Toronto – The Canadian Hockey League in association with SUBWAY® restaurant chain and the Ontario Hockey League today announced that the OHL’s Guelph Storm and Sarnia Sting will host Game 3 and Game 4 of the 2012 SUBWAY® Super Series.

Game 3 of the series will be played on Thursday November 7 in Guelph, Ontario, who last hosted the event in 2008. The series then returns to Sarnia, Ontario, for Game 4 to be played on Monday November 12, 2012. This will mark the third time that the Sting have hosted a Canada-Russia contest with previous games played in 2006 and 2003 when the event first began.

The 2012 SUBWAY® Super Series marks the tenth straight year that regional teams of CHL All-Stars will compete against the Russian National Junior Team as part of a six-game series. The series takes place November 5-15 and begins with two games in the QMJHL hosted by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Val-d’Or Foreurs, and wraps up with two games in the WHL hosted by the Victoria Royals and the Vancouver Giants.

The SUBWAY® Super Series is an integral part of the identification process for Team Canada prior to the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship which will be played in Russia next season. Last season the CHL edged Team Russia with a 3-2-1 record to win the series by a 10-8 margin in points, just one year following Russia’s first ever series victory in 2010. Canada and Russia would later meet at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship hosted by Calgary and Edmonton, AB, with Russia winning the semifinal contest with a roster that included 16 players from this event. 19 CHL players from the 2011 event competed on the bronze medal winning Team Canada.

All six games of the SUBWAY ® Super Series will be broadcast nationally on Sportsnet with TVA Sports televising both games from the QMJHL. The 2012 SUBWAY® Super Series is supported by CHL associate sponsors, Bank of Montreal and CCM.

2012 SUBWAY® Super Series Schedule of Games:
Game 1 – Monday November 5 at Blainville-Boisbriand, QC
Game 2 – Wednesday November 7 at Val-d’Or, QC
Game 3 – Thursday November 8 at Guelph, ON
Game 4 – Monday November 12 at Sarnia, ON
Game 5 – Wednesday November 14 at Victoria, BC
Game 6 – Thursday November 15 at Vancouver, BC

For more information please www.subwaysuperseries.ca

- From CHL news release

Toronto – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Dougie Hamilton of the Niagara IceDogs is the 2011-12 recipient of the Max Kaminsky Trophy awarded to the OHL’s Most Outstanding Defenseman of the Year.

Hamilton led all OHL defencemen in scoring with 72 points in just 50 games and tied for third in the league with a plus-minus rating of plus-37. He scored 17 goals and finished tied for third overall in the league with 55 assists which included a league-high 30 assists recorded on the power play. Third in voting for this award last season, Hamilton becomes the first winner of the Max Kaminsky Trophy in IceDogs’ team history.

“This year has been a ton of fun and it is a huge honour to win this award,” said Hamilton. “I spent the last couple of years watching the best defencemen in the league and then trying to get myself to that point and it is exciting to be here now and receive this award. A lot of past winners have gone on to NHL careers and hopefully I can follow suit.”

An 18-year-old from Toronto, ON, Hamilton was selected by the IceDogs 27th overall in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection. This season he was recognized as OHL Defenseman of the Month four of the six times the award was presented including October, November, February, and March.

Hamilton was selected by the Boston Bruins with the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and represented the OHL on Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship earning a bronze medal. Last season he earned the Bobby Smith Trophy for combining high standards of play and academic excellence before being named the CHL’s Scholastic Player of the Year.

“We couldn’t be prouder of Dougie,” said IceDogs’ General Manager and Head Coach Marty Williamson. “The on ice stuff, it is easy to see how good he is, but he has leadership abilities off the ice and is a great role model not just for younger players on our team but in the community, we just can’t say enough good things about what he brings to the team.”

The Max Kaminsky Trophy is awarded each year to the Most Outstanding Defenseman as selected by OHL General Managers. Teams were not permitted to vote for their own nominee. Players received five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote and one point for a third place vote.

Hamilton received an impressive 80 of a maximum 95 points in the voting process ahead of Scott Harrington of the London Knights who finished in second place with 36 voting points, and Cody Ceci of the Ottawa 67’s who finished in third place with 28 voting points.

Other notable winners of the Max Kaminsky Trophy include Al MacInnis (Kitchener 1982-83), Chris Pronger (Peterborough 1992-93), Brian Campbell (Ottawa 1998-99), James Wisniewski (Plymouth 2003-04), Marc Staal (Sudbury 2006-07), Drew Doughty (Guelph 2007-08), and Ryan Ellis (Windsor Spitfires 2008-09 and 2010-11). Ron Meighan (1981-82), and Bryan Fogarty (1988-89) both received the honour as members of the Niagara Falls Thunder.

The award is named in recognition of Max Kaminsky, who enjoyed a 10-year professional playing career that included four years in the NHL with Ottawa, Boston, and Montreal. After he retired from playing, Kaminsky enjoyed a 15-year coaching career that was capped by winning the Memorial Cup with the St. Catherine’s Teepees in 1960.

Hamilton will be formally presented with the Max Kaminsky Trophy at the OHL Awards Ceremony which takes place on Tuesday June 5, 2012, at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. He will also be the OHL’s nominee for CHL Defenseman of the Year.

- From OHL news release

Erie Otters defenseman Adam Pelech headlined the winners as the sole owner of three awards at the team’s annual Awards Banquet held Sunday afternoon at the Bayfront Convention Center.

The second-year defenseman rebounded after an early-season injury and was a steady influence on the blue line, collecting 20 points in 44 games. Pelech took home Player of the Year and Defenseman of the Year honors, joining Chris
Campoli as the only defensemen to be named as Player of the Year.

