All posts by Randy Russon
Pay minimum wage but…
So, there are those who think players in the Ontario Hockey League should be paid minimum wage for their services. …[read more]
NOJHL on the March
A grueling 56-game regular season will soon come to an end in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League before the Ides of March usher in the playoff rounds. …[read more]
North side to Saginaw
A solid case can be made that the future of the Saginaw Spirit is somewhat attached to the hockey rinks of northern Ontario. …[read more]
Hounds win, fans whine
They are winning. They are a contender. They are an Ontario Hockey League overachiever, these Soo Greyhounds. …[read more]
Bronson Kovacs, MVP
Sault Ste. Marie native Bronson Kovacs has been named most valuable player for the first round of the playoffs in the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation’s MOL Liga. …[read more]
NB caps series with Kap
Now that was close. It’s on to the Great North Midget Hockey League championship series for the North Bay Trappers. …[read more]
T-Birds face uncertainty
The beat goes on for the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. Well, at least for this season anyway. …[read more]
French River gets Strong
As they begin to plan ahead to next season the French River Rapids of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have added Kenny Strong to their coaching staff. …[read more]
Colella a bargain for Flint
Among the many impact trades made by general manager George Burnett that have elevated the Flint Firebirds into a solid Ontario Hockey League team this season, the low-key acquisition of left winger Maurizio Colella has paid nice dividends. …[read more]
Soo midgets eliminated
Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves have advanced to the Great North Midget Hockey League finals by virtue of a 4-0 blanking of the Soo Greyhounds this afternoon. …[read more]
Great North semis continue
Nothing has been resolved as of yet in the two Great North Midget Hockey League semi-final series that are going on. …[read more]
Soo midgets need wins
There is no way to sugar coat this. It’s either win two games — beginning tonight — or it’s season over for the Soo Greyhounds of the Great North Midget Hockey League. …[read more]
Change in French River
First-year operator Jessy Landry is stepping down as president of the French River Rapids of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Birds win on the Rhodes
Whether it’s playing in front of 4,800 empty seats at the Essar Centre or about 100-plus followers at cozy John Rhodes Community Centre, the wins keep adding up for the Soo Thunderbirds. …[read more]
Troops, 67’s in war zone
North Bay Battalion and Ottawa 67’s are in a tie for the eighth-and-final playoff in the Eastern Conference with the Ontario Hockey League regular-season slate in the stretch run. …[read more]
Kap has North Bay at home
Kapuskasing Flyers have seized home-ice advantage in their Great North Midget Hockey League playoff with North Bay but it would be foolish to sell the Trappers short. …[read more]
Nice chat with Wolves VP
He is the man who oversees hockey operations as vice president of the Sudbury Wolves and Rob Papineau has definitive plans in place as the franchise moves forward under first-year owner Dario Zulich. …[read more]
Soo, Flint personify parity
The second-place and seventh-seeded teams in the Western Conference help define the parity that exists within the Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
Division 1 potential?
The kid can play. To be sure, there is an attractive offer on the table for Jake Palmerio to attend school in Michigan and play at the Division 3, National Collegiate Athletic Association level beginning next season. …[read more]
Kap keeps up with NB
Veteran-laden Kapuskasing Flyers were primed to give the pennant-winning North Bay Trappers all they could handle in their Great North Midget Hockey League semi-final playoff series — and through two games they have done just that. …[read more]
30 wins for Blind River!
This is a definite good news story. Blind River Beavers have established a new franchise record for most wins during the regular season. …[read more]
Late-round Storm brewing
Guelph Storm rookie defenseman Nolan Makkonen is proof that the Ontario Hockey League draft can be a difficult yet rewarding science. …[read more]
OHL scouts eye Great North
Scouts from a number of Ontario Hockey League teams have casually confirmed they will have a presence in North Bay and Sudbury this weekend as the Great North Midget Hockey League begins semi-final playoff action. …[read more]
OHL coach to crown prosecutor
If the name of the crown prosecutor who won a conviction in the much-publicized Calgary murder trial of Douglas Garland rings a bell to Ontario Hockey League followers it’s because Shane Parker is a former coach. …[read more]
Solo act in Elliot Lake
Corey James Bricknell stands as a solitary soul as the coach and general manager of the Elliot Lake Wildcats of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Great North second round
Top-seeded North Bay Trappers will return to the ice following an opening-round playoff bye in one of two Great North Midget Hockey League semi-final series slated to start this weekend. …[read more]
Flip a coin in Flint
They do not have a clear-cut no. 1 goalie yet the Flint Firebirds have managed to move five games above the .500 mark and in firm possession of a playoff spot in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
Wolves on Eastern edge
Their record remains below the .500 mark and they are teetering on the edge of a playoff spot yet the Sudbury Wolves are not far from fourth place in the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
Is Scott going to scoot?
