
NOV.07 - TIME FOR PAYBACK: After falling to Erie 9-3 last night in
Erie (9 goals on only 35 shots) it's time for whoever gets put in net
tonight to really step up and put away the fans' goaltending worries.
Also, with only 26 shots on net last night, the offense has a lot of work to
do. 2nd game of the back-to-back vs. Erie, in St. Catharines, tonight.
Game time 7PM at the Jack.
OCT.28 - Training Wheels Coming Off of Pietrangelo? Blues Head
Coach Andy Murray isn’t too big on the word confidence. He’s made no secrets
over the years that he doesn’t believe in it. My purpose here is not to try
and convert him into a believer. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion
and I certainly respect Murray’s.With that being said you could see
Pietrangelo’s confidence grow by the shift even though the Blues lost to
Dallas last Saturday.
Read article here
OCT.27 - IceDogs Shoot Down Battalion - The Niagara
IceDogs were able to mount a thrilling comeback win in overtime on Sunday
afternoon, as Freddie Hamilton and Alex Friesen had two goals each to down
the Brampton Battalion 5-4. Friesen's overtime winner was an intended
pass that went off the skate of Matt Clark, and the IceDogs erased a
two-goal Brampton lead thanks to a few markers that included a penalty shot
goal by Freddie Hamilton. Read
full article here
OCT.27 - Want to learn about the IceDogs team bus?
Read here!
OCT.27 - Defenceman Alex Pietrangelo scored his first
NHL goal Saturday in a 4-1 St. Louis loss to Dallas. Pietrangelo had more
than 18 minutes of ice time and finished a minus-1.
OCT.23 - Niagara prevails in dogfight - The game is
starting to come to Dougie Hamilton and his Niagara IceDogs teammates.
The team generated a lot of offence, played a fairly sound defensive game
and showed some of the resiliency its displayed in recent Ontario Hockey
League games. The result was their third win in four games, this time
an entertaining 4-3 win over the suddenly slumping Sault Ste. Marie
Greyhounds before 2,773 fans Thursday night at Jack Gatecliff Arena.
Read full article here
OCT.22 - Billy Burke now an Assistant Coach -
Niagara IceDogs General Manager Dave Brown announced today that the IceDogs
have named Billy Burke an Assistant Coach. Read
news release
here.
OCT.20 - BLUE JACKETS TRADE LEGEIN TO FLYERS FOR RATCHUK - The
Columbus Blue Jackets have traded 20-year old forward Stefan Legein to the
Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Michael Ratchuk. Legein
was an alternate captain for Canada's World Junior team and won gold at the
2008 tournament, but surprised the hockey world in August, 2008 when he
announced that he was quitting hockey at the age of 19. Legein cited having
lost his passion to play the game as the reason. By December of last year,
he changed his mind, resumed skating, and eventually joined Columbus' AHL
affiliate in Syracuse. This season in the AHL, Legein has scored two
goals and one assist in six games. Legein was originally a second-round
choice (37th overall) of the Blue Jackets in the 2007 draft. Ratchuk,
21, has also been playing in the AHL with the Flyers' affiliate in
Adirondack. He was selected by Philadelphia in the second round (42nd
overall) of the 2006 draft.
Comments here.
OCT.20 - Theoret gets taste of reality with IceDogs -
Mitchell Theoret has found out very quickly there are no shortcuts to
success in the Ontario Hockey League. The big centre made the IceDogs with a
solid showing at training camp, but has been in and out of the lineup since
the start of the season. “It’s a combination of things,” Niagara coach
Mike McCourt said when asked about Theoret’s limited playing time. “Being a
first-year guy in the league has been a real eye-opener for him in how
demanding the schedule is and how hard you have to work day in and day out
to be successful.”
Read article here
OCT.19 - Shaw back to his feisty self: Andrew
Shaw quickly became a fan favourite in his first season with the Niagara
IceDogs. Listed at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, Shaw played like a man much
bigger.
Read article here.
OCT.16 - IceDogs Pacify Attack: If resiliency is the mark of a
good team, the Niagara IceDogs are on the right track. The IceDogs had two
first-period goals called back, were the victim of a penalty shot and could
have easily folded when the Owen Sound Attack retook the lead 19 seconds
after the IceDogs tied the game. Instead, Niagara rallied to tie the
game and then snapped a four-game losing streak when Freddie Hamilton and
Andrew Agozzino sent 2,765 fans home happy by notching shootout goals for a
4-3 win Thursday night at Jack Gatecliff Arena.
Read article here
OCT.10 - FRIESEN LEADS OHL IN +/- , DESOUSA IN 2ND ! Yes our
IceDogs are holding down the top 2 spots for the league's plus/minus
leaders!
See here.
OCT.6 - City seeks cash for new arena from fund - St.
Catharines councillors say they want a new home for the Niagara IceDogs;
they just don’t want to pay for it. Now they’ve found a potential source of
cash. At Monday’s city council meeting, they agreed to submit their plan for
a new 5,000-seat downtown spectator facility to the P3 Canada Fund, a new
$1.2-billion fund established in September by the federal government to
encourage infrastructure projects that include private investment.
Article here!
OCT.6 - IceDogs' Visentin Named CHL Goaltender of the Week -
Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that Mark
Visentin of the Niagara IceDogs is the CHL Goaltender of the Week for the
week ending October 4. In two starts Visentin stopped 97 of 101 shots faced
with a goals-against-average of 2.01 and a save percentage of .960 with one
victory.
Read article here
OCT.6 - IceDogs get overager Moes from Owen Sound for 5th round pick:
info and chat
here
OCT.2 - IceDogs doing good in league plus/minus leaders - yes it's
early, but
see here
OCT.1 - Visentin backstops IceDogs to win over Majors - A
new, improved version of Mark Visentin is emerging for the Niagara IceDogs.
After spending much of his rookie season as a back-up, the 17-year-old
netminder is beginning to look very much like a legitimate starter.
Visentin turned back 50 shots to lead the IceDogs to a 4-2 win over the
Mississauga St. Mike’s Majors in an Ontario Hockey League game Thursday
night before 2,604 fans at Jack Gatecliff Arena.
Read full article here.
OCT.1 - Dahm signs pro contract with Alaska Aces! Dahm
(pronounced Dam), a 22-year-old from Denmark by way of junior hockey in
Sweden, major- junior hockey in Ontario and one season in the American
Hockey League, knows Lamoureux parlayed his All-ECHL rookie season into an
NHL contract with the Buffalo Sabres.
And come to think of it, Dahm sounds a lot like Lamoureux -- driven to
succeed.
Read article here!
SEP.29 - Waiting game for Pietrangelo - STOCKHOLM --
Alex
Pietrangelo, the Blues' other young star defenseman in the making
outside of
Erik
Johnson, has not heard a word from the organization about his immediate
future. Is he staying in St. Louis? Is he going back to the Niagara
Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League? A decision has to be made soon, but
Pietrangelo right now knows about as much as the fan watching from home.
"All I can do is play my game," Pietrangelo told NHL.com Tuesday morning
after the Blues pre-game skate at Ericsson Globe. "That decision is in their
hands. All I can do is what I do on the ice."
Read article here
SEP.28 - Frontenacs again handle IceDogs -
The Niagara IceDogs don’t play the Kingston Frontenacs again until late
January, and that’s probably just fine with them.
The IceDogs lost for the second time to the Frontenacs this season, dropping
a 4-2 decision Sunday afternoon before 2,410 fans at the K-Rock Centre.
Niagara opened the 2009-10 Ontario Hockey League season with a loss at home
to Kingston. “Kingston is a real good hockey team,” Niagara coach Mike
McCourt said. “They have a great back end and great goaltending, and they’re
an opportunistic team.”
Continue reading here
SEP.28 - IceDogs Edged in Kingston - The
IceDogs capped off their road trip through Eastern Ontario by falling 4-2 to
the Kingston Frontenacs in front of 2410 fans at the K-Rock Centre in on
Sunday afternoon. Kingston enjoyed two goals from Michael
Farrell, and had three unanswered goals in the second period to beat the
IceDogs for the seond time in the young 2009/2010 season.
Continue this article here
SEP.26 - IceDogs Outshine 67's - The Niagara
IceDogs returned to the Ottawa Civic Centre for the first time since their
thrilling game 7 overtime win last March by topping the 67’s 5-3 on Friday
night. The IceDogs spoiled the home opener for 8727 Ottawa fans as Chris
DeSousa, Andrew Agozzino, and Reggie Traccitto picked up 2 points each to
get IceDogs into the win column for the first time in a young 2009/2010
season.
Read full article here!
SEP.25 - GAME NIGHT! The re-match of the Eastern Conference
Quarter Finals goes tonight. On paper Niagara won't have an easy games
all season and this will certainly be a difficult one for the Dogs. MIN 1st
rounder Tyler Cuma is expected to make his season debut for OTT as is Julien
Demers. Add in Travis Gibbons and they have one of the best D corps in the
league.
Game talk here!
SEP.25 - Niagara This Week newspaper that came today, had a nice full
IceDogs roster lineup which spanned 2 pages, including photos/stats of each
player. Great way to see this year's roster laid out before you.
SEP.25 - Pietrangelo and Legein have made the cuts so far and are
still with their NHL teams.
Article here.
SEP.23 - Caputi cut from Pittsburg Penguins, assigned to AHL team:
Article here.
SEP.23 - Blues’ Alex Pietrangelo “lacks seniority” when it
comes to locker assignments: [article
here]
SEP.23 - Pietrangelo makes the cut: IceDog captain Alex "Petro"
Pietrangelo has survived the latest cuts from the St. Louis Blues blue line.
There are now four defensemen battling for two spots: veteran Darryl
Sydor, former No. 1 pick Alex Pietrangelo, Tyson Strachan and Jonas Junland.
[article
here]
SEP.17 - OHL preview
of teams
is here.
SEP.16 - Maione's family thanks the fans:
Matthew Maione's family took the time to
thank the fans here in Niagara for his stay here in the region.
Matt was here from the beginning and will be missed by the fans he played in
front of and the friends he made during his time here.
SEP.15 - Home-opener chat thread started
here with good breakdown of the upcoming game by ItsGameTime.
SEP.15 - The sky's the limit for Blues' defenseman
Pietrangelo -
good article updating our captain's stay up in the big league.
SEP.15 - Matthew Maoine put on waivers, picked up by Guelph - read the
talk about it
here.
SEP.14 - IceDogs send Lessio to Generals - The Niagara
IceDogs have decided Lessio is more. Monday, the Ontario Hockey League team
traded its 2009 first-round pick, Lucas Lessio, to the Oshawa Generals for a
second-round pick in 2010 and a conditional 15th-round pick in 2011.
The conditional pick switches to second-round picks in 2012 and 2013 if
Lessio plays a season in the OHL. If Lessio plays two or more years in the
league, the IceDogs will also receive two third-round picks in 2011 and a
fourth-rounder in 2011. [article
here]
SEP.14 - IceDogs deal Lessio to Oshawa: Yes,
the drama continues. Lessio, who was picked in the OHL draft's 1st
round by the IceDogs,
initially made it appear that he wasn't sure about
actually showing up here, because he also had hopes of playing over at
Michigan State. He quit training camp half way through, and it looked
as though he had chosen the US college route. Fine, no hard feelings.
He chose another league altogether. NOW however, we hear that he has
been traded to Oshawa. If he does in fact play for the Generals, it
will show he WAS willing to play in the OHL - just not for the IceDogs.
So what does this mean? Lots of draft pics for the IceDogs (read
more here) - not to mention, A NEW BOO TARGET!! IceDog fans alway
seem willing to take on a new target for there hostility, and Lessio seems
to have stepped up to the plate. If he does in fact play for the
Generals, he'll be in town Feb. 11th of the New year.
SEP.12 - NEW VIDEO: Fight between
Jason Shaw and Sandlak from last Thursday night's game.
SEP.12 - NEW VIDEO: Johnson Andrews scores on a nice
short-handed breakaway.
SEP.12 - NEW VIDEO:
Mathew Sisca is interviewed in his first time back to our rink since
being traded to Guelph.
SEP.12 - NEW VIDEO: IceDogs reveal their new jerseys video
can be seen here. It's no secret that the operator of this site is
not a fan at all of the new look. Be your own judge...
|SEP.10 - IceDogs
default Guelph 4-2 and go undefeated throughout the pre-season.
Granted, most teams are missing their top talent,
being away at NHL camps,
and the rosters we'll see a week from now when the regular season begins
could be much different than the past 4 games, it's still reason enough to
hope for a strong year this season.
Game
photos here.
SEP.10 - IceDogs reveal new jerseys - and the initial reaction from fans
isn't good. [jersey
photos and comments here]
SEP.8 -
The sky's the limit for Blues' defenseman Pietrangelo -
great article here on Petro and his time with the Blues organization in
the NHL.
SEP.8 - Icedogs doing good at Traverse City camp:
Andrew
Loverock, the former OHL Sudbury Wolves netminder and now free-agent
camp tryout was excellent in facing and turning away all 20 shots he faced.
Judging from his performance both this morning in practice and this
afternoon in the game, Loverock should get a good look in Columbus'
main camp. Two other Blue Jackets' players also drew attention.
Stefan Legein and Matt Calvert both played very well. Legein, who
scored the team's only goal, was quite impressive. A smooth skater, he is
very patient with the puck, and then has an excellent release on a sneaky
shot. Calvert put forth a huge amount of effort today and was rewarded when
after he negated an icing, he put the puck on Legein's stick to
register the Blue Jackets only goal.
On the Blues blueline, much is expected of Alex Pietrangelo, who
quarterbacked the power play for St. Louis tonight, and is considered the
team's No. 1 defenseman. Pietrangelo was noticeable, but mostly for his
passing, and ease with the puck. Although he did not spark the team's
offense, he still may do so by tournament's end.
[full
article here]
SEP.6 - Game photos from yesterdays' game vs. Erie
are here!
SEP.3 - Fiesty Shaw brothers add grit to IceDogs lineup: Andrew Shaw
developed a reputation last season with the Niagara IceDogs as the kind of
player who could make life miserable for the opposition. Shaw was so
effective in his role as an agitator, the IceDogs brought in a clone, his
younger brother, Jason.
Jason Shaw brings pretty much the same attributes to the rink as his older
brother. In other words, he’s a tough, in-your-face forward who doesn’t mind
dropping the gloves when the situation calls for it — and sometimes even
when it doesn’t. [article
here]
SEP.1 - ADDITIONAL ICEDOGS ROAD GAMES TO BE AIRED ON COGECO - The
Niagara IceDogs are pleased to announce additional broadcasted games coming
to COGECO for the 2009-2010 season. COGECO has come to an agreement
with Persona Cable in Sudbury, meaning all three IceDogs road games against
the Wolves will be aired. COGECO has also come to terms with Shaw Cable in
Sault Ste. Marie, which will allow fans to tune in to the February 20th game
against the Greyhounds. [more
info on this here]
AUG.29 - NOTE: All newspaper/online articles about the IceDogs will no
longer be posted here on the main page. To stay up to date on the
latest news articles about the Dogs, please simply visit
this forum.
AUG.28 - Goalie knows the value of hard work -
Mark Visentin doesn’t believe in taking the easy way out. The
17-year-old netminder realizes there is no substitute for good, old fashion
hard work, and is prepared to do whatever it takes to become a better
goaltender. [article
here]
AUG.28 - IceDogs sign Chartrand and Fritsch -
IceDogs General Manager Dave Brown announced today that IceDogs have signed
2009 Priority Selection picks John Chartrand and Andrew Fritsch.
[article
here]
AUG.27 - PHIL MARGONIS' TRAINING CAMP PLAYER SUMMARY
can be found here. See who the biggest surprises have been.
AUG.27 - Top pick a no-show for Day 3 at IceDogs training camp - The
Lucas Lessio saga took another turn Thursday when the talented winger did
not attend the third day of training camp with the Niagara IceDogs.
IceDogs general manager Dave Brown said Lessio called him Wednesday night to
inform him he wouldn’t be at camp Thursday. “They said there were some
things they wanted to sort out,” Brown said. “Right now, we’re not really
sure what the issues are, but we’re trying to work through them with the
family.” [full
article here]
AUG.27 - Bigger, better Johnson standing out at IceDogs
training camp - A new, improved version of Johnson Andrews has quickly
opened eyes at the Niagara IceDogs’ training camp. The 18-year-old
Niagara-on-the-Lake native spent countless hours in the gym over the summer
and the results have been impressive. Andrews is noticeably bigger and
stronger — he put on about 15 pounds of muscle — so much so that when
Niagara general manager Dave Brown walked in for the first day of on-ice
fitness testing, he didn’t even recognize Andrews. “I thought to
myself ‘Who’s that No. 9 in red, and looked down and it was Johnson,’ ”
Brown said. “I know he worked out hard at White Oaks. It shows how hard he
worked out over the summer.
[article
here]
AUG.27 - ICEDOGS TRAINING CAMP: Add Wood to those surprised by trade.
Winger came to Niagara for Matt Sisca. It was a summer of
surprises for the Niagara IceDogs. The club stunned its fans with two
shocking moves, firing coach Mario Cicchillo just days before training camp,
and shipping out Matt Sisca, who was second on the club in points. In
exchange for Sisca, the Ice- Dogs received winger Dylan Wood and a
second-round draft pick.
[article
here]
AUG.27 - Dougie Hamilton officially signs with Dogs: Niagara IceDogs General Manager Dave Brown announced today that the IceDogs
have signed their Second Round pick, 27th overall, from the 2009 Priority
Selection, Dougie Hamilton.
[article
here]
AUG.27 - LESSIO GONE? Reports coming in to the site have been that
1st round pick Lucas Lessio is nowhere to be seen today at camp.
AUG.27 - ICEDOGS TRAINING CAMP: Six-foot-6 import draft goaltender
towers over most teammates - It didn't take Petteri Simila long to spot a
marked difference in culture between Canada and his native Finland.
"The biggest difference is that hockey is so big over here," the 19-year-old netminder said Wednesday at the Seymour- Hannah Sports and Entertainment
Centre where the Niagara IceDogs held their second day of training camp.
[article
here]
AUG.27 - Big ambitions and big appetites at IceDogs' training camp -
Some call it the trough. Or the feeding frenzy. Dozens of teenagers
are furiously replacing thousands of calories burned off at the Niagara
IceDogs training camp. Keeping all that fuel supplied is a mighty
task. At noon, inside Jack Gatecliff Arena in St. Catharines, the
dining area is serious business. Rows of hulking young men lean into
their plates. They are inhaling food after a gruelling game at the
Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre Wednesday. [article
here]
AUG.27 - PIETRANGELO TO STAY IN THE NHL?
There's a post here about Pietrangelo's chances being good on staying in
the big league.
AUG.27 - DESKTOP WALLPAPER FOR YOUR PC of the 2009 - 2010 season
schedule
now online!
AUG.27 - PICTURES from Wednesday's training camp scrimmage games are
online here.
AUG.26 - Pietrangelo in St. Louis awaiting pro camp - Fans hoping to get
a glimpse of captain Alex Pietrangelo at training camp are going to be
disappointed. The 19-year-old rearguard, who has one season of
junior eligibility remaining, is staying in St. Louis to prepare for camp
with the National Hockey League's Blues. Pietrangelo, a first-round
(fourth overall) pick of St. Louis in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, spent most
of the off-season working out in St. Louis. "This is probably not the
norm for this process," Niagara general manager Dave Brown said. "Larry
Pleau (senior vice-president and general manager of the Blues) called me to
make sure we're 100 per cent on board with this. Larry said he's never
experienced this before." [article
here]
AUG.26 - Forward Thomas Middup cleared waivers and has
signed with the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey
League.
AUG.26 - IceDogs' first-round pick at camp - The Niagara IceDogs got
some good news on the first day of training camp when first-round pick Lucas
Lessio arrived. The talented winger, who was selected with the seventh
overall pick in the 2009 draft, walked into the Seymour-Hannah Sports and
Entertainment centre at about 11:30 a.m. for his scheduled on-ice fitness
test at noon. Although Lessio has yet to officially sign — he’s
weighing the option of playing in the Ontario Hockey League versus a
scholarship offer from Michigan University — Niagara general manager Dave
Brown views Lessio’s arrival as a positive sign. [article
here]
AUG.26 - Longtime pro signs on as IceDogs assistant - When the
Niagara IceDogs needed an assistant coach to round out their staff, head
coach Mike McCourt could think of no one better than Randy Ladouceur.
McCourt quickly placed a call to the former National Hockey League
defenceman — the two are both natives of Brockville — and Ladouceur came on
board. [more
here]
AUG.25 - TRAINING CAMP ROSTERS are
now online!
AUG.20 - TRAINING CAMP DATES/TIMES: The Niagara IceDogs
will open their training camp for the 2009-2010 season on Tuesday, August
25. This year, Training Camp will be taking place at the Seymour Hannah
Arena Complex. The opening day of training camp will involves fitness
testing for all players in attendance. That will be followed by two days of
scrimmages, with the players divided into four teams. Friday, August
28th will see the 3rd Annual Black and White Game take place at the Seymour
Hannah Arena Complex. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30pm and admission is
free to the general public.
[full
info here]
AUG.18 - UPBEAT ADDITION TO ICEDOGS: Frank Girhiny and the
Niagara IceDogs appear to be a perfect fit. The 45-year-old Thorold resident
was looking to coach at the Ontario Hockey League level while the IceDogs
were interested in bringing in a high energy assistant coach with a positive
outlook.
[article
here]
AUG.17 - PRE-SEASON GAMES, TICKETS, ETC: (unofficial information):
Tickets for season ticket holders will be available for pickup, Aug.28th.
They will include the tickets to the 3 pre-season games. Pre-season
tickets are of course available to anyone else, and prices have fallen back
to 5 bucks (it was 10 last year, 5 the first year). There is also a
training camp annual "Black & White" game will be held that Friday night.
Apparently there's an issue with the compressor at the Jack, so the game may
be at the 4-pad. [more
info here]
AUG.15 - HEAD COACH MARIO CHICCHILLO FIRED: Niagara IceDogs
General Manager Dave Brown announced today that Mario Cicchillo will not be
returning as Head Coach for the 2009-2010 season. In addition, Brown
announced that IceDogs Assistant Coach Mike McCourt has been named Interim
Head Coach.
[more
here]
AUG.14 - MIDDUP GONE: Niagara IceDogs General Manager Dave
Brown announced today that IceDogs forward Thomas Middup has cleared waivers
and been signed by the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL.
[more
here]
AUG.14 - NEW ASSISTANT COACH: IceDogs General Manager Dave Brown
is pleased to announce the addition of Frank Girhiny to the IceDogs coaching
staff. Girhiny will be joining the team as an Assistant Coach and will be
working closely with Head Coach Mario Cicchillo and Assistant Coach Mike
McCourt. [more
here]
AUG.07 - MATT SISCA TRADED TO GUELPH: General Manager Dave Brown
announced today that the Niagara IceDogs have traded Centre Mathew Sisca to
the Guelph Storm in exchange for Kitchener’s 2nd Round pick in 2010 and Left
Winger Dylan Wood. [article
& discussion here]
JUL.31 - IceDogs sign Petteri Simila - The
Niagara IceDogs are pleased to announce that they have signed goaltender
Petteri Simila to an OHL standard contract. Simila was selected by the
Dogs in the first round, 21st overall, in the CHL Import Draft conducted
earlier this summer. The 6'6", 189 lb native of Oulu, Finland was a member
of the Karpat Jr. team of the Finnish Elite League during the 2008-09
season. [read
more]
JUL.31 - TRADE WITH OWEN SOUND? The Ontario Hockey League
trading window opens again on Saturday August 1st. There's a report
that the Owen Sound Attack & Niagara Ice Dogs have consummated a deal.
