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MONTH ONE - DONE!
VICTORIA (4-0)
Victoria is on FIRE, there's not much more to say about it. Even in pre-season action the Shamrocks came out of the gate looking like a team who was in the zone with all aspects of the game.
Captain Cayle Ratcliff is leading his team like a captain should with six goals and eight helpers to start the season; and at the back of the floor Matt Flindell is standing tall in net with an 89.5 save percentage and a 3.65 goals against average to keep Victoria at the top of the table.
Not that they need it right now, but the Shamrocks are waiting on two key players to return to the squad.
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| Cory Conway will be making his way back after the Portland Lumberjax playoffs are done, and 2007 rookie of the year Michael Pires will be returning from the Ohio State Buckeyes shortly. Both players will add more fire power to the already red hot squad, and will keep Victoria on top as THE team to beat in 2008. |
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BURNABY (3-1)
Burnaby may not be the team of yester-year but they still have what it takes to stay at the top. In the pre-season goaltending was the topic of discussion when it came to Burnaby, but both goalies the Lakers brought in are proving to fit in just fine.
Tom Wray coming from Nanaimo and Brandon Smith from South Fraser are both in their final year of Junior and bring their experience to the table. Both are fairly even in the stats- Wray and Smith have played in all four games this season, between 106 and 133 minutes, Wray posting an 84.42 save percentage and Smith with 81.82. As far as offence is concerned, no surprise here- Alex Gajic is lighting it up for the Lakers, averaging a hat trick per game. |
As is the case with Victoria, Burnaby's captain Gajic is leading the team for points with 12 goals and 8 helpers. This guy is ridiculous, he's in all the right places at all the right times and can turn a bad situation to good in no time at all. If I had money to bet, I would bet Gajic is the best Junior player in the nation; his team-mates feed off his talent and it looks contagious on the floor.
It helps having players like Joe Vetere and Shaun Dhaliwal to set Gajic up, but all in all Burnaby is turning out yet another complete squad that will rival the teams at the top of the table. |
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COQUITLAM (2-1)
Pre season rumours had COQUITLAM (2-1) as the team to beat this season, and I can't say I disagreed. Not only do the Adanacs have a plethora of returning favourites, they brought in some power from back east. Mississauga Ontario native Scott Defrancesco has been a pleasant addition to the roster as he leads the team with 7 goals and 6 helpers. The only downside I can see with Defrancesco is that he takes a large amount of shots in a game, his shot average is hovering around 25%. So while he's successful at getting on the board, he does a lot of work to get there, which in retrospect- really isn't a bad thing. Let's get to the goalie, another beast from back east. |
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| Getting Joel Weber from the Whitby Warriors looks like a great decision as his performance has been golden so far. As far as starting goalies are concerned he leads the league with an impressive 91.87 save percentage, a low 3.41 GAA and 4 assists for good measure. That's the remarkable thing about watching Weber, he can toss a ball up the floor like he's using a regular stick, and the passes are clean and targeted. There is no good way to crack him, he doesn't bite unless it's amazingly convincing and he can pop his shoulders up like they're on springs. Amazingly enough, he's only 5'9 and 165 pounds so this guy is just pure skill. Weber will be the goalie to beat this year, no questions. |
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POCO (2-1)
Ball Breaker weekend was a good start for PORT COQUITLAM (2-1). The team has done a lot of work to break from their brawler label from last season and is starting 2008 with a look of determination.
Not only are their penalty minutes fading, their offence and defence is on its way up- making things difficult for opposing teams.
The one disappointment this season would be their loss to Nanaimo, but Poco should look no further than their overtime road win against the Salmonbellies in their home opener to provide them with re-assurance of how well they are doing this year. |
Darcy Cummings is exploding on offence with 9 goals so far, and Jordan Flaman, Scott Jones, and Andrew Murphy are doing fantastic at setting up their team mates.
So far an all around great job by players, coaches and management to turn this team around and make the best of the talent they have. |
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NEW WESTMINSTER (2-2)
All I can say about NEW WESTMINSTER (2-2) is LOOK OUT. The 'Bellies are still waiting on nine key players to return to their line-up and aren't doing too bad in their absence.
The trio of Alex Turner, Max Gallant, and Kyle Belton are like Orion's belt of destruction on the floor, combining for 48 points so far, and all three having a shot percentage over 25.
