CJHL Playoff Report

Monday, April 2, 2012

Submissions from the BCHL, AJHL, OJHL, MHL, NOJHL, QJAAAHL and SIJHL for Monday, April 2, 2012.

BCHL

In the BCHL Conference Finals the Penticton Vees took on the Merritt Centennials in the Interior Finals and the Powell River Kings play the Surrey Eagles in the Coastal Finals.

Judging by the first round, the expectations were two back-and-forth seven-game series in both conference finals. But in Game 1 the Vees dominated the Centennials, beating them 5-0 behind the second-straight playoff shutout by Chad Katunar and a hat trick from rookie forward Mario Lucia. The Cents struck back in Game 2, finally solving Katunar in the second period with four goals, leading to a 4-3 win and 1-1 series tie.

Games 3 and 4 were nail biters between the Cents and Vees, unfortunately for Merritt, they came up short in both. In Game 3, The Vees took a 3-2 lead in the second period and never let go, while Game 4 was a double-overtime thriller, ending the 2-2 tie at 7:05 with a Wade Murphy score. The Cents head back to Penticton with their postseason on the brink.

The Kings started their series versus the Eagles with a shutout as well. Goaltender Sean Maguire stopped all 26 shots from the Eagles to push his Kings to a 3-0 win and 1-0 series lead.

Like in the Interior Finals the Eagles were able to even things up in Game 2. The Eagles scored two goals in the second period and held the Kings at bay to secure a 2-1 win and series tie. In Game 3 the Kings retook momentum, four goals in the opening period gave the Eagles an insurmountable deficit; 4-3 was the final.

Overtime decided Game 4, and unfortunately for Surrey they weren't on the winning side. Forward Cohen Adair broke the 1-1 tie with an OT goal at 1:12. The Kings are now in the driver's seat to take the Coastal Conference Finals and book their ticket to the Fred Page Cup. But there's still playoff hockey to be played, the Eagles still have a chance to pull off an upset starting Monday night at 7 p.m. PT.

AJHL

The 2012 AJHL Enerflex Cup Finals between the Brooks Bandits and Fort McMurray Oil Barons will begin on April 6th and 7th in Brooks, AB with the opening two games of the series.

The Fort McMurray Oil Barons won the North Division Title with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Spruce Grove Saints in Game Seven of the North Division Final on Tuesday night. The Oil Barons began the series down 2-0, then came back with three consecutive wins to lead the series 3-2. The Saints forced a Game Seven by defeating the home team in Game Six on Sunday in Fort McMurray. The series was filled with comebacks, and included five one-goal games, and two overtime thrillers.

The Brooks Bandits hold a perfect 8-0 post-season record. The Bandits led the South Division in the 2011-2012 regular season to earn a bye to Round Two of the 2012 AJHL Playoffs. The Bandits then swept the Calgary Canucks and Olds Grizzlys to advance to the AJHL Enerflex Cup Finals.

The Oil Barons swept the Grande Prairie Storm (3-0) in Round One, and eliminated the Sherwood Park Crusaders in Game Five of the North Division Semi-Finals before facing the defending champion Spruce Grove Saints in the Division Final.

The Brooks Bandits won the Dave Duchak Trophy as the 2011-2012 AJHL Regular Season Champions with a record of 47-7-6 and 100 points. The Fort McMurray Oil Barons finished 2nd in the North Division with 98 points in the AJHL regular season and a record of 47-9-4. The Bandits and Oil Barons met just twice in the 2011-2012 regular season. Brooks won both contests by a single goal, the first with a shootout victory.

The Brooks Bandits have advanced to the AJHL Enerflex Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history. The Oil Barons have captured the AJHL Championship three times and most recently competed in the League Final in 2010. The Oil Barons lost the 2010 League Final versus the Spruce Grove Saints in Game Seven.

Brooks Bandits (1) vs. Fort McMurray Oil Barons (2):

Game # Date Home Team Time

Game 1 Friday, April 6 @ Brooks 7:00PM
Game 2 Saturday, April 7 @ Brooks 7:00PM
Game 3 Monday, April 9 @ Fort McMurray 8:00PM
Game 4 Tuesday, April 10 @ Fort McMurray 8:00PM
*Game 5 Thursday, April 12 @ Brooks 7:00PM
*Game 6 Saturday, April 14 @ Fort McMurray 8:00PM
*Game 7 Monday, April 16 @ Brooks 7:00PM

* if necessary

OJHL

Conference Championships (Conference ranking):

