All posts by Randy Russon
Sault College is playing games
They were celebrated national champions in their first season as the only Canadian men’s team in the entire American Collegiate Hockey Association. And the Sault College Cougars were poised for a title run at a second straight championship when COVID-19 abruptly ended the hockey season just before the national tournament in the spring of 2020.
…[read more]CJHL rankings are a nice boost
There are those who do not think that being mentioned in the weekly rankings of the coast to coast Canadian Jr. Hockey League is worth all that much. But I beg to differ.
…[read more]Kam River bolsters back end
As they contend for the lead in the Superior International Jr. Hockey League, the Kam River Fighting Walleye has added another seasoned skater to its corps of defensemen.
…[read more]T-Birds add third goalie
Free agent goalie Nolan Chartrand has signed with the Soo Thunderbirds after being surprisingly released by the Elliot Lake Red Wings. Chartrand, who was one of four goalies in Elliot Lake, joins veteran Noah Zeppa and rookie Noah Metivier on the Soo net roster.
…[read more]Dog days of November
Dryden Ice Dogs of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League have taken to the road and will play away until the end of the month.
…[read more]Disano regaining net form
It has been a recent return to the fine form that he showed as a rookie for Blind River Beavers goalie Gavin Disano.
…[read more]Shake and bake in Red Lake
There is a new leader atop the board of the hotly contested Superior International Jr. Hockey League. Led by 33-year old general manager and coach Geoff Walker, the nationally ranked Red Lake Miners have drilled their way to first place in the seven team SIJHL.
…[read more]French River on a playoff flow
They have never made the playoffs since entering the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League in 2015. Their best full season was the 2018-2019 campaign when they won a mere 14 of 56 games. But the French River Rapids appear to be on a playoff mission for this 2021-2022 season.
…[read more]Kam River surges into second
Make that six successive wins. And with it, a move into second place in the Superior International Jr. Hockey League standings for the surging Kam River Fighting Walleye.
…[read more]All about Ryan Vendramin
Good kids generally come from good families. And this is a good kid from a good family. A young man who went from celebrated hockey star and academic standout at Sault College to a rookie police officer who was seriously injured in the line of duty, Ryan Vendramin was given due recognition on a night in his honour.
…[read more]103 shots … but only 3 goals
Austin Madge of the Kam River Fighting Walleye and Jordan Belley of the Dryden Ice Dogs had their net worth on display on Friday night at NorWest Arena.
…[read more]Elliot Lake adds big Banks
A cash exchange with the Renfrew Wolves of the Central Canada Hockey League has yielded a big defenseman for the Elliot Lake Red Wings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]On the Express via the Rock
Yan Bessette is on his way to Espanola from Timmins in a Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League trade that has been confirmed by Hockey News North.
…[read more]Dogs days week for Dryden
Kurt Walsten is looking forward to the showdown of playing three games in as many nights against two of the top teams in the Superior International Jr. Hockey League.
Walsten, the no nonsense, 53-year old head coach of the Dryden Ice Dogs, is back with the SIJHL team after missing several games due to health issues.
…[read more]T-Birds love the local lads
It has carried on as a commitment to a local players tradition that was initially established when the Soo Thunderbirds joined the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League as a new team in 1999 under franchise founder Sam Biasucci.
…[read more]Vendramin recognition night
Scoring machine Ryan Vendramin will be honoured by the Sault College Cougars on Friday night when the men begin the 2021-2022 season with a home game against Trine University. Game time is 7:30 at Rankin Arena with opening ceremonies slated to begin at 7:00.
…[read more]Hoover a mover to the Cubs
Sudbury Cubs of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have made a blue chip addition to their blue line by virtue of the development assignment of 2004 birth year defenseman Joshua Hoover via the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League.
…[read more]SIJHL skates into November
A medley of marquee match-ups are on the mark for this week in the closely contested Superior International Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]Bright lights of the North
Teams of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are able to recruit players from across Canada and into the United States. Still, there are in the neighbourhood of 85 homegrown players from northern Ontario and northern Michigan who are a part of the 12 teams of the NOJHL.
…[read more]Elliot Lake to Thunder Bay
Hayden Cattani is back home in Thunder Bay. The 2002 birth year forward has returned to his home town by virtue of a league to league trade.
…[read more]Race for third place on pace
It is a fresh rivalry that figures to become more furious as the 2021-2022 season progresses. Kam River Fighting Walleye is in its first full season as members of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League while the Dryden Ice Dogs are a flagship franchise dating back to the SIJHL’s inception in 2001.
…[read more]Cubs are bearing down
Sudbury Cubs of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have climbed back on even ground following a cold snap.
…[read more]Big game for Nick Porco
Maybe this is what the big kid needed to get going. Sault Ste. Marie product Nick Porco had a breakout game for the Barrie Colts on Thursday.
…[read more]Coaches corner of the NOJHL
Leagues that are well run at the top tend to attract good coaches and managers as an extension of quality programs. And the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League certainly fits into that type of group categorization.
…[read more]Surging Walleye hits the road
Fresh from the home waters of a recent two game sweep of the Wisconsin Lumberjacks, coach Matt Valley and the Kam River Fighting Walleye will board the bus for a pair of Superior International Jr. Hockey League road tests this weekend.
