Oshawa Generals overtake Kelowna Rockets in Buzzing The Net Dynamic Dozen

Eight is enough for a change atop the Dynamic Dozen. Michael Dal Colle and the streaking Oshawa Generals are the first OHL Eastern Conference team in several seasons to top BTN's weekly exercise in quantifying the play of all 60 major junior teams, thanks to their streak and a two-game stumble by the Kelowna Rockets.

Dal Colle was in on every Generals goal during a 3-2 win last Sunday over the Owen Sound Attack and  saying that might not have done justice to his play. The two teams each depend on being able to foster a certain enmity — toughess for its own sake — every time out and seemed determined to out do each other in that regard. In those conditions, Dal Colle rose above it to keep the Generals going.

1. Oshawa Generals, OHL (.593 RPI, +1.9 SRS, +1) — Staying on top could hinge largely on whether Oshawa will have Cole Cassels this week. The Vancouver Canucks signing received a checking-to-the-head major/game misconduct on Damir Sharipzyanov during the Attack game, which is subject to an automatic review by the OHL.

The Generals, who host Niagara and Barrie, might have to expose their depth players, the Anthony Cirelli and Sam Harding types, to tougher minutes if Cassels has to sit down. They have enjoyed relatively strong complementary scoring so far this season while shooting to the top of the OHL standings.

2. Kelowna Rockets, WHL (.589 RPI, +2.2 SRS, -1) — There are no regression-proof power plays. Portland's outscored Kelowna's 4-1 over the course of a Winterhawks weekend sweep that caused the change at the top of the Double-D. The Rockets also ran with 11 forwards for a portion of the series and, in spite of all that, went down to the wire in each game against a team that has 19-year-olds Oliver Bjorkstrand and Nic Petan, each of whom is only in junior due to the CHL-NHL agreement.

The coaches' reactions to Petan and Rockets league scoring leader Nick Merkley doffing their mitts on Saturday was interesting. Neither Portland's Jamie Kompon or Kelowna's Dan Lambert seemed too jazzed about having their No. 1 centres trade punches. There was no Twitter outcry since neither player is from the OHL.

3. Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL (.569 RPI, +1.3 SRS, —) — A team such as the Wheaties whose top-enders are 16 through 18 years old will only go as far as veterans who opt in to the less glamourous glue-guy roles. Nineteen-year-old Tim McGauley rose to the occasion with a three-point game during a comeback win over Edmonton. The undrafted Wilcox, Sask., native likely logs the most minutes among Brandon's forwards since he plays both on the penalty kill and power play, and he averages more than a point per game. That's part of why there's a lot more to Brandon than the high draft picks.

4. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL (.563 RPI, +1.6 SRS, +5) — All Carolina Hurricanes signing Sergey Tolchinsky has done of late is average close to points since late October, when the so-called NHL camp hangoer cleared. The 19-year-old's spark shephered the 'Hounds through that never-fun trip through the Eastern Division, as he made a drop pass to Edmonton Oilers first-rounder Darnell Nurse for the overtime winner in Ottawa and scored two goals during a Sunday win in Kingston.

The swift-skating 'Hounds are relying on a balanced game. They've kept rolling even while waiting on a breakout from Vancouver Canucks first-rounder Jared McCann, who has two points in four games since returning from a viral infection.

5. Rimouski Océanic, QMJHL (.558 RPI, +1.0 SRS, +1) — Chemistry is tough to quantify but the Océanic did get a few pick-me-ups by finishing their week with an 8-2 win in Charlottetown. Rimouski recovvered from being waxed by the same score in Halifax while using No. 2 goalie Olivier Tremblay and also made its strongest statement since Philadelphia Flyers first-rounder Samuel Morin rejoined the lineup. Coach-GM's Serge Beausoleil's club has a two-game homestand coming up, with Memorial Cup host Quebec coming into town on Sunday.

6. Erie Otters, OHL (.555 RPI, +2.3 SRS, +1) — On Sportsnet radio at this moment, hockey analyst Mike Johnson is raising the possiblity of the Edmonton Oilers finishing dead last in the NHL and winning the Connor McDavid lottery. That would be ironic given the legal wrangling between Otters owner Sherry Bassin and the Edmonton Oilers. Nevertheless, the Otters' outlook is improving. They played well minus McDavid last week, swung the deal with Sudbury for the powerful 19-year-old Nick Baptiste and McDavid is hopeful that the fracture in his hand will heal more quickly than anticipated. That would be good for the Otters even if

7. Ottawa 67's, OHL (.552 RPI, +0.2 SRS, -3) — Monday's 67's win over Barrie provided a vignette into the change Jeff Brown is trying to effect with the Soixante-Septs. Rogers TV cameras captured Brown being rather animated while pushing captain Travis Konecny to be more assertive in the defensive zone; Konecny scored minutes later as part of a seven-point weekend. Later, when Los Angeles Kings second-rounder Alex Lintuniemi returned to the bench after scoring off a counter-attack on a 5-on-3 advantage, Brown criticized him for a turnover that allowed the Colts to rag the puck out of their zone.

