NOJHL 1st round playoff preview

NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE

NOJHL NETWORK MEDIA UPDATE

Release Date: Friday, March 10, 2017

NOJHL 1st round playoff preview

SUDBURY, Ont. – Postseason action in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League begins tonight on two fronts as first round quarter-final play gets underway with the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners hosting the Iroquois Falls Eskis and the Soo Eagles taking on the Elliot Lake Wildcats in a pair of respective Game 1 contests in the two best-of-three series.

EAST DIVISION QUARTER-FINAL
No. 4 Kirkland Lake Gold Miners vs. No. 5 Iroquois Falls Eskis
Best-of-three series
Game 1: Friday, March 10 @ Kirkland Lake 7:30 p.m. (Joe Mavrinac Community Complex)
Game 2: Sunday, March 12 @ Iroquois Falls 2 p.m. (Jus Jordan Arena)
Game 3*: Tuesday, March 14 @ Kirkland Lake 7:30 p.m. (Joe Mavrinac Community Complex)
*- if necessary  

Surging Kirkland Lake enters the series vs. Iroquois Falls on quite a roll having only officially lost in regulation time once in their past dozen outings.

In the eight games the two clubs played during the course of the regular season, the Gold Miners won six of them while the Eskis had two triumphs to their credit.

Kevin Ford was a 16-point producer for Kirkland Lake in competition against Iroquois Falls to lead the squad as he supplied seven goals and nine assists.

The Gold Miners trio of Ashton Amaya, Tyler Fyfe and Alex Storjohann all dished out 12 points apiece with seven, six and three tallies respectively.

Goalkeeper Allan Menary posted the final three victories in net for Kirkland Lake while Ridge Gerads has yet to see game action against Iroquois Falls.

Leading the Eskis offensively against the Gold Miners were Alex Mitsionis and Shadow Reuben, who both collected nine points.

Mitsionis picked up four goals and Reuben, a NOJHL CCM Hockey second-team all-star, had one.

Trevor Hawkes and Artem Bortovskiy had a win apiece against Kirkland Lake this season.

WEST DIVISION QUARTER-FINAL
No. 4 Soo Eagles vs. No. 5 Elliot Lake Wildcats
Best-of-three series
Game 1: Friday, March 10 @ Soo Eagles 7:30 p.m. (Pullar Stadium)
Game 2: Saturday, March 11 @ Elliot Lake 7:30 p.m. (Centennial Arena)
Game 3*: Tuesday, March 14 @ Soo Eagles 7:30 p.m. (Pullar Stadium)
*- if necessary

The Eagles and Wildcats met nine times during the course of the regular season with Elliot Lake taking the season set with a 6-2-0-1 record.

Two of the match-ups were decided in overtime and there were four one-goal games.

Pacing the Wildcats offensively was Curtis Rawn who amassed nine points overall, including a club-best six goals.

David Elford was right behind him with eight points with two tallies and a half dozen helpers while Brett Jacklin chipped in with five points by scoring four times and helping set-up another.

Topping the Eagles in offensive production vs. Elliot Lake was Chris Murphy, who collected eight points on three goals and five assists.

The Soo duo of William Casey and Bradley Hofelich were next with seven points apiece that saw them notch one marker each while doling out six helpers.

Elliot Lake goaltender Justin Richer posted a 4-2-0-1 record vs. the Eagles while Matt Kostiw was 2-0.

Kade Phipps picked up Soo victories over the Wildcats while Justyn Gillis was in net in a 4-4 double overtime tie back on Jan. 14.

With files from NOJHL statistician and historian David Harrison