‘08 Jr. Greyhounds, ‘11 Marlboros crack Canadian Top 10s
Following a solid showing at the U15 Ontario Hockey Federation championships, the 2008-born Soo Jr. Greyhounds carved out a spot in the Top 10 for the first time this season. Skating to a 6-1-1 record, they handled most teams they faced, including No. 3 Elgin-Middlesex Canucks. But it was two matchups against No. 1 Vaughan Kings that allowed them to stand out. In their first meeting, the Jr. Greyhounds bested the Kings 2-0. In a rematch with the championship on the line, Vaughan regained its form to shut out Soo 4-0. Still, a solid showing with two wins against ranked opponents gave the Soo enough of a jolt to crack the top-tier Canadian of their birth year.
Since April 15th, the Toronto Marlboros have collected three massive victories to propel them into the ‘11 Canadian Top 10. With a 6-5 win over No. 2 Toronto Jr. Canadiens and a two-game sweep of No. 10 Toronto Nationals, the Marlboros made a statement among fellow Ontario programs. Going back to the beginning of the month, the Marlboros have faced off with the Jr. Canadiens three times before their most recent win. In those matchups, the Marlboros went 1-1-1. In the two battles with the Nationals, the Marlboros outscored them 12-5.
Silver Lions top Strelna in ‘06 St. Petersburg meeting
Coming in as winners of their past two contests, the SKA Silver Lions made the jump from No. 5 to No. 4 with victories over SKA Strelna and Dynamo St. Petersburg. Back on April 1st, Strelna edged past the Silver Lions in overtime, setting the stage for a rematch between the two on April 15th. Resulting in a 5–3 win, the Silver Lions leapfrogged Strelna among the Russian ‘06 Top 10.
With No. 5 CSKA Moscow idle, SKA St. Petersburg nabbed two victories to move up to No. 4 among 2008-born teams in Russia. One of those wins — a shootout victory against No. 10 SKA Strelna — continued a current four-game winning streak for the team as well. St. Petersburg has been one of the most consistent teams this season, currently sitting with a 41-0-2 record. Before a 3-2 overtime loss to Dynamo St. Petersburg on April 1st, you would have to go all the way back to January 11th to find SKA’s last loss.
Markham bests Sun County en route to ‘11 OHF championship
Another team reaping the benefits of a major win against a fellow ranked club was the ‘11 Markham Majors. A matchup with the Sun County Panthers in the U13 All-Ontario Championships had significant tournament and rankings implications on the line. Following a scoreless first period, Markham would strike three times in the second frame to take a 3-1 lead into the third period. Justin Boudreau netted his second goal of the game to secure the 4-1 final. The Majors would go on to finish 7-0-1 with a championship and a new No. 2 spot among the Top 10 in the country. Sun County, who finished 3-4-1, dropped to No. 3.
Be sure to check out the complete world rankings, including Top 10s by country and World Top 25s for each of the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 birth years.
