All posts by Randy Russon
Flint Firebirds on the brink
Unable to take advantage of a pair of home games, Flint Firebirds are on the brink of elimination in their first round Ontario Hockey League playoff series with Soo Greyhounds. …[read more]
Soo Eagles v. BR Beavers
Separated by two miles of International Bridge and about 90 miles of highway, a pair of upstart teams will face off for West Division bragging rights within the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Kap looking for new coach
Pat Millette has opted not to return to the Kapuskasing Flyers of the Great North Midget Hockey League as their head coach for the 2017-2018 season. …[read more]
Hockey night in Hamilton
The national television lights of Sportsnet will shine on Hamilton tonight when the Bulldogs play host to the Kingston Frontenacs in Game 4 of their Ontario Hockey League Eastern Conference playoff series. …[read more]
Kings of upcoming OHL draft
Nick Porco. Thomas Harley. Nathan Staois. Three players from the Vaughan Kings minor midgets who could well be selected in the first round of the 2017 Ontario Hockey League draft. …[read more]
Beavers to face Eagles
Blind River Beavers have won a playoff series for only the second time since joining the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League in 1999. …[read more]
Back in Wolves country
Being in Sudbury for a playoff matchup as head coach of the Oshawa Generals is a homecoming of sorts for Bobby Jones. …[read more]
The mouth runneth over
High-scoring forward Ryan Moore may have let an unfortunate slip of the tongue get in the way of a possible playoff upset for the Flint Firebirds. …[read more]
Home ice shifts to Flint
Flint Firebirds have seized home-ice advantage from Soo Greyhounds with the opportunity to take control of the first-round, Ontario Hockey League playoff series. …[read more]
One game, winner-take-all
A closely-contested Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League playoff series featuring four straight one-goal games is headed to a seventh-and-deciding match. …[read more]
Canadian Eagles fly high
At one time or another over the past few years, Nick Trecroce, Jake Palmerio and Carmen Scarfone all had aspirations of playing for their hometown, Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League team. …[read more]
Fired-up Flint fires back
Seventh-seeded Flint Firebirds served summons to second-seeded Soo Greyhounds tonight that they won’t back down in their first-round, Ontario Hockey League Western Conference playoff. …[read more]
OHL rookie goalie success
There are those who have their doubts and reservations about rookies being starters as goalies in the Ontario Hockey League. But no less than three rookies were Game 1 starters in the first round of this year’s playoffs — and all three posted victories. …[read more]
How sweep it is!
It lived up to its hype, the border battle did, with four close, evenly-matched contests. But the same team won all four games as Soo Eagles completed an improbable sweep of Soo Thunderbirds tonight. …[read more]
Friday night OHL lights
The clocks are ticking toward game time in five Ontario Hockey League playoff centers — Mississauga, Oshawa, Kingston, Owen Sound and London. …[read more]
Hounds speed past Flint
There was little doubt as to which was the better team. Second-seed Soo Greyhounds were in control from the outset, showing skill and speed to sprint past seventh-seed Flint Firebirds 5-2 in Thursday’s opening game of the best-of-seven, Ontario Hockey League Western Conference playoff. …[read more]
OHL playoff predictions
One man’s view — also known as one man’s guess — as to which teams will win the eight first-round Ontario Hockey League playoff series. …[read more]
Eagles edge T-Birds again
Kade Phipps made 46 saves and Soo Eagles upended the two-time reigning champion Soo Thunderbirds 3-2 tonight to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the second round, best-of-seven Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League playoff series. …[read more]
Border battle moves to Pullar
Soo Eagles and Soo Thunderbirds will resume their Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League cross-border playoff series tonight. …[read more]
989-word playoff preview
Make no mistake about it. Flint Firebirds stand out as one of the more-improved teams in the Ontario Hockey League from the 2015-2016 season to the 2016-2017 campaign. …[read more]
Great North draft prospects
Led by Northern Ontario Hockey Association player-of-the-year Camaryn Baber, about a dozen 2001 birth-year players from the Great North Midget League could be selected at next month’s Ontario Hockey League draft. …[read more]
Hamilton’s playoff drought
It’s been said that good things come to those who wait. Well, after an absence of a mere 26 years, there will be an Ontario Hockey League playoff game in Hamilton next week. …[read more]
Don’t count T-Birds out
Soo Thunderbirds may be trailing Soo Eagles two games to none in their best-of-seven Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League playoff series but it would be foolish to sell the two-time defending champions short. …[read more]
Eagles put press on T-Birds
Utilizing a basketball-style press — in this case an effective 1-1-3 fore check — Soo Eagles stole another road match to take a 2-0 lead on the favoured Soo Thunderbirds in their second-round Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League playoff series. …[read more]
