'TIS THE (MID) SEASON
[As of May 26th ]
It's now halfway through the 2008 season for the BCJALL and the standings say a lot. In just one month you can really get a feel for which teams are passionate about contending for the Minto Cup.
In the standings almost everyone has a point partner; the threesome at the top are tied at 14, New West and Poco have 10 each, Nanaimo and Delta are sitting with 6 and South Fraser not only doesn't have a point partner, they are still sitting with 0 points. Lets break it down…
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COQUITLAM (7-1) - SO FAR THIS SEASON:
One loss (by one goal) to Burnaby in their first game of the season, and the Adanacs haven't looked back. Thanks to their 'beast from back' east goalie Joel Weber (1st overall in BCJALL starter goalies), and their tight defensive game, the Adanacs haven't allowed more than seven goals against in any game this season so far.
In offense they are being led by Scott Defrancesco, Kelly Kilpatrick, and Jordan Weir who have combined for 47 of the A's 89 goals. Definitely another season with the Minto Cup in their sights, and with Weber holding down the fort in the back, it's full steam ahead. Another bonus for Coquitlam? Their top spot is cushioned by having a game in hand on Victoria, and two on Burnaby.
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KEY GAMES:
The Adanacs hold the highest win margin so far this season with their 11-1 win over South Fraser in game 3, but in all honesty have had pretty easy opponents so far; playing South Fraser, Poco, and Nanaimo twice, and Delta and Burnaby once. I will be interested to see how the A's handle the second half of the season when New West and Victoria should give them a run for their money. |
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VICTORIA (7-2) - SO FAR THIS SEASON:
Victoria has enjoyed a great start to their season, starting off 5-0 before falling to New West on the road by a score of 6-3. Since then, the Shamrocks have only dropped one more game- a one goal loss to Port Coquitlam just two games ago.
2007 Captain Cayle Ratcliff is leading the pack with 35 points, and sitting fifth overall in points for all BCJALL players. The combination of Ratcliff with Matt Yager and Joel Henry, has amounted to 91 of the 'Rocks 196 points so far and their firepower has helped Victoria to lead the league in power play goals with 27. Between the iron Matt Flindell is making the best of his last year in Jr. and putting up impressive numbers such as an 89.56% save average and averaging 4.21 GAA a game in his eight games played.
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With other teams now having their full-strength lineup the Shamrocks might have a tougher time staying where they are in the standings, but I see no reason why they won't be up for the challenge.
KEY GAMES:
Victoria's highest win margin was a 15-3 win against South Fraser where the 'Rocks were confident enough to give 15 year old Cory Mayzes 6 minutes of Junior net time; but the game that sticks out for me was the 11-10 overtime win against Island rival Nanaimo. Victoria failed to stop T-Man Cody Bremer who scored all of Nanaimo's five goals in the third period- one of which being short-handed. A moment of weakness, or something else??? You decide. |
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BURNABY (7-3) - SO FAR THIS SEASON:
No surprise here, in Burnaby it's the Alex Gajic show- and well it should be. Some of you may roll your eyes because he gets so much press already, but this guy deserves it. He is arguably the best Junior player in all of Canada. He's on track for 142 points this season and is averaging 6.75 points per game. Having Joe Vetere by his side to set him up gives Gajic the start he needs to provide the finish.
Gajic and Vetere are one and two in points for the BCJALL and work like a well oiled machine. The question that I'm left with is- what's going to happen if something happens to Gajic?? He didn't make the trip over to Nanaimo, and the Lakers were dealt a loss. It was Vetere's time to shine in the absence of the big guy and he was held to one goal and one assist
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Enough about Gajic, there is more to the Burnaby Lakers; like they have the least penalties in the league with 151 minutes. This is a great stat that I hope they keep up. It's hard to stay clean in Junior ball and if you can play a good game and stay out of the box then you really are a team to contend with.
