points per game ) – all of them great hockey players .
Now , take into account that Beauchemin ’ s and Burmey ’ s teams were the last two to reach the playoffs and that they always play against the opposition ’ s best checking lines – they have both had tremendous seasons .
Make no mistake , any of the four top scorers in the MMJHL could easily be MVP this season . Faulkner not only scores goals and points , but carries the Jets when it comes to physical play . Rybuck is a leader game in and game out -- a gritty player but also an integral part of the Raiders ’ offensive game plan .
And let ’ s not forget Nick
Mathews of the Raiders . He ’ s the Jonathan Toews of the MMJHL and when players in the league talk about who ’ s the best , Beauchemin and Mathews are always at the top of most lists .
The other guys we shouldn ’ t leave out include Nico Gravel , who in 43 games has 56 points ( 1.30 points per game ) and he ’ s a defenseman for the third place Transcona Railer Express . And then there is Hawks ’ goalie Ryan
Hall . He ’ s been the dominant goaltender all year with stats that are eye-popping . In 23 games , has has a record of 18-4-1 and a microscopic goals against average of just 1.51 . His save percentage is . 949 , so yeah , he ’ s a goalie who could be MVP .
And then there is Beauchemin . In his freshman season in the MMJHL in 2015-16 , he won the Dave Anderson Memorial Trophy as the league ’ s rookie of
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THE LEAGUE LEADER IN POINTS FOR A SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR
” the year . Last year , he was the winner of the 2016-17 Myron Prymak Trophy as MVP and the Steve Claus Memorial Trophy as the MMJHL ’ s scoring champion , Beauchemin is a quiet , modest young man who believes any number of players are more worthy than him of the 2017-18 MVP award . Pretty amazing considering that Beauchemin is an undersized 5-foot-11 , 160-pound , righthanded shooting forward who is not afraid to go into the dirty parts of the rink .
Riley ’ s hockey career started in Ile des Chenes with the Elks . He went on to play Double A with the Ile des Chenes Snipers and finally with the Manitoba Jr . Moose Triple A team . He played summer hockey with the Manitoba Lightning and then played three seasons of MHSAA High School hockey with the Lorette Scorpions . Although disappointed he wasn ’ t chosen in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League bantam draft , he has loved every minute of his experience in the MMJHL .
In 124 career regular season games in the MMJHL , Beauchemin has 94 goals and 197 points . Regardless of how the MVP voting goes , he ’ ll be the scoring champion and winner of the Claus Memorial Trophy for the second straight year .
And despite the fact that injuries beat up his hockey club this season , Riley Beauchemin can hold his head up . He had a wonderful year . ❍
44 | GAME ON | PLAYOFF EDITION 2018