BRITISH COLUMBIA HOCKEY LEAGUE
The defending champion Vernon Vipers won twice in two games during the week ending Jan. 31 to regain a share of first place overall in the British Columbia Hockey League.
The Salmon Arm Silverbacks and Vernon are tied for the lead in the Interior Conference.
The Nanaimo Clippers are one point behind overall and first in the Island Division of the Coastal Conference, one point ahead of the Cowichan Valley Capitals.
The Surrey Eagles lead the Mainland Division of the Coastal Conference and are fifth overall, three points behind Salmon Arm and Vernon overall. The Chilliwack Chiefs are second in the Mainland Division.
Salmon Arm has a 34-14-1 record with two games in hand on Vernon, which is 31-13-0 and has seven overtime losses in 51 games.
The Williams Lake Timberwolves and Trail Smoke Eaters are tied for third in the Interior, with 55 points each.
Nanaimo is 31-13-2 and has four overtime losses, for 68 points in 50 games. Cowichan Valley is 29-11-4 and has five overtime losses in 49 games.
Surrey has a 30-15-1 record and five overtime losses in 51 games. Chilliwack is 29-18-0 and has four overtime losses, for 62 points in 51 games.
The Coquitlam Express is 29-18-1 and has one overtime loss, for 60 points and third place in the Mainland Division. Coquitlam has two games in hand on Surrey and Chilliwack.
Veteran goalie Patrick LePage had 34 saves Jan. 30 in Salmon Arm’s 6-2 win over Williams Lake before 1,376 fans in Salmon Arm. LePage, 20, leads league goalies with a 25-7-1 won-lost-tied record in 2,082 minutes.
Luke Pierce and Mike Santorelli had one goal and one assist each Jan. 30 in Vernon’s 5-4 win over the Merritt Centennials in Merritt.
Goalie Steve Belanger made 32 stops Jan. 31 in Vernon’s 2-1 win over the Prince George Spruce Kings in two overtimes, before 1,900 fans in Vernon. Belanger leads the league with three shutouts in 1,575 minutes.
Tyson Mulock had three assists Jan. 30 in Nanaimo’s 5-3 win over the Powell River Kings before 2,352 fans in Nanaimo.
Ben Nelson contributed two goals and two assists Jan. 31 in Cowichan Valley’s 5-3 win over the Langley Hornets in Langley.
Goalie Craig Fagnan had 29 saves Jan. 30 in Surrey’s 4-1 win over Langley before 1,310 fans in Surrey.
Veteran goalie Curtis Darling made 42 stops Jan. 30 in Chilliwack’s 5-2 win over Prince George before 1,718 fans in Chilliwack.
John Mazzei had four assists Jan. 28 in Williams Lake’s 7-5 win over Salmon Arm on home ice.
Jason Harding had four assists Jan. 30 in the Penticton Panthers’ 5-1 win over the Quesnel Millionaires on home ice.
Dion Lahoda accumulated one goal and three assists Jan. 31 in Merritt’s 5-2 win over Salmon Arm on home ice.
Chad Phillips totalled two goals and three assists Jan. 31 in Powell River’s 6-2 win over Nanaimo before 1,043 fans in Powell River. Teammate Mitch Boulet chipped in with four assists.
Jesse Newman contributed one goal and three assists Jan. 31 in Trail’s 9-4 win over Quesnel on home ice.
Goalie Mark Kehrig had 21 saves Jan. 31 in the Alberni Valley Bulldogs’ 1-0 win over the Victoria Salsa before 1,858 fans in Port Alberni.
Victoria veteran Kyle Greentree continues to lead league scorers, with 54 goals and 94 points in 49 games. Greentree, 20, is the leading goal scorer in the CJAHL and is tied for second in the CJAHL with his point total.
Tyler Burton of Chilliwack leads the league and is second in the CJAHL with 68 assists in 51 games.
Kevin LaChance of Cowichan Valley remains the league-leading goalie. LaChance, 20, has a 2.72 goals against average and .914 saves percentage in 2,187 minutes.
Also, Nanaimo continues to lead the league and is second in the CJAHL with an average of 2,215 fans per home game. Nanaimo has attracted 57,602 fans to 26 home games.
