BPSN presents Golden Horseshoe All-Stars
It seems like a lifetime ago when the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League halted play for the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It fact, it was March 13 when the league shutdown for the year after Hockey Canada suspended play.
At some point after that, the Golden Horseshoe Conference announced its award winners for the 2019/20 season, although somewhat silently. BPSN were never made aware of the awards and with the world focused on COVID-19, the winners never really got their due.
The announcement may have slipped under the radar, but that isn’t anything new for the Golden Horseshoe. Monthly awards aren’t promoted to the media and rarely have been. A simple e-mail would take care of that as well as the year-end awards.
The league’s award winners are available on http://gojhl.ca/view/gojhl/2019-2020/gojhl-awards-2019-2020. The monthly awards are also listed.
Under the circumstances, we thought it might be fun to select our own first and second all-star teams.
Better late than never.
FIRST TEAM
FORWARDS
Andrew Bruno, Niagara Falls Canucks
Bruno, a 20-year-old Buffalo native, led the Golden Horseshoe in goals (39) and points (93). He was as consistent an offensive player as any in the league and was on the ice for the Canucks in all high-leverage situations. 
Jacob Macdonald, Hamilton Kilty B’s
Macdonald, a 19-year-old Burlington native, was the Kilty B’s go-to player in his first season in the league. Macdonald collected 33 goals and 77 points and was awarded the league’s most valuable player award as well as rookie of the year award.
Curtis Egert, St. Catharines Falcons
The 21-year-old Welland native was the Falcons’ best player from Day 1 of training camp. The former Sarnia Sting forward led the team in scoring with 31 goals and 73 points and also wore the captain’s C with pride. 
DEFENCE
Ryan Wells, Caledonia Corvairs
The 21-year-old Mississauga native came to the Corvairs with 90 games of Ontario Hockey League experience with the Mississauga Steelheads and didn’t disappoint. Wells led all GOJHL defencemen in scoring with 23 goals and 72 points in 47 games and was named the conference’s most valuable defenceman. Wells will play next season at Ryerson.
Jacob Urbshott, St. Catharines Falcons
The 21-year-old Wiarton native led all Falcons defencemen in scoring with six goals and 34 points in 47 games and was a workhorse on the blueline. Urbshott played junior C with the Niagara Riverhawks until last season when he made the move to junior B towards the end of the year.
GOALTENDER
Aiden Hughes, Caledonia Corvairs
The 21-year-old London native played 78 games in the OHL with Sarnia Sting and Oshawa Generals in 2016-19. Hughes’ numbers were off the charts: 28 wins, 1.94 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.
SECOND TEAM
FORWARDS
Matthew Riva, Niagara Falls Canucks
The 19-year-old Niagara Falls native had a tremendous third season with the Canucks collecting 22 goals and 71 points playing alongside league scoring champion Andrew Bruno for much of the season on a dominant line.
Tyler Burnie, Caledonia Corvairs.
Burnie, a 21-year-old native of Orillia, collected 34 goals and 73 points in just 39 games. The former Kingston Frontenac also spent 162 minutes in the penalty box and was suspended on four separate occasions. When he was on the ice, Burnie was dominant.
Joel Mazzilli, Caledonia Corvairs
The 20-year-old Lambeth native was a 2016 draft choice (seventh round) of the Niagara IceDogs. In his first season in the Golden Horseshoe, Mazzilli produced 30 goals and 51 points. He also showed his discipline with only three minor penalties.
DEFENCE
Colt Corpse, Caledonia Corvairs
The 20-year-old Indiana native was the 299th player (out of 300) selected in the 2016 OHL draft by Kingston. A 6-foot-4, 196-pound rearguard, Corpse fit right in with the Corvairs who love size. He also chipped in with nine goals and 38 points in 41 games.
Justin Schneider, Niagara Falls Canucks
The 21-year-old Waterloo native was named the Canucks captain in training camp and came through with a solid campaign while four goals and 28 points while taking care of business in his own end. 
GOALTENDER
Justin Easter, Hamilton Kilty B’s
Easter, a 19-year-old native of Burlington, was solid as a rock for the Kilty B’s with a 2.26 goals-against average, a league-leading .927 save percentage and 846 saves.
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Bill and Bernie.
