SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
SIJHL MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Monday, September 26, 2016
GM Ice Dogs 6th; North Stars honourable mention in initial CJHL rankings
THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The Canadian Junior Hockey League announced their initial Top 20 rankings for the 2016-17 season Monday and a pair of the Superior International Junior Hockey League clubs were recognized.
The Dryden GM Ice Dogs were slotted sixth overall nationally while the Thunder Bay North Stars earned honourable mention status.
Dryden kicked off their 16th SIJHL campaign in impressive fashion over the weekend as they skated to a pair of one-sided victories at Memorial Arena with triumphs over the English River Miners and Thief River Falls Norskies.
Thunder Bay meanwhile opened up with a road win Saturday in Hoyt Lakes over the Minnesota Iron Rangers.
The top ranked club in the CJHL to begin the season is the defending Dudley-Hewitt Cup champion Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL).
Another OJHL side in the Wellington Dukes are No. 2 while the Terrebonne Cobras (QJHL), Yarmouth Jr. A Mariners (MHL) and Portage Terriers (MJHL) round out the top five.
The following is the CJHL Top 20 rankings and five honourable mention teams:
CJHL TOP 20 (As of Sept. 26)
RANK TEAM (LEAGUE)
1. Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL)
2. Wellington Dukes (OJHL)
3. Terrebonne Cobras (QJHL)
4. Yarmouth Jr. ‘A’ Mariners (MHL)
5. Portage Terriers (MJHL)
6. Dryden GM Ice Dogs (SIJHL)
7. Steinbach Pistons (MJHL)
8. OCN Blizzard (MJHL)
9. Winkler Flyers (MJHL)
10. Wenatchee Wild (BCHL)
11. Markham Royals (OJHL)
12. Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)
13. Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL)
14. Penticton Vees (BCHL)
15. Cochrane Crunch (NOJHL)
16. Humboldt Broncos (SJHL)
17. Fort McMurray Oil Barons (AJHL)
18. Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)
19. Carleton Place Canadians (CCHL)
20. College Francais de Longueil (QJHL)
Honourable Mention: Thunder Bay North Stars (SIJHL); West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL); Bonnyville Pontiacs (AJHL); North York Rangers (OJHL); Smiths Falls Bears (CCHL)
ABOUT THE CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS
The CJHL Top 20 weekly rankings are based upon a variety of factors, including the league in which the team plays, winning percentage, win-loss record, total points accumulated, goals-for versus goals-against ratio, etc.
ABOUT THE CJHL
The Canadian Junior Hockey League is a national organization comprised of all 10 Junior A hockey leagues in Canada.
The CJHL represents 132 teams and nearly 3,000 players and has just as many former players furthering their hockey careers at the professional, major junior and college level across North America.
For latest CJHL news and features, visit www.cjhlhockey.com and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/cjhlhockey or @cjhlhockey.