NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
NOJHL MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Saturday, May 9, 2015
Thunderbirds ready for Carleton Place in RBC Cup opener
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – Day 1 game action for the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and Dudley-Hewitt Cup champion Soo Thunderbirds at the 2015 RBC Cup Canadian Jr. A Championship in Portage la Prairie, Man., begins tonight at 8 p.m.
Here’s a looks at Sault Ste. Marie’s initial opponent, the the back-to-back Central Canada Hockey League and Fred Page Cup Eastern Canada title holders, the Carleton Place Canadians.
TEAM: Carleton Place Canadians
LEAGUE: Central Canada Hockey League
HEAD COACH/GM: Jason Clarke
Carleton Place is no stranger to the RBC Cup as they have earned their way back to the national event for a second straight year.
Last season, the Canadians were on the verge of their first-ever RBC Cup title holding a 3-1 lead on the Yorkton Terriers (SJHL) in the championship game only to see the Saskatchewan side strike twice late to force overtime before eventually winning it all in the first extra sesssion.
Undaunted, Carleton Place is back after winning their second consecutive CCHL title.
They finished first overall in the 12-team CCHL during the course of the regular season with an impressive 101-point campaign posting a 49-10-2-1 record.
Leading the Canadian offensively was forward Andy Sturtz who registered 72 points in 58 outings scoring 30 times and setting up 42 others.
He was followed by captain Stephen Baylis, who notched a team-high 32 tallies to go along with 37 assists for 69 points.
Rounding out the top three was Adam Lloyd who had 56 points, including 29 goals.
Willie Brooks was their top scoring D-man with 36 who had eight markers and 28 helpers.
Getting key goals from various players saw a half dozen Carleton Place skaters have at least five game-winning tallies, led by Baylis, who had six.
Both Canadians netminders, in Guillaume Therrien and Adrian Clark, were solid between the pipes.
Therrien was 29-3-2-1 with four shutouts while recording a 2.08 goals-against average and a CCHL-best .924 save percentage.
As for Clark he led the CCHL in average at 1.98 while his .921 save mark was second overall in a season in which he went 20-7-0-0 with three shutouts.
In league playoff action, Carleton place swept the Nepean Wildcats in four straight in quarter-final play.
The semifinals then saw them dispose of the Cornwall Colts winning that best-of-seven set 4-2.
Moving on the league’s Bogart Cup final they handled the Pembroke Lumber Kings in five games to win it all for a second straight year.
Sturtz and Baylis once again paced the club offensively with 22 points apiece while Vinny Post had 18 and Jordan Larson had a team-high 10 playoff goals as part of his 17 overall points.
Ryker Killins topped all CCHL defencemen in postseason production with 13 points on six goals and seven assists in 15 games.
Therrien saw the bulk of the workload in net in the playoffs going 11-2 with a 2.27 average and a .906 save percentage.
Clark won his lone CCHL postseason start.
Advancing to the Fred Page Cup in Cornwall, Carleton Placed edged the Dieppe Commandos (MHL) in the title game 3-2 to punch their ticket to Portage.
D-man Brooks buried the game-winner on the power play with five and a half minutes remaining.
Therrien was stellar going 3-0 with a stingy 1.92 average and solid .933 save mark.
Clark dropped his lone start to the host Colts in a game that had no implications, other than pride, as the Canadians had already secured a berth in the final and Cornwall had been eliminated.
Craig Pefley was the team’s top point producer with six on a goal and five assists.
Baylis notched a team-high four tallies and set-up another followed by Lloyd’s two-goal, two-assist totals.
All RBC Cup round robin and semifinal games are available online via FASTHockey.com while the championship will be on TSN.
RBC Cup Canadian Jr. A Championship
PCU Centre – Portage la Prairie, Man.
Dates: May 9-17
Competing Teams
Host: Portage Terriers (MJHL)
Central: Soo Thunderbirds (Dudley-Hewitt Cup champion)
East: Carleton Place Canadians (Fred Page Cup champion)
West 1: Penticton Vees (Crescent Point Energy Cup champion)
West 2: Melfort Mustangs (Crescent Point Energy Cup finalist)
Schedule
Saturday, May 9
Penticton vs. Portage 3 p.m.
Soo vs. Carleton Place 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 10
Melfort vs. Penticton 3 p.m.
Portage vs. Carleton Place 8 p.m.
Monday, May 11
Melfort vs. Soo 8 p.m.
Tuesday, May 12
Carleton Place vs. Melfort 3 p.m.
Soo vs. Portage 8 p.m.
Wednesday, May 13
Carleton Place vs. Melfort 8 p.m.
Thursday, May 14
Penticton vs. Soo 3 p.m.
Portage vs. Melfort 8 p.m.
Friday, May 17
CJHL Awards Banquet
Saturday, May 16
Semifinal 1: 3 p.m.
Semifinal 2: 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 17
Final: 8 p.m.
