3/1 Recap: Armia comes through

Joel Armia notched a key assist and the shootout clincher Thursday as Assat skated to a 4-3 win over KalPa. The flashy wing made a nice move at center ice before gaining the zone to set up Tuomas Santavuori to give Assat a 3-2 lead at 15:24 of the middle frame. Armia would later score in the shootout to seal the victory and keep the Aces in the fourth spot with two weeks left in the season.



In the OHL, Alex Lepkowski scored his eighth goal of the year as Barrie downed Kitchener, 5-3. The West Seneca, NY native converted down low after taking a pass off his skate to give the Colts a 2-1 lead midway through the first. Gregg Sutch logged a -1 for the Colts, who have now won seven of their last eight games.

Steven Shipley did not factor as Niagara edged Saginaw, 2-1. With 16 goals and 38 points, Shipley will need to step up his production over the final eight games of the regular season to equal the 50 points he posted a season ago.