WEEK 8 Preview
Seven games highlight the SIJHL schedule as the league heads into the second quarter of its 189-game schedule.
Kam River 12-4-1 GF 63 GA 54 @ Wisconsin 5-9-1 GF 54 GA 58, Wed Nov 9
Kam River begins a new chapter with a new head coach on the horizon. For now Thunder Bay hockey icon Vern Ray and GM Kevin McCallum will guide the first-place Walleye.
With an impressive 6-3 win over the Bombers under their belts the new tandem will go cross-border shopping looking for two points off the Wisconsin Lumberjacks.
The Walleye have five players in the top-20 in scoring. Ethan Lang (4-12-16) leads the crew. Jeremy Dunmore has 14 points in 14 games. Holden Woodcroft’s seven goals leads the team. Rookie Euan Morrison and Carson Gorst follow with a dozen points each. Defenceman Jack Cook has compiled 10 points in 10 games.
Eric Vanska’s 8-2-1 record and 670 minutes played lead the SIJHL. Jack Orchard has a 4-2-0 log and 2.99 GAA to his credit.
The powerplay has been absent much of the year sitting at 7.4%. Kam River’s penalty kill is 82.5%.
As much as Kam River has a penchant for winning one-goal games, Wisconsin is on the opposite end of that metric. Of their nine losses, six of them were one-goal heartbreakers. The Lumberjacks play in four of the seven games scheduled in the SIJHL this week.
Ryder McMillen, Dillon Phillips and Zach Carson sit 1,2,4 in the SIJHL scoring race.
McMillen fell below the two-point barrier with 27 points in 15 games. Phillips is 5-16-21 and Carson has 11 goals and seven helpers for 18. Only Jacob Lamoureux of Red Lake has more goals (14). Defenceman Dylan Jouppi averages a point a game through 15 contests. Salvatore Poggiali brings a 7-7-14 resume to the rink.
Kyler Lowden is 4-4-1 with a 3.93 GAA and .915 SV%. in 565 minutes. Emmett Doherty is 3.38/.914 between the pipes.
The Lumberjacks are the least penalized team in the league. Despite the top guns in their line up their PP is average and their PK is a tick below league average.
Wisconsin is on a four-game losing streak and is 2-7-1 in their last 10.
Thunder Bay 6-4-2 GF 36 GA 38 @ Fort Frances 2-9-0 GF 26 GA 61 Fri/Sat Nov 11/12
Thunder Bay brings the top power play in the league (24.4%) to Fort Frances for a pair.
Edison Weeks has 16 points (7 goals) in 12 games. Tyler Doukov, Dylan Winsor and Noah Broughton round out the top offensive corps with nine points each.
Conner Lemieux is 4-1-2 with a 2.70 GAA and .922 SV% to his credit. Keenan Marks leads the back-up brigade with a 0.96 GAA and .970 Sv%–not enough to qualify for the goalie rankings. Overall, the team’s 3.17 GAA places them second in that category.
PIMs are league average at 22.08 per game. PK is 85.2, slightly above the norm. Thunder Bay defeated Fort Frances 8-1 in their first meeting, losing the game by forfeit for using an ineligible player.
Fort Frances recorded their second win of the year with a 5-3 win over Red Lake. The victory broke a nine-game losing streak.
Finally, perhaps, a building block for a brighter future. Brandon Rossetti has 10 points to pace the offense. Clark Scaddan has six goals in 11 games. Ryan Tanner picked up the win, perking up his stats with his first star performance. Kaden King and Brenden Stroble serve in back-up roles.
The Lakers improved their powerplay to 19.0% with four markers against the best penalty kill in the league–Red Lake.
Fort still has the worst PK at 67.3 and they’ll face Thunder Bay’s top PP.
Wisconsin 5-9-1 GF 54 GA 58 @ Red Lake 7-7-2 GF 50 GA 51 Fri/Sat Nov 11/12
Red Lake entertains Wisconsin for a pair. The Miners are about as .500 as possible, actually sitting at exactly .500 and minus-1 on the year.
As noted, Jacob Lamoureux brings his 14 goals to bear against the ‘Jacks. Colton Crysler (7-6-13), Aiden Corbett (6-7-13) and defenceman Dayvan Bull (1-10-11) round out the double-digit point producers.
Jack Osmond tops the goalie charts with a 2.43 goals against and .933 save percentage, and has six of Red Lake’s seven wins. Jaxson Taupert has 427 minutes of playing time as the back-up. The Miners to date seem to favour the two-goalie system.
The Miners trend slightly toward a lower scoring team and a lower goals allowed team. Their powerplay sits at 14.5%. Their penalty kill is tops in the league at 89.7%.
At 17.13 penalty minutes per game they are the second lowest in the league.
Dryden 8-4-0 GF 55 GA 35 @ Sioux Lookout 8-5-0 GF 55 GA 42 Sat Nov 12
Dryden lost their first game (4-2) since Sep. 30 playing in Sioux Lookout on Nov. 4. They return to the scene eight days later. Both teams play a heavy, physical game. The Ice Dogs average 32.67 penalty minutes per game, most in the SI.
Ryland Maier has 16 points (7G-9A) in 10 games, second in points per game at 1.60. Bryce Benfield (6-9-15) and Jordan Pfoh (7-5-12) are top-20 material. Landen Stromme and James Hooton bring a sniper’s touch with seven goals each.
Eric Clark and Zac MacDonald share the goaltending duties. Clark has six wins and twice as many minutes. MacDonald has a 2.77 GAA, Clark 2.85, while Clark has a .907 SV% to MacDonald’s .901.
The Ice Dogs have the best goal differential in the league at +20. They lead the SIJHL is goals per game, 4.58, and fewest goals allowed, 2.92. Their powerplay is 23.0%–second in the league, and their penalty kill is 84.0%, a notch better than the league average of 82.8. Their five shorthanded markers are tied with Wisconsin.
Sioux Lookout is more an SIJHL success story than an expansion team. Their +13 in 13 games makes them a goal a game better than their competition. And they’re packing them in at The Hangar as well.
Blake Burke (6-9-15) and Lucas Trimarchi (6-7-13) are offensive drivers. In a statistical anomaly (who doesn’t love those?) five Bombers have 10 points. Rookies Phil Parker (6-4), Tegan Neuman (5-5), Connor Burke (5-5) and defenceman Tyler Decoff (4-6) are joined by Graeme Patrick (3-7). Defenceman Aiden Parker adds his nine points (2-7) to the depth chart.
Jake Manners carries the freight in net with six wins and 539 minutes. His 2.67 GAA is second in the league, and his .921 SV% is third. Raphael Marois and Odin Church provide support.
Sioux Lookout’s 20.0% PP and 87.3% PK are both above league average. Their 28.77 penalty minutes per game is third.
Wisconsin @ Dryden Sun Nov 13
The Lumberjacks will end a 5 day period with 4 games by stopping for a tilt with the GM Ice Dogs on their way back from Red Lake.