CCHL This Week

By: Jeff Maguire

Teams who are not usually among the leaders in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) are impressing early in the 2012-2013 campaign.

Chief among the surprises is Ottawa Junior Senators. They had to work hard to reach the playoffs last spring and then fell in five games in the quarter finals to CCHL finalist Cornwall Colts.

With 13 newcomers in the line-up Junior Sens weren’t among the favourites in the 12 team Tier 1 Junior A league when the new campaign began in early September.

After nearly a month of play however they top the Yzerman Division standings and last week they won all three games played against tough opponents.

Their efforts have not gone unnoticed!

Monday morning the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), which governs 10 Junior A loops from coast to coast including the CCHL, announced its weekly Top 20 rankings. Ottawa now sits 13th, the best standing of any club in the Eastern Ontario based league. The only other CCHL team to make the Top 20 is Carleton Place Canadians (7-3) who lead the Robinson Division. Carleton Place moved up to 16th from 19th on the CJHL weekly list.

Leading all Canadian Junior A teams in the rankings this week is Brooks (Alberta) Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League are second while Winnipeg Blues of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League round out the top three.

Junior Senators head coach and general manager Rick Dorval is understandably pleased with his team’s performance to date.

“We went into the week hoping to perform well. But three wins over Pembroke, Carleton Place and Nepean shows this team has character,” Dorval said Monday morning.

“Going into the year, on paper, we thought we would be competitive.

“Now the expectations are higher. We’re going to attempt to raise the bar every week in an effort to reach team and individual expectations,” the coach states.

“This morning we’re ranked 13th nationally, the highest ranking of any team in the league. So obviously I’m pleased,” Dorval adds.

“With 13 new faces there was a natural period of adjustment involved.

“But the kids are getting to know each other and the team is starting to gel. It’s still early and we will take it a step at a time,” Dorval observes.

Also last week Smiths Falls Bears, who just snuck into the playoffs last season and were swept by eventual champions Nepean in the first round, also continued to impress. Led by Michael Buonincontri, the CCHL scoring leader, Bears won two of three contests to remain tied with Robinson rival Carleton Place. Buonincontri had a hat trick in Bears’ 6-5 road win over Pembroke Lumber Kings Sunday night. He now has nine goals and nine assists in 10 games. Teammate Chris Maniccia also has 18 points including 12 helpers.

Carleton Place, who split their games last week, is being led by centre Luke Edwards who is third in the league scoring race with 15 points from 10 contests.

Another early season surprise is the good form shown by Cumberland Grads recently. They failed to make the playoffs last season and stumbled out of the gate in September recording one win in five games. Thanks partly to the work of goalie Devan Tremblay, Cumberland has now won three in a row including back-to-back weekend triumphs. They sit fourth in the Yzerman Division with 10 points, one ahead of defending champions Nepean.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment to date in the league has been the poor form of Hawkesbury Hawks. Despite an overtime win over Pembroke at home Friday, Hawks continue to trail the league standings. But they have shown signs of life! Sunday they were stonewalled by Tremblay in Cumberland and lost despite controlling the game territorially.

Last season, after missing the playoffs for three years in a row, Hawkesbury finished fifth overall and then swept Carleton Place, the fourth place side, to reach the CCHL semi- finals.

It was another very busy week in the CCHL with some very entertaining and competitive contests played.

WEEKLY SUMMARIES

Ottawa 7 – Nepean 6 (SO): Sunday afternoon the suddenly rampant Senators recorded their second win in as many days to move atop the Yzerman Division standings. The home standing Raider made a late charge in regulation time, scoring three times in the final 10 minutes of action to knot the high scoring contest at six apiece and force overtime. It took a shootout to decide it! Ottawa connected on two of five tries during the shootout phase to improve their record to an impressive 6-2. The first period was scoreless but the final 40 minutes featured a major offensive display. Junior Sens scored four straight in the middle stanza to lead 4-1. Nepean closed the gap with a pair of strikes early in period three. Ottawa then grabbed a 6-3 advantage before Raiders’ left winger Steven Johnston connected twice in six minutes to close the gap. Then, with 2:56 left on the clock, Vincent Llorca tied it to send the contest to OT. Nothing was decided in five additional minutes opening the door to the free shots and an Ottawa triumph! Left winger Dylan Giberson led Sens’ charge with two goals while centre Eric Witzel set up three. Johnston had a hat trick for Raiders, his first goals of the campaign. Jesse Ferras netted once and set up another for Nepean who fell to fifth place in their division.