Ray Hodgekinson is keeping balls out of the net for the 'Bellies in the same impressive fashion as last year, and at the same time posting three helpers for his team mates as well. |
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Here's the thing- New West is anxiously awaiting the return of their captain Curtis Manning who will be playing in his fifth year of Junior, James Poelzer will add three years of defensive experience upon his return, Kevin Crowley will bring back a huge power forward role for the team (not to mention he is the second leading scorer in US College ball), and Leif Paulson will be the defensive anchor when he returns from playing with Cornell.
Among a couple others, Jarett Toll played his first game back with New West against South Fraser after returning from a successful stint with the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. |
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NANAIMO (2-2)
I haven't had the pleasure of watching NANAIMO (1-2) in person this season, but it looks like the team is starting where they left off last year.
After falling to New Westminster and Victoria to start the season, the Timbermen turned out an impressive performance against Poco on the Island last Sunday for an 8-5 win. Losing net minder Tom Wray to Burnaby has given Nanaimo's younger goalies a chance to showcase their talents, and rookie Rob Pierson taking advantage posting an 87.88 save percentage in the game against the Saints.
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Another bonus for the Timbermen is their seventh man- the fans. Their home opener grabbed 500+ fans and their next game was around 375, making it a hard arena to come into on the road, which will come to their advantage later. Colton Clarke is leading the team in points and goals (4g's, 8pts) and Matt Wray leads the helpers with 6. Look for Nanaimo to put up a fight this season, but not as consistently as they might want.
The team should be quite comfortable with head coach Tyson Leies by now, and with his lacrosse experience the team is growing with each game. They are still awaiting the return of Morgan Mitchell who is trying out for Scotlands U-19 team, so once the ball gets rolling expect the second half of the season to be the Timbermen's break out time. |
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DELTA (1-)
Just like South Fraser, DELTA (1-3) has a lot of work to do to prove they are a contender this year.
After losing Mike Lowe to free-agency, goaltending was a scrambling issue for the Islanders. Luckily for Delta Steve Bourget who used to play for the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves in Ontario, wanted to try his hand at BC Junior Lacrosse and signed with the club just before the season started.
Bourget has held up well with an 8.09 GAA and has faced 122 shots in three games played. |
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| Leading the offence is Jason Jones with 8 points, 6 goals and 2 helpers; Jones working extra hard on the floor throwing an obscene 43 shots on net in his four games played. Not the path Delta wants to take but penalties might be the weak spot for the squad again this year. Take Tobi Paton for example- this guy has played one game for Delta, not a sniff of a point, yet has 23 penalty minutes. Robbie Campbell has no problem scoring goals but leads the team in box minutes with 27. If this becomes a pattern the Islanders will take over as the gooner team of the league and won't get them anywhere out of the bottom half of the table. |
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SOUTH FRASER (0-4)
Unfortunately for the newly re-named SOUTH FRASER STICKMEN (0-4) it hasn't been the start to the season they were hoping for.
The Stickmen had a lot of player movement this year, including the big signing of free-agent goalie Mike Lowe from Delta; but old habits die hard and are starting to catch up with the Stickmen again. After dropping their first three games of the season, head coach Curtis Gulliford was let go by the club and replaced by intermediate coach Jamie Scott who will be doing double duty. In fairness to the players, the losses came against the three teams who will arguably be at the top of the table until the season is over.
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Issues such as possession, ball control, allowing way too many shots on goal, and general offensive tactics seem to be the demise of the team. Injuries have been a topic of interest as well for the Stickmen, offensive power house Mitch Dibblee is back after missing the first three matches, but still out is Graham Wiedenhammer who is vital on the team's power play with his tough shot from the point.
Once they find their feet South Fraser should utilize their assets; Scott Davidson, who crossed the water from Victoria leads the team with 8 points, American Greg Mahony is still getting used to the box but has an impressive resume to back up his play.
There has been lots of changes for this struggling team who need to work extra hard to dig themselves out of last place rut. |
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So far, this season has had a great start. Some of the standings may be the same but nothing has been 'same old-same old' from last year. Plenty of new players are adding more stylized play to the mix, and I- along with the rest of you, am excited for the remainder of the season, so bring it.
Submitted by Jen Mutas
League Reporter
jenmutas@hotmail.com
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Around The League With Jen - Archives
2009 Articles
July 1, 2009 - (Prospects Success)
May 13, 2009 - (National Rankings)
April 26, 2009 - (Shamrocks pluck two netminders from Ontario)
February 9, 2009 - (2009 Midget Draft Report)
2008 Articles
August 23, 2008 - (Fans Have Say)
June 9, 2008 - (Mid Season)
May 2008 - (Month One)
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