The deal, which is said to be agreed upon by both teams, has Owen Sound
sending a player to the Ice Dogs in exchange for a player and a draft pick.
[more
here]
JUL.26 - IceDogs on the move Team will hold training camp
at Seymour-Hannah centre
- The Niagara IceDogs are on the move to the Seymour-Hannah
Sports and Entertainment Centre. The IceDogs expect to hold training camp at
the four-plex while a new compressor system is installed at Jack Gatecliff
Arena. The IceDogs open training camp Aug. 25 with fitness testing. Niagara
plays its first two home exhibition games Sept. 5 and 6 against the Erie
Otters and hope to be back at Gatecliff at that point. [more
here]
JUL.26 - CRIMINALS CAUGHT! In the early morning hours of
Wednesday, July 23, 2009, the Niagara Regional Police Service responded to
two separate break and enters to two downtown St. Catharines businesses.
Police first attended the Niagara Ice Dogs Business office located at 39
Queen St, and learned that suspects obtained entry forcefully and
stole a quantity of cash and laptop computers. In doing so, the suspects
caused approximately $500 in damage. Shortly thereafter, police were
called and attended to another break and enter at the Pow Wow Restaurant on
St. Paul Street. Police then discovered that the suspects again gained entry
forcibly, and proceeded to steal approximately $300 in currency and cause
approximately $500 in damage. Immediately following the break and
enters, members of the 1 District Street Crime Unit commenced a
comprehensive investigation. Investigation led to the identification and
subsequent arrest of two St. Catharines residents. Each charged with 3
counts of break and enter and one count of breach of probation are 33 year
old Roger Denomme
and 18 year old Alan Mustard
both of St. Catharines. Both men are being held in custody pending a
bail hearing on Friday, July 24th.
[talk
here]
JUL.26 - A taste of life as a professional - Daultan
Leveille recently got a brief but very intense look at the road ahead as he
continues to pursue his dream of of playing in the National Hockey League.
The 18-year-old St. Catharines native, a first-round pick of the Atlanta
Thrashers in 2008, was one of 34 players to attend a prospect development
camp in Atlanta. All nine Atlanta 2009 draft picks were there, as was
Niagara IceDogs defence-man Jay Gilbert, one of several non-drafted players
invited. [more
here]
JUL.23 - THIEVES BREAK INTO ICEDOGS OFFICE: This is a joke right?
They got broken into again?
It's no joke...
JUL.23 - GET TO KNOW MIKE SCHWINDT! Check out
this thread to find out more about Mike.
JUL.11 - PETRO AND AGGY LOOKING GOOD AT BLUES CAMP: Alex
Pietrangelo and Andrew Agozzino have been reported to have had a good
scrimmage game at the St. Louis Blues camp. Good summary of the game
by DogFan: "Well, Pietrangelo looked very good. The commentators said
he had played great all camp. They think he has put himself in the mix to
take the one open spot on the blueline. As for Agozzino, he certainly didn't
look out of place. He was active in the corners, took a few hits and gave
out a couple as well. He had a couple good scoring chances as well as
creating a nice two on none with a good defensive play at the blueline. He
got a nice shot away on the rush but the goalie made a nice stop.
Finally, both teams selected five players to participate in the shoot out
and both Agozzino and Pietrangelo were selected. Pietrangelo was stopped but
Agozzino went five hole and scored. I think Agozzino may have helped himself
get noticed at this camp...good for him.
" [thread
here]
JUL.10 - WANT TO GET TO KNOW ALEX FRIESEN BETTER?
Check this out!
JUL.10 - DESOUSA AND SCHIESTEL AT BUFFALO SABRES CAMP:
Good update here from an IceDogsFan that watched some of the camp.
JUL.09 - PIETRANGELO READY FOR ST. LOUIS BLUES
article here
JUL.01 - HAPPY CANADA DAY EVERYONE !
JUL.01 - ICEDOGS TAKE BIG GOALIE IN IMPORT DRAFT: One day
after hearing Jeremy Smith wouldn’t be back for the 2009-10 season, the
Niagara IceDogs made a big splash in the Canadian Hockey League’s import
draft. With the 21st overall pick, the Ontario Hockey League club
selected 19-year-old Finnish goaltender Petteri Simila, a 6-foot-6,
189-pounder who played for the Karpat, Finland, junior team last season.
[article
here]
JUL.01 - 2 ICEDOGS GET INVITES TO NHL CAMPS: [thanks to Brock for this
information]: "A couple of those guys have already gotten invites to
the Development Camps of NHL Teams. DeSousa will be going to Buffalo's
Development Camp. Agozzino will be going to St. Louis' Development Camp."
JUN.18 - ICEDOGS FIND HOME ON RADIO: The River 105.1FM will be
broadcasting all home and away IceDogs games this upcoming season!
You'll also be able to listen in online at
http://river.fm
Read
here.
JUN.13 - ROSTERS / CARDS - GREAT explanations of
how things work in the OHL!
JUN.13 - ICEDOGS TO PLAY THURSDAYS/SATURDAYS AGAIN:
Go here for the entire 2009/10 season schedule.
MAY.30 - PHOTOS FROM TODAY'S ROOKIE CAMP scrimmage game
online here.
MAY.29 - SAULT STE. MARIE GREYHOUNDS ZAMBONI DRIVER on the TV game show
"The Price Is Right" video - kinda funny hearing Drew Carey say "Go
Greyhounds, of the OHL" on that show...
MAY.7 - NEW ARENA UPDATE! Great update with lots of interesting
facts on the process of getting the city a proper arena -
read here!
MAY.2 - ICEDOGS GAMBLE WITH FIRST PICK: The Niagara
IceDogs rolled the dice with their first round pick in the 2009 Ontario
Hockey League Priority Draft Saturday.
But natural goal scorers don’t grow on trees, so when the opportunity
presented itself to acquire Lucas Lessio, the IceDogs didn’t hesitate for a
second. [article
here]
MAY.2 - SUCCESSFUL DRAFT FOR DOGS: It
was a long and at some points stressful day at the office for the IceDogs
coaching staff and personnel, but a day well worthwhile. Ten hours and 15
picks later the Niagara IceDogs were a happy bunch, satisfied with their
selections in this year’s OHL Priority Draft.
[article
here]
MAY.2 - DOGS SELECT LUCAS LESSIO WITH 1ST ROUND PICK,
7TH OVERALL - DOUGIE HAMILTON PICKED IN 2ND ROUND:
Lucas Lessio, Toronto Marlies - Left Wing, 6.00, 175 lbs. Lessio capped an
outstanding season by winning the Tim Adams Memorial Award as the most
valuable player of the OHL Cup. He finished in a tie for second place in
tournament scoring with five goals and 11 points in seven games. The big
winger is equally adept at playing the game with skill or strength.
[more
here]
MAY.1 - FREDDIE HAMILTON'S BROTHER WANTS TO PLAY IN NIAGARA:
It’s the Niagara IceDogs or nothing for Dougie Hamilton. The talented
younger brother of Freddie Hamilton, the IceDogs No. 1 pick in last year’s
OHL draft, has been informing all OHL teams calling about his intentions
regarding this Saturday’s OHL draft that he will only play with Niagara.
[article
here]
APR.24 - FAN PAINTINGS: One of our members created some nice oil
paintings of IceDog mascot Bones in action.
See here!
APR.18 - SCHIESTEL SIGNS WITH BUFFALO: Buffalo Sabres GM
Darcy Regier announced today the Sabres have signed defensemen T.J. Brennan
and Drew Schiestel to three-year entry level contracts that will begin in
the 2009-10 season. Brennan (31st overall) and Schiestel (59th) were
Buffalo’s first two selections in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Article here.
APR.17 - IceDogs rookie Hamilton recognized as OHL's top high
school student: Freddie Hamilton is doing his part to dispel the
stereotype of hockey players as dumb jocks. The 17-year-old winger for the
Niagara IceDogs has been named the winner of the Ivan Tennant Memorial Award
as the Ontario Hockey League's top high school academic player. Hamilton, a
Grade 11 student at Governor Simcoe Secondary School, has maintained a full
course load in 2008-09 with an academic average of 99 per cent. His grades
have made him the top Grade 11 student throughout the entire District School
Board of Niagara.
Full
article here! CONGRATS FREDDIE!
APR.15 - JUNIOR HOCKEY: Attendance increased but team still
lost money - There was no sophomore slump at the box office for the
Niagara IceDogs. The St. Catharines-based Ontario Hockey League team saw its
attendance increase by 6.82 per cent for regular season games, fifth best in
the league. The team didn't have as many complete sellouts (3,145 including
standing room) as last season -- 10 as compared to 13 -- but the IceDogs led
the league in most sellouts (29) based on seating capacity.
Article here
APR.14 - ICEDOGS TAKE STOCK OF SEASON: The only thing
longer than an elephant’s memory is that of a sports reporter. So when
Niagara IceDogs general manager Dave Brown ripped his team prior to its Dec.
31 game against Erie, his quotes were duly noted for future reference.
Article here
APR.11 - PETRO SENT TO PEORIA RIVERMEN: St. Louis Blues President
John Davidson announced today the club has assigned defenseman Alex
Pietrangelo from his junior team, the Niagara Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey
League, to the Blues’ American Hockey Affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. [article
here]
APR.10 - ICEDOGS CONCLUDE A SUCCESSFUL 2008-09 SEASON:
The Niagara IceDogs concluded a successful 2008-09 season at
the Yardmen Arena in Belleville on Thursday with a 5-2 defeat to the
Belleville Bulls. The Bulls captured the series 4-1 but not before being
tested by the IceDogs. [article
here]
APR.10 - SEASON REVIEW: Good season review posted by hockey123
here.
APR.9 - SISCA, ICEDOGS NOT READY TO QUIT: Matt Sisca would
enjoy nothing more than to be playing hockey Friday night. But to do
that, the Niagara IceDogs must defeat the Belleville Bulls on their home ice
tonight. "We'd love to play another home game," Sisca said before
hitting the ice for practice Wednesday. "All the support we got from the
fans (Tuesday) -- we knew there was more than 3,100 there -- but we did it
last time in Belleville and, hopefully, we can do it again."
[article
here]
APR.7 - ICEDOGS GIVE ONE TO BULLS: The Niagara IceDogs owe
Jeremy Smith a huge collective apology. Less than 48 hours after Smith
singlehandedly won Game 3 with a memorable 50- save effort, the IceDogs hung
their netminder out to dry, playing giveaway for much of the evening.
[article
here]
APR.6 - MAKING HIS PRESENCE FELT: Late-round draft choice
Andrew Shaw shines in playoffs against hometown Bulls. There's no such thing
as a road game for Andrew Shaw this series. The pesky, 17-year-old
forward for the Niagara IceDogs can count on support at both Jack Gatecliff
Arena and at the Yardmen Arena in his native Belleville as the IceDogs and
Bulls do battle in the best-of-seven, Ontario Hockey League quarter-final.
[article
here]
APR.5 - SMITH BACKSTOPS ICEDOGS TO 2-0 WIN OVER BULLS:
Article on the Dogs win in Belleville.
APR.5 - DOGS' TRACCITTO HAPPY WITH SWITCH: Older
article here on Traccitto going from forward to defenceman.
APR.4 - NEW ARENA NEWS
update here!!
APR.3 - SMITH CAN'T QUITE SAVE THE DAY: Not even an
extraordinary effort by goaltender Jeremy Smith was enough to save the
Niagara IceDogs Thursday. Smith kicked out 41 shots and singlehandedly kept
the IceDogs in the game until Luke Pither scored early in overtime to give
the Belleville Bulls a 4-3 victory before 2,700 fans at Yardmen Arena in the
opening game of their best-of- seven Ontario Hockey League semifinal playoff
series. [article
here]
APR.2 - DOGS, BULLS START WITH CLEAN SLATE: As far as Mario
Cicchillo and George Burnett are concerned, throw the regular-season numbers
out the window when trying to analyze the playoff series between the Niagara
IceDogs and the Belleville Bulls. The IceDogs visit the Bulls tonight for
Game 1 of their Ontario Hockey League best-of-seven semifinal playoff
series. Game 2 goes Friday in St. Catharines. [article
here]
APR.2 - BELLEVILLE HAS THE EDGE IN STATISTICS:
Article by Bernie Puchalski here.
APR.1 - DOGS UNLEASHED IN OT VICTORY: With one quick flick
of his wrist, Andrew Agozzino sent the Niagara IceDogs into hysterics and
Brian Kilrea into retirement.
Agozzino scored just 13 seconds into overtime to cap an incredible and
dramatic comeback as the IceDogs topped the Ottawa 67's 4-3 Tuesday night
before 6,095 fans at the Ottawa Civic Centre. [article
here]
APR.1 - OVERTIME LOSS A REAL KILLER: The Ottawa 67's tried to come
to grips with it all in their deathly silent dressing room, blowing a 3-1
third period lead and surrendering the series winning-goal just 13 seconds
into overtime, giving the Niagara IceDogs a 4-3 win in the deciding Game 7
of their opening-round OHL playoff series at the Civic Centre. [article
here]
APR.1 - AGOZZINO'S OT MARKER ENDS BRIAN KILREA'S HALL-OF-FAME-CAREER: Andrew Agozzino's overtime goal ended the Ottawa 67's season, and coach
Brian Kilrea's storied career. Agozzino scored 13 seconds into
overtime to give the Niagara IceDogs a come-from-behind 4-3 win over the
67's Tuesday night to win their best-of-seven Ontario Hockey League
opening-round series 4-3. His goal came as he took a centring pass from
Freddie Hamilton and beat Adam Courchaine low stick side.
[article
here]
MAR.31 - ICEDOGS, 67'S DOWN TO ONE GAME: The Niagara IceDogs had
a golden opportunity to put the Ottawa 67's away Monday night. Instead, the
IceDogs and 67's will play again tonight in a one-game, winner-take-all
showdown following Ottawa's 4-0 win before 5,415 fans at the Ottawa Civic
Centre. [article
here]
MAR.30 - ICEDOGS TAKE SHOW ON THE ROAD: Friday, Niagara
IceDogs goalie Jeremy Smith was feeling a little bit under the weather. "I
came in and had a high fever and I had the chills so we decided it was
better not to skate. I don't want to get anybody sick on the team so I took
the day off and came ready to play today (Saturday)," the 19- year-old
Brownstown, Mich., native said. [article
here]
MAR.30 - ICEDOGS DEFEAT 67'S 4-3 IN GAME 5: The Niagara
IceDogs defeated the Ottawa 67's 4-3 Saturday night in the fifth game of
their OHL first-round series in St. Catharines. Niagara takes a 3-2 series
lead into Ottawa Monday night. Read
more here.
MAR.29: LEGEIN GETS FIRST PRO GOAL: Ex-IceDog Stefan Legein
got his 1st AHL goal and was named 3rd star last night - congrats Lege !!
MAR.28: ICEDOGS ROOKIE THRIVES IN PLAYOFFS: Fans of
the Niagara IceDogs have come to appreciate a new and improved Freddie
Hamilton in the latter stages of the OHL regular season and playoffs.
[article
here]
MAR.27: SHIESTEL WANTS STRONG FINISH: With each game played
in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs, Niagara IceDogs defenceman Drew
Schiestel realizes his junior hockey career is one step closer to its
conclusion. "You're always thinking about it. You want to finish off your
career on a high note and have some success in the playoffs," the
20-year-old said, following the IceDogs 6-4 loss to the visiting Ottawa 67's
Thursday night. Read
more here...
MAR.26: OHL PLAYOFFS - IceDogs' Agozzino ready to be the
go-to guy after missing last year's playoffs [article
here]
MAR.25 - PICTURES from last night's game
are here.
MAR.25 - DEFENSIVE ICEDOG SHOWS BITE: Two games into the Ontario
Hockey League playoffs, Dylan MacEachern finds himself in unfamiliar
offensive territory. Following a weekend split with the Ottawa 67's, the 18-
year-old Mississauga native finds himself leading the Ice- Dogs in playoff
scoring with a goal and two assists. [full
article here]
MAR.25 - DOGS DOING THE LITTLE THINGS RIGHT: Brian Kilrea
is one step closer to retirement following the Niagara IceDogs 5-3 victory
over the visiting Ottawa 67's Tuesday in Ontario Hockey League playoff
action at the Jack Gatecliff Arena in St. Catharines. [full
article here]
MAR.20 - ICEDOGS TAKE GAME 1: The IceDogs started off quick with a 1-0
lead, only to have their hopes dashed as Ottawa came back 2-1. The
Dogs come-back willpower showed through again, resulting in a 5-3 IceDogs
win over the 67's on Ottawa ice. Way to go DOGS !!!!!!
MAR.20 - NOT READY TO CALL IT QUITS: Goalie Jeremy Smith
was among a handful of Niagara IceDogs honoured at home Saturday night in
recognition of what might have been their final Ontario Hockey League
regular season game. But the 19-year-old Brownstown, Mich., native isn't
thinking about the twilight of his major junior A career. There's an
upcoming playoffs with the Ottawa 67's ahead. [full
article here]
MAR.19 - STATS DON'T TELL TRUE STORY OF ICEDOGS AND 67's
article here.
MAR.17 - OHL ATTENDANCE STATS: If you love stats and what to see
regular-season OHL attendance figures for each time,
go here!
MAR.17 - HOCKEY POOL FOR PLAYOFFS: Want in? Just
go here!
MAR.5 - LAUGHLEIGH GOES ONE ON ONE WITH CAPUTI:
Good lengthy interview with former IceDog (now with the Pittsburg
Penguins organization) Luca Caputi!
MAR.5 - DOGS DEFEATED:
Short article on tonight's 5-2 loss to Brampton.
MAR.4 - FRIESEN NOTICED BY SCOUTING AGENCIES: Alex Friesen of the IceDogs
has gained mention from some of the top scouting groups.
MAR.3 - THEY'RE TOP DOGS! As Bill and Denise Burke stood
at centre ice inside Niagara Falls Memorial Arena Sunday afternoon, they
realized all the hard work had been worth it. Close to 3,000 people
were in the stands for the Ontario Hockey League game between the Niagara
IceDogs and Ottawa 67's, as part of a celebration to say goodbye to major
junior hockey at the site. [click
here for the article]
MAR.2 - WORD ON SHAW is that is injury is a high-ankle sprain and may be
out for a few weeks.
MAR.2 - PEOPLE STANDING 4-DEEP ALONG THE RAILING
article on yesterday's game in the Falls.
MAR.2 - ARTICLE
on Sisca and the coach's views on the playoffs.
MAR.2 - ICEDOGS MAKE FINALE A SUCCESS: NIAGARA FALLS — It
was only fitting that someone who grew up playing in Niagara Falls helped
close the doors on Ontario Hockey League hockey in the city.
Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Alex Friesen — who played minor hockey for Niagara
Falls — picked up three assists as the Niagara IceDogs topped the Ottawa
67’s 5-3 Sunday afternoon, in front of a sellout crowd of 3,167 fans in the
final major junior game at Niagara Falls Memorial Arena.
[read
full article here]
MAR.2 - OLD ARENA STARTED MANY CAREERS:
Article on the Niagara Falls Memorial Arena.
MAR.1 - A BIG THANK YOU to the Burkes and IceDogs organization
from some of the fans for making today such a success!
FEB.26 - PETRO OUT: During the game tonight, Pietrangelo left with
what is being called a lower body injury, and is day-to-day.
FEB.22 - THE COMEBACK! Being bystanders and watching the game
instead of playing in it the first 3 periods, the Dogs fell down 3-1 to
Ottawa, but the got a burst of energy and managed to tie the game 3- in the
dying seconds of regulation, and won it on their first shot of overtime (by
Alex Pietrangelo). Great outing by Niagara goaltender Smith.
FEB.17 - TIME CHANGE FOR THURSDAY'S GAME! Please remember that the
game this Thursday night vs. Belleville is NOT starting at 7:30 as
originally listed, the game start has been changed to 7PM in order to fit in
to Sportsnet's broadcasting. So, the Thursday game STARTS AT 7PM NOT
7:30.
FEB.17 - SKILLS COMPETITION: Thanks to Lois
for her pictures from the annual Niagara IceDogs Skills Competition that
was held yesterday!
FEB.07 - A MAN OF HIS WORD: Leaner, fitter DeSousa
leads Dogs in goals scored [article]
FEB.06 - DOGS LOSE IN SARNIA: Well it wasn't a pretty one.
If you stayed awake through it you'll know the Dogs couldn't manage a single
goal, but on the bright side, only allowed 1 in their own net...
FEB.04 - LUCA CAPUTI HAS GREAT NHL DEBUTE! BIG congratulations to
ex-IceDog star Luca Caputi who got called up from Pittsburg's AHL team to
play on the big team versus the Montreal Canadians last night. LUCA
SCORED HIS FIRST NHL GOAL ON HIS FIRST NHL SHOT ON HIS FIRST NHL SHIFT last
night! Who else did this for the Pittsburg Penguins? MARIO
LEMIEUX.
Read more here.
FEB.04 - HAPPY TO BE AN ICEDOG
article on new 'Dog Zak Jones
FEB.03 - ICEDOGS STORM BACK IN 3RD PERIOD
article on their 4-3 come-from-behind win after being down 3-0 in
Barrie.
JAN.31 - COUNCIL TO GO FOR ARENA AS THEIR RECREATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE WISH:
In an
outline of new projects for the city of St. Catharines, council has
chosen a new 'spectator facility' (we'll call it an arena) as their "preference
for recreational infrastructure funding". What that means, we're not
sure. One might take it as "if anything IS to be built with gov't
funding help as far as recreation projects, we want it to be an arena, but
that still doesn't mean anything will be built".
But lets not rain on a small parade. At least it's interest shown in
the POSSIBILITY of getting a new arena. A very big THANK YOU to our
city council in this decision. Sure it was inevitable to happen SOME
time as our building just can't magically stand forever (although it seems
like it has). Sooner or later a new arena is going to have to be
built, and this new fed. government fund may help provide the perfect
opportunity for that to happen in the near future. All residents - not
just IceDog fans - should welcome this, as a facility of such magnitude will
undoubtedly be able to attract many more venues to our area, which have been
overlooked for decades because there's simply no facility here to house such
things. Lets keep our fingers crossed on this one!
JAN.31 - NO MENTION OF NEW RINK IN MAYOR'S SPEECH: In his "State
of the City" address (what the heck's with the title? We *do* live
in Canada right?) the Mayor of St. Catharines had no mention of a new rink
or trying to take advantage of the new fund the federal government has
recently created for such things.
JAN.29 - IMPORTANT CHANCE TO GET A NEW RINK BUILT! The federal government on Tuesday announced a new fund
for communities that are in need of new sports complex, called the
"Recreational Infrastructure Canada fund". If YOU think the 70yr-old
Jack (our arena) needs to finally be replaced with a modern facility, PLEASE
email our councilors who will be discussing this matter this Saturday!
The IceDogs lease on the Jack is up in only 3 yrs, and if a commitment from
the community to keep them here is not shown NOW, don't be surprised if our
Niagara IceDogs end up with only a 5 year lifespan! Lets do our part
to keep this great OHL franchise in Niagara!
READ MORE AND FIND OUT HOW RIGHT HERE!
JAN.28 - GET PERSONAL WITH SEBASTIAN DAHM: Our star goaltender
from last year is
selling his equipment from his time with us, as he's now playing in the
AHL with Syracuse. Ask him any questions you may have and read his
posts
right here!