Smiths Falls 6 – Pembroke 5: The hard charging Bears moved into a tie atop the Robinson standings doubling Lumber Kings and sending Pembroke to their third loss of the week, although one of those came in overtime. With the triumph Smiths Falls shares the CCHL points lead with arch rival Carleton Place. Both clubs are 7-3 in the early going. It was a frustrating afternoon in the Rideau Canal town for the visiting Kings! They outshot Bears by a wide 43-28 margin but were stymied by the net minding work of Patrick Martin who made 38 stops. The veteran puck stopper had been between the pipes for six of Bears’ seven victories so far. Inexplicably he failed to make the three star selection at the end of the contest! Topping that short list was left winger Michael Buonincontri the CCHL scoring leader to date with 18 points. The 18-year-old Montreal native fired a hat trick and set up another. His third of the night at 11:55 of the third period was the game winner. Forward Yannick Crete scored once and assisted twice giving him 14 points. For the hard luck Lumber Kings Ben Dalpe had two goals and two assists, Jordan Larson scored once and set up three while Stephen Hrehoriak triggered his fifth and helped out on a pair.

Kemptville 5 – Gloucester 4 (SO): The improving 73’s earned their third point in as many games with a shootout victory over Rangers at home Sunday night. Two of their past three contests have been decided in the shootout phase! Forward Matt Rosebrook, who was traded to Gloucester by Kemptville as part of a four-player swap Sept. 24, nearly came back to haunt his former club. Rosebrook connected for a hat trick to pace Rangers’ offence. It was the first meeting of the clubs since the trade (the first of the campaign in fact) and left winger Brett Varrin, who went the other way in the player swap, was also hot with two goals and an assist for Kemptville. Christian Leger tied it for Gloucester with 10:31 left in the game, forcing what turned out to be a scoreless overtime. Three shooters went to the line for each team in the shootout with 73’s Blaine Byron the only successful candidate. He also had two assists in regulation when the points counted. Kemptville led the shots parade 42-33. Dylan BrindAmour made 29 saves for the goaltending triumph.

Brockville 7 – Kanata 5: Braves left it late but they scored two late markers Sunday to record their second win of the weekend on home ice. Stallions dropped both of their weekend encounters. As a result Brockville stayed fourth in the Robinson while Kanata remains in third spot in the Yzerman loop. Centre David Ferreira’s fifth of the campaign with 1:58 left broke a 5-5 deadlock and propelled Braves to the win in an entertaining, evenly played match. Brockville scoring leader Ben Blasko wrapped it up with an empty netter, his fourth. Chris Roll completed a big weekend for the winners with two goals and two assists giving him seven points in two outings. Braves appeared as if they would run away with it early leading 4-0 after one. Kanata replied with the only three goals of the second stanza. Nathan Todd made it 5-3 Brockville only to have Braeden Moffatt and Joe Breslin scored six minutes apart to tie things up. Devin Fullam unleashed two goals and assisted on another in a losing cause for Kanata.

Cumberland 5 – Hawkesbury 3: Make it three wins in a row for the suddenly hot Grads who started the season with just one victory in five appearances. This time the two points came courtesy of Hawkesbury who continue to trail the overall standings with just two wins in eight games. In actual fact it was Cumberland net minder Devan Tremblay who once again rescued his club with an incredible 42 save performance. He evidently doesn’t impress the three star selectors though! For the second straight game he failed to make the post-game list, this time at home. At the other end the usually steady Carmine Guerriero was lifted after 35 minutes. He yielded all five Grads’ markers before getting the heave-ho late in the second period. The frustrated Hawks held an impressive 45-29 shots advantage but couldn’t put enough rubber past Tremblay. Dependable Nick Martin scored twice giving him seven on the season for Cumberland while forward Matthew Moran also triggered twice, his first goals of the year. Veteran Brandon Bussey netted once and set up two for struggling Hawkesbury.

Ottawa 4 – Carleton Place 1: Junior Senators continue to play competitive hockey early in the campaign. They sent league leaders Carleton Place to just their third loss in 10 games Saturday, sending 400 Canadians’ fans home disappointed. It was an evenly played game but Ottawa goalie Charlie Millen, who had a brief stop in Carleton Place two seasons ago, outdueled Canadians’ net minder Justin Laforest stopping 21 of the 22 shots directed his way. Millen’s shutout bid was ruined by Canadians’ forward Brandon Seatter with just one second left in the game. Ottawa (5-2) won despite going one for seven on the powerplay. Hunter Racine during a first period man advantage situation, Eric Witzel, Justin Charbonneau and Steven Inman connected for Sens who led 1-0 and 3-0 at the intervals.

