No lack of story lines
Junior hockey is being played throughout northern Ontario, albeit in modified form, with no deliberate contact, restrictions on team to team travel, and few fans allowed in the rinks.
And unlike the Ontario Hockey League, which is planning on an early February start date to its regular season, the 2020-2021 campaign is already several weeks underway in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
To that end, there are good story lines galore relative to the NOJHL, including sports writers who previously ignored the league only to all of a sudden be on the bandwagon with plenty of printed words.
…[read more]Keaston ‘n Kobe in Cochrane
They both hail from the resilient northeastern Ontario town of Iroquois Falls.
Having both been born in the latter months of 2002, they played minor hockey together in their hometown and surrounding area as childhood friends.
Graduates of different programs from the Great North Under 18 Hockey League, they are now teammates again with the Cochrane Crunch of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
Separated for a couple of seasons, defenseman Keaston Blais and forward Kobe Barrette took different roads to get to the NOJHL in Cochrane, which is located about 30 miles from Iroquois Falls along rugged Highway 11.
…[read more]Wild ways in NOJHL West
Good winds of the north are steady and sweeping through a regional junior hockey league.
Yes, it is only three weekends into the 2020-2021 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season.
But four cohort counterparts from the league’s West Division have become formidable foes with three games that have already been decided by shootout.
…[read more]Savignac sparks the Express
There is little doubt about the ability and skill level of Devon Savignac.
And what the 2003 birth year forward and Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft pick of the North Bay Battalion is capable of was on full display for the Espanola Express of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League in a rousing victory over the French River Rapids.
…[read more]RBC banks first win
It was a night of firsts in Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League action from Thursday night.
Playing at home, Rayside Balfour Canadians scored their first win of the 2020-2021 regular season with a 7-4 victory over the Timmins Rock.
As RBC improved its record to 1-3-1 on the season, Timmins lost for the first time and now has a 4-1-0 mark.
…[read more]Train tracks of the north
To say that the Espanola Express has a liking for players from northeastern Ontario would rank as an understatement.
That is because of the 22 players who are currently on the roster of the small market Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League team, no less than nine of them are lads from the north — six reside in the Greater Sudbury Area, two are from Sault Ste. Marie, and one calls Iroquois Falls home.
…[read more]Doucet delivers for Hearst
Homegrown product Sebastien Doucet has been piling up the points for the Hearst Lumberjacks through five games of the 2020-2021 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season.
Which is a nice bonus for the Lumberjacks in that the 5-foot-9, 170 pound forward with a 2000 birth date wasn’t exactly a scoring threat during his first two seasons in the NOJHL.
…[read more]Rock on with Masternak
He is the shutout sensation of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
With a 2000 birth date, goalie Tyler Masternak is into his final season of NOJHL play as the whitewash wizard who tends the twine for the Timmins Rock.
Dating back to the 2017-2018 season when he was the backup goalie in Timmins as an NOJHL rookie, Masternak now has 17 — yes, 17 — shutouts.
…[read more]RBC Christmas Camp
Rayside Balfour Canadians of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League will be holding a ‘Christmas Camp for Kids’ for youngsters 12 years of age and under.
The camp will feature Rayside Balfour coaches and players assisting youngsters with their hockey skills including skating, stick-handling and passing.
There are two age categories for the morning sessions that will be held on December 28, 29, 30 at the Garson Arena.
…[read more]Sault crew in the NOJHL
It is a town that has long carried a reputation as a hockey hotbed.
And when it comes to the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, no less than 22 players with a connection to minor hockey in Sault Ste. Marie are all over the map this season — and not just via the hometown Soo Thunderbirds.
As in, not only do the Thunderbirds boast 13 local lads in their lineup but there are five Sault boys playing for the Blind River Beavers, two more who are with the Espanola Express, one who skates for the Rayside Balfour Canadians, and another who is on the roster of the Powassan Voodoos.
…[read more]Nice balance on the Express
Goals, assists and points are being tallied all through the lineup of the Espanola Express of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
A mere four games into the 2020-2021 regular season, no less than 15 of the 20 skaters who have seen the ice for the Express have at least one point thus far.
…[read more]Beavers sweep the Birds
Make it two straight wins for the upstart Blind River Beavers over the Soo Thunderbirds.
Blind River completed a two game, home and home, weekend sweep of the Soo tonight with a 6-3, home ice victory.