JAN.28 - SHAW SHOWS NO FEAR: Niagara forward loves
to get under the skin of his opponents. [At 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds,
Niagara IceDogs centre Andrew Shaw certainly isn't the prototypical Ontario
Hockey League tough guy. But 2:57 into Thursday's home game against
the then fifth-ranked London Knights, there was the 17-year-old squaring off
against 6- foot-7, 225- pound London enforcer Mike Yovanic.
"I've watched him fight a few times and I had a feeling I could take him. I
just asked him to go," said Shaw [full
article here]
JAN.28 - OLD RINK NEW RINK: With the new pool and arts center,
both multi-million dollar projects, any publicly-funded rink is FAR off in
the future, so it's not sure why
this article is talking about a new rink still. But there's some
interesting other info in it.
JAN.24 - GOOD KNIGHT, LONDON:
Article on the IceDogs back-to-back sweep of the London Knights.
JAN.24 - 5 WINS IN A ROW FOR ICEDOGS!
Article here.
JAN.23 - PETRO NAMED TO OHL ALL-STAR TEAM:
Article here.
JAN.22 - HUUUGE GAME TONIGHT AT THE JACK! John Tavares and the
London Knights (yes it's weird saying that) are in town tonight to take on
our recently-hot IceDogs at the Garden City arena downtown. The
Dogs are 6-4 in their last 10 and one game shy of an even .500, while the
Knights are plowing along, 8-1-0-1 in their last 10 games - 34 wins and only
8 losses: and much of that BEFORE adding Tavares. Should be a great
game!!
JAN.22 - [article by Bill Poterecz] The Icedogs week: The IceDogs
won all three of their games last week, defeating Kingston, Mississauga and
Erie to climb to within one game of .500 at 18-19-4-4. Overall, Niagara have
won six of their last seven to move into sixth place in the Eastern
Conference.… Agozzino leads the IceDogs in scoring with 23 goals and 42
points. Sisca is next at 15-23-38 followed by defenceman Drew Schiestel at
3-33-36.… Goaltender Jeremy Smith is 4-1 with a 2.37 goals against average
and .930 save percentage since arriving from Plymouth in a trade.… Alex
Pietrangelo leads Niagara’s regulars with a plus-five rating. Schiestel is
at the other end of the scale at minus-17.
London Knights, Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Jack Gatecliff Arena.
Read full article here.
JAN.20 - ICEDOGS FINALLY GET THEIR MAN: Article on newly-acquired
Michael Hasson
here.
JAN.17 - SCHIESTEL WANTED OUT BEFORE ICEDOGS' IMPROVED TEAM:
Article here.
JAN.17 - WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE: Nice article on newcomer Patrick
Lee
here.
JAN.17 - LEGEIN INTERVIEW: Ex-Dog Stefan Legein
was interviewed as he rejoined the Syracuse organization.
JAN.17 - ICEDOGS BACK ON THE RADIO: Apparently the remainder of
the Dogs games will be broadcast on CHSC 1220AM.
JAN.17 - NEW CHANGES LOOKING GOOD: The IceDogs have won 6 of their
last 7 games, including 3 big divisional wins against Mississauga, Barrie,
and Sudbury in that stretch. The big test will be this Thursday night
when Niagara takes on powerhouse London.
JAN.15 - SKATE WITH THE DOGS PHOTOS: Pictures from this skate by
the team photographer are online starting on
this page.
JAN.10 - GAME PHOTOS from Niagara vs. Barrie
are online here - thanks Lois!
JAN.10 - CULLEN WISHES ICEDOGS WELL Ex-Niagara goaltender
JohnCullen
wishes the IceDogs well on his way out. And all the best to you
John! Here at IceDogFans we wished John the best since his arrival and
hope he continues to excel with his new team. 'Sorry to see him go,
but sometimes a fresh start is just what both sides need. Good luck!
(Cullen could play against the IceDogs when Niagara is at Kingston Sunday
night.)
JAN.10 - ICEDOGS BLANK COLTS
article here
JAN.09 - NEW GOALIE SHUTS OUT COLTS: Recently-acquired goaltender
Jeremy Smith posted a shutout in his first game as an IceDog, stopping all
33 shots Barrie fired at him. Congratulations Jeremy!
JAN.09 - FIGHTING/HELMETS: In case you haven't heard, players
removing their helmets (so your opponent doesn't break his hands on your
helmet/visor) will now result in a 1 game suspension. This of course
is due to the recent incident in which a player died during a fight in which
his head struck the ice during a fight. Maybe the next time someone
gets hurt bad from a bodycheck, they'll remove that as well. And how
many players have been seriously injured by skate blades? (remember
Milarchuck (sp?) on Buffalo!?) Better get rid of the skates as well.
JAN.08 - TAVARES TRADED TO LONDON: Ok, the rumor that once was,
that became nothing,
now becomes official.
JAN.08 - GOALTENDER CULLEN TRADED: IceDog goaltender John Cullen
has been traded to Kingston for a 5th round pick in 2010.
JAN.07 - TRADE NEWS! MERRETT/DAY: The Plymouth
Whalers have traded goalie Jeremy Smith, 19, and OA winger Patrick Lee to
the Niagara IceDogs in exchange for a 2nd and London's 8th round picks in
2010 and a 4th round pick in 2011.
FULL TRADE THREAD INFO/TALNK HERE!
JAN.07 - STEFAN LEGEIN REJOINS SYRACUSE: Syraucse, NY (January
6, 2009) - The Syracuse Crunch announced today that the Columbus Blue
Jackets have reassigned center Nikita Filatov to the Crunch from the Russian
National Junior Team. In addition, Columbus has assigned right wing Stefan
Legein to Syracuse. Article
here.
JAN.07 - PIETRANGELO TO STAY WITH ICEDOGS: Looks like our
workhorse defenceman and Team Canada gold medal winner Alex Pietrangelo is
here to stay!
JAN.07 - TRADE TALK by the Dogs/GM Brown in this
short article. [thanks blackjeep]
JAN.07 - NO TAVARES TRADE NOW? Turns out there
might not have been as much weight to the John Tavares trade as
initially hyped up.
JAN.06 - NEW YEAR'S GAME + SKATE WITH THE TEAM PHOTOS are
now online.
JAN.06 - TAVARES TRADED TO LONDON: OHL superstar and former Oshawa
General John Tavares has been rumored to be traded to the London Knights.
Info/talk here.
JAN.05 - CANADA WINS GOLD! Congratulations to Alex Pietrangelo
and all the rest of Team Canada in their 5-1 victory over Sweden at the
Junior Hockey Championship held in Ottawa!! Way to go guys!!!!
Article here.
JAN.05 - ICEDOGS BACK ON TRACK: Article on their latest 2 wins
here. [thanks Lois]
JAN.04 - ICEDOGS END LOOSING STREAK: Article
here.
JAN.02 - VISENTIN WINS FOR ONTARIO: IceDog goaltender Mark
Visentin was between the pipes for Team Ontario in their 5-1 win over
Germany.
More here.
JAN.01 - HAPPY NEW YEAR'S ICEDOG FANS! Wishing everyone a happy
new year and safe holiday season.
DEC.27 - PIETRANGELO SCORES IN CANADA'S 1ST GAME: IceDog captain
Alex Pietrangelo scored in Canada's 8-1 clobbering of the Czech Republic.
Article here.
DEC.22 - CAPUTI VS. DAHM:
Video clip of ex-IceDog star forward Luca Caputi scoring a goal in the
AHL on ex-IceDog star goaltender Sebastien Dahm.
DEC.16 - BEAMSVILLE GOING FOR CBC/KRAFT HOCKEYVILLE CANADA! Lincoln Hockeyville Day THIS SATURDAY:
FULL INFO HERE!!
DEC.13 - 3RD STRAIGHT SELL-OUT: A third sellout crowd in a
row watched an entertaining game between the Niagara IceDogs and the St.
Michaels Mississauga Majors on Saturday night at the Gatorade Garden City
Complex. [article
about tonight's game here]
DEC.12 - BRING CANNED FOOD TO THE GAME SATURDAY NIGHT! Food
bins will be located in the front entrance at the Gatorade Garden City
Complex at our game tommorow night and on the 19th, one hour prior to puck
drop (6:00 p.m Dec 13th and 6:30 p.m Dec 19th). Full
info here.
DEC.12 - Beer, television and other items worth about $13,000
stolen from Ontario Hockey League team - the IceDogs have been victim to
thieves since they moved in, and the
troubles continue.
DEC.11 - FROM ARTICLE BY BILL POTRECZ: "In other roster
news, forward Marco Insam has left the team to play for his native Italy in
the B Pool at the World Junior Championships. He'll return Boxing Day.
Defenceman Alex Pietrangelo left Wednesday for Team Canada junior training
camp in Ottawa. Rearguard Josh Day is day-to-day with a lower body injury
while forward Johnson Andrews (wrist) won't be back until after Christmas.
Forward Andrew Shaw (concussion) is expected back for Friday's game in
Mississauga. The IceDogs expect to dress six rear-guards and have 10 healthy
forwards for their three games this weekend. Brown indicated winger Jamie
Howard will likely be called up from the Welland Junior Canadians.
"
DEC.11 - TOPS ON THE TEAM: Matthew Sisca leads the team in
scoring with 13 goals and 33 points. Andrew Agozzino is second at 16-14-30
while defenceman Drew Schiestel is third with 2-24- 26.
More by Bill Potrecz in this *excellent*
article here.
DEC.11 - PIVA DONE FOR SEASON WITH SHOULDER INJURY: Another OA
spot has opened up as Piva has officially been stated as gone for the season
with a shoulder injury. He was a bright light on this roster, starting
off the year with a bang in the points department. Overall he 12 goals
and 23 points in 28 games.
Read about it here.
DEC.10 - FLETCHER TRADED TO PLYMOUTH: General Manager Dave
Brown announced today that the Niagara IceDogs have traded Defenceman Scott
Fletcher to the Plymouth Whalers for London’s 8th round pick in 2010.
More here!
DEC.10 - ICEDOGS KIOSK
at the Pen Center has it's
Christmas hours posted.
DEC.09 - NEW ARENA
in the plans? Not with city money that's for sure.
Don't let this article rain on your day, but all hopes of a new rink built
by the city have been squashed. BOOOOO.
DEC.06 - ICEDOGS EDGE STING article on the game
here.
DEC.05 - GAME NIGHT - IT'S TEDDY BEAR TIME! In the words last year
of Steve Clark, it's time for a Teddy Bear invasion! Please bring a
new (or at least very clean) stuffed animal to tonight's game versus the
Sarnia Sting and toss it to the ice with everyone else after the IceDogs
score their first goal. The animals will be collected for charity.
Game talk by the fans here.
DEC.05 - THE CHARITY DRIVE CONTINUES!
The IceDogs are
encouraging everyone to get into the holiday spirit and bring non-perishable
food items to the games coming up on December 13th and 19th.
Anyone who makes a food donation at either of these games will receive a
coupon good for a $12 end ticket to the New Years Eve game at 7pm vs. the
Erie Otters (a $5 savings).
DEC.04 - FLETCHER OFFICIALLY NO LONGER AN ICEDOG:
Article here on team enforcer Scott Fletcher leaving the team.
DEC.04 - PETRO A STEP AWAY:
Article on Alex Pietrangelo and the world junior hockey
championships.
DEC.03 - LEGEIN TO RETURN TO HOCKEY! Ex-IceDog,
fan-favorite, and Columbus Bluejackets pick Stefan Legein, will be returning
to hockey. After walking away from Columbus and leaving his career up
in the air (much to the dismay of his many fans), Stefan has stated in an
interview with TSN that he will be returning to Columbus in hopes of moving
back to their farm team (Syracuse of the AHL). Talk about great news!!
Read more here!
DEC.02 - BARRIE COLTS ARENA STAFF RIPPING OFF ICEDOG FANS? Arena
staff's actions are sounding very suspicious
in this post.
DEC.02 - FLETCHER GONE: Rumor has it that IceDog tough guy and fan
favorite Scott Fletcher has gone home to Michigan and is awaiting a trade.
Not only was Scott a top 10 heavyweight in the league with the gloves off,
but he was a dependable defensive defenceman. 'Very very sad to see him go.
NOV.29 - LUCA CAPUTI AHL SCRAP:
Go here to check out a nice AHL fight that ex-IceDog star Luca Caputi
got in to recently. Way to go Luca!
NOV.28 - ICEDOGS BOUNCE BATTALION: article on last night's victory over
Brampton
here.
NOV.28 - FRIESEN LOOKING TO HEAT UP: Article on Alex
here.
NOV.24
- TWO ARTICLES
from Monday's Canada vs. Russia game
here.
NOV.24
- AGOZZINO'S GAME WINNING GOAL
gives CHL 3-1 lead in ADT Canada-Russia Challenge. PHOTOS
HERE!
Game talk here.
NOV.23 - 40,000 messages posted: The
message board has just gone
over the 40000 post mark - way to go everyone!
NOV.23 - RUSSIAN PLAYERS IMPRESS YOUNG FANS:
Article on Team Russia here. The game is tomorrow (MONDAY NIGHT)
everyone!
NOV.22 - GREAT GAME! What a game it was - our first sellout of the
season, the return of Alex Pietrangelo to home ice, a 5-4 win in a very
entertaining game as we hosted divisional rival Sudbury! It started
off with a bang with a nice Reggie Traccitto fight and kept going -
game talk here! Pictures
here
NOV.19
- THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!
Article on the upcoming ADT Canada/Russia game held here next coming
Monday.
NOV.19 - SHAW MAKES HIS HOME DEBUT: Andrew Shaw of the IceDogs, a
Belleville native, will be playing his first OHL game in front of his 'home'
crowd tonight as the Dogs take on the Bulls.
Article here.
NOV.18 - ALEX PIETRANGELO TAKES RETURN TO ICEDOGS IN STRIDE
Standard article here. [thanks Lois]
NOV.18 - SISCA NAMED OHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Article
here
NOV.17 - DOUG GILMOUR @ OUR BARN SUNDAY: Ex-NHL star and Maple
Leaf captain Doug Gilmour
has been made coach of the Kingston Frontenacs and should be behind
their bench on Sunday afternoon when they are in town to take on the IceDogs.
NOV.17 - PIETRANGELO UPDATE article
here
NOV.17 - CANADA WINS ADT game in Sydney over the Russians, 5-3
NOV.15 - NICE WRITEUP on last night's game
here. If you missed it, don't think it was goaltender Cullen's
fault. He was spectacular.
NOV.15 - CAPTAIN PETRO: Alex Pietrangelo will be wearing the
captain's "C" on this jersey tonight. Congratulations Alex!
NOV.15 - PETRO ADDED TO ADT ROSTER: Alex Pietrangelo
has been added to the team Canada roster
NOV.14 - PETRO TRADE: Should GM Brown be thinking about trading
Alex Pietrangelo?
VOTE HERE. As sad as it may be, it seems the best thing that
could happen for both sides. Petro could really help a team contending
for the Memorial Cup this year, and in return we could get some hot talent
and/or draft picks for a year or two when we're ready to push for the Cup.
Petro could finish his OHL career by possibly winning the championship, and
what we get in return for him could help us win it in the near future.
As much as we'd all love to watch Petro play here at home night in night
out, a trade would be the best thing for both sides.
NOV.14 - DAHM SOLID IN RELIEF:
Article here on Sebastien Dahm playing great for Syracuse Crunch of the
AHL, stopping all 27 shots that he faced.
NOV.14 - GOOD NIGHT FOR DOGS WITH SHUTOUT, RETURN OF
PIETRANGELO: Article
here.
NOV.14 - PIETRANGELO BACK IN NIAGARA! Our hearts go out to Alex as
the news was announced today that he will be returning to the IceDogs.
It must have been tough to hear, but much to the HUGE enjoyment of Niagara
fans - WE'VE GOT OUR PETRO BACK!!! Welcome back to Niagara Alex and
congratulations on your stay in St. Louis! He impressed many people
while up there, and will be with them in no time. But the Blues' loss
is our gain, and what a huge gain it is.
Lots of talk about it here!
NOV.12 - PETRO UPDATE: We are headed down the final stretch before the
St. Louis Blues decide whether or not to keep D-man Alex Pietrangelo for the
rest of this NHL season. If Pietrangelo dresses both Wednesday in
Buffalo and Friday in Chicago he will have played in nine NHL games this
season.
More here...
NOV.8 - WELL yet another OT loss, but some good
videos and photos from the game have been posted.
NOV.7 - LAST NIGHT'S game write-up
here.
NOV.7 - PETRO GETS HIS 1ST PRO POINT! Alex Pietrangelo
received his first NHL point (assist) on a Keith Tkachuk goal.
Congratulations Alex!
NOV.7 - ICEDOGS LOSE IN OT: Niagara couldn't hold on to their 2-1
lead last night and ended up losing in overtime on a goal from a weird
bounce, for a 3-2 final score.
NOV.3 - CORRENTE
article about how he's doing in the NJ system.
NOV.3 - FREDDIE HAMILTON named OHL academic
player of the month for central division.
NOV.3 - ICEDOGS INSAM STILL WAITING FOR FIRST GOAL AT HOME:
although he's netted 6 on the road so far.
Article here.
OCT.31 - ICEDOGS SEEK PERMANENT LIQUOR LICENSE FOR TAILGATE PARTIES:
Article here.
OCT.31 - ICEDOGS WEATHER STORM:
Article here on last night's victory over the Guelph Storm.
OCT.31 - CONGRATULATIONS STEVE CLARK! OHL Tonight announcer on
TVCogeco Steve Clark will be getting married this Saturday (Nov.1) On behalf
of all the members of this site and all the fans who tune in to you weekly,
congratulations Steve!!
OCT.29 - AGOZZINO, CICCHILLO WILL BE IN SPOTLIGHT AGAINST RUSSIA'S JR.
SELECTS NOV.24:
Article in the Standard about the IceDogs' representation at the
upcoming Canada/Russia tournament.
OCT.28 - CHEECH TO BE ASSISTANT COACH IN NOV.24 ADT CANADA/RUSSIA GAME:
"Head Coach of the IceDogs Mario Cicchillo will serve as an
assistant coach to Cameron for the game hosted in Niagara on Monday November
24."
More here. Congrats Cheech!
OCT.28 - PETRO SOON TO COME OFF INJURED LIST? "Defenceman Alex
Pietrangelo has been skating alone before the Blues' regular practice, but
he said Monday that he may join his teammates today. He had tests with a
Blues trainer Monday, and the results will determine when he'll be allowed
to return. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch"
More here.
OCT.28 - ICEDOGS THINKING BIG: Article on Steckley
here.
OCT.28 - Niagara IceDogs forward Andrew Agozzino has been named
to the Ontario Hockey League team that will square off against a Russia
all-star team in the 2008 Canada Russia ADT Challenge in November.
Full article here.
OCT.27 - SPIRITED WIN FOR THE ICEDOGS:
Good article on the IceDogs breaking their losing streak with Saturday
night's win.
OCT.27 - DAHM GETS BIG WIN: Ex-IceDog netminder Sebastien Dahm got
his first professional victory!
Read more.
OCT.24 - DOGS LOOSE IN THE BIG EMPTY: Another shootout tonight, in
Mississauga. Another loss. 4-3 final score with all 3 Niagara
goals coming from Marco Insam. 'Dogs are back at it Saturday night at
our rink....
OCT.23 - ICEDOGS GET FORWARD IN TRADE: The IceDogs have
picked up rugged Kyle Steckley from the Guelph Storm for a conditional
15th round pick in 2009.
OCT.20 - DEPATURE OF JON K (DOGS OFFICE): Jon at the 'Dogs office
is leaving for a new opportunity. He was the public relations person
and was responsible for a LOT of behind the scenes things (including all the
season tickets). We want to wish him all the best in his new
place/position. Thanks for all you've done Jon!
Farewell wishes to Jon here
OCT.18 - LEGEIN SKATING WITH FALCONS: "Former Niagara IceDog
Stefan Legein twice skated informally with the Falcons earlier this week....
Freddy Santini (upper body) did not dress for the Falcons.
" << quote from article
here.
OCT.18 - DOGS LOST, PLAY AGAIN: The IceDogs lost 5-4 in Plymouth
last night and move on to complete their American team trip tonight in
Saginaw.
OCT.18 - PIETRANGELO INTERVIEW: Another interview with Alex
Pietrangelo
here.
OCT.17 - PETRO IN NHL 2009 ! Yes, our star defenceman up in the
NHL has made his way to e-fame: he's listed on the St. Louis Blues roster in
the ever popular EA Sports video game NHL 2009.
See his stats here.
OCT.16 - PETRO'S 9 GAME TEST:
Great article here on Pietrangelo playing up in the big league [thanks
habsfan]
OCT.13 - ARTICLE on
Thomas Middup and ice time.
OCT.13 - DAHM GOOD: CRUNCHABLES:
(From ex-IceDog Sebastian Dahm's new team the Saracuse Crunch of
the AHL - Columbus Bluejackets farmteam) : Filatov, Kelly, MacKenzie,
Pineault, Plekhanov, Sestito and York all recorded at least a point for the
second consecutive night…MacDonald, Rome and York all wore an ‘A’ as an
alternate captain tonight…Mayorov’s first period marker was his first as a
professional and first as a member of the Crunch...Sebastian Dahm
made professional and Crunch debut tonight, stopping all 15 shots he
faced in the third period.
OCT.13 - PIETRANGELO VS. THE LEAFS: Alex Pietrangelo - who's still
up with the St. Louis Blues - will be in Toronto taking on his favorite team
growing up: The Toronto Maple Leafs. Game time: 1PM/LeafsTV.
Comments here.
OCT.13 - GAME DAY: The Dogs take on th Petes downtown St.
Catharines this afternoon at 2PM. The IceDogs desperately need a
after 5 straight losses (albeit overtime and shootouts) and have only 2 wins
on the season so far. Hopefully we'll all be roasting those
Peterborough turkeys Monday afternoon.
OCT.9 - WELCOME BACK SCOTT! Scott Fletcher has returned from his
time in the big leagues - hopefully next year they decide to keep him!
But their loss is our gain. He'll provide some MUCH needed size and
grit in front of our crease. Quote from Scott on returning: “I
just got back today and I am ready to go. I missed these guys a lot, and it
was pretty different to go up to the NHL training camp and be one of the
younger guys. Now I am going to be one of the older guys back here and fill
a leadership role and help these guys win some games. You will see me in
tomorrow’s game [in Guelph].” Welcome back Fletch!
OCT.9 - ROSTER CHANGES: Josh Day is back and should be in the
lineup tonight, Sarracini has been sent down to the Jr. B Falcons.
OCT.9 - INTERVIEWS ON 105.1 FM: The River 105.1FM will be
having interviews with IceDog players/staff every Thursday at 8:10AM.
OCT.8 - FLETCHER TO START WITH BOSTON'S AHL CLUB? [the following
thanks to blackjeep] The Providence Bruins (AHL) made another round
of cuts yesterday and are at the league maximum roster size of 23, 13F, 8D &
2G. They open tonight against Matt Corrente (& hopefully Swifty) and the
Lowell Devils. Fletch is apparently fighting for the enforcer role with
another former IceDog, Ryan Stokes. Good for him to be able to stick with
the club.
More here.
OCT.7 - MACISAAC RELEASED: MacIsaac requested (and was granted) a
release from the team, in hopes of finding more ice time. Being an
over-ager, this would have been his last year so he requested the move,
knowing that the way things were going, his ice time here would have been
limited this year. Apparently, he will be flying out tomorrow
(Wednesday) morning. We wish him all the best in his future!
