Inside the CHL
A group of former Canadian Hockey League players are defending Canada’s gold medal at the 24th Winter Universiade games in Harbin, China this week.
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The roster includes 22 Canada West players, including 19 that are on University scholarships from their Western Hockey League teams and two on scholarships from Ontario Hockey League teams.
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The Canadians skated to lopsided wins over China and Great Britain in their first two games of the tournament. They also played the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan before moving on to the medal round this weekend.
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A Canadian squad of OUA players won gold at the Universiade for the first time in 16 years two years ago in Turin, Italy.
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The Drummondville Voltigeurs and Shawinigan Cataractes both lost their last games but are still locked in a tight battle for first place in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League standings.
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Drummondville holds a two-point lead on Shawinigan and a four point lead on the Moncton Wildcats, who have a game in hand. Meanwhile, the Rimouski Oceanic are continuing their scorching hot run and have won 14 straight games dating back to late January. Four of those wins have come by way of the shootout.
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Yannick Riendeau of the Voltigeurs has all but locked up the QMJHL scoring race with 114 points in 57 games. His closest rival continues to be teammate Dany Masse, who hit the 100-point plateau this week but still trails Riendeau by 14 points.
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The Windsor Spitfires have won nine straight games and continue to lead the OHL standings with a CHL-best 52-6-0-1 record for 105 points in 59 games. The Belleville Bulls picked up their sixth straight win on Sunday against the Brampton Battalion and slipped past the London Knights for second overall in the OHL standings.
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John Tavares of the Knights continues to lead the OHL scoring race with 48 goals and 40 assists for 88 points in 49 games but Bulls’ captain Eric Tangradi has closed the gap in recent weeks and trails but four points with three weeks left in the regular season.
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The Calgary Hitmen have won 15 of their past 16 games and locked up first place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference standings with a pair of wins over the Red Deer Rebels on the weekend. They have also built up a 10 point lead on the Vancouver Giants for first place overall but the Giants have five games in hand.
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Casey Pierro-Zabotel of the Giants continues to lead the WHL scoring race with 105 points in 60 games, three more than Brandon Kozun of the Hitmen, who has played in 65 games.
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Kellan Tochkin of the Everett Silvertips is the top scoring rookie in the CHL this season with 16 goals and 50 assists for 66 points. Evgeny Grachev of the Brampton Battalion leads the way among freshmen with 34 goals.