Road to the 2019 National Junior A Championship: NOJHL
The Soo Thunderbirds finished No. 1 in GF, GA, PP and PK to sit atop the NOJHL for the sixth time in nine years
It was a dominant run through the NOJHL for the Soo Thunderbirds, who were crowned regular-season champions for the sixth time in nine years. The Thunderbirds opened the season with a nine-game winning streak and never slowed down, finishing atop the league in goals for (221), goals against (145), power play (22.1%) and penalty kill (86.6%) en route to a 16-point cushion over Hearst. Lucas Theriault (40-36—76) and Noah Boman (24-52—76) did the damage up front, taking the top two spots in the NOJHL scoring race, while Colin Ahern and William Anderson shared the netminding duties; Anderson was second in the league with a 2.40 GAA, while Ahern finished second with 24 wins.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UPS East Division 4) Powassan Voodoos vs. 5) Cochrane Crunch
1) Hearst Lumberjacks vs. winner of POW-COC 2) Kirkland Lake Gold Miners vs. 3) Timmins Rock
West Division 4) Blind River Beavers vs. 5) Elliot Lake Wildcats
1) Soo Thunderbirds vs. winner of BRB-ELW 2) Rayside Balfour Canadians vs. 3) Soo Eagles
FINAL STANDINGS (W-L-T-OTL) East Division Hearst – 73 points (33-16-7) Kirkland Lake – 72 points (33-17-6) Timmins – 69 points (33-20-3) Powassan – 68 points (32-19-4) Cochrane – 67 points (31-20-5) French River – 31 points (14-38-3)
West Division Soo Thunderbirds – 89 points (44-11-1) Rayside Balfour – 67 points (31-20-5) Soo Eagles – 60 points (28-24-4) Blind River – 57 points (25-24-7) Elliot Lake – 45 points (21-32-3) Espanola – 23 points (10-43-3)
LEADING SCORERS Lucas Theriault (Soo Thunderbirds) – 40G 36A 76P Noah Boman (Soo Thunderbirds) – 24G 52A 76P Jake Desando (Hearst) – 30G 45A 75P Max Griffioen (Hearst) – 29G 43A 72P Brendan Young (Blind River) – 26G 44A 70P
LEADING GOALTENDERS Dawson Rodin (Kirkland Lake) – 16-10-5, 2.34 GAA, .928 SV%, 4 SO William Anderson (Soo Thunderbirds) – 20-5-1, 2.40 GAA, .916 SV%, 1 SO Sebastien Plamondon (Rayside Balfour) – 15-7-2, 2.49 GAA, .926 SV%, 3 SO Nicholas Tallarico (Hearst) – 24-10-6, 2.49 GAA, .921 SV%, 3 SO Gregory Brassard (Kirkland Lake) – 17-6-1, 2.50 GAA, .916 SV%, 2 SO
LAST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCE 2015 (Soo Thunderbirds – fifth place)
TOTAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES 5 (2015, 2012, 2002, 2000, 1997)
LAST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP none (best finish: runner-up – Rayside Balfour Sabrecats, 2000)
TOTAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS none
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