Despite win streak snap, Winterhawks remain CHL No. 1 in BTN’s Dynamic Dozen

If you'd checked in last week with us, you'd have known that Portland had won 11 consecutive games and Guelph had won 10 in a row. Neither of those streaks made it another game in length, with the Winterhawks losing to Tri-City on a breakaway goal with 26 seconds remaining in the contest, and with Guelph falling in overtime to London.

Despite those losses, both the Winterhawks and Storm remain highly-ranked. The upper echelon of the CHL is super competitive in the early going, and many of them playing in the same divisions which is an added bonus to viewers. An explanation for our rankings can be found below, and we kick it off this week in familiar territory, the state of Oregon.

1. Portland Winterhawks, WHL (.597 RPI, +2.0 SRS, —) — The Winterhawks retain the top spot in our rankings, despite going 1-1-1 at home this week including a loss to the Victoria Royals. The loss to the Royals isn't surprising insofar as that the Royals haven't exceeded expectations this year, but that the Winterhawks swarming offence couldn't break a goalie that had seen 40+ shots the previous night.

Despite the soft week, the Winterhawks retain the No. 1 rank partly because of their otherwise hot start to the season, partly because they play in the Western Hockey League's U.S. Division that is probably the toughest in junior hockey right now. They have the highest strength of schedule rank in the CHL.

2. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, QMJHL (.582 RPI, +1.7 SRS, +1) — The Armada performed well in a tough week, rebounding from a loss to Drummondville to defeat Chicoutimi and Rouyn-Noranda by 5-2 and 6-2 scores. Given that both Portland and Guelph's long winning streaks were snapped this week, the Armada should continue to hold down the top spot in the Bank of Montreal CHL Top 10 for this week.

Here's a riddle though. How are the Armada able to have by far the best defence in the Q (46 goals given up in 21 games) despite the lowest-ranked penalty kill? Again, as we saw with the Soo Greyhounds last week, it comes down to the fact that the Armada draw 1.5 penalties more per game than they take, best in the league.

3. Guelph Storm, OHL (.579 RPI, +2.1 SRS, -1) — The big news this week in Guelph was that Robby Fabbri's 10-game suspension for a headshot was finally handed down, and Dakota Mermis of the London Knights ended the team's 10-game win streak before it hit 11 a day later.

Still, the Storm are third place in the ultra-competitive OHL Western Conference. Time to talk reinforcements before the trade deadline? Columbus Blue Jackets first rounder and Windsor Spitfire Kerby Rychel is reportedly a name on the Storm's radar.

4. Spokane Chiefs, WHL (.579 RPI, +1.6 SRS, —) — A win against a tough opponent in Medicine Hat, a win against a not-quite-so-tough opponent in Lethbridge, and a loss against a so-so Kootenay squad kept the Chiefs even this week. Though if you look at the actual RPI rates in the parentheticals, you'll note that Spokane are actually in a three-way tie with Guelph and London for third spot, and it's jam packed between 2nd and 6th.

Overage players Mitch Holmberg and Mike Aviani have combined to score more than half of the team's 81 goals.

5. London Knights, OHL (.579 RPI, +1.9 SRS, +7) — The Knights vanquished the pesky Guelph Storm Thursday night, and finished the weekend 2-1 with a win over Windsor and a loss to Barrie. We're nearing the day for when the Buffalo Sabres must decide whether to keep or send down Nikita Zadorov.

6. Erie Otters, OHL (.576 RPI, +1.8 SRS, +1) — At the end of the 2011-2012 season, the Otters and the Greyhounds were 9 and 10 in the Conference, the only teams to miss the postseason. So far this year, they're ranked 1st and 2nd in the same conference, ahead of heavy-hitters London and Guelph. Shows just how cyclical junior hockey can be.

Winger Connor Brown is certainly generating a lot of press, being both a Leafs prospect and a leading scorer in the OHL, but bear in mind if you're following his season that 19-year-old players are in tough to make the NHL even if they do win scoring titles. The last regular NHLer to lead the OHL at 19 was Corey Perry in 2005, and that was during a lockout year.

