SUDBURY, ON – As the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League winds down its regular season a number of their players continue to put up some big numbers offensively.
The NOJHL currently features five of their own in the Canadian Jr. Hockey League’s 90-point club.
So far in the 2011-12 campaign only 13 skaters among the 133 teams that comprise the CJHL have amassed 90 or more points on the season.
Jordan Carroll of the Sudbury Cubs is the highest NOJHL point getter to date entering Wednesday evening’s contest vs. Blind River.
His totals have him second overall in the CJHL trailing only Yannick Geoffrey’s 136 recorded with Longueuil of the Quebec Jr. AAA loop.
Carroll’s 66 tallies are the most scored in all of Canadian Jr. A hockey.
Having recorded the most assists in the nation with 84 is Marc-Alain Begin of the Abitibi Eskimos. He is third in the CJHL in total points with 115 in just 36 games averaging 3.19 points per contest.
Sitting tied for the sixth-best total in the country is Sudbury’s Jamie Haines with 104. His Cubs’ teammate, Nick Esposto, is knotted for ninth with 94 points while Micky Sartoretto of the NOJHL-leading Soo Thunderbirds rounds out the players from the league in this exclusive group. He shares 12th overall with 90 points, including 41 goals.
The following are the CJHL’s 90-point producers as February 22.
| PLAYER | TEAM | LEAGUE | GP | G | A | PTS |
| Yannick Geoffrey | Longueuil | QJRAAA | 47 | 61 | 76 | 136 |
| Jordan Carroll | Sudbury | NOJHL | 47 | 66 | 55 | 131 |
| Marc-Alain Begin | Abitibi | NOJHL | 36 | 31 | 84 | 115 |
| Maxime Charette | Longueuil | QJRAAA | 46 | 46 | 66 | 112 |
| Craig Cowie | Nepean | CCHL | 56 | 37 | 74 | 111 |
| Jamie Haines | Sudbury | NOJHL | 40 | 39 | 65 | 104 |
| Christian Finch | Stouffville | OJHL | 48 | 37 | 67 | 104 |
| Julien Corriveau | Valleyfield | QJRAAA | 47 | 50 | 51 | 101 |
| Vincent Blanchette | Longueuil | QJRAAA | 35 | 34 | 60 | 94 |
| Nick Esposto | Sudbury | NOJHL | 35 | 34 | 60 | 94 |
| Jesse Ross | Weyburn | SJHL | 56 | 46 | 45 | 91 |
| Micky Sartoretto | Soo Thunderbirds | NOJHL | 43 | 41 | 49 | 90 |
| Paul De Jersey | Prince George | BCHL | 51 | 40 | 50 | 90 |
GAME TIME: The second to last week of regular season play in the NOJHL features a total of 10 games.
Two of them have already been played with the North Bay Trappers coming away victorious in both of them sweeping a home-and-home against Kirkland Lake Monday and Tuesday.
The opener saw Mitchell Knight turn aside 28 of 29 shots he faced in a 3-1 triumph.
Bryce Lipinski, Eric Samtleben and Justin Schneeberger were the marksmen in that contest. Travis Jones replied for the Miners.
In the finale, Brad Gehl tallied twice while Brad Edwards and Lipinski supplied solo markers. Schneeberger chipped in with a pair of assists. Joey Ftoma had the lone Kirkland Lake effort.
Action resumes tonight as Sudbury hosts Blind River at McClelland Arena and features a 7:30 p.m. opening face-off.
North Bay Memorial Gardens will serve as the venue for Thursday’s lone encounter as the Trappers host the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners. Game time in that one is 7 p.m.
Three more tilts are on the slate Friday with North Bay taking on Abitibi in Timmins, Kirkland Lake entertains the Soo Thunderbirds while the Soo Eagles welcome Blind River. All three match-ups get underway at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday will see the Thunderbirds on the road at Abitibi while the Eagles are at home to Sudbury in a pair of 7:30 p.m. starts.
The week will then conclude Sunday as Trappers take on the Thunderbirds in North Bay at 7 p.m.
WEEK-IN-REVIEW: The week that was in the NOJHL saw eight games contested. Here is a brief re-cap on each of them.
Feb. 15: Blind River 3 @ Soo Eagles 4—The Eagles got goals from Aaron Leach, Dallas McLaughlin, Shane Totten and Matthew Wiggemansen while Tyler Brown, David McCaig and Paul Muio countered for the Beavers.
Feb. 15: North Bay 9 @ Sudbury 8—A wild one in Sudbury saw Matthew Salituro fire the game-winner with just 25 seconds remaining as the Trappers rallied for the victory. Brad Gehl led North Bay offensively with a goal and four helpers. Jayce Douskey scored four times and set-up another for the Cubs while Jordan Carroll had a marker and four assists.
