Release Date: Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012
NOJHL contact: Robert Mazzuca, Commissioner
705-670-8627 (Phone) – rjm@persona.ca (Email) – http://www.nojhl.com/ (Website)
New Kirkland Lake ownership group awaits final approval
SUDBURY, Ont. –Another week in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League gets underway this evening as the surging Sudbury Cubs host their division rival the Abitibi Eskimos at McClelland Arena. Puck drop there is set for 7:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, off the ice, the proposed community-owned group that is looking to start a new franchise and run the day-to-day operation of the Kirkland Lake organization is awaiting the final approval from the NOJHL’s Board of Governors and the Northern Ontario Hockey Association to formally endorse their application to keep Jr. “A’’ hockey alive in the community. This group is also contemplating a name change as well.
While the matter remains conditional upon final authorization the league office looks forward to the team taking to the ice in their next scheduled game, which is slated for Friday, at home, vs. the Soo Eagles in a 7:30 p.m. start at the Joe Mavrinac Community Complex.
Two other tilts are also on the slate Friday with North Bay welcoming Sudbury to the Memorial Gardens while the Essar Centre with be the site as the first place Soo Thunderbirds entertain the Beavers of Blind River.
Saturday in the NOJHL features two more contests.
One match-up sees the Soo Eagles paying a visit to Jus Jordan Arena for an encounter against Abitibi with the other seeing the completion of the weekend home-and-home set between the Thunderbirds and the Beavers with the Blind River Community Centre serving as the venue in that one.
Each of those aforementioned contests features a 7:30 p.m. start time.
The week will then conclude Sunday with the Trappers serving as home team as they take on the Soo Eagles at 7 p.m.
For those fans that cannot make it out to take in the action in person, they can watch live NOJHL games online via a pay-per-view basis through FASTHOCKEY and nojhl.fasthockey.com.
WEEK-IN-REVIEW: A total of six games were played in the NOJHL this past week with the visiting team winning four of them. The following is a brief re-cap of the on-ice action:
JAN. 11: SOO EAGLES 4 @ SUDBURY 6—The Cubs rallied from a 3-1 deficit to upend the visiting Eagles…Jamie Haines paced the Sudbury attack with three goals while Jayce Douskey chipped with a marker and a couple of assists…Gavin Burbach was the high-point man for the Soo with two helpers…Alex Laino made an amazing 62 saves to register the win.
JAN. 12: SUDBURY 8 @ ABITIBI 6—Sudbury again rebounded from a two-goal hole to defeat the Eskis…Jamie Haines racked up six points in the victory while Darcy Haines had five as did Jordan Carroll…Laino won for a second straight night.
JAN. 13: SOO EAGLES 6 @ BLIND RIVER 1—Brian Depp tallied twice and set-up another helping the Eagles skate to the road win…Aaron Leach and Taylor Pickering chipped in with two-point nights…Chris Truehl made 42 stops to record the W.
JAN. 14: SUDBURY 5 @ BLIND RIVER 1—The Cubs secured their third win of the week in defeating the Beavers…Jordan Carroll potted two of the Sudbury goals while Brandon Scott dished out two assists…Jeremy Pominville made 49 saves..Carroll surpassed the 100-point mark on the season while running his consecutive game point streak to 27 in a row.
JAN. 14: SOO EAGLES 4 @ SOO THUNDERBIRDS 7—The T-Birds erupted for six first period goals and never trailed en route to the triumph over the rival Eagles at Essar Centre…Micky Sartoretto notched a hat-trick and added an assist…Matt Amadio chipped in with a goal and two helpers…John Kleinhans kicked out 38 shots to register the victory.
JAN. 15: ABITIBI 5 @ NORTH BAY 2—Jake Ryan had a goal and set-up the game-winner aiding Abitibi’s offensive cause…Richard Therrien scored once and added a helper while Marc-Alain Begin had a marker giving him 19 points in his last four games…J.P. Fecteau had 39 stops in picking up the win…Brad Gehl and Djordje Leposavic scored for North Bay.
