wolves skated past the Timmins Majors, Soo Jr. Greyhounds, New Liskeard Cubs and North Bay Trappers.

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Flint on verge of playoff spot


By
March 11, 2024

Playing at the .500 level over their past 10 games has the Flint Firebirds in compressed control of the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. 

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Kam River is first in Superior


By
March 11, 2024

Another regular season, another first place finish. A model franchise among the eight teams of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League, the Kam River Fighting Walleye has done nothing but finish atop the standings in each of its three full seasons of existence.

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Sounds of the OHL Hounds


By
March 10, 2024

This has a good feel. The feel of a good team that is positioned for post season progress and potential prosperity. With the regular season in the Ontario Hockey League clicking towards a March 24 closing date, Soo Greyhounds enter play this week in third place in a dog-eat-dog Western Conference.

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Chitaroni is off the charts


By
March 9, 2024

Suffice and suit to say that Hudson Chitaroni is an impact player in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League while up against skaters who are as much as four years older than he is.

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Spitfires set for future flight


By
March 8, 2024

Their ascent to the top of the Western Conference standings over the past two seasons is in descent. Windsor Spitfires may be in a tailspin that will result in them missing the Ontario Hockey League playoffs this season but they are in position to be airborne effective next season.

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Sault College via Espanola


By
March 7, 2024

Leadership. Experience. Involvement. That is some of what defenseman Liam McDonald is poised to bring to the varsity men’s hockey team at Sault College effective the 2024-2025 season.

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Frantic finish for fourth


By
March 6, 2024

Espanola Paper Kings and Soo Eagles are in a frenzied race for fourth place and the final playoff position in the wild West Division of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.

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Firm hold for Flint Firebirds


By
March 4, 2024

Tick, tick, tick. As the restless hands of time click away on the regular season schedule of the Ontario Hockey League, the Flint Firebirds have opened a six point lead on the Sarnia Sting and a 13 point margin on the Windsor Spitfires for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

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Sudbury Cubs; Nickel City Cubs


By
March 1, 2024

Sudbury Cubs of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have formed a brand partnership with the Nickel City Hockey Association ahead of the 2024-2025 season.

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20 goals for Tyson Doucette


By
February 29, 2024

It is a milestone attainment for a player who was never drafted into the Ontario Hockey League only to in due course make it as an improbable long shot by way of a free agent tryout.

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Big news from Sault Major


By
February 28, 2024

Quite clear and with no doubt, this is an exceptional hire. Sault Major Hockey Association has confirmed that former Ontario Hockey League and National Hockey League mainstay Jeremy Stevenson will take over as the head coach of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League effective the 2024-2025 season.

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Spitfires of Sault Ste. Marie


By
February 27, 2024

Should the Windsor Spitfires opt to take a player from Sault Ste. Marie at the upcoming April 12-13 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft it would lengthen a long lasting alliance with kids from the Soo.

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186 points in 89 NOJHL games


By
February 26, 2024

Pint size forward Lucas Signoretti has been a prolific points producer ever since signing with the Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League early last season.

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Hounds handle the top teams


By
February 26, 2024

It has been stated that if a team aspires to be the best then it has to beat the best. That utterance certainly has basis relevant to the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League.

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Flint, Windsor home & home


By
February 26, 2024

As they seek to try to preserve the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League the Flint Firebirds will face off against the Windsor Spitfires twice this week.

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Lighting it up in the NOJHL


By
February 25, 2024

Forward Lucas Signoretti of the Espanola Paper Kings has passed the 40 goal mark as the regular season in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League heads towards the March 17 finish line. And a number of others have either passed or are closing in on the 30 goal mark.

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Coach, GM a good fit in Flint


By
February 25, 2024

Rookie head coach Paul Flache and first year general manager Dave McParlan have been rewarded by the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League with multi-year contract extensions.

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Bulldogs and Alexanders


By
February 24, 2024

After an absence of close to 20 years, the Ontario Hockey League returned to Brantford ahead of the 2023-2024 season in the form of the relocated Hamilton Bulldogs. Due to impending renovations and long term closure of the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, the Bulldogs officially moved to Brantford and the upgraded Civic Centre on a three year lease commencing with the current ’23-24 campaign.