Baber, Porco among the best
A pair of Sault Ste. Marie products with 2001 birth dates who are top prospects for the 2017 Ontario Hockey League under-16 draft are among the recipients who have received minor midget player-of-the-year awards for the 2016-2017 season. …[read more]
Opening night, round two
Living up to its billed hype, the Twin Soo border battle was all that as the second round of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League playoff show opened on Thursdsay night. …[read more]
Round two in the NOJHL
Preliminary round over, it’s on to the divisional semi-finals with eight teams in the quest for Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League glory. …[read more]
Roman numerals are back
Seasoned skater Roman Gaudet settled in to pot a pair of timely tallies to lift the Soo Eagles into the main round of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League playoffs. …[read more]
Only 2 from Soo at OHL Cup
The numbers tell the story. Of the nineteen 2001 birth-year players from the Great North Midget Hockey League who are representing Team NOHA at the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament, only two are from the Soo Greyhounds. …[read more]
OHL down to the wire
As teams continue to jockey for position with the Ontario Hockey League into the final week of the 2016-2017 regular season, one first-round playoff matchup has been determined — Hamilton Bulldogs v. Kingston Frontenacs. …[read more]
Foget on fire for 67’s
Small-sized centre Mathieu Foget is a big reason why the surging Ottawa 67’s are on the verge of securing an Ontario Hockey League playoff position. …[read more]
Lake State coaching change?
Let us begin by providing the definition of the word rumour, which is aptly defined as “often being a mixture of truth and untruth, passed around verbally.” …[read more]
Gotta hand it to the Hounds
They didn’t get much pre-season respect. They were picked by some in the media to finish as low as eighth place in the 10-team Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
Eagles win in Nick of time
Defenseman Nick Trecroce certainly picked a good time to score his first two goals as a member of the Soo Eagles. …[read more]
Full of Bulldogs
The latest venture of the Ontario Hockey League into Hamilton is giving the appearance of being a rather solid move. …[read more]
OHL playoff picture
Seven of the eight playoff spots are spoken for in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. But with less than two weeks remaining on the regular-season schedule, three playoff positions are still up for grabs in the Eastern Conference. …[read more]
NOJHL honours a gentleman
It is only fitting that the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has decided to recognize long-time statistician and historian David Harrison by naming its Most Gentlemanly Player award after him. …[read more]
EL Wildcats v. Soo Eagles
Two teams with strikingly-different strengths will face off when the Soo Eagles and Elliot Lake Wildcats meet in a best-of-three, preliminary-round series. …[read more]
Flint pots playoff spot
It’s official. After missing the Ontario Hockey League playoffs in their first season in Flint, the Firebirds are going to the dance. …[read more]
Storm slowly approaching
Guelph Storm will miss the Ontario Hockey League playoffs for a second straight season. But the Storm is poised to once again become a Western Conference factor. …[read more]
Once a Knight is enough
St. Mary’s Knights of Sault Ste. Marie have won the Northern Ontario Secondary Schools Association ‘AAA’ high school hockey championship. …[read more]
Good that Hounds can score
They will finish the 2016-2017 Ontario Hockey League regular season with 90-plus points and with a half-dozen games to play, they are in position to finish as the no. 2 seed in the Western Conference. …[read more]
NOJHL goalie gets D1 deal
Powassan Voodoos goalie Nate McDonald has parlayed a strong season in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League into a Division 1, National Collegiate Athletic Association commitment. …[read more]
Dan Vasquez retires…sort of
His name is synonymous with youth and junior level hockey in the Metro Detroit area as a coach of more than 35 years. And while Dan Vasquez has decided to retire from coaching he will remain with the Detroit Fighting Irish as general manager and director of hockey operations. …[read more]
Tentative transfer of T-Birds
The first-year operators of the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have finalized an arrangement to forward control of the not-for-profit franchise, a source with knowledge of the situation has told HockeyNewsNorth.com. …[read more]
Same old story at Lake State
Another Western Collegiate Hockey Association season has ended in disappointment for the Lake Superior State Lakers. …[read more]
Eagles, EL in prelim round
Soo Eagles will have the advantage of the home ice of Pullar Stadium for Game 1 of their best-of-three preliminary-round playoff series with the Elliot Lake Wildcats. …[read more]
First W for northern kid
Northern Ontario product Cameron Lamour has his first win as an Ontario Hockey League goaltender — and against his hometown team no less. …[read more]