SUDBURY, Ont. – The past five seasons has provided plenty of on-ice excellence in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The NOJHL has compiled some totals from this five-year window that highlights some of its elite skaters, goaltenders and clubs during this span.
POINT PRODUCTION: In terms of offensive production during the past half-decade, the totals racked up by Blind River Beavers captain Caleb Serre in 2019-20 was the most achieved in the five-year run by any single player.
His 113 points were 13 more than Brayden Stortz recorded for the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners when he hit the century mark back in 2015-16.
That same year, Hunter Atchison provided 99 for the Cochrane Crunch and was also a 50-goal man.
Collecting 51 tallies in 2015-16 was Logan Fredericks, who skated for Kirkland Lake, and had the league’s highest single-season goal total the past five years, along with the fourth-best point total with 89.
Here are the Top 20 single-season point leaders in the NOJHL the past five campaigns:
| RANK | FIRST | LAST | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS | SEASON |
| 1 | Caleb | Serre | Blind River | 55 | 47 | 66 | 113 | 2019-20 |
| 2 | Brayden | Stortz | Kirkland Lake | 54 | 38 | 62 | 100 | 2015-16 |
| 3 | Hunter | Atchison | Cochrane | 53 | 50 | 49 | 99 | 2015-16 |
| 4 | Logan | Fredericks | Kirkland Lake | 53 | 51 | 38 | 89 | 2015-16 |
| 5 | Parker | Bowman | Powassan | 54 | 38 | 50 | 88 | 2019-20 |
| T-6 | Kyle | Herbster | Cochrane | 55 | 36 | 50 | 86 | 2017-18 |
| T-6 | Dustin | Cordeiro | Cochrane | 54 | 39 | 47 | 86 | 2015-16 |
| T-8 | Nick | Techel | Soo Eagles | 56 | 29 | 56 | 85 | 2017-18 |
| T-8 | Tyler | Peters | Powassan | 52 | 42 | 43 | 85 | 2015-16 |
| 10 | Gregory | Trudeau-Paquet | Powassan | 46 | 32 | 52 | 84 | 2019-20 |
| 11 | Braeden | Cross | Cochrane | 54 | 37 | 45 | 82 | 2016-17 |
| 12 | Zachary | Kercz | Timmins | 53 | 26 | 55 | 81 | 2015-16 |
| 13 | Cole | Hepler | Elliot Lake | 46 | 38 | 41 | 79 | 2015-16 |
| T-14 | Tyson | Gilmour | Powassan | 55 | 25 | 53 | 78 | 2017-18 |
| T-14 | Yianni | Liarakos | Blind River | 54 | 39 | 39 | 78 | 2016-17 |
| T-14 | Shadow | Reuben | Iroquois Falls | 55 | 33 | 45 | 78 | 2016-17 |
| T-14 | Ryan | Erickson | Rayside-Balfour | 47 | 25 | 53 | 78 | 2015-16 |
| T-18 | Lucas | Theriault | Soo Thunderbirds | 51 | 40 | 36 | 76 | 2018-19 |
| T-18 | Noah | Boman | Soo Thunderbirds | 50 | 24 | 52 | 76 | 2018-19 |
| T-20 | Jake | Desando | Hearst | 55 | 30 | 45 | 75 | 2018-19 |
| T-20 | Andy | Baker | Powassan | 53 | 45 | 30 | 75 | 2016-17 |
| T-20 | Tristan | Salesse | Timmins | 43 | 34 | 41 | 75 | 2015-16 |
SOLID BETWEEN THE PIPES: Goaltenders have also played a pivotal part in the success of their respective clubs in the league since 2015-16.
The lowest goals-against average in any of the previous five years was set during 2019-20 when Tyler Masternak of the Timmins Rock sported a stingy 1.66 goals-against average.
As for Masternak again, his eight shutouts posted this season was the most in game action in a single year and is also a NOJHL record.
Meanwhile, first-year Powassan Voodoos phenom Owen Say was tops in terms of save percentage in the time frame with a stingy .941 mark to pace all league stoppers.
