NEWS

The OJHL announced today that Kingston Voyageurs forward Alex Tonge (photo credit - Tim Bates/OJHL Images) has been named the Gongshow Gear North-East Conference Player-of-the-Month for February after recording 19 points in 8 games played.  

The Voyageurs leading scorer in 2013-14 finished the season on a tear with an 11 game points streak, dating back to January 16, and including all eight February contests.  During the streak, Tonge registered 26 points to help the Vees capture their first OJHL regular season title since 2009.  Recording 7 goals and 19 points in February, he had multiple points in seven of eight games, highlighted by a two goal, two assist performance in a 6-5 victory over the Buffalo Jr. Sabres.  During the point streak, Kingston went 10-1 and Tonge vaulted up the scoring charts, finishing sixth overall in league scoring with 72 points in 53 games played.

"It is an honour to be named the North-East Conference Player-of-the-Month," said Tonge.  "It belongs to our whole team as I could not have achieved this without my teammates, coaches and organization's support.  We are looking forward to a great playoff run and giving our fantastic fans something to cheer about.  Our fans support us all year long and we want to bring home the hardware for them."

"Very proud of Alex," said Vees Head Coach Colin Birkas.  "He's put the work in and is seeing the results.   In the off-season he asked for the opportunity to lead offensively and once he received it, never looked back.  He has legitimately improved every month and I assume he commits NCAA here shorty.  He epitomizes what we do here in Kingston and are very proud of his growth as a player and subsequent recognition."

Robert Angiolella of the Aurora Tigers was runner-up to Tonge as the North-East Conference Player-of-the-Month.  Angiolella recorded 14 points in 7 games played down the stretch as the Tigers finished first in the North Division for the second consecutive season.

Born on June 24, 1995, Alex Tonge was born and raised in Kingston, Ontario, playing his minor hockey through to his minor midget season in 2010-11 as a member of the Greater Kingston Jr. Frontenacs, coincidentally coached by now Voyageurs bench boss Colin Birkas.

Following the season, Tonge would be selected by his hometown Kingston Frontenacs in the 10th round, 190th overall, of the 2011 OHL Priority Selection, but would join the Kingston Voyageurs as a 16-year old rookie entering 2011-12.

Playing limited minutes during his first two seasons with the Vees, Tonge would record seven and eight points respectively in 2011-12 and 2012-13, but would begin to show his progression during last season’s post-season run.  He would record three goals and four points in 12 games as Kingston marched to overtime of game seven versus Newmarket in the North-East Conference Championship before falling.

This season, Tonge lived up to a promise of a more dedicated off-season regiment and has been rewarded with more ice time, playing on the club’s top line all season along with OJHL 1st Team All-Prospect and 1st Team All-Star Brett Seney.  His remarkable offensive jump has seen him record 25 more goals (29), 39 more assists (43) and 64 more points (72) than his previous season to lead the club in scoring and finish sixth in the OJHL scoring race.  With three points in the club’s opening playoff game, he looks poised to help the Vees to another extensive playoff run.