Can't-Miss Games: Week Twelve

As we push into December, the hype train for the World Juniors is starting to chug along. This week, players invited to Canada's pre-tournament camp will leave their teams to make their bid to represent Canada on the world stage. This will leave multiple OHL teams without some of their brightest stars.

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A total of 18 players including recent additions Zayne Parekh and Beckett Sennecke will attend the camp. In their absence, other players will need to step up and fill larger roles this week.

There are many exciting matchups this week that could have big ramifications on the standings.

As a reminder, can't-miss games are categorized as games with interesting matchups, storylines or an aspect that is missing in most other games that week. If you only have time to watch one OHL game this week make sure it is one of the following.

Kingston Frontenacs @ Kitchener Rangers - Friday, Dec. 13, 7:00 p.m.

It's been a month since Kingston defeated one of the top teams in the league. While their record in that time is impressive (7-4) all four of those losses come at the hands of teams like Barrie, Oshawa and London.

Their next game is against a Kitchener squad that currently sits third in the Western Conference. If Kingston wants to be considered a top team they need to start winning against teams like Kitchener.

On the other end of the ice, the same could have been said about Kitchener until last Saturday had struggled against the top competition.

These are two of the better teams in the league as indicated by their records, though they are starting to slip with some of their results. This game against one another is a chance for both to prove their prowess.

Brampton Steelheads @ Sudbury Wolves - Friday, Dec. 14, 7:05 p.m.

Last week, Brampton lost both games they played and their eight-game winning streak came to an end. The biggest test for Brampton will be whether they can continue to score without Porter Martone and Carson Rehkopf who account for a third of the team's goals.

They currently sit in the middle of the Eastern Conference right behind the Sudbury Wolves.

The Sudbury Wolves have been a model of consistency this season sitting squarely in the middle of the Eastern Conference. They are currently riding a three-game winning streak coming into this week.

This is a four-point game that has big implications for both teams in the standings.

Ottawa 67's @ Barrie Colts - Saturday, Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m.

These two teams faced off against one another last week on Sunday and the result was a tightly contested game that ended in a 2-1 victory for Barrie. It also spawned what has been called the teddy toss tussle after Ottawa's Luca Pinelli scored in the second period.

Barrie is the top team in the Eastern Conference due to playing a style that combines a bruising forecheck with a defense-first mentality. While they will be without Beau Akey and Cole Beaudoin the team still has plenty of firepower.

While Ottawa sits lower down the Eastern Conference standings, you know what you will get from them every night. They are a hard-working team that takes care of the details defensively. The question will be whether they can find the back of the net as top-scorer Luca Pinelli will be out of the lineup.

This should be another tightly contested game filled with physicality and potentially some leftover bad blood from this past week.

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