Feb. 17: North Bay 2 @ Kirkland Lake 5—The Gold Miners recorded their first win in franchise history as they surprised the Trappers in Englehart. Jordan Turbide and Cody Block both tallied and added an assist in the victory.
Feb. 17: Abitibi 4 @ Soo Eagles 7—The Soo got three points apiece from Brian Depp and Wiggemanson in the triumph over the Eskis. Marc-Alain Begin had similar numbers for Abitibi. Chris Truehl picked up the win making 30 stops.
Feb. 18: Soo Eagles 5 @ Soo Thunderbirds 6—Corey Jackson scored the winner with 21 seconds to go as the T-Birds pulled out the win. Micky Sartoretto had two tallies and a helper for the winners and Derek Diaz set-up three for the Eagles.
Feb. 18: Abitibi 5 @ Blind River 3—Three points for Begin paced the Eskimos with Delmer Moses adding a goal and an assist. J.P. Fecteau picked up the win in net. Michael Berens, Scott Marshall and Dan Pyymaki scored for the Beavers.
Feb. 19: Abitibi 4 @ Soo Thunderbirds 3—Richard Therrien and Begin both had three-point nights in the victory while Fecteau won for a second straight game. Kurtis Barberie, Kevin Michelcavage and Greg Sartoretto scored for the Soo.
Feb. 19: Sudbury 7 @ Kirkland Lake 4—Sudbury stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to pull out the road win. Jordan Carroll and Brett Dusick both had three points for the Cubs. Turbide and Connor McNally had two points apiece for the Miners.
ANOTHER RECORD: With six assists last week, Sudbury’s Jordan Carroll etched his name in his team’s record book once again.
The Cubs’ standout set a new club mark for assists in a season, which now stands at 65 and counting having surpassed the old team record of 62 set by Brian McGarry during the 2005-06 campaign.
Carroll has maintained his knack for racking up the numbers all season long as he is currently riding a 38-game point streak while only being held off the score sheet once in 47 games played.
The veteran Sudbury forward had previously shattered the team record for points and goals in a season. His 66 tallies not only lead the NOJHL, but also top the entire 133-team Canadian Jr. Hockey League. He is also second overall in the CJHL in total points with 131.
DUDLEY-HEWITT CUP: At the conclusion of the league playoffs, the NOJHL champion will advance to represent the league at the 2012 Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Jr. A Championship, April 17-21 in Thunder Bay.
The Thunder Bay North Stars of the Superior International Junior Hockey League will host the five-day tournament at the Fort William Gardens.
Joining the NOJHL and the North Stars in the Lakehead will be champions of the OJHL and SIJHL.
They are already guaranteed to have a new Dudley-Hewitt Cup champion this year as the reigning title holders, the Wellington Dukes, were upset in the first round of the OJHL playoffs by the Kingston Voyageurs.
They are now down to 16 teams remaining in the race for the Buckland Cup as quarter final action already underway. The OJHL has won the last five Dudley-Hewitt Cups and eight of the last 10.
In the SIJHL, the defending champion Wisconsin Wilderness have already clinched first place in the regular season. They have a 46-6-1 overall record with three games remaining.
The Dudley-Hewitt Cup host North Stars are also starting to heat up, having won seven straight games, all of which were played on the road.
They have raised their overall record to 30-18-5 have gone 8-3 since former NHLer Lonny Bohonos took over the reins as head coach of the club in late January.
The last time the DHC tournament was held in Thunder Bay was back in 2006 when the North Stars were victorious defeating Sudbury 7-6, in overtime, in the final.
The Dudley-Hewitt Cup winner will move on to represent the central region at the Royal Bank Cup Canadian Jr. A championship in Humboldt, Sask., this May.
Now up and running is the 2012 Dudley-Hewitt Cup website, which can be found online at www.thedudleyhewittcup.com.
ON TAP: Upcoming NOJHL games
Tuesday, Feb. 28: Abitibi @ Kirkland Lake 7:30 p.m. (Joe Mavrinac)
Wednesday, Feb. 29: North Bay @ Sudbury 7:30 p.m. (McClelland)
End of regular season
CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS: The NOJHL-leading Soo Thunderbirds have maintained their hold in the top 10 in the latest Canadian Jr. Hockey League rankings, which were released on Monday.
They earned an eighth-place nod for a second consecutive week in the listings that are compiled in consultation with NHL Central Scouting and presented by PlayingUpHockey.com.
Back for another week earning honourable mention status are the Soo Eagles, who sit second overall in the NOJHL standings.
Winners of 34 consecutive games, the BCHL-leading Penticton Vees continue their well-deserved position as the top ranked club in the CJHL. The Spruce Grove Saints of Alberta were tabbed No. 2 overall.
