PIIROINEN HEADED BACK TO FINLAND
Spitfires still have Medina but will need another goaltender for next season
The Windsor Spitfires will have a new tandem in goal whenever the 2020-21 season gets underway.
Spitfires general manager Bill Bowler confirmed on Friday that 18-year-old goaltender Kari Piiroinen will not be returning to the team after he signed with Tappara in the Finnish Elite League.
“He did sign with them,” Bowler said. “He’s a great kid and we wish him the best.”
Windsor made Piiroinen, a native of Finland, the club’s firstround pick (30th overall) in the 2018 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft. The hope was he would eventually succeed Mikey Dipietro as the team’s No. 1 goalie.
In 57 career games with the Spitfires, Piiroinen posted a 24-23-6-2 record with two shutouts, a 3.95 goals-against average and an .875 save percentage.
This season, rookie Xavier Medina had pushed past Piiroinen to become the team’s No. 1 goalie before league play was eventually called.
“Medina is going to be our starter,” Bowler said. “We’ve got some decisions to make after that.”
Matt Tovell, who appeared in two games with the Spitfires this season, could figure into that mix along with Daniel Botelho, who was a 10th-round pick in the 2018 OHL Draft, and Eli Shiller, the team’s top pick in last year’s OHL Under-18 Draft.
ELLSWORTH HONOURED
Leamington native Cam Ellsworth has been named the 2020 Ed Jeremiah Award winner as the top NCAA Division III hockey head coach.
The 39-year-old Ellsworth was a 1997 draft pick by the Windsor Spitfires and played one season with the junior B Leamington Flyers before eventually accepting an NCAA scholarship at Michigan Tech University.
Ellsworth is in his third season as head coach of the Norwich University Cadets in Northfield, Vt.
“This award wouldn’t be possible without great players,” Ellsworth said in a release. “I’m humbled every day by the passion and work ethic they display. The commitment they have to our program and to each other makes it a joy to come to the rink every day.”
Norwich broke nine individual and team NCAA Division III alltime records during the 201920 season under Ellsworth’s leadership. He also guided the Cadets to a 24-2-2 overall record and their second straight New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) Tournament title. Ellsworth has compiled a 47-7-5 (.839 winning percentage) record in his career at Norwich.
PJHL AWARDS
The Provincial Junior Hockey League has released award winners for the Bill Stobbs Division.
The Lakeshore Canadiens won the regular-season award after posting a 36-4-0-0 record.
Canadiens goalie Matt Tovell also picked up a trio of awards. He helped Lakeshore compile the lowest goals-against average in the league, with the team allowing just 57 goals in 40 games. Individually, Tovell earned the top goaltender award after posting the league’s lowest goals-against average at 1.45, which also earned him rookie of the year.
Wheatley Sharks third-year forward Drew Denomey, who is from Lakeshore, was named the division’s most dedicated player while the Wheatley staff of head coach Josh Carnevale and assistants Ian Faubert, Dylan Enns, Paul Gossman, Adam Hatt and Marc Tremblay was named best coaching staff.