By Sam Laskaris /
ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Linsday Muskies are proof it doesn’t take long to reverse fortunes in Junior hockey. Last season the Muskies had some struggles but managed to grab the sixth and final playoff spot in the league’s East Division after posting a 20-23-6 record.
As for this season, Lindsay has been of the OJHL’s top squads. The Muskies won 11 of their first 14 games and were sitting atop the nine-team Ruddock Division.
A glance of the league’s scoring leaders indicates the Muskies were getting the job done because of a team effort. Lindsay did not have any players among the OJHL’s Top 25 scorers. But Lindsay did have one of the league’s top netminders in Matt Ginn. In his 13 appearances, Ginn had a 2.17 GAA. Ginn also already had two shutouts.
Meanwhile, the Georgetown Raiders were sitting atop the league’s Mackinnon Division.
Georgetown had won all but two of its first 14 starts.
As for the Phillips and Central divisions, there were ties atop the standings in both groupings.
Orangeville Crushers and Aurora Tigers had 22 points apiece in the Phillips Division. And the St. Michael’s Buzzers and Toronto Jr. Canadiens were tied with 20 points each in the Central Division.
CENTRAL JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
There are a handful of clubs that could challenge for the league crown this season.
The Nepean Raiders had a league-high 19 points around mid-October thanks to their nine wins and one shootout loss through 13 games.
Nepean was atop the Yzerman Division standings. But the Pembroke Lumber Kings, who had played four fewer games, were within striking distance at 16 points. Pembroke had lost just one of their first nine contests.
Meanwhile, over in the Robinson Division, the Cornwall Colts were sitting in first place with 14 points. Cornwall, which had won seven out of its first dozen games, was just one point ahead of the Gloucester Rangers and Cumberland Grads.
Gloucester though had the division’s best winning percentage (.650). The Rangers, who had played just 10 games, had six wins and an overtime loss to show for their efforts.
Cumberland had played 13 matches. The Grads had six wins and seven losses, including one setback in a shootout.
At the other end of the standings, a pair of squads have struggled. The Hawkesbury Hawks had won two of their first 12 while the Kemptville 73s had a pair of victories in 11 matches.
NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
The fact the North Bay Skyhawks were still undefeated near mid-October is not entirely a surprise.
After all the Skyhawks were one of the league’s top clubs last season.
But there is one interesting note to North Bay’s perfect 11-0 start this season. With 356 penalty minutes, the Skyhawks were also by far the most penalized club in the eight-team league.
The Abitibi Eskimos, who were the second most penalized squad in the NOJHL, had 242 penalty minutes – that’s 112 less than the Skyhawks.
Despite the amount of time North Bay players have been spending in the sin bin, the Skyhawks have been successful because they also have two of the best goaltenders in the circuit, Jeff Michael and Riley Ross. The duo were 1-2 in goals-against average in the league among regular netminders.
Michael had picked up six of the team’s victories and had a 1.94 GAA in his appearances. Ross, who was credited with North Bay’s five other wins, had a 2.34 GAA. North Bay, however, had just two of its players among the Top 10 scorers in the league.
With 17 points (5G, 12A), Skyhawks’ forward Dustin Fummerton was tied atop the scoring race with Soo Thunderbirds’ forward Nick Minardi.
SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Thunder Bay will play host back-to-back national hockey championships in 2009 and 2010.
And if the Fort William North Stars are fortunate enough, the northern Ontario city will also stage another national tournament in 2011.
The North Stars, members of the SIJHL, plan to submit a bid to host the Royal Bank Cup, the national Junior A tournament, in 2011.
Meanwhile, Thunder Bay hockey fans already know the University Cup, the national men’s university tournament, will be staged in their hometown. The Lakehead University Thunderwolves will serve as hosts for both the ’09 and ’10 Canadian championships.
As for this season, the North Stars look like they’ll have plenty of offensive punch. As mid-October approached, the Fort William squad had the top three players in the league’s scoring race.
Michael MacDonald was leading the pack, averaging two points per outing. He had collected 14 points (8G, 6A) in seven matches.
His teammates Cale Brown (7G, 6A) and Trevor Gamache (4G, 8A) were close behind, with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the North Stars, had a league-high 51 goals. |