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Road to the RBC Cup

Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League

Jason La Rose
|
March 14, 2016
|
PLAYOFF MATCH-UPS

East Division
4) Timmins Rock vs. 5) Iroquois Falls Eskis

1) Cochrane Crunch vs. winner of TIM-IRO
2) Powassan Voodos vs. 3) Kirkland Lake Gold Miners

West Division
4) Soo Eagles vs. 5) Espanola Express

1) Soo Thunderbirds vs. winner of SOE-ESP
2) Elliot Lake Wildcats vs. 3) Rayside Balfour Canadians

FINAL STANDINGS (W-L-T-OTL)

East Division
Cochrane – 84 points (40-10-2-2)
Powassan – 84 points (40-10-3-1)
Kirkland Lake – 81 points (39-12-2-1)
Timmins – 59 points (29-24-0-1)
Iroquois Falls – 30 points (15-39-0-0)
French River – 7 points (2-49-2-1)

West Division
Soo Thunderbirds – 95 points (47-6-1-0)
Elliot Lake – 77 points (35-12-5-2)
Rayside Balfour – 57 points (28-25-1-0)
Soo Eagles – 46 points (22-30-0-2)
Espanola – 27 points (12-39-3-0)
Blind River – 24 points (10-40-4-0)

LEADING SCORERS

Brayden Stortz (Kirkland Lake) – 38G 62A 100P
Hunter Atchison (Cochrane) – 50G 49A 99P
Logan Fredericks (Kirkland Lake) – 51G 38A 89P
Dustin Cordeiro (Cochrane) – 39G 57A 86P
Tyler Peters (Powassan) – 42G 43A 85P

LEADING GOALTENDERS

Tyler Mazzocato (Kirkland Lake) – 16-2-1, 2.12 GAA, .923 SV%, 1 SO
Aaron Mackay (Elliot Lake) – 21-5-1, 2.27 GAA, .922 SV%, 2 SO
Garrett Forrest (Powassan) – 24-10-1, 2.37 GAA, .934 SV%, 5 SO
Victor-Olivier Courchesne (Kirkland Lake) – 17-8-0, 2.82 GAA, .904 SV%, 2 SO
Mario Cavaliere (Powassan) – 15-3-0, 2.85 GAA, .912 SV%, 2 SO

LAST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCE

2015 (Soo Thunderbirds – fifth place)

TOTAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES

5 (2015, 2012, 2002, 2000, 1997)

LAST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

none (best finish: runners-up – Rayside Balfour Sabrecats, 2000)

TOTAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

none

TOP REGULAR SEASON TEAM – SOO THUNDERBIRDS

The Soo Thunderbirds did it again, rolling to their fifth NOJHL regular-season championship in six seasons with a comfortable 11-point point cushion over Cochrane and Powassan. The defending Dudley Hewitt Cup champions started strong, posting victories in their first five games, and running off a 12-game winning streak from Sept. 26 to Nov. 8. Soo was absolutely lights-out on home ice, posting an unblemished 27-0 record at the Essar Centre, outscoring its opponents 137-37. Overall, the Thunderbirds dominated on the defensive end, allowing a miniscule 93 goals in 54 games, 42 fewer than No. 2-ranked Elliot Lake. Despite the defensive success, it was a rotating door in the Soo goal; five different goaltenders saw action for the Thunderbirds, and four played in at least nine games. Connor Ryckman (11-1, 1.49 GAA, .931 SV%) and Brendon Gordon (13-5, 1.71 GAA, .918 SV%) will lead the Soo into the postseason between the pipes. Up front, the Thunderbirds returned 11 players who were on the RBC Cup roster last season, including leading scorer Matt Caruso, whose 62 points put him 17th in NOJHL scoring and made him the lone Thunderbird to crack the top 30.

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

[email protected] 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

[email protected]

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

[email protected]

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