The Royal Bank Cup host Humboldt Broncos dipped to third this week while the leaders of the SIJHL, the Wisconsin Wilderness, moved back into fourth overall while the Fort McMurray Oil Barons slid into the fifth slot.
NOJHL TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
ABITIBI ESKIMOS: Abitibi remains one of the hottest clubs in the NOJHL having gone 7-3 in their past 10. Marc-Alain Begin has run his consecutive game point streak to 14 on the go picking up 10 tallies and 38 assists during that time. He remains second in league scoring with 115 points and tops the NOJHL in point-per-game average at 3.19. His 14 power play markers are the third most in the league. Richard Therrien is still sixth in NOJHL scoring on 86 points. He has points in 13 of his past 15 games and is tied for fifth in power play goals with 11. 11 of Corey Hamel’s 17 goals this season have been scored on the power play, which ties his with Therrien for league PPG.
BLIND RIVER BEAVERS: The Beavers wrap-up regular season play with games at Sudbury tonight and the Soo Eagles Friday. Blind River remains in the cellar of the NOJHL western division with a 7-39-2 record. Tyler Brown’s 29 points lead the team. He has points in three straight and seven of eight. Paul Muio is next with 26 points. The squad has scored only 111 times so far this season while allowing a league-high 271.
KIRKLAND LAKE GOLD MINERS: Tim Zafiris was a winner in his NOJHL coaching debut as the Miners upended North Bay on Friday. Joey Ftoma is credited with the first game-winning goal in team history while Ken Appleby earned the first win in net. Jordan Turbide has 13 points in 10 games to pace the club. Travis Jones leads the club in goals with seven and has points in five of seven. They play three straight on the road this week.
NORTH BAY TRAPPERS: North Bay has gone 6-1 in their past seven games. They look to win their third in a row Thursday as they host Kirkland Lake. Matt Salituro has points in 11 of his last 12 games and paces the Traps in scoring with 52 points. Brad Gehl has 32 points in 21 games since being acquired by the club. Bryce Lipinski has a modest three-game point streak on the go. Mitchell Knight leads all NOJHL netminders in goals-against average at 2.91. He is second in shutouts with four. North Bay has allowed the third fewest goals in the league at 174.
SOO EAGLES: In their past 10 games the Eagles are a solid 7-2-1. They have won five straight at home as they conclude the regular season with match-ups vs. Blind River and Sudbury on Pullar Stadium ice. The Eagles have five skaters among the top 11 in the league. Brian Depp is seventh with 83 points. Shane Totten (65pts) sits ninth, Dallas McLaughlin (61pts) holds down 10th while Travis Payne and Gavin Burbach (57pts) share 11th. Chris Truehl boasts the second best save percentage among NOJHL netminders at .910. He is third in goals-against average at 3.22. Luis Puig has moved to fourth in GAA at 3.92. The Eagles are second-best on home ice at 19-2-2.
SOO THUNDERBIRDS: Ranked eighth overall in the latest CJHL rankings the Thunderbirds lead the NOJHL standings with a 36-10-1 record and a .777 winning percentage. They need one more win to capture their second consecutive regular season title. The Thunderbirds boast the best home ice in the league at 20-5. The Soo boast 10 players with 30 or more points so far this season. Team leading scorer Micky Sartoretto has points in 30 of his past 33 contests. He is fifth in NOJHL scoring with 90 points and knotted for second in ame-winners with seven. Teammate Matt Amadio sits eighth in the league in offensive production with 73 points. John Kleinhans leads all NOJHL goalkeepers in wins (25), save percentage (.911), shutouts (5), and minutes played (2.099). He is second in goals-against average at 2.92. Kleinhans is 8-3 record in his past 11 appearances. Three on the road wraps up the regular season.
SUDBURY CUBS: Sudbury continues to leads the NOJHL in goals with 273. Jordan Carroll continues to lead the NOJHL in scoring. He also has the second highest point total in the entire CJHL at 131. He currently paces the CJHL in goals with 66. He is also riding an impressive 38-game point streak and leads the league in shorthanded goals with seven. Jamie Haines leads the league in game-winning goals with nine and is third in overall scoring with 104 points. Nick Esposto needs six points to become the third member of team to reach the 100-point plateau. He has notched 28 multiple-point nights so far this season. Jayce Douskey has 13 points in his past five games. Goaltender Jeremy Pominville is 12-2-1 in his last 15 decisions. Netminder Alex Laino is 10-5-2 in his last 17 outings. The Cubs are one of three NOJHL clubs with a winning record at home and as the visiting team. The Cubs wrap-up the regular season with a home game vs. Blind River this evening, at the Soo Eagles Saturday before closing out the campaign next Wednesday as they host North Bay prior to the start of the 2012 NOJHL playoffs.
*TAKEN OFF NOJHL WEBSITE*
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