AROUND THE SIJHL: 04/011/2012
NEWS & NOTES ON THE SIJHL

RELEASE DATE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2012

SIJHL Bill Salonen Cup final to be decided tonight with game 7

THUNDER BAY, Ont. – For just the second time in the 11-year history of the Superior International Junior Hockey League, the Bill Salonen Cup final is going the distance.

A champion in the SIJHL will be crowned this evening as the Wisconsin Wilderness host the Fort Frances Lakers in game 7 at the Northwest Sports Complex in Spooner, Wis. Puck drop is 7 p.m.

Tonight’s contest is available online on a pay-per-view basis via NeuLion webcast at sijhl.neulion.com/sijhl/.

Live online scoring is also available with Pointstreak on the league website at www.sijhl.com.

Wisconsin has twice staved off elimination in the best-of-seven affair to force game 7 tonight.

Trailing three games to one in the series the Wilderness skated to a 3-1 victory in game 5 then preceded to hand Fort Frances their first loss on home ice in the playoffs on Monday in game 6 as they pulled out a narrow 1-0 win thanks to the shutout goaltending of Tanner Milliron and the lone goal of the evening scored by Wilson Housley early in the second period.

The last and only other time the Bill Salonen Cup final went a full seven games was back during the 2007 postseason.

That year the Schreiber Diesels rallied from a 3-2 series deficit to defeat the Fort William North Stars 4-0 in game 7 played in Thunder Bay on Sunday, April 15, 2007.

The SIJHL champion will advance to represent the SIJHL along with the host Thunder Bay North Stars at the Dudley-Hewitt Cup at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay. The five-day event gets underway Tuesday with the final set for 7:30 p.m. on April 21.

DUDLEY-HEWITT CUP: With the start of the 2012 Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Jr. A championship at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay less than a week away, the field for the four-team event is nearing completion.

Already in the five-day tournament, which runs April 17-21, are the Thunder Bay North Stars, who will serve as the host team.

They will be joined by the champions of the Superior International, Northern Ontario and Ontario Junior Hockey Leagues.

While the other SIJHL representative will be determined tonight in game 7 of the Bill Salonen Cup final between Wisconsin and Fort Frances, one other league has already decided their championship.

In the NOJHL, the Soo Thunderbirds punched their ticket to the Lakehead after they captured the Copeland-McNamara Trophy Tuesday night following a 3-2 triumph over the North Bay Trappers. The Soo won that best-of-seven series 4-1.

As for the OJHL final between the Stouffville Spirit and Whitby Fury, that best-of-seven affair is knotted at two games apiece with game 5 in that series going tonight in Stouffville at 7:30 p.m. Game 6 goes Friday in Whitby at 7:40 p.m. and should a seventh and deciding contest be required, it will be played Saturday at 7:30 p.m. back in Stouffville.

The winner of the Dudley-Hewitt Cup will advance to the Royal Bank Cup May 5-13 in Humboldt, Sask.

NOJHL PLAYOFF NOTES: Soo Thunderbirds captain Micky Sartoretto was named the most valuable player for the NOJHL playoffs. He finished tied for top spot in postseason scoring with 29 points on nine goals and 20 assists. His team was 7-0 in playoff games in which he scored at least one goal. Sartoretto also wrapped up the postseason with points in seven straight outings. … The T-Birds Matt Amadio, who scored the game–winning goal to decide the final, had points in 11 straight postseason contests and 12 of 13 overall. … Soo goaltender John Kleinhans was a stellar 11-1 in the NOJHL playoffs. He topped all netminders in the league in both goals-against average and save percentage at 1.81 and .938 respectively. …
The last time the Thunderbirds won the NOJHL crown was in 2008-09.