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NOJHL boss was an OHL star


By
February 22, 2024

These days, Rob Mazzuca is well known as the long serving commissioner of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. With deep northern Ontario roots, Mazzuca has been the league’s commander in chief since 2011. And during his playing days, Mazzuca was no slouch as a standout defenseman who was a first round pick (11th overall) of the Sudbury Wolves at the 1979 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft.

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Two games for Knight fighter


By
February 21, 2024

What was initially an indefinite suspension has turned into a mere two game ban for London Knights enforcer Sawyer Boulton.

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Ex Hounds fired up in Flint


By
February 20, 2024

Alex Kostov and Connor Clattenburg are putting up the points for the Flint Firebirds as they pursue a playoff position in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. Kostov and Clattenburg were obtained by Flint from the Soo Greyhounds in a block buster transaction at the January 10 OHL trade deadline.

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Rock star of the Firebirds


By
February 18, 2024

Rookie goalie Jacob Brown, formerly of the Timmins Rock of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, backstopped the Flint Firebirds to a clutch Ontario Hockey League victory on Saturday.

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To the OHL via the NOJHL


By
February 17, 2024

Those in the game who don’t take the time or make the effort to get to know the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League would thus be unmindful to the number of players that it develops for teams in the Ontario Hockey League.

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Knight assailant suspended


By
February 17, 2024

LONDON — The Ontario Hockey League has issued an indefinite suspension to London Knights forward Sawyer Boulton. Boulton was given an instigator penalty relative to a fight with Soo Greyhounds defenseman Matthew Virgilio during the final five minutes of Friday’s loss by the Knights.

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Hounds light up the Knights


By
February 16, 2024

LONDON — Soo Greyhounds turned out the lights on the unbeaten heights of the London Knights before more than 9,000 fans here tonight at Budweiser Gardens.

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Hounds on the Knight shift


By
February 16, 2024

LONDON — Soo Greyhounds will be out to try to halt a fast moving Knight train this evening when they face off against the London Knights in a 7:00 p.m. start here at Budweiser Gardens.

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Western wear of the OHL


By
February 14, 2024

Let us venture here and there in a Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League that features preferable story lines and much more punch and potency than the weak side Eastern Conference.

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Tales of an old hockey writer


By
February 13, 2024

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following passage is an excerpt from a chapter in my book, Tales Of An Old Hockey Writer, which is slated to be published and available for sale by March 1. Mature audiences only.

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Mindset mentality of the goalie


By
February 12, 2024

They perform to the beat of a different drum. They are stationed between two pillars as solitary sentries who guard a net. In a book, they are a chapter of their own.

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EL Vikings change coaches


By
February 12, 2024

Chris Keleher is out as head coach and general manager of the Elliot Lake Vikings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. And Hockey News North has also confirmed that Jon Campbell has been brought in as the Elliot Lake bench boss for the balance of the 2023-2024 NOJHL season.

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AA goalie gets NOHA invite


By
February 11, 2024

Sebastien Brassard of Sault Ste. Marie is the only AA level goalie among five others from the AAA category to get an invite to the February 16-17 Team NOHA selections camp to be held in Powassan.

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Private goalie sessions


By
February 10, 2024

The venerable Bill Vanderleest, who has worked as a goalie coach for teams on both sides of the International Bridge at Sault Ste. Marie for multiple decades, is now offering private tutoring for and up and coming young net minders.

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Scouting the Great North


By
February 9, 2024

Welcome to our initial scouting report of the 2023-2024 Great North Under 18 Hockey League season ahead of the 2024 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft which is slated for April 12 and 13.

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Sault boys as top OHL picks


By
February 8, 2024

Two players from Sault Ste. Marie who headed to Pittsburgh this season to play in the Jr. Penguins AAA elite program are being projected as possible first or second round picks at the April 12-13 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft.

…[read more]

Sleeper of the Spitfires?


