With the PJHL season rolling along, teams are starting to settle in and establish their identity, and tonight, we have 2 teams that appear to be establishing identities as serious contenders for the Pollock Division.
The Wingham Ironmen continue to pace the division, sitting tops in many categories including wins (11), points (22), goals for (60) and goals against (just 26 allowed). The Ironmen couldn't be a more dominant team right now. Shane Vollmer is leading the squad in scoring with 22 points, and cousin Rhys sits 4th with 19. Captain Jamie Huber is tied for 2nd with offensive defender Carter Collinson, both with 20 points. After a somewhat slow start, Huber has exploded in his last few games, and continues to be a consummate leader on and off the ice for the group. Wingham already has 7 players in double digit point territory, an extremely impressive stat for a team that just a few seasons ago had a division low 87 goals. The Ironmen don't have many holes in their game right now, including in net, where they arguably employ 2 number one goalies. Devon Carson, goalie of the month in September, may be in line for the award again, as he sits at 5-1 with a 2.00 GAA and a .918 save percentage to go along with a shutout. Splitting starts with Carson is Jamie Brock, who is undefeated at 6-0, with a 2.33 GAA and .922 save percentage. Wingham looks to have clearly the best offense, by far the best defence (the next best team is tonight's opponent, the Patriots, with just 33 goals allowed), and arguably the best goaltending. This will be a tough test for the 2-time defending Pollock champs.
Mount Forest have had a solid start to the season, currently sitting third in the Pollock with 8 wins and 17 points, just 2 behind Kincardine's 19. The offesne is still potent, sitting second with 5o goals for, but that's a whole 10 back of the Ironmen. Still, it is impressive considering the team lost leading scorer Blair Butchart to Jr. B St. Marys among other losses, but that one is the biggest, so it's still impressive to have the totals where they are for the Pats. Defensively they're also second best, allowing just 33 goals, again trailing Wingham's 26. Mount Forest continue to be a stingy and physical team that can suffocate opponents on their best nights, and they'll have to do that tonight against the best team in the division. Michael Stefanelli contniues to be Mr. Everything for the Pats, leading the team in scoring with 19 points, and in goals with 9. Klayton Hoelscher sits second with 17 points and 7 goals, and he's just starting to heat up. Hoelscher set a new franchise record with 42 goals last year, and once he starts getting into a rhythm, there's no one harder to stop. Defensively, the Pats are doing well considering the loss of former captain and star defender Shawn Lantz. Thomas Haffner, last year's sensational late addition, is playing solid at both ends of the ice, with 7 points already. There aren't many better at turning defense into offense quickly, and the stable play Liam Burke and Dylan Brown, among others, is helping a lot. The Pats also made a major splash, acquiring former Listowel Cyclone Chet Philips from OHL Saginaw. It isn't clear yet why Philips left to come back into Jr. C, but he's a very capable defender with a ton of pedigree. In net, David Lobsinger and Aidan Quish continue to be excellent. Lobsinger sits at 3-3-1 with a 2.68 GAA and a .917 save percentage, while Quish has a 5-0 record with a shutout, a 2.81 GAA and a stout .920. Mount Forest can still challenge any club in this division, and they'll be raring to go tonight to prove their still defending 2 time champs for a reason.
Tonight should be an excellent game, maybe the best we;ve seen so far. It certainly has that potential. Anytime you have a first place club firing on all cylinders come up against a veteran group of champions, you'll want to tune in. You can do that by listening to the OHA This Week with Steve Sabourin just after 7 pm, followed by puck drop at the North Huron Wescast at 7:30 pm as the Wingham Ironmen host the Mount Forest Patriots. Steve Sabourin and Scott Bridge will have the call on CKNX AM920. Enjoy the action!
GM of the Patriots joins Steve Sabourin on The OHA This Week on at 7 p.m. on CKNX.
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