North-West Conference:
Stouffville (3) defeats Georgetown (1) - 4 games to 3

South-East Conference:
Whitby (5) defeats Toronto Lakeshore (7) - 4 games to 1

OJHL Championship Series:

Stouffville Spirit vs. Whitby Fury
Whitby @ Stouffville April 5 7:30pm
Stouffville @ Whitby April 6 7:40pm
Whitby @ Stouffville April 8 2:30pm
Stouffville @ Whitby April 9 7:40pm
Whitby @ Stouffville April 11 7:30pm*
Stouffville @ Whitby April 13 7:40pm*
Whitby @ Stouffville April 14 7:30pm*

Leading Scorers:
1. Christian Finch (Stouffville) - 30 points
2. Drake Caggiula (Stouffville) - 27 points
3. Chris Porter (Stouffville) - 26 points
4. Paul Geiger (Stouffville) - 26 points
5. Devin Shore (Whitby) - 25 point

Top Goaltenders:
1. James Prigione (Oakville) - 1.91 gaa
2. Steven Racine (Georgetown) - 2.06 gaa
3. Tyler Marble (Wellington) - 2.21 gaa
4. Spencer Finney (Trenton) - 2.23 gaa
5. Chris Perugini (Markham) - 2.25 gaa

Hot Teams/Players:
- Whitby Fury - Defeat the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots in five games
- Drake Caggiula (Stouffville Spirit) - Recorded five goals and ten points during series vs. Georgetown
- Chris Porter (Stouffville Spirit) - Recorded seven assists and ten points during series vs. Georgetown
- Paul Geiger (Stouffville Spirit) - Recorded eight assists and ten points during series vs. Georgetown
- Devin Shore (Whitby Fury) - Recorded 11 points during five game series vs. Toronto Lakeshore
- Stephen Genua (Georgetown Raiders) - Recorded five goals and ten points during series vs. Stouffville

MHL

After Week 5 of MHL Playoff action, the Kent Cup final has been determined. The Woodstock Slammers, who finished both of their first two opponents in 4 game sweeps, will host the Yarmouth Mariners for games one and two of the final in Woodstock on Wednesday, April 4th and Thursday April 5th at 7:30pm.

The Mariners had an exceptional week, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to take the Bent Championship in 7 games. On Tuesday night in Yarmouth, the Mariners pulled out a dramatic 2-1 overtime victory to bring the series to 3-2. The Ramblers had the Mariners on the ropes 1-0 until nearly the half way point of the third period before Ryan Nickerson scored to tie the game. Andrew Wigg would score the game winner just 10 seconds into overtime for the huge win. On Thursday in Amherst, the Mariners faired even better with a 4-1 win, forcing a final and decisive game 7 at home. Goaltender Charles Grant was the story of that game turning aside 42 shots for first star. Back at home on Saturday night the Mariners hosted game 7 to a huge crowd who were on hand to take in the game and Kraft Hockeyville celebrations as Yarmouth was one of the five finalist communities. The Mariners did not disappoint their fans as they turned in a 2-0 win, again on the strength of Charles Grant's goaltending as he turned aside all 23 shots faced. With the win the Mariners would advance to the Kent Cup final with the Meek Champion Slammers.

Scoring Leaders (10 points or more):

Team Name GP G A PTS
WS Tim Campbell 8 3 11 14
YM Mathieu Pompei 11 7 7 14
WS Connor Tresham 8 4 9 13
WS Andrew Langan 8 8 5 13
SWC Mike Szmatula 10 3 10 13
AR Brandon Street 9 5 6 11
YM Colin Campbell 11 8 4 12
AR Trevor Layton 9 2 9 11
MM Justin Belanger 7 5 5 10
YM Jared Hicks 11 4 6 10

Top Goaltenders (GAA 250 minutes or more):

Team Name GP Mins Save% GAA
WS Matt Murphy 8 443 0.951 1.35
YM Charles Grant 1 659 0.920 2.28
AR Richard Tingley 9 486 0.911 2.72
TB Spencer Scott 5 299 0.887 3.41
DC Jonathan Waye 6 372 0.898 3.71
SWC Landon Noel 9 416 0.898 4.33

QJAAAHL

The QJAAAHL playoff series continued this week with the beginning of the -final round opposing the Saint-Jérôme Panthères to the Princeville Titan which will get underway Friday April 6th in Saint-Jérôme.