CENTURY CLUB: With nine points in three games this past week, Sudbury Cubs forward Jordan Carroll became just the second player in the entire Canadian Junior Hockey League to eclipse the 100-point plateau this season.
Yannick Geoffrey of Le College-Francais de Longueuil in the Quebec Jr. AAA Hockey League is the only other CJHL skater with over 100 points so far this season having amassed 106 on 48 goals and 58 assists in 36 games.
The 20-year-old Carroll, a Sudbury native, has racked up 101 points in 36 outings, including a CJHL-best 49 goals overall.
The following is a list of the leading goal scorers in each of the 10 leagues that comprise the CJHL.
|
PLAYER |
TEAM |
LEAGUE |
BIRTH DATE |
GP |
GOALS |
|
JORDAN CARROLL |
SUDBURY CUBS |
NOJHL |
05/12/1991 |
36 |
49 |
|
Yannick Geoffrey |
Le College-Francais de Longueuil |
QJRAAA |
12/10/1991 |
36 |
48 |
|
Jesse Sinatynski |
Dauphin Kings |
MJHL |
09/16/1992 |
44 |
45 |
|
Darcy Murphy |
WellingtonDukes |
OJHL |
09/24/1992 |
38 |
44 |
|
Jesse Ross |
Weyburn Red Wings |
SJHL |
06/08/1991 |
44 |
39 |
|
Matt Robertson |
SmithsFalls |
CCHL |
10/26/1992 |
44 |
35 |
|
Marc Reners |
Brooks |
AJHL |
10/26/1992 |
42 |
34 |
|
Paul De Jersey |
Prince George Spruce Kings |
BCHL* |
07/25/1992 |
39 |
33 |
|
Bryce Gervais |
PentictonVees |
BCHL* |
02/26/1992 |
39 |
33 |
|
Andrew Wigginton |
Metro Marauders |
MHL |
08/16/1991 |
40 |
30 |
|
Jordan Larson |
FortFrancesLakers |
SIJHL |
05/13/1995 |
40 |
29 |
*–Tied for league lead
NOJHL EDUCATION AWARDS: This past Sunday the NOJHL distributed $13,000 in bursaries towards education, which went to a number of deserving individuals who are involved in the league.
Nine players from five different teams each received $1,000 bursaries towards their post-secondary education.
Earning the awards were Joshua Vermette and Bryden Daoust of Kirkland Lake, Cory Sellers and Matthew Salituro of the North Bay Trappers, Chris Truehl, Taylor Pickering and Travis Payne from the Soo Eagles along with the Soo Thunderbirds’ Kurtis Giommi and the Sudbury Cubs’ Jordan Carroll.
Four NOJHL officials were also recognized with bursaries to assist in their post-secondary education.
They were Cory Hofferd (Cochrane), Chris Ackroyd (Sudbury), Marcus Policicchio (Sault Ste. Marie) and Alex Cruise (Sault Ste. Marie).
The NOJHL would like to congratulate each of the recipients and wish them well in their academic and hockey endeavours.
NOJHL 3 STARS: The initial NOJHL three stars of 2012 have been announced with a trio of multi-point producers being recognized.
MARC-ALAIN BEGIN – ABITIBI ESKIMOS: Returning to the club after a brief mid-season stint in the QMJHL, 20-year-old Begin picked right up where he left off recording four goals and dishing out eight assists in just two games garnering a point in each of the 12 tallies the Eskis scored.
MATT AMADIO – SOO THUNDERBIRDS: A recent six-point performance vs. the Soo Eagles represented a season high for the T-Birds sniper.
He also added another four points in two later games and now sits seventh in NOJHL scoring with 65 points.
DALLAS McLAUGHLIN – SOO EAGLES: The Marquette, Mich. native has enjoyed a solid season offensively in his rookie campaign with the Eagles.
Among his recent accolades was a four-goal performance against the North Bay Trappers. The 18-year-old forward is now ninth in the entire NOJHL in goals scored with 24.
