SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
SIJHL COMMUNICATIONS
MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014
SIJHL Showcase goes Wednesday, Thursday in Spooner, Wis.
THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The Superior International Junior Hockey League’s annual Showcase event is set for Wednesday and Thursday at the Ice House in Spooner, Wis. with all six league-member clubs competing.
The event will feature three games daily with the results counting in the SIJHL’s overall standings.
Day 1 play Wednesday has the Minnesota Iron Rangers meeting Thunder Bay North Bay in the opener at 1 p.m. followed by the English River Miners and Fort Frances Lakers squaring off at 4:30 p.m. while the Wisconsin Wilderness take on the Dryden Ice Dogs in the finale at 8 p.m.
Thursday sees three more tilts on the slate as the Miners tangle with the Iron Rangers at 1 p.m., the Lakers and Ice Dogs going at it at 4:30 p.m. before wrapping things up with the Wilderness and North Stars at 8 p.m.
“By moving the schedule and having the Showcase games mid-week it allows the college and university programs a better opportunity to scout our players as there is less of a conflict with the schools who already play the majority of their games on weekends,” stated SIJHL President/Commissioner Ron Whitehead.
“Every year more and more SIJHL alumni are starting to make their mark at higher levels of the game and we at the league hope this continues with such events as the SIJHL Showcase where attending scouts have the opportunity to see all of our member clubs compete at one venue,” added Whitehead.
Among some of the more notable alumnus of the SIJHL are Carter Hutton (Nashville-NHL); Robert Bortuzzo (Pittsburgh-NHL); Ryan Faragher (St. Cloud State-NCHC); Jesse Wilkins (Bemidji State-WCHA); Drew Strandberg (Wisconsin-Superior-WIAC), Mitch Cain (Bemidji State-WCHA), Marcus Perrier (Bowling Green-WCHA), Trevor Gamache (Lakehead-OUA) and last season’s league Pizza Hut player of the year and playoff MVP Mike Dietrich (American International-Atlantic Hockey).
SIJHL SHOWCASE
All games at the Spooner Ice House
ADDRESS
Spooner Ice House
301 Walnut Street
Spooner, Wis.
54801
GAME SCHEDULE
DAY 1
Wednesday, Jan. 22
Thunder Bay vs. Minnesota 1 p.m.
English River vs. Fort Frances 4:30 p.m.
Dryden vs. Wisconsin 8 p.m.
DAY 2
Thursday, Jan. 23
Minnesota vs. English River 1 p.m.
Fort Frances vs. Dryden 4:30 p.m.
Wisconsin vs. Thunder Bay 8 p.m.
GAME AWARDS: Following each contest at the SIJHL Showcase the top performer on each team will be recognized with Gongshow Gear player of the game awards courtesy of Gongshow Gear Inc. the official lifestyle hockey apparel partner of the SIJHL.
ONLINE ACTION: Each game at the SIJHL Showcase will be available online on a pay-per-view basis via FASTHockey, the official broadcast partner of the SIJHL.
Simply visit sijhl.fasthockey.com to tune in.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
DRYDEN ICE DOGS: Dryden is an original member of the SIJHL … The Ice Dogs enter the Showcase fourth in the overall standings with a 17-21-5-0 record trailing third place Minnesota by 11 points. … Day 1 in Spooner has them taking on the Wisconsin Wilderness before squaring off against the rival Fort Frances Lakers on Day 2. … Offensively the club is led by forward Dane Feeney. …The 19-year-old native of Campbell River, B.C. has amassed 54 points in 43 games for the Ice Dogs so far this season on 25 tallies and 29 assists. … His numbers are also good enough to put him into a tie for fourth in SIJHL scoring. … Feeney is also fourth in goals. … Another forward averaging a point-per-game so far for Dryden is Zachary Kercz. … The 18-year-old, who hails from Aurora, Ont., sits second on the squad with 44 points, including 21 goals. … Kercz entered the SIJHL Showcase riding a seven-game point streak and also has 11 multiple-point outings to his credit on the campaign. He is also tied for second in shorthanded efforts with three. … Chris Sitco and Chris Varrin are third and fourth respectively on the team with 37 and 35 points. …Of the 13 times Tyson Holder has scored for the Ice Dogs so far this season, nine of them have been on the power play, which leads the club. It also knots him for the fourth highest total in the league. … Tim Kavanaugh tops all blueliners on the Ice Dogs in scoring with 20 points in 23 games played. … He also leads all defencemen on the squad in markers with eight. … Shayne Dietl has seen the bulk of the action in net for Dryden so far this season. The 19-year-old hailing from Boca Raton, Fla., has seven wins to his credit. … So far in the 2013-14 campaign Dryden has clicked at a 22.4% success rate on the power play. That is the third best ratio in the league. …On the penalty kill the Ice Dogs have not been as fortunate as they are only operating on a 76% rate. That is the fifth lowest total in the SIJHL. … The Ice Dogs are coached by Paul Maclean.
