McDonald named MGEU Goaltender Of The Month

Turtleford Saskatchewan's Justin McDonald received high praise from the MJHL this week being named the MGEU goaltender of the month for October.

The 20-year old posted a 6-2 record with a 2.63 GAA and .922 sv% along with two shutouts.

McDonald spent two tough years with the Kindersley Klippers of the SJHL and moved over to OCN due to his connection with Clay DeBray who coached him in midget AAA.

The Blizzard are happy to have him and he's certainly happy to be here.

McDonald leads all starters in the MJHL in GAA with 2.31 and a .935 sv% and he picked up his fourth shutout of the season last night as well. His 10 wins also are tops in the league.

Dauphins Guillaume Naud was named the RBC player of the month, Wayway's David Haaf named the Sher-wood defensemen of the month and Winkler's Tristan Keck named rookie of the month.

Blizzard 4 - Natives 0

Welcome back.

The Blizzard played a strong team game, everyone contributed and after killing off a SEVEN minute long penalty courtesy of Bradley Swampy OCN exploded for three goals in the second period and a fourth goal in the third period.

Garick Gray had another strong game with a hat-trick and an assist. He now has 11 points in his last eight games and is tied for the league goal scoring lead with 12 goals.

Wilson Dumais had his best game in an OCN jersey, he played smart and physical but didn't chase or make hits behind the play, didn't run people and didn't run his mouth at the ref.  He's a dominating force when he plays like he did tonight, it took three Neepawa players to knock him off the puck, opens up tons of space on the ice.

Ralph Cochrane had another strong game, again as always. The usual characters were themselves.

Dusik played good two way hockey, Cameron was strong on the forecheck.

Petrino, Sharp and Bayer created opportunities offensively and were solid defensively. 

McDonald was perfect for the fourth time this season. 

It was a great game, the fans were fantastic. Big props to the dancing man in section D.

Cory Koop kept Neepawa in it for the first 20, but couldn't stop the onslaught from OCN's offensive.

Pitre Tire Three Stars:

1. Garick Gray (3G, 1A)

2. Wilson Dumais (1G, 2A)

3. Justin McDonald (16/16 saves - shutout)

Honourable Mention:

Cory Koop (43/47 saves)

Northern Building Supply Hardest Working Player:

Ralph Cochrane.

The Blizzard head to Virden on Tuesday for the first of three straight games against the Oil Capitals.

Tuesday's game will be broadcast.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

-Brad-

Blizzard vs Natives - Preview + Lineup

The OCN Blizzard (12-6-1) and Neepawa Natives (5-10-1) have one thing in common, both teams are on a three game losing skid.

The Blizzard host the leagues worst team tonight. You would hope that it's a sure two points in the bank but the way things have been going of late that probably won't be the case.

OCN is coming off a 5-2 loss to Portage last night while Neepawa got shutout 4-0 to the steaming Stampeders.

The Blizzard need to play smart hockey, put the effort in and they should win, they are the more talented team but hard work beats talent.

How They Matchup:

Goals For:

OCN: 62
NEP: 36

Goals Against:

OCN: 53
NEP: 59

Power Play:

OCN: 16/91 (17.58% / 11th)
NEP: 8/77 (10.39% / 8th)

Penalty Kill:

OCN: 187/207 (81.31% / 5th)
NEP: 55/78 (75.34% / 10th)


Tonight's lineup for OCN:

Goalies

McDonald - Starter
Henry - Backup

Defense

Elmes / Dusik
Bruyere / Cochrane
Kavanaugh / Robak

Forwards

Dumais / Valiquette / Gray
Cardinal / TJ Constant / Brady Constant
Sharp / Bayer / Petrino
Lathlin / Cameron / Swampy

Scratches:

Ward-Cardinal - INJ
Santorelli - INJ
Grove - INJ
MacInnis
Fontaine

TJ has been having a tough go since his return from injury and has been bumped down to the second line, it`s nice to see someone who works as hard as Garick get a crack at that top unit.

Puck drop is at 7PM, pre-game at 6:45

Blizzard 2 - Terriers 5

Ouch.

That one hurt, the Blizzard kept it close but for the second night in a row too many guys were coasting. Again the only line that played was the one with Gray on it, Elmes on the back end was a stud again.

Those two along with MacDonald are the heart and soul of this team, and it hurts to watch them have to carry the team.

Cochrane played well also I thought, again Petrino and Sharp gave energy. It just seems like for the last five games the Blizzard start strong but can't finish, they've been snake bitten... badly.

McDonald had no help tonight.

PK is a mess, the PP was about as alive as the Zombie walk a few weeks back.

The players just seemingly have stopped playing.

Here's a post game interview with Clay DeBray.

DeBray PostGame - Portage 5-2 L by Bradley Karp on Mixcloud

Blizzard Lineup vs Portage

Goalies

McDonald - Starter

Henry - Backup

Defense

Elmes / Dusik

Bruyere / Cochrane

Robak / Kavanaugh

Forwards

Sharp / TJ Constant / Petrino

Cardinal / Valiquette / Gray

Swampy / Bayer / Lathlin

Fontaine / Cameron / MacInnis

Scratches

Wilson Dumais - INJ

Tyler Grove - INJ

Thomas Ward-Cardinal - INJ

Taylor Santorelli - INJ

Brady Constant

Here's a lighthearted pregame interview with Gray.

Gray Pre-Game Portage - Nov 2nd 2012 by Bradley Karp on Mixcloud

Game Preview: Blizzard vs Portage

The Blizzard have handled the defending champs with relative ease this season and can run a perfect 4-0 in their season series versus Portage with a win tonight.

The Blizzard are coming off two loses to the Swan Valley Stampeders by scores of 6-3 each time. Those losses are the first back to back for the Blizzard this season.

Ke-Na-Now Centre in Wabowden

Kajon McKay makes his only trip to the North this season both he and Blizzard forward  Eddie Bayer spent plenty of time there (pic left) as youngsters. The Ke-Na-Now Centre in Wabowden.

McKay is a 20 year old and could be moved by the Terriers this year if they fall out of the race. I think a large number of Blizzard fans hope they can see him playing out of the GLMC later this year.

The Blizzard have dominated the Terriers this year with a pair of blowout wins in Portage and a shootout winner at the MJHL Showcase.

I would expect that Portage doesn't want to get swept, should be another tough test at home tonight. We'll see which Blizzard show up... as DeBray put it the "smart tough or stupid tough".

HOW THEY MATCHUP:

Records:

OCN: 12-5-1 (1st SHWD)

PTG: 7-5-1 (3rd ADDN)

Goals For:

OCN: 60

PTG: 37

Goals Against: 

OCN: 48

PTG: 41

Powerplay:

OCN: 7/10 (10% / 11th)

PTG: 11/58 (18.97% / 7th)

Penalty Kill:

OCN: 91/103 (83.50% / 4th)

PTG: 37/45 (82.22% / 5th)

Tonight's game is not being broadcast. Tomorrow's will be. 

Team Canada West Roster Announced

Dean Brockman and company have chosen the 22 players who will represent Canada West at the World Junior A Championships in two weeks time. The team might as well called "Team BCHL"

Here is the full roster: http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/75137/la_id/1/season_id/197655/profile_id/197666/team_id/80789/ss_id/170547/

League Representation:

BCHL: 15 players
AJHL: 4 players
SJHL: 2 players
MJHL: 2 players (Keats & Stoykewich from WPG)