He got his trapper on almost everything else sent his way this past season so it was little surprise goalie Dan Hoehne grabbed the highest accolade available on the Borderland Thunder.
The Duluth, Mn. native skated away with the Jim Witherspoon Memorial Trophy as the team’s Most Valuable Player during the Thunder’s annual awards banquet Saturday at the Couchiching Recreation Centre.
Hoehne’s arrival on the scene in late October brought much-needed stabilization to the eventual SIJHL champs, who had tried five different goalies between the pipes in the first five weeks of the season.
The 20-year-old went on to post league highs in wins (17) and goals against average (2.60), and was beaten only once in nine starts in the Thunder’s playoff drive to their first title.
Josh McAndrew, who finished sixth in team scoring (35 points) while playing in every game in the regular season, nabbed Rookie of the Year honours while Kurt Hogard, who led the team in playoff scoring (10 points), was named Most Improved.
Ian Lockman, who posted a team-high 251 penalty minutes, was voted Most Popular Player, with blueliners Chris Shaen (31 points) and Jay Phillips (27 points) sharing the Best Defenceman award.
Thunder captain Josh Baxter capped off his junior career by being named Most Dedicated while Matt Johnson was recognized as his team’s top scorer.
Johnson’s 68 points were 23 more than second-place finishers A.J. Tucker and Kyle Prystupa. Johnson also was the team’s leading sniper with 24 goals.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
