Week 12 Recap

The SIJHL will crest the half-way point of the 2024-25 regular season in Week 13. Eight weekend games are on the slate.

First place Dryden has a six-point lead. Four teams are tightly packed in the second tier. Second place Sioux Lookout and fifth place Fort Frances are separated by four points. Kam River and Thunder Bay are sandwiched in between. Sixth place Red Lake is still north of .500 with a plus-three in goal differential with games in hand. 

The Lumberjacks and Islanders are 3-18-2 and 2-21-2 respectively.

The Ice Dogs lead the league in several categories. Captain McLaren Paulsen continues to top the circuit in goals with 20, and points, 47. Carson Devine (11-28-39), Max Roby (19-18-37) and Payton Hu (15-22-37) sit 4th, 5th and 6th in the points race. Eli Antoine and Emmanuel Nkombou are in the top-20. The ‘Dogs have the best power play at 31.0%.

Things are looking good in net as well. Kellan Mooney leads all goaltenders with 12 wins, a 2.29 goals against average, and two shut outs. He’s .001 behind Gunner Paradis of Fort Frances in save percentage title (.927).

Sioux Lookout salvaged an overtime point in their two-game road swing into Fort Frances. They’re still 7-2-1 in their last 10.

Alex Lucas’ 34 points (19G-15A) has him 8th in the scoring race. Jonah Smith is number two with 24 points.

Sioux Lookouts’ calling card has always been defence. The Bombers are right there in fewest goals allowed, 67.

The Matthew Boys–Ofukany and Spencer-Dahl–are at 2.54 and 2.82 in GAA, sporting .915 and .918 save percentages respectively. 

Kam River is tied with Thunder for third place with 32 points. They have 16 wins to the Stars 15, but have played one more game. Both teams are a point behind Sioux Lookout for second.

Jett Mintenko (43) and Daxton Lang (42) give the Fighting Walleye two of the three 40-point men is the SI. Kaden Goodwin (30), and Carter Poddubny (25) are both in the top-20.

Rookie Tie Schumacher has 22 points.

Ashton Sadauskas carries the load in net. His 11 wins are second in the league. He’s a start away from reaching 1,000 minutes in goal.

New head coach Larry Wintoneak has an 11-3-0 record since being hired. Kam River is the only team to not play a minute of overtime.

Thunder Bay’s 123 goals is number one offence in the league based on goals per game (5.35). The Stars are on a five-game points streak.

Captain Tyler Jordan has 35 points with a 17G/18A split. Beau Helmeczi has 33 points. Top rookie Evan Simeoni has 29 points, tied with Alex Remenda. Defenceman Tag Bryson and his 27 helpers, has 28. Cohen Tangedal, out with a foot injury for a couple of months has 25 points. Marcellus Francis has cooled off a tad with 23 points in 14 games.

Ben Laurette (10-3-0/2.69/.921), and Keenan Marks (5-3-2/3.06/.910) share netminding chores. 

The Stars’ penalty kill is clicking along at 91.3%. They’ve allowed seven goals in 80 kills, scoring three shorties in the process.

The Lakers took two from Sioux Lookout in Week 12, further establishing their credentials. Captain Brady Krentz has 31 points (13G-18A). Jack Wood and Evan Kabel have 23 and 20 points respectively.

The Lakers power play is second best at 31.0%. They’ve scored 32 goals while allowing just one with the man advantage.

Gunner Paradis (5-3-0) leads the league with a .928 save percentage. Rookie Nolan Koethler is 7-5-1 with 981 cage minutes.

Red Lake is 5-2-3 in their last 10. Nathan Dann leads the 6th place team in scoring with 14 goals and 27 points. Rookie Quinn Szpak, 23, and Gabe Tanton, 20, are the other 20-point players.

Rookie Koen Webber sports a 6-2-1 record in net. Ethan Rau is 2-2-1.

The Miners have not allowed a shorthanded goal in 83 power plays. 

Ironwood is 1-8-1 in their last 10. Forward Marshall Thomas continues to be a bright spot. The ’04-born Thomas has 12 goals and 22 assists in 24 games. Nolan Fowler has 21 points.

Recent acquisition Trent Boryszczuk has a 3-3-1 record overall. Kole Kronstedt leads the league in goaltender minutes with 1,023.

The Lumberjacks 24.1% per cent power play is 4th in the league.

Kenora has a lone win in their last 10 games. The Islanders 609 penalty minutes leads the league. Their penalty kill has improved as of late. 

Josh Boyko’s 10 goals and 13 points lead the team.

Newcomer Ethan Beattie has seen the lion’s share of net time recently, recording the Islanders’ last win with a 45-save performance against Ironwood.

 

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