By
February 6, 2024

Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League have two defensemen rated on the current rankings ahead of the 2024 National Hockey League draft. But more than one individual who is connected to an NHL team has relayed to Hockey News North that they are of the notion that it is an un-rated Spitfire who is the best pro prospect of any Windsor defenseman.

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Frantic race for eighth place


By
February 5, 2024

Sarnia Sting, Flint Firebirds and Windsor Spitfires are in a three way race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. And with the regular season in the final third of the schedule, the three teams are gearing up for a frantic push at a playoff position.

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Fellinger a find for Firebirds


By
February 4, 2024

Of the 11 players from the Great North Under 18 Hockey League who were picked at the 2023 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft, Rylan Fellinger is an anomaly. Not only is the big defenseman the only one of the 11 to become a full time performer in the OHL this season as a 2007 birth year player but he made the Flint Firebirds as a 13th round draft pick.

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Bell rings for U18 Hounds


By
February 4, 2024

Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League continued their winning ways this weekend with a pair of home ice victories. And of the many players who stood out, Coulson Bell did particularly well.

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55 saves for Jake Marois


By
February 4, 2024

Espanola Paper Kings got a shutout of the sensational variety in stealing a 2-0 road victory from the Soo Thunderbirds in Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League action from Saturday.

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OHL drafted goalies in Timmins


By
February 3, 2024

For the second successive season a 16-year old goalie who was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League is developing with the Timmins Rock of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. Last season it was Jacob Brown, now with the Flint Firebirds of the OHL. This season it is Erie Otters draft pick Dryden Riley.

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OHL shutout for NOJHL grad


By
February 2, 2024

A season of development with the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has led to 2006 birth year goalie Charlie Burns taking advantage of a good opportunity to tend twine for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League.

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U18 Wolves v. Greyhounds


By
February 1, 2024

First place Sudbury U18 Wolves head on the road this Saturday for a matinee match against the hottest team in the Great North Under 18 Hockey League.

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Spits down two forwards


By
February 1, 2024

From 13 forwards to 11. Chasing the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League, the Windsor Spitfires will be minus two veteran forwards for the balance of the season.

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OHL ice chips and dips


By
January 30, 2024

Here and there in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League with about one third of the 2023-2024 regular season schedule still on the slate:

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Lambert and U16 AAA Hounds


By
January 29, 2024

Sault Major Hockey Association has confirmed that it intends to have an Under 16 AAA team next season that would — if officially approved by the Northern Ontario Hockey Association — be members of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League.

…[read more]

Two more for the U18 Hounds


By
January 29, 2024

Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League have finally climbed to the .500 mark. The U18 Jr. Hounds scored 6-0 and 4-2 home ice victories over the Timmins Majors and Sudbury Under 16 Wolves on the weekend to increase their winning streak to seven games.

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Spitfires are young on the D


By
January 28, 2024

Rebuilding as a team after back to back Western Conference crowns, the Windsor Spitfires have one of the youngest defensive corps in the Ontario Hockey League.

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77 saves in one game!


By
January 27, 2024

Iroquois Falls Storm goalie Connor Hatfield put on a Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League performance for the ages in a recent 6-5 loss to the Timmins Rock.

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60 goals for Mason Svarich


By
January 26, 2024

He is a 20-year old gun slinger from Western Canada, a pure goal scoring machine who is in his second season in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.

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Ice Dogs on a good run


By
January 26, 2024

Five straight wins have lifted the Dryden Ice Dogs back into contention among the top five teams of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League.

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Glory days of Gavin Hayes


By
January 25, 2024

Soo Greyhounds head coach John Dean is of the notion that prize Ontario Hockey League trade deadline acquisition Gavin Hayes is even better than what was expected.

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Young blood of the NOJHL


By
January 24, 2024

To be sure, the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League continues to be a prime training ground for young players on their way up the ladder. For instance, there are a good number of 2007 birth year players who are standing out this season as the young blood of the NOJHL.

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Spitfires d-man is a big deal


By
January 24, 2024

WINDSOR — It has been said — as it has been written — that any scout of ordinary repute can identify and rate a blue chip hockey player of plain to see, pronounced skill. Then there are the acute, astute scouts and talent judgers who can zero in on a player who is not on the radar or lighthouse. One such far fetched prospect is Tanner Winegard, a hulking defenseman with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.