KEY GAMES:
Again, the Nanaimo game sticks out like a sore thumb for me because Gajic wasn't there and their play suffered. Can the Lakers prove everyone wrong and finish in the top even after losing nine key players from last season?? Or will their dependence on Gajic spell disaster?? The best game I saw Burnaby play in this season was their tense 15-14 loss on the road to New West. The game was nothing but urgent from both squads and was three full periods of solid action and performance. Even though they lost, the team definitely showed the crowd at Queens Park the Lakers can still look like the team of yester-year. |
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NEW WESTMINSTER (5-3) - SO FAR THIS SEASON:
The Salmonbellies may be sitting at fourth place so far but as of the last few games they finally have their full roster back, including their captain Curtis Manning and many other notable players who were playing college ball.
The trio of Kyle Belton, Alex Turner, and Max Gallant have held it down while waiting for the rest of the squad to return, and might I say- they have done a pretty good job at it. Belton has a hat trick of hat tricks, Turner has an impressive 26 assists, and Gallant puts up his own points as well as seeing the floor with great clarity.
Now that all the pieces of the 'Bellie puzzle are back in town it's full steam ahead for New West and I'm predicting a blow out, so look out.
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KEY GAMES:
New West has struggled with Poco so far this season losing 10-8 in game one and a 16-14 tough home-opener loss in overtime. "Besides Poco the other loss has come at the hands of formidable opponent Burnaby, so I can't come down on New West too hard- but from now on I am expecting a much higher caliber of play and a strong run in playoffs." |
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POCO (5-5) - SO FAR THIS SEASON:
The Saints are starting to remind me of the Canucks in 2006, beating Detroit and losing to Columbus. The Saints start the season with two convincing wins against the 'Bellies and then slide on a four game losing streak, only to turn it around and win three in a row. There is a bright side though. Besides New West, Poco is the only other team to defeat Victoria, who up until a few games ago was the team to beat in Jr A; the Saints held them scoreless for 31 minutes, no easy task.
Head coach Karl Christianson says now that the team has its full Junior roster, things can only get better. "After 10 games and being at 5 and 5 I'm sure we are well ahead of everyone else's expectations, but not our own.
Poco is beating the big dogs, and leaving the little ones to get a sniff. If they can change that, then they will be a top 4 team no question.
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With twelve rookies on the team people thought we were going to be a door mat, and that just isn't happening. We are a team who some may say lack a "big name" player, but as a team we are learning the skills of what it takes to be successful. Where we may lack in experience, we have the desire to win, we are dedicated to our goals"
KEY GAMES:
The Saints second game of the season was a nail biter 16-14 overtime win against New West- in Queens Park nonetheless; it was a truly entertaining game that kept everyone on the edge of their seat. They played with a sense of importance and necessity that I haven't seen since, but I know I'll see again. I was disappointed with their 11-5 loss against Coquitlam where the Saints played a very undisciplined game. It was their fourth loss in a row and I was pleasantly surprised to see them turn it around and win the next three. Only the Saints can predict the second half of their season. |
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NANAIMO (3-6) - SO FAR THIS SEASON:
I finally got the chance to see Nanaimo play this season on Sunday in Coquitlam, and what I saw was good. I liked where the team left off last year and was really hoping for them to have a better start, but they are doing well with what they have. Cody Bremner is only 18 years old and is having a fantastic season with the T-Men leading the team in points with 26. After Tom Wray left the Island to goal tend for Burnaby, Sam Corcoran, Drew Dickie, and Rob Pierson have been sharing the iron duty for the T-Men and making sure there are no huge blowouts.
I think Nanaimo can step up and advance a couple more spots before the season ends but they really have to concentrate on what needs to be done when they play certain teams.
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Their wins have been convincing, and their losses have had heart. Minor tweaking of the game plan will result in more W's for the T-Men.