OJHL PLAYOFF NOTES: Whoever wins between Stouffville and Whitby, they will be first-time OJHL champions. … The OJHL has won the last five Dudley-Hewitt Cups and eight of the previous 10. Devin Shore of Whitby leads all skaters in the league in playoff scoring with 31 points. He was just named the highest rated player in the entire Canadian Jr. Hockey League for the upcoming NHL Draft, being tabbed 58th overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. … Drake Caiggiula of Stouffville, was rated 185th for the NHL draft. His 30 points have him tied for second overall. … Spirit forward Christian Finch, who led the OJHL in scoring during the regular season with 104 points, has yet to play a game in the final due to injury. He had 30 points in his first 16 playoff games prior to being hurt. … Tyler Feaver of Whitby leads all OJHL goaltenders in playoff wins with 17. Jonathon Hall of Stouffville is next with 12.

SIJHL PLAYOFF NOTES: The last and only other time the SIJHL Bill Salonen Cup final went seven games was back in 2007. That year the Schreiber Diesels won game 7 in Thunder Bay vs. the North Stars. … Fort Frances lost their first home game of the playoffs with the game 6 setback in the Bill Salonen Cup final. … SIJHL MVP Byron Katapaytuk of the Lakers leads all SIJHL skaters in playoff scoring with 17 points, but has been held off the score sheet in three straight games. His team has won seven straight playoff games in which he records at least one point. … Jeremy Johnson of Wisconsin is second in SIJHL playoff scoring with 14 points. The Wilderness forward is riding five-game point streak. … Wisconsin goalkeeper Tanner Milliron leads all puck stoppers in postseason goals-against average and save percentage at 2.13 and .927 respectively. He also has the only two shutouts of the postseason. … Milliron and Fort Frances netminder Tyler Ampe share the league lead in playoff victories with nine. Ampe is second in average (2.85) and save percentage. (.913). … Anthony Calabrese of Wisconsin leads all defencemen in playoff scoring with 12 points. … The team that has scored first in the finals has won five of the first six games in the best-of-seven affair. … The SIJHL final series is using the two-referee, two-linesman format. This will also be used at the Dudley-Hewitt Cup. ... Games can be viewed online on a pay-per view basis at sijhl.neulion.com/sijhl/. ... Live online scoring is also available via Pointstreak through the SIJHL website at www.sijhl.com. … Wisconsin is the defending SIJHL champion. … The Lakers franchise is making their first appearance in the Bill Salonen Cup. … The last non-OJHL team to win the Dudley-Hewitt Cup was the SIJHL’s North Stars in 2006.

Bill Salonen Cup schedule
No. 1 Wisconsin Wilderness vs. No. 2 Fort Frances Lakers
Best-of-seven series tied 3-3

Game 1: Fort Frances 4 Wisconsin 2
Game 2: Wisconsin 6 Fort Frances 5 (OT)
Game 3: Fort Frances 7 Wisconsin 5
Game 4: Fort Frances 2 Wisconsin 1
Game 5: Wisconsin 3 Fort Frances 1
Game 6: Wisconsin 1 Fort Frances 0 
Game 7: Wednesday, April 11 @ Wisconsin 7 p.m.

DUDLEY-HEWITT CUP SCHEDULE
April 17
NOJHL (Soo Thunderbirds) vs. SIJHL (Wisconsin or Fort Frances) 2 p.m.
OJHL (Stouffville or Whitby) vs. Thunder Bay North Stars 7:30 p.m.
April 18
OJHL Stouffville or Whitby) vs. SIJHL (Wisconsin or Fort Frances) 2 p.m.
Thunder Bay North Stars vs. NOJHL (Soo Thunderbirds) 7:30 p.m.
April 19
NOJHL (Soo Thunderbirds) vs. OJHL (Stouffville or Whitby) 2 p.m.
SIJHL (Wisconsin of Fort Frances) vs. Thunder Bay North Stars 7:30 p.m.
April 20
Semifinal: 3rd round robin vs. 2nd round robin 7:30 p.m.
April 21
Final: 1st round robin vs. Semifinal winner 7:30 p.m.