THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The Superior International Junior Hockey League’s annual Showcase is set for Tuesday and Wednesday at Ice for Kids Arena in Fort Frances with each of its six-member clubs competing in two games each in contests that count towards the regular season standings.
SCHEDULE: Both days of the SIJHL Showcase will feature three games taking place.
| DATE | VISITOR | HOME | TIME |
| Tuesday, Jan. 30 | Minnesota | Dryden | 1 p.m. |
| Tuesday, Jan. 30 | English River | Thief River Falls | 4:15 p.m. |
| Tuesday, Jan. 30 | Fort Frances | Thunder Bay | 7:30 p.m. |
| Wednesday, Jan. 31 | Thunder Bay | English River | 1 p.m. |
| Wednesday, Jan. 31 | Thief River Falls | Minnesota | 4:15 p.m. |
| Wednesday, Jan. 31 | Dryden | Fort Frances | 7:30 p.m. |
BROADCAST: All six SIJHL Showcase contests will be streamed online at HockeyTV.com.
STANDINGS: The SIJHL standings as of Jan. 29
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS |
| Thief River Falls | 36 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 62 |
| Dryden | 36 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 59 |
| Thunder Bay | 37 | 23 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 49 |
| English River | 36 | 17 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 38 |
| Fort Frances | 38 | 11 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 26 |
| Minnesota | 37 | 3 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
LEADING SCORERS:
| PLAYER | TEAM | POS. | GP | G | A | PTS |
| Jacen Bracko | Dryden | F | 36 | 28 | 23 | 51 |
| Parker Simonson | Thief River Falls | F | 35 | 30 | 20 | 50 |
| Bradley Thrower | Thunder Bay | F | 37 | 23 | 21 | 44 |
| Eric Stout | Dryden | F | 32 | 22 | 21 | 43 |
| Michael Johnson | Thief River Falls | F | 35 | 7 | 36 | 43 |
| Mitchell Soderberg | Thief River Falls | F | 35 | 14 | 28 | 42 |
| Alex Maticic | Thunder Bay | F | 36 | 14 | 28 | 42 |
| Avery Siau | Thunder Bay | F | 31 | 15 | 25 | 40 |
| Jared Pedersen | Thief River Falls | F | 36 | 15 | 23 | 38 |
| Keighan Gerrie | Thunder Bay | F | 34 | 18 | 19 | 37 |
| Mark Sanchez | Minnesota | F | 35 | 18 | 18 | 36 |
| Eli Kinsman | Minnesota | F | 35 | 9 | 26 | 35 |
GOALTENDING LEADERS
| GOALTENDER | TEAM | GP | W | L | OT/SL | AVG. | SV% | SO |
| Jacob Gnidziejko | Dryden | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 2.11 | .930 | 1 |
| Bailey Schmitz | Thief River Falls | 19 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 2.35 | .928 | 2 |
| Dougie Newhouse | Thunder Bay | 19 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 3.08 | .896 | 0 |
| Michael Lenko | English River | 23 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 3.29 | .908 | 0 |
| Westin Cardwell | English River | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 3.39 | .899 | 0 |
TEAM-BY-TEAM
DRYDEN GM ICE DOGS: Dryden enters the SIJHL Showcase unbeaten in regulation in their past 13 games with a 10-0-3-0 record. … Dryden sits second in the league standings, just three points behind first place Thief River Falls. … The GM Ice Dogs were tabbed eighth in the latest Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings. … Jacen Bracko enters the Showcase riding an impressive 13-game point streak having amassed 13 goals and eight assists in that span. … Bracko also leads the entire SIJHL in offensive production with 51 points in just 36 games. … His 28 tallies are the second-most in the league. …Eric Stout is second on the squad and tied for fourth in SIJHL scoring with 43 points, including 22 goals, in 32 games played. … Cory Dennis of the GM Ice Dogs leads all SIJHL defencemen in points with 34 in as many games. … His 11 markers also top all league blueliners. … Brendan Jay is second on the squad and third overall in scoring among league rearguards with 26 points, including seven goals. … Evan Walls has five game-winning goals to his credit, which are the second-most in league play. … GM Ice Dogs netminder Jacob Gnidziejko leads the league in goals-against average at 2.11. … He’s also first in save percentage at .930. …. Landon Pavlisin is 7-0-1 in net since joinging the team. … The club is 22-0-3-0 when scoring first so far, this season. … Dryden will host the Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Jr. A Championship May 1-5 at Memorial Arena.
