By Sam Laskaris /
Here’s what’s happening in Junior A hockey action around the province.
ONTARIO JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Villanova Knights should not have any difficulties surpassing their win totals from their previous two years.
The Toronto-based Knights registered just six victories last season, the same amount of wins they compiled during the 2007/08 season.
But early indications are the Villanova squad could be enjoying its share of successes this year. The Knights won four out of their first five regular season starts.
With two more games scheduled for late September, there was a chance the Knights could even equal the number of wins they in each of the past two years before the conclusion of the opening month of this season.
Villanova has been led offensively by 19-year-old forward Chris Lochner, a Georgia native who played last season with the Ohio-based Queen City Steam of the Central States Hockey League.
With his 10 points (4G, 6A) in five games, Lochner was not only leading the Knights but the entire OJHL in scoring.
Villanova also had two other players who had scored four goals in the club’s first five contests, Mark Madarasz, a 19-year-old who spent last season at the Junior B level with the provincial champion Brantford Golden Eagles, and rookie Phil Di Giuseppe, who doesn’t even turn 16 until Oct. 9.
CENTRAL JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Cornwall Colts were a middle-of-the-pack team last season, winning exactly half (30) of their matches in their 60-game regular season schedule.
As for this year, the Colts have been perfect. Well, at least during their first couple weeks of the season. Cornwall came out of the gates winning its first five regular season contests.
The Colts’ triumphs included a pair of lopsided victories, 6-1 over the host Kanata Stallions on Sept. 12 and 7-1 against the visiting Hawkesbury Hawks on Sept. 17.
Cornwall’s three other early-season wins were decided by two goals or less.
Offensively the Colts have been led by 20-year-old centre Jacob Laliberte. Though he only played in three of Cornwall’s games, Laliberte was among the league leaders as he had 12 points, including seven goals.
Laliberte, who joined the Colts last season, also suited up for Hawkesbury and the Pembroke Lumber Kings for portions of the 2008/09 campaign.
Kris Arvanitakis, a 19-year-old left winger, was also off to a torrid start for the Colts. He had netted eight goals and added one assist through his first five games.
Since they were undefeated, the Colts were also not surprisingly leading the league in goals with 25. Cornwall had also yielded just nine goals.
NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
They had played fewer games than the others.
But the Abitibi Eskimos were undoubtedly proud of the fact they were the only undefeated squad in the league’s Eastern Division following the first two weeks of regular season action.
The Eskimos kicked off their season with a pair of close wins over the Sudbury Junior Wolves.
The Abitibi squad downed their hosts 5-3 on their opening night. And the Eskimos then edged the visiting Junior Wolves 4-3 on Sept. 12.
Abitibi followed these efforts up with a convincing 9-3 victory over the visiting Temiscaming Royals on Sept. 19.
Even with their three W’s, the Eskimos were not leading the Eastern standings. That honour went to the North Bay Trappers, who had registered four victories in their first five games.
The Trappers are enjoying some early-season success under their new moniker. The North Bay club, which changed its name during the off-season, was previously known as the Skyhawks.
Meanwhile, the Michigan-based Soo Eagles were the only undefeated squad in the league’s Western Division after two weeks of play. But the Eagles had played just twice, edging the Ontario-based Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds 6-5 and hammering the Manitoulin Islanders 9-2.
The 3-1-1 Blind River Beavers were atop the Western standings.
SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Starting off a regular season with three games in three nights may not be ideal.
But you won’t hear any complaints now from members of the Fort William North Stars.
Especially since the North Stars managed to rack up three wins from their season-opening week.
The Fort William squad began their 2009/10 season by downing the host Fort Frances Lakers (formerly the Junior Sabres) 5-2 on Sept. 17. The North Stars then registered two more road victories against the Sioux Lookout Flyers, 4-3 on Sept. 18 and 6-1 the following night.
So far it’s been tough for opponents to focus on just one or two of the North Stars’ players.
That’s because 12 different players managed to score at least once in Fort William’s first three wins.
Only three players – Mitch Forbes, Kevin Hamel and Jordan Davis - had scored twice for the North Stars. Nine others had single markers.
While the North Stars had already played three games, one SIJHL club had yet to play its first game. The Dryden Ice Dogs were scheduled to play their season opener on Sept. 22 against the host Flyers.
The five SIJHL entrants this season will also be playing four games each against the Wisconsin Mustangs, who also compete in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League. |