Spezza, selected second overall in last June’s NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators, had a seven-point game against the Sarnia Sting on Jan. 25. In three road games this week, Spezza had five goals and five assists as he figured in on 10 of Belleville’s 13 goals.
Against Sarnia, Spezza fired three goals and added four assists to lead the Bulls to a 9-2 victory. The next night in Plymouth, during a 4-3 Belleville loss, Spezza added one goal and one assist.
His week ended the next night in Windsor, where he scored the Bulls’ lone goal in a 3-1 loss to the hometown Spitfires.
Spezza beat out the other league winners, including WHL Player of the Week, forward Justin Kelly of the Saskatoon Blades, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey league Players of the Week, Michel Ouellet of the Rimouski Oceanic (Offensive) and Eric Lafrance of the Hull Olympiques (Defensive).
The CHL Player of the Week is selected from among the three leagues’ nominees and announced in Tuesday’s editions of the CHL Daily News.
CHL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Jan. 29 – Jason Spezza, Belleville Bulls, OHL
Jan. 22 – Jarret Stoll, Kootenay Ice, WHL
Jan. 15 – Brad Boyes, Erie Otters, OHL
Jan. 8 – Ryley Layden, Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL
Dec. 17 – Andre Martineau, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, QMJHL
Dec. 10 – Shawn Roed, Portland Winter Hawks, WHL
Dec. 3 – Andy Chiodo, Toronto St. Michael’s Majors, OHL
Nov. 27 – Philippe Lacasse, Hull Olympiques, QMJHL
Nov. 20 – Yanick Lehoux, Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL
Nov. 13 – Marek Svatos, Kootenay Ice, WHL
Nov. 6 – Ales Hemsky, Hull Olympiques, QMJHL
Oct. 29 – Tomas Plihal, Kootenay Ice, WHL
Oct. 22 – Brad Boyes, Erie Otters, OHL
Oct. 15 – Jason King, Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL
2001-2002 CHL PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
DECEMBER, 2001 – Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, Chicoutimi Sagueneens, QMJHL
NOVEMBER, 2001 – Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Chicoutimi Sagueneens, QMJHL
OCTOBER, 2001 – Nathan Robinson, Belleville Bulls, OHL
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
There are five games in the WHL Tuesday night. Lethbridge is at Kootenay, Brandon is at Red Deer (6), Seattle plays at Tri-City, Portland visits Kamloops and Swift Current (3) is in Prince Albert.
On Monday night in the WHL, Calgary and Brandon battled to a 5-5 tie while Spokane defeated Prince George 5-2.
At Calgary, Brandon scored four unanswered goals in the third period to rally from a 5-1 deficit to pick up a point. Jim Jakes and Jordin Tootoo both had two goals and one assist for the Wheat Kings, while Chad Wolkowski and Tyler Beechey both scored twice for the Hitmen. Wade Davis added four assists for Calgary before 6,196 fans.
At Prince George, Brad Schell scored a pair of goals to lead Spokane to its win. Brandin Cote added one goal and two assists while Curtis Darling made 31 saves in goal. Dan Hamhuis had two assists for Prince George.
The Husky WHL Player of the Week is forward Justin Kelly of the Saskatoon Blades.
Kelly scored five goals and added three assists in just two games this past week to earn the honour. Among his five goals were three power play goals, a shorthanded goal and both of his team’s game-winning goals in two wins this past week.
Kelly fired four goals in a 7-2 win over Prince Albert Jan. 25 and followed that performance up with a one goal, three assists effort in a 9-3 win over Prince Albert two nights later.
The 20-year-old Abbotsford, B.C. native is a free agent.
ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
There were no games in the OHL on Monday night or on Tuesday night.
The OHL Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 27 is forward Jason Spezza of the Belleville Bulls.
Spezza, the second player taken in last June’s NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators, recorded five goals and five assists in just three games last week to earn both the OHL and CHL Player of the Week honours.
Spezza’s week included a brilliant seven-point effort during the Bulls 9-2 romp over Sarnia on Jan. 25. He had three goals and four assists in that contest, the Bulls’ lone win in their three-game western swing.
He added one goal and one assist in Belleville’s 4-3 loss to Plymouth Jan. 26 and scored his team’s lone goal in a 3-1 loss to Windsor Jan. 27. Spezza wound up figuring in on 10 of his team’s 13 goals during the three road games.
QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
There are no games in the QMJHL on Tuesday night.
On Monday night in the QMJHL, Cape Breton and Halifax (9) battled to a 2-2 tie.
David Cloutier scored a pair of goals for the Screaming Eagles, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 46 saves in goal before 7,891 fans. Dany Dallaire had to make just 19 saves in goal for the Mooseheads.
The QMJHL Players-of-the-Week for the week ending Jan. 27 are forward Michel Ouellet of the Rimouski Oceanic (Offensive) and goaltender Eric Lafrance of the Hull Olympiques (Defensive).
Ouellet, a draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League, played in three games last week, all Rimouski wins, while scoring four goals and adding five assists.
His big week started Jan. 23 with one goal and two assists in a 3-1 win over Baie-Comeau. On Jan. 25 Ouellet had two assists in a 3-1 win over Quebec and on Jan. 27, had three goals and one assist in a 5-3 win over Montreal.
Lafrance played in two games and won both, while allowing just one goal and posting a goals against average of 0.50, along with a save percentage of .978.
On Jan. 22 in a 3-1 win over Montreal, Lafrance made 21 saves. On Jan. 25 he posted his first shutout of the season, a 2-0 win over the powerful Shawinigan Cataractes, in which he made 23 saves.
The 19-year-old is a free agent.
For complete QMJHL statistics and standings, visit the official QMJHL site.
