NEWS

 

Sixteen-year-old Tyler Hodges of the Haliburton County Huskies recorded his third shutout of the season this week. He leads all OJHL goalies in goals-against average and save percentage.  (Photo by Ed McPherson / OJHL Images)

BY RON VALENTINE

HOT TEAMS

With a perfect 3-for-3 week, the WELLINGTON DUKES extended their Ontario Junior Hockey League winning streak to six games. In those games, the club outscored the opposition 22-5. 

You have to go back to Oct. 21 to find their last regulation loss, 2-1 at home to Trenton. The club has scored 46 times in their last six outings. 

Captain JACOB VREUGDENHIL on the run: "We got off to a slower start then we wanted but recently we have been on a roll. The team is really gelling well now and it was great to see MATHESON MASON and our goalie, ETHAN MORROW, selected to attend the Team Canada East selection camp. They have been a big part of our successes recently."

(Eighteen OJHL players, plus coaches and support staff, are in Cornwall today for the start of Team Canada East’s selection camp. The roster is to be named Wednesday. The team will play in the 2022 World Junior A Challenge Dec. 11-18 at the Cornwall Civic Complex. The showcase features two Canadian teams – Team Canada East and Team Canada West – along with Latvia, Sweden and the United States.)

Also with three wins in three tries, the arch-rival TRENTON GOLDEN HAWKS. They’re in a group of former East Division teams bunched up in the conference standings. The Hawks are now in second spot in the South-East, one point ahead of the Huskies, three up on the Dukes and six over the Cougars. Because they’ve played a conference-high 35 games, the ‘Hawks sit fourth in winning percentage. The 'Hawks have won a South-East-high 14 games at home in the 'Hangar". A big goal scoring week for the 'Hawks – netting 21 goals.

The COBOURG COUGARS took both of their contests to give them 19 wins in 26 games. Head coach and general manager Peter Drikos: "Right now the boys are playing very hard and competing at a high level, plus we had two of our elite players selected for the WJAC East camp: ADAM BARONE and ANDY REIST."

Likewise, the COLLINGWOOD BLUES were victorious in their two outings to stay in first place in the North-West Conference. They now face four on the road before returning to the Eddie Bush Memorial arena on Dec. 17 and then they play three more away from home before the holiday break. Their .865 winning percentage is just .002 behind the Toronto Junior Canadiens.

Those JUNIOR CANADIENS kept their road record perfect at 16-0 with a win over St. Michael's on Friday. It was their only game of the week. The club has 25 victories in 30 games played. 

Also winning their only contest, with a shutout, were the BURLINGTON COUGARS, breaking a three-game losing run in the process. Their four goals scored on Friday put them at 148, three ahead of Wellington, four in front of Trenton and six more than the J.C.s.

A win and a tie for the GEORGETOWN RAIDERS this week. In their last 16 games they are 14-1-1. They have not lost on the road since their fourth game of the season, in Stouffville on Sept. 19.

Three road games this week for the HALIBURTON COUNTY HUSKIES with two wins and a loss. They have recorded the OJHL's second highest number of victories on the road with 12 and will not return home until they play Cobourg on December 11.

HOT PLAYERS

A big week for the Dukes' EDWARD MOSKOWITZ with three goals and four assists to bring his season's points total to 42, second highest on the team. Close behind was blueliner JULIEN JACOB with six points. He is second in the OJHL in points for a defenceman with Trenton's AUSTIN D'ORAZIO leading the way. DAVID CAMPBELL had two assists to give him 37 for the season, five behind the J.C.s TYLER FUKAKUSA for the league lead in that department.

Edward, who has the league's current point scoring streak lead with an 11-game run, comments on his season so far: "My time with the Dukes has been nothing but great. It is a first class organization with great community support. It has allowed me to come into my own as a player and feel my best on the ice. I think we have come a long way this season but we still have lots to get better at which excites me. Our coaches have been a big reason for our recent success with the habits and details they have been instilling in our group at every practice. Personally, I am happy with the way my season has gone so far but I look forward to continuing to get better."

JOEL CHAUVIN had four goals in one period, the first player to do so this season. The goals gave the native of Grimsby a career high of 14 and counting.  It was a renewal of the 'Battle of Burloak' with Oakville at the Central arena in Burlington. The Cougars celebrated their 'Pink in the Rink' night by defeating the Blades 4-0. All of Joel's goals were scored in the final frame. ZACH DIETZ recorded his second shutout of the season, stopping 40 shots. Cougars head coach Mark Jooris: "It was definitely the Joel Chauvin show. I felt for the first two periods it was going to be a case of the first goal wins. I hope we can take advantage of our upcoming schedule." The Cougars have seven of their next nine games at home.

Not to be outdone in the shutout department, 16-year-old TYLER HODGES posted his third of the season in Mississauga as the Huskies goalie saved 29 Chargers' shots. The Gormley resident is 10-1-0 and  leads all OJHL goalies in goals-against average (1.00) and save percentage (.963). He turns 17 Dec. 23.

Tyler and AIDAN SPOONER have split six clean sheets this season. 

MATTHEW CATO celebrated being named to the Team Canada East selection camp on Thursday night as the Trenton forward had a goal and four assists in his club's 10-5 doubling of Caledon. In the same game blueliner Austin D'Orazio (two goals and three assists) and LUCAS ROBINSON (a goal and four assists) also had five point nights. ADAM O'MARRA had two points in his Golden Hawks debut and JON WASELKO, born in Powell, Ohio had his first OJHL goal.