DUDLEY-HEWITT CUP: At the conclusion of the league playoffs, the NOJHL champion will advance to represent the league at the 2012 Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Jr. A Championship, April 17-21 in Thunder Bay. The Thunder Bay North Stars of the Superior International Junior Hockey League will host the five-day tournament at the Fort William Gardens.
Joining the NOJHL and the North Stars in the Lakehead will be champions of the OJHL and SIJHL.
The reigning SIJHL title holder Wisconsin Wilderness lead that league having won 16 straight games while a posting an impressive 33-3-1 record overall. Thunder Bay is third overall at 19-12-5.
As for the hotly-contested race for top spot in the 27-team OJHL, a number of clubs remain in the hunt for first place.
The St. Michael’s Buzzers (.791win%) have the most points to date at 68 while the Newmarket Hurricanes (63pts) boast the best winning percentage at .829. The Trenton Golden Hawks sit second in both points (64) and win percentage. (.800)
CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS: The latest Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings see a pair of NOJHL squads listed in the top 20.
The first place Soo Thunderbirds maintained their hold on eighth overall for another week while the Sudbury Cubs joined the CJHL elite coming in at No. 19.
The weekly rankings are selected in consultation with NHL Central Scouting and are presented by PlayingUpHockey.com with the previous rankings and the leagues in which the teams belong to are in parenthesis.
CJHL Top 20 (As of Jan. 16/11)
1. Penticton Vees (BCHL) (1)
2. Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL) (3)
3. Fort McMurray Oil Barons (AJHL) (5)
4. Woodstock Slammers (MHL) (2)
5. Wisconsin Wilderness (SIJHL) (6)
6. Humboldt Broncos (SJHL) (10)
7. Nepean Raiders (CCHL) (7)
8. SOO THUNDERBIRDS (NOJHL) (8)
9. Newmarket Hurricanes (OJHL) (9)
10. Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL) (4)
11. Portage Terriers (MJHL) (15)
12. Battlefords North Stars (SJHL) (12)
13. Carleton Place Canadians (CCHL) (11)
14. Dauphin Kings (MJHL) (13)
15. Lloydminster Bobcats (AJHL) (14)
16. Brooks Bandits (AJHL) (16)
17. Cowichan Valley Capitals (BCHL) (17)
18. Cobourg Cougars (OJHL) (18)
19. SUDBURY CUBS (NOJHL) (NR)
20. Les Cougars du College Champlain – Sherbrooke (LHJAAAQ) (20)
Honourable Mention: Surrey Eagles (BCHL), Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL), Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL), St. Michael’s Buzzers (OJHL), Wellington Dukes (OJHL).
The weekly rankings are based upon a variety of factors, including the league in which the teams play, winning percentage, win-loss record, total points accumulated, goals-for versus goals-against ratio, etc.
The CJHL is comprised of the 10 junior A hockey leagues across Canada.
PlayingUpHockey.com is the premiere social network website specifically designed for hockey players, scouts, coaches, fans and advertisers. PlayingUpHockey.com allows players to create free personal profiles to promote their accomplishments and get noticed by scouts and coaches at upper levels. Just as importantly, our site fosters player and parent learning and knowledge about what it takes to successfully be recruited and simply, “play up”. Visit PlayingUpHockey.com today.
WEBSITE: The NOJHL website offers all the latest news on the 50 years of the league. Be sure to visit at http://www.nojhl.com/.
NOJHL TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
ABITIBI ESKIMOS:The Eskimos are 3-1 in their past four and have maintained their hold on second place in the NOJHL Eastern Division and fourth overall at 19-14-4…They have games this week vs. Sudbury tonight and the Soo Eagles on Saturday…Their 13 home wins share the second highest total in the NOJHL…Marc-Alain Begin sits third in NOJHL scoring with 86 points in just 26 games…His 13 power play markers rank him second best in the league…Richard Therrien has points in six straight. He is sixth in NOJHL scoring. He is tied for fourth in PPG with nine…The Eskies have four games remaining in January including home dates vs. the Eagles and Kirkland Lake Jan. 21 & 28.
