NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE SJHL
By: Jamie Neugebauer
Voice of the ND Hounds
1. Battlefords Finally Falls – Call me crazy if you’d like, but I could smell Tuesday night’s 6-2 Yorkton Terriers home win over the Battlefords, which ended the Stars unbeaten start to the season, coming a mile away. More on Yorkton’s dynamic duo in a second, but the Terriers were just itching to do something dramatic after a tough six-game losing skid. That being said, Battlefords is still the best team in this league and are back in the saddle with a three-game winning streak, after going 7-0 to start the campaign. There is also some funky stuff about the game after playing in La Ronge, which I’ve seen a million times, with no disrespect intended towards the Ice Wolves at all, who as a collective I truly believe are more than the sum of their parts. Crazy to see forward Mathias Urbanski jump back in the line-up Saturday night in Weyburn after a nasty cut to his face on Friday in Estevan…crazy, impressive…sometimes the line between is very blurry.
2. Yorkton’s Deadly Duo – I promised to talk about Yorkton’s dynamic duo of Chantz Petruic and Alec Zawatsky, so here goes. I talked about how Petruic should be the league’s leading scorer when this season is done, and I still stick by that with his 16 points through nine games. Zawatsky should do nothing but help that claim, as he is already over a point-per-game after taking some time to settle back in to the SJ, after his release from the Kamloops Blazers. They’re both lightning quick, they’re both dynamic, can protect the puck so well, and can dish with the best this league has to offer. They’ll also give up their share of goals in the defensive end, but on their day, I promise you they will put this Terriers team on their back offensively, and beat some very good hockey teams.
3. An Early Underrated Team Thought – I love chatting about underrated guys around the league, even if it’s early doors, so I’ll throw one out there right now: I have been really, really impressed watching Notre Dame forward Azam Jiwa since he was put back into the line-up on Sept. 28 vs Melfort. He only has one point to show for it so far, but the Calgarian has blazing speed and tenacity on the forecheck, and has shown flashes of skill as well. The best way to impress a coach and stay in a line-up is to know what you’re good at, and really lean into it; clearly Azam is doing that right now. It’s early still, but hope he keeps it up!
4. A Stale Roadie For Nipawin – Prepping for the Notre Dame-Nipawin game on Sunday afternoon I had to do a whole bunch of double-takes: the Hawks on a three-game losing skid? How often does anyone see that? The Hounds were pretty blah for 39 minutes, and the Hawks worked hard enough, and got enough bounces to get out ahead 3-0 in Wilcox; but after a late second-period snipe by Jarrett Penner, and an early third period rebound job by Jared Hamm, it was all ND; and by rights through the final frame and into OT, it seemed like the home team would complete that comeback in full. Yes, Nipawin got the winner in overtime, but I am going to bet you Hawks’ head coach Doug Johnson is not happy at all with his team’s road trip after an OT win, and two losses. Still, that forward corps is so deep, and that goaltending tandem of Ethan Slobodzian and Ross Hawyrluk is rock solid, so with Doug’s knack for making solid moves, I’m certain this Hawks team will be just fine. They have Kindersley and Humboldt at home this week, which should be tough, but I’ll repeat, I don’t see it taking too long for the Hawks to get back on track.
5. 01’s For Barney? – Speaking of Humboldt, their coach Scott Barney is doing this year what Estevan’s Chris Lewgood did last: assistant coaching for the Team Canada West World Junior A Challenge entry. Only a limited amount of 19-year-olds are allowed at the tournament, so Barney will likely be looking at 2001s and younger around the league to suggest to his crew to represent the country in December. Interesting to see what he’s thinking in that direction, with his own guys Tristan Shewchuk and Jackson Bohan off to hot starts. Melville’s Nic Porterfield is a pure finisher, and is off to a goal-per-game clip, while I also wonder if ND’s goaltender Riley Kohonick is still in the running, who, even though he is a 2000, is still eligible, and has been outstanding even despite some tough puck luck of late. I plan on keeping in touch with Scotty about this, so stay locked!
6. The B’s Are Coming – If there is a group of hard-luck warriors in this league so far, it is the Estevan Bruins. Officially they sit in 11th after eight games, with only two victories, but that does not paint the picture of their performances at all. Keenan Rancier has been fantastic in net, their excellent D-corps has only given up 23 goals on the year, and though they have had a hard time scoring goals (only 17 as a group right now), their attacking power is so young, and I really believe will have much better days ahead. I tell the ND guys over and over again: it’s still early, stick with the process; and I am sure that is what Chris Lewgood and the B’s are clinging to as well. I 1000 per cent believe this is a good Estevan team, that will be in the playoffs when all is said and done, so don’t give up on them Bruins fans!
7. Malo Still Streaking – Other than a Showcase beatdown by Battlefords, all has gone pretty well for Mike Reagan and his Flin Flon Bombers, with only two defeats and seven wins through nine games. It also has gone just as their superstar Alec Malo had hoped, with the 20-year-old veteran of over 60 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League games at two-points-per game, and without a pointless contest in the season thus far. He and his fellow veteran line-mate Cole Rafuse protect the puck so well, while the bulldog finisher Donovan Houle-Villeneuve have found chemistry quickly and comparably to Melfort’s super unit of Justin Ball, Carson Albrecht, and Tanner Zentner from a year ago. Lots of goals and excitement this year in Flin Flon folks, now if only I could find out who their goaltender is going to be on a night-to-night basis…
8. Marco! – Heard Mustangs’ bench boss Trevor Blevins dished out some incredible praise to rookie goal-scoring sensation Marco Lopez these past couple of weeks, comparing the Calgary native to Melfort legend Justin Ball. He’s solidly built, moves well, and protects the puck like a vet already, so not a bad comparable! Looking forward to watching Lopez continue to develop.
9. Becker in the Void – Heading into the post-season last year, I did wonder if, that while the Stars played a perfect brand of hockey for the playoffs, they had enough offence. This past year they lost key offensive producers in MacGregor Sinclair, Owen Lamb, and Braydon Buziak (among others), so it was again a relevant question: who is going to fill that void? Well, the shifty 2000-born Austin Becker is one of those guys who have exuberantly put up their hand. The second-year man already has seven goals, matching his full-season total from a year ago, and with the likes of the Loon-Stewardson brothers, Urbanski, off-season acquisition Rylan Nyvon, and others in tow, the Stars offence has been the most potent so far this year. I love the way Klimosko has his team play, they work so hard for each other, and I don’t see the nation’s No. 5 ranked Junior A team slowing down anytime soon.
10. Bumpy Start for Sask Men’s Hockey Teams (bonus) – Finally, September was a month to forget for both of Saskatchewan’s mens university hockey teams. Regina and Saskatchewan both lost both of their season-opening games, all of which at home. Am I concerned about UofS? No, not yet, but who is used to slow Huskie starts? Nobody, that’s who.
(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)