The Beavers had upended the Thunderbirds 4-2 on Friday in the 2020-2021, Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season opener for both teams.
…[read more]Beavers win on the Rhodes
Blind River Beavers have drawn first blood on the Soo Thunderbirds with the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season underway for the Highway 17 foes.
And it was Sault Ste. Marie product Nick Jameus, a second year forward, who sparked Blind River to a 4-2 victory in a Friday match at John Rhodes Community Center in the Soo.
The two teams will face off again tonight in a 7 p.m. match at the Community Center in Blind River.
…[read more]Express takes the Rapids
It was yet another narrow margin of victory.
For the third straight outing to begin the 2020-2021 regular season, a game between the Espanola Express and French River Rapids was decided by one goal.
But for the first time in the early going of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League slate, the Express was able to take down the Rapids.
…[read more]So far, so good in NOJHL
Parity has been evident in the early going of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League schedule.
The NOJHL is six games into the 2020-2021 regular season and four of the contests have been decided in the shootout.
Not only that, the league has been free from any positive cases relative to COVID-19.
…[read more]Return to play is for Birds
The game has changed, at least for the time being.
In modified form — as in no intentional physical contact — the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League is into its second week of regular season play after a short test drive of exhibition action.
Restrictions aside, the general manager of the Soo Thunderbirds has no real issues with the NOJHL’s new normal, while also liking the makeup of his own team.
…[read more]Happy for hockey hoopla
Covid-19 is a crisis, a change in the way we live our lives that can’t be under-stated.
How we cope with the pandemic and the so-called new normal of every day existence is a reality that we are facing and, hopefully, adapting and adjusting to in these uncertain times.
And while we do not know if the return to play of, for example, the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League can be sustained over the course of the 2020-2021 regular season, it is at least a start.
…[read more]Beavers, Birds back on ice
Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League commissioner Rob Mazzuca has confirmed that the Blind River Beavers and Soo Thunderbirds have both been cleared to resume team activities and return to the ice.
The temporary shutdown of the Beavers and Birds happened last week after a trio of Blind River players displayed a number of Covid 19-related symptoms and underwent testing. While awaiting the results, this past weekend’s scheduled games between the two teams were put on hold.
Beavers test negative
Three players with the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have tested negative for Covid-19. Hockey News North has received the following statement from the Beavers board of director relative to the negative results.
…[read more]Three additions to RBC
Rayside Balfour Canadians of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have added to their player depth chart, complete with experience at this level.
Hockey News North has confirmed that the NOJHL rights of seasoned goalie Joel Rainville and defensemen Robert Brisson and Carter Geoffroy have been transferred to the Canadians.
…[read more]Rapids shoot down Express
It was two nights, two shootout, opening weekend wins for the rallying French River Rapids.
The revved up Rapids rolled to two straight extra time triumphs over their cohort rival Espanola Express to begin the 2020-2021 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season.
Following a 6-5 win in the NOJHL season starter, the Rapids flowed to a 5-4 takeaway over the Express in Game 2 of the young season.
…[read more]Rapids nip Express in opener
Regular season competition returned to the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League on Friday for the first time since play was shut down in mid March because of the Covid-19 crisis.
And there was no shortage of excitement as the visiting French River Rapids fashioned a frantic finish to edge the Espanola Express 6-5 on a goal by Cooper Bowman in the sixth round of the shootout.
…[read more]Birds, Beavers off for now
The Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has announced that this weekend’s slated home and home games between the Soo Thunderbirds and Blind River Beavers will be rescheduled to a later date.
…[read more]Two from Soo on the Express
Sault Ste. Marie will be duly represented by a pair of local minor hockey graduates as the Espanola Express, from down the highway, begins regular season play in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League this weekend.
…[read more]Eight NOJHL teams for now
For this month at least, the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League will play within a schedule that involves eight of its teams in four cohort brackets.
The NOJHL’s regular season slate will be played in monthly match-ups that, after November’s activity, will see games in December and beyond being scheduled dependent upon the changing scenarios relative to the Covid-19 pandemic.
So, through until the end of November, the four-bracket set-ups will feature home and home games featuring Soo Thunderbirds v. Blind River Beavers, Espanola Express v. French River Rapids, Rayside Balfour Canadians v. Timmins Rock and Cochrane Crunch v. Hearst Lumberjacks.