7. Kelowna Rockets, WHL (.570 RPI, +2.0 SRS, -2) — Make it seven straight for the B.C. Division leaders after a win on Saturday over the Edmonton Oil Kings. Despite a week off, the Rockets approach a tough stretch of the schedule, playing Medicine Hat on Saturday, before travelling to Seattle on Tuesday and coming all the way back for a home game against Victoria on Wednesday.

8. Drummondville Voltigeurs, QMJHL (.563 RPI, +1.0 SRS, -2) — The Volts dropped in the rankings after consecutive defeats to Chicoutimi and Baie-Comeau. They'll have a much easier week against Charlottetown (ranked 33rd), Halifax (20th) and Cape Breton (27th). Thus far, their strength of schedule is 2nd in the entire CHL, behind Portland, but they do have the luxury of playing 3-17-2 Shawinigan three times in the next eight games.

9. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL (.553 RPI, +1.3 SRS, —) — The Greyhounds are building their way towards a notable win streak as well. They've won four consecutive games and goaltender Matt Murray was honoured as OHL Player of the Week for posting a 1.62 goals against average and a .945 save rate. Forget the scoring race: Murray has opened up a 4-point save percentage lead on London's Anthony Stolarz, and the two of them are well above any other goalie in the league.

10. Tri-City Americans, WHL (.552 RPI, +0.8 SRS, +3) — The Americans edged top-ranked Portland and mid-ranked Everett with overtime wins this week, but also managed a 2-0 loss to the Silvertips on the road, recording just 14 shots in the process. So far, their defence has been enough to cover for their inability to score goals (2.83 goals per game is 17th in the WHL) and Brian Williams is the only player above a point-per-game. We'll see if they go out and add some offence in the coming weeks before the WHL trade deadline.

11. Swift Current Broncos, WHL (.546 RPI, +0.6 SRS, +6) — Swift Current are one of the hottest teams this week—and were one of the busiest last week—racking up four victories in four games and out-scoring their opponents 23-9. They've now won 8 consecutive to move into a tie with Medicine Hat for top spot in the Eastern Conference, but have played four more games. They'll try to keep it alive against Kootenay on Wednesday, and then a back-to-back road set in Calgary and Edmonton on Friday and Saturday.

12. Gatineau Olympiques, QMJHL (.546 RPI, +0.6 SRS, -2) — Gatineau are in a bit of a dogfight for second in the Q behind the Armada. With a 16-8-0 record, they're tied with Halifax and a point back of 15-5-3 Baie-Comeau, but have the edge in RPI over them thanks to the tougher Telus West Division schedule. Forward Martin Reway was named the QMJHL's first star of the week after a nine-point, +5 effort over three games.

The not as dynamic but still very distinguished dozen — 13. Everett Silvertips, WHL (.541, +1); 14. Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL (.539, +2); 15. Oshawa Generals, OHL (.538, -4); 16. Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL (.528, +8); 17. Rimouski Océanic, QMJHL (.527, +6); 18. Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL (.525, -10); 19. Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL (.523, -1); 20. Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL (.519, -1); 21. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, QMJHL (.518, -1); 22. Val-d'Or Foreurs, QMJHL (.515, -1); 23. Victoria Royals, WHL (.511, +13); 24. Windsor Spitfires, OHL (.505, +4).

Hot team — Victoria Royals, up 13 (36th to 23rd).

Cold team — Brandon Wheat Kings, down 15 (30th to 45th).

Nowhere to go but up — Shawinigan Cataractes (.405).

An explanation on rankings — Buzzing The Net uses Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) with a recency factor. RPI combines a team's record with the strength of its opponents to produce an overall rating. Our method also gives more weight to recently played games. Shootout wins and losses are classified as ties, for philosophical and practical reasons. Simple Ranking System (SRS), a ranking which combines goal differential and strength of schedule, is used as a complement. All three CHL leagues are considered equivalent in quality.

(All rankings through play on Nov. 11.)