Hawkesbury 2 – Pembroke 1 (OT): There were five games played on a busy Friday night in the CCHL. Hawkesbury improved their lot with an overtime win over visiting Pembroke. The game marked the return of former Hawks’ star Stephen Hrehoriak to Robert Hartley Arena. He netted the game’s opening goal late in the second period. But Antonios Roumeliotis struck with just 3:55 left in regulation to tie it and force the extra period. With only 29 seconds remaining in overtime Roumeliotis set up teammate Pietro Antonelli for the game winner as Hawks improved to 2-4-1-0. The loss was the third in four outings for Pembroke who outshot the home team 32-27. A good Hawkesbury crowd of 368 took in the action.

Brockville 5 – Kemptville 2: Two teams who have struggled early this season met in the Seaway City Friday night. Braves leapfrogged 73’s in the Robinson Division standings, ringing up their third win in eight outings. The teams were tied in shots with 33 and each netted twice on the powerplay. But Matthew Jenkins made 31 saves to record his third win in five starts. Kemptville starter Billy Cooper allowed three goals on 16 shots before being relieved by veteran puck stopper Dylan BrindAmour early in period two. Rookie centre Griffen Molino took his goal count to four and eight games by striking twice. His second was into the empty Kemptville goal with 1:09 remaining. Hayden Hulton had a goal and one assist for the winners while Brockville scoring leader Ben Blasko set up two as did team captain Chris Roll. Braves Ryan Walter and Kemptville’s Ben St. Marseille were ejected for fighting at 11:22 of the third, making them ineligible for their team’s next game.

Gloucester 5 – Nepean 3: The defending champion Raiders were surprised by the Rangers in Orleans Friday and saw their record dip to 4-3 in the Yzerman Division standings. Gloucester (3-6) was led by newly acquired winger Stevie Ray Adams who scored twice. Adams was acquired by Rangers from Kemptville Sept. 24 in a four player deal. The rejuvenated Gloucester side outgunned Nepean 35-26. They led 3-0 after 20 minutes only to see Raiders strike back with two unanswered in the second and then add a tying goal at 5:11 of period three. Markers by Christian Leger and Keegan Rowe, four minutes apart, secured two important points for the home team. Alexandre Boivin improved his team leading scoring stats to four goals and 10 assists with a first period marker and three big assists. He earned first star honours. Veteran forward Kenneth Neil set up three for Raiders.

Cornwall 4 – Smiths Falls 3: The visiting Colts held off a late game comeback bid by Bears to win for the fifth time in nine outings in front of more than 600 Smiths Falls’ fans. Bears out shot Cornwall 29-24 but it was Colts who enjoyed intermission leads of 2-0 and 3-1. Michael Pontarelli unleashed two goals and assisted twice while Cornwall scoring leader Roman Ammirato also connected for a pair. Brandon Howes was a two assist man. Jeffrey Carroll and Connor McLaren each had a goal and an assist for Smiths Falls (6-3) who remained two points back of Carleton Place in the Robinson standings. Bears were a depressing 0-10 on the powerplay as Cornwall was assessed 13 of the game’s 21 infractions.

Cumberland 5 – Kanata 3: In an Yzerman Division contest in Kanata Friday night the second place Stallions were tripped up by the improving Grads. Cumberland moved to 3-2-1-1 which temporarily brought them level with Nepean in the standings. Grads’ goalie Devan Tremblay was a major factor in the game, even though he didn’t make the three star selection. Tremblay kicked out 36 shots as Kanata held a 39-28 advantage in scoring chances. The win was his fourth of the campaign against two setbacks. Centre Mark Goldberg led the offence with two goals and an assist giving him an even 10 points in eight appearances. Right winger Nick Martin chipped in with a goal and two assists for the winners. The clubs were level at two apiece after 20 minutes but first star Martin gave Grads a one goal advantage heading into the third. After the visitors went ahead 4-2, Connor Cobbold scored on a powerplay for Kanata to make it close. Golberg’s second into the empty Stallions’ cage sealed it with 17 seconds remaining. Brandon Petrie had a goal and one helper for the home team.         