…[read more]Crunch time for Keaston
A character kid with a work ethic to match, rookie defenseman Keaston (Sticks) Blais has been acquired by the Cochrane Crunch from the Hearst Lumberjacks in an exchange between the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League cohorts, Hockey News North has confirmed.
An ever-improving, hard-working, right-hand shooting defender with a late October, 2002 birth date, Blais spent the past two seasons with the Timmins Majors of the Great North Under 18 AAA Hockey League.
…[read more]Small market sidekicks
It seems fitting that the Espanola Express and French River Rapids are matched as cohorts, at least through the early going of the 2020-2021 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League season.
Not only are Espanola and French River small market franchises with a combined population of just over 7,500 inhabitants, the two towns are separated by a mere 90 miles of highway.
And besides that, both the Express and Rapids came into the NOJHL together as expansion teams back in 2015.
…[read more]Regular season set to start
Eight teams in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are slated to begin regular season play this week.
In all, seven games are on the schedule from Friday through Sunday.
See below for the list of seven matches that are set to go, according to the NOJHL.
…[read more]Reaction to new way of play
For the foreseeable future at least, this is the new norm for the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
Modifications and restrictions relative to body contact and as per public health officials, the Ontario Hockey Federation and the NOJHL itself, the northern junior loop is adapting its style of play to the Covid-19 pandemic.
All in all, reaction to the new style of play from those who responded, when asked, by Hockey News North has been refreshingly positive.
…[read more]Birds, Beavers set to skate
Here we go.
Nearby rivals separated by a mere 80 or so miles, Soo Thunderbirds and Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are among those who are back in business.
Following a series of exhibition matches — including a pair between the Soo and Blind River — the NOJHL as a league is slated to begin regular season play this weekend, including a home and home series between the Thunderbirds and Beavers.
…[read more]Sault boy boards the Express
There is another Sault Ste. Marie lad who has left home to play junior A hockey down the road in Espanola.
That is, Espanola Express of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has added 2001 birth year defenseman Jordan Ritchie, Hockey News North has confirmed.
Ritchie joins fellow Sault boy Cole Delarosbil on the Espanola roster.
…[read more]NOJHL exhibition exercise
The mini pre-season schedule in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League featured four more exhibition games on Saturday and Sunday. Regular season play in the NOJHL is slated to begin this coming weekend.
…[read more]Back in the game
A pair of exhibition contests have marked the return of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League to game activity.
Along with the rest of amateur hockey across the nation, the NOJHL had been dormant from game play since shutting down in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Friday night return to play features included a 5-4 overtime win by the visiting French River Rapids over the Espanola Express and the Soo Thunderbirds scoring a 6-1 home ice verdict over the Blind River Beavers.
See below for photos via Chelsea Solomon in Espanola and Bob Davies in Sault Ste. Marie.
…[read more]NOJHL exhibitions begin
Under strict, modified guidelines relative to COVID-19, the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League will return to play tonight. A pair of exhibition games will make up tonight’s slate, Hockey News North has confirmed via the NOJHL.
…[read more]NOJHL is returning to play!
Junior ‘A’ hockey is soon to return to northeastern Ontario.
Having received the go ahead from the various public health officials, the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League is set to begin the 2020-2021 regular season this month.
With safety precautions and guidelines in place, first pucks are poised to drop on the 2020-2021 campaign, including slated exhibition action between the Soo Thunderbirds and Blind River Beavers this weekend.
…[read more]T-Birds tag another Doucette
Oh, brother.
Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have signed 2001 birth year defenseman Jacob Doucette, Hockey News North has confirmed.
Doucette will join his younger brother, 2004 birth year forward Tyson Doucette, in the Thunderbirds lineup when the NOJHL begins the 2020-2021 season in November.
…[read more]Hockey North Show start date
Coincident with the looming start of the 2020-2021 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League season, the Hockey North Show will begin its annual gig on Wednesday, November 18 from 5-6 p.m. on radio station Eagle 95.1 and its on-line site www.eagleradio951.com.
The one-hour, weekly radio show will again be hosted by Hockey News North editor Randy Russon and Soo Today sports editor Brad Coccimiglio and will be broadcast live from Reggie’s Place Tavern in the Sault’s downtown.
…[read more]NOJHL is on ice; OHL is not
This is a statement of fact relative to the coronavirus and two levels of junior hockey in Ontario.
That is, the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League does not have to take a lead from the Ontario Hockey League as it pertains to a return to play for the 2020-2021 season.
