SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
SIJHL MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016
SIJHL Showcase preview
THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The Superior International Junior Hockey League’s annual Showcase event gets underway Tuesday and runs through Thursday in Hoyt Lakes and Virginia, Minn.
This three-day event will feature all five SIJHL member clubs competing along with the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Cochrane Crunch, who will also be taking part.
THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Jan. 26
Thunder Bay vs. Fort Frances 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET (Hoyt Lakes)
Cochrane (NOJHL) vs. Minnesota 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET (Hoyt Lakes)
Wednesday, Jan. 27
Cochrane (NOJHL) vs. Fort Frances 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET (Miners Memorial – Virginia)
Dryden vs. Thunder Bay 4 p.m. CT/5 p.m. ET (Miners Memorial – Virginia)
English River vs. Minnesota 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET (Miners Memorial – Virginia)
Thursday, Jan. 28
Fort Frances vs. English River 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET (Hoyt Lakes)
Minnesota vs. Dryden 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET (Hoyt Lakes)
THE TEAMS
DRYDEN GM ICE DOGS
Head Coach: Kurt Walsten
Dryden enters the Showcase in second place in the SIJHL standings with a 23-9-2-2 record. … They are also 6-3-1 in their past 10 outings. … Their first game in the event goes Wednesday afternoon as they take on the rival Thunder Bay North Stars at the Miners Memorial Building in Virginia. … The GM Ice Dogs duo of Derek McPhail and Braeden Allkins share the team scoring lead with 36 points apiece. … McPhail has scored 21 times and assisted on 15 others while Allkins has a dozen markers and 24 helpers to his credit. … They are also tied for sixth in league offensive production. … Matt Houston is third on Dryden in points with 31 having scored 12 times while assisting on 19 others. … Kyle Pouncy paces the GM Ice Dogs in points among defencemen with 26 in 36 games , including eight tallies. … That is the third best total among all SIJHL blueliners. … Troy Williams is next with 21 points from the point. He also leads all league blueliners in goals with 13. … Taylor Unruh has seen the bulk of the action in net for Dryden so far this season posting a 12-6-0-2 record along with a 2.61 goals-against average and .892 save percentage. He also has one shutout. … Dryden is the longest-serving organization of the league and an original member of the SIJHL.
ENGLISH RIVER MINERS
Head Coach: Derek Sweet-Coulter
Under first-year head coach Derek Sweet-Coulter, English River sits fifth in the SIJHL standings with an 8-26-1-4 mark. 18 of the club’s losses so far this season have been by two goals or less, including five in either overtime or a shootout. … Averaging close to a point-per-game, Ryker Moreau leads the Miners in scoring with 36 points in 39 games played. Moreau has 12 tallies and 24 assists so far this season. … Second-year forward Alex Maticic is next on the squad with 33 points having scored 14 times and set-up 19 more. … Konnar Dechaine’s 20 tallies leads the team and he is also third overall in total points with 32. … Brandon Schaber tops all English River defencemen in scoring with 22 points, including seven goals. … Trevor Pereverzoff in next with 18 points on three markers and 15 helpers. … Reid Kilburn and Korlan Vader have combined to post 2,364 minutes of game action between the pipes for the Miners this season. Kilburn has faced the second-most shots against in SIJHL play to date with 892. Vader has seen the fifth-most shots against at 515.
FORT FRANCES LAKERS
Head Coach: Wayne Strachan
The two-time defending SIJHL Bill Salonen Cup champion Lakers enter the Showcase once again atop the league standings. … Fort Frances is 28-6-0-1 and are also ranked seventh in the 131-team Canadian Junior Hockey League. … Forward Dylan Robertson paces the Lakers in offensive production with 45 points in 32 outings on 21 goals and 24 assists. That also ties him for the overall league lead. … Defenceman Nick Minerva is next on the Lakers in scoring with 42 points to his credit with a dozen tallies and 30 helpers. Minevera leads all SIJHL D-men in goals, assists and points. … Andrew Willner is third on Fort Frances and fourth overall in the league in points with 39, including 15 markers. … Robbie Bonthron is second on the squad and fourth best in the league in points among rearguards with 23 in 27 games on five goals and 18 assists. … Goaltender Pierce Dushenko leads all SIJHL netminders in wins with 19 and is also tops in shutouts with four. …His 2.43 goals-against average and .927 save percentage are second overall in the SIJHL. … Brandon Bodnar, is 9-3-0-0 so far this season and leads the league in average and save percentage at 1.81 and .939 respectively.
