Dudley arrives

THE EVENT: The 2012 Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Junior A Hockey Championship is set to run April 17-21 at the venerable Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay.

The four-team event features a six-game round robin between the Superior International Jr. Hockey League champion Wisconsin Wilderness, the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League winning Soo Thunderbirds, the Ontario Jr. Hockey League title holder Stouffville Spirit and the host Thunder Bay North Stars of the SIJHL.

Game action gets underway Tuesday as Wisconsin meets Sault Ste. Marie at 2 p.m. followed by Thunder Bay and Stouffville at 7:30 p.m.

Following round robin competition the first place team will receive a bye directly to the championship game, which will be played at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The two squads who finish second and third overall in the standings will meet in semifinal action Friday at 7:30 p.m. with the fourth place club being eliminated.

As for the eventual Dudley-Hewitt Cup winner, that side will advance to represent the region at the 2012 Royal Bank Cup national championship May 5-13 in Humboldt, Sask.

REMEMBERING GARY COOK: This year’s Dudley-Hewitt Cup will be played in honour of the late Gary Cook, an icon of the Thunder Bay hockey scene for over five decades.

Cook, who passed away in 2008, is an honoured member of the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame and was the ultimate hockey executive boasting a resume of championship clubs that was second to none in hockey circles across North America.

Among his many accomplishments as a general manager and executive were a record five Allan Cup Canadian senior hockey championships, three Colonial Hockey League crowns, a CHL executive of the year award, a trio of SIJHL Bill Salonen Cup titles and a Dudley-Hewitt trophy all while earning the admiration and respect of the many, many people he was associated with over the years.

LOOKING BACK: The last time the Dudley-Hewitt Cup was hosted in Thunder Bay was back in 2006.

That year the SIJHL champion North Stars defeated the Sudbury Jr. Wolves in the final en route to a berth at that years’ Royal Bank Cup.

The North Stars would advance all the way to semifinals where they lost 3-2 in overtime to the eventual RBC champion Burnaby Express.

In fact the last three times Thunder Bay has hosted the Dudley-Hewitt Cup the home team has come away victorious.

Along with the North Stars triumph in 2006, the Thunder Bay Flyers claimed the title in both 1992 and 1995.

OJHL DOMINANCE: That victory in 2006 by the SIJHL’s North Stars marked the last time a league representative other than from the OJHL has won the Dudley-Hewitt Cup.

In fact the OJHL has claimed the DHC in five straight years as well as eight of the previous 10, including the Wellington Dukes last season when the event was held in Huntsville, Ont.

Also in on disrupting the OJHL’s dominance the past decade was the Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats of the NOJHL who won the DHC back in 2002.

WEB CAST: Each and every game of the Dudley-Hewitt Cup will be available online via a pay-per-view basis through NeuLion.

The links to the games can be found at http://sijhl.neulion.com/sijhl/ or simply clicking on the DHC Broadcast logo on the SIJHL website at www.sijhl.com.

Providing all the play-by-play action for each game is the voice of the SIJHL, Mike Ebbeling.

Ebbeling has broadcast SIJHL games since the league’s inception back in 2001 with his work on CKDR radio and the Dryden Ice Dogs. He also served as the host broadcaster during in the 2006 Dudley-Hewitt Cup.

The cost to view each game will be $8.99.

POINTSTREAK: Live online scoring for each Dudley-Hewitt contest will be available through Pointstreak on the SIJHL website.

Also available will be the team rosters and statistics along with schedule information and tournament scoring and goaltending leaders.

THE COACHES: The respective head coaches at this year’s Dudley-Hewitt Cup have all had extensive experiences as either players or behind the bench.

Lonny Bohonos – Thunder Bay North Stars: The former NHLer, took over as head coach of the North Stars on Feb. 1 where he guided his club to a 12-3-1 record as well as a 4-4 mark in the postseason. Played 12 years of professional hockey including stints with the Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Coached in the Thunder Bay Kings AAA program the past few years.

Rod Aldoff – Wisconsin Wilderness: The 2011-12 SIJHL coach of the year has led his team to back-to-back SIHJL championships registering an impressive 94-12-6 regular season record in that span as well as a 20-7 playoff mark. He played in the NCAA on defence at the University of Minnesota-Duluth before moving on to a 15-year professional playing career.

Craig Donovan – Stouffville Spirit: Guided Stouffville to their first-ever OJHL title this season. His side was 16 and 9 in the playoffs and 32-8-9 during the course of the 2011-12 regular season. He played in the NCAA at Cornell in the mid-1980s.

