All posts by Randy Russon
Moe Mantha’s bittersweet decision
It wasn’t easy for Moe Mantha to leave the expansion French River Rapids of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League to return to the Ontario Hockey League after a 10-year absence and take over as interim coach of the Saginaw Spirit. …[read more]
40 years ago in Greyhound history
They had missed the playoffs in each of their first three seasons as members of the Ontario Hockey League and fans and supporters of the Soo Greyhounds were becoming restless and impatient. …[read more]
Moe Mantha is new coach in Saginaw
Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League has fired head coach Greg Gilbert and replaced him with veteran bench boss Moe Mantha for the balance of the 2015-2016 season, HockeyNewsNorth.com has confirmed. …[read more]
Border battle resumes tonight
It’s Monday night hockey this evening as the Soo Eagles play host to the Soo Thunderbirds in a 7 p.m. face off at Pullar Stadium in the Michigan Soo. …[read more]
The puck stops with Ariella
To teammates and coaches, Ariella Merlino is just another developing player on the Soo Greyhounds pee wee minor AAA rep hockey club. …[read more]
Lakers ring the victory bell
Lake Superior State Lakers halted a six-game losing skid tonight with a morale-boosting 3-0 home-ice win over the Bemidji State Beavers. …[read more]
Race for 5th place in NOJHL West
Blind River Beavers have narrowed the gap on the Espanola Express in what is shaping up as a frantic race for the fifth-and-final playoff spot in the West Division of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Here come the NCAA recruiters
Recruiters from the Division 1 and Division 3 ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association are doing — and in some cases, have done — their homework on a flock of front-line players from within the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Good old Greyhound goalies
The number of goalies who have tended twine for the Soo Greyhounds since they entered the Ontario Hockey League in 1972 stands at just over 80. …[read more]
Lakers need a winning weekend
They have lost five straight games and are in desperate need of victories as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association heads into the final four weekends of regular-season play. …[read more]
Two old hockey friends meet up
It was 1980 and Paul Hendrick was a rookie sportscaster with CKCY Radio-TV in Sault Ste. Marie and Ken Porteous was a rookie goalie with the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
Soo 1997 birth-year class a good one
They have moved up and on in multiple numbers from the Soo Thunder minor midget hockey team of 2012-2013 that was coached by Sal Lamantea and Jerry Lortie Jr. …[read more]
Good return for the Soo Eagles
They were champions of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League in 2010-2011 and made it to the semi-finals in 2011-2012 before deciding to test the North American Hockey League for the 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons. …[read more]
Robbie Payne strikes again
Leave it to Northern Michigan Wildcats high-scoring forward Robbie Payne to once again show a flair for the dramatic. …[read more]
NOJHL notions a la RR
Let’s head East and West, team to team, town to town in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, according to the gospel of RR: …[read more]
Adrian College via Soo Eagles
Chase Matson gained a good reputation as a dependable, team-first, hard-working forward during two seasons with the Soo Eagles when they were members of the North American Hockey League. …[read more]
Lakers in tough at Michigan Tech
As the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season heads into the stretch run, the seventh-place Lake Superior State Lakers face the daunting task of playing the third-place Michigan Tech Huskies on the road as part of Winter Carnival weekend. …[read more]
NMU Wildcats in good position
With 10 games to play on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season slate, the Northern Michigan University Wildcats have a good shot at fourth place and home-ice in the first round of the playoffs. …[read more]
A real hockey hero
10-year old Taten Hammerberg of Sault Ste. Marie passed away early this morning, leaving his family and a hockey town to mourn with aching hearts. …[read more]
How about an NOJHL showcase?
