By Gary Moskalyk
Seven games are on tap in the SIJHL this week, including a rare Tuesday night match featuring red hot Dryden (9-1-0 last 10) against Fort Frances.
Kam River is 13th in the CJHL rankings through Nov. 21. Their power play finally crested the 10.0% mark (11.3) with five man advantage goals last week.
Snake bit and travel weary Wisconsin has until December 2 to rest their bones and reset for the rest of the year.
Thunder Bay travels to Dryden on Saturday in the SI’s marquee match-up–their first meeting of the year.
Red Lake, Fort Frances and Sioux Lookout have three games each. The Bombers travel to Kam River for a pair on the weekend.
Dryden 10-4-0 GF 65 GA 42 @ Fort Frances 2-14-0 GF 34 GA 91, Tue Nov 22
Dryden is plus-23 and has just one loss since their three-game slide to open the season. They’re 13 points back of first-place Kam River with seven games in hand.
Bryce Benfield (7-11-18) and Ryland Maier (7-9-16) lead the forward corps in points. Jordan Pfoh and James Hooton, next up in scoring, are co-leaders in goals with eight each. Max Roby has six goals and nine points in just six games.
Eric Clark has six wins on the year, with a 3.09 GAA and .902 SV% in 505 minutes of action. Zac MacDonald is 3-2-0 posting 2.67/.906 numbers in 338 minutes.
Dryden has a 23.6% efficiency rate on the power play while killing off 84.8% of their penalties.
The Ice Dogs are averaging 31.9 penalty minutes a game, most in the league.
Fort Frances is 2-14-0 on the season, presently on a five-game slide, their last win 5-3 over Red Lake.
Clark Scaddan has seven goals and 11 points to lead the team in scoring. He’s played in all 16 games. Ian Snooks, Ryker Watt and Ethan Elgie have nine, eight and seven points respectively.
Ryan Tanner and Brenden Stroble are the main goaltenders with Kaden King in reserve.
Fort has clicked on 13.9% of its power play chances and has killed off 67.6% of its penalties.
The Lakers average 19.3 minutes in the box per game, about three below league average.
Sioux Lookout 9-6-0 GF 62 GA 48 @ Red Lake 11-8-2 GF 78 GA 71, Wed Nov 23
The Bombers are an impressive +14 on the season.
Blake Burke (7-10-17) and Lucas Trimarchi (6-9-15) crack the top-20 in scoring. Phil Parker, Connor Burke and Ty Bahm are next in line.
Rookie Jake Manners is number one in net. His seven wins, 659 minutes, 2.73 GAA and .919 SV% lead the team. Raphael Marois and Odin Church are back-up options.
On special teams the Bombers are 19.4% on the PP, 84.1% on the PK.
Sioux Lookout ranks second in penalty minutes at 27.7 per game.
Red Lake brings a modest two-game winning streak and 7-3-0 record in their last 10 to the game. Their home record is 6-2-1.
Jacob Lamoureux brings his league-leading 17 goals to the contest, with 7 assists he’s 4th in the league in scoring. Aiden Corbett (8-15-23) is a point behind. Walleye import Colton Crysler is 8-10-18 on the campaign. Dayvan Bull’s recent hat trick gives him five goals on the season, with 13 helpers.
Kyle Schechtel and Trever Sanderson are in the top-40.
Jack Osmond has been at the top or near the pinnacle in SIJHL goaltending. His wins are second (eight), minutes are second (803), GAA second (2.46) and SV% first (.932).
Jaxson Taupert appeared in seven games and has been released. Connor Hatfield serves in the back-up role.
The Miners are 16.5% on the PP and a league-leading 88.6% on the PK. They’ve also scored five times shorthanded.
Red Lake spends an average of 16.8 minutes in the box–second lowest in the league.
Sioux Lookout @ Kam River 16-4-1 GF 81 GA 62, Fri/Sat Nov 25/26
Sioux Lookout and Kam River have duked it out five times already this season. The Walleye lead the season series 3-2. The home team has won every game.
Kam River has a .786 winning percentage through 21 games. They’re 6-0-1 in one-goal games this year. They’re on a six-game winning streak.
Ethan Lang (4-20-24), Jeremy Dunmore (8-11-19), rookie Euan Morrison (6-10-16) and Carson Gorst (5-10-15) are top-20 scorers. Holden Woodcroft (7-6-13), Anthony Oviedo, rookie Max Leduc (6-6-12), defenceman Jack Cook (5-7-12) and Ryan Doucette (5-6-11) provide a lot of scoring depth.
Eric Vanska is the main man in net, leading the SI in workload (855 minutes) and wins, 11. Jack Orchard has five wins and a 2.71 GAA in eight appearances.
The Walleye are a touch above league average in goals for per game–3.86–and are second in goals against at 2.95. They’re at 11.3% on the power play after a splurge against Wisconsin. They’ve been shorthanded 120 times this season. They kill penalties at 84.2%.
The Walleye average four minutes above league average in the penalty box.
Fort Frances @ Red Lake, Fri/Sat Nov 25/26
Red Lake holds the series lead with a 4-1 record head-to-head.
Thunder Bay 9-4-2 GF 62 GA 44 @ Dryden Sat Nov 26
Meeting number one of two cornerstone franchises takes place in Dryden on Saturday. The North Stars are undefeated in five and are 8-1-1 in their last 10.
Dryden was 9-1-0 going into their game against Fort Frances. If they win that one they’ll be on fire as well.
Edison Weeks had a four-goal game against Wisconsin giving him 12. His 23 points place 7th in scoring.
Dylan Winsor and Bobby Doukov have 15 points each. Noah Broughton and Dimitri Trahiotis are point-a-game forwards. Colby Feist has five goals and nine points in five games. Jamie Fuchs is 2-5-7 in three games. Jake Parker has four points in three games.
Conner Lemieux’s 2.37 GAA is league-leading. Keenan Marks has four wins in four starts and has a 1.96 GAA and .945 SV% in the secret weapon category.
Thunder Bay has the top power play in the league at 23.8% and the second-best penalty kill at 87.3%. Their 21.7 penalty minutes is slightly below league average.
The team bus has been a jewel according to trainer Donnie Dowswell, and is due for decaling very shortly.
Catch all of this week’s action at SIJHLTV the streaming home of SIJHL hockey.