NEWS

(Pictured - the Newmarket Hurricanes are the defending OJHL North-East Conference Champion - Photo Credit: Gary Keys/OJHL Images)
At the beginning of last season, the newly aligned North Division looked to be as wide open as anything. Pickering was in rebuild mode, Lindsay was a consistent quiet team, Stouffville was in a turnover after winning the league title in 2012, and there were lots of question marks surrounding Newmarket and Aurora. Within the first month of the campaign, it certainly looked like open season in the North. Every team had a moment in first place in the division even if it was just for a week. Then Newmarket got hot, Aurora was inconsistent but finished strong, Lindsay was somewhere in the middle, and the wheels began to fall off in Stouffville and Pickering (who would be the 2 teams in the NorthEast Conference to miss the playoffs).

As training camps wrap up and final cuts are made, this season appears to be just as open as last in the North. Whether a team is still rebuilding or trying to build off of the last campaign it will be a very interesting season. Stouffville and Pickering have a good core of young talent returning, while the other three teams have each lost some players to Commitments to other programs. With the new interleague schedule taking off this year, divisional games will become even more important than before! The competition should be fierce, the battle between rivals intense. The North division is officially up for grabs, and it’s anybody's guess as to who will take the prize. Having said that, we’ll try to formulate a preview for the North Division for the 2013-14 season! The boys are back, and it’s going to fun watching!

Aurora Tigers

This is a turnover season for Aurora, losing 7 players and a big chunk of their offensive from last year (45%), the Tigers will be looking for a new wave of talent to pick up the tab, as well as watching the improvement of ’94 G Kevin Entmaa in goal. Entmaa (Milton, ON) was solid for the Tigers during most of the regular season with a 19 - 13 record, 2.52 GAA and .918 SV% but tailed off down the stretch and into the postseason (2-3, 3.00 GAA). If the Tigers can get solid, constant, goaltending and find ways to score, they can make the post season again, but they will need to gel as a team quickly or be left behind.

2012-13: Record: 32 - 6 - 17 (70 Points, 1st in North) Playoffs: Lost 1st round to Lindsay 4-2

Players lost to Commitments: Matt Andreacchi (Ryerson, CIS), Daniel Clairmont (AIC, D1), John Doyle (Morrisville, D3), David Iacono (Sacred Heart, D1), Daniel Lisi (Sacred Heart, D1), Justin Nice (Curry, D3), Tyler Shaw (Sacred Heart, D1), Brett Sinclair (Curry, D3)

Players to watch: F Tanner Shaw, F Dylan Sikura, F Robert Angiolella, F Tyler McCloy, F Kory Kennedy, D Mihkel Poldma, G Kevin Entmaa

2013-14 Season Prediction: 2nd in North

Lindsay Muskies

The Lindsay Muskies, a team with one word that seems to sum up both last year and the year ahead, consistency, will need to become consistent in the win column as opposed to winning and losing in consistent streaks. Last year the Muskies finished .500, middle of the division, and middle of the conference. While finishing .500 isn’t bad, it’s not the ideal scenario for a team who will be in tough competition this season from the rest of the North as well as teams pushing for playoff spots from the East Division. With a good core of players returning from last season, Head Coach Paul Mattucci (No know relation), will have his work cut out for him trying to get this team to do better than .500 and have a goal differential of +1 (195 GF, 194 GA).

2012-13: Record 25 - 5 - 25 (55 Points, 3rd in North); Playoffs Lost 2nd Round to Newmarket 4 - 0

Players Lost to Commitments: Kurt Gottschalk (Fredonia, D3), Patrick Hamilton (Oshawa, OHL), William Pelletier (Norwhich, D3)

Players To Watch: F Bryce Sweeting, F Joey Vocino, F Lucas Hickey, D Michael Spataro

2013-14 Prediction: 4th in North

Newmarket Hurricanes

If there is one certainty heading into the new season, it should be that Newmarket probably has the best chance of all the North Division teams of making another run in the postseason. The Hurricanes made it all the way to Game 7 of the League Championship thanks to strong goaltending from both their starter and backup. Matthew Wintjes (Holland Landing, ON) and Lucas Peressini (Nobleton, ON) were solid for Newmarket last season posting 2.31 and 2.98 GAA respectively while Wintjes went 15 - 8 with 2.22 GAA and a .933 SV% in the playoffs. Peressini will get a chance to showcase himself at camp for the Kingston Frontenacs (OHL), but most likely he will join Wintjes and 4 other Hurricanes who are returning for another season with high expectations (Newmarket was ranked #11 in the CJHL pre-season rankings) to once again make a deep run in the OJHL Playoffs!

2012-13 Record: 29 - 7 - 19 (65 Points, 2nd in North); Playoffs: Lost League Final to St. Michaels 4-3

Players Lost to Commitments: G Matthew Wintjes (Michigan Tech D1), F Daniel Leavens (Robert Morris D1), D Travis Dermott (Erie OHL)

Players to Watch: D David Savery, D Alex Bontje, F Brandon Francisco

2013-14 Season Prediction: 1st in North

Stouffville Spirit

After winning the League championship in 2012, the Stouffville Spirit went through a rebuild last year after losing 12 players from their winning roster. This season the Spirit are looking to build off the last which saw them start strong but crashed back down to reality as a young an inexperienced team showed just that. The lost of scoring leader from last season Dylan Savory (22G, 48P) will hurt a little, but the return of players such as Matthew Dunlop, Stefan vonEngelbrechten, and Robert Powers should help with the Spirit offense. While they may not be in the running for the division title, expect Stouville to at least challenge for playoff spot.

2012-13 Record: 19 - 6 - 31 (42 Points, 4th in North); Missed Playoffs

Players Lost to Commitments: Braydon Banitsiotis (Belleville, OHL), Nathanael Halbert (Blainville-Boisbrian, QMJHL), Marc Stevens (Guelph, OHL), D Josh Carrick (Barrie, OHL)

Players to Watch:

F Stefan vonEngelbrechten, D Robert Powers, D Matthew Dunlop, F Spencer Roberts,

2013-14 Prediction: 3rd in North

Pickering Panthers

Since taking over the franchise in 2011, Owner Steve Tuchner and Head Coach/GM Mike Galati have been tearing down and building the club back up to a competitive state. The start of the 2012-13 season saw only 3 players return from 2011-12, even throughout the year the team saw players come and go with via trade or getting called up to the CHL. The biggest change over the last 3 seasons has been in goal where Pickering has used almost 6 different netminders in that time period. Last season the Panthers began with a duo of Spencer Bacon (Victoria, BC) and CJ Sharp (Markham, ON); halfway through the season, Bacon was traded to Oakville and Sharp was released by the team (he would later join Cobourg), however even after the change, Pickering still finished the season with the second worst Goals Against (274) with only Hamilton seeing more red light (394). After a strong preseason, the Panthers once again have 3 different goaltenders vying for the starting position. The building process continues in Pickering.

2012-13 Record: 13 - 5 - 37 (31 Points, 5th in North), Missed playoffs

Players lost to Commitments:

Tanner Bull (Concordia-Wisconsin, D3), Josh Herrington (Concordia-Wisconsin, D3), Derek Sheppard (Gatineau, QMJHL), Aidan Wallace (Oshawa, OHL)

Players to Watch: F Nicholas Lepone, F Robert Cammalleri, F Mark Tenuta, D Cory Lauer, F Brett Tuchner,

2013-14 Season Prediction: 5th in North