Last week, the Princeville Titan and the Saint-Jérôme Panthères earned a spot in the final round by sweeping their semi-final series in four games against respectively Granby and the regular season champions, Cougars du Collège Champlain de Sherbrooke. It is the first time in league history that two teams who finished respectively in 6th and 7th place overall at the conclusion of the 2011-2012 regular season are the finalists for the Napa Cup championship.

The Princeville Titan has fully deserved its participation in the final round. In the preliminary round they swept their series in three games against Saint-Léonard outscoring Saint-Léonard 21-8. In the quarter final series, they have eliminated in seven games the defending Napa Cup Champions, Collège Français de Longueuil even being outscored 21-29 before sweeping another series in four games against the regular season overall standings champions, Cougars du Collège Champlain de Sherbrooke outscoring them 16-9. Center Pierrick Martel leads the Titan in scoring with a record of 8 goals, 12 assists and 20 points in 13 games while goaltender Charles-Étienne Martin started 11 of the team 14 playoff games allowing 34 goals on 360 shots for a 3:05 goals against average and a .906% saving percentage..

The Saint-Jérôme Panthères also did very well since the beginning of the 2012 playoff series. In the preliminary round, they won their series in four games against the Kahnawake Condors (20-11). In quarter final, they have eliminated in five games the Terrebonne Cobras outscoring them 24-8 before sweeping their semi-final round in four games against the Granby Inouk which they outscored 14-10. Center Kevin Fiset leads the Panthères so far in scoring with a record of 3 goals, 13 assists and 16 points in 14 games while goaltender Nicolas Deslongchamps started all 14 games played so far in playoffs in which he has compiled a record of 11 wins, 3 losses, allowed 28 goals on 390 shots for a 2:45 goals against average and a .908% saving percentage.

SEMI FINAL RESULTS

Series - Sherbrooke VS Princeville - Princeville won the series 4-0

Fri. March. 23rd Princeville 4 @ Sherbrooke 2
Sun. March 25th Sherbrooke 1 @ Princeville 3
Tue. March 27th Princeville 5 @ Sherbrooke 4 OV
Thu. Mar. 29th Sherbrooke 2 @ Princeville 4

Series - Granby VS Saint-Jérôme - Saint-Jérôme won the series 4-0

Fri. March. 23rd Saint-Jérôme 2 @ Granby 1
Sun. March 25th Granby 4 @ Saint-Jérôme 5 OV
Tue. March 27th Saint-Jérôme 4 @ Granby 3
Wed. Mar. 28th Granby 2 @ Saint-Jérôme 3

FINAL SERIES - Saint-Jérôme VS Princeville

Fri. April 6th Princeville @ Saint-Jérôme
Sun. April 8th Saint-Jérôme @ Princeville
Wed. Apr. 11th Princeville @ Saint-Jérôme
Fri. April 13th Saint-Jérôme @ Princeville
Sun. Apr. 15th Princeville @ Saint-Jérôme
Wed. Apr. 18th Saint-Jérôme @ Princeville
Fri. Apr. 20th Princeville @ Saint-Jérôme

League Leading Scorers:
Cody Linteau - Granby - 20 points in 11 games (11-9-20)
Pierrick Martel - Princeville - 20 points in 13 games (8-12-20)
Julien Corriveau - Valleyfield - 18 points in 10 games (10-9-19)
Maxime Lecours - Princeville - 19 points in 14 games (6-13-19)
Charles Power - Granby - 17 points in 11 games (8-9-17)
Jean-Philippe Sansfaçon - Valleyfield - 16 points in 10 games (7-9-16)
Kevin Fiset - Saint-Jérôme - 16 points in 14 games (3-13-16)

Top Goaltenders:
Mathieu Bezeau - Lachine - 5 GP - 2-3 - 10 GA - 1 SO - 1:88 - .915%
Simon Lemieux - Longueuil - 5 GP - 3 W - 2 L - 1 SO - 10 GA - 2 :01 - .925%
Jean-Michel Fortier - Sherbrooke - 7 GP 4 W - 3 L - 16 GA - 2:41 - .896%
Nicolas Deslongchamps - Saint-Jérôme - 14 GP - 11 W - 3 L - 33 GA - 2:45 - .908%
Charles-Étienne Martin - Princeville - 12 GP - 9 W - 2 L - 34 GA - 3 :05 - .906%
Mickaël Audette - Granby - 11GP - 4 W - 7 L - 36 GA - 3 :22 - .899%

SIJHL

Henry Gutierrez tallied twice, including the game-winner early in the third period, to help lead the Fort Frances Lakers to a 4-2 triumph over the Wisconsin Wilderness in game 1 of the Superior International Junior Hockey League Bill Salonen Cup championship series played at the Northwest Sports Complex in Spooner, Wis. on Sunday.

