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.

Wednesday's Junior Report

Two leagues were dark, while the leagues that were active offered a limited number of games. We start with the Ontario Hockey League.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
London 5, at Kitchener 2
Sault Ste. Marie 3, at Sudbury 2 OT

The roundup is here and the standings are here.

In league notes, Sault Ste. Marie goaltender Robin Lehner earned CHL goaltender of the week honors. The release is here. Ottawa forward Tyler Toffoli was selected as the CHL player of the week. The release is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Regina 6, at Portland 3

The recap is here and the standings are here.

In league news, the Russian Selects will face a team of WHL selects tonight in Victoria. A preview of the game is here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
No games scheduled.
The standings are here.

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

The league's weekly notebook is here.

Monday's Junior Hockey Report

Every elite junior league across North American got in a few games on Sunday before the Monday break. Tonight, the Ontario Hockey League selects and the Russian selects faceoff in Windsor. More on that under the OHL banner.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Cape Breton 3, at Moncton 2
At Prince Edward Island 6, Chicoutimi 5 OT
Gatineau 3, at Rouyn-Noranda 0
At Victoriaville 6, Halifax 1
At Quebec 5, Montreal 2
Saint John 7, at Lewiston 4

The roundup is here and the standings are here.

In league notes, Chicoutimi forward Nicolas Deschamps and Baie-Comeau goaltender Nathan Dunnett were selected as the players of the week. The release is here. Anaheim drafted Deschamps in the second round of the 2008 NHL draft. Patrick King of Sportsnet.ca says that Deschamps is steadily making his case to be among those being considered for a spot on Canada's entry in the World Junior Championships. You can read all of King's weekly notebook here.

In other league notes, Chicoutimi forward Rock Régimbald was suspended four games for a kneeing incident a week earlier against Prince Edward Island. The release is here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Brampton 3, Belleville 0
Plymouth 4, at Kingston 1
At Ottawa 6, Kitchener 3
At Owen Sound 3, Erie 2 OT
At Windsor 11, Guelph 3
London 4, at Oshawa 1

The roundup is here and the standings are here.

In league notes, the final game between the Russian selects and the OHL selects is tonight at 7 in Windsor. The Russian squad is 0 for 3 in the series, having lost twice to the QMJHL selects and once to an OHL squad. After this game, the Russian squad moves on to British Columbia for two games against the WHL selects.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Prince Albert 5, at Edmonton 4 OT
Spokane 3, at Calgary 2
At Medicine Hat 3, Red Deer 1

The roundup is here and the standings are here.

In league notes, Chilliwack forward Ryan Howse has been selected as the player of the week. The release is here. In other news, Portland traded goaltender Kurtis Mucha to Kamloops for a draft pick. The release is here.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
Fargo 6, at Team USA 3

The standings are here.