All posts by Randy Russon
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]
Erie in pursuit of elusive title
They have posted three straight 50-win, 100-point seasons, yet the Erie Otters may be the best example ever of a team that has been so good without winning an Ontario Hockey League championship. …[read more]
40 saves for Garrett Forrest
Former Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League goalie Garrett Forrest had an Ontario Hockey League career game of sorts to help the Flint Firebirds halt a three-game losing streak on Saturday night. …[read more]
Spirit hot on trail of Firebirds
There is a frantic race going on for the eighth-and-final playoff space within the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
AP issues with Sudbury midgets
Representatives from three Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League teams have taken issue with the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves of the Great North Midget Hockey League over the use and availability of affiliate players. …[read more]
14-round shootout marathon
There are quick-end shootouts to decide games and then there was a 14-round, 28-shooter marathon that finally determined Wednesday’s Ontario Hockey League match between the Ottawa 67’s and the visiting Kingston Frontenacs. …[read more]
Good OHL coaches, atmosphere
It’s not just about being a good coach in this age of junior hockey. It’s about being a coach who relates to his players by creating a positive environment. …[read more]
Beware the EL Wildcats
Which is the hottest team in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League? Soo Thunderbirds? Powassan Voodoos? How about the Elliot Lake Wildcats? …[read more]
Express route to Kings College
Espanola Express captain Cameron Anklewich has committed to play at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 3 level for the Kings College Monarchs effective the 2017-2018 season, HockeyNewsNorth.com has confirmed. …[read more]
67’s seek home remedy
If the Ottawa 67’s are going to shake off their current skid and make a run at an Ontario Hockey League playoff spot they will need to take advantage of the home ice of TD Place. …[read more]
Wolves, Battalion in a battle
There’s a frantic race for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League and Sudbury Wolves and North Bay Battalion are part of the chase. …[read more]
OHL GMs on 2 scouting trails
Five current Ontario Hockey League players who performed at various midget levels in Sault Ste. Marie are examples that it does not necessarily matter where — or if — you are drafted. …[read more]
1st-place Kitchener Rangers…?
Kitchener Rangers are just one example of the vast disparity between the Western Conference and Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
Better, bolder in Blind River
They have already won more games in 2016-2017 than they managed in the three previous seasons combined. Suffice to say that the Blind River Beavers are the definition of a Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League team that has turned it around. …[read more]
A first for Nolan Makkonen
1999 birth-year defenseman Nolan Makkonen, who signed with the Guelph Storm via the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League on January 9, has his first Ontario Hockey League goal. …[read more]
Lakers rebound to take two
It was a much-needed weekend sweep on home ice for the Laker Superior State Lakers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. …[read more]
Soo midgets get 2nd OHL crack
Some develop later than others. And some players from the Soo Greyhounds of the Great North Midget Hockey League are among a stream of undrafted prospects from around the province who are eligible for the first-ever, under-18, Ontario Hockey League draft. …[read more]
A first for Owen Headrick
As far as a debut goes it was good on a team and personal level for Garden River First Nation product Owen Headrick. …[read more]
Headrick has that Erie feeling
A mere eight days after rejecting another overture from the Erie Otters, 1997 birth-year defenseman Owen Headrick has decided to join the Ontario Hockey League team from the Lake Superior State Lakers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. …[read more]
OHL introduces under-18 draft
There is good news for the many AAA midget players who have been bypassed at the annual under-16, Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft. …[read more]
Fired-up Firebirds steal win
Refusing to give up, they continued to press relentlessly even when trailing by three goals with less than nine minutes to play in the third period. And just like that, hard work and second effort paid off for the Flint Firebirds in a stunning 5-4 shootout victory over the Soo Greyhounds on Wednesday night. …[read more]
NHL scouts like four 67’s
Ottawa 67’s are one of the youngest teams in the Ontario Hockey League and four of their draft-eligible players have caught the eyes of the National Hockey League’s Central Scouting department. …[read more]
Stencill’s departure from EL
It can be stated without hesitation — or exaggeration — that the Elliot Lake Wildcats of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League lost the face of the franchise when the affable Todd Stencill recently resigned as general manager. …[read more]
Mid-week match: Flint v. Soo
It will be no ordinary eighth-place team that the top-seeded Soo Greyhounds will be facing when they play host to the Flint Firebirds tonight in a 7:07 match at the Essar Centre. …[read more]
Great North tight at the top
As the clock ticks on the waning weekends of the Great North Midget Hockey League regular-season schedule the top four places are still up for grabs. …[read more]
1,000-game coach club
Coaching a thousand games in any high-level league is obviously an accomplishment. And among Ontario Hockey League coaches, Dale Hunter of the London Knights is now in select company. …[read more]
A first for the Flint Firebirds
Kole Sherwood has become the first member of the second-year Flint Firebirds to be named Canadian Hockey League player-of-the-week. …[read more]
Muddle in middle of NO West
Soo Thunderbirds have first place to themselves in the West Division of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League while three teams are jockeying for second, third and fourth spots. …[read more]
67’s show up on Sportsnet
After losing their first two games of what will be six road tilts in succession the Ottawa 67’s rebounded with a big victory under the bright television lights of Rogers Sportsnet. …[read more]
OHL trade aftermath
Trading was brisk, furious and reactive as contenders and prospectors were part of the flurry of activity up to and including deadline day in the Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
Erie chased Lake State d-man
As the Erie Otters added world-class forward Anthony Cirelli in an Ontario Hockey League trade with the Oshawa Generals earlier this week, they once again tried to talk 1997 birth-year defenseman Owen Headrick into leaving the Lake Superior State Lakers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. …[read more]
Lambert leaves Tech for Texas
Eight months after taking a job with The Tech 1921 Ltd. — first-year owners of the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League — Denny Lambert has resigned his position as director of hockey operations. …[read more]
Milestone win for Firebirds
Flint Firebirds have matched their win total from the entire 2015-2016 season and they did so in convincing fashion on Tuesday night. …[read more]
Zack Dorval to Ottawa 67’s
1998 birth-year forward Zack Dorval, who starred at the minor midget hockey level in Sault Ste. Marie, has been traded by the Kingston Frontenacs to the Ottawa 67’s for a fourth-round draft pick in 2017. …[read more]
1st-place Powassan adds on
The beat goes on. The best team in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has added an all-star forward from the Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Scouting sets London success
Okay, so maybe the London Knights do have a cash war chest that exceeds what most Ontario Hockey League teams have. But it’s also the ability of the Knights to scout and sign free agents and later trade them for value that sets the perennial OHL contenders and defending Memorial Cup champions apart from the rest. …[read more]
Soo Eagles to Guelph Storm
1999 birth-year defenseman Nolan Makkonen is moving on from the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League to sign with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, HockeyNewsNorth.com has confirmed. …[read more]
Flint deals from draft depth
Dealing from depth via excess draft picks from earlier trades, Flint Firebirds have given up previously-acquired, second-and-third-round selections for the 2018 Ontario Hockey League draft to obtain highly-touted, 1999 birth-year forward C.J. Clarke from the Peterborough Petes. …[read more]
North Bay trades Templeton
Three days after obtaining Stephen Templeton in an Ontario Hockey League trade with the Oshawa Generals, the North Bay Battalion has dealt the veteran defenseman to the Hamilton Bulldogs. …[read more]