The races for top spots in the Canadian Hockey League are very tight as the regular season winds down, as is the race for top spots in the Bank of Montreal MasterCard CHL Top 10 rankings.
The top three spots in Week 21 of the Bank of Montreal MasterCard CHL Top 10 rankings remain the same as last week, as selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts. But there was a lot of movement on the rest of the list, with just one more week of rankings to come for this season.
Just four points separate the top four teams in the Ontario Hockey League, while the top four teams in the Western Hockey League are just seven points apart. As a result, the overall Top 10 rankings saw quite a bit of movement this past week.
Red Deer Rebels (43-18-6-1) of the WHL are still ranked number one, despite losing two of three games this past week. Their lead in the WHL overall standings is down to one point over the Swift Current Broncos, who move up from sixth place to fourth place this week with a 40-17-5-7 record after winning three games and picking up another point from an overtime loss this past week.
Plymouth Whalers (38-15-10-2) of the OHL remain ranked second, going 1-0-2 in three games this week to hang on to the overall OHL points lead. The red-hot Erie Otters have won 10 straight games and as a result, appear in the Bank of Montreal MasterCard Top 10 rankings for the sixth time this season, jumping into sixth spot after being unranked since Week 8. Erie won four games this past week alone.
Acadie-Bathurst Titan (44-16-4-5) of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League won once and lost twice in overtime this week, to remain first overall in the QMJHL and third in the weekly Bank of Montreal MasterCard CHL Top 10 rankings. Shawinigan (41-19-5-3) lost both games this week to slip from fourth into fifth place, just ahead of the surging Otters.
Moving up into seventh position from ninth place are the Brandon Wheat Kings, who are tied for third place in the WHL standings with the Regina Pats. But the Wheat Kings have three more victories, giving them the lead in the WHL’s East Division standings and seventh spot on the list, while the Pats barely slipped out of the Top 10 this week.
In eighth spot are the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League, who went 2-1-0 this week to move ahead of Sault Ste. Marie into third place in the OHL overall standings. The Majors were ranked 10th last week while the Greyhounds, who were ranked fifth, slipped back down to ninth after a 1-1-1 week.
In 10th spot were the Cape Breton Oilers of the QMJHL, who moved into the Bank of Montreal MasterCard CHL Top 10 rankings for the first time this season. The Regina Pats of the WHL and the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL, ranked seventh and eighth last week, barely missed out on making the Top 10 this week.
The complete list from Week 21 of the Bank of Montreal MasterCard CHL Top 10 rankings follows. The rankings can also be found at www.chl.ca every week. The final edition of the Top 10 for this season will be published next week.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
There are no games in the WHL on Monday night.
Heading into this week’s action, Nathan Barrett of Lethbridge continues to lead the WHL scoring derby, but his lead is down to just one point over Medicine Hat’s Joffrey Lupul. Barrett has 44 goals and 60 assists for 104 points, one more than Lupul (54-49-103). Eric Johansson of Tri-City (44-53-97), Tyler Beechey of Calgary (43-53-96) and Lethbridge’s Jeremy Jackson (38-51-89) round out the top five WHL scorers.
Rookie Cam Ward of Red Deer still has the best goals against average in the WHL at 2.26, along with a save percentage of .910, which ties him for fourth place in that category. Regina’s Josh Harding is second in GAA (2.35, .908 save percentage), followed by Shane Bendera of Kelowna (2.50, .911). Barry Brust of Spokane (2.59, .912) and David Parley of Kamloops (2.74, .918) round out the top five GAA’s in the WHL. Parley’s save percentage is the best in the league.
The Red Deer Rebels (43-18-6-1) continue to cling to first place in the WHL overall standings and the Central Division with 93 points, but their lead is down to just point over the Swift Current Broncos (40-17-5-7). In the East Division, the Brandon Wheat Kings (40-22-4-2) have tied the Regina Pats (37-19-4-8) for first place with 86 points.
In the Western Conference, the Kamloops Blazers (37-23-5-4) have seen their lead in the B.C. Division cut to just three points over the Kootenay Ice (37-26-6-0). The Blazers have lost three straight while the Ice has won four in a row. In the U.S. Division, the Portland Winter Hawks (35-23-5-5) have a three-point lead on the Spokane Chiefs.
The WHL regular season schedule ends March 19.
ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
There are no games in the OHL on Monday night.
The Plymouth Whalers (38-15-10-2) continue to lead the OHL overall standings and the West Division standings with 88 points. The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (37-18-10-0) are just four points back in the West, but there are just three games left for both teams. The Erie Otters (40-20-4-1) have won 10 in a row and are leading the Midwest Division by seven points with 85 points, with the Kitchener Rangers (34-22-9-1) second in that division.
In the Eastern Conference, the Ottawa 67′s (35-19-10-1) have 81 points, three ahead of the Belleville Bulls. In the Central Division, the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors have 85 points (38-18-8-1), two up on the Barrie Colts (36-19-9-2).
