The Ontario Hockey League has announced its top performers of the week for the slate of regular-season games ending Dec. 18 and Barrie Colts forward Evan Vierling got the nod as tops among his peers.
Vierling, 20, posted five goals and five assists for 10 points as the Colts won three of four contests this past week.
The Aurora native started his week off strong on Tuesday, recording a goal and five assists as the Colts defeated the visiting Sudbury Wolves, 7-5.
He found the scoresheet again on Friday in Guelph, helping the Colts defeat the Storm, 3-2, in overtime.
Vierling's second multi-goal effort of the season came Saturday at home to North Bay as his second of the game was the deciding marker coming 2:34 into the third period. He was the game's first star, finishing with two goals and an assist.
He also helped the Colts earn a point on Sunday in North Bay, extending his goal-scoring streak to six games with a tally in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Battalion.
Vierling leads the Colts with 38 points, including 15 goals and 23 assists, in 24 games. The former fifth-round NHL Draft pick by the New York Rangers in 2020 has recorded 156 points (55-101-156) in 182 career OHL regular-season games between Flint and Barrie after being chosen second overall by the Firebirds in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection. He attended training camp with the Columbus Blue Jackets this past September.
Vierling is the first Colts player to receive the weekly honour this season.
Marco Costantini of the Kitchener Rangers is the OHL goaltender of the week, going 2-0 with a shutout, a 0.50 goals-against average and a .981 save percentage as the Rangers enter the holiday break on a six-game winning streak.
