Power Rankings: Week 3

Carlos Verde, Communications Manager

Ottawa, Ont. —

The third week of the 2017-18 CCHL season brought upsets, ridiculous offensive outbursts and a number of riveting close contests.

In terms of who’s hot, four-time defending Bogart Cup champions Carleton Place ran the table and now sit four points clear atop the league standings.

In terms of who’s not, the Kanata Lasers were outscored 15-7 in a trio of Week-3 losses and tumbled down the standings and power rankings.

Individually, rookie forward like Kemptville’s Alec Taillon and Nepean’s Oli Gauthier have established themselves as legitimate scoring threats.

1. Carleton Place Canadians (7-1-0) | Last Week: 1 (–) | Results: 4-1W @ KAN, 6-3W v PEM, 6-3W v COR | The Canadians continued to flat-out dominate opponents this week. Call it recruiting, call it preparation, call it internal competition — whatever it is, it’s working right now for the Canadians and they appear to once again be the cream of the CCHL crop. Oh, and they’ve scored the most goals (34) and surrendered the fewest (19) in the league. Obviously.
2. Ottawa Jr. Senators (4-2-0) | Last Week: 3 (plus-1) | Result: 5-4W @ BRO | Chiwetin Blacksmith was the dominant player he needs to be this week, potting a pair of goals and adding an assist in Ottawa’s character win in Brockville. The Jr. Sens almost certainly have the deepest forward group in the league, but questions in net — rookies Gab Carriere (.899) and Francis Boisvert (.857) have been inconsistent — remain.
3. Rockland Nationals (4-1-2) | Last Week: 2 (minus-1) | Results: 4-3L @ SF, 5-3W v KAN | Dan Sauve’s group let a third-period lead slip in Smiths Falls, and for that they tumble. They also fell behind 3-1 against an unspectacular Kanata team before rallying for a win on home ice Sunday. Goaltender Sean Storr’s numbers returned to planet Earth this weekend, but he’s still second in the league in sv-% (.925) and GAA (2.17).
4. Hawkesbury Hawks (4-2-0) | Last Week: 4 (–) | Result: 6-3W v KAN | Though the Hawks’ Friday-night contest against Navan was cancelled due to fog, it was still a positive weekend for Rick Dorval’s team. Six different players found the net for Hawkesbury in their win against Kanata, while captain David Jankowski is an elite leader both on the scoresheet and the dressing room.
5. Pembroke Lumber Kings (4-3-0) | Last Week: 7 (plus-2) | Results: 6-3L @ CP, 4-1W v BRO | The ‘Kings definitely weren’t the only team to get bossed around by the Canadians this weekend, and they bounced back with a tidy win in their (very late) home opener against Brockville. Goaltender Jake Smith has proven multiple times early this season that he’s capable of stealing games — a good sign going forward.
6. Smiths Falls Bears (3-3-0) | Last Week: 8 (plus-2) | Result: 4-3W v ROC | Sure, Mark Grady’s Bears only played one game this weekend. But that game happened to be against the red-hot Rockland Nats, and a late Ryan Gibson winner earned Smiths Falls two big points. Scoring by committee has worked for duh Bears thus far, and top forward Michael Larose is rounding into form after a slow showcase.
7. Brockville Braves (3-4-0) | Last Week: 5 (minus-2) | Results: 5-4L v OJS, 4-1L @ PEM | It was a difficult week for Jesse Winchester’s Braves, who fell to the high-octane Jr. Sens before a disappointing effort in Pembroke on Sunday. Justin Evenson appears to be the guy going forward in net. Brockville needs to find scoring to win more consistently. Period.
8. Cornwall Colts (3-4-0) | Last Week: 9 (plus-1) | Results: 5-3W v NAV, 6-3L @ CP | The Colts established themselves as a middle-of-the-pack team in Week 3, taking care of business against Navan but getting dominated by a top-end team in C.P.. They’ve been outshot in five of their first seven contests — badly in three — and will rely heavily on 20-year-old ‘tender Liam Lascelle for continued steady play in net.
9. Kanata Lasers (3-5-0) | Last Week: 5 (minus-4) | Results: 4-1L v CP, 6-3L v HAW, 5-3L @ ROC | You know how they say hiring a new coach often provides a boost? The total opposite has happened in Kanata: The Lasers went from 3-2 to 3-5 in the span of four days, playing undisciplined and sloppy hockey in the process, and should probably find themselves lower on this list.
10. Nepean Raiders (2-4-0) | Last Week: 12 (plus-2) | Result: 6-5W @ KEM | Darcy Findlay’s group showed resiliency on the road in Kemptville on Friday night, reversing two deficits to claim a 6-5 win. That said, and Oli Gauthier’s offensive breakout aside, Nepean is still far from an elite team: Questions in net and on the blue line keep the Raiders from moving further up the rankings.
11. Kemptville 73’s (2-5-0) | Last Week: 11 (–) | Results: 6-5L v NEP, 5-1W @ NAV | After hitting rock bottom in Friday’s home loss, the 73’s responded to fiery comments from head coach Rob Dopson and skunked Navan in the Grads’ big theme night on Sunday. Goaltender Peter Brooks looks set for the kind of year that could make headlines, which Kemptville will need to be a playoff team.
12. Navan Grads (2-5-0) | Results: 12 (minus-2) | Results: 5-3L @ COR, 5-1L v KEM | Well that was, uh, not good. But hey, Keenan Reynolds is tied of the league lead in goals, so there’s that.