By Brock Ormond [1] and Megan Pounder [2]
TRENTON – It’s one month into the Ontario Junior Hockey League season and the best Junior A team in all of Canada currently makes its home down the 401.
With the Belleville Bulls gone from the Quinte area [3], the Trenton Golden Hawks have skated themselves into the spotlight and have thrived in it. This is the first time in the club’s history that it’s held the No. 1 spot nationally. The Hawks rose to the top of the Canadian Junior Hockey League on the strength of an 11-game winning streak to open up the season. They also currently sit at the top of the OJHL.
Despite losing 19 players to graduation and trades, the G-Hawks recruited hard over the summer to restock their proverbial shelves.
[4]Trenton Golden Hawks head coach Jerome Dupont calls out instructions to his team at practice Thursday afternoon. Photo by Brock Ormond
G-Hawks head coach Jerome Dupont said he feels that as a result of the amount of recruiting that was completed in the offseason, the current edition of his team has “a little bit better leadership” and has a “better depth of talent” compared to his team last season.
He also credited a stingy defence – which has allowed just 20 goals through the first 11 games – with the team’s early-season success.
“We’ve played really, really good defence and as a result we’ve been in every game,” Dupont said. “We’ve been able to score more than the other team, partly because we didn’t have to score too many, so that’s a big part of it.
“And everybody buying in has obviously gone a long way.”
Many key players, such as leading scorers Hunter Fargey, Lucas Brown and Liam Morgan, returning defenceman Blayne Oliver and goaltenders Daniel Urbani and Troy Paquette, have been huge contributors to Trenton’s success this season. G-Hawks veteran forward Mitch Emerson, acquired in an off-season trade with defending Frank Buckland Cup Champion Toronto Patriots [5], has been one of those key players. Emerson has scored 10 points in his first nine games this season, having missed two games due to a suspension. Emerson said he believes that his championship experience will go a long way in helping the team through the rest of the season
“You learn things over a long playoff run. And it helps that we have an older team. So we do have quite a bit of experience in the room,” he said.
[6]Trenton Golden Hawks veteran forward Mitch Emerson takes part in a drill during Thursday afternoon’s practice. Photo by Brock Ormond
Emerson also credited the smaller players, who don’t always get as much recognition as the top guys, for being key cogs in the winning streak.
“(Brandon) Marinelli has been big on (defence) for us, getting some big minutes shutting (the opposition) down … (Nick) Boddy and (Mac) Lewis (have) been huge on the forecheck, kind of taking care of what needs to be done physically.”
With the long winning streak hanging in the balance, Coach Dupont says that the team is trying to stay focused by “continuing to grow” and “making sure we get better each day – try not to get too full of ourselves.”
“We’re not really talking about the streak. We’re talking about playing our best consistently. And that’s really the crux of it – and if we do that, the streak will continue,” Dupont added.
The team next takes on the Toronto Jr. Canadiens – currently fifth in the league – on Friday night at Duncan McDonald Memorial Gardens in Trenton.