Because folks, as the OHL will remain in a shutdown until the new year, the majority of the teams in the NOJHL have been on the ice since the middle of September in the form of skills, drills and in-house scrimmages.
…[read more]On the NHL ‘watch list’
A pair of former Great North Midget Hockey League opponents and a scoring star from the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are on the radar of the National Hockey League’s central scouting department.
They are among a few hundred prospects who are on the ‘preliminary players to watch list’ ahead of the 2021 NHL draft.
The list is a compilation of top prospects from all the major development leagues throughout North America and Europe. It will be updated throughout the season as scouts further evaluate the players.
…[read more]Birds add well traveled skater
Ryan Williams has a new junior hockey home.
Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have obtained the 2001 birth year forward from the Richmond Royals of the Central Canada Hockey League 2 in a cash exchange.
…[read more]Nine NOJHL teams are active
They have been holding skill sessions and non contact scrimmages while waiting and hoping for the first pucks to be dropped on the 2020-2021 season.
Nine of the 11 teams that make up the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have been together since as far back as the latter part of September while following the various public health protocols relative to the coronavirus pandemic.
And thus far there have been no health incidents reported as the waiting game for a potential return to play in the NOJHL continues.
…[read more]NOJHL player safety study
Here is one for the books.
And one for team work.
As head trainer and equipment manager of the Powassan Voodoos of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, J.J. Johnson is also actively continuing his education, with a project focused on player safety.
Toms in training with T-Birds
He has the ‘natural athlete’ bloodlines from the Pettenuzzo side of his mom’s family.
And his dad is a very driven individual who went from being a 13th round draft pick to become an Ontario Hockey League star and from being a ninth round draft pick to play in more than 235 games in the National Hockey League.
A budding prospect and a good athlete in his own right as a third round pick of the Soo Greyhounds at the 2020 OHL priority selections draft, 2004 birth year defenseman Connor Toms is currently skating with the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]T-Birds nab Soo boy Novello
Yet another local product has caught the eyes of the Soo Thunderbirds.
Ethan Novello, a 2003 birth year forward, has signed a Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League card with the Thunderbirds, Hockey News North has confirmed.
Novello is known for his work ethic, something that Thunderbirds general manager Trev Zachary alluded to, in correspondence with Hockey News North.
…[read more]Junior hockey’s return to play
Could this be the beginning of more junior hockey action?
The news that the 12 teams representing the Saskatchewan Jr. Hockey League have been cleared for an immediate return to the playing of games might be taken as good news for the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
As the province of Saskatchewan has relatively few cases of the coronavirus, so too does northeastern Ontario, where 10 of the NOJHL’s 11 teams are located.
…[read more]T-Birds add to their net
Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have solidified their goalie tandem ahead of the 2020-2021 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League season.
Thunderbirds general manager Trev Zachary has confirmed the acquisition of 2001 birth year net minder Alex Bugeja from the Fort Frances Lakers of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League.
Zachary referred to the 5-foot-10, 190 pound Bugeja as “a very good goalie with focus and work ethic.”
…[read more]Eagles in flight with few vets
Soo Eagles have a fresh faced look to them with no less than 18 newcomers to the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League who have been signed by president and general manager Bruno Bragagnolo.
Still, the Eagles do have a sprinkling of time tested veterans for coach Doug Laprade and his staff to look to for leadership and experience over the course of the 2020-2021 season.
…[read more]Busy slate for Soo Eagles
Ice time aplenty, in the form of practices and games, is underway for one area junior A hockey team.
To be sure, exhibition matches against high level opponents are on the agenda for the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League over the next few weeks.
A pair of home games against the powerhouse United States National Team Development Program under-17 squad will be followed by two road trips and then another set of contests within the friendly confines of Pullar Stadium in the Michigan Soo.
…[read more]Local talent a T-Bird priority
When the Soo Thunderbirds were admitted into the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League back in 1999, the locally operated franchise had a firm mandate.
Led by Sam Biasucci and several other Sault Ste. Marie business people, the Thunderbird owners vowed to be a haven for local products who were ready to move up from the town’s minor hockey and high school hockey ranks.
To be sure, Biasucci et al stayed true to form for the first couple of years of the Thunderbirds existence in the NOJHL. And later, when Pat Egan and Al Jones took over as operators and moved on from Jim Capy to Toots Kovacs as their head coach, the Thunderbirds were again made up of 95 to 100 per cent local players.
…[read more]