Short Shifts on Monday Junior Report

I find the 30 days prior to the World Junior Championships to be the most unsettling of times.

First off, you'd like to see the tournament start and get all the talk of who will make Team Canada and just who exactly is on Team USA to be over. I'm not a big fan of all the speculation over teenagers; I just want to see the games. For me, the whole nationalistic aspect of the tournament, which begins Dec. 26 in Saskatoon and Regina, leaves me cold.

Do I feel better if the United States beats Canada or Russia? Perhaps, but not enough to say that is the reason for tuning in to the games on the NHL Network. Give me the chance to see the future stars of the NHL, or for that matter, the stars who I will see again in the Olympics because they are going to the KHL or the other top leagues in Europe.

But as you will see in notebooks and roundups in the next 30 days, who will make Canada's junior team will sneak its way into any number of reports. Here is the always noteworthy report from Sportsnet.ca's Patrick King, who mentions that Philippe Cornet of Rouyn-Noranda is turning heads as Canada's selection process heats up.

He and Shawinigan defenseman Charles-Olivier Roussel were selected as the players of the week in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The report, with all of the results, statistics and notes, begins now.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Rimouski 5, Montreal 4 SO
Acadie-Bathurst 4, at Halifax 2
Baie-Comeau 5, at Val-d'Or 4
At Cape Breton 10, Drummondville 2
At Victoriaville 5, Moncton 4
At Saint John 6, Quebec 4
Shawinigan 3, at Gatineau 2 SO
The roundup is here and the standings are here.

In other league news, Cape Breton left wing Ashton Bernard and Acadie-Bathurst left wing Marshall Worden drew 10-game suspensions for their fight during warmups on Friday night, a 3-0 victory by Acadie-Bathurst. It's important to note that the pregame bout did not earn both players the night off. In fact, they went at each other, among others, again during the game. Both players finished with 11 minutes in penalties. Worden was also assessed a misconduct.

The full release is here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
Ottawa 4, at Brampton 0
At Mississauga 4, Guelph 2
At Windsor 9, Kingston 2
At Oshawa 4, Niagara 3
At Kitchener 3, Sudbury 1
The roundup is here and the standings are here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
No games scheduled.
The standings are here.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
No games scheduled.
The standings are here.