ENGLISH RIVER MINERS: The Miners have won three straight and have gone 6-3-0-1 in their past 10 outings. … Leading English River offensively is forward Michael Di Lullo. … He is a point-per-game guy with 33 in 31 games with 14 goals and 19 assists to his credit. … Next on the squad is veteran forward Matt O’Neill. … O’Neill has 26 points and is rapidly closing in on single-season highs in goals, assists and points. … Spencer Milne paces all rookies on the Miners in scoring with 24 points. … That puts him fifth among all first-year players in the league. … Kyle Rosolowski presently leads all English River defencemen in scoring with 24 points. … That also places him fourth-best among all league blueliners. … SIJHL Player of the Week Terix Fischer-Kobes is next on the squad with 21. … He’s coming off picking up six points in three English River victories, which included a four-assist performance on Saturday. … Michael Lenko has played the second-most minutes in net in the league at 1,275. … Miners head coach and general manager Derek Sweet-Coulter served as an assistant coach for Canada West that captured the gold medal at the World Jr. A Challenge in Truro, N.S. in December.
FORT FRANCES LAKERS: The Showcase host Lakers are coming off a 2-1 shootout triumph over league-leading Thief River Falls Saturday backed by a 38-save effort from goaltender Brett Akins. … He also turned aside all four attempts he faced in the shootout. … Fort Frances has gone 5-3 in their past eight games. … Nick Lucas leads the Lakers in scoring with 30 points having scored 14 times and assisting on 16 others. … Lucas’ totals also place his second in SIJHL rookie scoring. … His 14 markers are the second highest among first-year players in the league. … He’s tied for third in rookie assists. … Jaedin Ness tops his team in goals scored with 19. He’s also added 10 assists. … With two shootout goals, Ness sits second in the league in that category. … Both are shootout winners, which leads the SIJHL. … Fort Frances has lowest penalty minutes is the league so far, this season at 427. … Lakers head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan in the all-time winningest coach in SIJHL history.
MINNESOTA IRON RANGERS: Despite sitting in sixth spot in the league standings, Minnesota boasts three skaters among the SIJHL’s top 20 point producers. … Mark Sanchez, Clayton Brown and Eli Kinsman are all point-per-game players for the club. … Sanchez had 36 points in 35 outings on 18 goals and as many assists. … His goal total ties him for sixth best in the entire league. … Kinsman is just one point in arrears of Sanchez with 35 in as many games played having tallied nine times while helping set-up 26 others. … Kinsman’s assist total ranks him fourth highest among all SIJHL skaters. … As for Brown, he has picked up 33 points in his first 33 games this season. … In all he has notched nine markers and assisted on 24 more. … Brown is seventh in the league in helpers. … Bryce Litke leads all SIJHL rookie defencemen in points with 16 on six goals and 10 assists. … The Iron Rangers boast the second-lowest penalty minute total in the league at 449. … Minnesota netminder Rob Ivy has played the most minutes in the league to date with 1,459. … The Iron Rangers are two-for-two in penalty shots this season.
THIEF RIVER FALLS NORSKIES: The Norskies boasted a SIJHL season-high 2,971 fans in their last home game. … Thief River Falls tops the SIJHL standings with an impressive 30-4-0-2 record. … The Norskies are currently ranked fourth overall in the entire 132-team Canadian Junior Hockey League. … Parker Simonson leads all SIJHL skaters in goals this season with 30. … His 50 points place him in second spot in league scoring, just one off a share of the overall lead. … Simonson’s seven game-winning goals lead the SIJHL. … Michael Johnson is knotted for fourth in SIJHL scoring with 43 points. … Johnson’s 36 assists pace all players in the league. … Teammate Mitchell Soderberg is just one point behind Johnson with 42. … He has 14 tallies and 28 helpers to his credit. … Soderberg paces the league in shorthanded markers with three. … Connor Bowey and Pete Grytdahl are both in the Top 10 in points among SIJHL defencemen with 19 and 18 respectively. … Goaltender Bailey Schmitz leads the league in wins with 14. … He’s second in goals-against average and save percentage at 2.35 and .928 respectively. … The Norskies have allowed the fewest goals-against so far, this season in league play at 82. … They are third in goals for with 151.
THUNDER BAY NORTH STARS: Thunder Bay enters the Showcase riding a six-game winning streak. … Bradley Thrower leads the team in scoring with 44 points on 23 goals and 21 assists. … That puts him third in the entire league in offensive numbers. … Thrower leads the SIJHL in power play goals with 11. … Alex Maticic is next on the squad with 42 points, including a team-high 28 assists. … He is also on a five-game point streak. … Avery Siau sits eighth in SIJHL scoring, just behind Maticic with 40 points as he has scored 15 times and doled out 25 helpers. … Keighan Gerrie leads all SIJHL rookies in scoring with 37 points. … His 18 goals and 19 assists also lead all first-year skaters in the league. … Gerrie is also the youngest player in the SIJHL this season. … He is also riding a four-game goal streak in which he has provided six markers and chipped in with two assists. … Another newcomer in Owen Belisle is tied for sixth in rookie scoring with 23 points. … North Stars defenceman Kyle Auger has points in six consecutive outings having scored three times and adding six assists during that streak. … Joe Newhouse leads all North Stars’ defencemen in scoring with 31 points in 37 games. … His 25 assists pace all SIJHL D-men. … Dougie Newhouse is third among goalkeepers in average while Brandon Bodnar leads the league in shutouts with three.