The Steelheads looked to bounce back in the second half of back-to-back games after what was a night to forget in the nation’s capital. The Trout entered their contest against the Frontenacs winning all of the previous meetings this season, as they looked to sweep the season series. 

The Steelheads got to the offense early and had a rapid start to the game. Porter Martone received a pass from James Hardie and fired one past the Kingston netminder just 8 seconds into the game. 

James Hardie found himself on a breakaway, however was stopped by Vaccari. Hardie did not give up on the play and gathered his own rebound. Looking for options, Hardie zipped a beautiful pass through the crease to Martone who made no mistake and secured his second of the night to make it 4-0 for the Blue and White. 

The Frontenacs elected to pull the goaltender with over 3 minutes on the clock, looking to tie the game. The Steelheads looked the other way and Hardie made an unselfish play and found Martone all alone in front of the empty net. Martone secured his third goal of the game and completed his first career hat trick to make it 5-3 Steelheads. 

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Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that overage forward James Hardie of the Mississauga Steelheads is the Cogeco OHL Player of the Week, recording two goals, eight assists and 10 points in four games along with a plus/minus rating of plus-4.

Helping guide the Steelheads to a 3-1 showing last week, Hardie got things started with Mississauga’s lone goal in a 2-1 road loss to the Erie Otters on Monday. The Steelheads bounced back on Thursday with a 6-2 win over the Niagara IceDogs as Hardie put together the first of two consecutive four-assist outings. He registered another four assists on Friday, helping linemate Zander Veccia score his first OHL hat trick as the Steelheads defeated the Central Division-leading North Bay Battalion 5-4. Hardie contributed another goal on Sunday as the Steelheads closed out the weekend with a 5-4 win over the IceDogs on home ice. Currently riding a 10-game point streak, seven of Hardie’s eight assists last week were primary helpers.

A 21-year-old native of Innisfil, Ont., Hardie currently sits eighth in OHL points with 57 (28-29–57) through 41 games this season. His 181 shots on goal are the fourth-highest total in the League. Mississauga’s fist round (8th overall) pick in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection is the club’s all-time leading goal-scorer (118) and point producer (219) in his 230 career regular season contests. Hardie attended rookie camp with the Boston Bruins last September.

Also given consideration for the award this week were Steelheads teammate Zander Veccia who recorded five goals, four assists and nine points in four games. Edmonton Oilers prospect Matvey Petrov of the North Bay Battalion was also a standout, recording five goals and two assists over three outings.

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Steelheads overage forward James Hardie’s late marker tied him for the franchise lead in goals (114) and points (207). Hardie needs one goal to take sole possession of both records after matching the marks previously set by Owen Tippett (Phliadelphia Flyers) for goals and Michael McLeod (New Jersey Devils).

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