By Sam Laskaris /
ONTARIO JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Kingston Voyageurs just keep finding ways to win.
The Voyageurs, who advanced to the 2009 RBC Cup, are also enjoying plenty of success so far this season.
In fact, the Kingston squad had yet to taste defeat in regular season action. The Voyageurs were undefeated after their first 13 starts.
But it’s not as if the Kingston team has yet to be tested. The Voyageurs won five of their games by just one goal. This includes the 3-2 shootout victory Kingston eked out over the visiting Vaughan Vipers on Oct. 8.
The Voyageurs have been led between the pipes by 17-year-old netminder Joel Vienneau, who had registered Ws in his first nine starts. He also had a league-leading 1.67 goals-against average.
Vienneau joined the Kingston squad this season, after starring for the Abitibi Eskimos of the Northern Ontario Junior A Hockey League last year.
The Voyageurs’ backup goalie, Noel Landon, who turned 17 on Sept. 28, had also won his first four starts and was sporting an impressive 2.20 GAA.
Offensively the Voyageurs were being led by 20-year-old forward Tyler Melancon. He had racked up 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in his first 13 games.
Kingston also had three other players - forwards Craig Laliberte and Brock Higgs and defenceman Kevin Christmas – who had 18 points each.
CENTRAL ONTARIO JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Cornwall Colts have been virtually unbeatable on the road thus far this season.
The Colts won seven of their first eight road contests. And they came rather close to also winning the one match they did end up losing, a 3-2 setback against the Cumberland Grads on Oct. 4, in a game decided by a shootout.
Cornwall is also enjoying its share of success on home ice, winning four out of its first five games at the Cornwall Civic Complex.
Since they are winning at home and on the road, it’s not much of a surprise the Colts are sitting atop the league’s Robinson Division standings, even though they had played fewer games than the majority of their divisional rivals.
Cornwall had accumulated 23 points in its first 13 games. The Colts had a three-point lead over the Brockville Braves who had a 10-4-0-0 mark in 14 starts.
The Colts and Braves both had comfortable leads over the third-place Smiths Falls Bears, who had 11 points via their 5-10-0-1 record.
Races were considerably closer in the league’s Yzerman Division, as five points separated the top four clubs.
The 12-2-1-0 Pembroke Lumber Kings were atop the divisional standings, leading the 12-5-0-0 Grads by a mere point.
NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
It certainly hasn’t taken North Bay Trappers’ defenceman Sacha Guimond long to make a name for himself in the NOJHL.
Though he’s a newcomer to the league, the 18-year-old blueliner has been starring with the Trappers this season.
And Guimond, a native of Ville Marie, Que., will also have the opportunity to showcase his skills at an international tournament soon.
The 6-2, 175-pounder has been named to the Team Canada East squad that will participate at this year’s World Junior A Challenge.
The six-team tournament will be staged Nov. 1 to 8 in Summerside, P.E.I.
Team Canada East has been placed in a pool with the United States and Belarus. The tourney will also feature a Team Canada West, which will compete in a grouping with Sweden and Russia.
Guimond is the only NOJHL player that will participate in the tournament. Besides the NOJHL, the Team Canada East club also includes players from the Central Canadian Hockey League, Ontario Junior A Hockey League, Central Junior Hockey League, the Maritime Junior A Hockey League and the Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec.
Besides displaying some stellar defensive play, Guimond has also chipped in offensively with the Trappers this season. He collected 11 points, including three goals, in his first
14 games.
SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Thunder Bay-based K and A Wolverines are finding life in the Junior A ranks is perhaps a bit more difficult than they had envisioned.
The Wolverines were a powerhouse at the Junior B level before making the jump up to the SIJHL this season.
No doubt the Wolverines’ brass felt it would enjoy some success this year, especially after the club was involved in a pair of one-goal games – winning once and losing the other – in its season-opening weekend.
But the Wolverines lost 11 straight games since that mid-September weekend. Yes, the squad did lose two of those matches in overtime. But they were also blown out a handful of other times, losing once by eight goals, once by six goals and three times by five goals.
As a result, after their first 13 games, the Wolves had not surprisingly scored the fewest goals in the league (29) and had also allowed the most goals (69).
The fact the Wolverines are struggling offensively is also proven in the team scoring race. A pair of players – David Dawd and Drew Childs – were tied for the team lead with just seven points.
Meanwhile, the Wolverines had utilized three goaltenders thus far. And they had combined for a lofty 5.31 goals-against average. |