Say’s 31 victories for the Voodoos on the year were the highest of any goaltender during the run and was one more than former Powassan stopper Nate McDonald’s 30 back in 2016-17.
The following are those NOJHL netminders who have registered a goals-against average of 2.50, or lower, since the start of the 2015-16 season:
| RANK | FIRST | LAST | TEAM | GP | W | L | OT/T/SL | AVG. | SV% | SO | SEASON |
| 1 | Tyler | Masternak | Timmins | 32 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 1.66 | .932 | 8 | 2019-20 |
| 2 | Vance | Meyer | Timmins | 23 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 1.80 | .919 | 4 | 2019-20 |
| 3 | Owen | Say | Powassan | 36 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 1.90 | .941 | 3 | 2019-20 |
| 4 | Tyler | Mazzocato | Kirkland Lake | 22 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 2.12 | .923 | 1 | 2015-16 |
| T-5 | Nate | McDonald | Powassan | 37 | 30 | 4 | 2 | 2.16 | .923 | 3 | 2016-17 |
| T-5 | Aidan | Doak | Blind River | 21 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 2.16 | .940 | 3 | 2016-17 |
| 7 | Doug | Newhouse | Soo Thunderbirds | 19 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2.26 | .915 | 3 | 2016-17 |
| T-8 | Carter | McPhail | Soo Eagles | 40 | 22 | 15 | 1 | 2.27 | .930 | 4 | 2017-18 |
| T-8 | Aaron | Mackay | Elliot Lake | 32 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 2.27 | .922 | 2 | 2015-16 |
| 10 | Brandon | Gordon | Soo Thunderbirds | 36 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 2.31 | .926 | 2 | 2017-18 |
| 11 | MacKenzie | Savard | Rayside-Balfour | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 2.34 | .936 | 3 | 2017-18 |
| T-12 | Garrett | Forrest | Powassan | 38 | 24 | 10 | 1 | 2.37 | .934 | 5 | 2015-16 |
| T-12 | Dawson | Rodin | Kirkland Lake | 34 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 2.37 | .927 | 4 | 2018-19 |
| 14 | Eric | Schuch | Soo Thunderbirds | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 2.41 | .926 | 2 | 2017-18 |
| 15 | Brandon | Gordon | Soo Thunderbirds | 38 | 26 | 10 | 0 | 2.44 | .907 | 5 | 2016-17 |
| T-16 | Nicholas | Tallarico | Hearst | 42 | 24 | 10 | 6 | 2.49 | .921 | 3 | 2018-19 |
| T-16 | Sebastien | Plamondon | Rayside-Balfour | 26 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 2.49 | .921 | 3 | 2018-19 |
| 18 | Gregory | Brassard | Kirkland Lake | 31 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 2.50 | .916 | 2 | 2018-19 |
TEAM TOTALS: During the five years, and a total of 278 games played for each of the majority of the NOJHL’s member clubs over this sequence, the Powassan Voodoos boast the most wins during the time period with 209.
The Soo Thunderbirds are next with 200, followed by the Cochrane Crunch (171), the Rayside-Balfour Canadians (164) and the Timmins Rock (159).
SHOOTS AND SCORES: This five-year window has seen the Voodoos notch the most goals overall with 1,318.
After them, the Crunch have put 1,154 into the back of the net while the Thunderbirds (1,113); the Canadians (1,096); the Rock (1,087) and Eagles (1,019) have all surpassed the 1000-tally plateau.
KEEPING THEM OUT: Looking at league teams that have played the full five years, the organizations that has allowed the fewest goals-against in the time period are the Soo Thunderbirds.
They have only given up 672 along the way while Powassan sits second in this category at 742.
BALANCED SUCCESS: While there will be no winner of the NOJHL’s Copeland Cup – McNamara playoff championship this go around, the league has seen four different communities hoist the trophy in the allotted time frame.