Pelech also won the Sertz Family Scholastic Award as the team’s top student-athlete for the second straight season. Earlier in the week, Pelech became the first player in OHL history to win the Ivan Tennant Memorial Award and the Bobby Smith Trophy and he also was part of a Team Canada squad that captured the bronze medal at the IIHF World Under-18 Championships.

Pelech’s Toronto Marlboros teammate Connor Brown won a pair of trophies after an excellent first season in the OHL with 53 points, second best among league rookies. Brown won the Most Sportsmanlike Player award and shared Rookie of the Year honors with Stephen Harper, who led 1995-born players with 24 goals this season.

For the first time in team history, five players were joint-winners of the Most Valuable Player award. In addition to Pelech, Brown and Harper, forwards Dane Fox and Luke Cairns also shared the trophy.

Other award winners from the Otters 17th Annual Awards Banquet included Fox (Leading Scorer), Cairns (Most Improved Player), Ramis Sadikov (Locastro-Bonini Three Star Award), Connor Crisp (Bassin Award for Dedication), Travis Wood and Jake Evans (co-winners of the Vince Scott Award for Determination) and Mac McDonnell (Steve Nimigon Humanitarian Award).

- From Erie Otters news release

BRNO, Czech Republic – Erie Otters defenseman Adam Pelech and Canada captured the bronze medal with a 5-4 overtime win against Finland in the third-place game at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship Sunday. Pelech no points and one shot on goal in the game to finish the tournament with no points, nine shots on goal and eight penalty minutes in seven games.
Hunter Shinkaruk, who plays for Medicine Hat in the Western Hockey League, scored his third goal of the game 2 minutes, 5 seconds into overtime to seal the victory. Belleville’s Brendan Gaunce scored a goal and Oshawa’s Scott Laughton had two assists for Canada, while Sault Ste. Marie’s Matt Murray stopped 29-of-33 shots in net. The United States won the gold medal with a 7-0 win against Sweden.

BRNO, Czech Republic – Erie Otters defenseman Adam Pelech has to settle for a chance to win a bronze medal at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship. Canada lost to the undefeated United States 2-1 Friday in the semifinals, setting up a third-place matchup against Finland on Sunday at 6 a.m. The U.S. will face unbeaten Sweden, a 7-3 semifinal winner against Finland, for the gold medal Sunday at 10 a.m.
Pelech had no points, one shot on goal and two penalty minutes against the U.S. He has no points, eight shots and eight penalty minutes in six games at the tournament. Owen Sound’s Gemel Smith scored Canada’s lone goal, which tied the score at 1 late in the first period. The U.S. scored the winning goal 6 minutes, 26 seconds into the third against Sault Ste. Marie’s Matt Murray, stopped 25 of 27 shots.

BRECLAV, Czech Republic – Erie Otters defenseman Adam Pelech and Canada defeated Russia 4-2 Thursday in the quarterfinals of the IIHF World Under-18 Championship on Thursday.
Pelech had no points, one shot on goal and two penalty minutes for Canada, which faces the unbeaten United States in the semifinals Friday at 1 p.m. in Brno, Czech Republic. Canada lost to the U.S. 5-3 in the final preliminary-round game Tuesday.
Windsor’s Kerby Rychel scored two goals against Russia. Sault Ste. Marie’s Matt Murray stopped 28-of-30 shots. Finland beat Germany 8-0 in Thursday’s other quarterfinal, setting up a semifinal matchup against unbeaten Sweden Friday at 9 a.m.

BRECLAV, Czech Republic – Erie Otters defenseman Adam Pelech and Canada face Russia today at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the IIHF World Under-18 Championship. Canada finished third in Group A with a 2-2 record following a 6-2 win against Czech Republic on Monday and a 5-3 loss to the United States on Tuesday. Pelech had no points, six shots on goal and four penalty minutes in those four games.
The Canada-Russia winner faces the U.S., which won Group A with a 4-0 record, in the semifinals Friday at 7 p.m. in Brno, Czech Republic. Finland and Germany meet in today’s 3 p.m. quarterfinal. The winner plays Group B champion Sweden in Friday’s 3 p.m. semifinal in Brno.

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Mercyhurst alumnus Meghan Agosta scored the tying goal late in the third period and assisted on the winning goal in overtime, as Canada defeated the United States 5-4 Saturday to win gold at the IIHF Women’s World Championship at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
Agosta forced overtime by scoring with 2 minutes, 38 seconds left in regulation. Then she assisted on Caroline Ouellette‘s goal 1:50 into the extra period to seal Canada’s first title in the tournament since 2007 and snap the Americans’ three-year championship run.
Agosta finished the game with a goal and two assists and the tournament with four goals and eight points in five games. Former Laker Vicki Bendus and Mercyhurst senior Bailey Bram were scoreless in the game. They finished the tournament with a point apiece.

BRECLAV, Czech Republic – Erie Otters defenseman Adam Pelech and Canada fell to Finland 4-2 Saturday in their second preliminary-round game at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship.
Pelech had no points and two penalty minutes, while Windsor’s Kerby Rychel scored a goal.
Sault Ste. Marie’s Matt Murray allowed all four goals on 39 shots for Canada, which faces host Czech Republic on Monday at 10 a.m. in Brno, Czech Republic.

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Mercyhurst alumnus Meghan Agosta leads her native Canada into today’s gold-medal game against the United States at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. The game is set for 7 p.m. at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
Agosta has three goals and five points in four games. Former Laker Vicki Bendus and current Mercyhurst senior Bailey Bram have one point apiece for Canada.
Canada beat Finland 5-1 in the semifinals, while the U.S. trounced Switzerland 10-0 in the other semifinal.