The 2022–23 AJHL season was the 59th season of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). The Brooks Bandits finished the regular season in first place overall and went on to win league championship Inter Pipeline Cup and the 2023 Centennial Cup national championship.

2022–23 AJHL season
LeagueAlberta Junior Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Number of games60
Number of teams16
Regular season
Season championsBrooks Bandits
Post-season
Finals championsBrooks Bandits
  Runners-upSpruce Grove Saints
AJHL seasons

Season highlights

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The Brooks Bandits finished the regular season in first place overall after winning 53 of their 60 regular season games; the 2nd most wins in a season in league history. The record for most wins in a season was set by the Brooks Bandits in the 2018–19 season.[1] The Brooks Bandits went on to win league championship Inter Pipeline Cup after defeating the Spruce Grove Saints in the finals 4 games to 1.[2] The Brooks Bandits then went undefeated at the 2023 Centennial Cup in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba to win its 4th national championship.


Regular season

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Map of AJHL, 2021–22 to 2022–23
 
 
200km
125miles
Bobcats
Pontiacs
Oil Barons
Bandits
Dragons
Kodiaks
Crusaders
Bulldogs
Saints
Oilers
Canucks
Grizzlies
Thunder
Eagles
Wolverines
Storm
   North Division
   South Division

The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:[3][4]

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points

North Division
Team GP W L OTL SOL Pts
Spruce Grove Saints 60 49 7 2 2 102
Whitecourt Wolverines 60 36 19 3 2 77
Bonnyville Pontiacs 60 36 21 2 1 75
Sherwood Park Crusaders 60 33 20 3 4 73
Fort McMurray Oil Barons 60 24 26 6 4 58
Lloydminster Bobcats 60 23 34 1 2 49
Grande Prairie Storm 60 19 33 5 3 46
Drayton Valley Thunder 60 15 42 0 3 33
South Division
Team GP W L OTL SOL Pts
Brooks Bandits 60 53 5 1 1 108
Blackfalds Bulldogs 60 39 18 1 2 81
Drumheller Dragons 60 33 21 4 2 72
Okotoks Oilers 60 34 23 1 2 71
Camrose Kodiaks 60 27 30 2 1 57
Canmore Eagles 60 24 32 2 2 52
Calgary Canucks 60 19 32 6 3 47
Olds Grizzlys 60 16 39 4 1 37

Scoring leaders

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GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, P = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Aiden Fink Brooks Bandits 54 41 56 97 32
Brett Meerman Blackfalds Bulldogs 60 30 64 94 36
Matteo Giampa Bonnyville Pontiacs 54 27 65 92 45
Dario Beljo Brooks Bandits 60 34 55 89 30
Tyler Wallace Blackfalds Bulldogs 54 42 42 84 42
Luigi Benincasa Spruce Grove Saints 60 31 48 79 36
Daniel Kernaghan Drayton Valley Thunder 57 32 43 75 41
Jason Siedem Blackfalds Bulldogs 58 27 48 75 26
Nicolas Beaudoin Bonnyville Pontiacs 55 40 34 74 53
Sam Court Brooks Bandits 52 13 59 72 63

Leading goaltenders

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Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, GA = Goals Against, Sv% = Save Percentage, GAA = Goals Against Average, SO = Shutouts, Mins = Minutes played.

Player Team GP W L OTL SOL GA Sv% GAA SO Mins
Ethan Barwick Brooks Bandits 51 45 4 0 1 95 0.929 1.88 7 3,039
Zac Onyskiw Spruce Grove Saints 23 18 2 0 1 44 0.924 2.06 4 1,282
Matthew Hennessey Blackfalds Bulldogs 42 26 12 0 2 112 0.909 2.72 4 2,473
Parker Sawka Spruce Grove Saints 41 23 16 0 1 107 0.894 2.72 2 2,360
Jameson Kaine Spruce Grove Saints 35 27 4 2 1 93 0.892 2.72 1 2,049
Erick Roest Sherwood Park Crusaders 36 19 12 2 3 100 0.911 2.79 2 2,150
Connor Mackenzie Grande Prairie Storm 35 13 16 3 1 99 0.929 2.86 2 2,076
Freddie Halyk Camrose Kodiaks 45 20 22 0 1 132 0.910 3.05 3 2,600
Garrett Fuller Drumheller Dragons 42 22 14 3 0 118 0.892 3.08 2 2,300
Gabe Gratton Fort McMurray Oil Barons 42 18 16 3 4 133 0.906 3.20 0 2,495

Post-season

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The top 7 teams in each division advanced to the post-season consisting of four best-of-7 rounds. The first place teams in each division, namely the Spruce Grove Saints in the North Division and the Brooks Bandits in the South Division, received a bye in the first round.[5]

1st round Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
        
Brooks 4
Okotoks 2
Okotoks 4
Camrose 0
Brooks 4
Blackfalds 0
Blackfalds 4
Calgary 1
Blackfalds 4
Drumheller 3
Drumheller 4
Canmore 2
Brooks 4
Spruce Grove 1
Spruce Grove 4
Sherwood Park 1
Sherwood Park 4
Fort McMurray 3
Spruce Grove 4
Bonnyville 1
Whitecourt 4
Grande Prairie 0
Whitecourt 1
Bonnyville 4
Bonnyville 4
Lloydminster 2

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "AJHL record book - March 2023" (PDF). ajhl.ca. Alberta Junior Hockey League. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Bandits Capture 2023 Inter Pipeline Cup AJHL championship". ajhl.ca. Alberta Junior Hockey League. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  3. ^ "AJHL stats 2022–23 regular season". ajhl.ca. Alberta Junior Hockey League. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  4. ^ "2022-23 AJHL standings". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  5. ^ "AJHL 2022-23 playoffs". ajhl.ca. Alberta Junior Hockey League. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
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