Preston Mizzi – Soo Thunderbirds: A former 10-year pro, Mizzi has been behind the Soo bench for two straight NOJHL regular season crowns and the playoff championship this season where his side was a solid 11 and 2 in the playoffs.

THE TEAMS: THUNDER BAY NORTH STARS (HOST-SIJHL)

LEAGUE: Superior International Junior Hockey League

THE TEAM: The host team for this year’s Dudley-Hewitt Cup are the Thunder Bay North Stars.

Thunder Bay finished the 2011-12 SIJHL regular season in third place overall with a 31-19-6 record

In the playoffs they swept the Duluth Clydesdales in four games in quarter-final action before falling in the semifinals to the eventual Bill Salonen Cup champion Wisconsin Wilderness.

THE PLAYERS: Pacing the North Stars offensively during the course of the regular season was 19-year-old forward Quinn Rempel.

He led his club in goals, assists and points with 28, 32 and 60 respectively. His six game-winning tallies also topped the team and tied him for the second-best total in the entire league.

Veteran forward Kyle Lapenskie and rookie Brandon Wolframe finished for second on the North Stars in scoring with 53 points.

This marks Lapenskie’s second Dudley-Hewitt Cup as he also played in the 2009 event for the then host Schreiber Diesels of the SIJHL.

Matt Kaarela too averaged over a point-per-game with his side despite missing a portion of time earlier in the season due to injury.

The playoffs saw Rempel and Wolframe pace the squad with seven points while Lapenskie was next with six in eight games.

Thunder Bay’s captain is Sam Dubinsky who was named the SIJHL’s best defensive forward this season.

In net, the North Stars feature Marc Nother and first-year goalkeeper Carter McEachern.

Nother finished second in the SIJHL in goal-against average at 2.34 and fourth in save percentage at .909.

The North Stars feature 14 skaters on their roster who call the Lakehead home as well as a few others from nearby communities in Northwestern Ontario.

THE TEAMS: WISCONSIN WILDERNESS (SIJHL)

LEAGUE: Superior International Junior Hockey League

THE TEAM: Representing the SIJHL in the Dudley-Hewitt Cup as Bill Salonen Cup champions are the Wisconsin Wilderness.

This marks the club’s second consecutive appearance at the DHC having won the SIJHL title a year ago as well.

Wisconsin finished first overall in the SIJHL standings with a solid 49-6-1 record.

In the postseason among their accomplishments was sweeping Thunder Bay in semifinal play before rallying from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Fort Frances Lakers 4-3 in the seventh and deciding game of the Salonen Cup finals.

THE PLAYERS: A well-balanced attack saw four players on the Wilderness roster share the team playoff scoring lead with 14 points apiece. That was also good enough to knot them for second overall in the league.

Among that group was forward Jeremy Johnson who went on to be named the league’s Sportop playoff most valuable player.

Joining him was forward Mike Dietrich, who also picked up 14 postseason points including 10 goals. Three of his tallies were game-winners, which led all playoff skaters.

Wilson Housley and Shane Topf were also in that group. Housley is the son of former NHL standout defenceman Phil Housley.

SIJHL top defenceman award recipient Anthony Calabrese was equally solid in the postseason topping all blueliners with 13 points.

Wisconsin goalkeeper and top goalie award winner Tanner Milliron led the way in postseason goals-against average and save percentage at 2.20 and .927 respectively. He had the only two shutouts of the playoff and led the league in playoff wins with 10.

Milliron also led the way in the regular season with a 30-3 record and a 1.57 GAA and .936 save mark with his numbers putting him among the elite goaltenders in the entire Canadian Junior Hockey League.

THE TEAMS: SOO THUNDERBIRDS (NOJHL)

LEAGUE: Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League

THE TEAM: The NOJHL champions competing in the Dudley-Hewitt Cup are the Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds.

After finishing in first place in regular season play for a second consecutive year with a 37-11-2 record the Soo were even more impressive in the playoffs capturing the Copeland-McNamara Trophy while losing just two games.

After securing a spot in the semifinals they proceeded to sweep the reigning NOJHL champion Soo Eagles in four games before disposing of the North Bay Trappers in just five contests in the league championship series.

THE PLAYERS: Thunderbirds captain Mickey Sartoretto’s efforts through the postseason earned him the NOJHL award as the most valuable player in the playoffs.