Hearst, Cochrane, Powassan and the Soo Thunderbirds have all won it all since 2015-16.
The following is the NOJHL-produced record of each club the past five seasons and where they finished in overall league standings:
| Team: Blind River Beavers | ||||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T/OT/SL | PTS | GF | GA | OVERALL FINISH |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 37 | 15 | 4 | 78 | 223 | 158 | 4th |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 35 | 24 | 7 | 57 | 201 | 185 | 7th |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 70 | 195 | 155 | 6th |
| 2016-17 | 56 | 32 | 20 | 4 | 68 | 214 | 162 | 5th |
| 2015-16 | 54 | 10 | 40 | 4 | 24 | 139 | 326 | 11th |
| Totals | 278 | 147 | 118 | 23 | 972 | 986 | ||
| Team: Cochrane Crunch | ||||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T/OT/SL | PTS | GF | GA | OVERALL FINISH |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 26 | 25 | 5 | 57 | 166 | 189 | 8th |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 31 | 20 | 5 | 67 | 200 | 186 | Tie-6th |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 36 | 17 | 3 | 75 | 233 | 165 | 4th (NOJHL Champions) |
| 2016-17 | 56 | 38 | 13 | 5 | 81 | 257 | 175 | 3rd |
| 2015-16 | 54 | 40 | 10 | 4 | 84 | 298 | 169 | 2nd |
| Totals | 278 | 171 | 85 | 22 | 1154 | 884 | ||
| Team: Elliot Lake Wildcats | ||||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T/OT/SL | PTS | GF | GA | OVERALL FINISH |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 7 | 46 | 3 | 17 | 115 | 333 | 12th |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 21 | 32 | 3 | 45 | 152 | 224 | 10th |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 25 | 27 | 4 | 54 | 172 | 204 | 8th |
| 2016-17 | 56 | 23 | 26 | 7 | 53 | 157 | 174 | 9th |
| 2015-16 | 54 | 35 | 12 | 7 | 77 | 232 | 142 | 5th |
| Totals | 278 | 111 | 143 | 24 | 828 | 1077 | ||
| Team: Espanola Express | ||||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T/OT/SL | PTS | GF | GA | OVERALL FINISH |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 17 | 34 | 5 | 39 | 167 | 247 | 10th |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 10 | 43 | 3 | 23 | 145 | 291 | 12th |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 2 | 52 | 2 | 6 | 114 | 344 | 12th |
| 2016-17 | 56 | 9 | 45 | 2 | 20 | 139 | 297 | 11th |
| 2015-16 | 54 | 12 | 39 | 3 | 27 | 132 | 243 | 10th |
| Totals | 278 | 50 | 213 | 15 | 697 | 1422 | ||
| Team: French River Rapids | ||||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T/OT/SL | PTS | GF | GA | OVERALL FINISH |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 13 | 38 | 5 | 31 | 136 | 250 | 11th |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 14 | 39 | 3 | 31 | 155 | 244 | 11th |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 13 | 38 | 5 | 31 | 164 | 287 | 11th |
| 2016-17 | 56 | 3 | 51 | 2 | 8 | 128 | 376 | 12th |
| 2015-16 | 54 | 2 | 49 | 3 | 7 | 124 | 347 | 12th |
| Totals | 278 | 45 | 215 | 18 | 707 | 1504 | ||
| Team: Hearst Lumberjacks | ||||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T/OT/SL | PTS | GF | GA | OVERALL FINISH |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 31 | 18 | 7 | 69 | 202 | 177 | 5th |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 33 | 16 | 7 | 73 | 210 | 159 | 2nd (NOJHL Champions) |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 23 | 30 | 3 | 49 | 215 | 226 | 9th |
| Totals | 168 | 87 | 64 | 17 | 627 |
562 |
||
| 2016-17* | 56 | 16 | 36 | 4 | 36 | 203 | 282 | 10th |
