# 2008–09 NOJHL season

The 2008–09 NOJHL season was the 31st season of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL). The eight teams of the East and West Divisions played 50-game schedules.
The top teams of each division played for the Copeland-McNamara Trophy, the NOJHL championship. The winner of the Copeland-McNamara Trophy competed in the Central Canadian Junior "A" championship, the Dudley Hewitt Cup.

## Changes

* Temiscaming Royals join league from Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League.
* Soo re-enters league as Soo Eagles.

## Final standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched conference title
Eastern Division :
| Team | Centre | W–L–T-OTL | GF | GA | Points |
| North Bay Skyhawks | North Bay | 41-6-0-3 | 251 | 151 | 85 |
| Abitibi Eskimos | Iroquois Falls | 29-17-0-4 | 198 | 166 | 62 |
| Sudbury Jr. Wolves | Garson | 20-25-0-5 | 207 | 238 | 45 |
| Temiscaming Royals | Temiscaming, PQ | 17-29-0-4 | 173 | 238 | 38 |
| Western Division |||||||||||
| Team | Centre | W–L–T-OTL | GF | GA | Points |
| Soo Thunderbirds | Sault Ste. Marie, ON | 35-14-0-1 | 244 | 153 | 71 |
| Soo Eagles | Sault Ste. Marie, MI | 26-21-0-3 | 257 | 209 | 55 |
| Blind River Beavers | Blind River | 25-21-0-4 | 188 | 182 | 54 |
| Manitoulin Islanders | Little Current | 7-40-0-3 | 141 | 322 | 17 |
Teams listed on the official league website.
Standings listed on official league website.

## 2008-09 Copeland-McNamara Trophy Playoffs

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | McNamara Trophy Finals | McNamara Trophy Finals | McNamara Trophy Finals |
| E1 | North Bay | 4 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Temiscaming | 0 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Temiscaming | 0 | E1 | North Bay | 4 | | | |
| East | East | East | E1 | North Bay | 4 | | | |
| East | East | East | E2 | Abitibi | 3 | | | |
| E2 | Abitibi | 4 | E2 | Abitibi | 3 | | | |
| E3 | Sudbury | 1 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Sudbury | 1 | | | | E1 | North Bay | 1 |
| | | | | | | W1 | SSM Thunderbirds | 4 |
| W1 | SSM Thunderbirds | 4 | | | | | | | W1 | SSM Thunderbirds | 4 |
| W4 | Manitoulin | 0 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Manitoulin | 0 | W1 | SSM Thunderbirds | 4 | | | |
| West | West | West | W1 | SSM Thunderbirds | 4 | | | |
| West | West | West | W3 | Blind River | 0 | | | |
| W2 | SSM Eagles | 0 | W3 | Blind River | 0 | | | |
| W3 | Blind River | 4 | | | | | | |
Playoff results are listed on the official league website.

## Dudley Hewitt Cup Championship

Hosted by the Schreiber Diesels in Schreiber, Ontario. Soo finished in fourth.
Round Robin
    Fort William North Stars (SIJHL) 2 - Soo Thunderbirds 0
    Schreiber Diesels (SIJHL) 2 - Soo Thunderbirds 0
    Kingston Voyageurs (OJHL) 3 - Soo Thunderbirds 0

## Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Dustin Fummerton | North Bay Skyhawks | 47 | 32 | 51 | 83 | 37 |
| Chris Kangas | Sudbury Jr. Wolves | 48 | 39 | 38 | 77 | 46 |
| Trevor McNutt | Soo Thunderbirds | 49 | 28 | 47 | 75 | 6 |
| Nick Minardi | Soo Thunderbirds | 45 | 36 | 36 | 72 | 87 |
| Solomon McCann | North Bay Skyhawks | 44 | 42 | 28 | 70 | 27 |
| Jeff Verrault | Sudbury Jr. Wolves | 48 | 28 | 41 | 69 | 47 |
| R.J. Kleiman | Soo Eagles | 46 | 31 | 35 | 66 | 30 |
| Zak LaRue | Soo Thunderbirds | 50 | 33 | 32 | 65 | 53 |
| Erik Belanger | Sudbury Jr. Wolves | 47 | 29 | 36 | 65 | 92 |
| Marc-Alain Begin | Abitibi Eskimos | 49 | 22 | 40 | 62 | 14 |

## Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | T | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
| Billy Stone | Blind River Beavers | 28 | 1683:15 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 92 | 1 | 0.919 | 3.28 |
| Randy Willis | Blind River Beavers | 19 | 1098:51 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 0.916 | 3.39 |
| Jeff Michael | North Bay Skyhawks | 29 | 1670:22 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 74 | 2 | 0.908 | 2.66 |
| Francis Albert | Abitibi Eskimos | 27 | 1337:47 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 69 | 1 | 0.905 | 3.09 |
| Joel Vienneau | Abitibi Eskimos | 30 | 1692:29 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 90 | 2 | 0.900 | 3.19 |

## Awards

* Player of the Year - Nick Minardi (Soo Thunderbirds)
* Most Valuable Player - Nick Minardi (Soo Thunderbirds)
* Most Gentlemanly Player - Tyler Liukkonen (Blind River Beavers)
* Rookie of the Year - Erik Belanger (Sudbury Jr. Wolves)
* Top Defenceman - Drew Otto (Soo Thunderbirds)
* Most Improved Player - Tanner Burton (Blind River Beavers)
* Top Defensive Forward - Gerrit Weller (Blind River Beavers)
* Top "Team Player" - Felix Boutin (Abitibi Eskimos)
* Director of the Year - Oscar Cloutier (Sudbury Jr. Wolves)
* Coach of the Year - Ian Swalucynski (North Bay Skyhawks)
* Team Goaltending Award - Jeff Michael, Riley Ross (North Bay Skyhawks)
* Top Goals Against Average - Jeff Michael (North Bay Skyhawks)
* Scoring Champion - Dustin Fummerton (North Bay Skyhawks)
* Scholastic Player of the Year - Giles Pickard (Blind River Beavers)
* Playoffs Most Valuable Player - Ryan Dube (Soo Thunderbirds)