The Sault Ste. Marie native was recognized with the accolades in part by sharing the league scoring lead with 29 points on nine goals and 20 assists. His assist and point totals also established new club records for the Thunderbirds as he concluded the playoffs riding a seven-game point streak. Picking up points in 11 of his team’s 13 playoff contests, the NOJHL first-team all-star recorded among his highlights a pair of five-point nights, three game-winning tallies and led the T-Birds with 10 power play points.

The Soo’s Matt Amadio, who scored the game and championship-winning goal in the fifth and final contest of NOJHL finals vs. North Bay, as he was a model of consistency during the course of the playoffs.

The T-Birds forward wrapped up the postseason riding an impressive 11-game point streak. In those 11 contests the NOJHL second-team all-star has racked up 23 points on nine goals and 14 assists.  Amadio was only held pointless in one game overall during his solid playoff run. He had two game-winning goals to his credit while also assisting on four others.

Guiding the team defensively is NOJHL top defenceman and first-team all-star award winner Corey Jackson.

Meanwhile Thunderbirds goaltender John Kleinhans was nearly flawless in the NOJHL playoffs. The veteran puck stopper was an impressive 11-1 in the postseason while leading the NOJHL in both goals-against average and save percentage at 1.81 and .938 respectively. His GAA was the third best across the entire CJHL among those who played in 10 or more games and 700-plus minutes of postseason action. The Soo goalie’s save mark of .938 tied him for the second best save mark in the CJHL.

THE TEAMS: STOUFFVILLE SPIRIT (OJHL)

LEAGUE: Ontario Junior Hockey League

THE TEAM: Rounding out the field at the Dudley-Hewitt Cup is the Ontario Junior Hockey League champion Stouffville Spirit.

The Spirit captured their first-ever Buckland Cup OJHL crown in dramatic fashion.

Trailing the Whitby Fury 3-1 with less than a minute to go in regulation in game 6 of the OJHL finals, the Spirit struck twice with goaltender Jonathon Hall on the bench on favour of an extra attacker to force overtime, including the equalizer by Christian Powers with just 11 seconds remaining and then proceeded to win at 9:48 of the first extra session thanks to Brandon Gaudette’s game-winner.

During the course of the regular season the club had an overall record of 32-8-9.

THE PLAYERS: Stouffville are offensively gifted as they featured four of the top five playoff scorers in Drake Caggiula (1st-17g-20a-37pts), Paul Geiger (2nd-3g-31a-34pts), Christian Finch (4th-12g-18a-30pts) and Chris Porter (5th-14g-13a-27pts).

Not only did Caggiula lead all players in playoff scoring he is also rated 185th overall among North American skaters for the upcoming National Hockey League draft by NHL Central Scouting.

Finch amassed his point totals despite not playing in the league finals due to injury. He was also the only 100-point scorer in the OJHL this season accumulating 37 goals and 67 assists for 104 points in just 48 games.

As for Geiger he was the runaway leader in offensive production by OJHL defenceman in the playoffs. His 34 points were 22 better than his next closest challenger.

Goaltender Jon Hall finished second among OJHL netminders in playoff victories with 14. He posted a 14-8 record with a 2.26 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. During the course of the regular season he was 19-5-3 with two shutouts and a 3.06 GAA and .903 save mark.

Among those on the Spirit roster who have already earned NCAA scholarships are Caggiula who is off to the University of North Dakota of the WCHA while Finch, Geirger and Christian Powers will all attend Clarkson University of the ECAC.

DUDLEY-HEWITT CUP
Central Canadian Jr. A Championship

Competing teams
Host: Thunder Bay North Stars
SIJHL: Wisconsin Wilderness
NOJHL: Soo Thunderbirds
OJHL: Stouffville Spirit

SCHEDULE
April 17
Soo Thunderbirds vs. Wisconsin Wilderness 2 p.m.
Stouffville Spirit vs. Thunder Bay North Stars 7:30 p.m.
April 18
Stouffville Spirit vs. Wisconsin Wilderness 2 p.m.
Thunder Bay North Stars vs. Soo Thunderbirds 7:30 p.m.
April 19
Soo Thunderbirds vs. Stouffville Spirit 2 p.m.
Wisconsin Wilderness vs. Thunder Bay North Stars 7:30 p.m.
April 20
Semifinal: 3rd round robin vs. 2nd round robin 7:30 p.m.
April 21
Final: 1st round robin vs. Semifinal winner 7:30 p.m.

Dudley-Hewitt winner advances to the Royal Bank Cup