For the second time this season, Barrie Colts forward Evan Vierling has been named Ontario Hockey League player of the week.
The Aurora native landed the honour after recording seven assists in three playoff games.
The 20-year-old played a big part in Barrie's Game 6 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs last Monday, picking up four assists in the team's 5-4 road win. He picked up a primary assist on Ethan Cardwell's series-clincher, a goal that came with just 10 seconds remaining in the third period, marking the final OHL game at Hamilton's FirstOntario Centre for at least three seasons.
Vierling continued his production to open Barrie's second-round match-up against the North Bay Battalion on Friday, where he had two assists in a 3-2 overtime victory. He had the primary assist on Josh Kavanagh's deciding goal. Vierling left Sunday's Game 2 against North Bay with an injury, but managed to pick up an assist in the 5-2 loss.
He also led the Colts with 95 points (35G, 60A) over 60 regular-season games. He finished tied for the team lead with 10 power-play goals, had a plus-18 rating and seven game-winning goals in his fourth OHL season, wrapping-up his career with 213 points (75-138—213) over 218 regular-season games.
Vierling has 13 points (1-12—13) through seven playoff outings. The Colts and North Bay Battalion meet in Game 3 of their best-of-seven series on Tuesday night at Sadlon Arena, followed by Game 4 on Thursday, also in Barrie.
A former first-round pick (second overall) of the Flint Firebirds in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection, Vierling attended training camp with the Columbus Blue Jackets last October.
Also considered for this week's award was Barrie teammate Ethan Cardwell, who recorded three goals and three assists for six points in three games last week.
The Sarnia Sting's Ben Gaudreau was named OHL goaltender of the week after posting a 2-0 record with a 0.47 goals-against average, .983 save percentage and one shutout. The San Jose Sharks prospect helped the Sting take a 2-0 series lead over the Saginaw Spirit in their Western Conference semifinal series.