LUCAS STANOJEVIC had the hat trick, his 23rd, 24th and 25th goals of the season as his Aurora Tigers drew 4-4 with the visiting Georgetown Raiders on Friday night. Lucas's three gave him 25 in the campaign and nine in his last six games. It was the ninth tie of the season in the OJHL. Also registering the hat trick on Friday night was the Cobourg Cougars' ANDY REIST in his club's 7-3 win in Milton. 25 goals now for the Waterloo native. One more hat trick: Blues' captain CAM GARVEY had his three against Oakville at the Eddie Bush arena. Twenty-three now for the former Oakville Blade.

RANDOM JOTTINGS

Cobourg Cougars' captain GEORGE KROTIRIS had the game-winning goal on Monday night against Haliburton. It was his 150th regular season and playoff point. George, who will be attending NCAA DI Robert Morris University in the fall, on the occasion and the club so far: "I really don't worry too much about personal points. If we do well as a club then the points will come. The recent addition of SEBASTIAN BULOVS (from Caledon) to our lineup has made our team that's already fast, even faster. We have had great performances so far, especially from our two goalkeepers who were new to us at the start of the year. RYAN PIROS really surprised a lot of people, myself included. We did not know much about him at the beginning of the year. We knew what we were getting in MATTHEW SBROCCA; he's a veteran and came in with a great record. They've been splitting games, they help each other on and off the ice and are great friends. Up front, Reist has been excellent. He's committed to Niagara College for next season and is a player who wants to learn all the time. He listens, soaks in information and is lethal with the puck. We had a light first part of our season but we're ready to play more games from hereon in.” 

In his debut for Collingwood, LUKE TCHOR had a goal and three points in his team's 6-2 win in Markham. Luke played for Oakville before moving to the CCHL's Brockville Braves. 

Another 16-year old, AYDEN BURT, had his first OJHL goal for the Toronto Patriots in Trenton on Friday night and on Sunday afternoon Traverse City MI native MICHAEL SCHERMERHORN registered his first league goal for the Lindsay Muskies. He had 47 points last season in 25 games for his local high school.

TY COLLINS' 23rd goal of the season was the game winner Friday in their overtime contest in Lindsay, a 2-1 final. It was the seventh time this season Ty scored the GWG. Collingwood's IKKI KOGAWA leads all players with eight. He had the winner this week against Oakville.

In Stouffville, TJ Hill was promoted to head coach from assistant coach on Tuesday. The 43-year-old from Richmond Hill played for the Ajax Axemen in the OJHL and the Nickel Centre Barons of the NOJHL. He was assistant coach for the Axemen, Newmarket Hurricanes and Pickering Panthers before joining the Spirit for the 2021-22 season.

Markham Royals AGM and associate coach Spencer Hyman made a bold prediction upon hearing that his defenceman SAWYER PROKOPETZ had been picked to attend the WJAC Canada East selection camp. "Prokopetz is the best defenceman that has played for our club in our history and that includes the Hamilton Red Wings. In my opinion, he will be an NHL player. He really deserves to be selected." The Wainfleet-born blueliner is a former member of the CCHL's Pembroke Lumber Kings and he is set to attend DI University of Nebraska-Omaha for the 2023-24 season.

JONATHON MEAD's third goal of the campaign prompted teddy bears to be propelled to the ice for the 'Miracle on Main Street' toy drive at the Alcott arena in Georgetown on Saturday night. There were enough stuffed creatures to fill a pickup truck.

ROBBIE STRACHAN, after 17 assists, found the net for the first time this season. The big blueliner spent two campaigns in Georgetown before being traded to the Blues. He scored the first goal of the game Saturday versus Oakville. Robbie on his first this term: "On my goal the puck came out to me at the top on the power play, we made a couple of passes up top then (Mark) McIntosh took away the goalie’s eyes so I just put the puck on the net and it went in. Collingwood has been unbelievable to me so far. We have a very tight brotherhood in the locker room and that translates to our play on the ice."

In the same game, LOGAN YOVETICH, born in Los Angeles, had his first OJHL goal for the Blades. Also netting his first league goal was Collingwood's PACEY SCHLUETING. The blueliner from North Bay started his OHL career for his hometown Battalion and also suited up for the Saginaw Spirit. 

With his two goals on Saturday night for Haliburton, BOYD STAHLBAUM became the ninth player to reach the 20-goal mark this season. Ten of those were scored when he was with the Lindsay Muskies. 

In the 'buzzer beater' department, NICK ATHANASAKOS found the net for the Pickering with just 39 seconds remaining in the third period as the Panthers eked out a 4-3 win Sunday night in Milton. It was his fifth of the season, three of them have been game winners. 

WHAT'S UP THIS WEEK

Two South-East conference clubs on the upswing meet Monday night in Cobourg with the Cougars entertaining the Wellington Dukes. 

Two more stalwarts from the same conference get together Friday in Trenton as they host the Haliburton County Huskies. 

Also on Friday, the conference-leading Junior Canadiens visit Wellington. Collingwood have road games in Aurora Friday and Georgetown Saturday. 

On Sunday, Cobourg travels to Minden to take on the Huskies, Burlington are in Pickering and Trenton journeys to the Pond to take on the J.C.s.

Follow Ron Valentine on Twitter @ronandlynda