NEWS

By: Chris McLachlin, OHA Media
Photo: Andy Corneau, OJHL Images

The 2016-17 OJHL Regular Season is winding down and with only one week left to play, there are still a few unknowns. In the North East Conference, most of the seeds are set, however the Whitby Fury can still catch the Cobourg Cougars for the #3 seed and the Stouffville Spirit still have an outside chance at catching the Kingston Voyageurs for the #6 seed.

In the South West Conference the top 3 seeds are set as the Georgetown Raiders will enter the playoffs as the #1 seed, the Oakville Blades will be the #2 seed as the top team in the South Division, and the Burlington Cougars are the #3 seed. The St. Michael’s Buzzers, who lost 3 games in overtime last week, still hold the #4 seed, but the Toronto Jr. Canadiens can still catch them and gain home ice advantage in the first round of playoffs, but they will need to win-out and get some help from the Lindsay Muskies.

The Jr. Canadiens can get to the #4 seed with some help, but they can also drop as low as the #7 seed, that’s how closely packed the teams are in the South West Conference. The Toronto Patriots are currently in 6th, but can catch the Jr. Canadiens for 5th. The North York Rangers are currently in 7th, but they can also catch the Jr. Canadiens and finish 5th. These positions may not be finalized until the Toronto Patriots host North York on the final night of the season, Saturday night.

There’s another interesting race at the top of the scoring list as Wellington’s Brayden Stortz and Georgetown’s Jack Jacome are both tied with 89 points entering the final week of the season. Stortz and the Wellington Dukes have only 1 game left, while Jacome and the Georgetown Raiders have 2 games left.

CJHL TOP 20 (As of Feb. 20, 2017)
1. Brooks Bandits (AJHL) (1)
2. Georgetown Raiders (2)
7. Trenton Golden Hawks (8)
15. Cobourg Cougars (15)
Honourable Mention: Burlington Cougars (HM)

NORTH EAST CONFERENCE

1. Trenton Golden Hawks – (85 PTS) 41-7-2-1 (East Division Leader)
Home (21-3-1-1) Away (20-4-1-0) Last 10 (7-1-1-1)
3 games remaining (@Oakville, Markham, @Cobourg)
- clinched #1 seed & East Division (will play Newmarket in the first round)

2. Markham Royals (64 PTS) 30-18-1-3 (North Division Leader)
Home (17-8-0-2) Away (13-10-1-1) Last 10 (4-4-0-2)
2 games remaining (@Trenton, @Oakville)
- clinched #2 seed & North Division

3. Cobourg Cougars (80 PTS) 38-11-0-4
Home (19-5-0-2) Away (19-6-0-2) Last 10 (7-0-0-3)
1 game remaining (Trenton)
- can finish as high as #3 and as low as #4

4. Whitby Fury (77 PTS) 36-11-1-4
Home (20-4-1-2) Away (16-7-0-2) Last 10 (5-2-1-2)
2 games remaining (@Pickering, @Wellington)
- can finish as high as #3 and as low as #4

5. Wellington Dukes (66 PTS) 31-18-1-3
Home (17-8-0-1) Away (14-10-1-2) Last 10 (8-2-0-0)
1 game remaining (Whitby)
- clinched #5 seed

6. Kingston Voyageurs (64 PTS) 27-16-3-7
Home (14-5-2-5) Away (13-11-1-2) Last 10 (5-3-0-2)
1 game remaining (Aurora)
- can finish as high as #6 and as low as #7

7. Stouffville Spirit (58 PTS) 26-19-3-3
Home (15-9-2-0) Away (11-10-1-3) Last 10 (6-3-1-0)
3 games remaining (Newmarket, @Burlington, @Pickering)
- can finish as high as #6 and as low as #7

8. Newmarket Hurricanes (49 PTS) 22-24-2-3
Home (13-11-1-1) Away (9-13-1-2) Last 10 (7-1-2-0)
3 games remaining (@Stouffville, North York, @Buffalo)
- clinched the #8 seed (will play Trenton in the first round)

9. Lindsay Muskies (32 PTS) 14-34-0-4
Home (8-16-0-2) Away (6-19-0-2) Last 10 (0-9-0-1)
1 game remaining (St. Michael’s)
- eliminated from postseason contention

10. Aurora Tigers (22 PTS) 8-38-2-4
Home (5-20-2-1) Away (3-18-0-3) Last 10 (2-7-1-0)
2 games remaining (@Orangeville, @Kingston)
- eliminated from postseason contention

11. Pickering Panthers (21 PTS) 9-40-1-2
Home (5-18-1-1) Away (4-22-0-1) Last 10 (1-0-0-0)
2 games remaining (Whitby, Stouffville)
- eliminated from postseason contention

North Division Top Performances:
Goals: 3 – Rylee St. Onge (Markham) vs Orangeville Feb. 18, Marco Bozzo (Newmarket) vs Trenton Feb. 19
Assists: 3 – Laine McKay (Markham) vs Orangeville Feb. 18, Cole Thiessen (Newmarket) vs Trenton Feb. 19
Points: 3 - Connor Rider (1G, 2A) (Stouffville) vs Lindsay Feb. 17, Rylee St. Onge (3G) (Markham) vs Orangeville Feb. 18, Laine McKay (3A) (Markham) vs Orangeville Feb. 18, Sam Hu (1G, 2A) (Markham) vs Orangeville Feb. 18, Marco Bozzo (3G) (Newmarket) vs Trenton Feb. 19, Cole Thiessen (3A) (Newmarket) vs Trenton Feb. 19
Saves: 56 – Aaron Taylor (T) (Stouffville) vs Jr. Canadiens Feb. 17
Shutout: 28 SV – Hunter Jones (Stouffville) vs Lindsay Feb. 17

