Dudley-Hewitt Cup team preview: North Bay Trappers, Host-NOJHL

NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE

NOJHL COMMUNICATIONS
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Release Date: Monday, April 29, 2013

Dudley-Hewitt Cup team preview: North Bay Trappers, Host-NOJHL

NORTH BAY – The 2013 Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canada Junior A championship, hosted by the North Bay Trappers of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League April 30-May 4 at Memorial Gardens is just one day away.

Joining the NOJHL champion Trappers at the four-team event will be the NOJHL finalist and defending Dudley-Hewitt title holding Soo Thunderbirds, along with the winners of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and the Superior International Junior Hockey League, the St. Michael’s Buzzers and Minnesota Wilderness respectively.

The following is a Dudley-Hewitt Cup competing team preview of the host North Bay Trappers, champions of the NOJHL:

THE TRAPPERS: Not only are the Trappers hosting the five-day tourney, they are going in as NOJHL champions.

After finishing first overall during the course of the regular season, North Bay kept their strong campaign going by winning the Copeland Cup-McNamara Trophy, emblematic of league playoff winners.

During the course of the 48-game regular season in the NOJHL, the Trappers finished with a league-best 34-7-3-4 record and 75 points.

A stingy defence helped lead them to the regular season crown as they allowed the fewest goals against in the seven-team league at 120.

It was this solid performance that earned them a spot in the final Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings for the 2012-13 season.

Those listings, produced in conjunction with NHL Central Scouting, saw North Bay tabbed 15th overall among the 127 clubs that comprise the CJHL.

HOW THEY ARRIVED: After earning a first round playoff bye by virtue of finishing in top spot in the regular season, the Trappers took on a tenacious Kirkland Lake Gold Miners squad where they pulled out a hard-fought series win in five games.

Moving on to the league championship series vs. the Soo Thunderbirds, North Bay came out on top in the seventh and deciding game of the NOJHL winning 3-1 on home ice buoyed by a three-point performance by Trevor Hunt.

AWARDS: As with any club that wins both league regular season and playoff titles, you can expect numerous players on that squad to be recognized.

That was certainly the case with the Trappers who earned multiple league honours.

In the regular season North Bay netminder Greg Dodds was named a first team all-star for his efforts between the pipes while forward Tait Seguin joined him on the first team by earning the nod at left wing.

Dodds added additional accolades as well picking up the top goals-against average award while he and netminding partner Dustin Hummel was recognized with the league goaltenders honour.

Seguin meanwhile was also named the league’s scholastic player of the year for his efforts in the classroom.

Cole Klippenstein, who led all NOJHL rearguards in points, garnered second team all-star laurels on defence while Brandon Janke picked up a spot on the second team squad at centre. Janke was also selected the most gentlemanly player in the NOJHL this season.

Trevor Hunt was also a double award winner for the club as he was chosen the NOJHL’s most improved player and followed that up in the postseason by being named the most valuable player in the playoffs.

STATISTICS: In the playoffs the squad used a well balanced attack as 12 different players scored goals, including netminder Greg Dodds who fired one the length of the ice into an empty net late in a close game in the Kirkland Lake series.

Brennen Dubchak and Trevor Hunt shared the team scoring lead with 10 playoff points apiece. Dubchak’s seven tallies also led North Bay.

Beau Orser and Stephen Langford had eight points each with Tait Seguin, Samuel Blanchet and Connor Gilmartin chipping in with seven points.

Greg Dodds topped all NOJHL netminders in playoff goals-against average at 1.69 and was second in save percentage at .941.

In the regular season Dodds also led the way in GAA at 2.25 while registering the best save mark in the league at .928.

Offensively Dubchak was sixth in NOJHL offensive production with 51 points, which also paced the Trappers.

Hunt was next with 48 as he and Dubchak were among 14 skaters on the squad that had 20 or more points this season.

Cole Klippenstein’s 18 goals and 37 points led all defencemen in the league in scoring.

BEHIND THE BENCH: Guiding the fortunes of the North Bay Trappers as head coach is former NHLer Tom McCarthy.

The NOJHL coach of the year in 2011-12 has led his team to the finals the past two seasons while helping his side post a solid 63-28-3-4 in that span improving his clubs win and point totals in each of the past two campaigns.