By / Sam Laskaris
CENTRAL JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
It looks like Chris Bryson just might win another league scoring title this season. But in a different league.
Last season Bryson was the captain of the Schreiber Diesels, members of the Superior International Junior Hockey League. He won that league’s scoring title by averaging more than 2.5 points per game.
As for this season Bryson is a member of the Pembroke Lumber Kings. In mid-December he was atop the CJHL’s scoring race with 63 points (22 goals, 41 assists) in 32 matches.
Bryson had a six-point lead over Smith Falls Bears’ teammates Nick Tremblay (31G, 26A) and Matt Gordon (19G, 38A), who both had 57 points.
NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
The circuit is hoping for a bit of northern exposure early next year in Sault Ste. Marie by staging the inaugural NOJHL Showcase.
The event will be held in conjunction with the 2008 Steel City International Hockey Tournament, which runs Jan. 3-5.
To help showcase the league, five of the six NOJHL squads will compete in four regular season games and an exhibition contest during the three-day stretch.
The Soo Thunderbirds will play three games in three days, starting with a Jan. 3 meeting versus the North Bay Skyhawks. The Thunderbirds will also square off against the Abitibi Eskimos on Jan. 4 and the Manitoulin Islanders on Jan. 5.
SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Having compiled a record of 18-8-0-0 by mid-December, the Fort William North Stars were battling for top spot in the league standings.
With 36 points, the North Stars were only behind the 19-8-0-1 Dryden Ice Dogs, who had 39 points. Dryden, however, had played two games more than Fort William.
The North Stars though were dominating one statistical category in the league, which perhaps might not be all that much to brag about. The Fort William squad had the top three players with the most penalty minutes in the league.
Forward Justin Crockatt was the most penalized player with 196 penalty minutes in 23 games. Blueliner Nathanial Vail was next in line with 161 minutes followed by forward Keith Mason, who had racked up 158 minutes in the sin bin. |