ENGLISH RIVER MINERS: The first-year English River Miners have been a success both on and off the ice in their home venue, Ear Falls, Ont. … The Miners enter the Showcase just one game under the .500-mark in league play with a 16-17-3-0 overall record. English River trails Dryden by just four points in the race for fourth in the standings while also holding seven games in hand. … Their two games at the Showcase has them meeting league-leading Fort Frances in the opener and third place Minnesota in their finale. … John Morales leads the Miners in scoring as he has notched 46 points, including 20 goals in 36 games played. … Morales, who is seventh in SIJHL scoring, has got on the score sheet in 15 of his past 18 outings. … Next on the squad in points is Vincent Currao with 42, which knots him for 10th in the SIJHL. He has 18 goals to his credit to date. … Currao is coming off a six-point weekend helping the Miners pick-up a home-and-home sweep of Dryden over the weekend. … Sitting in third spot on the squad in offensive numbers is Brendan Wilde. The 20-year-old from Surrey, B.C. has tallied 15 times and doled out 13 assists. His five game-winning goals tie him for the second most in the SIJHL. … Netmidner Greg Harney leads all goaltenders in the league in save percentage at .916. Harney also shares the SIJHL-lead in shutouts with two. … Meanwhile P.D. Melgoza is overall in saves made with 663. … They are connecting at an 18.3% rate on the power play so far this season, which leaves them fifth in the SIJHL. … They are slightly better while down a man as they are fourth overall in the league with a P.K. percentage of 80.4. … The head coach and general manager of the Miners is Kevin Kahoot. Of note, Kahoot is also the Mayor of Ear Falls.
FORT FRANCES LAKERS: Under the guidance of three-time SIJHL coach of the year Wayne Strachan, the Lakers enter the Showcase in first place in the league standings with an impressive 30-6-0-2 record. … Their two Showcase contests has them taking on English River and Dryden. … The Lakers have been rated in the Canadian Junior Hockey League top 20 rankings most the season, including seventh overall this week. … Offensively Fort Frances boasts three of the top five point producers in the SIJHL. … Leading the way is rookie forward Lucas Debenedet from International Falls, Minn. … The 18-year-old has racked up 75 points in just 28 games. His 32 goals also lead the league as do his 43 assists. … Teammate Mason Meyer is third in the league with 60 points and knotted for the second in tallies with 29 and fourth in helpers with 31. He 10 power play markers tie him for the league lead. … Third on the squad and tied for fourth in the league offensively is Lyndon Lipinski. He has picked up 54 points to date. He is tied for fifth in game-winning goals with teammates Kevin Kurm and Brett Aiken with four each. … Lipinski’s brothers Bryce and Kyle are also members of the Lakers. All three hail from Grand Prairie, Alta. They have combined for 104 points… Tanner Fricke leads all SIJHL defencemen in points with 30. … Netminder Jordan Cartney tops all SIJHL puck stoppers in goals-against average at 2.45. He is also second in save percentage at .914 and shares the league lead in shutouts with two. … Cartney has played more minutes than any goalie in the league at just under 1,400. … Fort Frances leads the SIJHL in both power play prowess at 27.7% and penalty kill proficiency at 82.8%.