Long-time Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League board member Scott Marshall is contemplating stepping down from his position as president of the Timmins Rock. …[read more]
Who is this masked man?
This has become the story of the civilized hockey world. Sophomore goaltender Atte Tolvanen made a career-high 48 saves and tied a Division 1, National Collegiate Athletic Association record with his fifth straight shutout as the surging Northern Michigan Wildcats moved into possession of a Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoff spot. …[read more]
Lambert an Olympique torch
In tandem with new head coach Eric Landry and as the recently-hired associate coach of the Gatineau Olympiques, it has been a winning return to the major junior ranks for Denny Lambert through four games. …[read more]
NB Trappers a balanced act
Six teams in the Great North Midget Hockey League begin opening-round playoff action this weekend while the North Bay Trappers have a bye as a result of their first-place finish during the regular season. …[read more]
So far so good for Lambert
As the new associate coach of the Gatineau Olympiques, it has been a triumphant return to the major junior ranks for Denny Lambert thus far. …[read more]
Soo Eagles to UW-River Falls
1997 birth-year forward Bradley Hofelich will move on from the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League to play for an elite, powerhouse, Division 3 National Collegiate Athletic Association program. …[read more]
Beavers nearing milestone
Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are closing in on establishing a franchise record for regular-season victories. …[read more]
Owen in Erie: 8-0, 2-2
Transplanted defenseman Owen Headrick has yet to experience defeat since relocating to the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League from the Lake Superior State Lakers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. …[read more]
Gotta love the $2 beers
If I didn’t reside 300 miles from Flint I would be watching the Firebirds play host to the London Knights tonight and firing back a few $2 beers. …[read more]
Iroquois Falls rumour mill
The paper mill may be closed in Iroquois Falls but the rumour mill is still producing its share of tabloid copy. …[read more]
Great North stats, seeds
Second season — aka the playoffs — in the Great North Midget Hockey League is set to start with three first-round series and an opening-week bye. …[read more]
Forrest on fire
Former Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League all-star Garrett Forrest is stating his case to be more than a backup goalie for the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
Thriller in Blind River
BLIND RIVER — Fast-paced, edge-of-the-seats action with a total of 85 shots on goal. And last-minute heroics to top it off as the Blind River Beavers delighted a Saturday-night crowd with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Elliot Lake Wildcats here at the Memorial Community Centre. …[read more]
Elliot Lake v. Blind River
They represent two gritty towns separated by less than 40 miles of highway. And at the rink, Blind River and Elliot Lake have had an on-and-off junior hockey rivalry that is one for the ages. …[read more]
1st-place Trappers get bye
Finishing first in the Great North Midget Hockey League carries the reward of a first-round playoff bye for the North Bay Trappers. …[read more]
Mental health and the OHL
It’s considered to be the top development program for the National Hockey League but the Ontario Hockey League also has a good history of trying to do good for its players away from the rink. …[read more]
Trecroce assists Soo Eagles
Small in size but big on skills and smarts, Nick Trecroce has proven to be a valuable set-up man for the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Denny Lambert to Gatineau
Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Jr. Hockey League have confirmed the appointment of Denny Lambert as associate coach to Éric Landry for the remainder of the 2016-2017 season. …[read more]
Team defense tilts Trappers
North Bay Trappers are poised to head into next week’s Great North Midget Hockey League playoffs as the no. 1 seed in the seven-team loop. …[read more]
Up to date in the Great North
Positions are at stake as the Great North Midget Hockey League heads into the stretch run of the 2016-2017 regular-season schedule. …[read more]