It is evolving as one of the better junior A hockey leagues in Canada with a reputation for attracting top players and good coaches. …[read more]
Taten’s Warriors band together
Determined to show support for one of its own, the Sault Ste. Marie minor hockey community is rallying around 10-year old Taten Hammerberg. …[read more]
Crunch scouted by 9 NCAA schools
Cochrane Crunch took a recent trek to northern Minnesota as the lone team from the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League to participate in a showcase tournament that was hosted by the Superior International Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
OHL draft pick evolves with Eagles
A 2012 Ontario Hockey League draft pick of the Soo Greyhounds, Gordie Helmuth is putting his game back together as a productive winger with the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
NCAA schools scouting the NOJHL
Make no mistake about it, a plethora of Division 1 and Division 3 National Collegiate Athletic Association schools have been scouting the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League with particular interest. …[read more]
Payne puts up points at NMU
He was part of a Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League championship team in 2010-2011 as a 40-goal scorer with the Soo Eagles and he’s now a sophomore forward with the Northern Michigan University Wildcats of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. …[read more]
Eagles can depend on Jake Palmerio
He’s the only Canadian on an otherwise all-American roster and Jake Palmerio has been finding the back of the net with more regularity for the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Junior hockey’s leading lady
Suffice to say that as the primary owner of three junior teams, Michelle Bryant is a big hockey fan. …[read more]
Eagles nip Birds in Saturday sizzler
Fast-paced, high-energy, end-to-end, Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League action was on full display on Saturday night at Pullar Stadium in the Michigan Soo. …[read more]
T-Birds invade the Eagles nest
The eighth installment of the 2015-2016 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League “border battle” is slated for tonight when the Soo Eagles play host to the Soo Thunderbirds. …[read more]
Denver Pierce “doing well” at NMU
Sault Ste. Marie area product Denver Pierce has earned a regular shift and words of praise from his coach as a freshman forward with the Northern Michigan Wildcats of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. …[read more]
Crunch making its own noise
Soo Thunderbirds may be the toast of the Canadian Jr. Hockey League but their Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League counterparts, the Cochrane Crunch, is having a sparkling season of its own. …[read more]
Greyhound GM needs to step it up
Methinks that Soo Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis needs to do a better job of providing better players for coach Drew Bannister as the Ontario Hockey League team moves forward. …[read more]
Top-ranked T-Birds have sights set
Time will tell if newcomer Connor Ryckman can match the elevated Mario Culina between the pipes but for now the consensus is that the Soo Thunderbirds remain the team to beat in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
T-Birds move their players up
Not only do Soo Thunderbirds win championships but the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League powerhouse does a good job of developing players for a higher level. …[read more]
Fighting Irish in Cruz control
Junior hockey has a secure presence in the Downriver area of Trenton and Woodhaven, thanks in large part to Lisa Cruz and her husband Mark Cruz, who own the Detroit Fighting Irish of the U.S. Premier Hockey League. …[read more]
Wisconsin via New Jersey via Soo
Goalie Jack Berry, who played for the Soo Eagles during the 2014-2015 season when they were members of the North American Hockey League, has committed to play for the Wisconsin Badgers of the Division 1, Big 10 Conference. …[read more]
Soo Eagles are tops of new teams
Two of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League’s first-year teams will face off tonight when the Espanola Express plays host to the Soo Eagles. …[read more]
WCHA serves up a Western sandwich
There are seven weekends to play in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season and the menu is stacked with healthy choices of consumption. …[read more]
Soo Eagles via Aberdeen Wings
1996 birth-year forward Chris Murphy will suit up for the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League after stints with two teams in the North American Hockey League. …[read more]
Beasts of the NOJHL East
Soo Thunderbirds of the West Division are currently in first place overall in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League but the second, third, fourth and fifth-ranked clubs in the 12-team loop are all from the East Division. …[read more]
Hounds well-served by youth
This is a transition season for the Soo Greyhounds from which they are expected to return to Ontario Hockey League contender status in 2016-2017. …[read more]
Lakers to honour “much-loved” men
Lake Superior State Lakers will honour the memory of two “much-loved” gentlemen during Saturday’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association home game against the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. …[read more]
Adam McPhail to Soo T-Birds
Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have acquired 1997 birth-year forward Adam McPhail, HockeyNewsNorth.com has confirmed. …[read more]
Hounds make a pair of trades
Soo Greyhounds made a pair of moves at today’s Ontario Hockey League trade deadline, bringing home local product Frankie Pucci and dealing veteran Keigan Goetz. …[read more]
Big deal on OHL trade-deadline day
It’s trade-deadline day in the Ontario Hockey League and the Saginaw Spirit and Barrie Colts finalized a major exchange early this morning. …[read more]
Crunch hunch pays early dividends
Cochrane Crunch coach-general manager Ryan Leonard played a hunch that family advisor David Maciuk would come through with a high-end skater. …[read more]
Lake State freshman recognized
Freshman forward Diego Cuglietta of the seventh-place Lake Superior State Lakers, who scored the game-winner in a 1-0 overtime upset of the second-place Bowling Green Falcons on Saturday, has been named Western Collegiate Hockey Association rookie-of-the-week. …[read more]
Lakers played like men
Damon Whitten does not make it a habit to go overboard when praising his young Lake Superior State Lakers but the second-year head coach was gushing with pride following a 1-0 overtime win over the visiting Bowling Green Falcons on Saturday night. …[read more]