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Tough test for U18 Hounds


By
January 23, 2024

Fresh from a tournament appearance in Peterborough, the surging Soo Jr. Greyhounds are back home this weekend for a pair of games including one against the second seed team in the Great North Under 18 Hockey League.

…[read more]

Cam Boville to Chicago


By
January 19, 2024

Sault Ste. Marie product Cam Boville has joined the Chicago Cougars of the junior level United States Premier Hockey League for the balance of this season. The 2006 birth year goalie had been inactive since late October after being waived by the Elliot Lake Vikings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.

…[read more]

Western ways of the OHL


By
January 17, 2024

Okay, so the Sudbury Wolves are currently in first place in the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League with 47 points. But if the Wolves were in the Western Conference of the OHL, those 47 points would have them in sixth place. Yes, sixth place. Such is the balance of power difference between the Western world and the Eastern block.

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Symmetry of the Walleye


By
January 17, 2024

Scoring balance among the forward lines has been a key this season for the reigning champion Kam River Fighting Walleye of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League.

…[read more]

Hot to trot in the NOJHL


By
January 16, 2024

Blind River Beavers. Sudbury Cubs. Espanola Paper Kings. Hearst Lumberjacks. Timmins Rock. They are what is hot in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.

…[read more]

George is the top OHL goalie


By
January 13, 2024

Five goalies from the Ontario Hockey League have made the mid season rankings list of the National Hockey League’s Central Scouting Bureau ahead of the June 28-29 NHL Entry Draft. And at the top of the chart is Carter George of the Owen Sound Attack, a Thunder Bay product who has Sault Ste. Marie roots from his mother’s side.

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NHL scouts like three Hounds


By
January 13, 2024

Three members of the Soo Greyhounds are among 53 players from the Ontario Hockey League who have made the mid season rankings list of the National Hockey League’s Central Scouting Bureau.

…[read more]

NHL scouts eyeing Spitfires


By
January 12, 2024

Windsor Spitfires are frantically chasing a playoff spot in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League in what is a rebuilding season. But while the Spitfires may be near the bottom of the OHL standings, a number of their players are being eyed by National Hockey League scouts.

…[read more]

Latest on the EL Vikings


By
January 12, 2024

Out with one, in with another. Having honoured the trade request of goalie Matthew Vahramian and dealing him to the Sudbury Cubs, the Massey-based Elliot Lake Vikings have added veteran net minder Braydon Garnhart to their crease via the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners.

…[read more]

Kenny B to the Blades


By
January 12, 2024

Sault Ste. Marie product Kenny Belanger is settling into his new junior hockey home. The towering 2004 birth year forward joined the Oakville Blades of the Ontario Jr. Hockey League from the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League at the recent Canadian Jr. Hockey League trade deadline.

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Hear, hear, Oliver Peer!


By
January 11, 2024

Flint Firebirds are in control of their playoff destiny in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. And a veteran player who Flint paid big to get at the OHL trade deadline with hopes of advancing to this spring’s playoffs is overage forward Oliver Peer.

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Sudbury Cubs add firepower


By
January 11, 2024

Two forwards with Ontario Hockey League experience have joined the pace setting Sudbury Cubs of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.

…[read more]

Net gain for Sudbury Cubs


By
January 11, 2024

There are now three goalies on the roster of the Sudbury Cubs as they wage war with the Blind River Beavers for first place overall in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. The Cubs have picked up 2006 birth year net minder Matthew Vahramian from the last place Elliot Lake Vikings in a cash exchange.

…[read more]

OHL trade deadline recap


By
January 10, 2024

It was an Ontario Hockey League frenzied flurry for the books as close to 40 separate transactions were completed in the days leading up to the January 10 trade deadline. And Western Conference teams such as the contending Soo Greyhounds and Saginaw Spirit along with the playoff chasing Flint Firebirds and Windsor Spitfires all made multiple moves that included major exchanges of veteran players and future draft picks.

…[read more]