Net worth of the North
It is a league flush with goalies who have save percentages at or above the watershed .900 mark. And in the 12 team Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League there are no less than eight homegrown puck stoppers who are in the better than average category.
From West to East here are eight goalies with northern roots who give their teams an opportunity to win game in and game out.
• Logan Raffaele, Soo Eagles. A local Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan product, Raffaele has helped to keep the Eagles in the thick of the playoff race in the West Division with an 8-6-2 record, 2.75 goals against average and .913 save percentage.
• Kolton Bourret, Soo Thunderbirds. Hailing from the northwestern Ontario town of Thunder Bay and an Ontario Hockey League draft pick of the North Bay Battalion, Bourret has been sharing crease duties with 2006 birth year rookie Landon Miller, who is the top goalie prospect of the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds. And Bourret has helped to hold the fort for the Thunderbirds with a 6-6-1 record, 2.92 goals against average and .900 save percentage.
• Charlie Burns, Blind River Beavers. A Sault Ste. Marie lad and OHL draft pick of the Niagara Ice Dogs, the 2006 birth year rookie has been a standout for Blind River. Burns leads all NOJHL goalies with four shutouts and has a 9-2-2 record with a 1.74 goals against average and .932 save percentage.
• Gavin Disano, Blind River Beavers. Another Sault Ste. Marie kid who tends goal in Blind River, Disano has an 8-4-1 record with a 2.36 goals against average and .920 save percentage. Together with Burns, Disano has been a major factor of success for the Beavers, who are in second place in the West Division.
• Jake Marois, Espanola Paper Kings. A graduate of the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association, Marois has been a workhorse for the Paper Kings since recovering from a pre season injury. To be sure, Marois has kept Espanola in possession of a playoff spot in the hotly contested West Division with a 5-4-1 record, 3.21 goals against average and .918 save percentage.
• Noah Beaulne, Sudbury Cubs. Also from Greater Sudbury and an OHL draft pick of the Kingston Frontenacs, Beaulne has a record of 11-2-0 with a 2.40 goals against average and .913 save percentage in his first season in the NOJHL.
• Noah Metivier, Sudbury Cubs. Yet another Sault Ste. Marie product, Metivier was recently acquired by the West Division leading Cubs from the lowly Lindsay Muskies of the Ontario Jr. Hockey League in a cash exchange. He was since won both of his starts for Sudbury, stopping 49 of 50 shots for a 0.50 goals against average and .980 save percentage. Metivier was acquired by Lindsay from the Thunderbirds in an off season transaction. He had a sizzling regular season for the NOJHL champion Thunderbirds in 2021-2022 with a 20-3-4 record, 1.88 goals against average, .922 save percentage and six shutouts. Metivier followed that up with a 8-1-1 record, 2.08 goals against average and .924 save percentage in the playoffs.
• Patrick Boivin, Timmins Rock. Hailing from Blind River, Boivin has been Rock solid for Timmins, which is in first place in the East Division. Sporting a record of 13-4-1 with a 1.95 goals against average and .927 save percentage, Boivin also has three shutouts.
Of note, all of the above goalies with the exception of Raffaele are graduates of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League. Bourret played for the North Bay Trappers, Burns, Disano and Metivier are all formerly of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds, Marois and Beaulne each tended twine for the Sudbury Nickel Capitals while Boivin stopped pucks for both Sudbury and the Kapuskasing Flyers.
And except for Raffaele who has a 2002 birth date, all of the above have considerable junior hockey eligibility remaining after this season.