OCT.7 - PETRO TO START WITH BLUES: The St. Louis Blues are
keeping Alex Pietrangelo for at least their opening season game.
Pietrangelo, who was born on Jan. 18, 1990, will become the third-youngest
player in the Blues' 41-year history when he suits up. Herb Raglan (1985)
remains the youngest player at 18 years, 82 days, and Brian Benning (1984)
is the second youngest at 18 years, 126 days.
OCT.7 - CORRENTE, SWIFT TO AHL: Ex-Dogs Matt Corrente and Michael
swift have both been sent to the AHL farm club of the NJ Devils in Lowell.
OCT.6 - AUDIO BLASTING YOU AT HOME GAMES? There's been repeated
complaints both in the msg board and live in the rink about our audio system
BLASTING us to death. It's not that the sound level is just too high -
sometimes it just SMACKS you right in the face for the first second before
it's lowered.
THIS IS THE SOLUTION TO OUR PROBLEM - HOPEFULLY SOMEONE WITH THE RINK
STAFF IS READING! We need an "audio limiter" hooked in as the signal
leaves whatever device they're using to play the music. Something
between the music player and the amplifiers (not between the amplifiers and
the speakers as we need to have the initial audio signal PEAKS lowered)
OCT.6 - FLETCH STAYS PUT FOR NOW: Providence of the AHL made 4
more cuts to their roster, and Scott Fletcher was not among them. His
chances continue to look better to stay up on the Bruins farm club.
OCT.5 - WIN OR LOSE, ICEDOG FANS HAVE
PASSION FOR THEIR TEAM.
OCT.5 - TRYING DAHM HARD TO MAKE CRUNCH LINEUP: In preseason
action yesterday
Sebastien Dahm posted a 36 save shutout against Binghampton.
OCT.4 - LETS PUT THESE 3 BEHIND US: We didn't come away with 2
points, but at least we got one. And, it was an exciting game.
Visentin left during the game with what rumor has it was a warmup injury.
To make matters worse, our already suffering D took another hit tonight with
Reggie Traccitto leaving the game after crashing into the net and injuring
what appeared to be his right leg. He was unable to put any weight on
it while leaving the ice. The fans were great tonight - very loud.
Lets hope we can take down the Kitchener Rangers on Thursday night and start
up a fresh winning streak.
Game talk here.
Pictures here. Videos
here.OCT.3 - CULLEN SAVES DOGS FROM EMBARRASSING NIGHT:
It was 2-0 most of the game, with the Dogs putting one in during the
3rd, but it very well could have been 6-1 if it wasn't for Niagara
goaltender John Cullen coming up huge numerous times throughout the night.
The Dogs couldn't get their wheels going, and looked disorganized much of
the game. To add insult to injury, one of the goal scorers was Neuber
of the Majors. (Grrrr) Lets forget this one and bring on those
Whalers. No worries... we beat up Mississauga enough on the scoreboard
last year to keep us smiling for TWO seasons.
OCT.3 - GAME NIGHT: After a heartbreak shootout
loss last night, we're back again tonight at The Big Empty, continuing a
great rivalry with Mississauga that begun last year. Surprisingly,
this is Mississauga's home opener, so expect a big crowd (for them at
least). Last year they had over 2500 people at their home opener,
which for them is rather large, considering the game after last year they
dropped to 1200 (reportedly the smallest attendance at an OHL game last
year). Many IceDog fans will be making the short trip to the Hershey
Centre to watch our boys. Those not able to make it, remember the game
is on TVCogeco ch.10, as well as the
online audio broadcast.
OCT.3 - DOG VS. DOG: [thanks to Smokin Puck for this info] Michael
Swift and Matt Corrente both with the Lowell Devils will be facing against
Scott Fletcher and the Providence Bruins tonight. Last game Fletch fought a
big European brawler Milon Maslonka who fought Neuber about two weeks ago to
a draw - inside reports from some spectators said Fletch worked him over
pretty good.
OCT.3 - ATTENDANCE TIDIBTS: [thanks to strohs] Through
the first four games of the year this year, our average attendance is 2,976
(94.63% of capacity). Through our first four games of the year last year,
our average attendance was only 2,507 (79.7% of capacity).
OCT.2 - GAME NIGHT: The Cows are in town tonight,
who have been ranked the #8 team in Canada. This is also the first
game of yet another 3-games-in-3-nights for the IceDogs, who play in
Mississauga tomorrow night then are back here against Plymouth on Saturday.
We're still missing some key defensemen at camp so it'll be interesting to
watch our young D filling in handle the Belleville firepower.
Game talk here.
Pictures here.
OCT.2 - WE NEED HOWARD! Maybe not
tonight, but tomorrow in The Big Empty would a great place to put some
toughness into the lineup, with Fletcher still being away. Lets see
what this local boy can do. Throwing Howards into the mix Friday, then
Saturday in front of the home crowd vs. Plymouth could be a great spark for
this team.
OCT.01 - TRACCITTO ARTICLE:
Article/interview with Reggie Traccitto
SEP.29 - PROFESSIONAL GRADE PHOTOS AVAILABLE: The IceDogs team
photographer has some great excellent-quality
game-action photos
available from this season.
SEP.29 - ADS ADDED: In order to try and get this site to help pay it's
own costs, ads are now being displayed. This is a test project just to
see how it goes.
SEP.27 - GEEOOOORGE! Word has it that ex-IceDog Jordan "George"
Foreman will be playing in the ECHL in Alaska.
SEP.27 - ICEDOGS COME OUT FAST AND STRONG: The Dogs came flying
out of the gate with 2 quick goals in the opening period. Great start
to the game - within the first 5 minutes there were 3 goals scored and our
first home-ice scrap of the season. Another crowd of 3000+
Game talk here. Pictures
here.
Videos here.
SEP.27 - PIETRANGELO VS. MAPLE LEAFS: This Monday, Alex Pietrangelo and
the St. Louis Blues will be in Toronto at the ACC to take on the Maple
Leafs. Be sure to tune in! 7:30PM, LeafsTV.
SEP.26 - COULDN'T HANG ON: The IceDogs looked to be in control of
the game, going up 4-2 on Oshawa. Unfortunately Oshawa came back
strong scoring 4 straight goals, including 2 softies, giving them a 6-4 win
over our visiting team. 3 fights in the game - or rather, 2 fights and
a mis-fight. Johnson Andrews who isn't known for throwing them,
did
very well in his scrap getting the decision, and
Schiestel
scrapped Taylor
after Taylor nailed one of our boys hard. 'Great to see Drew dropping
'em to aid a teammate. The chat room was active tonight with the live
chat. Thanks to all who dropped in. Don't forget the Dogs are
back in action Saturday night taking on divisional rival Brampton at the
Garden City - 7PM. What a great night to start our next winning
streak!
SEP.26 - TAKING THE BATTLE TO THEM: The 2nd half of a
back-and-back series against Oshawa continues in their rink tonight.
This game is televised on TVCogeco (7:30pm, ch.10) and be sure to enter the
online chat room while you watch the game so you can cheer along
real-time with other IceDog fans! (you must be a member of the
forum to enter the chat room -
your login/password for the chat room are the same as your forum login).
Game talk here.
SEP.25 - DOGS GO DOWN IN O.T.: After a dismal first period the
IceDogs battled back to a 2-2 score and went into overtime, but it didn't
last long as the Generals buried one for a 3-2 OT final.
Game Talk here! Pictures
here.
SEP.25 - GAME NIGHT! [The following summary of the meeting tonight
done by PhilMargonis]: "Oshawa allowed 7 goals in their season opener
in Sudbury. I'd expect they will allow lots of goals all year as their
goaltending situation is worst in the league right now in my opinion.
The loss of Captain Eric Regan will hurt them badly in the back as well.
I'm not sure if Del Zotto will be in the line-up for them tonight, maybe our
Generals guy Kevy can report thatfor us. If he is keep an eye on him. he'll
be the one leading the rush from the back every time he's on the ice. Del
Zotto was drafted by the Rangers 20th overall in the 2008 NHL entry draft.
3 guys for oshawa that should get drafted this year are- D de Haan who's
skilled offensively from what i've heard... lil Corrente.... and Taylor
carnevale. John Tavares had 4 points vs Sudbury all of which on the PP
i believe. That will be the key to this game for the Dogs. STAY OUT OF
THE BOX! Tavares is deadly on the PP so if we limit penalties and contain
the tavares line we should get the win tonight." [game
talk]
SEP.24 - PIETRANGELO HELPS BLUES TOP STARS:
Article here on the 2 point game Petro had for St. Louis recently.
Alex was also named 3rd star of the game!
SEP.24 - SEBASTIEN DAHM TO PLAY IN AHL: Sebastien Dahm has
signed a contract with the Columbus Bluejackets' farm club, the Syracuse
Crunch of the AHL, and will possibly be in the lineup as a backup there.
SEP.24 - PETRO HOT IN ST. LOUIS: A forum member describes
Pietrangelo in a recent game: "In a 3-2 St Louis win over Dallas,
according to the radio broadcasters, Petro was the game's third star and
played nearly 22 mins, one of the most of all d-men! On one shift, 2 guys
tried to go after Petro (to change the momentum), both times his team-mates
stood up for him, one getting into a fight..."
SEP.23 - ON HIS OWN MERRETT:
Article here on Andrew Merrett and his experience at the Bluejackets
camp.
SEP.22 - FLETCHER ASSIGNED TO AHL: IceDog d-man Scott Fletcher who
was recently at the Boston Bruins' NHL camp, has been assigned to their AHL
camp with Providence.
Article here.
SEP.21 - SCHWINDT AND ICEDOGS FIRST WIN: Good article
here on IceDog d-man Mike Schwindt who scored his first OHL goal
Saturday night.
SEP.20 - FIREPOWER: Cullen made some spectacular saves in net and
the IceDogs put 6 past the Ottawa netminder in the Dogs season-opening 6-3
win over the 67's. All lines were working pretty well together.
The referees made a lot of one-sided calls in Ottawa's favor but even the
bad calls couldn't stop the Dogs tonight. Niagara goals by: Schwindt,
Sisca, Agozzino, Piva, Sarracini, Agozinno.
Read and talk about the game here!
Pictures here!
Game sheet here.
SEP.20 - TV GAMES: TVCogeco's September broadcasts of the
Niagara IceDogs
is here (thanks Lois)
SEP.20 - HOCKEY NIGHT IN NIAGARA! The season opener is tonight at
7PM vs. Ottawa. Sources close to the team say that MacIsaac will
probably be out of the lineup as he has been very sick the last few days.
(get well soon Mike!) We will probably be seeing Cullen get the start
in net. There are also other key Icedogs out of the lineup as they are
away at NHL camps. Luckily, all the other teams have players away as
well. Don't forget the parking lot party before the game, with
band/games/drinks/food, starts at 4PM this afternoon. Forecast is
sunny and a high of 26C !
SEP.19 - ICEDOG CAR FLAGS - BEWARE! This probably doesn't need to
be said to anyone who owns one, but DO NOT buy these if you intend to
actually put them on your car. I purchased 2 IceDogs car flags (one
black, one white) last year. After only a few weeks, the plastic pole
part snapped last year. The other one had be sitting dormant most of
the summer. It was put on the car yesterday to proudly display the
IceDogs colours from my car window while I was driving around town. IT
snapped off. And right at the busy intersection of Welland Ave/Ontario
St. which made it very hard to retreive. So, that's 40 bucks down the
drain. Both flags lasted less than a couple months. Hopefully
this msg will keep others from wasting money on them. (I'll inquire at
the store if I bring in the old ones if they ca be replaced - although
what's the point as the replacements will break just as easily)
SEP.19 - VIDEO OF FLETCHER @ CAMP:
Here is a video of IceDog enforcer Scott Fletcher at Boston Bruins camp
scrapping Rechlicz.
SEP.19 - CAPUTI CUT FROM NHL CAMP: Ex-IceDog sniper Luca Caputi was
cut from the main camp and has been sent down to the Penguins AHL club.
SEP.19 - AUDIO BROADCASTS OF LIVE GAME ACTION! No, no radio - but
all games will be audio broadcast on the internet
right here!
There will be a permanent link to this at the top of this page. Add it
to your bookmarks/favorites!
SEP.19 - NIAGARA COUNTING BIG ON AGOZZINO: Coming back from the world under-17 challenge last season, Andrew
Agozzino was probably playing the best hockey of his career. After his
return to the Niagara IceDogs, however, he was felled in a fight in Sudbury
Jan. 12, suffering a concussion and missing 13 games.
More here.
SEP.19 - CAN'T KEEP A GOOD DOG DOWN: Alex Pietrangelo was hurt in
a game in Traverse City at the St. Louis vs. NYRangers game, and had to be
helped off the ice after what looked to be a knee injury.
More here.
SEP.18 - JORDAN FORMAN FIGHT:
Ex-IceDog Jordan ("Geoooorge") Foreman got into a pretty good tussel
while playing for the Detroit Redwings, vs. Paquette of the Atlanta
Thrashers.
Video
here.
SEP.18 - NEW SERVER: The migration to the new server
looks to be complete. Both the forum and the web site are now running
off of it. So you should notice a BIG speed increase in the forum.
We've gone from an old Celeron 1.6Ghz CPU with half a GB of ram, to 2X Xeon
dual-core 3.2Ghz processors (equivalent to 4 Intel Xeon CPUs!) with 2GB of
ram. Please bare with me if there's any problems in upcoming days,
because that migration from the old server to the new one just seemed to go
FAR to smoothly (which in my experience usually means upcoming problems -
hah!)
SEP.18 - ERIE NEWS PUTS US 1ST IN DIVISION: The Erie Times news
puts the Niagara IceDogs in first in their division this season, and 2nd in
the conference.
Check out the listings!
SEP.17 - THE OHL SEASON BEGINS! Niagara's off until Saturday
night, but the 2008-2009 OHL hockey season begins tonight with the Saginaw
Spirit playing against the London Knights. For a team-by-team preview
of what to expect this year,
read here.
SEP.16 -
We will be moving over to a NEW server this week or the week after.
We're going from a Celeron 2.4 Ghz with 512MB ram to a VERY fast dual Intel
Xeon 3.2 cpu with 2GB ram. The new server will also have almost twice the
storage space, and we'll be going from 1000GB/month traffic limit to
2500GB/month. But the main thing you should notice is a LOT faster forum
(much less delay between clicks
in the forum). BUT.... This is a *MASSIVE* undertaking. We have
about 8 sites to move over, multiple databases spread over 2 different
versions of mySQL, LOTS of DNS/IP configuration to do with our DNS zones,
email account moving, the 200+ GB of files, etc, etc, etc... the
current server is spread out over multiple IPs, multiple drives, and
multiple versions of mySQL, with databases run on each of them. Simply
put, it's a mess (from the technical end of things). This is the first
time we've ever done anything like this, but luckily my tech guy knows that
he's doing :) With all that being said, EVEN if things transfers over
smoothly, there will be a down time as transfer and configuration occurs.
Which means the site will be down during that time. BUT.. since
this transfer to the new computer is SO massive with such a huge amount of
configuration and planning, the site could be down for an extended
period.
SEP.16 - LINES: What lines would YOU like to see players on this
year?
Read/talk here.
SEP.16 - ICEDOGS TRIM ROSTER: The numbers are still a little
inflated (and a bit misleading), but the Niagara IceDogs roster is down to
28. Monday, the Ontario Hockey League team gave sophomore forward Jason
Bergeron, forward Stephen Ceccanese and defenceman Vladimir Bessonov and
European draft pick Max Englbrecht their outright releases.
More here.
SEP.15 - CUTS MADE / ROSTER RELEASED: Here is the up-to-date
2008/09 IceDogs roster. Looks like Bergeron, Bessenov, and
Englebrecht didn't make the cut.
SEP.15 - ICEDOGS BATTLING FOR COVETED ROSTER SPOTS: Article
on Piva and other IceDogs fighting for a spot on this season's roster.
SEP.15 - NJ CAMP: Good luck to Michael Swift and Matt Corrente as
the New Jersey Devils start their training camp today!
SEP.14 - ICEDOGS SWEEP SAGINAW IN WOODSTOCK: Yes, lots of town names in
that heading. The IceDogs were in Woodstock,
Ontario this afternoon continuing their battle against Saginaw (who they
beat last night in St. Catharines) and defeated them again with a 3-1 score.
Goal for the Dogs were by Hamilton, Bergeron, and an empty netter by Sisca.
The Niagara IceDogs closed out their pre-season with this game, with a
pre-season tally of 6 wins, 1 loss.
Game talk here.
SEP.14 - PETRO A PLUS: Alex Pietrangelo was a +1 in the
first game of the St. Louis Blues prospects camp.
SEP.13 - ICEDOGS WIN LAST PRE-SEASON HOME GAME! In a game that
towards the end had the atmosphere of a playoff game, the Dogs came out
victorious thanks to a sweet Agozzino short-handed goal in the dying
minutes. Cullen made some stellar saves in net.
Game talk here!
Pictures here.
SEP.13 - HOCKEY NIGHT IN NIAGARA: Niagara plays Saginaw at the
Garden City tonight. This could be the return of ex-IceDog Barry
Sanderson, who was dealt to Saginaw over the summer.
Game talk here.
SEP.12 - CICCHILLO LOOKING TO BUILD ON SOLID FIRST SEASON AS COACH:
Good article on IceDogs coach Maria ("Cheech") Cicchillo
coaching the IceDogs and the Ontario under 17 team.
SEP.11 - THE COMEBACK! It didn't look good after the first period
- the IceDogs went down 1-0 only seconds after the game begun and left the
ice after the 1st with a 3-0 deficit. They came back 3-3, then went
5-3. Erie scored another making it 5-4 then the Dogs put another one
in for a 6-4 final.
Read/talk about the game here!
Photos here.
SEP.11 - GAME NIGHT: The Erie Otters are in town tonight taking on
the Dogs at the Garden City Arena in St. Catharines, 7:30PM.
Video highlights here!
SEP.11 - CHL ANNOUNCES PRE-SEASON MOSAIK MASTERCARD TOP 10 RANKINGS:
See the list
here.
SEP.11 - MARIO CICCHILLO NAMED ONT U-17 TEAM HEAD COACH:
The Ontario Under 17 Policy Committee is pleased to announce the appointment
of Mario Cicchillo as the new Head Coach for Ontario's Under 17 Team.
More.
SEP.11 - TOP DRAFTS: TSN has listed their
top draft picks for the 2009 draft.
SEP.10 - THE OHL TEAM PREVIEWS ARE IN!
Click here to check out a rundown of the OHL, team-by-team.
SEP.10 - FLETCHER TO FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT IN BOSTON: IceDog
defenceman (turning forward this year) and team enforcer Scott Fletcer is
off to Bean Town to the Bruins NHL camp.
More here.
SEP.06 - ICEDOGS PUT DOWN GENERALS TWICE IN A ROW! The Niagara
IceDogs defeated the Oshawa Generals in Oshawa this evening, 4-2. "Niagara
took a 2-0 first period lead on goals by Jason Bergeron and Marco Insam and
led 4-2 after two periods on goals by Victor Terreri and Drew Schiestel to
pick up their second win over the Generals in as many meetings this
pre-season."
More here and
here.
SEP.05 - DOGS LOSE 7-5 TO WOLVES: Short game summary
here.
SEP.05 - ICEDOGS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY SATURDAY: The players will
be out at a couple
different events Saturday (Sep.6) including a fundraising car wash at
the Garden City complex, as well as the Greek festival at 585 Niagara St.
(Niagara St. & Linwell Rd.) Hopefully the weather gods will go against
the forecast (rain) and give everyone a sunny day.
SEP.05 - JOSH DAY TO PLAY FOR LEAFS AT NHL ROOKIE TOURNAMENT:
IceDog Josh Day will be representing the Toronto Maple Leafs as a rookie in
an upcoming
tournament.
SEP.05 - STEADY FREDDIE STEPS UP FOR ICEDOGS:
Good article on IceDogs 1st round pick Freddie Hamilton.
SEP.05 - TICKETS AVAILABLE AT SEAWAY MALL IN WELLAND: The Niagara
IceDogs and Seaway Mall have officially signed a partnership agreement that
will make IceDogs tickets more accessible to fans in Welland and throughout
the southern portion of the Niagara region. Beginning Tuesday, September
2nd, Seaway Mall will begin selling tickets to all IceDogs Exhibition,
Regular Season and Playoff games during the 2008-09 season.
More
here.
SEP.05 - PIETRANGELO SIGNS WITH ST. LOUIS: The Blues have
signed IceDog d-man Alex Pietrangelo, who will see their training camp
Sep.19
SEP.05 - GAME NIGHT: The IceDogs are up at the big nickel tonight
taking on the Sudbury Wolves.
SEP.05 - ROSTER RELEASED: The IceDogs have put up their current
roster
here.
SEP.02 - ICEDOGS TURNING HEADS: Article
here about IceDog hopeful Andrew Shaw.
SEP.01 - B&W PHOTOS: Thanks to Lois for
these photos of the 2nd annual Black & White game.
AUG.31 - GENERALS SHOT DOWN / PARKING LOT PARTY! : The IceDogs
came out with firepower this afternoon putting up 6 goals on the scoreboard
to Oshawa's 3. Both teams seemed to be playing it a bit safe, but
maybe it only seemed that way because the last time these two teams met was
in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Of the new 'tryout' players on the roster,
nobody really looked that bad. It's going to be tough decisions for
the coaching staff when the time comes to pick the final roster. Also,
it was great to see the band playing and the pre-game fan get-together in
the front parking lot - it's as though we're continuing on right where we
left of last year! How many OTHER teams have pre-game parties for the
*PRE* season !?? GO DOGS GO!
Game talk here.
Photos here.
Articles here.
AUG.31 - GAME DAY: The IceDogs play this afternoon at the Garden
City, 2PM. Tickets are just 10 bucks. They'll be taking on last
year's playoff nemesis, the Oshawa Generals. Rumor has it that CKTB
610AM
will NOT be broadcasting games on the radio this year, and TVCogeco will
only be showing home games 2 and 3, so if you want to see this one - get on
down there!
All game talk here.
AUG.30 - THE PRE-SEASON BEGINS! The IceDogs are over the ditch and
around the bend in Jamestown NY tonight taking on the Erie Otters. It
is unknown if this game will be radio broadcast but you can try CKTB610 AM @
7pm. Of course, the boys will be back in the Great White North here in
Niagara tomorrow afternoon to play their first home game of the preseason,
taking on last year's playoff foes, the Oshawa Generals. It may still
be hot out but be sure to wear your IceDogs jerseys! Of course, if you
don't have one yet, the store is right there in the rink :)
AUG.27
- PICTURES FROM CAMP: Photos from today's 9am-10:15am training
camp game are
online here! (69 pictures)
AUG.27 - TRAINING CAMP ARTICLE: Nice
article with coach Cicchillo and GM Brown about training camp.
AUG.27 - ICEDOGS TO PLAY IN FALLS: The Niagara IceDogs will
be playing a game at the Niagara Falls Memorial Arena March 1st vs. Ottawa.
More info here.
AUG.27 - ON ICE BEGINS TODAY: The schedule for the scrimmage games
is posted on this page. Come check out possible players on our 08/09
roster!
AUG.26 - TRAINING CAMP BEGINS! The Dogs will all be in town for
testing and other things today, and will take to the ice tomorrow.
