Great North gravy
As November prepares to make way for December there continues to be good story lines from within the major and minor divisions of the Great North Midget Hockey League.
MAJOR PROGRESS — Having already surpassed their meager two-win total from the 2016-2017 season, Timmins Majors took three of a possible four points at home on the weekend to move to within striking range of the fourth-place Soo Greyhounds in the major midget division.
While the Majors record of 5-10-1 is not what one would call impressive, it is definite progress from the 2016-2017 campaign when Timmins finished in last place with a woeful mark of 2-32-2.
As it stands now, fifth-place Timmins trails fourth-place Soo by six points in the standings but the Majors have a whopping eight matches in hand on the Greyhounds, who have played 24 games and have a record of 7-14-3.
As for the recent weekend of activity that produced three points from an overtime loss to the Kapuskasing Flyers and a win over the minor midget Soo Thunderbirds, first-year Timmins coach Brandon Perry came away a happy fellow.
“We really needed those points,” he told the Timmins Daily Press. “We let that extra one get away (against Kapuskasing) but I loved the way our guys competed and battled back and tied that game up late.
“And everybody competed (against the Soo),” Perry continued. “Our guys were doing a good job on the fore check and getting on their D-men. Their D-men were turning pucks over. We just stuck to our systems.”
FIRST PLACE RACE — North Bay Trappers and the veteran-laden Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves are in a frantic race for first place in the major midget division.
Crackerjack coach Guy Blanchard has his Trappers in top spot with 41 points from a record of 20-2-1 and a seven-point lead on the Nickel Caps. But Sudbury, with a record of 17-2-0, has four games in hand on North Bay.
Of note, North Bay forward Nick Davis has been lighting the lamp with a league-best 23 goals.
NIFTY NICK — He stands in at a mere 5-foot-3 and he is a minor midget-aged forward playing for the major midget Soo Greyhounds and despite limited ice time, hard-working forward Nick Jameus has 6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points thus far this season.
MINOR STARS — David Campbell of the North Bay Trappers leads all minor midget players with 14 goals, 8 assists, 22 points…Top performer for the Sudbury Wolves is Dario Beljo with 14 points in 12 games…Goalie Noah Zeppa has been in net for every game in which the 2-12-3 Soo Thunderbirds have managed a point. Zeppa has a 2-5-3 record and 3.98 goals against average.
PHOTO: Timmins Majors forward Shane Benoit celebrates a goal during his team’s victory over the Soo Thunderbirds in recent Great North Midget Hockey League action. (Photo by Thomas Perry/Postmedia.)