Host Trenton Golden Hawks and respective league champion Georgetown Raiders (OJHL), Powassan Voodoos (NOJHL) and Dryden GM Ice Dogs (SIJHL) to vie for Central Canadian Jr. A title and berth into RBC Cup
CALGARY, Alta. – Sports– The second of three Canadian Junior Hockey League regional championships begins Tuesday in Trenton, Ont., as game action commences at the Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Jr. A Championship.
This four-team event will feature the host and defending Dudley-Hewitt Cup champion Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL) taking on the respective league champion Georgetown Raiders (OJHL), Powassan Voodoos (NOJHL) and Dryden GM Ice Dogs (SIJHL) as they vie for the Central Canadian Jr. A title and a berth into RBC Cup, which goes May 13-21 in nearby Cobourg, Ont.
Here’s a look at the four competing teams:
TRENTON GOLDEN HAWKS (HOST-OJHL) – Set to defend the Dudley-Hewitt Cup they won last year in Kirkland Lake, Ont., the Golden Hawks will look to secure their second consecutive Central Canadian Jr. A crown.
Trenton advanced all the way to the OJHL’s Buckland Trophy finals before being edged 1-0 by Georgetown in Game 7 of that league final.
Playoff competition saw Trenton post a 15-6 record while posting series triumphs over the Newmarket Hurricanes, Stouffville Spirit and the RBC Cup-host Cobourg Cougars before falling in seven to the Raiders.
The Golden Hawks boasted the second-best record in the OJHL’s regular season with a 42-9-2-1 mark and 87 points and were tabbed 10th in the last CJHL rankings on the campaign.
A well-balanced offensive attack saw four members of the club finish the regular season with over 50 points, led by Liam Morgan’s 62 and Lucas Brown’s 60.
Morgan also paced the Golden Hawks in playoff numbers with 21 followed by Brown’s 20.
Joining them were fellow 50-plus-point-men Jeremy Pullar and Jordan Chard, who accumulated 55 and 53 respectively.
Postseason numbers saw affiliate Anthony Sorrentino finish third on the squad with 16 points while Pullara was right behind with 15.
Leading the way in points among defencemen was the duo of Brandon Marinelli (36pts) and Louis DiMatteo (35pts).
Marinelli and Josh Allan paced the club’s D-corps in the playoffs with 14 points apiece.
Chris Janzen led all OJHL netminders in playoff victories with 12 and was also tops in average at 1.61 and second in save percentage at .945.
Janzen also tacked on an OJHL-leading 33 wins in the regular season and was third in average at 1.98 and fourth overall with a .927 save mark.
GOLDEN HAWKS’ HEAD COACH/GM: Jerome Dupont
GEORGETOWN RAIDERS (OJHL) – Winning their first-ever OJHL championship, the Raiders boasted a solid 16-5 record in the playoffs that featured series wins over the Buffalo Jr. Sabres, Toronto Jr. Canadiens and Oakville Blades before rallying to claim the league championship over Trenton after posting a 5-0 shutout in Game 6 and a narrow 1-0 decision in the finale.
En route to the title, Georgetown finished first overall in the OJHL’s regular season with 94 points and a 45-5-2-2 record. They were also second in the final CJHL Top 20 rankings of the season.
Pacing the Raiders offensively was OJHL regular season and playoff MVP Jack Jacome.
He led the league in offensive production with 91 points on 34 tallies and 57 helpers. Jacome also notched 10 game-winners.
Next on the squad was Josh Dickinson, who was over a point-per-game, with 66 in 52 outings, including 25 goals.
The playoffs had Jacome and Dickinson finish one-two in scoring at 24 and 22 while Keegan Blasby tied for fourth overall with 20.
Austin Cho was the top point getter for Georgetown among defencemen in the regular season with 43 points, followed by Jacob Payette’s 39.
Payette led the way in the playoffs with 13 points while Cho picked up 10.
Stepping in to start Games 6 & 7 vs. the Golden Hawks, the Raiders’ Nicholas Latinovich was brilliant posting back-to-back shutouts to help Georgetown capture their initial OJHL championship.
In eight playoff appearances, Latinovich went 7-0, with a league-best 1.30 goals-against average and a .949 save mark, which topped all OJHL goalkeepers that saw a minimum of 400 minutes of playing time.
The club’s other netminder in Josh Astorio was 9-6 in the postseason with a 2.32 average and a .926 save percentage.
Regular season play saw Astorio go 28-3-2 to win OJHL top goaltender honours while recording a 1.93 GAA and a .936 SV%.
Latinovich meanwhile was 10-3 in 13 appearances and had a 1.59 average and a .946 save percentage.
RAIDERS’ HEAD COACH/GM: Greg Walters
POWASSAN VOODOOS (NOJHL) – In just their third year of operation, the Voodoos soared to great heights during the course of the 2016-17 NOJHL campaign as they club claimed both league regular season and playoff crowns while boasting only one 1996-born player on their roster.
They finished first overall in the 12-team NOJHL during the course of the regular season boasting a league-best 95 points on a 46-7-2-1 record. They were also slotted ninth in the final CJHL Top 20 rankings.
