Wild West of the NOJHL
There is clear separation between the top three teams and the lower three in the East Division of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. But at about the one third mark of the regular season schedule in the NOJHL, it is a much different story in the West Division where all six teams are in clear contention.
In fact, all six teams in the Wild West are at the .500 mark or better heading into play this week.
Sudbury Cubs are in first place on the West side with a record of 14-2-2. Then it’s the Blind River Beavers at 12-4-2, the Soo Thunderbirds at 11-7-1, the Espanola Paper Kings at 9-6-3, the Soo Eagles at 7-5-2 and the Elliot Lake Red Wings at 9-9-0.
Meantime, over in the East, three of the six teams are well above the .500 mark and the other three are well below it.
Hearst Lumberjacks are 12-4-2, Powassan Voodoos are 13-6-0 and the Timmins Rock has a 11-5-3 mark. Then comes up a big dip — Cochrane Crunch has a record of 4-13-1, French River Rapids are 4-14-0 and Kirkland Lake Gold Miners have a 2-16-1 mark.