NOJHL to NCAA D3
Elliot Lake Bobcats captain John Waghorne will play Division 3, National Collegiate Athletic Association hockey at the University of Southern Maine next season. …[read more]
Personal goals within reach
As a team, Soo Thunderbirds have clinched first place in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League standings and will be the no. 1 seed when the playoffs get underway next week.
But the Thunderbirds still have two games to play in the regular season — on home ice this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. — and there are players who are within milestones. …[read more]
NOJHL issues
In many respects, the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has been a good follow this 2013-2014 season.
Soo Thunderbirds and Kirkland Lake Gold Miners have not only been the top two teams in the NOJHL with 40-plus regular-season victories apiece but both are highly-rated within the Canadian Jr. A Hockey League rankings.
As well, Abitibi Eskimos and Espanola Rivermen have made for quite the race for third-and-fourth place.
The Rivermen have not only been a first-year, on-ice success in Espanola but are the NOJHL attendance leaders with a per-game average of just over 500.
But there are issues for the NOJHL to deal with it as it peeks ahead. …[read more]
Brandon and the boys
Three young Sault Ste. Marie hockey players — who are also fans of the Soo Thunderbirds — got to meet one of their favourites from the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League team recently. …[read more]
Buzz over NOJHL move to Cochrane
The arrival of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League in Cochrane effective the 2014-2015 season should have a major impact on the community, according to the town’s mayor and the owner of the team.
“We are absolutely excited, it’s part of a build and development program in the community that we have been part of for the past three years,” mayor Peter Politis said of the relocation of the Elliot Lake Bobcats to Cochrane. …[read more]
Tough tests loom for T-Birds
Okay, we know that Soo Thunderbirds have clinched first place in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League standings and will meet the lowly Blind River Beavers in the first round of the playoffs.
But despite their lofty standing in the NOJHL, tough tests loom for the Thunderbirds come playoff time. …[read more]
T-Bird, Trapper in a tussle
It was a tussle between a T-Bird and a Trapper when Anthony Butorac of the Soo and Darian Skeoch of North Bay squared off on Friday night. …[read more]
Thunderbirds are no. 1
Soo Thunderbirds secured the no. 1 seed in the upcoming Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League playoffs with an 8-1 cuffing of the North Bay Trappers on Friday at the Essar Centre. …[read more]
Birds to watch
These Birds are made for watching.
On the cusp of clinching top spot in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League standings, Soo Thunderbirds will look to further fashion their record of 45-5-3 tonight when they play host to the North Bay Trappers.
Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Essar Centre.
On a team of talent and true grit, here are just five of many Birds worth watching. …[read more]
Latest on the Espanola Rivermen
In the wake of the $5,000 fine and indefinite suspension that Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League commissioner Robert Mazzuca handed Espanola Rivermen owner-governor-director of operations Tim Clayden on Wednesday — over comments he made to HockeyNewsNorth.com earlier that day — Scott Ginson has been promoted to vice president of operations. …[read more]
Suspicious suspension of NOJHL owner
This one reeks of vindictiveness.
If I am Espanola Rivermen owner-governor Tim Clayden, I am consulting with a lawyer on this one.
Two days after giving written notice to fellow Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League governors that his Rivermen would be looking to play in a new league come the 2014-2015 season, Clayden has been fined $5,000 and suspended indefinitely by commissioner Robert Mazzuca. …[read more]
Espanola Rivermen owner speaks out
As an owner, operator and general manager, Tim Clayden is known as one of the shrewdest and best Junior A hockey operators in Canada.
Now the owner of the Espanola Rivermen — who as a first-year franchise are leading the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League in attendance — Clayden is exploring other avenues for his team.
Following is the transcript of a lengthy interview I conducted with Clayden. …[read more]
46 goals for Thunderbird captain
Soo Thunderbirds captain Gavin Burbach has a shot at a 50-goal season.
Burbach, a 1993 birth-year forward who is in his fourth season in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, needs four goals in the Thunderbirds final three games of the 2013-2014 campaign to hit the 50-goal mark. …[read more]
303 watch NOJHL in Mattawa
North Bay Trappers played host to the Soo Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon in a neutral site game that was held in Mattawa.
And the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League game drew a crowd of 303 to Mike Rodden Arena and Community Centre in Mattawa. …[read more]
Trappers setting up in Mattawa
The Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League will move to the frozen stage of the Ottawa River town of Mattawa today in the form of the transplanted North Bay Trappers.
The Trappers will play their next three home games of this 2013-2014 NOJHL season at Mattawa’s Mike Rodden Arena and Community Centre. …[read more]
Who is leaving the NOJHL?
The clock is ticking.