Vernon is second in the league and third in the CJAHL with an average of 1,985 fans per home game. A total of 47,638 fans have attended Vernon’s 24 home games.
The league leads CJAHL member leagues with an average of 1,109 fans per game through 426 games, with total attendance of 472,468.
The league averaged 1,228 fans per game for eight games Jan. 30 and 1,197 fans per game for eight games Jan. 31.
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Former Manitoba Junior Hockey League commissioner Frank McKinnon received his Canadian Junior `A’ Hockey League honourary life member ring Jan. 31 at the ManJHL all-star game in Selkirk.
McKinnon was presented with his ring during the opening ceremonies. He was among the founding members of the CJAHL at a November, 1993 meeting in Winnipeg.
The CJAHL congratulates McKinnon for his exceptional contributions to Canadian junior A hockey and the CJAHL.
Former Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League president Wayne Kartusch, former Northern Ontario Junior `A’ Hockey League commissioner Joe Drago and former British Columbia Hockey League president Ron Boileau are the other CJAHL honourary life members.
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The CJAHL will start a Journey to Grande Prairie countdown this week on the CJAHL web site, at www.cjahl.com.
The Journey to Grande Prairie will outline the CJAHL member league playoffs leading to the Royal Bank Cup national junior A championship May 8-16 in Grande Prairie, Alta.
The Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League regular schedule ends Feb. 3 and 32 OPJHL teams will begin their playoffs this week.
The Journey to Grande Prairie will be updated daily.
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MARITIME JUNIOR `A’ HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Yarmouth, N. S., Motormart Mariners had two wins and one tie in three games during the week ending Feb. 1 to assume an eight-point lead in the Maurice Bent Division in the Maritime Junior `A’ Hockey League.
Yarmouth is first overall with a 31-8-2 record and one overtime loss, for 65 points in 42 games. The Truro, N. S., Bearcats are second in the division, and overall, at 25-8-7.
The Miramichi, N. B., Timberwolves continue to lead the Roger Meek Division. Miramichi is 23-11-2 and has two overtime losses, for 50 points in 38 games.
The Moncton, N B., Gagnon Beavers are second in the division with 45 points in 42 games.
Veteran Jason Hedges had two goals Jan. 27 in Yarmouth’s 5-3 win over Halifax Team Pepsi in Halifax. Hedges, 20, leads the league with 37 goals in 40 games.
Goalie Mike DiLorenzo made 39 stops Jan. 30 in Yarmouth’s 3-3 tie against Truro before 1,275 fans in Yarmouth.
Yarmouth scored five power-play goals Jan. 31 in a 5-1 win before 1,025 fans in Truro.
League-leading goalie Matt Climie had 29 saves in Truro’s tie in Yarmouth. Climie, 20, has a 2.48 goals against average, .921 saves percentage and 23-6-5 won-lost-tied record in 2,077 minutes.
Andre Gill had two goals Feb. 1 in Miramichi’s 5-5 tie in Halifax.
Bryce Swan had three goals Jan. 31 in the Amherst, N. S., Ramblers’ 6-1 win over Halifax before 1,050 fans in Amherst.
Steve Yetman of Yarmouth remains the league-leading scorer, with a 15-point advantage over his closest pursuer. Yetman, 19, has a league-leading 61 assists and 81 points in 42 games.
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SASKATCHEWAN JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
The defending league, Anavet Cup and Royal Bank Cup national junior A champion Humboldt Broncos had two wins in two games during the week ending Feb. 1 to take over first place overall in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
Humboldt has a 29-12-8 record and one overtime loss, for 67 points in 50 games. The Battlefords North Stars and Kindersley Klippers are tied for second in the conference.
Battlefords is 28-13-4 and has one overtime loss, for 61 points in 46 games. Kindersley is 28-14-4 and has one overtime loss in 47 games.
The Melville Millionaires are first in the Sherwood Conference and second overall, at 31-14-1 and two overtime losses, for 65 points in 48 games. The Weyburn Red Wings are second in the conference, with a 30-14-3 record.
Goalie Alex Gagnon had 28 saves Ja