AUG.24 - ICEDOGFANS.COM AFTER A YEAR: Well, we've been up for
about a year now - a few weeks more than that actually (or about a year and
2 months if you count how this site started as a collection of pages on
another site). Wow what a crazy place it's been. It's almost a
24/7 job doing the updates, making the videos, editing all the pictures,
etc.., but it's made for a popular site. After a year we've had
approximately: 125,000 visits as well as over 300,000 files sent out
totalling almost a TERABYTE (1000 gigabytes) of traffic! (Those stats
are for the www site here and do not include anything from the forum).
Hopefully we can be even busier this season! GO DOGS GO!
AUG.22 - CAPUTI BIG POTENTIAL AT PRO LEVEL: Former IceDog star
Luca Caputi has an
excellent article on him showing how much potential he could have at the
next level. (thanks to IceDogs5)
AUG.22 - OHL/WHL TO START DRUG TESTS: These two leagues will start
testing their athletes for drugs.
More
here.
AUG.21 - LEGEIN TAKING A BREAK: Thankfully, the IceDog
fan-favorite hasn't hung up the blades just yet. It has been reported
that he would like to take a break, after two years of constant play,
practice, tournaments, etc. Heck, most of us would be able to do that
for a month without wanting time off. These guys don't work 7-5 then
have weekends off. They play and practice weekdays and weekends, then
throw in all the travel time, interviews, media publicity events, add some
tournaments on top of that. And that's not to mention how hectic
things must have been with injury time AND preparing for the move to the
pro-level. So it's GREAT to hear he's keeping his options open, and I
can't speak for anyone else, but I would LOVE to see him take maybe a full
year off to rest and see where he wants to fit in after that. Good
luck Stef!!
AUG.21 - LEGEIN LOST HIS PASSION: Apparently the reason Stefan
Legein quit hockey is that he lost his passion for the game (this is what
was REPORTED in the media). It has been said that the Bluejackets staff noticed this last spring, and wasn't surprised when his
agent called to say he wouldn't be playing anymore.
Article here.
AUG.20 -
More on the Legein fiasco
here. Hockey fans need to remember that hockey players have all
the same NON-hockey issues in life as the rest of us. It's easy for
one to think that they're a hockey player and that's all they do, and the
rest of their daily lives, is all fine. They suffer the same life
issues as everyone else, so don't be upset because he'sr 'throwing it all
away', because as far as anyone knows, this decision by him *is* the best
thing for him at this time. He's always been a favorite player of this
site, and on behalf of Legein fans everywhere: GOOD LUCK STEF!
AUG.20 - CANADA-RUSSIA SERIES from an OHL press release
is here. (thanks FishFan!)
AUG.20 - TSN2 SET TO LAUNCH AUG.29TH - Yep, another TSN channel. Probably so they can fit in more poker, but
HOPEFULLY more hockey - especially OHL hockey!
It's great to see TSN going strong and continuing to grow after CTV took
them over.
AUG.20 - ADT CANADA/RUSSIA CHALLENGE TO BE IN ST. CATHARINES!
They usually require a minimum 5000 seat capacity but our fans sold the
package, as it was stated that the tremendous fan support here will make it
a great event. Only 400-500 tickets will be available locally, and
details will come in September. BIG kudos to team owners Bill and
Denise as they really had to pull a rabbit out on this one, since our rink
doesn't meet required size. Way to go!
More here.
AUG.20 - LEGEIN QUITS HOCKEY: TSN has reported that Stefan Legein
has told the Columbus Bluejackets that he is hanging up his skates and is
going to quit playing.
More here.AUG.20 - VOLPE TRADED TO RANGERS: Now-ex-Icedog goaltender has
been delt to Kitchener.
More here.
AUG.15 - The Niagara IceDogs Hockey Club announced today that
they have signed Freddie Hamilton, the team’s First Round Draft Pick in the
2008 OHL Priority Selection.
More here.
AUG.09 - ICEDOG FANS
at the Olympics?
AUG.08 - DAHM @ CHICAGO PHOTO:
Good picture of ex-IceDog goaltender Sebastien Dahm at the Chicago
Blackhawks goalie camp.
AUG.08 - PRE-SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE SOON:
Exhibition tickets will go
on sale starting this coming Monday, August 11th. Tickets will
be $10 for premium or end seats and $8 for standing. Flex-pack tickets
for regular season will be available on Monday (Aug.11)
AUG.08 - FLETCHER AT BRUINS CAMP: It has been reported that IceDog
defenceman (turned forward) Scott Fletcher has had an invite to the Boston
Bruins rookie camp. Congratulations Scott!
AUG.06 - ICEDOGS SIGN SCHWINDT: Mike Schwindt, a tall defenceman
that has come up quickly through the lower leagues,
is now an IceDog.
AUG.05 - NATIONAL MEN’S
SUMMER UNDER-18 TEAM ROSTER ANNOUNCED: 8 players from the OHL have
been named to the team.
More information here.
AUG.04 - NICE AD: This page has a nice
video ad up for the IceDogs.
AUG.02
- SWIFT AT NJ CAMP: A
couple pictures of former IceDog captain Michael Swift at the New Jersey
Devils camp.
AUG.01 - MIDDUP COMES TO ICEDOGS:
Thomas Middup has been added to the IceDogs roster, coming over from
Kingston.
JUL.30 - BUS TRIP TO OSHAWA: Hop on the booster club bus and see
the Niagara IceDogs take on John Tavares and the Oshawa Generals, Sep.26 in
our only visit to Oshawa this season.
Full info here!
JUL.30 - 2008/09 SCHEDULE: 'Just made up a quick printable 08/09
IceDogs game
schedule. It should print nicely onto a single page of paper.
JUL.29 - FIRST BOOSTER CLUB BUS TRIP: The first away game bus trip
has been organized Sep.26 @ Oshawa.
More info here.
JUL.28 - CORRENTE ON NHL SITE:
Article here on IceDog defenceman Matt Corrente by NHL.com
JUL.27 - TICKET PRICES INCREASE: Pre-season ticket prices have
doubled from last year's 5 bucks a game to $10. Last year's regular
season seats for ends/premiums are now $17 and $18 (up from $15, $16).
To see the 3 home pre-season games and all 34 home games this season, that
equates to an increase of an extra $83 per fan. On a packed house that
would come to around $6300 per game of extra revenue for the team, or
$214,000 extra on the season (potentially).
More info here.
JUL.22 - CORRENTE PHOTO FROM NJ DEVILS CAMP: Thanks to IGT for
this photo of IceDog Matt Corrente at the New Jersey Devils training
camp.
JUL.19 - 2008/09 TICKETS AVAILABLE IN WELLAND: Welland residents
now have an easier way to get their IceDogs tickets - they will be available
at the Seaway Mall in Welland starting this season.
JUL.14 - ALEX PIETRANGELO RADIO INTERVIEW: Petro was interviewed
on "The Pipeline Show" where he talks about being drafted, his future with
the Blues, his summer, etc..
Download the interview here!
JUL.13 - SEBASTIEN DAHM GET'N MEAN: It sounds as though IceDog
alumni goaltender Sebastien Dahm has got a bit of a
heated rivalry going at the Blackhawks camp.
JUL.13 - BLUEJACKETS web site article on Stefan Legein
here.
JUL.13 - PHOTOS OF LEGEIN AT COLUMBUS CAMP: Thanks to IGT for
these photos of
Stefan Legein at the Columbus Bluejackets' camp.
JUL.8 - LEGEIN/DAHM AT NHL PROSPECT CAMPS: Stefan Legein is
working hard at the Columbus camp and Sebastien Dahm is one of five goalies
at the development camp for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Read more.
JUL.5 - NIAGARA BIDS to host a game of the Canada-Russia series this
fall,
more info here.
JUL.3 - NIAGARA TO HOST ADT CANADA-RUSSIA SERIES? Article on the
front page of today's Standard about the possibility of Niagara hosting some
of this series in November. Apparently we've made it to the 'short
list' of cities bidding to be the host, but our small rink size is being
listed as a concern. CITY COUNCILORS: Here's one DIRECT benefit
of having a modern rink located in the city! Just another example of
the type of things we could continually compete for in the future..
not to mention all the non-hockey regional/national/international events
that could be brought to town (curling, figure skating,etc...)
JUL.2 - NEW ARENA IN THE LOWER PARKING LOT: See
what it would look like (kind of) if a new arena was put downtown in the
lower level parking lot (graphic by ItsGameTime our resident graphic
technician :) )
JUL.2 - ICEDOGS WHO HAVE/CAN MOVE ON to the NHL in a nice table graphic
done up in
this thread by ItsGameTime - lists Niagara IceDogs who have moved on to
the NHL/AHL and who is eligible.
JUN.29 - HOCKEY'S FUTURE: Has a nice clip of Petro's
post-draft
interview.
JUN.28 - ICEDOGS PICK GOALTENDER IN IMPORT DRAFT: With the
43rd pick overall, the IceDogs selected Maximilian Engelbrecht,
who played
last season with the Landshut Hannibals of the DNL, a development league in
Germany.
More...
JUN.27 - ARTICLE from
Niagara This Week on Pietrangelo getting drafted.
JUN.26 - CHL IMPORT DRAFT: The CHL Import draft is today - the
IceDogs
pick at 4:00, 40th overall.
JUN.26 - PENGUINS CAPUTI BOOSTING STOCK: Article
on former IceDog Luca "F-Bomber"
Caputi trying to crack the Penguins lineup.
JUN.25 - HAS PETRO PLAYED HIS LAST GAME AS AN ICEDOG? It looks
like the Blues may be interested in keeping him in their system this
upcoming season.
Read more.
JUN.25 - SCOTT FLETCHER RANKED #6 AMONG HEAVYWEIGHTS:
OHLToughGuys.com
has ranked our own Scott Fletcher sixth as far as his pugilistic abilities
amongst the other OHL enforcers.
JUN.24 - AGGY IN CANADA UNDER-18 CAMP: IceDog Andrew Agozzino has
been named to the Team Canada U-18
camp roster. Congrats Aggy!
JUN.20 - PIETRANGELO TO ST. LOUIS: IceDog defenceman Alex
Pietrangelo was picked 4th overall in the NHL draft today by the St. Louis
Blues. Congratulations Alex! We can't wait to see you in the big
league!
Talk here. Watch
video here!
JUN.20 - DRAFT DAY! Watch the NHL draft live on TSN tonight (7pm)
and see where Niagara IceDog Alex Pietrangelo will be making his NHL debut!
JUN.19 - PIETRANGELO INTERVIEW: Nice interview
with Petro here.
JUN.18 - 2008/09 SCHEDULE: [from IceDogs site] :
Fans will notice a shift in the IceDogs
schedule with more emphasis on Thursday evening games and an introduction of
Saturday night home games. In all, the IceDogs home schedule includes 17
Thursday nights, 2 Friday nights, 9 Saturday nights, 4 Sunday afternoons.
JUN.16 - USA TODAY HAS PIETRANGELO TO THE LEAFS:
read more!
JUN.16 - TSN SEGMENT on the upcoming NHL entry draft this Friday,
watch the video!
JUN.16 - NEW ARENA FEATURES:
Vote on what YOU would like to see in a new rink!
JUN.13 - ICEDOGS TO PLAY THURSDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHTS: The
2008-2009 OHL schedule has been released, and it looks like instead of
playing Sunday afternoons, the 'Dogs will
move to Saturday nights. No more Hockey Night In Canada people!
No big loss, HNIC sold their theme song, and the Leafs are hurtin anyway...
(plus OHL hockey is much more entertaining!) Do you like the switch to
Saturday nights instead of Sunday afternoons?
Vote here!
JUN.13 - BARRY SANDERSON TRADED TO SAGINAW: Barry Sanderson, a US
native, returns to play for a team in his country, after it was announced he
has
been traded to the Saginaw Spirit for a 4th round pick in 2009 and a
conditional 11th round pick in 2011. We wish Barry all the best!
(and we'll miss his sweet shootout moves in the annual skills competition!)
JUN.13 - FATHERS DAY SPECIAL:
[info from a forum member] During the week of June 9-13 the
Dogs are running a Father's Day special where anyone who purchases a season
ticket will receive a FREE 6 game flex pack and a IceDogs hat.
Read more.
JUN.13 - ROOKIE CAMP
article from Niagara This Week.
JUN.11 - ST. CATHARINES STANDARD WRITER THINKS
PROPOSED NEW ARENA TOO BIG
AND TOO COSTLY RIGHT NOW: Doug Herod, a writer for the St.
Catharines Standard wrote an article citing [in my opinion] that with other big expenditures
right now, a new arena being built would be poorly timed, and that 5000+
seats is just too big. Well, if we can get people into those
uncomfortable wooden benches, packing the house continually, with huge
lineups for the washrooms, huge lineups at the snack bars, the impossibility
to move around during intermission, after waiting around for an hour for the
game to begin because you have to get their an hour early just to find
parking (then walk a distane uphill in the snow and ice then cross a busy
4-lane road), then there's no reason why twice that many people wouldn't come out
to the rink twice a week if all those problems weren't there. You give
the average family the piece of mind that they can get to the game 20
minutes early and have a parking spot, be comfortable in their seats, have
room to move around between periods, and not be herded like cattle into
cramped areas to get a snack, and they'll show up night in night out to
watch the exciting level of entertainment that the IceDogs provide. He
says in his article that the city is paying for a new hospital - ??? I
guess the province no longer helps with projects like that. 'Never
knew we were footing the bill completely. But back
to the seat thing. He states 3500 would be adequate. HUH?
Why would a municipality spend tens of millions of dollars on a new facility
only to expand their capacity by 12% ??? On a side note, some
councilors mentioned that they doubted other events would be attracted to a
new complex because of the vicinity of Buffalo, Hamilton, and Toronto and
that we're "used" to driving to see things like that. NOTE: We're NOT
competing with huge-act shows that require Copps or the Air Canada Center!
But right now we have NO place for mid-range shows. Maybe a provincial
or national curling championship, or figure skating, or
popular-yet-not-top-40 music, etc. And just because we're "used to it"
does that make it alright? It's embarrassing to see other cities
comparable (and even much smaller) in size putting up 5000-6000 seat
buildings while we have one half that size, falling apart, that was built in
the 1930's! Lets show the people of St. Catharines that we're
advancing forward just like everyone else! And not once was it
mentioned in Doug's article that corporate sponsorship of such a new
building would be involved... Apparently the private sector doesn't
exist in his world. Then again, he seems to think the city is footing
the entire bill for a hospital, so why not the arena as well. On
another note, it's proven that the Burkes (IceDogs owners) are good at two
things: running a successful hockey franchise (proof: Icedogs opening year)
and making money (proof: their previous business ventures). The city
could only BE SO LUCKY to have a partner like them going into this this.
They know the bottom line and how to make things work - put some trust
in their judgement, keep them VERY involved in every aspect of the planning
and running of the facility, and you'll have great odds on a winning
combination. [UPDATE JUN.14] After seeing how badly into debt the
city is going to be after the aquatic center (since it's never called a pool
and an 'aquatic center' does that mean we get whales and dolphins and the
like??) and the performing arts center, I have to retract some of my
opposition to Doug's point of view. It actually *does* seem hard think
up where the money will come from after the current large-scale projects
already scheduled... Hopefully the private sector can pull a rabbit
out of the hat on this one.
JUN.09 - WHERE WOULD *YOU* LIKE A NEW RINK TO BE BUILT?
Vote here!
JUN.09 - CITY COUNCIL UPATE ON NEW ARENA STUDY: It was brought
forth in the city council meeting this evening,
read about how it went here.
JUN.09 - NEW ARENA UPDATE: The following was taken from a forum
message from a very reliable source: "Staff has recommended that a
task force be created to look into building a new downtown spectator rink.
But staff has not, at this point, endorsed building a new rink. Also, 2
locations were mentioned. The preferred spot appears to be the current site
of the Garden City Arena complex along with the block north of the rink
(where the Queensway Hotel use to be). The other location mentioned is the
lower level parking lot. Council will make their decision tonight".
So watch your local ch.10 tonight to see the results!!
JUN.07 - LUCA'S LIVE TONIGHT!
Listen to former
Icedog sniper Luca Caputi - now with AHL's Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins
(yah, weird name) - go for the AHL trophy, the Calder Cup! He's in the
finals right now, and they play tonight! Go Luca (aka.
F-Bomber) Go!
JUN.07 - Rookie camp 1:30pm scrimmage game (59 pictures)
JUN.07 - ROOKING TRAINING CAMP TODAY AND TOMORROW!
Don't forget to check out the rookies on the ice this weekend - it's free!
At the 4-pad Seymour-Hannah arena complex in west St. Catharines on St. Paul
West.
JUN.07 - MORE ARTICLES on IceDog President
Denise Burke being named OHL's Executive of the Year are
here and
here.
JUN.05 - ICEDOG PROSPECTS HIT THE ICE THIS WEEKEND:
It's been marked on the calender for months but it's finally here - rookie
camp! All unsigned Icedog drafts will be here this weekend for medical
as well as on-ice showings. They'll be on the ice at the 4-pad in west
St. Catharines Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. It's free!
Merchandise will be on sale there as well.
JUN.05 - ICEDOGS RECEIVE AWARD:
Congratulations to Niagara IceDogs President Denise Burke for being named
Executive of the Year at the annual OHL awards held yesterday. Every
fan who's followed the growth of the team since last summer when they first
moved in can only imagine how much work had to be done in such a short
amount of time. It's great to see all those long hours she put in get
the recognition! Congratulations Denise! [more
here]
JUN.05 - LISTEN TO LUCA! Former star
Icedog Luca Caputi continues his quest for the AHL Calder Cup Friday night.
Listen to the game live
on this page! Saturday's game
on this page. [thanks Casey]
JUN.04 - SEBASTIAN DAHM HEADED TO CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS CAMP:
IceDogs alumni goaltender Sebastian Dahm
has been invited to a camp being held by the Chicago Blackhawks of the
NHL where he will compete against 4 other goaltenders for a roster spot.
GO DAHM GO!.
JUN.03 - OHL TRADES: Keep up to date by
following the posts
here.
JUN.02 - SERVER DOWN SINCE SAT. EVENING:
There was an electrical transformer explosion at the datacenter which houses
this site, knocking out power to over 9,000 servers. The fire dept.
instructed them NOT to use their backup generators while power was being
restored, so the site has been down since then. Luckily no data was
lost (and more importantly, nobody was injured).
JUN.02 - OHL TEAMS ALLOWED TO TRADE AGAIN:
As of yesterday teams are open to trading players. Of course, we'll
keep you updated right away on anything significant the IceDogs do.
MAY.29 - INTERVIEWS LET
TEAMS GET TO KNOW PROSPECTS: Pietrangelo is featured in this
Maple Leafs online article. Does anyone else notice that Petro
seems to be getting a lot of mention by the Leafs as of late? Could
this be a sign of things to come? (hope hope) Some more shots of Alex
on
this page.
MAY.22 - CONGRATULATIONS CAPUTI, LEGEIN, PIETRANGELO
for
being selected by the OHL general managers to the OHL's 2007-2008 All
Stars team.
MAY.18 - IIHF HOCKEY AND YES I'LL HAVE FRIES WITH THAT:
It's Team Zepter vs. Team Skoda! Well it's
been awhile since I've gone off on a rant... the IIHF hockey championships -
WHAT A JOKE. Sure the level of hockey is great to watch, but the way the
game is presented just shows how bad the Europeans have turned our
once-proud game into a 60 minute commercial. Yes, we all know that over
there they dress
their players up as moving-advertisements, they stick cars in the seats
instead of people, and they dress their referees up like Ronald McDonald.
Maybe hockey is hurting so bad OVER THERE that they need to sell-out
commercially to that low level - BUT NOT HERE. Seeing the championship being
played in Quebec today, with players having big stickers across their
foreheads advertising an automobile manufacturer was absolutely disgusting.
Since Canada was hosting the contest we should have been allowed to to say
"hey, if you want to slap advertisements on every square inch of material in
Europe, go ahead - but NOT in Canada, we still have SOME pride left in
ourselves". Unfortunately, nobody said this. It's sickening to see the power
of the dollar (or greed rather) when it rears it's ugly head. Of course, if *I* owned
one of those companies I'd probably want my label stuck on every player's
forehead as well. Actually, no - not when it comes to hockey.
Sometimes even greed takes a back seat to the pride of a former hockey player...
MAY.14 - OH YAH, SOMEBODY WON THE OHL CHAMPIONSHIP:
Sometimes this site (well, myself) can lose interest in OHL hockey when it's
not the IceDogs, but it should be mentioned that the Kitchener Rangers won
the OHL title in 7 games against the Belleville Bulls. Still, 'just
not as important as IceDog news... :D
MAY.14 - PENS CAPUTI, JEFFREY TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF OPPORTUNITY: f-Bomb Caputi (we'll never let him live that down!) and
an
article on him by the Standard.
MAY.14 - PETRO LOOKING TO MAKE BIG IMPACT IN NHL:
Article by NHL.com and the NHL scout for the OHL on Niagara IceDog Alex
Pietrangelo.
MAY.6 - DISPLAY THOSE PICTURES PROUDLY: Just
looking around at the 5 8x10's I purchased from the team photographer, and
wanted to let people know - for 10 bucks a photo they're a GREAT price.
I can't believe how many times I look at them every time I pass by where
they're displayed. Professional quality printing and a HUGE selection
of action shots of your favorite IceDogs. Check out Rick's site for
all the available
Icedog photos!
MAY.5 - FREDDIE HAMILTON is the first ever
draft pick by the Niagara IceDogs.
Article here.
MAY.4 - LUCA SCORES ANOTHER! IceDog
alumni Luca Caputi scored
another goal for Scranton of the AHL. Keep going strong Luca!
MAY.2 - IIHF HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP: A reminder
to all that the world hockey championship starts today. Canada vs.
Slovakia @ 3:20 on TSN.
APR.30
- ROOKIES: The Ontario Hockey
League today announced that Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires has won the
Emms Family Award as the OHL’s rookie of the year for the 2007-08 season.
More here.
APR.30
- CAPUTI ARTICLE: On scoring his first
AHL goal and his first assist.
Read here.
APR.30
- OHL NAMES MOST VALUABLE: The Ontario
Hockey League today announced that Justin Azevedo of the Kitchener Rangers
has won the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player for the
2007-08 season as selected by the writers and broadcasters that cover the
league. [more
here]
APR.28
- LUCA'S FIRST PRO GOAL: Watch a video
of it
here!
APR.26
- F-BOMBER SCORES HIS 1ST AHL GOAL!
Former Icedog-turned-AHL'er Luca Caputi scored
his first AHL goal for Wilkes-Barre. He also added an assist that
game and had a +2 rating! Congrats Luca!
Scoresheet here.
APR.24
- PETRO RANKED 6TH: The
final standings for the NHL draft-eligible players are in.
APR.24
- BELLEVILLE TO MEET KITCHENER in the OHL
finals. Series dates
here.
APR.23
- CAPUTI SIGNS ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT WITH PITTSBURG:
Officially announced by the Penguins today.
More here. Stats from his first AHL game
here!
APR.23
- ICEDOG OWNER ALREADY LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT SEASON:
Good article in
Niagara This Week.
APR.22
- FRIESEN GETS AWARD FOR TOP MARKS:
IceDog forward and NOTL native Alex Friesen will be receiving the Ivan
Tennant Memorial Award for being the top academic high school player amongst
all OHL high school students. He maintained a 92% average! Way
to go Alex!!
APR.21
- PETRO VIDEO: Nice
NHL scouting video on Alex Pietrangelo here.
APR.20
- LUCA CAPUTI'S NHL PROFILE is now
listed here! And there's an
article here.
