TORONTO – The Calgary Canucks (AJHL) have become the second of 10 Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) clubs that will compete in next month’s Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons.
Calgary joins the Centennial Cup-host Oakville Blades (OJHL) as part of the 10-team field that will be vying for national Jr. A supremacy, May 9-19, at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.
The Canucks earned their way to Oakville after completing a four-game sweep of the AJHL’s regular season title holders, the Whitecourt Wolverines, in the interpipeline Cup final.
Each of the other eight CJHL-member leagues are all in the championship series stage to see who will join Calgary and the host Blades at the Centennial Cup.
Here’s a glance at how each league final currently stands:
AJHL
interpipeline Cup
Calgary Canucks vs. Whitecourt Wolverines
Game 1: Canucks 5 Wolverines 1
Game 2: Canucks 5 Wolverines 2
Game 3: Canucks 5 Wolverines 4
Game 4: Canucks 3 Wolverines 2
Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4-0
Calgary won each of their final six playoff games and went 12-3 overall. … They notched a league-high 58 goals en route to the championship. … Of their dozen triumphs, nine different players had at least one game-winning goal to their credit. … The Canucks trio of Ty Hipkin, Gavin Garland and Julien Gervais tied for AJHL playoff scoring lead with 18 points apiece. … On the back-end, Calgary’s Chris Kobelka and Easton Hewson topped all league blueliners in offensive production with 12 and 11 points respectively. … The Canucks had 15 skaters, who collected five, or more, points in the playoffs, including seven in double digits. … Netminder Julian Molinaro went 12-3 in the postseason for the Canucks with a 2.56 goals-against average and a save percentage of .908.
With files from Charla Flett, Executive Director (AJHL)
SJHL
Canterra Seeds Cup
Flin Flon Bombers vs. Melfort Mustangs
Game 1: Friday, April 19 @ Flin Flon
Game 2: Saturday, April 20 @ Flin Flon
Game 3: Wednesday, April 24 @ Melfort
Game 4: Thursday. April 25 @ Melfort
Game 5*: Saturday, April 27 @ Flin Flon
Game 6*: Tuesday, April 30 @ Melfort
Game 7*: Friday, May 3 @ Flin Flon
*-if necessary
The SJHL’s Canterra Seeds Cup begins Friday at the venerable Whitney Forum in Flin Flon. … The Bombers, who earned their way to a third-straight final, are looking to win their first SJHL championship since 1993. … Melfort last appeared in the league final back in 2019 while their most-recent championship came in 2016 when they downed Flin Flon in six games. … The clubs met six times during the regular season, with each side winning three games. … The Mustangs’ Aidyn Hutchinson currently tops all SJHL skaters in playoff scoring with 22 points. … Justin Lies paces the Bombers offensively on nine goals and five assists. … Melfort D-man Chase Friedt-Mohr leads all league rearguards with 15 points, while Flin Flon’s Noah Houle is next with 11. … Goaltender Harmon Laser-Hume is a perfect 8-0 in the postseason for Flin Flon and leads the SJHL in average and save percentage at 1.38 and .955 respectively. … Mustangs’ netminder James Venne is 8-4 with a 2.62 GAA and a save mark of .917.
With files from Jamie Neugebauer & Clark Munroe, Co-Directors of Media (SJHL)
MJHL
Turnbull Cup
Steinbach Pistons vs. Winkler Flyers
Game 1: Friday, April 19 @ Niverville
Game 2: Sunday, April 21 @ Winkler
Game 3: Tuesday, April 23 @ Niverville
Game 4: Friday, April 26 @ Winkler
Game 5*: Sunday, April 28 @ Niverville
Game 6*: Tuesday, April 30 @ Winkler
Game 7*: Thursday, May 2 @ Niverville
*-if necessary
The Pistons and Flyers will meet in the MJHL’s Turnbull Cup Final for the first time. … Steinbach, who won the regular season crown, will play their home games in the final at the nearby Niverville Recreation Centre, as they await the completion of their new arena. … The Pistons are also the defending league champions. … The second-overall Flyers sees Dalton Andrew leading them in scoring with a dozen points, to sit two off the league-lead. … Teammate Trent Penner is next on the squad with 10 points. … Kirk Mullen and Leo Chambers are tied for top spot in scoring for Steinbach with nine points apiece. … Winkler’s Connor Jensen has seven points to pace all blueliners in the series. … The Flyers’ Isaiah Peters and the Pistons’ David Cote are next with five points each. … Steinbach’s Cole Plowman and Winkler’s Malachi Klassen both have eight playoffs wins. … Plowman’s 1.88 goals-against average leads the MJHL, while Klassen sits fourth at 2.05. … Plowman sports a save percentage of .926 and Klassen is at .919.