Powassan then steamrolled the competition in the NOJHL playoffs, skating to 12 consecutive victories in as many games, to capture their initial Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy championship, including a sweep of the Blind River Beavers in the final.
Pacing the Voodoos offensively during the playoffs was Gary Mantz as the 19-year-old from Waterloo, Ont., picked up at least one point in all 12 postseason contests for his squad amassing 24 points in all on a dozen goals and as many assists.
His two points-per-game average led all NOJHL skaters and placed him second overall in offensive production.
A pair of first-year forwards, in Parker Bowman and Tyson Gilmour, was next on the squad and the league in playoff numbers with 20 points apiece. Four of the 11 goals Bowman scored were game-winners, which led the league as he went on to be named NOJHL playoff MVP.
Regular season play saw Andy Baker lead the NOJHL in goals with 45 and finish fourth in scoring with 75 points in 53 games.
A well-balanced defensive corps saw the Voodoos place four players among the top six in NOJHL scoring among defencemen in the postseason.
The duo of Bo Peltier and Eric Nagy tied for third in offensive numbers with eight each while teammates Dayton Murray and Justin Schebel were right behind with seven points apiece.
Murray ended up second overall in scoring among all league D-men during the regular season totalling 48 points in 52 games with his 16 goals pacing all NOJHL blueliners as did his 11 power play markers.
NOJHL MVP and Voodoos’ netminder Nate McDonald was unbeatable in his club’s run to the league title.
He went a perfect 12-0 and led the NOJHL in both goals-against average and save percentage at 1.84 and .933 respectively. McDonald also posted one full shutout and played all but two and a half minutes of another.
In regular season play, McDonald registered a league-best 30 wins and also finished on top in average at 2.16. He was third in save percentage at .923 and tied for second in shutouts with three.
VOODOOS’ HEAD COACH: Scott Wray; GM: Chris Dawson
DRYDEN GM ICE DOGS (SIJHL) – Representing the SIJHL is the Bill Salonen Cup champion Dryden GM Ice Dogs.
Like Powassan, Dryden too was unbeaten in their league postseason sweeping the three-time defending title holders, the Fort Frances Lakers, in semifinal play before going on to do likewise to the English River Miners.
The GM Ice Dogs were also first overall in the regular season posting a franchise-record 45 wins and 94 points.
Including the playoffs and regular season, Dryden has won 20 games in a row having not lost since back on Feb. 10.
Led by SIJHL regular season and playoff MVP Braeden Allkins, the GM Ice Dogs were among the elite in SIJHL offensive numbers.
Allkins had a league-best 15 points in eight playoff games on eight goals and seven assists. He also topped all skaters in the regular season with a team-record 97 points that featured a club franchise-best 53 goals, which was also the second most of any player in the 132-team Canadian Junior Hockey League.
Jacen Bracko and Braedyn Aubin were next on the squad in regular season numbers with 81 and 80 points respectively.
Playoff action saw Aubin pick up nine points and Bracko six.
Team captain Derek McPhail was second in SIJHL postseason numbers with 14 points. Two of his six tallies were the deciding markers in each of the two series finales the GM Ice Dogs played.
Nic Noseworthy led all Dryden D-men in scoring with 10 points. He had 65 points in the regular season, but also saw time at forward.
Tristan Knott registered 37 points on the back end while Cory Dennis had 34.
The SIJHL’s Top Goaltender Award recipient in Patrick Zubick led all league netminders in both the regular season and playoffs.
In 37 combined games he went 29-4-3. Postseason play saw him provide a 1.80 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage and a 2.30 GAA and .931 save mark during the regular campaign.
Of note, Dryden will host next year’s Dudley-Hewitt Cup.
GM ICE DOGS HEAD COACH/GM: Kurt Walsten
ON THE AIR: The long-time voice of the Dryden GM Ice Dogs, Mike Ebbeling, will once again have the call of all the club’s games at the Dudley-Hewitt Cup via CKDR.net.
ONLINE VIEWING: All Dudley-Hewitt Cup contests will be streamed live online and on demand at HockeyTV.com.
WEBSITE: Live online scoring, schedules, results, statistics and news of all games can be found at the official event website at centralcanadianchampionship.com.
DUDLEY-HEWITT CUP
All games at Duncan McDonald Memorial Community Gardens
Trenton, Ont.
Competing teams
Trenton Golden Hawks (Host-OJHL)
Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)
Powassan Voodoos (NOJHL)
Dryden GM Ice Dogs (SIJHL)
Game schedule
All start times local
Tuesday, May 2
Dryden vs. Georgetown 2:30 p.m.
Powassan vs. Trenton 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 3
Powassan vs. Dryden 2:30 p.m.
Trenton vs. Georgetown 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 4
Georgetown vs. Powassan 2:30 p.m.
Dryden vs. Trenton 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 5
Semifinal: 3rd Round Robin vs. 2nd Round Robin 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 6
Final: Semifinal Winner vs. 1st Round Robin 7:30 p.m.