APR.20 - LEGEIN'S NHL PROFILE can be
found
online here!
APR.19
- MIKE McCOURT INTERVIEW: Assistant
coach of the Dogs Mike McCourt was interviewed on The River 105.1FM,
check it out!
APR.19 - SWIFT SIGNS WITH NJ DEVILS! A
bombshell of a news update was dropped on us today as it was announced that
former IceDog team captain Michael Swift has signed an entry level contract
with the New Jersey Devils of the NHL.
Read more here. Way to go Swifty!!
APR.18
- ASK GM DAVE BROWN A QUESTION! IceDogs
GM Dave Brown will be on "It's Your Call" on CHSC 1120AM Apr.21 at 6pm and
he will be answering your questions! Post your question to him
in this thread!
APR.16
- CAPUTI SIGNS CONTRACT:
Luca Caputi has signed an "amateur professional" (whatever THAT is)
contract with
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
APR.16
- CAPUTI GONE, CONFIRMED: Luca Caputi
has
gone out to Scranton to join Pittsburg's farm team in their playoffs.
APR.15
- CAPUTI GONE TO SCRANTON: Rumor has it
that IceDog forward Luca Caputi will be playing in Scranton (Pittsburg's AHL
affiliate) next season. This is currently unconfirmed.
APR.14
- LEGEIN NO LONGER AN ICEDOG, JOINS SYRACUSE: The Columbus Blue Jackets
have assigned right wing Stefan Legein from the Niagara IceDogs of the
Ontario Hockey League to the Syracuse Crunch, Columbus’ American Hockey
League affiliate, Blue Jackets’ General Manager Scott Howson
announced today.
APR.14
- GOOD ARTICLE
interviewing some of the Dogs that won't be back in the roster next
season.
APR.14
- A CALL FOR *YOUR* PHOTOS: The team
photographer will be releasing an IceDogs yearbook in the near future and he
wants to include your photos! Any great memories captured on camera
that you have will be much appreciated -
for more please see here!
APR.13
- DAHM TO REPRESENT DENMARK?
Rumor has it that goaltender Sebastian Dahm will be representing his
native country of Denmark in the upcoming World Hockey Championship.
APR.13
- LEGEIN GONE TO SYRACUSE OF AHL:
Stefan Legein is
reportedly going to the AHL next year so unfortunately will not be with
the IceDogs for the 08/09 season. All the best in the pros Stef! (this
report is unofficial as of right now)
APR.13
- ALL GOOD THINGS... Last game in
Oshawa we showed we would never give up up until the final buzzer went.
Unfortunately that came this afternoon at the Garden City Arena in St.
Catharines as the Oshawa Generals defeated the IceDogs 5-3, taking the
series in 6 games. What an amazing year it's been. From all the
man games lost and still managing to get home-ice advantage going into the
playoffs, through the amazing 4 game sweep of archrival Mississauga, the
continuous sell-out crowds, the parking lot parties before the games, the
acquisition of star goaltender and class-act person Sebastian Dahm, and on
and on and on. It will be very sad to see Jordan Foreman, Sebastian
Dahm, and team captain Michael Swift not return next year, and we wish all
three of them (and any other Dogs that move on to greener pastures) all the
best of luck with their hockey futures. To the entire IceDogs
organization, especially Bill and Denise Bruke - thank you so much for the
excitement you've provided us. The community was and *is* standing
next to you all the way, and you all made Thursday nights and Sunday
afternoons the best times of our weeks. On behalf of IceDog fans
everywhere: THANK YOU.
A few photos
here.
APR.13 - THANK YOU ICEDOG FANS! And thank you to all
of YOU who helped make this site what it is. All of the news postings,
the picture sharing, the great insights and enthusiasm that you've shown
towards this team and this site all year long. Over 27,000
messages posted, and over 5,000 photos in one season!
Way to go Dogs Fans!
APR.13 - CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE:
Big credit to the Oshawa Generals this series. They played like a
well-oiled machine each game (minus the last one in Oshawa) and played a
strong game night in night out. All the best of luck against
Belleville.
APR.11
- NEVER COUNTED THEMSELVES OUT! The IceDogs put for an amazing performance tonight, putting the Cadets in front
of their firing squad and leaving the Cadets laying beaten and battered in
the wake of an 8-3 onslaught. Caputi, Swift, and Foreman all had 4
points this evening. A VERY interesting note: Oshawa goaltender
Neuvirth left the game after what looks like pulling a muscle, and was
replaced by their backup goalie. I believe I speak for many IceDog
fans in saying that the minutes (even hours) leading up to tonight's puck
drop, the nervousness and anxiety was almost palpable amongst the fans.
Nobody had doubted our guys could get the job done, because we KNOW we're
the better team and just haven't played our game up until tonight. But
with so much on the line, it was a very stressful time for the true fans in
those minutes before the broadcast started. Congratulations to ALL
Icedogs and Icedog fans for never giving up!
Game summary here.
APR.11
- DECISION DAY: Today is the day that
the IceDogs will decide if they want to play a game 6 back here at home on
Sunday, or after coming so far, end things now, and try it all again next
year. THEY KNOW they can beat Oshawa, they've already done it this
series, and during the regular season. There's NO reason they can't do
it again. Even on the road - it's still the SAME GAME! I refused
to believe that Oshawa's home crowd gives their team so much of an advantage
that we can't beat them there. Remember IceDogs - we have a lot of Dog
fans in attendance there, and WE'RE ALL IN ATTENDANCE back here at home,
watching the game on TV and listening on the radio, wearing our IceDog
jerseys and hats, blowing our horns and ringing our bells. Every
shift, think of all those people watching and listening back home! Lets give these Generals a defeat on their own ice tonight !!!
APR.10
- ARTICLE ON PETRO being sidelined after
playing
some of his best hockey.
APR.10 - BEST PICTURE TAKEN
all year?
APR.10 - BEST COACH AND GOALIE NAMED:
Goaltender Mike Murphy of the Belleville Bulls was named
OHL Goaltender of the Year, and Bob Boughner of the Windsor Spitfires was
named coach of the year
today.
APR.8 - IT WASN'T
IN THE CARDS: Bad passing, to MUCH
passing, too many cross-ice passes when Oshawa players were between passer
and recipient, etc, etc, etc.. we could nit-pick this game apart for
eternity but the fact is that Oshawa played like a team, we didn't. We
were unorganized throughout the game minus our temporary comeback. BUT
NOT TO WORRY! Why? Because we're STILL IN THE PLAYOFFS.
Sure it's an uphill battle but if there's one thing this team has shown this
post-season it's that they have what it takes to battle back. Lets not
think about the next three games, but just the one on Friday. GO DOGS
GO!
APR.8 - STOP THROWING GARBAGE ON THE ICE: To whoever fans
thought it was cool to throw junk on the ice at the end of the game, it just
shows that you're sore losers and doesn't help OUR team -at all-. They
were bummed out enough tonight going back to the room after a loss, we don't
need to add to that by tossing garbage on the ice. It's disrespectful
to our own team in doing that.
APR.8 - MICHAEL SWIFT NAMED OHL OVERAGE PLAYER OF THE YEAR! The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Michael Swift
of the Niagara IceDogs won the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy as the OHL’s
Overage Player of the Year for the 2007-08 season.
[READ
MORE HERE!]
APR.8 - GAME 4: The Generals (Cadets) are back in our rink tonight
to face the firing squad of our team and our fans. The series is
sitting at 2-1 for Oshawa, with both teams only being able to win on home
ice. Your support will be important tonight
as we yet again raise up the decibels with our chants and cheering, and give
some extra energy to our team. They'll need it, as they'll now be
without defenceman Alex Pietrangelo due to his illness with mononucleosis.
I (AlphaDog) will have 2 cards for fans to sign (Petro and Aggozinno) -
please get ahold of me before the game if you'd like to sign the back!
APR.8 -
OHL Defenceman of the Month –
Alex Pietrangelo, Niagara IceDogs: [from the OHL site] Pietrangelo
was the OHL’s top scoring defenceman during the month of March with five
goals and 13 assists for 18 points to go along with a plus-10 plus-minus
rating in 10 games. He finished his sophomore season with a goal and 10
points in the final six games of the regular season and then scored four
goals and eight points in the IceDogs’ four game sweep of the Mississauga
St. Michael’s Majors in the opening round of the OHL playoffs. He enjoyed a
four point game (one goal, three assists) against the Erie Otters on March 2
and had his first multi-goal playoff game against the Majors on March 21.
The 18-year-old from King City, ON finished the regular season with 13 goals
and 40 assists for 53 points in 60 games.
APR.7 - SEASON SLIDESHOW
from
NiagaraThisWeek feature shots from throughout the year.
APR.6 - PETRO UPDATE:
Update on Pietrangelo's stats
from TSN.
APR.6 - PIETRANGELO OUT:
As it turns out, it looks like Alex Pietrangelo has developed mono, and will
most likely miss the remainder of the playoffs. Strange to here this
because he did indeed warm up and play a few shifts on Saturday night, and I
didn't think mono was something that just 'popped up' like that.
Especially when he was good enough to play then suddenly turned so bad that
he had to be taken to hospital. I guess that's why I'm a tradesman and
not a doctor! All the best to you Alex in your recovery.
APR.6 - COULDN'T CAPITALIZE:
It didn't look as if the IceDogs were outplayed overall in the game, they
just seemed to be adding one to many passes instead of shooting, not having
the guy in front of the net when needed, allowing an open man in their own
end, etc... and unfortunately all at the wrong times. It wasn't
that Oshawa outmatched them, they just seemed to be able to capitalize on
their plays at the end more than we were able to. Not to worry!
It's only 2-1 and there's still more than half the series to play.
Best yet, we've got them back at home in the grasp of our fans Tuesday
night!
APR.6 - NEWS ON LAST NIGHT'S
GAME
is here from NewsDurhamRegion.com
APR.5 - SERIES TIED UP!
WHAT A GAME! Yeow what a game! It didn't look good in the
early going as the Dogs fell to a 3-0 deficit after Oshawa jumped out of the
gates with 3 quick goals. The Dogs showed there mental strength and
battled back after a Corrente fight which left an Oshawa player with
(probably) a broken leg, scoring 4 unanswered goals, plus an empty net goal.
Oshawa's momentum was killed after medical staff took over 10 minutes to
remove the injured Oshawa player (Kewin) off on a stretcher, and the IceDogs
took advantage of it. Sebastian Dahm was STELLAR in net making all the
easy saves when needed, and *numerous* great kick saves, glove saves, and
great play while being harassed with traffic in front of him (he was also
the game's first star). In some scary news, Alex Pietrangelo was
reportedly taken to hospital with chest pains (!!!) We'll keep you
posted as soon as more info comes in. OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH YOU
PETRO. Lets keep the energy going as we go back to Oshawa Sunday
evening for a 6 o'clock game in there barn! Read what the fans have to
say about the game
here!
APR.5. - 2 TUESDAY TICKETS FOR SALE:
Strohs is selling 2 tickets in section A for Tuesday night's game.
PM him from that link.
APR.5 - BUMPER STICKERS:
AlphaDog still has about 20 of 'em available for only a tooney. See
him at the game to pick one up! ('also go great on the side of a computer)
They have a crossbones followed by GO DOGS GO! on them.
APR.5 - IT'S PAYBACK TIME! The Dogs are back on friendly soil.
Lets really use our lungs, clappers, horns, bells, whistles, and anything
else you can make noise with, to really get the old barn into a frenzied
state tonight. Don't have a noise-maker (or loud voice) ? A
forum member posted that using an old bleach bottle with a handful of
pennies in it DOES WONDERS. Just an idea!
APR.4 - SERIES TO BEGIN
SATURDAY NIGHT: New rules for IceDog fans: NO SERIES HAS
STARTED UNTIL THE FIRST ICEDOG HOME GAME HAS BEEN PLAYED. As far as
some are concerned, the series begins tomorrow night in OUR barn.
We'll take it from there...
APR.4 - THE DAY AFTER:
Hopefully everyone is feeling a LITTLE bit better after last night's
heartbreaking loss in Oshawa. It was only 1 game out of a possible 7,
and if there's one thing our team is good at, it's battling back.
Remember that Mississauga game 4 when we went down by 2 in the first period?
It looked like the Majors might have actually had a chance of knocking out a
win. Then we came back with 6 straight goals and squashed their hopes.
Lets STICK TOGETHER during these ours until Saturday night's game.
Don't get down in the dumps because last night was just a single game of the
series! GO DOGS GO!
APR.3 - LETS SHOW THE OSHAWA
FANS HOW IT'S DONE! For those of you at the game and those who
watched it on TV, it was in plain view that there were entire sections
of empty seats in Oshawa at tonight's game. And this is round 2 of
the playoffs! It's a given our rink will be sold out for
Saturday's contest, but lets show them how to REALLY cheer on a team.
We were great last game in Mississauga, and the 2 home games before that,
but lets really turn up the volume Saturday night! The flags (well, AlphaDog's and bulldog's) will be waving, the drum will be banging (more
drums would be great), but lets add our vocals to the excitement throughout
the entire game! GO DOGS GO!
APR.3 - WHERE'D OUR TEAM GO? Well, the IceDogs sure
didn't show up tonight. DeSousa showed some heart in the 3rd, and a
few others had moments of energy, but aside from that... we were
disorganized, we were coasting when we should have been skating, we were NOT
playing a physical game against their top guys AT ALL, we allowed screens in
front of Dahm, some bad giveaways, we often looked like
a peewee team chasing after a midget team, and were just simply outmatched.
If we came out hustling, banging, and crashing from the opening puck drop it
would have been a much different score after 60mins. But with all that
being said, OUR GUYS KNOW THEY'RE BETTER THAN THEY PLAYED. That was an
off-game for us and an on-game for them. Plain and simple. We had a good number of
people in the chat room tonight - thank you all for joining in! LETS
GET THIS SERIES BACK TO SQUARE ONE SATURDAY NIGHT! Remember everyone,
this is ONE game out of a possible seven. It might just seem as more
of a shocking blow because we were riding a 9 game winning streak coming in
to tonight's game. This was a swift kick or reality in the face.
Lets pull things together and smoke them just as bad on Saturday!
AND WE NEED TO BE LOUD!!
APR.3 - GAME NIGHT!
The IceDogs invade Oshawa to take on their Cadets in game 1 of round 2
tonight! This is one of the most anticipated matchups of the playoffs,
as two great goalies will be going head to head. Also, rosters on both
sides are stocking massive firepower on their top lines. The Dogs will have to stay
out of the box and not be sucked into playing a defensive game trying to
shut down the Cadets top scorers. We play our best game when we're
pushing the offense, so with all the snipers on both teams it should make
for a great goaltenders dual. Game time: 7:05PM (Cogeco/CKTB).
Join the online
chat room during the game and talk with other IceDog fans as the live
play is broadcast! You must be a forum member to get in the chat -
it's free and only takes a second to
sign up!
APR.3 -DAHM THRIVING UNDER
PLAYOFF PRESSURE:
SportsNet article on how Sebastian is coping with the pressure of the
playoffs.
APR.3 - PICTURES FOR SALE AT TUESDAYS GAME: The team photographer
will have a booth set up in the front lobby with
photos for sale from this year's action. 2 photos of each player
will be available in 8x10" prints. $10 each or 5 for $40. Bring
some extra cash, grab some photos, and get 'em signed!
APR.3 - Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League (CHL)
announced on Tuesday the 22 players who will make up Canada’s National
Men’s Under-18 Team at the 2008 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, April 13th
to 23rd in Kazan, Russia.
APR.2 - FRIENDLY BETS:
Apparently Casey (IceDogs fan) and OshawaSpy (Oshawa fan) - both members of
our forum and the Oshawa forum, have a friendly bet going. If Oshawa
beats out Niagara (please...) Casey will change her forum avatar to an Oshawa
one on both forums, and if Niagara beats out Oshawa (yes!) OshawaSpy will be
sporting an IceDogs avatar on both forums. Then the loser will cheer
on the winning team for the rest of the playoffs. We think OshawaSpy
better be practicing her GO DOGS GO chants on a daily basis!!
APR.2 - NO NOISE ALLOWED IN OSHAWA - BEWARE! If you're going to
Oshawa to watch game 1, BEWARE if you plan on bringing in drums, horns, or
other noise makers. They are NOT allowed in their rink.
Furthermore, rumor has it that they have Nazi riot squad guarding the
entrances - if you even QUESTION them as to why you can't bring in your
cheer gear, there is a VERY good chance you will not be allowed inside the
building at ALL. So don't try to bring any cheer-gear in at all, and
if you *do* try, do *not* question the people who work there! (maybe a
good book is something that's allowed for the library atmosphere that they
seem to be encouraging..)
APR.2 - GREAT BROCK PRESS
ARTICLE INTERVIEWING THE DOGS! One of the
best articles with the Dogs all year!
APR.2 - KING PLAYER LOOKING FORWARD TO NHL ENTRY DRAFT:
Article on Petro and the upcoming draft from the King Township
Sentinel.
APR.2 - OHL WESTERN TEAMS PREPARING TO BE 'DAHMINATED': Article on
the
playoffs and Dahm by the Sudbury Star.
APR.2 - MORE PHOTOS from the Family Day in February including
Swift and Legein being great with the fans.
MAR.31 - OSHAWA GAME BUS
TRIPS! The IceDogs have organized bus trips to both games 1 & 3
(in Oshawa) for 32 bucks (per game). That includes your game ticket
and the bus ride.
See post by wade33 here for more info!
MAR.31 - GREAT VIDEO
shot by an unknown IceDogs fan in the stands in Mississauga at the end of
the game, as the IceDogs beat out the Majors in game 1. Check out Dahm
saluting the IceDog fans at the end! Way to go boys!!!
MAR.30 - DRIVING TO OSHAWA
to see the Dogs on the road?
Here's a map of parking in the area of General Motors Place.
MAR.30 - PARKING-LOT PARTIES
BEFORE *ALL* PLAYOFF GAMES! The IceDogs will be putting on parking
lot parties including games, a band, and lots more, for -all- remaining home
playoff games this post-season! Starting 2.5hrs before puck drop!
MAR.29 - NEW ARENA DESIGN!
Thanks to Bry4n for this
CAD design! 2-tier seating is a MUST!
MAR.29 PLUS MINUS
difference for the top 9 scorers on each team? Oshawa: +64
Niagara: +225
MAR.28 - NEWS ARTICLES about the upcoming matchup with Oshawa
are here.
MAR.28 -
CLASSLESS MEATHEADS PREPARING FOR
OSHAWA - BOOSTER CLUB BUS TRIP for round 2, games 1 & 3 is
being planned. Let show our support on the road for this one
meatheads!!
MAR.28 - DAHM ACKNOWLEDGES
FANS: [from NiagaraThisWeek] Dahm has been the focus of plenty of
fan support and instantly became a fan favourite since joining the IceDogs.
On Sunday, fans were displaying signs with the words "Dahm Good" and
chanting that phrase throughout the game.
Dahm said he thrives on that support.
"They're our sixth guy for us and they just keep coming against the
opponents and cheer us up. They build momentum for us and we can feed off
it," he said.
He has been particularly excited about the fan support in Niagara, despite
the limitations in terms of the capacity of Jack Gatecliff Arena.
"We've got the best fans in the league. We may not have the most in the
rink, but the noise they make triples the London Knights and they can fit
three times more fans than we do," said Dahm. [Full
article here]
MAR.26 - HEY MEATHEADS! SPORTSNET has picked the
IceDogs as the darkhorse to win the OHL championship.
MAR.26 - MISSISSAUGA USHER
NAZIS: There's no wondering why they don't have a good atmosphere
at their rink, or why nobody wants to show up there to watch a game
when
you
have staff like this.
MAR.26 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWIFTY! A big happy birthday from everyone at IceDogFans.com to
our captain, Michael Swift, who turns the big -21- today! It might not
mean much THIS side of the border, but ahhh the freedom over the river now!
Have a great birthday day Swifty! Birthday wishes from the fans
here.
MAR.26 - MISSISSAUGA PLAY-BY-PLAY MAN envious of
Niagara's fan support?
MAR.26 - VIDEOS
from last night's game in Mississauga.
MAR.26 - ICEDOGS FANS ARE
'CLASSLESS MEATHEADS' according to Rogers play-by-play personnel.
And that's fine by us! The brooms were all just part of the playoff
spirit. And in the playoffs, IceDog fans TAKE NO PRISONERS. Not
that we're very nice to opposing teams during the regular season mind you -
but in the playoffs YOU GO UP AGAINST OUR TEAM **AND** YOU GO UP AGAINST OUR
FANS. Deal with it. Fear us if you must, cower if you choose,
but IceDog fans STAND SIDE BY SIDE WITH OUR TEAM. The IceDog Army is a
force to be reckoned with, so during these playoffs... to all opposing
teams: When you come to our barn, abandon all hope ye who enter.
MAR.26 ** SEBSTIAN DAHM
NAMED CHL GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK!!
Read here!
MAR.26 - NEWS ARTICLES
from all different sources on tonight's victory over the Majors.
MAR.26 - DAHM
nominated for CHL
Player of the Week!
MAR.25 - ICEDOGS KNOCK OUT MAJORS! Wow what a game. The
IceDogs added some drama to the game by allowing the Majors to score 2 goals
in the 1st period, but came on strong in periods two and three blasting 6
goals past Mississauga (including a nice Legein penalty shot goal).
The IceDogs now move on to play either Oshawa (if Barrie can manage to knock
out Brampton - Barrie leads the series 3-1), or the Belleville Bulls.
Either way, the IceDogs have a great chance against either team if they
continue to play the way they have been, and with Dahm continuing to be a
wall between the pipes.
Talk about this game and series here!
MAR.25 - GOING FOR THE SWEEP! The Niagara IceDogs will try to beat
out the Majors in four straight games tonight at the Hershey Center in
Mississauga. There should be a good number of Dogs fans in the crowd
to see it happen. If you can't make it be sure to tune in on TV or
radio! Also get into the
ONLINE CHAT ROOM
during the game (you must be a member of the
forum to access it.
MAR.25 - PIETRANGELO
tied for OHL
playoff scoring race.
MAR.24 - SEBASTIAN DAHM
named Boston Pizza OHL
Player of the week (again!)
MAR.24 - COACH CICCHILLO
interviewed this morning on CHSC
1120AM.
MAR.24 - MAJORS ON BRINK OF
ELIMINATION:
Article from the Missy News.
MAR.24 - PRE-GAME FANS MEET
pictures from Wrigley's Field
are now up.
MAR.23 - GET WELL SOON: WellandDogsFan's sidekick (or is it the
other way around?) SassyDogsFan had a rare missing of the game tonight due
to illness. Get well soon Sassy!
MAR.23 - STRONG PERFORMANCE:
The Dogs started off a bit slow but managed to net the opening goal in the
1st, followed by an uneventful 2nd, but popped in *4* in the 3rd. It
was nice to see everyone pitching in with the goal scoring: DeSousa,
Foreman, Caputi, Swift and Pietrangelo all scored forthe Dogs. GREAT
outing by netminder Sebastian Dahm who chalked up yet another shutout (2nd
in 3 games this series) turning away all 33 Majors shots, including some
spectacular glove-hand saves. Game 4, possibly the final of the series
(don't want to jinx them) in Missy this Tuesday! A number of IceDog
fans showed up at Wrigley's Field before the game for a pre-game meet -
see the pictures here! In other news.. here's some interesting
facts: The Majors have not yet scored an even strength goal against
the Icedogs in these past 3 games, and IceDogs goaltender Sebastian Dahm has
a 98.9% save percentage!! The team has allowed 0.33 goals per game.