…[read more]Putting up points in Dryden
Tristan Takats got a late start to the 2021-2022 season for the Dryden Ice Dogs of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]Showdown at the Mac
It has the makings of a stare down, a match between arch-rival teams who have first place aspirations on the East side of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]Great Scot! What a Walleye!
From the Kam River Fighting Walleye of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League to the world stage. Hailing from Ayr, Scotland, Kam River defenceman Calum McGill has been named to the Great Britain under 20 world junior hockey team.
…[read more]Hearst in a burst for first
Hometown coach Marc-Alain Begin and the Hearst Lumberjacks are among the beasts of the East side of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
Winners of nine of its past 10 games, Hearst has burst to within two points of first place in the NOJHL East with a record of 9-2-1.
…[read more]All even on the Express lane
A record of 4-0-1 over its past five outings has brought the Espanola Express to the .500 level with a 7-7-1 mark after 15 games of the 2021-2022 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League season.
…[read more]Up and down the Superior
Here and there in the Superior International Jr. Hockey League as the regular season schedule heads toward the end of October.
…[read more]Kam River flows into third
A weekend clean-up of the visiting Wisconsin Lumberjacks has lifted the Kam River Fighting Walleye into third place in the Superior International Jr. Hockey League standings.
…[read more]Home sweet home, at last
Finally, the Elliot Lake Red Wings have their first home ice victory at Centennial Arena. Matthew Shulist notched his first three Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League goals on Friday to propel the Red Wings to a 5-2 triumph over the Blind River Beavers.
…[read more]Red Lake in pursuit of first
A race for first place in the Superior International Jr. Hockey League is shaping up between the Thunder Bay North Stars and the surging Red Lake Miners.
…[read more]Rock on an East side roll
Rookie coach Brandon Perry and the Timmins Rock are on a roll through 10 games of the 2021-2022 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League season.
…[read more]JDM, Maciuk, make it happen
David Maciuk has been involved in hockey since he was a youngster growing up in Sault Ste. Marie in the mid 1950s and later playing for the Soo Greyhounds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League and then the Ontario Hockey League.
Now living in Chicago and the president and founder of JDM Sports Management, Maciuk has grown his firm into one of North America’s top advisory agencies with over 100 Division 1, National Collegiate Athletic Association commitments during the past four years alone.
…[read more]First for Fort Frances
They lost their first six games of the season and were outscored 35-9 in the process. But the Fort Frances Lakers, with career coach and native son Dave Allison at the helm, scored their first win of the 2021-2022 Superior International Jr. Hockey League season on Wednesday.
…[read more]Cochrane, Red Lake transfer
A three player trade between the Cochrane Crunch of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League and the Red Lake Miners of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League has been finalized.
…[read more]Eagle to air Blue Devils
Local radio station Eagle 95.1 will broadcast all games of the Sault High Blue Devils hockey team for the 2021-2022 season, Hockey News North has confirmed. The games can also be heard live on line via http://www.eagleradio951.com
…[read more]Wild West and the Express
A mere four points is all that separates the top five teams of the six members who comprise the West Division of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. Indeed, the upstart, fifth place Espanola Express collected five of a possible six points last week to move within four points of the lead in the NOJHL’s version of the Wild West.
…[read more]Mangone makes his mark
It didn’t take Sault Ste. Marie product Calem Mangone very long to begin a statistical history with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League.
A rookie forward with a 2004 birth date, Mangone earned an assist in his first regular season game in the OHL and then tallied his initial goal in a Saginaw uniform in his second career match as the Spirit split a two game opening weekend set with the visiting Erie Otters.
…[read more]Eagles set to Pullar together
To be sure, the Michigan Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are looking forward to the early part of November when the United States will once again allow non essential travel from Canada.
…[read more]All even on the Kam River
A record of 2-2-1 through five outings for the Kam River Fighting Walleye is more notable considering the Superior International Jr. Hockey League team has played its last four games far away from home.
…[read more]David Campbell is a Duke
Local product David Campbell is on his way to the Wellington Dukes of the Ontario Jr. Hockey League via the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League and the North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League.
…[read more]Life of Riley in T-Bay
Sault College Cougars recruit Trennis Riley was impressive in stopping 28 of 30 shots for a .933 save percentage in his Superior International Jr. Hockey League debut.
But despite allowing just two goals, the Thunder Bay North Stars rookie goalie was tagged with the loss in his first SIJHL start as opposing net minder Kyler Lowden of the visiting Wisconsin Lumberjacks stopped all 38 shots he faced in posting a shutout victory on Friday.
…[read more]Walleye playing catch up
Having played just three regular season games to date — fewest among the seven teams of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League — the Kam River Fighting Walleye is in Dryden this weekend for a pair of road tilts versus the Ice Dogs.
…[read more]Hounds deal overage skater
Soo Greyhounds have settled their overage situation and are now down to the maximum three 20-year old players.
…[read more]Clarke clicking for Wings
Dayton Clarke is on a goal scoring spin for the Elliot Lake Red Wings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]