Game 2 goes Monday back in Spooner and features a 7 p.m. face-off.

Neither side mustered any offense in the first period with the best chance coming late in the opening session as SIJHL rookie of the year Jordan Larson of the Lakers rang one off the post while his team was shorthanded.

Wisconsin's turn to ring one off the iron came early in the middle frame as Nick Drill's blast clipped the bar and deflected out of play.

The Lakers opened the scoring 5:35 into the second as Alex Bruess jammed home a loose puck following a goal-mouth scramble that slipped past Tanner Milliron in the Wilderness net.

Fort Frances increased their lead to 2-0 six minutes later as Gutierrez snapped one high past Milliron from in close.

The Lakers struck quickly to begin the third period as Gutierrez notched his second of the night as he wristed one from the point that beat Milliron during a two-man advantage opportunity at 1:19 to make it 3-0.

Mike Dietrich dashed Tyler Ampe's shutout bid at 5:39 as he darted out of the corner and ripped a shot shortside to put the Wilderness on the board.

After a timeout late in regulation, Wisconsin scored right off the face-off as Patrick Hurley blasted a shot past Ampe to make it 3-2 with 1:51 remaining.

A high sticking call put the Wilderness on the power play seconds after that, but Byron Katapaytuk squelched any further comeback attempt as the Pizza Hut player of the year scored shorthanded into an empty net for the Lakers to round out the scoring.

Ampe made 34 saves in registering the win for the visitors while Milliron faced 30 shots in a losing cause.

The SIJHL champion will advance to the Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Jr. A championship, which runs April 17-21 at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay.

SIJHL NOTES -- Wisconsin's game 1 setback was their first home loss of the season. ... Games 3 and 4 of the series go Wednesday and Thursday at Ice for Kids Arena in Fort Frances. Face-off each night is 7:30 p.m. at Ice for Kids Arena. ... SIJHL MVP Byron Katapaytuk has a five-game scoring streak on the go. He also leads all SIJHL skaters in playoff scoring with 14 points. ... Fort Frances netminder Ampe has won his last seven starts. ... Wisconsin's Mike Dietrich has points in six straight contests. ... The SIJHL final series is using the two-referee, two-linesman format. This will also be used at the Dudley-Hewitt Cup. ... Games can be viewed online on a pay-per view basis at http://sijhl.neulion.com/sijhl/. ... Live online scoring is also available via Pointstreak through the SIJHL website at www.sijhl.com. ... Wisconsin is in the SIJHL final for a second straight year. ... The Lakers franchise is making their first appearance in the Bill Salonen Cup.... Wisconsin forward Wilson Housley is the son of former NHL standout defenceman Phil Housley. ... Fort Frances head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan won two NCAA hockey championships during his four-year career at Lake Superior State University in the early 1990s. ... To date SIJHL coach of the year Rod Aldoff has led his Wisconsin Wilderness to a 16-5 postseason record. Aldoff is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota-Duluth when he played four seasons for the Bulldogs the same time Strachan was skating for the LSSU Lakers. The duo only played once against each other during their collegiate careers. That came at the 1993 NCAA West Regional in Detroit with Strachan's Lakers winning over Aldoff's Bulldogs 4-3.

 

Leading Scorers:

Player Team GP G A PTS

Byron Katapaytuk FFL 9 8 6 14

Mike Dietrich WIS 8 8 3 11

Chris Belhumeur DRY 9 5 5 10

Tyson Holder DRY 9 5 4 9

Jesse Linner DRY 9 5 4 9

Ryan Lobreau DRY 9 4 5 9

Wilson Housley WIS 9 4 5 9

Ryan Wildman FFL 9 2 7 9

Anthony Calabrese WIS 9 0 9 9

 

Leading Goaltenders:

Goaltender Team GP W L AVG. SV% SO

Tanner Milliron WIS 9 6 2 2.03 .926 1

Tyler Ampe FFL 9 7 1 2.67 .912 0

Marc Nother TBNS 8 4 4 3.62 .877 0

Kim Wildhaber DRY 4 0 3 3.71 .857 0

Dean Shepherdson DRY 8 4 2 3.75 .875 0

SIJHL Finals for the Bill Salonen Cup

No. 1 Wisconsin Wilderness vs. No. 2 Fort Frances Lakers

Fort Frances leads best-of-seven series 1-0

Game 1: Fort Frances 4 Wisconsin 2

Game 2: Monday, April 2 @ Wisconsin 7 p.m. (Sports Complex)