MAR.21 - WALLPAPERS!
Thanks to nfallsc for the 2 wallpapers of
Dahm and Pietrangelo!
MAR.21 - FANS LAPPING UP
DOGS HOCKEY!
St. Catharines Standard article on how the fans are gearing up for the
playoffs this post season.
MAR.21 - ONE TOUGH DOG TO LEASH: Nice
article on Niagara goaltender Sebastian Dahm.
MAR.21 - GAME NIGHT:
IceDogs win 3-1 and now lead series 2-0 ! Two goals by Alex
Pietrangelo and a nice short-handed breakaway goal by Stefan Legein put the
Dogs up 3-1 after the opening goal scored by Mississauga. Alex Friesen
missed a penalty shot, DeSousa threw some nice hits in the 3rd, Dahm made a
couple tricky saves. Next game Sunday NIGHT, 7:30pm at the Jack!
MAR.20 - ICEDOGS WIN PLAYOFF
OPENER:
Articles by The Standard, Canadian Press, Mississaua News.
MAR.20 - GAME
*WON*: What a
game! The Niagara IceDogs shut out the visiting Mississauga Majors 4-0
tonight at the Jack Gatecliff arena. What looked to be a VERY
frustrating game to watch (and play no doubt) due to penalty call after call
by the refs, turned out to be a pretty good one in the 2nd and 3rd periods. Dahm was great in net not just stopping the initial shots, but soaking up
the rebounds throughout the game. In other news, somebody tagged the
Mississauga bus with a nice "GO DOGS GO" bumper sticker. The bus
driver did a quick look at the back of the bus after the game but missed it,
so Missy will be proudly displaying GO DOGS GO on the back of their bus all
the way down the QEW... WINDSOR ROUGH FANS? TRY VISITING
NIAGARA! It's hard to think that Windsor fans could still hold the
title of being the most intimidating in the league. In tonight's game,
the
fans weren't near as rowdy as some other games this year, but the
constant near-threats to the referees, certain Majors players, and the Missy
team in general, we hereby anoint Niagara fans as being the most threatening
in the league when things aren't going their way. Having an entire
parking lot full of beer-drinking Niagara fans during the last game of the
season, boo'ing the entire 2 busloads of Petes fans as they walked towards
the rink, was a nice touch too. All game talk from the fans here!
MAR.20 - GAME 3 PRE-GAME MEAL/GET-TOGETHER: A number of fans will be
converging on Wrigley's Field in St. Catharines (in the Howard Johnson's
hotel complex) starting at around 4PM prior to Sundays game. Come on
out and help get the energy going before the game begins! Wrigley's
Field: 89 Meadowvale Dr., St. Catharines. In the Howard
Johnson's hotel complex off Lake St. (at the QEW entrance/exit)
MAR.20 - ICEDOGS PLAYOFFS HOPES article by
MAR.20 - COACHES POLL WINNERS: Results of the
2007-08 OHL Coaches Poll.
MAR.20 - ICEDOGS AGITATOR: Standard article on
Stefan Legein.
MAR.19 - THE PLAYOFF RUN
STARTS THURSDAY!
Article from the IceDogs site.
MAR.19 - SLUMPING GENERALS
gear up for the post-season
article.
MAR.19 - PLAYOFF FEVER UNLEASHED: St. Catharines Standard
article on IceDog defenceman Matt Corrente and the upcoming playoff
series.
MAR.19 - MISSISSAUGA NEWS
article on the upcoming
Majors/IceDogs series.
MAR.18 - MISSISSAUGA NEWS
article on
Petro eyeing the big league.
MAR.18 - CITY EYES NEW ARENA: Good
article in the Standard about the slow movement forward to finally
putting up a modern rink in this town.
MAR.18 - MOTION APPROVED!
St. Catharines city council has voted to go forward into the study of
building a new arena in the city. Reportedly each councillor that
spoke mentioned that they would like to see a new rink built in this city
eventually. This is excellent news - sure it's not news that they're
going to build a new rink, but it shows that hope is still alive and
well that they're continuing to keep it in the agenda. Out work is
not done: we must continue to keep showing our support for a new
arena to city council during this entire process - NOT just before a vote!
Please continue to call your coucillors, write in to them, and email them
(email addresses
listed here).
MAR.17 - GM DAVE BROWN ON
CALL-IN SPORTS SHOW! Icedogs General Manager Dave Brown
will be the special guest on the "It's Your Call" sports show, this Monday
night , March 17th from 6-7 p.m. on AM 1220 CHSC Radio. You can call
905-688-2472 at that time, or
leave
any questions or comments on this thread, and host Chuck Lafleur
will pass them along to the G.M.
MAR.17 - SWIFT INTERVIEW: Michael Swift was
interviewed on CHSC 1120AM
this morning
MAR.17 - OHL PLAYOFF PREVIEW can be found
right here.
MAR.17 - PETRO SCOUTED BY LEAFS: Toronto Maple Leafs GM Cliff
Fletcher graced our glorious rink with his presence yesterday as he
scouted IceDogs defenceman Alex Pietrangelo and the Petes Zach Bogosian.
Sorry Cliff, but with the way the Leafs are playing, Petro will be LONG GONE
before you get a chance to pick.
MAR.17
- BIG DAY TODAY! St. Caharines city council will be voting on
whether or not to fund a study into the impact of a new rink (or as they put
it a 'spectator facility'). Unfortunately these are many of the same
people that can spend money on construction that takes the better part of a
YEAR to replace one block of roadway every summer. The same city that
rips up your entire front yard to replace a water pipe, promise to re-sod
the lawn, re-sod it and promise to water it, NOT WATER IT, let it die, THEN
PROMISE TO REPLACE THE DEAD SOD WHICH DIED FROM LACK OF WATER SOD NEXT
YEAR!!! Surely there are SOME good people left on council who will do
the right thing and go forward with this study, as the people really need a
new rink if for nothing else then just to show everyone this region has NOT
given up yet. If they don't even go forward with the study, it can be
safe to assume a new arena will NEVER be built. If they don't even
want to look in to the matter, it's saying a lot. As long as they are
willing to look at it, hope is still alive.
MAR.17
- DIGITAL SLR
photos from Niagara College radio show "The Not-So-Round Table" (90.1FM)
from the Mar.2 Dogs/Otters game. (bottom of page)
MAR.17 - ICEDOGS HOCKEY CAMP: Interested in perfecting your
skills? How about learning for the *first time* ? Young or old,
experienced or a newcomer to playing the game, the IceDogs hockey camp is
sure to have somethin fun for you!
More info here.
MAR.16
- NEW TO BEING AN OHL FAN and CONFUSED ABOUT PLAYOFF FORMAT? If
you were wondering how the Memorial Cup format works, thanks to FishFan,
here's a good explanation of how things work.
MAR.16 - GOOD WRITE-UP by Brianne of the Dogs office on
today's game.
MAR.16
- SWIFT GETS 100TH POINT TO WIN IN ONT!: IceDogs captain Michael
Swift ended the last regular game of the season in style netting his 100th
point of the year as he scored the game-winning goal in overtime, as the IceDogs sent the Petes packing 3-2. The Dogs looked to be sitting
pretty up 2-0 but as what happens many times when they're ahead, complacency
got the best of them and they allowed the Petes to come back 2-2. But
overtime was setting quick as Swift buried the puck only 22 seconds in to
it, getting his 100th point of the year and allowing the IceDogs to end
their regular season on a high note, with a record of 42-25-0-1.
PLAYOFFS VS. MAJORS STARTS THURSDAY NIGHT AT HOME!
Pictures here
including a couple of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher who was there
scouting (Pietrangelo and Bogosian on the Petes reportedly).
MAR.15 - FIGHT REVIEWS
from last night's scrape in Mississauga
are here.
MAR.15 - HOCKEY NEWS
article on who should draft who (Petro to Tampa? Nooo!)
MAR.15 - CITY TRANSIT ON BOARD: Numerous forum members have reported
spotting "Go Dogs Go" msgs being displayed on the front of city buses
recently. For instance, one would flash from "Geneva St." to "Go Dogs
Go" next. Good stuff!
MAR.14 - IT'S OFFICIAL!
NIAGARA VS. MISSISSAUGA in the 1st round of the playoffs! If
tonight was a glimpse of things to come, it's going to be a ROUGH series.
Just the way this blue-collar town LOVES it!
MAR.14 - MISSISSAUGA MAJOR LOSERS: Caputi dummies McGurk,
Traccitto pummels Gaunce, Rinaldo the BUM runs after Sanderson at the end of
the game. Most importantly: ICEDOGS WIN 5-2! (better write-up
coming later/tomorrow) 'Wanted to get the clips up quick so the boys
could watch 'em on the bus ride home :)
MAR.14 - LEGEIN SCRAP: Delayed but not forgotten,
Legein vs. Shaw.
(right-click the link and download to your computer and play from there -
same goes for ALL clips on IDF. Otherwise the end tends to get chopped
off.)
MAR.14 - JERSEYS FOR SALE: Game-worn jerseys from last year are going to
be on sale.
More here.
MAR.14 - SEBASTIAN DAHM
was interviewed after the game.
Check it out!
MAR.14 - A CALL FOR DRUMS: We're trying to get as many drums as
possible scattered throughout the arena for the playoffs, so that we can
have them all in sync doing the 3-bang "GO DOGS GO" throughout the game.
The kind of thing a team is known for, where other announcers will be saying
in their pre-game talk "and as you can hear in the background, the war drums
are going strong already here at the Jack". If YOU have a drum
(something not so big as to crowd the people around you of course) PLEASE
bring it to the last game of the season this Sunday so we can have a
"rehearsal" of sorts. Ideally we'd like as MANY drums as possible in
the rink, with possibly some LARGE ones stationed up on the front balcony at
the entrance. But having them at *least* in the 4 corners of the rink
would be a good start.
More here.
MAR.14 - NIAGARA VS. MAJORS:
The IceDogs waltz into Mississauga tonight to take on the Majors. Ok,
they might not 'waltz' but after defeating the top team in the conference
last night, it's a possibility. The Dogs are the hottest team in the
East right now, going 8-2 in their last 10 - with some very tough opponents
in those 10. Mississauga (5th) is right behind Niagara (4th) in the
standings, however that's a *17 point* gap between the two clubs.
Hopefully Lobsinger will get the start in net tonight, not to rest Dahm for
the playoffs, but simply because the IceDogs played last night (defeating
Belleville 4-3) and we simply haven't seen enough of Lobs this year.
Risking injury to our star goaltender in a game that means nothing in the
standings is pointless. Tonight might be a good preview of our first
playoff round, but with key players (Pietrangelo, Caputi, Corrente (remember
him?)) out of the lineup, it might be more of a skeleton crew at work
tonight. Speaking of which, hopefully the 3rd and 4th lines will see a
lot of ice time tonight. This game means nothing in the standings,
only bragging rights and end-of-season win/loss stats. Lets not lose
any key players right before playoffs. Game Time: 7:30PM (Cogeco/610AM)
MAR.14 - NIAGARA THIS WEEK
article on IceDogs wearing the compulsory neck guards. Speaking of
which, did anyone else notice how LITTLE of the neck they actually 'guard' ?
MAR.14 - THE NOT SO ROUND TABLE which is a radio show broadcast out of
Niagara College on 90.1FM tonight will be featuring a segment on the IceDogs.
You can send your comments in to the show which will be read on the air.
For more info see here.
MAR.13 - COGECO BROADCAST:
'Just watching tonight's game off the DVR right now - did Cogeco turn up the
saturation (colour) and contrast? Usually it looks a bit dark and grey
- lookin GOOD tonight!!! The reds on the Dogs and yellows on the
Cows are looking bright, and the ice is nice and bright too. Good job!
To top off a great night your webmaster is cooking up a BIG THICK Cosco
steak. Nothing like eating a big thick rare steak while watching the
Dogs beat the Bulls (again).
MAR.13 - WHAT A GAME! Wow, for a game that didn't really count for
much as far as the standings go - for either team - what a game! The IceDogs came out quick and took a 1-0 lead, but the Cows tied it up soon
after. Then in the 2nd period the IceDogs were on fire, adding 2 goals
and going up 3-1. All looked well, but the boys looked like they spent
all their energy in the first two, and were on their heals all period.
They actually put another in the net making it 4-1 but the Cows looked like
they were going to actually come back, with two quick goals making it 4-3.
The IceDogs took some dumb (and bad call by the refs) penalties, and even
went down 5 on 3 for a short while. But this night DOGS ATE STEAK and
carved up those Cows like a butcher on a mission. DOGS WIN 4-3!
SELLOUT CROWD AGAIN! Some amazing saves with traffic crashing into him
by Sebastian Dahm saved the night many times. Way to go boys!!
We're in Missy on Friday to give them a taste of the playoffs, then we round
out the year at home vs. the Petes on Sunday. Playoff fever is around
the corner! If tonight was a foreshadow the the games to come, IT'S
GOING TO BE *NUTS* !!
MAR.12 - DAVE BROWN
INTERVIEWED this morning on
CHSC 1220AM (everyone really should listen to them in the morning - they
often have some great interviews with the Dogs and their staff!)
MAR.12 - NECK GUARDS
MANDATORY: Starting tonight, the OHL has made wearing
neck guards mandatory. The players might hate it at first
but the fans can breath easier watching those plays where skate blades and
pucks go right for the necks...
MAR.12 - DOGS ONE OF HOTTEST TEAMS!
Nice article from Belleville on how hot the IceDogs are!
MAR.12 - DAHM INTERVIE WED ON 1220 CHSC! The station was gracious
enough to send a great interview over to the site of Sebastian Dahm
interviewed this morning on 1220 CHSC by former play-by-play man Chuck
LaFleur. Download it here!
MAR.12 - PLAYOFF TICKETS AVAILABLE: Just received an email from
Jon K. at the Dogs office announcing that playoff tickets will be available
for pickup over the next two games. Msg from Jon.: IceDogs playoff
tickets will be available tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon at our last
two regular season games. For those who will be in attendance, we will have
a table set up in the South concourse (main upper area) and you are welcome
to swing by and pick them up. For those who are unable to make either of
these games, you are also welcome to stop by our office (35 Queen Street)
any time after tomorrow to pick them up.
MAR.11 - MANDATORY NECK GUARDS IN EFFECT: It looks
as though the next time you watch an OHL game you will see the guys wearing
neck guards as the mandatory regulation has gone into effect. (nothing
official yet)
MAR.11 - WHY NO OUTDOOR RINKS? As long as the harp is going on
about Parks & Rec... why does St. Catharines have no winter outdoor skating
places? Other cities seem to have them spread out all over, or at
least have a couple. Now, not having an arena that can house the
number of fans the IceDogs have is one thing, but dumping some water to
freeze on some flat ground is another.
Vote here!
MAR.11 - INHOUSE VIDEO:
Nice in-game video posted by a fan from a recent game can be
seen here.
MAR.10 - KUDOS TO ICEDOGS!
BOO TO ST.KITTS PARKS & REC: The IceDogs didn't get down, didn't
give up, and showed perseverance in coming back against Oshawa in what was
the most entertaining game of the year. BOOO to the city of St.
Catharines for not plowing the lots around the arena prior to game time.
Big drifts in the Head St. and Lower lots. Where was 3200 people
supposed to park?
MAR.10 - GREAT PETRO ARTICLE: Written by Steve Fitzsimmons for
Hockey Now. Article
here!
MAR.9 - GAME OF THE YEAR!
I'm still sick, and even though I got 2 GREAT tickets right at center ice
for this game back in October, I had to watch it on TV - gave the tickets to
my brother and his wife - their FIRST IceDogs game!! I was scared
after we went down 3-1 they might be put off, but what a comeback.
Excellent games by Legein, Caputi, Swift and Foreman (although it would be
nice to see Jordan SMILE once in awhile during an interview after a game
like that - hah!). I'll be back to doing regular (normal) updates this
upcoming week, and I'll be back in the forums soon too.
MAR.9 - I should be back
in action soon. Still sick trying to get my appetite back. -Alphadog
(webmaster)
MAR.8 - Going through
some bad illness right now. Sorry for the lack of updates. Will
get back into the swing of things hopefully in the next few days.
MAR.4 - SORRY Y'ALL:
The webmaster (moi) has been horribly ill as of late which is the reason for
lack of site updates. Simply typing this feels like running a
marathon. The site will got caught up to speed if/when I recover.
MAR.1 - BACK ON THE RADIO:
Steve Clark (Cogeco play by play man) will be back on the squack box this
Monday March 3rd on CHSC 1220AM on Chuck LaFleur's radio show. Listen
in!!! Hopefully they'll be taking calls and we can get YOU on the air.
Topics we at IceDogFans.com would like to see discussed: NEXT YEAR!
We've had a great year this year which is very important to an opening year
in a new town - but with (possible losses) of: Swift, Dahm,
Caputi, Legein, Corrente, etc... how does next year look to be shaping
up? Can we still compete? Who needs to step up into those [lost]
positions and take the charge?
MAR.1 - BURKE'S NAMED:
Sportspeople of the year. Good article on them and the Dogs
here.
FEB.29 - DAHM/SUNDIN: Drawing comparisons
between the two?
Sudbury newspaper article.
FEB.29 - CAPUTI ARTICLE:
Good article on Caputi setting the new franchise record for points in a
season.
FEB.27 - DOGS DROP TO BATTALION: Well the
Dogs came out quick and opened the scoring but the Battalion's constant
pressure ended up being too much for Niagara, who lost to a score of 4-2 in
the end. A big skirmish took Alex Pietrangelo out of the game, which
really hurt us seeing as we only had 5 d-men dressed this evening. A
power play goal while F-Bomber was in the box changed the momentum and the
Dogs could fight back from the deficit. It's too bad we couldn't get
Sebastian the win on his 21st birthday, but that just means we'll have to
really lay it to the Battalion when we're in Brampton March 7th.
Pictures are online.
Article here.
FEB.27 - BIG GAME DAY / BIRTHDAY! Happy
Birthday to our goaltender Sebastian Dahm who turns 21 today! Huge
game at the Jack tonight as the IceDogs taken on the Battalian. Right
now (early Thursday morning) there's only single seats and standing room
spots available. The Jack is going to be roaring tonight!
FEB.27 - ICEDOGS TRACCITTO AND MACISAAC DROP INTO
SCHOOL: Article
on the Dogs talking about achieving your goals to youth.
FEB.27 - ICEDOGS JERSEYS IN NHL'08 ! Want to
see the
IceDogs playing in the NHL?
FEB.27 - MAN GAMES LOST SO FAR THIS SEASON TO INJURY: Over 200.
FEB.27 - COUNCILLOR WANTS TO PLAN FOR NEW ARENA NOW:
Good article on certain people trying to at least get the ball rolling
on a new rink.
FEB.25 - MASCOTS from
around the league, thanks to Casey for the photos.
FEB.25 - ONE-ON-ONE WITH SEBASTIAN DAHM: Our great goaltender was
happy to answer some questions about
himself and hockey in general!
FEB.25 - It's Sebastian Dahm's BIRTHDAY this Thursday the 28th
- the Brampton Game!
(Can we get 3,145 people singing happy birthday? Enough to see him
blush through his mask?)
FEB.25 - DAHM GOOD GUY: IceDogFans.com went
one-on-one with Sebastian Dahm and got to know his personal side a bit
better. His answers to our questions will be posted later in the day!
FEB.25 - GET TO KNOW OUR STAR GOALTENDER A BIT BETTER!
Sebastian Dahm is happy to answer any questions sent to him through
IceDogFans.com, so if you have anything you'd like to ask the Danish
Defender, now's your chance!
FEB.24 - WOLVES LEAVE WITH TAILS BETWEEN LEGS: The Dogs were the
stronger of the canine's this afternoon as the Sudbury Wolves came for a
visit. The first period was probably one of the worst periods of
hockey any hockey fan has seen in a long time. Both sides were sloppy,
sluggish, unorganized, etc.. and to make matters worse the ref seemed to
think he was getting paid on a 'per call' basis. The time clock limped
to the end of the first period, and luckily the game got better after that.
Dogs scored in the 2nd, putting some of the worry to rest that we might
actually LOSE to the Wolves, but Sudbury came back quick and tied it up.
Third period saw things getting back to normal - IceDogs scoring 3 goals,
Sudbury scoring none, and some half decent hits being thrown around.
VanLaren was decked a few times on the same shift as the fans cheered
loudly. A scary moment came during the game when goaltender Sebastian
Dahm took a puck in the neck (ouch!) and went down. Luckily he managed
to shake it off and stayed in the game. Neck protectors guys!!
At the end of the game, call-up Vladimir Bessonov enticed VanLaren into
dropping the gloves, but it wasn't all well after that. VanLaren had
his way with Bessonov, but to Vlad's credit - he stepped up to VanLaren and
he stayed on his feet throughout the entire battle. Way to go Vlady!!
Game talk here.
Articles here.
Fan-video here (how we managed to let a Sudbury fan do their howl in our
building is beyond understanding...)
FEB.23 - ON A ROLL AGAIN! The IceDogs are
eating up their conference rivals again at a steady pace: a 2-1 win
over Mississauga last night,
a 4-2 win over Peterborough this evening, and the lowly Sudbury Wolves come
into town tomorrow afternoon. Of course the Sudbury game may have a
few sideshows to
it, which hopefully will not distract the Dogs too far from
the game plan. Lets chalk up those goals fast and early, any payback
can come after a lead is built.
FEB.22
- FORUM AGE REQUIREMENT CHANGES: It has come to my attention that
the U.S. has laws regarding web sites allowing the registration of people
under 13 years of age. Although I'm not sure if Canada has similar
laws, the "COPPA" feature of the forum script has been activated just in
case. What this means is that if you are under the age of 13 and have
registered with the forum, your account may be removed by the moderators.
It's really too bad because as I told one of the moderators, the kids bring
a 'fan aspect' of the game that many of us lost decades ago. But the
last thing I need is to find out the site has been breaking a law that I
didn't even know about. So, to sum up - the forum is now only
available to people at least 13 yrs of age.
FEB.22- GAME NIGHT: The IceDogs invade their old rink tonight in
Mississauga. The Majors have only defeated us once this season,
although the IceDogs may have a large injury list going into tonight's
match. For those not making the trip to Mississauga (there's quite a
few of us going up), you can catch the game on TV (ch.10 Cogeco), radio
(CKTB610AM), and join the
online chat room during the game. (you must be a registered forum member
to join the chat)
FEB.21
- THE PUPARAZZI
was out in full force for the skills competition (almost full force) - here
21 more pictures
from forum member 'pup' - thanks!
FEB.21 - NIAGARA THIS WEEK
article on the IceDogs recent practice in Beamsville.
FEB.20 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON BERGERON! who turned the big 2-0 today. Bye-bye teenager years!
FEB.20 - ICEDOGS TO HELP
STRIKE OUT AGAINST VIOLENCE:
Bowling for a good cause - help out and meet some Dogs too, Feb.29!
FEB.20 - PLAYING FOR THE
LEAFS? Some of the OHL's top prospects including Niagara Icedog
Alex Pietrangelo were asked
how they'd like to play for the Leafs.
FEB.19 - MAYOR IN TALKS ON
NEW ARENA: Of course it's all very preliminary.
Basically it sounds like they just want to start the ball rolling down what
a LONG road it will be, but at least it's showing that people are at least
interested in the idea!
Read more here.
FEB.18 - TAILGATE PARTIES!
It's above freezing and raining instead of snowing in the middle of
February, so why not!
