Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that forward Eric Tangradi of the Belleville Bulls is the Boston Pizza OHL Player of the Week for the week ending April 12. Tangradi scored four goals and three assists for seven points with a plus-minus rating of plus-6 in two games.
Tangradi was at his best offensively on Tuesday night in the 5-2 game four win for the Bulls over their second round playoff series opponent the Niagara IceDogs. He was part of every Bulls goal with a five-point game including four goals and adding one assist as first of the game. His only other five-point game this season came on November 19 when he scored two goals and three assists in an 8-1 win over the IceDogs and was later named the Boston Pizza OHL Player of the Week for the week ending November 23. On Thursday night Tangradi counted two assists in the fifth and final game of the second round series with the Bulls prevailing 5-2. Belleville will now face the Brampton Battalion for the Bobby Orr Trophy in the Rogers Eastern Conference Championship Series.
Tangradi, a 20-year-old from Philadelphia, PA, is in his third OHL season with the Bulls. He set career-best numbers and ranked eighth in the regular season with 88 points including 38 goals and 50 assists in 55 games with a plus-minus rating of plus-39. The Bulls captain is currently tied for first in playoff scoring with eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 11 games. A Pittsburgh Penguins prospect, Tangradi was selected in the second round, 42nd overall by the Anaheim Ducks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Honourable mention this week goes to Evgeny Grachev of the Brampton Battalion. The OHL’s Rookie of the Year scored two goals and three assists for five points in three games, helping the Battalion advance to the Rogers Eastern Conference Championship series. Adam Henrique of the Windsor Spitfires scored a hat-trick as first star of the game Saturday in a 4-2 win over the Plymouth Whalers. The game six win brings the Spitfires to the Rogers Western Conference Championship series where they will face the London Knights. In goal, Mike Murphy of the Belleville Bulls posted a goals-against-average of 2.00 and a save percentage of .945 in his two wins.
2008-09 Boston Pizza OHL Players of the Week