East Division Top Performances:
Goals: 2 – Austin Grzenia (Kingston) vs Cobourg Feb. 13, Nick Minerva (Cobourg) vs Kingston Feb. 13, Ryan Casselman (Cobourg) vs Kingston Feb. 13, Kyle Hallbauer (Kingston) vs Buffalo Feb. 16, Andrew Suriyuth (Kingston) vs Buffalo Feb. 16, Brody Morris (Wellington) vs Pickering Feb. 17, Rory Milne (Wellington) vs Pickering Feb. 17, Anthony Sorrentino (Trenton) vs Newmarket Feb. 19, Brayden Stortz (Wellington) vs Pickering Feb. 19, Austin Labelle (Wellington) vs Pickering Feb. 19
Assists: 3 – Jordan Chard (Trenton) vs Newmarket Feb. 19
Points: 4 – Brayden Stortz (2G, 2A) (Wellington) vs Pickering Feb. 19
Saves: 42 – Chris Janzen (T) (Trenton) vs Georgetown Feb. 17

SOUTH WEST CONFERENCE

1. Georgetown Raiders (91 PTS) 44-5-2-1 (West Division Leader)
Home (25-1-1-0) Away (19-4-1-1) Last 10 (7-1-1-1)
2 games remaining (@Burlington, vs Mississauga)
- clinched #1 seed & West Division (will play Buffalo in the first round)

2. Oakville Blades (67 PTS) 30-14-0-7 (South Division Leader)
Home (14-6-0-4) Away (16-8-0-3) Last 10 (4-2-0-4)
3 games remaining (Trenton, Milton, Markham)
- clinched #2 seed & South Division

3. Burlington Cougars (77 PTS) 37-11-3-0
Home (20-4-0-0) Away (17-7-3-0) Last 10 (8-2-0-0)
3 games remaining (Milton, Stouffville, Georgetown)
- clinched the #3 seed

4. St. Michael’s Buzzers (61 PTS) 27-19-0-7
Home (15-10-0-2) Away (12-9-0-5) Last 10 (4-3-0-3)
1 game remaining (@Lindsay)
- can finish as high as #4 and as low as #5

5. Toronto Jr. Canadiens (58 PTS) 26-20-2-4
Home (14-10-1-2) Away (12-10-1-2) Last 10 (6-3-1-0)
2 games remaining (@Buffalo, @Orangeville)
- can finish as high as #4 and as low as #7

6. Toronto Patriots (56 PTS) 27-23-0-2
Home (11-13-0-1) Away (16-10-0-1) Last 10 (7-2-0-1)
2 games remaining (Mississauga, North York)
- can finish as high as #5 and as low as #7

7. North York Rangers (54 PTS) 25-23-1-3
Home (15-11-0-1) Away (10-12-1-2) Last 10 (5-5-0-0)
2 games remaining (@Newmarket, @Patriots)
- can finish as high as #5 and as low as #7

8. Buffalo Jr. Sabres (48 PTS) 22-26-2-2
Home (10-11-2-1) Away (12-15-0-1) Last 10 (4-5-0-1)
2 games remaining (Jr. Canadiens, Newmarket)
- clinched the #8 seed

9. Orangeville Flyers (38 PTS) 17-31-1-3
Home (10-14-0-1) Away (7-17-1-2) Last 10 (3-6-0-1)
2 games remaining (Aurora, Jr. Canadiens)
- eliminated from postseason contention

10. Mississauga Chargers (36 PTS) 16-32-2-2
Home (12-15-0-0) Away (4-17-2-2) Last 10 (5-4-1-0)
2 games remaining (@Patriots, @Georgetown)
- eliminated from postseason contention

11. Milton Icehawks (10 PTS) 4-46-1-1
Home (2-22-1-1) Away (2-24-0-0) Last 10 (0-9-0-1)
2 games remaining (@Burlington, @Oakville)
- eliminated from postseason contention

South Division Top Performances:
Goals: 4 – Nick Zanette (North York) vs Milton Feb. 19
Assists: 5 – Kyle Clarke (North York) vs Milton Feb. 19
Points: 5 – Kyle Clarke (5A) (North York) vs Milton Feb. 19
Saves: 50 – Cosimo Lazzarino (OTL) (St. Michael’s) vs Burlington Feb. 14

West Division Top Performances:
Goals: 3 – Max Balinson (Burlington) vs Oakville Feb. 17, Nick Stuckless (Orangeville) vs Patriots Feb. 19
Assists: 3 – Jordan Crocker (Georgetown) vs Buffalo Feb. 19, Jack Jacome (Georgetown) vs Buffalo Feb. 19
Points: 4 – Max Balinson (3G, 1A) (Burlington) vs Oakville Feb. 17, Jack Jacome (1G, 3A) (Georgetown) vs Buffalo Feb. 19, Nick Stuckless (3G, 1A) (Orangeville) vs Patriots Feb. 19
Saves: 43 – Nathan Torchia (W) (Orangeville) vs Patriots Feb. 19
Shutout: 20 SV – Nicholas Latinovic (Georgetown) vs Buffalo Feb. 19

This Week: 22 games to finish the 2016-17 OJHL Regular Season, including 7 games today.

For more news, stats, and scores, visit: www.ojhl.ca.