NEWS

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

After a short break for the holidays, the OJHL Week in Review is back with the first edition in 2018! A lot has happened since our last review on December 18, so let’s dig right in.

The Wellington Dukes’ lead on top of the North-East Conference is slowly shrinking as the Newmarket Hurricanes and Aurora Tigers are closing in. The Toronto Patriots have reclaimed top spot in the South-West, while the Buffalo Jr. Sabres are catching up to the Georgetown Raiders and what might be the second seed in the playoffs.

CJHL 2017-18 TOP 20 (As of Jan. 8/18)
1. Thief River Falls Norskies (SIJHL) (1)
11. Toronto Patriots (OJHL) (13)
15. Oakville Blades (OJHL) (20)
17. North York Rangers (OJHL) (HM)
Honourable Mention: Wellington Dukes (OJHL)
Click here for this week’s full CJHL Top 20 Rankings

SCORING LEADERS - POINTS
T1. 65 - Andrew Petrucci, Toronto Patriots
T1. 65 - Jake Bricknell, Aurora Tigers
T3. 61 - Dante Spagnuolo, Toronto Patriots
T3. 61 - Oliver Benwell, Toronto Patriots
5.   59 - Lucas Condotta, Markham Royals
Click here for full OJHL Scoring Leader stats

GOALIE LEADERS - GAA
1. 1.71 - Colby Muise, North York Rangers
2. 1.74 - Christian Purboo, Oakville Blades
3. 1.91 - Fraser Kirk, Newmarket Hurricanes
4. 2.05 - Mario Cavaliere, Georgetown Raiders
5. 2.07 - Jett Alexander, North York Rangers
Click her for full OJHL Goalie Leader stats
 

NORTH-EAST CONFERENCE
In the past few weeks the top of the standings in the North-East Conference have tightened dramatically as the Wellington Dukes hit a bit of a touch patch and the Newmarket Hurricanes and Aurora Tigers are closing the gap. The Dukes lead over the Hurricanes is down to just five points, with Newmarket playing two fewer games, and the Tigers are just one point behind Newmarket and hold three games in hand over the Dukes. The other key race in the North-East is for the eighth and final playoff position. The Pickering Panthers currently hold the eighth spot, but the Whitby Fury are just six points back and have been playing of late. The Kingston Voyageurs picked up the most points last week with seven, after earning three wins and grabbing a single point in an overtime loss. 

Top Performances
Goals: 4 - Jamie Engelbert (Cobourg) vs Whitby Jan. 6
Assists: 3 - Brock Welsh (Aurora) vs Trenton Jan. 3, Adrian Nabuurs (Newmarket) vs Whitby Jan. 4, Colin Van Den Hurk (Kingston) vs Milton Jan. 5, Joseph Mizzi (Aurora) vs Stouffville Jan. 6, Keegan Ferguson (Wellington) vs Lindsay Jan. 7
Points: 4 - Colin Van Den Hurk (1G, 3A) (Kingston) vs Milton Jan. 5, Jamie Engelbert (4G) (Cobourg) vs Whitby Jan. 6, Joseph Mizzi (1G, 3A) (Aurora) vs Stouffville Jan. 6, Jake Bricknell (2G, 2A) (Aurora) vs Stouffville Jan. 6
Saves: 45 - Nate McDonald (OTL) (Markham) vs Oakville Jan. 6

SOUTH-WEST CONFERENCE
The Toronto Patriots have returned to the top spot in the South-West as the Patriots are the hottest team in the OJHL, riding a six game winning streak. Although the Patriots only lead the Oakville Blades by two points, they also hold three games in hand over the Blades as these two teams have taken turns in the number one spot for most of the season. The other key race in the South-West involves the top two teams in the West Division; Georgetown currently leads the Buffalo Jr. Sabres by five points, but the Sabres have been cutting into the Raiders’ lead in the last few weeks. In their last 10 games, the Jr. Sabres have gone 6-3-0-1, while the Raiders have struggled to the tune of 3-5-0-2, including a 2-1 win by Buffalo in Georgetown on Saturday. The two teams will face one another once more this season, next Monday afternoon in Buffalo and Buffalo leads the season series 3-0. This is an important race as the team that finishes on top of the South Division will get one of the top two playoff seeds in the Conference. Plus, no player picked up more than two assists in a game last week, but one of the many players to get two assists in a game was St. Mike’s goaltender Cosimo Lazzarino who grabs an unusual spot in last week’s top performances.

Top Performances
Goals: 3 - Mathew Ceolin (Mississauga) vs Burlington Jan. 6
Assists: 2 - Cosimo Lazzarino (goaltender) (St. Michaels) vs Oakville Jan. 7, several other players
Points: 4 - Mathew Ceolin (3G, 1A) (Mississauga) vs Burlington Jan. 6
Saves: 55 - Noah Battaglia (L) (Milton) vs Kingston Jan. 5
Shutout: 23 SV - Nathan Torchia (Georgetown) vs Milton Jan. 7

This Week: 23 games

Other OJHL Notes:
The OJHL and the Mississauga Chargers are hosting the 2018 CJHL Prospects Game at Port Credit Arena in Mississauga on Tuesday, January 23 at 7:30 PM. 40 of the top NHL Draft eligible prospects from across the CJHL will be showcasing their talents, including 12 players from the OJHL. Last year’s CJHL Prospects Game included Cale Makar who was selected 4th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche. Tickets are on sale now and are available by calling 905-919-3623 ext. 3 or emailing rcorneau@theojhl.ca. 

(The OJHL Week in Review is posted on Mondays during the 2017-18 OJHL regular season.)

For more stats, scores and news from the OJHL, visit the official OJHL website: www.ojhl.ca

Follow the OJHL on Twitter: @OJHLOfficial

Like the OJHL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/OJHLOfficial