Inside the CHL

The Oshawa Generals recognized one of the Canadian Hockey League’s greatest graduates before their game against the Peterborough Petes last Thursday. The Generals retired the number 2 that was worn by Bobby Orr during his four year career there.

r

 

r

Orr, who went on to win countless awards and recognition in the National Hockey League as one of the greatest players to every play the game, said that the ceremony on Thursday was one of the highlights of his distinguished career.

r

 

r

“This is where my career started,” Orr said. “And to be honoured in this fashion is something I’ll never forget. It’s a great honour. There are pretty good players up there and in the future they will have a lot more good players up there. I’m thrilled to be part of that.”

r

 

r

Orr started playing for the Generals in 1962 at the tender age of 14. He played four seasons with the team and drew national media attention for his dramatic skills. He set the offensive standard for defencemen by scoring 38 goals and 94 points in 47 games in his final junior season, records that stood until Denis Potvin scored 123 points with the Ottawa 67’s in 1972-73 and Bryan Fogarty scored 47 goals with the Niagara Falls Thunder in 1988-89.

r

 

r

Orr was signed to play for the Generals by long time OHL executive Wren Blair, who was most recently a special advisor to the Saginaw Spirit. Blair, who won the Allan Cup and a World Championship with the Whitby Dunlops Senior team, convinced Orr’s parents to let him travel back and forth from their home in Parry Sound to play for the Generals in 1962.

r

 

r

Orr joins Albert “Red” Tilson and Eric Lindros as players honoured by the Generals with a jersey retirement.

r

 

r

“Anytime you’re honoured in this manner, it’s a thrill,” Orr said. “It really is. It’s very special and it’s something I’ll always remember. I’m so happy I did it. People say to me ‘it took this long for them to retire your sweater?’ Well, that was my fault. It wasn’t the Generals, I can assure you. This wasn’t something that I was in a hurry to do. It just wasn’t my thing. I’m thrilled. It was a fun night.”

r

 

r

After 16 straight wins, the Brampton Battalion suffered their first defeat in nearly two months when they dropped a 6-5 overtime decision to the Niagara IceDogs on Thursday. But it didn’t take them long to rebound and they grabbed a 4-2 win in Kingston on Friday and beat the IceDogs 5-3 at home on Sunday.

r

 

r

The streak brings the Battalion to within one point of the Belleville Bulls for first place in the Eastern Conference and they are seven points behind the Windsor Spitfires for first place overall.

r

 

r

 

r

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

r

 

r

The Shawinigan Cataractes picked up a pair of wins on the weekend and hold a two point lead on the Moncton Wildcats for first place in the QMJHL standings.

r

 

r

They have won nine of their past 10 games overall and have won 14 straight games on home ice at the Aréna Jacques-Plante. Sunday’s win over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar tied the franchise record of consecutive home wins set in 1982-83 and they can establish a new team record this Sunday against the Montreal Juniors.

r

 

r

Cataractes centre Cédric Lalonde-McNicholl continues to pace the QMJHL offensively with 20 goals and 50 points in 26 games. His teammates Matthew Pistilli (22 goals, 41 points) and Nicholas Petersen (13 goals, 41 points) are also among the top five scorers in the league this season.

r

 

r

Meanwhile, the Drummondville Voltigeurs are still making noise as a legitimate championship threat. They have won nine straight games and are just four points behind Shawinigan with two games in hand. The two teams meet three times this month, including next Friday in Drummondville.

r

 

r

 

r

Western Hockey League

r

 

r

The Calgary Hitmen continue to be on a tear and are threatening to lock up the WHL’s regular season crown early.

r

 

r

The Hitmen have won 11 in a row and have built up a four-point lead over the Vancouver Giants for first place overall in the WHL standings.

r

 

r

The dynamic duo of Brett Sonne (15 goals, 43 points) and Brandon Kozun (20 goals, 42 points) occupy two of the top three spots in the WHL scoring race and have powered the team up front while 18-year-old netminder Martin Jones sports the best numbers in the league with a 16-2-1-0 record to go along with a 1.98 goals against average and .917 save percentage.

r

 

r

“You get into a zone and you feel really big in the net,” Jones told the Calgary Sun. “The puck starts to feel like a beach ball out there. But you have to keep working hard and stay focused at all times.”

r

 

r

The Hitmen are also enjoying success off the ice. They collected more than 22,000 stuffed toys during their annual Teddy Bear Toss on Sunday.

r

 

r

The WHL is mourning the passing of graduate Michael Maniago, who was killed in a car accident on Saturday in Calgary.

r

 

r

Maniago was a netminder that played for the Kamloops Blazers and Lethbridge Hurricanes during the past four seasons before attending college this year.