LONDON - Stratford Cullitons’ centre Andrew Barton had successful arthroscopic knee surgery here last Wednesday at the Fowler Clinic at UWO.
“Having Andrew return to play as soon as possible is the best case scenario for us,” Jason Lott, the Tribe’s director of hockey operations/GM, told the Gazette last week.
“He was scoped; it didn’t involve opening up his knee. The recovery time is four weeks, so we’re looking at the possibility of Andrew making it back by either the second week or the last week of the regular season.”
The 19-year-old Barton was injured at a team practice just prior to Christmas.
Veteran winger Pat Looby, 20, has now been cleared for contact in practices and is getting closer to returning to the Cullitons’ line-up.
Looby, who has been out of the line-up since Nov. 13 with a shoulder injury, has another doctor’s appointment this week. Lott says he could be back in the line-up early next month.
Defenceman Tyler Marchand, 18, has a hip injury and sat out both Listowel games this past weekend. “We don’t expect this to be a long-term injury,” the GM said. “He kind of re-injured it at the Prospects Game (Jan. 16 in LaSalle), and it just needs a little rest. I expect he’ll be back at practice (this) week.”
Centre Pat Clifford served the final two games of his lengthy suspension this past weekend.
He will be in the line-up this Friday, Jan. 27 against Waterloo Siskins.
Clifford, 20, was acquired from the Golden Horseshoe Conference’s Port Colborne Pirates, for cash, just prior to the Jan. 10 OHA roster freeze.
• Ray Huether is a player Cullitons weren’t counting on at the beginning of the 2011-12 season. They thought he’d be playing for an OHL team.
But the 17-year-old Seaforth area native returned to the Tribe six games into the schedule, and the talented centre hit the 30-goal plateau on Sunday.
“When Ray has the puck, he’s probably the most offensive player, maybe in our league,” coach Phil Westman said in admiration. “One on one, he can find the net.”
Westman noted that Huether, rookie Shane O’Brien and Jared Culliton have emerged as a “real good line. It’s a combination that I like right now.”
• The Tribe scored only one goal with the man advantage this past weekend, but coach Westman was still happy with his powerplay.
“It was good and dominant,” he said after Sunday’s 4-3 win in Listowel. “We had real good puck control and puck movement. Even if you don’t score, you threaten and it gets the other team thinking.”
Stratford and Cambridge lead the GOJHL, each with 56 powerplay goals.
Westman was also very pleased with the penalty-killing of rookie Trevor Sauder and others. “We took a lot of momentum away from Listowel with our penalty killing,” he noted.
• Cullitons called up defenceman Chris Newcombe from their Western Jr. C affiliate, the Mitchell Hawks, for Sunday’s game in Listowel.
Newcombe hails from Tavistock, and has now played four games for Stratford.
• Forward Brad McClure, defenceman Mike Pleon, goalie Jesse Raymond, coach Westman and GM Lott represented the Cullitons at Monday night’s all-star game in Stoney Creek between the Midwestern and Golden Horseshoe selects.
McClure clicked for two goals and an assist as the Midwest lost 8-6 to the ‘Horseshoe all-stars. The 18-year-old forward connected twice in the third period, tying the score 6-6, before the ‘Horseshoe all-stars replied with two goals in the last six minutes to win it.
The Midwestern Conference won the first game between the two teams, 6-5, back on Jan. 9 in Elmira.
• This past Saturday, Cullitons bused to Canisius College in Buffalo to watch an afternoon NCAA Division 1 game between the home-town Golden Griffs and visiting Sacred Heart.
Centre Mitch McCrank, who led the Tribe in scoring (62 points) last season, is a freshman with the Griffs. Coaching Canisius College are two former Cullitons, Dave Smith and assistant B.J. Adams.
“Every year we do a trip like this,” Lott said. “It’s good for the boys to get out and see this level of hockey.”
• It was a huge upset Saturday night in Brantford when the last-place Owen Sound Greys defeated the Golden Eagles 5-4 in a shootout.
Eagles, who out-shot the Greys 64-21, let an early 2-0 lead evaporate.
• Coach Westman is also wondering if fifth-place Guelph Hurricanes (19-21-2) are emerging as the ‘dark horse’ in the Midwest. The ‘Canes defeated Elmira 5-4 on Saturday night.
“Guelph is playing some pretty good hockey at the right time of the year,” he noted. “They’ve also beat us and Brantford in the last little while.”
