Jeff Gard/Today’s Northumberland
Northumberland County’s teams continue to make an early-season statement in the Greater Metro Jr. A Hockey League, with both the Brighton Vikings and Northumberland Stars enjoying impressive starts to their respective campaigns.
The expansion Vikings have quickly established themselves as a top team, losing just once so far, while the defending Russell Cup champion Stars remain unbeaten through their first 15 games.
Brighton earned a 4-2 road victory over the Bradford Bulls on Wednesday night. Timofei Ergardt led the way offensively with a three-goal performance, while Yenri Jibb contributed four assists to help Brighton secure the win.
Bradford goaltender Andrew Claughton turned aside 50 shots in a busy night between the pipes, but his efforts weren’t enough to keep the Vikings from earning their 14th victory of the season.
Jibb continues to lead the GMHL offensively, sitting atop the league standings with 30 goals and 59 points.
The Vikings were equally impressive in their previous outing, cruising to a 10-2 road victory over the Toronto Flyers on Saturday.
Geoffrey Boates, Denis Dubrovsky and Jibb each scored twice in the high-scoring affair. Jibb also added two assists for a four-point night.
Waylon Morris, of Port Hope, registered a goal and three assists in the victory.
The two victories improve Brighton’s record to 14-1-0 and they look to keep their momentum going Saturday when they return home to host the Richmond Hill Rampage (3-11-0). Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Brighton’s only loss so far this season has come against its neighbouring rival, the Northumberland Stars of Colborne.
Northumberland extended its winning streak Sunday, blanking the Toronto Flyers 9-0.
William Lindgren paced the Stars offensively with two goals and three assists, while Nils Tunbratt and Simon Eriksson each contributed a goal and three assists.
Goaltender Ivan Kremnev stopped all 24 shots he faced to record the shutout.
Strong goaltending has been a major factor in Northumberland’s early-season success. Kremnev leads the league with nine victories, while he and fellow netminder Platon Mekhriakov rank among the league’s top goaltenders across several statistical categories.
Mekhriakov leads the league with a 1.20 goals-against average, followed by Kremnev at 1.78. The pair are also at the top of the save-percentage standings, with Mekhriakov at .939 and Kremnev close behind at .938.
Both goaltenders have recorded two shutouts this season to lead that category as well.
Friday night, the Stars (15-0-0) welcome the Durham Roadrunners (1-18-0) to the Keeler Centre in Colborne. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Author: Jeff Gard