MINNESOTA IRON RANGERS
Head Coach: Chris Walby
After a bit of a slow start, the Iron Rangers, under head coach and general manager Chris Walby are starting to turn the corner. … Having picked up five of a possible six points in their past three games, Minnesota sits fourth in the SIJHL standings with a 13-19-2-1 record. … Now in their fourth season in the SIJHL, the Iron Rangers have won 30 or more games in each of the past two campaigns and also advanced to the league final in 2014. … Jake Ellingson leads the club in scoring with 24 points on seven goals and 17 assists. … Defenceman Dalton Johnson is next with 22 points, including a half dozen tallies. … Eric Madison and Tristyn Sabina are third and fourth in team scoring with 21 and 20 points respectively. … Goaltender Kyle Carignan has faced the fourth-most shots in league play to date with 636 against. … Recent Iron Rangers addition, goaltender Anthony Pupplo, was named the SIJHL’s latest player of the week as he picked up his first league win, followed by his initial shutout as Minnesota went 2-0-1 last week.
THUNDER BAY NORTH STARS
Head Coach: Jeremy Adduono
Thunder Bay enters the Showcase as the hottest team in the league having gone 9-1 in their past 10 contests after seeing a season-high nine-game win streak snapped vs. Dryden on Saturday. … The North Stars are third in the SIJHL standings at 20-17-0-2 and 13-6 since 2014-15 SIJHL coach of the year Jeremy Adduono’s return back behind the bench as he and his staff have reversed the club’s fortunes in a positive way. …Currently riding an 11-game point streak, Nicholas Nigro has charged up into a tie for top spot in overall league scoring with 45 points. Nigro’s 23 goals also pace Thunder Bay and all league skaters. … Teammate Kenny Turner has a 10-game point streak in tact for the North Stars. Turner is second on the squad and five in the SIJHL in offensive numbers with 37 points, including 10 tallies. … Kris Hamlin is averaging over a point-per-game for Thunder Bay with 35 in 28 games played. He has scored 13 times and assisted on 22 others. … Rookie Brad Thrower is tied for second in scoring among first-year skaters with 18 points on nine goals and as many assists. … Joe Newhouse tops all North Stars blueliners in points with 27, which is the second most among all D-men in the league. … He is followed by veteran defenceman Aaron Wesley-Chisel’s 22, who is knotted for fifth in the SIJHL. … Riley Corbin’s 1,026 saves to date are the most among all SIJHL goaltenders. … Corbin is second in shutouts with three and wins with 16 and sits fifth in average at 2.81 and third in save percentage at .924.
COCHRANE CRUNCH (NOJHL)
Head Coach: Ryan Leonard
Heading to the SIJHL Showcase from the NOJHL are the high-scoring Cochrane Crunch. … Under head coach, general manager and team president Ryan Leonard, Cochrane sits in first place in the NOJHL East with a 31-7-2-2 record. That also puts them in second spot overall in the 12-team NOJHL trailing just the defending Dudley-Hewitt Cup champion Soo Thunderbirds, who are currently ranked No. 1 in the CJHL. … The Crunch meanwhile were rated eighth in the CJHL this week just behind No. 7 Fort Frances. … Cochrane paces the NOJHL in goals scored with a league-best 237 to their credit in 42 games. …Pacing the Crunch offensively in forward Hunter Atchison. The 19-year-old from Victoria, B.C., has amassed 80 points in just 41 games on 39 goals and 41 assists. Atchison goal and point totals lead all skaters in the NOJHL as do his dozen power play markers and eight shorthanded tallies. … Teammate Dustin Cordeiro has also put up big numbers for Cochrane again this season. … Cordeiro is third in overall NOJHL scoring with 67 points in 42 outings. He’s second in the league in goals behind Atchison with 32 and is just one off the league lead in game-winning markers with six. … Seamus Maguire is third on the team and eighth overall in NOJHL numbers with 58 having found the back of the net 22 times while setting up 36 more. His five game-winning goals tie him for fourth in the NOJHL. … Joseph Thielen leads all Cochrane defencemen in points with 32, which ties him for third best in his league. D-man Taylor Armbruster is next with 22. … Between the pipes, Brett Young leads all NOJHL netminders in victories with 19. He’s also played the most minutes at 1,825. …Allan Menary is 6-2 with the Crunch and 11-6 overall since joining the club from Elliot Lake of the NOJHL earlier this season.
SHOWCASE ONLINE: Each SIJHL Showcase game will be available on a pay-per-view basis on FASTHockey, the official online broadcaster of both the SIJHL and NOJHL at www.FASTHockey.com.