Nathan Robinson of the Belleville Bulls (46-62-108) has a five-point lead atop the OHL scoring derby over teammate Mike Renzi (42-61-103). Sarnia’s Kris Newbury (41-60-101) is third, followed by Jason Spezza of Belleville (39-60-99) and Erie’s Cory Pecker (53-44-97).
Peter Budaj of the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors is the leading goalie in the OHL with a goals against average of 2.33 and a save percentage of .921, both tops in the OHL. Jason Bacashihua of Plymouth (2.38, .919), David Chant of Barrie (2.55, .920), Sault Ste. Marie’s Ray Emery (2.70, .915) and Chris Houle of London (2.83, .909) round out the top five OHL goalies.
The OHL regular season ends March 17.
QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
There are no games in the QMJHL Monday night.
The Acadie-Bathurst Titan (44-16-4-5) have all but clinched first place overall in the QMJHL with 97 points, good for a 10-point lead in the Maritimes Division standings of the Dilio Conference over the Cape Breton Oilers (37-20-9-4). In the East Division, Chicoutimi (38-25-1-4) has a one-point lead on Baie-Comeau as the season winds down.
In the Lebel Conference, the Hull Olympiques (29-29-3-6) lead the West Division by four points over the Val-d’Or Foreurs (27-32-5-4). In the Centre Division, Shawinigan (41-19-5-3) has a 10-point lead on Victoriaville (37-25-5-1) with only four games remaining.
Shawinigan’s Olivier Michaud has the best goals against average in the league with a 2.35 mark, along with a save percentage of .890. Dany Dallaire of Halifax is second at 2.55 and a save percentage of .914, which is ties him for the best percentage in the league. Marc-Andre Fleury of Cape Breton (2.82, .914), Adam Russo of Acadie-Bathurst (2.82, .901) and Ghyslain Rousseau of Baie-Comeau (3.14, .899) round out the top five regular QMJHL goalies.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard of Chicoutimi leads the QMJHL scoring derby with 42 goals and 88 assists for 130 points, followed by Yanick Lehoux of Baie-Comeau (55-69-124) and Victoriaville’s Matthew Lombardi (52-72-124). Jonathan Bellemare of Shawinigan (38-85-123) and Jason Pominville, also of Shawinigan (57-63-120), round out the top five scorers.
The QMJHL regular season ends March 19.
For complete QMJHL statistics, check out the league’s official website.
Jason Spezza named OHL Player of the Week
Toronto – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Belleville Bulls centre Jason Spezza is the OHL Player of the Week for the week ending Sunday March 10, 2002. Spezza recorded five goals and five assists for 10 points in three game last week
Spezza recorded his second eight point game of the season Saturday night against the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors when he scored four goals and four assists in a 9-6 win. The eight point game equaled a team record established by Dan Quinn in 1983 and equaled by Jason Lafreniere in 1985 Brad Gratton in 1987 and Spezza on February 9.
In the 23 games since joining the Bulls in January, Spezza, the second overall pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, has scored 20 goals and 34 assists for 54 points. He has been named OHL Player of the Week four times this season.
Spezza, an 18-year-old native of Etobicoke, improved his season totals to 39 goals and 60 assists for 99 points in 50 games. He is currently fourth among OHL scorers this season.
OHL Launches “Live Stats” Web Site
Toronto – Beginning March 12, Ontario Hockey League media and fans will have the opportunity to follow OHL games as they happen using the new “Live Stats” feature of the league’s official Web site - www.ontariohockeyleague.com.
Each game for the balance of the 2001-02 regular season and throughout the 2002 OHL Playoffs will be entered into the Web site “live” as it happens from the arena, updating the game summary and full player and team statistics on the site.
“The traffic on our Web site has been growing rapidly during the past three years,” said OHL Director of Information Aaron Bell. “Our research clearly shows that visitors to our site are looking for game summaries and statistics. This new system provides that key information on a much quicker basis and gives fans of the OHL a unique opportunity to follow all of our games as they happen.”
The OHL Web site currently attracts over 900,000 page views per month, a number which is expected to increase dramatically with the new live game information.
The OHL has partnered with Toronto-based multimedia company Commercial Design in this new venture. Commercial Design was responsible for developing the software required to operate the new stats system, as well as the new design of the league’s Web site.
“We are very excited about working with the Ontario Hockey League on this project,” said Cary Moretti, General Manager, Commercial Design. “I think that the fans of the OHL will find this new system adds an all-new element to the way they follow the Ontario Hockey League.”
Rogers Digital Cable is the title sponsor of the OHL “Live Stats” feature on the Web site. Rogers offers NHL Centre Ice with over 1000 games per season and Rogers Television provides the most extensive OHL television coverage with over 180 games per season.
“We are very excited to be part of this new initiative,” said Michael Allen, Vice President, Programming Rogers Cable. “It provides us with an opportunity to be part of an innovative new method of communication to OHL fans.”
The new statistics system is currently in its final testing stages with the OHL teams and will be available live on the Internet beginning March 12.
