NOJHL Championship Preview

Story by Todd Vandonk

The North Bay Skyhawks were crowned Eastern Conference Champions, Friday night and now will face the Western Conference Champions Northern Michigan Black Bears, in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Championship. The NOJHL best of seven Final will start to take forum, when the puck drops Tuesday night, in the Gateway City.

The Skyhawks earn a trip to the final, for the third consecutive season, after the disposing of the Sudbury Northern Wolves and the Abitibi Eskimos. The Skyhawks cruised for the most part, only facing a couple bumps on the road, while notching an 8-3 record, over their Eastern Conference rivals.

The Northern Michigan Black Bears dominated play in the Western Conference, where they ended the post season runs, of the Manitoulin Wild and Soo Thunderbirds. The Black Bears defeated the Wild four straight and had the Thunderbirds down three games to none, before they dropped two straight overtime decisions. Black Bears bounced back in game six with a 4-3 overtime win, of their own, which clinched the series.
 
The two division representatives are ready to display their talents and earn an invitation, for their respective club, in the Dudley Hewitt Cup. The much anticipated series should be entertaining, as both teams finished at the top of their respective Conferences, during the regular season.

The Skyhawks enjoyed success in the regular season against the Black Bears, beating them three times in six meetings. The Black Bears only win against the Skyhawks came back on October 16, which was the clubs first engagement of the season. In their other two meetings, overtime solved nothing, as the clubs skated to ties.

With the Skyhawks commanding regular season record against the Black Bears, the series might look lopsided. But with two ties, and two one goal games, the series will be tight and could go the distance.

The Skyhawks will look to David Frawley, for the bulk of their offense. As for the Black Bears, Steve Kruszewski will be counted on to continue his production in the post season. Frawley and kruszewski have 18 points, and stand five points behind Matt Caria, for the playoff scoring lead. The Black Bears hold the advantage in secondary scoring, with four others in the top 10, of the scoring race. However, veteran Skyhawk Mark-Andre Rizk is on a tear, notching 6 of his 10 post season tallies in round two.
The man in the crease, for the Skyhawks will be the solid Mike Lalande. His regular season success continues in the playoffs, with a sparing 1.88 goals against average. Along with a penny-pinching average, Lalande posts a playoff best 6-1 record, and a second best 0.922 save percentage. Blocking the rubber for Black Bears should be net minder Tony Stoehr. Stoehr has been called upon in 8 times in the post seasons and has a 6-2 record. His 0.927 save percentage is best in post season play. Both teams have worthy back-ups and look for a chance between the pipes, if Lalande or Stoehr should falter. Skyhawks back-up Chris Abbey holds a 2-2 record in his four post season starts, and Black Bears “gate attendant” Michael Bell is perfect 2-0.

The series will start with games 1and 2 on Tuesday, April 12th and Wednesday, April 13th, at Memorial Gardens, with the Skyhawks looking to take advantage of home ice. The series will then shift to Michigan for Games 3 and 4 on Friday, April 15th and Saturday, April 16th.