MINNESOTA IRON RANGERS: Minnesota enters the SIJHL Showcase in the midst of a solid season as the Hoyt Lakes-based club has 50 points on the campaign with 22-9-2-4 record, which leaves them third overall in the league, just five points in arrears of second place Thunder Bay. … They will meet those very same North Stars in the opening game of the Showcase before tangling with English River on Day 2. … Leading his team in scoring is Jason Reynolds. The 18-year-old from De Pere, Wis., has picked up 42 points in 36 outings. … Right behind him is veteran forward Jonathon Losurdo with 40 points followed by captain Trevor Hoth with 39. … Among the league leaders, Matt O’Dea is fourth in goals with 24, Hoth shares fourth in man advantage markers with nine, Losurdo paces the SIJHL in shorthanded efforts with four while O’Dea leads the way in game-winning tallies with seventh. He is also tied for second with a trio of shorthanded efforts whole Reynolds’ five game-winners tie him foe second in the league. …Netminder Alex Reichle is third in the SIJHL in goals-against average at 2.93 while teammate Erick Majerle is fifth at 3.15. Reichle sits fourth in save percentage at .901 and is tied for third in wins with 11…. Majerle is fourth in victories with 10 … Minnesota is just five victories shy from setting a franchise record for wins in a season. …Guiding the fortunes of the Iron Rangers is Chris Walby. He earned SIJHL co-coach of the year accolades last season. … Special teams see Minnesota sitting fourth overall on the power play at 21.9% …. They are solid on the penalty kill boasting the second-best success ratio in the SIJHL at 82.3 trailing only league-leader Fort Frances. … Entering the Showcase the Iron Rangers had played three games in a row that went to a shootout before a winner was decided.
THUNDER BAY NORTH STARS: Thunder Bay enters the SIJHL Showcase as the hottest team in the league. … They sit in second place in the league standings under first-year head coach Jeremy Adduono. With the North Stars sporting a 25-6-1-4 record, they trail first place Fort Frances by seven points, but also hold two games in hand on the Lakers. As mentioned Thunder Bay has been playing their best hockey of the season to date having gone 8-0-0-1 in their past nine games, which has helped solidify their 11th place listing in the latest CJHL top 20 rankings. … With the club rolling of late, no player in the SIJHL has been playing better than rookie forward Daniel Delpaggio. The 17-year-old Thunder Bay product is coming off a nine-point week in three games which earned him SIJHL Pizza Hut player of the week laurels. … Leading the league in overall point-per-game average at 2.12, Delpaggio is second in scoring with 68 points, tied for second in goals with 29, is second in assists 39, sits tied for the SIJHL lead in power play tallies with 10 and is knotted for second in game-winners with five. He is also riding a 17-game point streak and also has points in 26 of his past 27. …Matthias Gardiman is next on the Stars with 49 points while another rookie in Zach Grzelewski is third with 45. … His 10 man advantage markers tie him for the most in the league. … Netminder Eric Mann is second in the SIJHL in goals-against average at 2.86 and wins with 15. He’s third in save percentage at .909. … Nathanial Dupuis is fifth in GAA at 3.57. …Thunder Bay is second best on the power play at 25.5% and third on the P.K. at 81.8% under Adduono a former Canadian National Team member and an 11-year pro in the AHL and Europe.
WISCONSIN WILDERNESS: Despite struggling mightily in the first half of the season Wisconsin is showing signs of righting the ship in the second half of the SIJHL season. … As the host team for this year’s Showcase the Wilderness will play in the finale on each of the two days of competition at the Spooner Ice House. … Wednesday’s opponent will be the Dryden Ice Dogs while Thursday’s adversary will be the surging Thunder Bay North Star’s … Under recently hired head coach John McCreary Wisconsin has shown some vast improvement in a lot of areas. … The Wilderness enter the SIJHL Showcase having won two games in a row with victories over the league-leading Fort Frances Lakers and third place Minnesota Iron Rangers. … Winning both of those contests was netminder Griffin Strain, who has helped solidify the goaltending on the club. He posted a .925 save percentage in those two recent triumphs. … Even with only scoring a league-low 93 times to date on the season, the Wilderness do however boast six skaters with 20 or more points on the season. … Leading the way is veteran forward Darrick Howard. The 20-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska has a team-high 28 points on 10 goals and 18 assists. … He is followed by Justin Gregory and Sawyer Jacobson as that duo both have 24 points to their credit. … Right behind them is blueliner Tanner Vinson who tops all defencemen on the Wilderness in scoring with 23 points, including nine tallies. … Rounding out the top half dozen on Wisconsin is Alex Rezansoff, he of a team-best 14 goals, and captain Zach Kraft as the pair each has 22 points to their credit. … Special teams remains a work in progress for the Wilderness as they sit sixth overall on the power play and the P.K. at 10.1% and 73%.