With files from Eric Swar, Director, Marketing & Partnerships (MJHL)
SIJHL
Bill Salonen Cup
Kam River Fighting Walleye vs. Sioux Lookout Bombers
Sioux Lookout leads best-of-seven series 1-0
Game 1: Bombers 5 Walleye 3
Game 2: Thursday, April 18 @ Kam River
Game 3: Saturday, April 20 @ Sioux Lookout
Game 4: Sunday, April 21 @ Sioux Lookout
Game 5*: Tuesday, April 23 @ Kam River
Game 6*: Thursday, April 25 @ Sioux Lookout
Game 7*: Saturday, April 27 @ Kam River
*-if necessary
Visiting Sioux Lookout knocked off the defending SIJHL title holders 5-3 in Game 1 Wednesday on Jonah Smith’s game-winner with 1:26 remaining in regulation. … Jett Mintenko shares the league playoff scoring lead with 17 points in nine outings. … Kaden Goodwin, along with the Bombers’ Smith and Owen Riffel, are among those sharing third in offensive numbers with 13 points apiece. … Five of the Top 6 scorers, among defencemen, are competing in the final. They include Brydon Bell (Walleye); Nolan Palmer (Bombers); Jacob Sargent (Walleye); Kaden Veller (Bombers) and Easton Debray (Walleye) with 11, 10, 10, 9, 9 points respectively. … SIJHL Top Goaltender award recipient Jack Osmond leads all league netminders in wins, with nine. … Kam River’s Ashton Sadauskas is next with seven victories. … Sadauskas boasts the best goals-against average at 1.75, while Osmond, who leads the way in save percentage at .942, sits second at 2.33. … The .930 save mark for Sadauskas ranks third.
With files from Darrin Nicholas, Commissioner (SIJHL)
NOJHL
Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy
Greater Sudbury Cubs vs. Powassan Voodoos
Game 1: Thursday, April 18 @ Sudbury
Game 2: Friday, April 19 @ Sudbury
Game 3: Sunday, April 21 @ Powassan
Game 4: Monday, April 22 @ Powassan
Game 5*: Thursday, April 25 @ Sudbury
Game 6*: Sunday, April 28 @ Powassan
Game 7*: Tuesday, April 30 @ Sudbury
*-if necessary
Greater Sudbury’s Noah Metivier has gone 7-1 in his past eight playoff starts and is 8-3 overall. … He leads NOJHL netminders in goals-against average at 1.82 and sits third in terms of save percentage at .924. He’s also tops in shutouts with two. … Mason Chitaroni leads all league rearguards in offensive production with 11 points, all assists, in as many games. … Powassan’s Daniel Dirracolo has been solid when called upon since the postseason got underway. … Despite sitting sixth among league goalkeepers in both playoff average and save percentage at 3:24 and .910 respectively, the 18-year-old from Woodbridge, Ont., has been clutch when it counts. … Dirracolo, and the Voodoos, are a perfect 6-0 in overtime, not having allowed a goal in 72 minutes and 19 seconds of OT action. … Alex Little leads the Voodoos’ D-corps in points with six. … Eight different forwards have registered eight, or more, points through two playoff rounds. … Rookie Reyth Smith leads that contingent with 16, through a dozen games. … Cubs’ head coach Darryl Moxam captained the Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats to a NOJHL championship in 1996-97. … His 100-point season saw him named league and playoff MVP, be tabbed a 1st Team NOJHL All-Star, and earn Canadian Junior Hockey League Player of the Year laurels that same season.
With files from Scott Marshall, Statistician (NOJHL)
OJHL
Buckland Cup
Collingwood Blues vs. Trenton Golden Hawks
Game 1: Friday, April 19 @ Collingwood
Game 2: Saturday, April 20 @ Collingwood
Game 3: Monday, April 22 @ Trenton
Game 4: Wednesday, April 24 @ Trenton
Game 5*: Friday, April 26 @ Collingwood
Game 6*: Monday, April 29 @ Trenton
Game 7*: Wednesday, May 1 @ Collingwood
*-if necessary
In a rematch of last year’s OJHL Buckland Cup Final, Collingwood and Trenton meet once more. … Last season saw the Blues hit the right notes, in taking a tightly-contested series that saw each of the last three games in the series decided in overtime. … In 2024, the Golden Hawks’ David Fournier leads the team in playoff scoring with 22 points, which places him third overall among league skaters. … Collingwood’s Spencer Young tops the Blues with 20 points. Calum Chau (Blues) and Caleb Van de Ven (Golden Hawks) share their team lead in offensive production among defencemen with eight points apiece. … Each team’s No. 1 netminders have been stellar to date in the postseason. … Collingwood’s Noah Pak has gone 12-1 with an OJHL-best 1.40 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage, which puts his third overall. … His three shutouts are the most in the league. … Trenton’s Benjamin’s Bonisteel joins Pak in leading the OJHL in playoff wins with 12. … He also sports a 1.95 average, along with a .935 save mark. … Of note, Collingwood earlier ousted the Centennial Cup-host Oakville Blades in OJHL West Conference semifinal action. … Blades blueliner Eric Bonsteel still sits second in scoring among league rearguards with 10 points, in as many games.