Game 3: Wednesday, April 4 @ Fort Frances 7:30 p.m. (Ice for Kids)

Game 4: Thursday, April 5 @ Fort Frances 7:30 p.m. (Ice for Kids)

Game 5*: Saturday, April 7 @ Wisconsin 7 p.m. (Sports Complex)

Game 6*: Monday, April 9 @ Fort Frances 7:30 p.m. (Ice for Kids)

Game 7*: Wednesday, April 11 @ Wisconsin 7 p.m. (Sports Complex)

*-if necessary

DUDLEY-HEWITT CUP (@ Thunder Bay) Tuesday, April 17 to Saturday, April 21

NOJHL

The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League finals for the Copeland-McNamara Trophy is two games in and the No. 1 seed Soo Thunderbirds used home ice to their advantage to win the opening pair of contests vs. the North Bay Trappers.

Trailing 1-0 late in Game 1 the T-Birds forced overtime with goaltender John Kleinhans on the bench in favour of an extra attacker as Kevin Michelcavage notched the equalizer with 53 seconds remaining in regulation.

That set the stage for Soo captain Micky Sartoretto to bury the game-winner midway through the second OT session.

Game 2 was all Thunderbirds as Sartoretto once again led his club by scoring once and dishing our four assists in the romp over the Trappers.

The series now shifts to North Bay for games 3 and 4 Friday and Saturday. Game time each evening is slated for 7 p.m.

NOJHL PLAYOFF NOTES: Thunderbirds goaltender John Kleinhans is a perfect 9-0 so far in the postseason. He tops all NOJHL netminders in both goals-against average and save percentage at 1.72 and .939 respectively.... Brad Gehl of North Bay continues to lead all NOJHL playoff scorers with 26 points in 14 games, including 13 tallies. He has however been held pointless in the first two games of the finals. ... Gehl and Micky Sartoretto lead all players in game-winning markers with three. ... Eight of the 32 playoff games so far have required overtime to decide a winner. ... North Bay has scored first in 10 of their first 14 postseason contests registering a 7-3 in those match-ups. They are just 1-3 when their opponents light the lamp first. ... The last NOJHL playoff title for North Bay came in 2004-05 when the Skyhawks won for a third straight year. ... The Thunderbirds are 6-0 when Micky Sartoretto has scored at least one goal in the playoffs. ... The T-Birds Matt Amadio has points in eight straight postseason contests. ... The last time the Thunderbirds won the NOJHL playoff championship was back in 2008-09.

NOJHL finals for the Copeland-McNamara Trophy
Soo Thunderbirds vs. North Bay Trappers

Thunderbirds lead best-of-seven series 2-0

Game 1: Thunderbirds 2 Trappers 1 (2OT)

Game 2: Thunderbirds 7 Trappers 1

Game 3: Friday, April 6 @ North Bay 7 p.m.

Game 4: Saturday, April 7 @ North Bay 7 p.m.

Game 5*: Tuesday, April 10 @ Sault Ste. Marie 7:30 p.m.

Game 6*: Thursday, April 12 @ North Bay 7 p.m.

Game 7*: Friday, April 13 @ Sault Ste. Marie 7:30 p.m.

*-if necessary

NOJHL champion advances to Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canada Jr. A Championship April 17-21 @ Thunder Bay, Ont.

Leading Scorers:

Player Team GP G A PTS

Brad Gehl NBT 14 13 13 26

Matthew Salituro NBT 14 8 17 25

Micky Sartoretto STB 9 8 16 24

Jamie Haines SUD 10 13 8 21

Jordan Carroll SUD 11 9 12 21

Nick Esposto SUD 8 6 15 21

Matt Amadio STB 10 5 16 21

Danny Desrochers NBT 13 9 8 17

Brandon Janke NBT 13 7 9 16

Greg Sartoretto SOO 10 6 10 16

 

Leading Goaltenders:

Goaltender Team GP W L AVG SV% SO

John Kleinhans STB 9 9 0 1.72 .939 0

Luis Puig SOO 5 3 2 2.70 .931 1

Mitchell Knight NBT 10 4 3 3.24 .910 0

Carmine Alfano NBT 4 2 1 3.76 .854 0

Jeremy Pominville SUD 5 1 1 4.12 .892 0