Kilty B’s Schell, Hughes recognized with league awards

Hamilton Kilty B’s netminder Cal Schell and forward TJ Hughes were honoured with year-end GOJHL awards, as announced by the league on Wednesday.

Schell, 17, a 2018 North Bay Battalion second-round draft pick who is now property of the Oshawa Generals, was named the winner of the Gus Crescenzi Award as the Most Valuable Goaltender in the GOJHL.

The six-foot-three Burlington native had the lowest goals-against average (2.14)  in the 25-team GOJHL among goaltenders who played at least 24 games, or half of the 48-game schedule. Sharing duties in the Kilty B’s net with fellow rookie Marco Costantini, Schell matched Costantini’s .922 save-percentage, tying for third in the league. Schell put together a 16-5-0 record with three shutouts on the season.

Hughes, 17, in his second season in the GOJHL, received the Cecil Jones Memorial Award as the Most Gentlemanly Player in the Golden Horseshoe Conference. The five-foot-11 winger had 21 goals and a team-leading 64 points for the Kilty B’s. He registered just 18 penalty minutes on the season.

Kilty B’s head coach Ken Peroff was also named the recipient of the Tom Kelly Memorial Award as the Golden Horseshoe Conference’s Coach of the Year, taking home the hardware for the second straight season.

The Kilty B’s open their second-round series against the St. Catharines Falcons in St, Catharines on Friday. Game 2 of the series is Monday night at the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena.