By Sam Laskaris /
PROVINCIAL JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Wellington Dukes are a team to keep an eye on this season.
Wellington, which last won the league championship in 2003, has been quietly making a name for itself.
Seven teams entered the New Year with more points than the Dukes. But that’s primarily because Wellington, which had an impressive 25-5-3 mark, had played fewer games than all of the other squads ahead of them in the standings.
Wellington doesn’t have any superstar forwards – the team does not have anybody among the league’s top 25 scorers. And defenceman Kyle Crawford is the club’s top point-getter with 40 points (12 goals, 28 assists) in 33 games.
But Wellington does have two of the better goalies in the league in Jake Fischer and Paul Karpowich, who have a GAA of 2.24 and 2.30, respectively.
NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
When the Manitoulin Islanders do score, there’s more than a 50 per cent chance that captain Brandon Ingraham will be in on that goal. Ingraham, a centre, has been one of the few bright spots this season for the Islanders, who have managed to win just two of their first 32 regular season contests.
Ingraham was tied for ninth in the league scoring race with 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists). He’s already scored as many goals as he did in 43 games last season, when he registered a total of 40 points.
Since the Islanders have scored just 71 times this season, Ingraham has earned a point on 52.1 per cent of those goals.
CENTRAL JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
Hawksbury Hawks’ centre Stefan Lachapelle could have a new nickname – Mr. Specialty Teams.
That’s because Lachapelle is a force to be reckoned with not only when his club is enjoying a powerplay but also when it is a man short.
In early January, Lachapelle was leading the league in speciality team points. Through his first 33 games, he had 24 powerplay points, including 15 goals.
Lachapelle also had a league-high six shorthanded goals.
He had also picked up three shorthanded assists.
Thanks in large part to his 33 specialty team points, Lachapelle was among the league’s top ten scorers. He was tied for ninth spot with 50 points, including 26 goals.
SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
So who was the hottest team in the seven-squad league heading into ’08?
Well it could have been the Dryden Ice Dogs, who compiled an 8-2-0 record during their final 10 games of 2007.
Or how about the Fort William North Stars, who also posted a mark of 8-2-0. Or what about the Thunder Bay Bearcats, who registered a record of (you guessed it) 8-2-0.
Not surprisingly, the Ice Dogs, North Stars and Bearcats are also all jockeying for top spot in the league standings, with just five points separating first from third place.
Dryden was atop the league with 45 points, just two points ahead of Fort William. And the Bearcats who had played one less game than the North Stars and two fewer than the Ice Dogs, were two points behind second place. |