SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
SIJHL COMMUNICATIONS
MEDIA RELEASE
Release Date: Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013
Wilderness lead CJHL in winning percentage; Lakers 33rd
THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Of the 127 teams that currently comprise the Canadian Junior Hockey League, the Minnesota Wilderness of the Superior International Junior Hockey League leads the way when it comes to overall winning percentage.
The three-time SIJHL regular season and two-time playoff champion Wilderness presently boasts a CJHL-best win mark of .931, which coincides with their 47-3-0-1 record.
Meanwhile the No. 2 rated squad in the SIJHL standings, the Fort Frances Lakers, are rapidly closing in on joining the top 25 percent of CJHL clubs in winning percentage. At the moment they sit 33rd nationally at .656.
The Wilderness has been the hottest team in all of Jr. A hockey for the past four months having not lost a game in regulation time since all the way back on Oct. 24 of 2012.
To date the Wilderness are riding a 15-game winning streak while also going 33-0-0-1 overall since that last defeat in regulation.
They have been tabbed the No. 2 team in the CJHL weekly top 20 rankings, which are compiled in conjunction with NHL Central Scouting, for 11 consecutive weeks.
Fort Frances, last season’s playoff finalist where they fell to the Wilderness in the seventh and deciding game of the Bill Salonen Cup final, are 30-15-1-2 in 2012-13 and have been credited with the win in each of their past seven contests.
The Lakers were also the last team to hand the Wilderness a loss in regulation time, a 4-3 road triumph, back in October.
The No. 1 ranked team in the CJHL, the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Brook Bandits, sit second overall in winning percentage at .921.
Brooks has a record of 51-3-3 on the season and is the only CJHL squad to date to surpass the 100-point plateau.
Rounding out the top three is the 2013 Royal Bank Cup host Summerside Western Capitals.
Summerside, the top team in the Maritime Hockey League standings, is No. 3 when it comes to winning percentage sitting at .826.
The Western Capitals are also ranked No. 3 in the CJHL.
The following are the CJHL winning percentage leaders, featuring those clubs with a .650 win mark or higher.
| CJHL 2012-13 Season Leaders: Winning Percentage | |||
| (As of Feb. 23/13) | |||
| RANK | TEAM | LEAGUE | WIN% |
| 1st | Minnesota Wilderness | SIJHL | .931 |
| 2nd | Brooks Bandits | AJHL | .921 |
| 3rd | Summerside Western Capitals | MHL | .826 |
| 4th | Ste-Jerome Panthers | LHJAAAQ | .816 |
| 5th | Yarmouth Jr. A Mariners | MHL | .789 |
| 6th | Dauphin Kings | MJHL | .786 |
| 7th | Longueuil College Francais | LHJAAAQ | .784 |
| 8th | Trenton Golden Hawks | OJHL | .769 |
| 9th | North Bay Trappers | NOJHL | .767 |
| 10th | Winnipeg Blues | MJHL | .759 |
| 11th | Truro Bearcats | MHL | .750 |
| 12th | Soo Thunderbirds | NOJHL | .738 |
| T-13th | Humboldt Broncos | SJHL | .731 |
| T-13th | Buffalo Jr. Sabres | OJHL | .731 |
| 15th | Granby Inouk | LHJAAAQ | .724 |
| 16th | Georgetown Raiders | OJHL | .722 |
| 17th | Amherst Ramblers | MHL | .717 |
| 18th | Victoria Grizzlies | BCHL | .706 |
| 19th | St. Michael’s Buzzers | OJHL | .704 |
| 20th | Yorkton Terriers | SJHL | .698 |
| 21st | Penticton Vees | BCHL | .696 |
| 22nd | Melville Millionaires | SJHL | .689 |
| 23rd | Surrey Eagles | BCHL | .686 |
| 24th | Kingston Voyageurs | OJHL | .685 |
| 25th | Lachine Maroons | LHJAAAQ | .680 |
| T-26th | OCN Blizzard | MJHL | .675 |
| T-26th | Ottawa Jr. Senators | CCHL | .675 |
| 28th | North York Rangers | OJHL | .673 |
| T-29th | Merritt Centennials | BCHL | .670 |
| T-29th | Nipawin Hawks | SJHL | .670 |
| 31st | Spruce Grove Saints | AJHL | .664 |
| 32nd | Toronto Lakeshore Patriots | OJHL | .657 |
| 33rd | Fort Frances Lakers | SIJHL | .656 |
| 34th | Nepean Raiders | CCHL | .655 |