Nobody wants to digest Christmas dinner while still churning over a recent loss to a local rival, and the North York Rangers and Toronto Patriots will both get a chance to avoid that situation when they do battle at Westwood Arena on Dec. 21.
Coach Brent Hughes and his Rangers had won four of five before losing a special teams-filled battle vs. the Markham Royals at North York's Pink at the Rink game last Sunday. Two time defending Buckland Cup champion Patriots had taken three of four, and then had their streak derailed by a tough 5-3 loss at the hands of the Toronto Jr. Canadiens at Westwood last Saturday.
Here is a breakdown of the next edition of the Neugybowl by position.
Forwards
Perhaps more than any other forward in this game, my eyes will be watching Jake Harris very closely. The Rangers dealt the skillful 1998-born forward to the Patriots for elite defenceman Tyler Currie back on Oct. 21, and Harris has been excellent. An interesting wrinkle is that acquiring Harris was a bit of a "if you can't beat em, join em" move, as the second-year man actually led North York with three points in the two games these clubs have played this year - both Ranger victories at the Herb Carnegie Centennial Arena.
For North York, I always am interested in what kind of performance Keegan Blasby will bring. Everyone around the league by now knows how good the skilled and speedy duo of Michael Morgan and Teddy Hunt can be for the Rangers, but the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Blasby has all the tools to be offensively dominant on a smaller ice surface like Westwood.
My dark horse for North York is Nick Zanette. Guy works hard, and should shoot from everywhere, because he has a bomb. Toronto's dark horse is Jeremy Pullara. The former Toronto Young National midget can dominate any team in the league on the face off dot, but is starting to get his chances and can pull out a productive performance on any given day.
In a side note, watch for Pats' captain Michael Siddall. The club's leading scorer and captain had a bucket full of chances vs. the Jr. Canadiens last Saturday and only converted on one, so he's due a bunch of goals. He also has a rocket.
Another side story is the close relationship Toronto veteran Connor Beck has with North York goaltender Gianluca Baggetta. The two know each other very well, so you know Beck will be motivated (also, Beck just always seems to play well against the Rangers).
Defence
Maybe for this year I should change it from the Neugybowl to the Curriebowl. Former Pats captain Tyler Currie is starting to absolutely dominate for the Rangers, and you know he'll be emotional stepping back on Westwood ice where he won two championships, for the first time in another jersey. Will he rise to the occasion, or will he be overcome with the emotion of the day? Those are big questions as he holds a critical role for North York, especially on the power play.
I obviously have a big heart and am a fan of all the guys on the teams I work for, but it's hard for me to like a player any more than I do Mario Ferraro. The Western Michigan commit is dynamic, energetic and does not let anything get him down. At the beginning of the year, a coach on another team suggested he was a Top 3 defenceman in the league, and while that is a hard statement to make, it can also easily be argued. He is the best skater with the puck in the OJHL on the back end, with really only Adam Clements of Trenton and Patrick Kudla of Oakville to really challenge him. Some sort of skills competition would be fun to see between those three.
Speaking of near the top of the league, Daniel Barnes' shot from the point on the power play for the Pats is certainly up there. If only he got it off more often, shot blockers would have to really beware. Goalies should already be.
Jeremy Szabo has a huge heart too, and is the emotional spine of the Rangers. He is quick, and loves to stand up in the neutral zone. He does everything on the very aggressive side of the meter, and that always makes him fun to watch.
Fedor Rudakov is also starting to get a little more comfortable in the Junior 'A' game after taking some time due to not playing at all to start the season, jumping straight in from midget. His wrister from the point is vicious.
Goaltending
Both of North York's goaltenders - Gianluca Baggetta and Jeremie Lintner - are 19 years old, and both are more than capable of being No. 1s in this league. Baggetta, the all star, has a save percentage of .922, Lintner's is at .930. I have no idea which of those two Coach Hughes will go with; either way, it's the right choice.
Similarly, Coach Teakle has gone back and forth with the Pats duo of Jacob Standen and Sean O'Reilly this year, with the younger Standen showing a little more consistency despite O'Reilly's better numbers. Like the Rangers, who knows who will be in net on Monday night!