Carleton Place 9 – Cornwall 4: Canadians early season run of success continued in Cornwall Thursday with a comprehensive win over last season’s CCHL runners-up. New offensive star Alex Globke continued his strong start with two goals giving him a team leading seven in nine games. Right winger Alex Frere also connected twice for the winners who solidified their hold on first place in the Robinson Division. Carleton Place (7-2) held period leads of 4-1 and 6-3 and then put it away by outscoring Colts 3-1 in the final frame. Veteran centre Luke Edwards set up four goals to lead Canadians with 13 points. He stood third in the league scoring derby after the game. Michael Pontarelli had two goals and one helper for Cornwall who fell to 4-4. Marly Quince scored once and set up a pair. Carleton Place netted twice on six powerplay chances and they were much more disciplined taking just six minor penalties on the night. Rookie goalie Matt Couvrette improved his record to 4-2.

Ottawa 5 – Pembroke 2: Four third period goals broke open a very even contest at Jim Durrell Recreation Complex Wednesday as the hometown Junior Sens upended Lumber Kings. The visitors led 30-29 in shots and after a scoreless first period they took the lead early in the middle stanza on winger Emilio Audi’s shorthanded, unassisted effort. Ottawa answered back three minutes later when Stephen Inman connected on a powerplay. Just 53 seconds into the third Ben Robillard used another man advantage situation to give Ottawa a brief lead. Pembroke’s Owen McDade quickly answered back, also during a powerplay. Just 34 seconds later Anthony Bada fired what proved to be the game winner, his second of the season. Ryan Collins, on a set-up from Bada and Robillard with his second of the night, during a last minute powerplay, gave Ottawa (4-2) the two points. Lumber Kings early season mark fell to 5-2-0-1 but they still led the Yzerman standings.

Gloucester 4 – Hawkesbury 1: Also Wednesday Rangers recorded their second win in eight games at the expense of a frustrated Hawks’ team who can’t seem to get untracked after a great finish to last season. The loss left Hawkesbury rooted to the bottom of the overall league standings with just one victory. At the final whistle a brawl erupted with four players from each side picking up game misconducts which kept them out of their next game. The ejections were the fifth of the night for each side in what turned out to be a very testy encounter! When hockey was the order of business it was second year left winger Chad Millett who led Gloucester with a goal and an assist. Keegan Rowe, Christian Leger and Jordan Gravel-Pilon also connected for the home team. Veteran forward Yanik Laliberte, with his second of the campaign midway through period two, was the only Hawk to beat winning net minder Gianmarco De Meis.

Smiths Falls 6 – Brockville 5 (SO): Bears continued their strong start to the campaign, outlasting long-time rival Brockville in a shootout at Smiths Falls Memorial Centre Tuesday night. It was the first of six meetings between the division rivals this season. Left winger Yannick Crete’s second goal of the night and fifth in eight games came during a powerplay with 6:55 left as Bears forced overtime. Five additional minutes failed to decide the outcome. In the shootout phase dependable Michael Buonincontri connected for the only goal to move Smiths Falls into a points tie with Carleton Place atop the Robinson Division. The teams were tied 3-3 following a hectic first period and the visitors outscored Bears 2-1 in the middle stanza. Jeffrey Carroll had a goal and one assist for Smiths Falls who outshot their opponents 44-31. Crete’s line mates Buonincontri and Chris Maniccia had two assists each. David Ferreira had a goal and one assist to pace Braves’ offence.

Kanata 4 – Kemptville 3 (SO): Stallions got another outstanding goaltending performance from Brandon Lane and then used the shootout to advantage to record their fifth win in eight starts Tuesday. The luckless 73’s out chanced the home team 40-31 but suffered their sixth loss in eight decisions. Two of the defeats occurred in shootouts. Veteran defenceman and team captain Curtis Watson was the regulation time hero for Kanata. He triggered the game tying marker with just 2:48 left while Stallions were killing a penalty. The shorthanded marker forced overtime which was scoreless. Both teams sent three players to the line during the shootout with Kanata netting the only goal to claim the bonus point. Devin Fullam and Brandon Petrie also had regulation time goals for the winners with Blaine Byron, Lucas Gonu and Alex Row the Kemptville scorers. There were nine minor penalties, five of which went to Stallions. 

To open a busy month of October there are 15 league games scheduled this week including a Thanksgiving Monday tilt between Ottawa and Gloucester at 2:30 p.m. at Earl Armstrong Arena in Orleans.

Jeff Maguire is a career journalist based in Carleton Place. He has covered junior hockey in Ontario for 41 years. Jeff’s report will appear on the CCHL website every Monday throughout the season. He can be reached by e-mail at: jeffrey.maguire@rogers.com