With files from Jim Mason, Director of Communications (OJHL)
CCHL
Bogart Cup
Navan Grads vs. Smiths Falls Bears
Game 1: Friday, April 19 @ Navan
Game 2: Sunday, April 21 @ Smiths Falls
Game 3: Wednesday, April 24 @ Navan
Game 4: Friday, April 26 @ Smiths Falls
Game 5*: Sunday, April 28 @ Navan
Game 6*: Wednesday, May 1 @ Smiths Falls
Game 7*: Friday, May 3 @ Navan
*-if necessary
Heading into the opener of the Bogart Cup Final Friday, Smiths Falls’ Lucas Culhane has been the highest playoff point-getter between the two teams, with 13. … Navan’s Colin MacDougall and the Bears’ Owen Watson are next with 11 points apiece. … MacDougall is tied for tops in the CCHL in goals, having notched six to date. … Meanwhile, Culhane, Watson and the Grads’ Sebbie Johnson share second in assists, having supplied eight each. … Navan’s Nicholas Paone leads all CCHL defencemen in scoring with 10 points, in 11 games. … The Bears’ Hunter O’Brien is knotted for second among league blueliners with eight points. … Smiths Falls’ Dawson Labre and Navan rookie netminder Jaeden Nelson both have eight wins, to lead the league. … Labre sits second in goals-against average at 2.21, while Nelson is fourth at 2.35. … In terms of save percentage, Nelson is tied for No. 2 in the CCHL at .932, with Labre sitting eighth at .912. … The Bears are in the CCHL final for a second straight year. … They fell in seven hard-fought games to the Ottawa Jr. A Senators last season.
With files from Sean Marcellus, Commissioner (CCHL)
LHJAAAQ
NAPA Cup
Everest de la Côte-du-Sud vs. Collège Français Longueuil
Côte-du-Sud leads best-of-seven series 2-0
Game 1: Everest 6 Collège Français 1
Game 2: Everest 5 Collège Français 2
Game 3: Thursday, April 18 @ Côte-du-Sud
Game 4: Friday, April 19 @ Longueuil
Game 5*: Sunday, April 21 @ Côte-du-Sud
Game 6*: Wednesday, April 24 @ Longueuil
Game 7*: Friday, April 26 @ Côte-du-Sud
*-if necessary
The Everest have gained the upper hand early in the series, taking the first two match-ups by scores of 6-1 and 5-2. … Game 3 goes tonight in Côte-du-Sud. … Thomas Begin of the Everest leads all LHJAAAQ scorers with 22 points to his credit, in 13 contests, on seven tallies and 15 helpers. … He’s also tops in plus-minus at plus-10. … Alexis Côte, Elliot Lavoie and Dan Chrétien are also over a point-per-game performers for the club with 16, 15 and 14 respectively. … Brandon Boudreau paces Collège Français in scoring with a dozen points in 13 outings. … Next on the squad is Jean-Thomas Turp-Tremblay with 11, while Simon Laramée and Thomas Bourbonnais have registered 10 each. … Between the pipes, Côte-du-Sud’s Gabriel Boissonneault has a league-high 10 wins to his credit. He’s also No. 1 in goals-against average (2.55) and save percentage (.933). … CFL’s Mathis Lacroix-Goulet has won eight times and sports a 2.66 average, along with a save mark of .913. … Three of his triumphs have been shutouts, which leads the LHJAAAQ.
With files from Francis Dupont, Director of Communications (LHJAAAQ)
MHL
Metalfab Cup
Miramichi Timberwolves vs. Summerside Western Capitals
Game 1: Saturday, April 20 @ Summerside
Game 2: Monday, April 22 @ Miramichi
Game 3: Wednesday, April 24 @ Summerside
Game 4: Sunday, April 28 @ Miramichi
Game 5*: Tuesday, April 30 @ Summerside
Game 6*: Thursday, May 2 @ Miramichi
Game 7*: Saturday, May 4 @ Summerside
*-if necessary
Game 1 of the Metalfab Cup Final goes Saturday in Summeride, P.E.I., as the Western Capitals go in search of a sixth MHL title. … Miramichi meanwhile will be in on a quest of their initial league championship. … The Timberwolves advanced by dousing the West Kent Steamers in five games, prior to surprising the regular season-winning Edmundston Blizzard in a four-game sweep. … As for Summerside, they sank the Yarmouth Jr. A Mariners in five outings before dispatching the Amherst Ramblers in six. … Robbie Rutledge of the Western Capitals leads all MHL skaters in scoring with 16 points, in 11 contests. … Miramichi’s David Doucet sits second overall, with 15 points, featuring a league-best 10 tallies. … Blake Eastman (Western Capitals) and Hugo Audette (Timberwolves) are tied for third in offensive numbers with 13 points apiece. … Summerside’s William Irvine tops all defencemen in scoring with 13 points. … Goaltender Drew Sim of the Western Capitals has eight victories to his credit, to lead the MHL. … Miramichi’s Jack Flanagan is a perfect 7-0 so far in the postseason. … Sim has a 2.55 goals-against average and .908 save percentage to date, while Flanagan sits with a 2.75 and a .910 SV%.
With files from James Faulkner, Director of Communications (MHL)