KEY GAMES:
The Ice Center in Nanaimo is proving to be a tough road arena; their fans are loud and show up in numbers. The T-Men are 3-3 at home with one of those losses being a 11-10 overtime loss to Victoria in which Cody Bremner exploded with seven goals. The teams 7-4 win at home to Burnaby was a great boost even with Alex Gajic out of the lineup for the Lakers. The Timbermen seem to have it made at home and now just have to find a way to win on the road. |
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DELTA (3-7) - SO FAR THIS SEASON:
On May 27th Delta acquired goaltender Scott Lowe from the Adanacs. Whether this will now catapult the Islanders a couple of spots up will remain to be seen, but Delta deserves to have a starter goalie who they can rely on to stop the ball.
Two of the Islanders three wins this season have come thanks to South Fraser and the other win against Poco was only a one goal win. If Delta can pull through and find out how to win a couple more games by a couple more goals, then they should have a season to be proud of.
Head coach Gord Frederickson has his top guys to thank and doesn't mind telling them. "No question our top forwards have been Dane Stevens, Robbie Campbell, and Intermediate call up Mitch Jones.
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This kid will be a great player in this league, he played up from us last year as a midget and I cant say enough good things about this kid. Dane is our leading scorer and has consistently been putting the ball in the net for us this season. Campbell is starting to find the net and has to be one of the top ball raggers in the league. When we have a penalty, and we have had way too many this year, Robbie has been our go-to guy killing penalty time. Two back-end standouts Tanner Lemire and Neil Arbogast are both in fine form. They don't get a lot of press, but they do their job each and every game. They are two of the hardest working players I have seen. Both are on our short man, and are key players for us. We are a young club and a work in progress, the near future looks bright in Delta"
KEY GAMES:
Delta has become a thorn in Port Coquitlams side this year, winning one game by one goal and losing the next by just a goal as well. But just like last year, they just can't crack the bigger teams losing the last three games by high scores like 15-3 and 10-5. If Delta can use more of their firepower, and Scott Lowe can stop it on the defensive end, then the Islanders should have at least a couple more wins left in them. |
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SOUTH FRASER (0-10) - SO FAR THIS SEASON:
I'm sure no one is sicker of seeing South Fraser in last place than themselves. One could try and pin point something in the season where it all went wrong but excuses are excuses.
These guys need to get out of this rut with whatever it takes. They have the components to the game; they just don't know how to put it to work on the floor.
The acquisition of Scott Davidson from Victoria seems to be putting a spark in their power play. American Greg Mahony has an impressive resume with field lacrosse, and brings a different feel to the team, and is tied with Mitch Dibblee for second spot in team points with 15. As for goaltending Mike Lowe is facing an average of about 50 shots a game, and not having a confident defensive system in front of him is proving to be a problem. |
This could be a time for Lowe to just stand there and take it, or step up and anchor the team from the back-forward.
Stickmen GM Paul Sparrow says it's just a matter of time before the monkey is off South Fraser's back. "We have had some close ones, an overtime loss against Nanaimo and a third period comeback against Poco are signs the team just needs one small break to pick up that elusive first win. Two of the last three games the Stickmen have allowed the lowest shots against this year. Mike Lowe has really stepped up in the last couple weeks and back-up Graham Chandler is continuing to provide solid support. After suffering a pre-season injury Mitch Dibblee is back on track to lead the team in points like last year, and Ryan Harwood won't be far behind. It's just a matter of time before the continued efforts of Stickmen players pays off with a victory."
KEY GAMES:
Even though the Stickmen have yet to register a 'W', they have had some promising games. Their first two matches of the season were against defending BC champs Burnaby, and the Shamrocks, to which they lost both games by five goals but looked like a different team from last year. The closest they have got to a win was an 8-7 loss to Delta, and 6-5 losses to Nanaimo and Poco. South Fraser has yet to score in double digits and shots on goal would appear to be what they need to generate more offense. At this point in the game it doesn't look like they will climb in the standings but what this team needs is a stronger finish than their start. Get a win when they can and put up a hell of a fight when they can't. What do they have to lose?? |
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Around the League with Jen
Season Report #1 - Month One—DONE! ([click here]
Season Report #2 - 'Tis the (mid) Season ([click here]
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