Gold Miners Newsletter – November 20, 2013

What’s new from the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners

  “GOLD MINER’S NEWS”  ‘
November 20, 2013

  Respect
  Well here we are a few weeks later and riding an impressive 8 game winning streak. The last topic was how tough it is for a small unknown town like Kirkland Lake to gain respect with knowledgeable hockey experts in Canada.

The Gold Miners who have now completed about 40% of their regular season games and have crept back in to the top 20 rankings currently sitting 13th in the country with 39 out of a possible 44 points earned (19-2-0-1).

A quick look at a few key statistics for the 128 Junior A teams in Canada shows KL with the second highest winning percentage (.886) behind only the number 2 ranked Fort Francis team who are at (.916). The Goldminers also have a plus/minus goal differential of (+47) which is fourth among Canada Junior A teams trailing only #1 ranked Fort McMurray (+62), #2 ranked Fort Francis (+55) and #6 ranked Carleton Place (+53).

The Goldminers trail the Soo Thunderbirds (ranked #5 in Canada) in the NOJHL standings by one point but hold 3 games in hand and have won 2 of their 3 head-to-head contests.

…. you be the judge

Players

Within the NOJHL players from the Kirkland Lake squad have been recognized for their outstanding individual contributions to the team success. This is continually reflected in the 3 stars of the week choices where many different team members have been honoured.

Many people ask, who are these Goldminer players?

They are a collection of quality individuals who come from all over North America who have contributed to our community both on and off the ice. They have earned the respect of many local citizens and businesses accordingly. There are 7 players from the United States, 3 from Quebec, 1 from British Columbia and 3 are “local” players from Northern Ontario, the 7 other players are from all over Ontario. At a quick glance this diverse origin of players begs several questions:

Does this not seem unusual? Actually the answer is “no” …. take a look at other Junior A franchise rosters and you will see this is very common. (especially in smaller communities) 

How does this happen? Through the hard work and dedication of the coaches, team staff and team executive constantly scouting and recruiting players.

Can local players play? Absolutely, it is the hope of everyone that local players will aspire to be a Goldminer and will work to develop the necessary commitment, skills and attitude to play at the Junior A level.

It is a pleasure to see how well our new residents of Kirkland Lake have been accepted and welcomed into our community. Each and every week new faces are seen at the Complex supporting our team. This was especially evident when we reached a season high attendance record of 752 fans for our recent victory over the Soo Thunderbirds. To the credit of our supporters the players are blown away by how they have been treated and by the support received.

The last few games we have been hit with several injuries but are now almost back to full strength including Zach Pease who had missed most of the season due to a persistent injury. Both Dan Morin and Jeremy Picard-Fiset returned to action last week. Unfortunately, the team has just learned that forward Garret Nichol has suffered a broken jaw and will be out for a period of time.  

Upcoming

The team heads out on a tough 3 game road trip this weekend before returning home for a game on November 29th against Sudbury.

Twitter | Facebook

Copyright © 2013 Kirkland Lake Gold Miners.
All rights reserved.