April 29th, 2022 – The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) today recognizes the Western Conference major award winners for the 2021-22 regular season.
The Roy Caley Award for Lowest team Goals Against Average goes to Ryan Polidori & Boe Piroski of the Leamington Flyers. Polidori had a 23-7 record on the season with a 2.35 GAA while Piroski went 13-4 with a 2.37 GAA. The team total was 36-11 with a 2.41 GAA for the season and their performances helped lead the Flyers to a 1st place finish in the Western Conference in 2021-22.
The Southland Insurance award as Rookie with the Most Points, also from the Leamington Flyers is Connor MacPherson. The Tecumseh, ON native was lit the lamp with 27 goals and 30 assists this season for the Flyers and led the team in points for the campaign. The Ottawa 67’s prospect has also committed to the University of New Hampshire Wildcats in the NCAA.
The Hugh McLean Award as Top Scorer in the Western Conference goes to Jeff Burridge of the London Nationals. The team captain had 31 goals and 50 assists for a 81 points this season.
The Kevin McIntosh Award as Best Defensive Forward this season is Cameron Welch of the Chatham Maroons. He skated in 43 games and tallied 52 points (18 goals & 34 assists) for the Maroons. He also added 4 games winning goals for Chatham this season.
The Chester Pegg Memorial Award for Ability & Sportsmanship was also from the Chatham Maroons, Lucas Fancy. The Charing Cross, ON forward netted 27 goals and 38 assists to lead the Maroons scoring this year while only seeing the penalty box for 36 total minutes in 42 games played.
The Pete’s Sports Award for Coaching Staff of the Year goes to Dale Mitchell Kade McKibbin, Mark Ridout and Matt Anthony of the Leamington Flyers. The Flyers had an impressive season, finishing 1st in the Western Conference with a 36-12 record for 72 total points. The Flyers also had a +75 goal differential on the season which was 3rd best in all of the GOJHL.
The CIMCO Refrigeration Award for the Most Outstanding First Year Defenceman goes to Oliver Bonk of the St. Thomas Stars. It was a busy season for the Stars blueliner as he was a key contributor with 32 points while also playing in 10 games with the London Knights.
The Roy Bruhlman Memorial Award for Western Conference Rookie of the Year is Connor MacPherson of the Leamington Flyers. On top of the scoring details mentioned earlier, MacPherson netted 9 powerplay goals this season while also adding 3 game-winning goals for the Flyers.
The Uni-Fab Award for Top Defenceman this season is Owen McGowan of the London Nationals. The top scorer on the back end for the Nationals skated in 46 games while scoring at nearly a point per game pace as he had 42 points (10 goals & 32 assists) for the London.
The CHOK Award for Western Conference MVP is Jeff Burridge of the London Nationals. It’s the second season in a row that the Nationals are recognized with this award, following Cal Davis who won in 2019-20. Burridge returned to London this season to finish out his junior hockey career and was seldom held off the scoresheet when the Nationals took to the ice this season with a number of games where he had 4,5 and even 6 point nights on more than one occasion, leading the Nationals with 9 game-winning goals throughout the campaign.
Congratulations to all award winners this season.
For more information, visit https://www.gojhl.ca/.
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ABOUT THE GREATER ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE (GOJHL)
The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League is a Canadian junior ice hockey league based in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association, Ontario Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada.
Website: www.gojhl.ca
Instagram: @gojhl
Facebook: @GOJHLHockey
Twitter: @GOJHL
