A very impressive looking Dudley Hewitt Cup field is almost set—and the biggest horse hasn’t even entered the starting gate.
The confirmed entries include a hometown favourite on a roll, a league rival looking for redemption, and a high-flying squad that has gone a long way to help their community forget their hockey heartbreak.
With the top two ranked teams in the country still battling it out for the fourth and final berth, the April 22-26 tournament at the Ice for Kids Arena to determine the Central Canada Junior ‘A’ hockey crown should have no shortage of sizzle both on the ice and in the stands.
Every horse race needs to be handicapped, so here is one man’s opinion of how things may pan out in the tournament whose champion advances to the Royal Bank Cup in Charlottetown, P.E.I. on May 3-11 (regular-season records in parentheses):
< *c>Borderland Thunder (33-12-5-2)
< *c>SIJHL champs
The Thunder have a multitude of factors in their favour heading into the Dudley Hewitt Cup.
They won eight of nine playoff games to take their first SIJHL title, they are nearly in perfect health, and they will have the roar of what’s sure to be a boisterous crowd at the Ice for Kids Arena to energize them.
The team is playing as well-rounded a game as can be hoped for at this point of the season. The offence, featuring regular-season scoring leader Matt Johnson (68 points), has capable scorers on all four lines.
The defensive corps, meanwhile, has played strong in its own end while also posing a significant threat in the other team’s zone. Team playoff points leader Kurt Hogard, who had three goals and 18 points in 47 regular-season games, has exploded for four goals and 10 points in just nine post-season contests.
The tandem of Chris Shaen and Jay Phillips (58 points in the regular season and 12 in the playoffs) provide even further offensive depth along the blueline.
The goaltending of Dan Hoehne (8-1, 2.44 goals against average) is providing a strong foundation in the Thunder’s end of the ice.
The most impressive part of their efforts so far, though, is the fact the Thunder have maintained their competitive hunger—despite knowing all season long that as hosts of the event, they had an automatic berth to the Dudley Hewitt Cup already sewn up.
Many teams could have used that fact as an excuse to bring a half-hearted effort to the table up to this juncture. But from winning the league’s pre-season “Showcase” tournament here last September to finishing first in the SIJHL in the regular season en route to claiming their first league title, head coach Dave Allison’s troops have shown little in the way of complacency.
If they are to cap their fairytale season, the Thunder will need continued scoring contributions from all four lines against teams with significantly better defensive records than what they are used to seeing in the SIJHL.
They also must avoid the undisciplined penalties that cost them several times throughout the season.
Odds of winning the Dudley Hewitt Cup—5:1
< *c>Thunder Bay KC Bulldogs (31-15-3-3)
< *c>SIJHL runner-up
The Bulldogs are the long shot in this tournament, having the most losses of any team in the event and coming in as the only non-champion, having qualified by virtue of making the SIJHL final because of the Thunder owning the host team berth.
But that doesn’t mean they’re entering the event ready to throw in the towel at a moment’s notice. Thunder Bay finished only four points behind the Thunder in the regular season, recording a 5-6-1 record against the league’s best team during the regular season, and lost three one-goal games while falling to the Thunder 4-1 in the final.
The line of SIJHL regular-season points leader Trevor Karasiewicz (105), Rylan Vesa (79), and Brian Dzijak (78) are a dangerous trio that can break a game open in a moment’s notice.
The three combined for 47 points in 10 playoff games, and finished 1-2-3 in the SIJHL playoff scoring race.
Coach Dave Vescio also has a pillar of strength between the pipes in mid-season acquisition Bill Gerry, who went 11-4-1 in the regular season with the Bulldogs, then posted a remarkable .923 save percentage in Thunder Bay’s playoff run, facing an average of 39 shots per game.
But the Bulldogs were exposed as a one-line team by the Thunder in the SIJHL final. No other forwards stepped up to fill the void after the top line was held in check, and as brilliant as Gerry played, it was too much to ask him to pitch a shutout every game.
A raft of undisciplined penalties at key times also sunk Thunder Bay—and will continue to haunt them if they play the same way in this tournament.
Odds of winning the Dudley Hewitt Cup—20:1.
< *c>North Bay Skyhawks (39-7-0-2)
< *c>NOJHL champs
The Skyhawks restored the hockey pride of their community after the Centennials franchise chased greener Ontario Hockey League pastures in Saginaw, Mich. last year.
North Bay scored nearly six goals per game in the regular season while giving up 50 total goals less than any other squad in the Northern Ontario Junior ‘A’ Hockey League.
They cruised through the playoffs with a 12-1 record, including disposing of the Sault Ste. Marie Junior Greyhounds in five games in the NOJHL final that wrapped up Sunday night.
That’s no minor accomplishment, considering the Greyhounds were good enough to knock off the defending seven-time NOJHL champion Rayside Balfour Sabrecats in the semi-finals.
Up front, head coach/general manager Guy Blanchard’s group is led by Jerome Briere, who had 89 points in just 39 regular-season games, and was named the NOJHL playoff MVP after pacing all scorers with 36 points in 13 post-season contests.
Briere has plenty of support in Sylvain Houle (79 points in 46 regular-season games), Nathan Daly (67 in 44 games played), and Steve Filion (45 in 21).
“We’ve got four lines that can chip in to do the scoring,” said Blanchard. “You need that when you’re facing possibly five game in five nights like at the Dudley Hewitt Cup.”
The Skyhawks, who will host next year’s Dudley Hewitt Cup, also possess the league’s best goaltending duo in Luke Oshell (20-6 in the regular season, with a 2.23 GAA and .923 save percentage) and Marty Perreault (19-3, 2.26, .913).
“Both goalies have played well,” said Blanchard, who has stuck with a platoon system throughout the season and the playoffs with his netminders—and will continue to do so.
“If one guy had stepped up to take the starter’s job, then he would have got it. But both of them have stepped up. No one has deserved not to play.”
This is a team that can both put the puck in the net and keep it out at an equally high calibre.
Odds of winning the Dudley Hewitt Cup—3:1.
< *c>Wellington Dukes (47-1-1)
The only representative not decided as of press time this week was from the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League, where the two top-ranked teams in Canada were to play Game 6 of the OPJHL final last night—with the No. 1-ranked Dukes leading 3-2.
Wellington has been dominant this year, scoring 298 goals in the regular season while surrendering only 87—a mere 1.78 per game. Their offence is spread throughout the lineup, with Ryan Woodward (89 points in 48 regular-season games), Brent Varty (75 in 48 games), and Warren Cooper (team-high 30 points in 20 playoff games through first four rounds) the brightest stars.
It’s in net where the Dukes are even more intimidating. Starter Dayne Davis went 22-1 and set a Canadian Junior ‘A’ Hockey League record with a 1.40 goals against average during the regular campaign.
And all back-up netminder Chris Rowan did was go 25-0-1 with a 2.12 goals against average—second in the league behind Davis.
The Tigers are no slouches, either, to do what they did in a league which boasts five of the top 10 ranked teams in the country. Their main offensive weapon is Scott Goheen, who lead with 85 points in 49 regular-season games.
But the squad’s balance is evident in the fact they had nine other players score 40 points or more, including Matt Christie (48), Jamie Minchella (46), Steve Mignardi (45) and Justin Olden (45).
Goalie Chris Whitley also has been rock solid, posting a 1.84 goals against average, but currently is suspended for five games after intentionally shooting the puck over the glass during a stoppage in play during Game 3 of the OPJHL final.
Either team that comes out of this pairing will be the least rested, but still the most dangerous.
Odds of winning the Dudley Hewitt Cup—2:1.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