Meantime, it needs to be said that having the Colts be a sacrificial lamb for a Monday morning school day game was offside. Generally, Ottawa's drawn an Eastern Division team that either was off or at home the previous day. The Central Division's Colts were on the final leg of a 3-in-3 trip and had a five-hour bus ride home afterward.

8. Kitchener Rangers, OHL (.546 RPI, +0.7 SRS, —) — Few should be put out by the Rangers finally losing a hockey game in 60 minutes. Overage defenceman Max Iafrate was shelved due to a back injury last weekend, eh, and (b) the Rangers power play suffering a regression. The latter had something to do with the former, since Iafrate has a hard shot and leads the club's blueliners with seven power-play points. Kitchener is still sixth in the OHL with the extra skater at a robust 24.5 per cent.

Sixteen-year-old rookie Adam Mascherin has looked stronger since returning from the world under-17 challenge, although that's translated into only one goal over five games. The No. 2 pick faces the two players chosen after him, Ottawa's Travis Barron, on Sunday.

9. Everett Silvertips, WHL (.545 RPI, +1.0 SRS, +5) — The 'Tips talisman, Nikita Scherbak, is surely going to be out for a while after a scary (and legal) collision with Seattle's Keegan Kolesar last Saturday. The most important news is that the Montreal Canadiens first-rounder did not injur a major injury. Knowing that, the focus will shift to whether Everett gets caught up in the paradox-of-thrift phenomena that can strike a defensive-minded team that loses its best creative player: do they try to clamp down and lose some low-scoring games? Eighteen-year-old Ivan Nikolishin will get a chance to indicate whether he can produce minus his fellow Muscovite.

10. Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL (.545 RPI, +0.9 SRS, -5) — The Tigers' ranking takes a hit due to having a busy stretch that ended with being shut out at home by Wyatt Hoflin and improving Kootenay. There's no real, true way to factor out fatigue for the Tigers, who had only 16 able-bodied skaters for their last outing of the week. The upside for coach Shaun Clouston's club is they are at home to finish out the month as players start to drift back.

11. London Knights, OHL (.544 RPI, +1.1 SRS, +5) — It seems best to get out front and note that in 2014, it's still archaic that leading scorers are not ranked on per-game average. That's just a statement of principle and has nothing to do with Max Domi (2.24 points per game) being four behind the injured McDavid (2.83) and Dylan Strome (2.22) heading into the Erie-London Friday Night Hockey contest this week.

Domi related last week that the Knights call right wing Mitchell Marner "greasy" in tribute to the 17-year-old's ability to make skilled plays in tight spaces. Marner, who had 10 points in two games last week, has a great exemplar of that innate quality in his captain.

12. Québec Remparts, QMJHL (.542 RPI, +0.6 SRS, —) — Considering the fact overage forwards Taylor Burke and Marc-Olivier Roy were injured, beating Baie-Comeau 6-2 last Sunday was a statement win by the Remparts. The one healthy 20-year-old regular, Kurt Etchegary, has been on a tear with 13 points across his past 14 games.

Now would be a good time for the Remparts to figure out how to win on the road. They have only two home games left before the holiday break and could be losing reigning QMJHL first star of the week Adam Erne to Team USA.

The not as dynamic but still very distinguished dozen — 13. Owen Sound Attack, OHL (.540, +5); 14. Portland Winterhawks, WHL (.540, +8); 15. Tri-City Americans, WHL (.531, -5); 16. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, QMJHL (.530, -5); 17. Spokane Chiefs, WHL (.526, +6); 18. Gatineau Olympiques, QMJHL (.526, +8); 19. Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL (.525, -6); 20. Victoria Royals, WHL (.520, +4); 21. Swift Current Broncos, WHL (.519, -2); 22. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, QMJHL (.517, +22); 23. Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL (.515, -8); 24. Red Deer Rebels, WHL (.514, +10).

Hot team — Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, up 22 (22 to 44).

Cold team — Prince George Cougars, down 13 (42 to 29).

Nowhere to go but up — Lethbridge (.405).

An explanation on rankings — Buzzing The Net uses Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) with a recency factor. RPI combines a team's record with the strength of its opponents to produce an overall rating. Our method also gives more weight to recently played games. Shootout wins and losses are classified as ties, for philosophical and practical reasons. Simple Ranking System (SRS), a ranking which combines goal differential and strength of schedule, is used as a complement. All three CHL leagues are considered equivalent in quality.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.