The Stars are Starting to Shine: Tulugak, Duffin, Sukut, Hawkins Have a Big Week

It was a tremendous week for the likes of Maisie Duffin, Reeve Sukut, Noah Hawkins, Ben Tulugak and Yuki Kido. The stars are starting to shine.

Game On Hockey Brief — October 5–12

The MMJHL, MWJHL and Manitoba CSSHL programs produced the strongest material this week. The CRJHL and KJHL official sites did not provide sufficiently dependable current results for publication.

• St. James seized first place at 5-1-0, beating the Raiders 6-1 on October 6 and Pembina Valley 6-4 on October 9. Nicholas Cullen has eight goals and 15 points, one behind league leader Carson White of Charleswood.
• St. Boniface moved into second at 4-2-0 after victories over River East, 6-4, and the Raiders, 9-2. Reeve Sukut scored a hat trick in Friday’s rout and has 13 points through six games.

• Stonewall edged Transcona 3-2, Charleswood beat River East 4-3 and the Twins kept St. Vital winless with a 4-1 victory.
• Player watch: White leads the league with 16 points; Cullen, Jayden Ward, Nolan Anderson and defenceman Rhylan Baxter are immediately behind him. Stonewall goalie Spencer Hunnam owns a .952 save percentage.
• Feature angle: “Defenceman or quarterback?” Baxter has 14 points—including 11 assists—in six games while helping drive the league-leading Canucks.

Sources: MMJHL schedule and results, MMJHL standings and statistical leaders. Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League

CRJHL

Expansion Altona remains the league’s most compelling developing story. The Maroons are 0-2-0, having lost 5-2 to Lundar and 6-3 to St. Malo.

• Feature angle: Is Brandon Burak the CRJHL’s best player? He’s off to a blazing start.

Source: CRJHL official site. crjhl.com

• The Cross Lake Islanders, Norway House North Stars and Peguis Juniors have jumped out 3-1-0 starts to create a logjam atop the Keystone Junior B Hockey League. The big story has been NCN Flames’ star Ben Tulugak from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. The Flames are 0-5-1 on the season, but Tulugak leads the league in scoring with eight goals and 13 points in six games.
• Jayden Blacksmith continues to lead Cross Lake. Blacksmith has nine goals and 12 points in his first four games.
• Logan Grenier of OCN is the top goaltender in the KJHL with a 1-1-0 record to go with a 2.52 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. Grenier is in his fourth season in the KJHL.
• Feature angle: A look at the number of great players who join the KJHL via Nunavut.

Source: KJHL official site. keystonejr.ca

MWJHL

• All eight teams played October 8. Northern Stars beat the Golden Eagles 7-3, Polar Ice defeated the Silvertips 5-3, Manitoba Blizzard beat the Western Predators 3-1 and Prairie Blaze edged the Grey Owls 4-3.
• Standings: Blizzard and Blaze share first with nine points. Northern and Polar sit one point back; both have won at least three straight. The Golden Eagles remain winless at 0-5-1.
• Player watch: Polar Ice’s Maisie Duffin leads with nine points. Northern’s Taylor Audette has a league-best five goals and eight points. Prairie Blaze goalie Arianna Murdock owns a .967 save percentage and 0.48 goals-against average. Those are eye-popping numbers.
• Feature angle: “Four teams, one early race” — the league’s top four are separated by one point.
• Player angle: Audette’s fast start—five goals while helping Northern win four straight—is ready for an early-season profile.

Source: MWJHL results, standings and leaders. themwjhl.ca

MFHL U18 AAA

CSSHL — Manitoba programs

RINK Hockey Academy Winnipeg

• U18 Prep: Beat North Shore 8-1, lost 6-4 to Delta despite a 46-28 shot advantage, then stunned previously unbeaten Yale 2-1.
• Goalie Noah Hawkins stopped 51 of 52 shots against Yale. Colton Brum scored the third-period winner.
• U17 Prep: Beat Okanagan 4-3 and RINK Kelowna 6-4. David Ring scored in both victories.
• Feature angle: Hawkins’ 51-save masterpiece—how a goalie steals a showcase game against an unbeaten opponent.
• Team angle: RINK’s U18 group showed both extremes: territorial dominance without a win against Delta, followed by a goaltending-led upset of Yale.

Pilot Mound Hockey Academy

• U18 Prep: Earned its first victory, 6-1 over Wenatchee. Max Schütz and Xianen Evans each recorded three points. PMHA later lost 3-2 to St. George’s despite 49 saves from Yuki Kido.
• U17 Prep: Endured difficult showcase losses but finished the week with a 6-2 victory over North Shore. Avery Cantleberry stopped 39 of 41; Christian Caby scored shorthanded and added an assist.
• U15 Prep: Beat RINK Winnipeg 9-8 in overtime. Dane Magwood completed a hat trick with the tying goal, while Brycen Faul collected six points and set up Nash Ramage’s winner.
• Feature angle: “Goalies under siege” — Kido and Cantleberry faced enormous workloads yet gave Pilot Mound chances to win.
• Secondary angle: Faul’s six-point performance in the 17-goal Manitoba derby.

Balmoral Hall Blazers

Best immediate Game On leads: Noah Hawkins’ 51-save upset, the MWJHL’s four-team early race, Rhylan Baxter’s remarkable production from the St. James blue line and Pilot Mound’s goaltenders keeping undermanned teams alive.