CALGARY, Alta. – As the regular season winds down across the Canadian Junior Hockey League, its weekly Top 20 rankings announced Monday sees the Brooks Bandits (AJHL) maintaining their hold as No. 1 overall with no change as well between the second through sixth slotted clubs.
BCHL: The regular season slate in the BCHL has come to a close with the Wenatchee Wild finishing in top spot. The top 14 teams there will now commence the league’s playoffs to crown a Fred Page Cup champion.
AJHL: CJHL No. 1 Brooks clinched their third AJHL regular season title with their campaign set to wrap-up Sunday. The Gas Drive Cup will go to the side that prevails at the conclusion of the 14-team postseason.
SJHL: The Battlefords North Stars, who are 9-1 in their past 10, will be seeded No. 1 in the upcoming Canalta Cup playoffs while the Nipawin Hawks and Flin Flon Bombers vie for No. 2 & 3. Meanwhile the final two other postseason berths have yet to be decided.
MJHL: Awaiting the MJHL champion will be the Turnbull Trophy. The No. 4 CJHL-ranked Steinbach Pistons will finish first overall in the regular season and will join seven other league teams in the postseason.
SIJHL: It’s the Dryden GM Ice Dogs who have run away with first place and will boast the No. 1 seed when the Bill Salonen Cup playoffs begin.
NOJHL: Both the Powassan Voodoos and Soo Thunderbirds have secured their respective divisions with Powassan on the verge of clinching first overall heading into the Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy playoffs.
OJHL: Finishing in top spot, the Georgetown Raiders will look to carry that momentum into the postseason in the quest for the Buckland Trophy. CJHL-ranked clubs, in the Trenton Golden Hawks, Burlington Cougars and Cobourg Cougars are also in the 16-team playoffs.
CCHL: A fourth straight regular season title has been won by the Carleton Place Canadians. They’ve reeled off 14 victories in a row and will aim for a fourth consecutive Bogart Cup while battling the likes of the Cornwall Colts and Ottawa Jr. A Senators.
LHJAAAQ: Les Cobras de Terrebonne have a slim two-point lead on Collège Français de Longueuil with one game remaining before Les Coupe NAPA play commences with those two nationally ranked clubs holding down the top two seeds in Quebec.
MHL: The start of the MHL’s Kent Cup playoffs will begin in mid-March with the Pictou County Weeks Crushers still up on the Truro Bearcats, Miramichi Timberwolves and Yarmouth Jr. A Mariners in the race for first overall and the No. 1 seed in the postseason.
The following is the latest CJHL Top 20 rankings:
CJHL TOP 20 (As of Feb. 27, 2017)
RANK TEAM (LEAGUE) (LAST WEEK)
1. Brooks Bandits (AJHL) (1)
2. Georgetown Raiders (OJHL) (2)
3. Les Cobras de Terrebonne (LHJAAAQ) (3)
4. Steinbach Pistons (MJHL) (4)
5. Battlefords North Stars (SJHL) (5)
6. Collège Français de Longueuil (LHJQ) (6)
7. Powassan Voodoos (NOJHL) (8)
8. Wenatchee Wild (BCHL) (9)
9. Carleton Place Canadians (CCHL) (11)
10. Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL) (7)
11. Dryden GM Ice Dogs (SIJHL) (10)
12. Fort McMurray Oil Barons (AJHL) (11)
13. Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL) (13)
14. Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL) (14)
15. Burlington Cougars (OJHL) (HM)
16. Pictou County Weeks Crushers (MHL) (19)
17. Penticton Vees (BCHL) (17)
18. Whitecourt Wolverines (AJHL) (18)
19. Nipawin Hawks (SJHL) (NR)
20. Cobourg Cougars (OJHL) (15)
Honourable Mention: Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL); Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL); Winkler Flyers (MJHL); Ottawa Jr. ‘A’ Senators (CCHL); Cornwall Colts (CCHL)
ABOUT THE TOP 20 RANKINGS: The CJHL Top 20 weekly rankings are based upon a variety of factors, including the league in which the team plays, winning percentage, win-loss record, total points accumulated, goals-for versus goals-against ratio, etc.