| 2015-16* | 54 | 15 | 39 | 0 | 30 | 163 | 310 | 9th |
| Totals | ||||||||
| * – franchise located in Iroquois Falls (Eskis) for 2015-16 & 2016-17 seasons | ||||||||
| Team: Kirkland Lake Gold Miners | ||||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T/OT/SL | PTS | GF | GA | OVERALL FINISH |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 18 | 32 | 6 | 42 | 154 | 228 | 9th |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 33 | 17 | 6 | 72 | 194 | 156 | 3rd |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 24 | 21 | 11 | 59 | 163 | 180 | 7th |
| 2016-17 | 56 | 28 | 21 | 7 | 63 | 232 | 190 | 6th |
| 2015-16 | 54 | 39 | 12 | 3 | 81 | 247 | 135 | 4th |
| Totals | 278 | 142 | 103 | 33 | 990 | 889 | ||
| Team: Powassan Voodoos | ||||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T/OT/SL | PTS | GF | GA | OVERALL FINISH |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 45 | 9 | 2 | 92 | 264 | 141 | 1st |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 70 | 206 | 172 | 4th |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 45 | 7 | 4 | 94 | 299 | 171 | 1st |
| 2016-17 | 56 | 46 | 7 | 3 | 95 | 271 | 121 | 1st (NOJHL Champions) |
| 2015-16 | 54 | 40 | 10 | 4 | 84 | 278 | 137 | Tie-2nd |
| Totals | 278 | 209 | 52 | 17 | 1318 | 742 | ||
| Team: Rayside-Balfour Canadians | ||||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T/OT/SL | PTS | GF | GA | OVERALL FINISH |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 40 | 11 | 5 | 85 | 260 | 163 | 3rd |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 31 | 20 | 5 | 67 | 194 | 169 | Tie-6th |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 37 | 14 | 5 | 79 | 222 | 139 | 2nd |
| 2016-17 | 56 | 28 | 24 | 4 | 60 | 191 | 200 | 7th |
| 2015-16 | 54 | 28 | 25 | 1 | 57 | 229 | 208 | 7th |
| Totals | 278 | 164 | 94 | 20 | 1096 | 879 | ||
| Team: Soo Eagles | ||||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T/OT/SL | PTS | GF | GA | OVERALL FINISH |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 30 | 21 | 5 | 65 | 185 | 171 | 7th |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 28 | 24 | 4 | 60 | 208 | 185 | 8th |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 35 | 20 | 1 | 71 | 222 | 147 | 5th |
| 2016-17 | 56 | 27 | 26 | 3 | 57 | 222 | 204 | 8th |
| 2015-16 | 54 | 22 | 30 | 2 | 46 | 182 | 197 | 8th |
| Totals | 278 | 142 | 121 | 15 | 1019 | 904 | ||
| Team: Soo Thunderbirds | ||||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T/OT/SL | PTS | GF | GA | OVERALL FINISH |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 30 | 19 | 7 | 67 | 220 | 166 | 6th |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 44 | 11 | 1 | 89 | 221 | 145 | 1st |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 36 | 16 | 4 | 76 | 195 | 134 | 3rd |
| 2016-17 | 56 | 43 | 11 | 2 | 88 | 232 | 134 | 2nd |
| 2015-16 | 54 | 47 | 6 | 1 | 95 | 245 | 93 | 1st (NOJHL Champions) |
| Totals | 278 | 200 | 63 | 15 | 1113 | 672 | ||
| Team: Timmins Rock | ||||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T/OT/SL | PTS | GF | GA | OVERALL FINISH |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 42 | 11 | 3 | 87 | 231 | 100 | 2nd |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 33 | 20 | 3 | 69 | 186 | 156 | 5th |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 19 | 31 | 6 | 44 | 142 | 184 | 10th |
| 2016-17 | 56 | 36 | 16 | 4 | 76 | 271 | 202 | 4th |
| 2015-16 | 54 | 29 | 24 | 1 | 59 | 257 | 219 | 6th |
| Totals | 278 | 159 | 102 | 17 | 1087 | 861 | ||
With files from David Harrison, NOJHL Historian
