Press Release
The SIJHL announced Monday that Brock Aiken of the Thunder Bay North Stars earned the league’s Top Goaltender Award for the 2018-19 season.
Aiken picked up the honour over fellow nominees Zach Willms (Red Lake Miners) and Bailey Schmitz (Thief River Falls Norskies).
The winner was determined in voting completed by each of the SIJHL’s six clubs.
Aiken, a 20-year-old Thunder Bay native, led all SIJHL netminders in GAA (2.12), save percentage (.931) and shutouts (eight) during the course of the campaign, while posting an impressive 23-2-1-0 overall record.
With the honour, Aiken will serve as the SIJHL’s nominee for the CJHL’s Top Goaltender honour.
Of note, Aiken’s league-best eight shutouts were just two off the SIJHL single-season record of 10 set by another Top Goaltender Award honouree, in current Buffalo Sabres’ netminder Carter Hutton.
During the 2005-06 season, Hutton helped lead the North Stars to a Bill Salonen Cup crown, a Dudley-Hewitt Cup title, and a semi-final berth at the Canadian National Jr. ‘A’ Championship.
On Friday, the SIJHL announced Kyle Auger of the North Stars won the Top Defenceman Award for the 2018-19 season.
Auger was a unanimous selection in voting completed by each of the SIJHL’s six clubs to earn the accolades over fellow finalists Dante Tisi (Miners) and Connor Bowey (Norskies).
The 20-year-old Thunder Bay product had a tremendous campaign in leading all SIJHL defencemen in goals (33), assists (69), points (102), game-winning goals (eight), power play tallies (eight), and man-advantage assists (19).
Auger’s overall point total also established a league record for the most in a single-season by a blueliner.
He becomes just the third North Stars’ defenceman in SIJHL history to garner Top ‘D’ laurels.
Jordan Smith earned the honours in 2006-07 while Ryan Baird claimed back-to-back awards in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
Last Thursday, the SIJHL announced that Bryce Young Miners had been unanimously selected its Rookie of the Year for the 2018-19 season, in balloting completed by each of its six clubs.
Young earned honour over fellow nominees, Rayman Bassi (Dryden GM Ice Dogs) and Bryce Johnson (Norskies).
As the first Miners’ player to ever receive the accolades, the now 19-year-old The Pas, Man., native had a tremendous first season in the SIJHL in notching the second-most goals in a single campaign in league history, with 60, while dishing out 41 assists for 101 points.
Young also topped all SIJHL skaters in both power play and short-handed tallies with 15 and seven, respectively, and chipped in with five game-winning markers.
He now will serve as the SIJHL’s nominee for the CJHL’s Top Rookie honour for 2018-19.
And last Monday (March 25), the SIJHL that Stratton Pickett of Miners has been named its Best Defensive Forward award recipient for the 2018-19 campaign.
The 20-year-old, who hails from Gem, Alta., edged out fellow nominees Trey Palermo (Ice Dogs) and Jacob Brown (North Stars) in voting completed by each of the SIJHL’s six clubs.
In 51 games for Red Lake this season, Pickett–an assistant captain with the team–registered a career single-season-high 49 points on 24 tallies and 25 assists while also contributing a solid defensive role for the Miners in going up against some of the top players in the league.
He also notched three short-handed goals for the club and aided in Red Lake posting the second-best penalty kill ratio in the SIJHL at 83.9 percent.
Pickett also became the first Miners’ player ever to achieve this honour.
