Soo Eagles fly over .500
It took them 41 games into this ’25-26 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season schedule just to reach the .500 mark. And finally — at the 42 game mark — the Soo Eagles soared over the .500 level with a recent road triumph over the Blind River Beavers.
A record of 20-19-3 after 42 games not only has the Eagles in firm possession of seventh place but within range of the sixth seed Espanola Paper Kings among the 11 teams of the NOJHL. (All NOJHL teams play a 52 game regular season schedule.)
To be sure, it was a brutal start to the ’25-26 campaign for the Eagles, who were winless with a record of 0-8-1 after nine games. But slowly but surely the Eagles started to turn their fortunes around. Second year head coach Jeremy Rebek managed to keep the surroundings positive and venerable general manager Bruno Bragagnolo brought in reinforcements.
Balance throughout the lineup has been a strength for the Eagles.
Three forwards — Lucas Caulfield, Anden Marceau and Nolan Nemecek — all have more than 40 points. Forward Logan Stawizynski and defenseman Micah Seery are well above the 30 point mark. Forward Alex Povorozniouk has 29 points in just 29 games while forward Coulson Bell and defenseman Gabriel Clark are at the 20 point mark. Then there is forward Jacob Peterson who has 10 goals in just 14 games since joining the Eagles from the United States Premier Hockey League.
And between the pipes, seasoned starter Jace Knoerle and rookie backup Dalton Hoornstra have given the Eagles dependable goaltending.
In summation, aforementioned Eagles’ general manager Bruno Bragagnolo gave kudos to the team’s recovery from the bad start to this season to both the coaches and players.
“I give credit to the coaching staff for keeping the boys focused on getting better and not panicking about the rough start. The players all stayed with it and found a way to get it going in the right direction,” Bragagnolo relayed to Hockey News North.