NEWS

The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) today announced that Stuart Fierheller (photo credit - Andy Corneau/OJHL Images) of the Lindsay Muskies has been named the recipient of the OJHL Fan Favourite Award.

The 18-year old native of Lindsay, Ontario has worked hard and overcome some early adversity in his young career to become a member of his hometown Muskies, while earning the admiration and respect of the fans.  Fierheller recently completed his third season on the club's blueline, although only his second full season with the team.

The reliable, stay-at-home defender returned to the Muskies full-time this season under new head coach Dan West, after spending a season in Junior 'C'.  The popular local product, known as "Stewy," chipped in three assists this season and at times in his junior career saw some time playing up front, including during the 2012 playoff run versus Whitby.

A product of the Central Ontario Wolves 'AAA' organization, Fierheller would also play high school hockey for St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School in 2010-11 before making the jump to junior hockey with the Muskies in 2011-12.  Playing as a 16-year old rookie, the 6' rearguard would not disappoint, recording three goals and five points in 43 regular season games played, while also getting his first taste of post-season action.  The following year would see a bit of a setback for Fierheller as he would play only four games for Lindsay to start the season, before being sent to the Little Britain Merchants of the Central Ontario Junior 'C' Hockey League to finish out the season.  Using the adversity as a learning experience, Fierheller finished third among the club's defensive corps in scoring with 8 points in 31 games played.

The OJHL Fan Favourite Award is awarded annually to the player who is voted through online balloting as the fan’s favourite player.  The 2011-12 season marked the first-year the award was contested with balloting running each year from late January to late March.  Nearly 10,000 votes were once again registered this year with 185 different OJHL players, from all 22 active member clubs, being named on ballots.

Michael Casale of the Kingston Voyageurs has been named runner-up in the Fan Favourite balloting to Fierheller.  

The second-year Vee was named the club's captain this season and is their inspirational leader both on-and-off the ice, as well as a fan favourite among Kingston's faithful.  Fighting through some injuries, the Stoney Creek Ontario native finished sixth on the Voyageurs in scoring with 11 goals and 28 points in 35 regular season games played.

Below is the list of top vote-getters from each individual OJHL member club:

Aurora Tigers                                      Michael Keenan
Buffalo Jr. Sabres                               Joseph Pianta
Burlington Cougars                             Kyle Kokotailo
Cobourg Cougars                               Mark MacAulay
Georgetown Raiders                           Steve Mueller
Hamilton Red Wings                           Connor Bramwell
Kingston Voyageurs                            Michael Casale
Lindsay Muskies                                 Stuart Fierheller
Milton Icehawks                                  Ben Blacker
Mississauga Chargers                       Alex Lepore
Newmarket Hurricanes                      Nik Coric
North York Rangers                            Gianluca Baggetta
Oakville Blades                                   Greg Campbell
Orangeville Flyers                               Scott Goodman/Lucas Smilsky
Pickering Panthers                             Steven Dombrosky
St. Michael’s Buzzers                         Stefano Pezzetta
Stouffville Spirit                                   Tyson Bruce
Toronto Jr. Canadiens                        Anthony Repaci
Toronto Lakeshore Patriots                Andreas Tsogkas
Trenton Golden Hawks                       Tyler Donaldson
Wellington Dukes                                Steven Deeg
Whitby Fury                                        Jeff Murray

2013-14 OJHL Award Winners

Award                          Winner                                     Runner-Up                                                                 

Top Scorer                  Taylor Best (WHI)                   Steve Hladin (GEO)
Top Goaltender           Kevin Entmaa (AUR)              Andy Munroe (AUR)
Executive                    Mike Tarantino (TLP)              James Richmond (AUR)
Humanitarian               Kevin Shier (TLP)                   n/a
Trainer                         Rob Crawford (WHI)               Jason Izraelski (NYR)
Volunteer                     Hal Gies (MIL)                        n/a
Coach                         James Richmond (AUR)        Jason Fortier (TLP)
Improved                     Taylor Best (WHI)                   Alex Tonge (KIN)
Gentlemanly                Michael Prapavessis (TLP)    Pat Egan (BUF)
Defenceman               Michael Prapavessis (TLP)    Nick Desimone (BUF)
Goaltender                  Kevin Entmaa (AUR)              Alex Brooks-Potts (KIN)
Prospect                     Jake Walman (TOR)              Jake Evans (STM)
Scholastic                   Richard Court (GEO)             Kamil Tkaczuk (OAK)
Rookie                         Jake Walman (TOR)              Mason Marchment (COB)
Fan Favourite              Stuart Fierheller (LIN)             Michael Casale (KIN)

Previous OJHL Fan Favourite Award Recipients

Year                            Winner                                     Runner-Up                                                                 

2013-14                       Stuart Fierheller (LIN)             Michael Casale (KIN)
2012-13                       Travis Dermott (NEW)            Adrian Ignagni (STM)
2011-12                       Andrew Doyle (STO)              Christian Finch (STO)