There is absolutely no doubt that the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League will have a different look to it come the 2014-2015 season. …[read more]
NOJHL moves into Mattawa
North Bay Trappers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have scheduled their next three home games for the Mike Rodden Arena and Community Centre in nearby Mattawa. …[read more]
NOJHL still not settled
They fashioned a fabulous 25-game winning streak and have an awesome overall record of 43-5-2.
But the fact of the matter is, with six games left to play in the 2014-2015 regular season, Soo Thunderbirds have not clinched first place in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
That’s because the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners are having a season that is just about on par with the Soo. …[read more]
25 straight for T-Birds
The beat goes on.
Soo Thunderbirds won their 25th successive game on Friday, a 3-1 road decision over the Espanola Rivermen. …[read more]
Miners chasing Birds
Having won 24 straight games, one might think that Soo Thunderbirds would have first place in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League clinched by now.
But they don’t. …[read more]
Two dozen in a row for T-Birds
The no. 1 ranked team in the Canadian Jr. Hockey League won its 24th straight game on Saturday night.
Playing on the road, Soo Thunderbirds cuffed Blind River Beavers 5-2 to improve to 42-4-2 on the season and with 86 points, remain atop the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League standings. …[read more]
Espanola Rivermen will help with the chores
Espanola Rivermen of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are taking the term “community involvement” to an innovative level.
The first-year NOJHL entry has introduced its Captain’s Community Chores Program to fans and supporters from the North Shore area.
“There is no chore too small or too big. The Rivermen have a posse of one, two or 20 players who are willing to jump in where needed to do odd jobs for area community members or North Shore junior hockey fans that may be in need of help in any way,” said Rivermen general manager Randy Blake. …[read more]
Birds win again, Burbach scores again
Another win for the first-place team.
Two more goals for the leading scorer.
Soo Thunderbirds won their 23rd game in a row on Wednesday, upending the Elliot Lake Bobcats 5-1 before 327 fans at Rankin Arena. …[read more]
Brandon is getting better
He says he is getting better.
He says he is close to returning to the lineup of the Soo Thunderbirds.
Rookie defenceman Brandon Grandinetti has been on the sidelines since suffering a concussion in a Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League game on January 5. …[read more]
T-Birds, Elliot Lake at Rankin tonight
Soo Thunderbirds will play an away game without leaving home tonight.
Huh?
The Thunderbirds will take on the Elliot Lake Bobcats at 7 p.m. tonight in a Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League game that was supposed to be played in Elliot Lake. …[read more]
Thunderbirds ranked no. 1 in Canada
Soo Thunderbirds are now ranked no. 1 in the nation in the latest weekly rankings released by the Canadian Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
NOJHL: 22 straight for Soo T-Birds
The last time Soo Thunderbirds lost a Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League game was back on November 10.
Since then, the Thunderbirds have reeled off 22 straight victories.
Not that the 22 successive wins has been a glide around the rink for the Thunderbirds. …[read more]
NOJHL: Birds play host to Bobcats
Led by high-scoring centre Darcy Haines (photo, above) the Soo Thunderbirds will play host to the Elliot Lake Bobcats tonight in a 7:30 p.m. start at the Essar Centre. The speedy Haines has 16 goals, 31 assists, 47 points in just 22 games for the Thunderbirds this season. The Thunderbirds, who have won 21 straight games, are atop the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League standings with 80 points from a record of 39-4-2. (Photo by Ali Pearson.)
NOJHL leaders have talent, heart
So much skill.
So much heart.
It’s a tough combination to beat.
Talented and tireless, no team in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League works harder than the Soo Thunderbirds.
Winners of 20 straight games, the Thunderbirds are atop the NOJHL standings with 78 points in 44 games from a record of 38-4-2 going into action this weekend. …[read more]
Flashback: ’06-07 NOJHL champion Soo Indians
They were a rag-tag crew of American-born players from six different states, a collection of hockey gypsies who represented the only foreign entry in what was a seven-team Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
They were a one-hit wonder of a franchise that was assembled just before the 2006-2007 NOJHL campaign started and folded soon after the season ended.
They were owned by an out-of-town, out-of-state rapscallion who rarely visited to watch them play or support them. …[read more]
NOJHL Notes: Haines on fire, Trecroce on air
…To say that Darcy Haines has been lighting it up for the Soo Thunderbirds since the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League team acquired the skilled centre in a trade with the Pembroke Lumberkings of the Central Canada Hockey League earlier this season would rank as a major understatement.
Haines, who is in his final season of junior eligibility, is averaging two points a game through 20 outings with the Thunderbirds. …[read more]
NOJHL at the crossroads
As rumours of relocation and franchises in financial difficulty swirl, the small-to-medium market Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League soldiers on.
An eight-team league that this season features a two-team battle for first place and a three-team saw-off for third, the NOJHL is again faced with adversity and questions of its stability. …[read more]