CALGARY, Alta. – As the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) hits mid-December, a look around its nine-member leagues, you’ll find some quality numbers being posted goaltenders across the nation.
Over in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Fort McMurray Oil Barons netminder Gabe Gratton currently sports the best goals-against average in the CJHL with a stingy 1.46 mark, among those who have seen 500, or more, minutes of game action so far this season.
In his first full season in the AJHL, 18-year-old Fort McMurray product has a solid 13-2-0 record along with an equally stellar .943 save percentage.
Meanwhile, in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), a trio of tenders there sit second through fourth, in the country in terms of GAA.
Slotted second in average is Christian Trianni of the Toronto Jr. Canadiens.
The 19-year-old stopper, who hails from Stouffville, Ont., enters play this week with a crisp goals-against average of 1.60.
Behind him is the North York Rangers OJHL-duo of Hardy Westman and James Grey.
They sit with averages of 1.74 and 1.77 respectively and have combined for five shutouts to date.
Here’s a glance at the Top 5 league-by-league goals-against average leaders across the CJHL:
| CJHL League-by-League: Goals-against average leaders (As of Dec. 14/21) |
||||||||
| Minimum 500 minutes played | ||||||||
| AJHL | ||||||||
| GOALTENDER | TEAM | GP | W | L | OT/SL | AVG. | SV% | SO |
| Gabe Gratton | Fort McMurray Oil Barons | 15 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 1.46 | .943 | 1 |
| Ethan Barwick | Brooks Bandits | 22 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1.81 | .915 | 2 |
| Eric Ward | Drumheller Dragons | 20 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 2.27 | .909 | 1 |
| Joshua Nadler | Fort McMurray Oil Barons | 19 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 2.52 | .906 | 1 |
| Jackson Berry | Drayton Valley Thunder | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 2.61 | .925 | 1 |
| SJHL | ||||||||
| GOALTENDER | TEAM | GP | W | L | OT/SL | AVG. | SV% | SO |
| Boston Bilous | Estevan Bruins | 23 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 1.83 | .935 | 4 |
| Kael DePape | Yorkton Terriers | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2.06 | .926 | 3 |
| Rayce Ramsay | Humboldt Broncos | 29 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 2.23 | .925 | 1 |
| Cal Schell | Flin Flon Bombers | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 2.36 | .923 | 4 |
| James Venne | Melfort Mustangs | 14 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2.52 | .897 | 1 |
| MJHL | ||||||||
| GOALTENDER | TEAM | GP | W | L | OT/SL | AVG. | SV% | SO |
| Carson Cherepak | Dauphin Kings | 23 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 1.99 | .927 | 4 |
| Will Hambley | Steinbach Pistons | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2.16 | .922 | 2 |
| Dawson Green | Winnipeg Blues | 22 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 2.32 | .927 | 2 |
| Steven Bacovsky | OCN Blizzard | 14 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2.47 | .930 | 1 |
| Simon Harkness | Steinbach Pistons | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 2.86 | .899 | 1 |
| SIJHL | ||||||||
| GOALTENDER | TEAM | GP | W | L | OT/SL | AVG. | SV% | SO |
| Austin Madge | Kam River Fighting Walleye | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1.89 | .945 | 3 |
| Kiev Kineshanko | Red Lake Miners | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2.08 | .942 | 1 |
| Eric Vanska | Kam River Fighting Walleye | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2.31 | .928 | 1 |
| Jordan Smith | Thunder Bay North Stars | 12 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2.38 | .936 | 3 |
| Jordan Belley | Dryden GM Ice Dogs | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 2.42 | .930 | 2 |
| NOJHL | ||||||||
| GOALTENDER | TEAM | GP | W | L | OT/SL | AVG. | SV% | SO |
| Ryan Gilmore | Soo Eagles | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2.23 | .937 | 2 |
| Noah Metivier | Soo Thunderbirds | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 2.26 | .917 | 2 |
| Gavin McCarthy | Timmins Rock | 23 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 2.42 | .910 | 1 |
| Joel Rainville | Greater Sudbury Cubs | 16 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2.55 | .926 | 2 |
| Alex Bugeja | Powassan Voodoos | 23 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 2.81 | .914 | 1 |
| OJHL | ||||||||
| GOALTENDER | TEAM | GP | W | L | OT/SL | AVG. | SV% | SO |
| Christian Trianni | Toronto Jr. Canadiens | 15 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1.60 | .943 | 2 |
| Hardy Westman | North York Rangers | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.74 | .933 | 3 |
| James Gray | North York Rangers | 17 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 1.77 | .937 | 2 |
| Zachary Roy | Pickering Panthers | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2.21 | .936 | 2 |
| Nolan Boyd | Aurora Tigers | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2.22 | .920 | 0 |
| CCHL | ||||||||
| GOALTENDER | TEAM | GP | W | L | OT/SL | AVG. | SV% | SO |
| Max Donoso | Hawkesbury Hawks | 14 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1.92 | .931 | 1 |
| William Desmarais | Ottawa Jr. A Senators | 15 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2.09 | .928 | 2 |
| Will Craig | Renfrew Wolves | 17 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 2.13 | .935 | 2 |
| Brandon Abbott | Brockville Braves | 14 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.44 | .915 | 0 |
| Tyler Laureault | Kemptville 73’s | 19 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 2.47 | .913 | 0 |
| LHJAAAQ | ||||||||
| GOALTENDER | TEAM | GP | W | L | OT/SL | AVG. | SV% | SO |
| Frederic Duteau-Labonte | Collège Français de Longueuil | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2.40 | .905 | 2 |
| Mathis Lacroix-Goulet | Collège Français de Longueuil | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2.71 | .892 | 4 |
| Vincent Lajoie | Panthères de St-Jérôme | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2.90 | .898 | 1 |
| William Gagné | Condors du Cégep Beauce-Appalaches | 19 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 3.37 | .897 | 0 |
| Jonathan Labrie | L’Everest Côte-du-Sud | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 3.39 | .893 | 1 |
| MHL | ||||||||
| GOALTENDER | TEAM | GP | W | L | OT/SL | AVG. | SV% | SO |
| Mitchell Dudar | Amherst Ramblers | 16 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2.19 | .933 | 0 |
| A.J. DiChiara | Yarmouth Jr. A Mariners | 14 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.27 | .914 | 3 |
| Nicholas Sheehan | Edmundston Blizzard | 11 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2.38 | .920 | 2 |
| Jacob Leblanc | Summerside Western Capitals | 13 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2.45 | .901 | 0 |
| Justin Bourque | Valley Wildcats | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2.51 | .936 | 1 |
Photo credit: Fort McMurray Oil Barons/AJHL