BLIND RIVER BEAVERS: The Beavers go in search of their initial win of 2012 Friday vs. the Thunderbirds…The club has dropped seven straight games dating back to December 16…Blind River remains in the cellar of the NOJHL western division as well as seventh overall with a 5-32-2 record…Paul Muio has points in three straight games and remains the team scoring leader with 23 points. Joel McAuley is next with 20 while Tyler Brown is third with 19…The squad remains offensively challenged having scored only 84 times so far this season, which is a league low.
KIRKLAND LAKE: Kirkland Lake looks to have their new community-ownership group in place with NOJHL and NOHA approval as they prepare for their Friday home game vs. the Soo Eagles…Travis Jones remains the team scoring leader with 29 points…Dustin Roy is next on the club with 28…Three of Jordan Turbide’s 11 goals have been game-winners, which lead the team. All of his markers have been scored since Nov. 18…Four of the next six games are to be played on home ice. The club also has three contests that need to be made up after being postponed last week.
NORTH BAY TRAPPERS: The Trappers take to the ice twice this week with home contests against Sudbury and the Soo Eagles Friday and Sunday respectively…Look for recently acquired goaltender Stephen Klein to make his North Bay debut in at least one of those games…Brad Edwards has a modest three-game point streak on the go. He leads the club with 32 points…Matthew Salituro is next with 31 with Danny Desrochers close behind with 30… Goaltender Mitchell Knight sits seconds among NOJHL netminders in goals-against average at 3.09 and fifth in save percentage at .887…The Traps have allowed the third fewest goals in the league at 130…Starting Friday North Bay has five games in 10 nights on their schedule…Six of their next eight be played on home ice.
SOO EAGLES: The Eagles still have four games remaining on a seven-game road swing…They went 1-2 in the opening three outings…At 24-7-3 the Eagles trail the first place Thunderbirds by seven points, but also hold two games in hand…The club has gone 14-4 in their past 18…The Eagles still boast three skaters among the top 10 in league scoring. Brian Depp (30g-33a-63pts) is eighth, Brock Raffaele (31g-30a-61pts) sits ninth while Shane Totten (19g-35a-54pts) holds down 10th…Luis Puig is third in the NOJHL in goals-against average at 3.57…He is also third in save percentage at .890…The Eagles only have one home game at Pullar Stadium in their next nine contests.
SOO THUNDERBIRDS: The league-leading Thunderbirds have won three in row heading into a weekend home-and-home with Blind River…They top the NOJHL standings with a 29-7 record and a .806 winning percentage….The Soo has six players with 30 or more points so far in 2011-12…Team leading scorer Micky Sartoretto has a 10-game point streak on the go. He has also recorded points in 22 of his past 23 contests. His 74 total points leave him fourth in NOJHL scoring. Teammate Matt Amadio sits seventh in the league in offensive production with 65 points. He has points in five straight…Goalkeeper John Kleinhans leads all goalies in wins (19), goals-against average (2.90), save percentage (.910), shutouts (5), and minutes played (1,550)…The Soo was listed eighth in the latest CJHL rankings.
SUDBURY CUBS: The Cubs have won three straight, nine of 10 and have gone 19-4 in their past 23 games…Jordan Carroll and Jamie Haines sit one-two respectively in NOJHL scoring…Carroll has the second highest point total in the entire CJHL at 101. He is also riding an impressive 27-game point streak and leads the league in shorthanded goals with five…He is nine points away from surpassing Sudbury’s career single-season point total of 109 set by Brian McGarry in 2005-06. 10 more assists will give him McGarry’s team assist record while 14 more tallies and he surpasses Matt Shank’s 62-goal mark set back in 2001-02…Haines had a 26-game point streak snapped last week. He still has 88 points overall and also leads the league in game-winning goals with nine, including two last week…Nick Esposto is fifth in the league in offensive production with 73 points. He has 23 multiple-point games so far this season.
