The Ontario Hockey League announced a couple of suspensions on Thursday, Mar. 6, to two high-value players in their league.
The Brampton Steelheads hosted the Oshawa Generals in a rare matinee Wednesday game on Mar. 5. Brampton was ten points behind Oshawa in the Eastern Conference standings, but has been red-hot as of late.
The Generals took care of business on the road and won the game 4-0 thanks to a 28-save shutout performance by Jacob Oster and two goals from Noah Powell and Owen Griffin.
However, the main story from the game was the partial line brawl that broke out in the third period.
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The Steelheads iced the puck and their captain, projected top-five prospect for the upcoming NHL draft Porter Martone, unnecessarily slashed Oshawa blueliner Luca Marrelli.
Martone’s actions drew a massive scrum in the corner of the Oshawa zone where every player on the ice grabbed a man and two fights broke out.
The first fight was between Dallas Stars prospect Angus MacDonnel on Brampton and Lauri Sinivuori on Oshawa.
The second fight was the more significant battle between Martone and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ top prospect, Ben Danford. It was captain versus captain.
Because Martone and Danford engaged in a second fight after a stoppage in play, they both have received an automatic two-game suspension from the OHL, as per league rules.
#OHL Disciplinary Action:
Oshawa’s Ben Danford and Brampton’s Porter Martone have each been assessed automatic two-game suspensions as a result of actions (Game Misc., Second Fight Same Stoppage) on Mar. 5th at Brampton.
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) March 6, 2025
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Danford and Martone have a bit of history from earlier this season. In a game between the two squads back on Feb. 19, Danford stood up Martone at the blueline with a massive open ice hit.
Danford answered the bell for his hit on the Steelheads captain and held his own against one of the OHL’s toughest players, Minnesota Wild prospect Stevie Leskovar.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2024 first-rounder hasn’t had a great offensive season, and his development in that particular area of his game has been disappointing. But, he’s really embraced a more physical presence this season on the blueline.
Danford’s name was out there in full force as a potential trade chip for the Maple Leafs at the NHL’s trade deadline this year.
Toronto traded two first-round picks along with prospects Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin to acquire Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo, but managed to retain their promising right-shot defense prospect, Danford.
Oshawa missed Danford’s defensive presence Friday night as the team fell to the Sudbury Wolves 5-3. Danford is eligible to return to the Gens’ lineup on Mar. 14 when they take on the Ottawa 67’s.
Brampton narrowly edged past the North Bay Battalion 2-0 on Friday without their captain Martone. The Steelheads will get their leading scorer back on Mar. 12 when the team heads to Peterborough to take on the Petes.
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Ontario Hockey League is home to some of the best junior hockey players in the world and has produced some of the best in today’s game like Connor McDavid and Mitch Marner.
