STURGEON AT THE TOP, BUT TITANS AND RATTLERS STILL PERFECT!

October 14, 2011

Sturgeon Falls Lumberjacks have been very impressive so far this season and currently sit stop the standings, but there are two other teams that remain perfect and have several games in hand still to make up.

The 'Jacks are 9-3 so far, and even their losses have been strong efforts against the other top clubs, with two close games in Elliot Lake, and another in Temiscaming.

The expansion Titans from Temiscaming have won 7 straight games to begin their inaugural campaign, and that includes an impressive 4-1 victory in Elliot Lake over the defending champion Bobcats.

Their latest victory came last night against the Vaughan Stars at home in Temiscaming, a seesaw battle that saw the Titans rebound from a first period deficit for a 2 goal lead in the third period, only to have the Stars tie it at 5's with 2 power play goals, before Robin Mendelsohn scored his second of the game for the winner with just under 5 minutes left to play.  The 6-5 victory gives them a perfect 7-0 record, good for second place, 4 points back of the 'Jacks', but with 5 games in hand.

The Rattlers haven't played since their 12-1 shellacking of Algoma on October 2, and head into this weekend's games with Lefroy and Orangeville a perfect 6 & 0, and looking to keep pace with the Titans near the top of the table.

The Bobcats were perfect until their loss to the Titans, and look to rebound with a game against the Americans from Orangeville, before a return match with the Titans next week, this time in Temiscaming.

The expansion Vaughan Stars are currently fifth, suffering only their second loss with last night's defeat at the hands of the Titans, the first of 3 games in 3 nights on this northern road trip that has them in Mattawa tonight, and Bobcaygeon tomorrow night.

South Muskoka will spend this weekend at home, hosting Deseronto tonight and Lefroy on Sunday.  The Shield look strong again this season, with 2 tough losses to Bradford, including one in a shootout, and a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Bucks.

Toronto has rebounded from an 0-3-1 start to win 4 in a row, including a 3-1 at Vaughan for the Stars first loss of the year.  The Moose look to make it 5 tonight against the struggling Red Wings in Shelburne.  After playing the last place team tonight, the Moose will turn around and head home tomorrow night to face the perfect Titans, in the Titans first visit to Thornhill.

Algoma have been a Jeckyl and Hyde club so far, with solid competitive efforts on some nights, and big losses on other nights.  They currently sit in 8th with 7 points in 10 games, followed by Lefroy, Mattawa, Orangeville, Bobcaygeon, Deseronto, and the struggling Wings, who have yet to earn a point from 6 games, a far cry from the team that sat near the top of the standings most of last season, with the league's top two scorers leading the way.

NEWS AND NOTES:  Congratulations to the Shield from South Muskoka, whose showed their support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month by having their players wear pink jerseys for their recent game against Bobcaygeon, which were raffled off at the end of the game. Between the raffle and a chuck-a-puck contest, the Shield raised $800 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.