Read more about upcoming tailgate parties at the Jack!
FEB.18 - WINDSOR CAPTAIN DIES SUDDENLY: The terrible news was
passed along today that Windsor Spitfires captain Mickey Renaud died
suddenly in his home today (causes not yet determined). On behalf of
the Niagara IceDogs fans community, and hockey fans everywhere, we
wish his family and friends strength and comfort in these tragic times.
FEB.18 - ICEDOGS SKILLS
COMPETITION: Unfortunately I was not able to attend today's skills
competition but you can
read about it from those who did right here! Here is a
message from an IceDog fan about it: "As a family, we
watched the NHL All-Star Competition this year and, as a family, we watched
the Niagara Icedog Competition today and BY A MILE,
each of us felt that the Icedog competition was undoubtedly way more
entertaining than the NHL Classic. This made for a truly memorable first
Family Day and we hope that it will become a long-standing tradition in this
community. Thank-you again to Bill and Denise Burke and the entire Icedog
team and staff. You are an incredibly classy organization!"
News
on today is here. Pictures
here!
FEB.17 - ALEX PIETRANGELO ON THE RADIO: I
had a great chat with former CKTB IceDog play-by-play announcer Chuck
Lafleur before the game today, and want to pass on the news to all IceDog
fans that top prospect defenceman Alex Pietrangelo will be interviewed on
CHSC 1220 tomorrow (Monday) evening on-air. They will be taking calls
and answering questions, so if you've got something to ask Alex, this is
your chance! Hopefully people can think of some good personal
questions to ask the big guy - favorite food, music, best moments, etc...
Lets see if we can get to know him off-ice!
Post your questions here!
FEB.17 - ICEDOGS CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT! Thanks to Oshawa beating
Kingston today, the Niagara IceDogs are *officially* in the playoffs!
FEB.17 - BEATING A DEAD HORSE: The IceDogs came out fast and hard,
obviously determined to end their 2-game losing streak this afternoon,
scoring 7 goals against visiting Barrie for a 7-1 final score. Andrew
Merrett scored a hat-trick, making it three home games in a row that an
IceDog has netted 3. Dahm was solid in net allowing just the single
goal on 23 shots. His new pads look great too! Swift's goal was
his 100th of his OHL career, and Caputi is one point away from tying the
IceDogs' franchise record (currently held by Swift) Another sellout!
'Got to meet Alex Friesen in the lobby this afternoon too - great guy!
Hope heals fast.
Read and talk about the game here! Brianne has a nice write-up on
the game
here.
Photos thanks to slamr!
FEB.17
- ANOTHER SELLOUT: Apparently Ticketmaster has no pairs of seats
available for today's matchup vs. Barrie, and standing room only is also no
longer available through Ticketmaster either.
FEB.17 - DOGS COULD CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT TODAY! A Kingston loss to
Oshawa and a Niagara win over Barrie today would see the IceDogs clinching a
playoff spot today. But of course, lets not count our puppies before
they're born...
FEB.17 - HOCKEY CARDS for this year's IceDogs lineup will be available
starting today!
FEB.16
- BEAMSVILLE PICTURES are
now online
from the practice held there today (thanks to WellandDogsFan)
FEB.16 - ICEDOGS HELP SAVE LIVES:
Good article here on giving one of the most important donations of all.
FEB.16 - ARTICLES
on last night's game in Erie can be read
here.
FEB.15 - DOGS LEAVE ERIE WITH TAIL BETWEEN LEGS:
The Niagara IceDogs were put down 5-2 tonight against the lowly Erie Otters
(in Erie). The biggest disappointment for fans has to be the fact that
we could have gained ground on Brampton tonight, who lost to Oshawa 3-2.
Tonight's game was not televised so it was hard to tell what attributed to
losing to the worst team in the league, but it sounded like bad passing,
continual mixing of line combinations, and some soft goals, all contributed
to the outcome. To make matters worse, this was Lucas Lobsinger's
first full start between the pipes tonight (he had a start in Kingston not
too long ago but was ejected from the game in the 2nd period due to a
fight). Hopefully if Lobsinger gets another start, it will be a strong
one - gaining back everyone's confidence since he will be our starting
goalie next year. For the entire team's sake, we hope tonight was just
a fluke!
Talk about the game here.
FEB.15 - HOCKEY CARDS TO BE RELEASED SUNDAY!
Rumor has it the IceDogs will be releasing the first 5 cards of this year's
set this Sunday, handed out to all fans in attendance, courtesy of Gales Gas
Bars.
FEB.15 - BEAMSVILLE PRACTICE TOMORROW (Saturday)
- Please bring a non-perishable food item for the local charity that
will be on-hand. It's at the arena at the Beamsville fairgrounds.
Starts at 12pm, admission is free. IceDogs will be available for
autographs in the lobby after the practice.
FEB.14 - SWIFT GOES NATIONAL! Right after
being named the OHL player of the week, Michael Swift has now been
recognized as the
CHL player of the week! On another note, it's a real shame The
Standard didn't have this front page. If you're working at The
Standard here's a tip: IT'S BIG NEWS when a local hockey player is
named the best junior hockey player across Canada !!!
FEB.14 - ARTICLE: Not that you want to read
anything about last night's game, but
just in case...
FEB.14 - VIDEO ONLINE: Video of the
Fletcher-Self scrap last night (one of the only things worth cheering for
last night) is now online.
FEB.13 - BOSTON PIZZA FOR GAME NIGHT TONIGHT:
Heading out tonight? A number of IceDog fans will be converging on
Boston Pizza on Ontario St. in St. Kitts to watch tonight's matchup as our
IceDogs visit the Belleville Bulls.
FEB.13 - ICEDOGS HIT UP BEAMSVILLE
for an open practice followed by autograph session afterwards. This
Saturday (Feb.16), Centennial Arena @ the fairgrounds. Admission is
free but people are encouraged to make a donation to Community Care
of West Niagara.
FEB.13 - LEGEIN'S RETURN! Stefan Legein is
set to return Feb.22nd.
FEB.13 - WANT LOVEROCK'S PADS? Someone found them on
Ebay...
FEB.11 - SWIFT NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK!
Michael Swift has been named the Boston Pizza
player of the week.
FEB.11 - SWIFT IS HOT! Patrick King's CHL "who's hot who's not"
list now features IceDog captain Michael Swift.
Read more here.
FEB.10 - PERCENTAGES: Some interesting
winning percentages from before the trade deadline, and after,
are posted here. (Thanks Cope)
FEB.10 - ICEDOGS DEFEAT MAJOR RIVALS: Michael
Swift tallied up his 2nd hat-trick in a row on home ice this afternoon, and
Luca "F-Bomb" Caputi assisted on all of them, and a late Pietrangelo goal
giving him 4 points on the afternoon. Jordan Foreman opened the
scoring at 10:16 in the first. There was a spirited scrap between
Fletcher and Ciampini, of which goaltender Sebastian Dahm had the best seat
in the house for, and after the scrap you could see Dahm enjoyed it :)
It's such a shame the league can't have Dahm back next year.
Game talk here.
Articles on the game.
FEB.9 - GREAT ARTICLES ON THE DOGS ON FRONT PAGE:
The Standard today had two very good articles on the IceDogs and how they're
quickly building momentum in the community, talked about attendance, arena
changes etc. I was going to scan and post it, but noticed a big boxed
copyright notice on page 10 about using their material. Until now, I
was under the impression that usage of such material would fall under the
Canadian Fair Dealings / Fair Use act, which grants people permission to use
things like that, as long as they're used for non-commercial purposes, are
used for the topic of discussion, and full credit is given. The
Standard specifically says nothing may be used without permission. So,
there will be no more articles scanned and posted online from The Standard
in the future. Sorry people, but I don't need a legal cease and desist
being sent to me because I'm trying to spread the news to people outside of
St. Kitts that don't get the Standard. And I simply don't have the
time to contact them and ask permission for usage then wait for a reply each
time. If someone else does - please go ahead! --AlphaDog
FEB.8 - DOGS ROMP OVER FRONTS: Article from
The Standard
online here.
FEB.8 - WHO WILL WIN THE SCORING RACE between Dahm and Fletcher?
Fletch already got an assist not long ago but Dahm was tearing up the score
sheet tonight with 2 assists!
Vote here.
FEB.2 - SWIFT WINS FASTEST SKATER! Niagara IceDog centerman
Michael Swift took the title of being the fastest skater at the OHL All Star
skills competition that was held tonight in Sault Ste. Marie. (the
game is on Wednesday, 7PM). Caputi also did well in the shot accuracy
competition. Read
more about the skills competition here!
FEB.2 - AGOZZINO SOON TO RETURN:
Article here about the soon-to-return Andrew Agozzino who has been out
after suffering a concussion at the hands of ex-IceDog-now-public-enemy-number-one
Chris VanLaren.
FEB.2 - PIETRANGELO LOOKS TO BE TOP DOG:
NHL.com article on Alex Pietrangelo talks about different aspects of his
game.
FEB.2 - FALLS PRACTICE ARTICLE: Read an
article about the
IceDogs practice in Niagara Falls.
FEB.2 - FALLS PRACTICE PHOTOS: Thanks to
WellandDogsFan of the PUParazzi for sharing
his photos of
the IceDogs practice held at Stamford arena in Niagara Falls today.
FEB.2 - MRS. BURKE ARTICLE: Good
interview article on IceDogs president Denise Burke.
FEB.1 - LATEST ATTENDANCE FIGURES ARE IN!
See how Niagara ranks against other OHL towns as far as our attendance,
arena capacity, and the HTI (Hockey Town Index). Niagara leads
(by far) the entire league in % increase in attendance since Christmas!
FEB.1 - MAIONE vs. DESOUSA: Some good comments on the Maione
vs. DeSousa warmup battle that has taken on a series of its own this year.
Not sure what the heck we're talkigna bout?
Read on!
JAN.31
- DOGS LOSE / NO TV / UPSETS ALL AROUND!: What a strange night
around the OHL! Niagara's winning streak came to an end in
Peterborough tonight as the Petes put down the 'Dogs 5-2. To make
matters worse, even before the game they ran into problems, getting stuck in
traffic in Toronto, then after Toronto, and showed up late for the game.
(I used to drive to Peterborough every 2 weeks, and keep telling everyone:
407 -> Hwy.7 which turns into Winchester which turns into Concession Rd. 7
and goes right to the 115 -> up to Peterborough! You don't have to go
anywhere NEAR the 401) Strange stuff around the league tonight:
Erie (of all teams) beat Barrie 5-3, Sarnia defeated Belleville 6-4, Kinston
over Oshawa 7-6, and eve Saginaw beat the Sault 2-1. So tonight was a
night in which the underdogs had their way. With a win tonight the IceDogs could have tied up with Brampton for first place in the division (in
points - Brampton would still be in 1st due to less games played)
Unfortunately for Niagara viewers, Cogeco pulled yet another technical
difficulty game and was unable to televise the game. Could have been a
problem at the rink, could have been with Rogers (as it was not on ch.462
either), could have been here. Usually each cable company blames the
other in matters like this so there's no use inquiring... Don't forget
the IceDogs are holding an open practice in the Falls on Saturday!
News articles on the game here.
Game talk here
JAN.31
- NIAGARA @ PETES: Another group of fans are making the trip to
Peterborough to watch the IceDogs *possibly* tie Brampton tonight for first
place in the division (although Brampton will technically remain in 1st due
to games played). But lets not count our eggs before they hatch.
Peterborough has been playing much better lately than at the beginning of
the season. Look for a big game from captain Michael Swift as that is
his home town, and will undoubtedly have family in attendance. Lets go
Dogs!!
JAN.31
- SWIFT GOING TO ALL STAR GAME! We already all knew Swifty was an
all-star, but now he's being recognized by the league. Michael Swift
will be taking the place of Logan Couture at the 2008 OHL All-Star
Classic game.
Read more here.
JAN.31
- DOGS STILL OWN MAJOR'S RINK: The Niagara IceDogs played a solid
game last night, outshooting Mississauga 42-28 and outscoring them 6-2 on
the board. Merrett netted 2 goals, and singles were scored by
Bergeron, Day, Swift, and Pietrangelo. It's too bad Missy's rink can't
draw more people, because it's a very comfortable place to watch hockey.
Although, it does have that 'dark gloomy' feeling to it that is
characteristic of many of the new "big plain box" rinks. Oddly enough,
the ushers in the rink were checking tickets, and even asked some people to
go to their designated seat. There were 4000 empty seats for crying
out loud! It was good to see people make the trip from St.
Catharines to suppor ttheir team - even with the brutal QEW closure in
Hamilton/Burlington (it took us 2 hrs to get to the rink, 1hr through
Hamilton alone as we went up the mountain and got stuck in mid-town rush
hour traffic). The IceDogs fans in attendance were easily the loudest
in the building, with several booming "Go Dogs Go!" chants coming from right
behind the Niagara bench, as well as a strong "We want 6!" chant which was
even mentioned by the TV commentator. Maione won the draw against
DeSousa after the warmup (Rock/Paper/Scissors to determine who gets to leave
the ice last). Maione seemed to think he's in the lead so far this
year, but DeSousa might have something different to say about that.
Members of the forum will be keeping track for the rest of the year (heck,
they're already
voting on it!)
JAN.31 - DOGS OVER MISSY: Canoe Slam! Sports
article on last night's game.
JAN.30 - SEBASTIEN DAHM
NAMED GOALTENDER FO THE WEEK! He had a .952 save % in the last 3
games -
read more here!
JAN.30 - PIETRANGELO WINS BATTLE OF JUNIOR STARS:
Article
on how Petro came out on top of Stamko's last game
JAN.30 - ICEDOG HITS HIS
STRIDE:
Article on Jordan Foreman in the Standard.
JAN.29 - THE DOGS SNOWBALL
IS ROLLING AND GROWING! Good
article in The Standard here about how the IceDogs fan attendance is
growing, comparisons to previous teams, etc.
JAN.29 - BROCK PRESS article on the
Dahminator.
JAN.29 - DAHM'S NEW MASK!
Check out the first shots of Sebastian Dahm's
hot new goalie mask, just in from the new paint job! Lookin great
Sebastian!
JAN.29 - DOGS TO PRACTICE IN THE FALLS [from the
official site] : To recognize the support of the Niagara Region communities, the Niagara IceDogs will be traveling to Niagara Falls this Saturday, February 2nd to
take part in a practice at Stamford Arena from 1:00-2:30 pm.
JAN.29 - CORRECTION: There was a statement put forth here on the
main page regarding an IceDog game taking place this season in Niagara Falls
- this has NOT been finalized and is NOT official. It's not to say it
won't happen in the future, but unless you hear otherwise from an official
source, it will NOT be taking place this year. Obviously, it's
important to have as many fans as possible from all the communities of
Niagara, as this is Niagara's team - but a game like that is something that
would take significant time in planning. Please do not believe any
hearsay rumors about this issue unless they come from an official source.
GO DOGS GO!
JAN.28 - FOREMAN IS HOT!!
Want proof?
JAN.28 - ICEDOGS DVD'S FOR SALE:
This site has many IceDogs
(and other OHL teams) DVDs for sale. Just do a search for "IceDogs"
and you can purchase full game DVDs, player DVDs, etc. A bit expensive
at $20 each, but seems like a good way to enjoy previous years of the 'Dogs.
This one looks very interesting:
OHL 2006-07
Extreme: Best Fights, Checks, & Mayhem on 4 DVDs: (2007)
I'll have to write a review of the quality after
ordering..
JAN.28 - DAHM NAMED BOSTON PIZZA P.O.T.W.:
Niagara goaltender Sebstian Dahm has been named the
Boston Pizza Player of the Week.
JAN.28 - THE SEBASTIAN DAHM SHOW: As Jordan Foreman stole the show
in the last game, Sebastian Dahm did it last night. Dahm was
outstanding in net, making some spectacular saves, including many that came
with opposing players crashing in to him, falling on top of him, and
screening the net. Dahm was visibly pumped as he came out after being
named the game's first star, and the crowd showed their enthusiasm by
cheering loudly for him. Andrew Merrett netted his first 2-goal game
in the OHL and was named as a star as well. The game itself was one of
the most entertaining to date - scraps, brawls, hits, and some great
highlight saves. Videos of the game are
online here,
pictures here. Read the write-ups
about the game
here.
JAN.25 - THE JORDAN FOREMAN SHOW: Foreman
had 5 points tonight (3G/2A) to lead the charge in the comeback after
Kingston initially opened the scoring. The Frontenacs took it to the
Dogs in the first period, but there was a good brawl in the 2nd period when
Pietrangelo took out a Kingston player with a hit, then was jumped by 2
Kingston players at once, followed by a goalie fight between Lobsinger and
the Frontenac goalie. After a LOOOOONG delay following the brawl the
momentum turned over to Niagara. (it seemed as if the ref didn't have any
idea what to do, so they just waited.. and waited.. and waited..)
Talk about the game here.
VIDEO OF BRAWL +
INTERVIEWS with Foreman and
Caputi.
Article about the game.
JAN.25 - LOBSINGER TO START TONIGHT: Lucas
Lobsinger will be making his first start between the pipes in about a year,
when the IceDogs visit Kingston tonight.
JAN.25 - ICEDOGS FEAT ON OTTER / LOBSINGER RETURNS!
The Niagara IceDogs defeated visiting Erie 8-3 last night at the Jack
Gatecliff Arena in St. Catharines. Almost everyone on the roster
managed to get on the scoresheet as the Dogs put down the worst team in the
league with ease. Aside from all the goals, other highlights of the
night were a spirited scrap between IceDog Scott Fletcher and Erie tough-guy
Luke Gazdic, as well as a surprise 3rd period appearance by Niagara
goaltender Lucas Lobsinger. Lobsinger has been off on a lengthy
recover from an injury he sustained around this time last year, and made
some solid saves in the 3rd. He wasn't tested much, but the single
goal he did allow wasn't entirely his fault due to screens and a strange
bounce. He received a standing ovation from many of the fans as he
took to the net around 5 minutes into the 3rd. The IceDogs blasted
Erie with 59 shots during the game.
Game talk here.
Articles here.
Pictures here.
JAN.24 - NEXT YEAR'S CAPTAIN: With Swift
unable to return due to age, who should be next year's captain of the
IceDogs?
VOTE HERE!
JAN.24
- PIETRANGELO @ CHL TOP PROSPECTS GAME: Thanks to Quizzer83 for
these photos
of our IceDog at the game!
JAN.24 - GAME NIGHT:
The IceDogs host the Erie Otters tonight, who are the worst team in the
league. It would be interesting to see if coach Cheech thinks returned
goalie Lucas Lobsinger is ready for a game (or at least a period) between
the pipes. If he's ever going to be given a chance, a team like Erie
provides the best opportunity they're going to get! Erie has lost
23 straight games on the road going in to this one, and have only 1
regulation win on the road ths year. Away from home Erie has been
outscored 148 to 60. Erie has allowed at least 6 goals in 8 of their
last 12 games.
JAN.22 - BOOSTER CLUB BUS
TRIPS: 3 great upcoming trips -
check it out!
JAN.22 - DESOUSA GOAL: A
video of the sweet goal by Chris DeSousa against the Soo on the 17th is
now online.
JAN.20 - DAHM GOOD GAME:
The Niagara IceDogs defeated the Ottaway 67's by a score of 4-0 in
front of another sold-out crowd of 3,145 today at the Jack Gatecliff
Arena in St. Catharines. Newly acquired Sebastian Dahm chalked
up his 2nd shutout in only 5 games since coming to Niagara.
The IceDogs pushed hard against Ottawa right off the bat, keeping
the play in Ottawa's end and out-shooting them 20-3 in the first
period, and 43-15 in the game. Scott Fletcher recorded his
first point as an IceDog this game (assisting on Bergeron's goal).
Game talk here! [article
from The Standard] [pictures
here!] [video:
Sebastian Dahm interview]
JAN.20 - GAME DAY / OTTAWA
BEAT UP: The IceDogs host the
beat up 67's today at the Jack (2pm). Niagara was on a
4-game winning streak but has recently lost their last two since
returning home with new goaltender Sebastian Dahm. Dahm was
apparently very frustrated leaving the ice after their 5-1 loss in
Sarnia Friday night (according to IceDog fans who made the trip).
'Good to see he doesn't take losing lightly. DRESS WARM today
because those January afternoons of 15C are gone - the windchill is
supposed to make it feel like -27C today!
JAN.20 - OHL ENFORCER RANKINGS: Check 'em out
here. DeSousa has made the top
10 for rookies! Fight photos of a Fletcher/Haley scrap from
unknown date are
here.
SJAN.19 - LAST NIGHT'S GAME HARD TO WATCH: [article1]
[article2] Not only
because the Dogs were stung 5 times by the sting, but Cogeco was
having technical difficulties which resulted in the game not being
carried. Fortunately for those of us who have the SuperSports
Pack (at the ripoff price of $25/month just to watch a couple games)
we were able to see the game - but only if you could get past the
incorrect channel programming, as the game was not shown on the
channel it said it was going to be on. If you looked hard
enough you could find that the game was on an unlisted game channel
(ch.457) nice and clear... Anyway, for those that watched, it
just added to the torture, seeing our IceDogs drop 5-1 to the Sting.
Maybe in future 5-on-3's they should elect to just put 4 players on
the ice? We seem to really struggle when we have the 2 man
advantage. All in all, a rough night for the Icedogs and their
fans last night. Lets put these 2 recent loses behind us and
come out strong against Ottawa. Lets work on not just
squeeking by them 3-2 or 3-1, lets try and really UNLEASH on those
67's!
JAN.18 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX! Big #10 Alex PietrAngelo
officially became a man as he turned 18 today. Happy birthday
Alex!! (and don't forget to vote! :^) )
JAN.18 - SAULT ST. MARIE WINS DOG FIGHT:
Read/talk about the game. St. Kitts Standard article
here, IceDogs site article
here. Pictures and video from last night are now online.
JAN.17 - SOO/SUD TRIP PHOTOS: Thanks to
ADogFan for sharing his photos of the recent road trip following the
Dogs to the
Sault
and
Sudbury.
JAN.17
- SPAGHETTI DINNER PHOTOS: The puparazzi was there
to grab
some photos of the fundraiser dinner at St. George's Chuch which
included members of the Niagara IceDogs. The fundraiser was a
success with 147 turning out to enjoy some pasta and meet some of
the team.
More here.
JAN.16 - LONG ROAD BACK FOR LOBSINGER:
Good article in the Standard today about IceDog returning goalie
Lucas Lobsinger who's coming back from a lengthy injury recovery.
JAN.16 - WELLAND TRIBUNE ARTICLE on the IceDogs, playing home
games outside of the Jack, and lots more
here.
JAN.15 - DAHM AT 1ST PRACTICE @ THE JACK:
Thanks to WellandDogsFan for sending in
these
pictures of Sebastian Dahm enjoying his first practice on his
new home turf. Hopefully he'll get the IceDogs colours on his
pads soon! :) -- it was also team photo day.
JAN.15 - DAMN GETS KUDOS: Newly acquired
Niagara goaltender Sebastian Dahm was named the
ADT CHL Goaltender of the week.
JAN.15 - ICEDOGS HOCKEY SCHOOL FOR ADULTS THIS SUMMER!
The organization is tossing around the idea about holding a hockey
school for adults 35+ that wish to learn the game, improve their
skating skills (or learn to skate from scratch), etc. It would
be starting late August, and be held in the evening. The nice
thing about this too, is that you'd be able to leave all your gear
at the rink and it would be taken care of for you.
More info
on this here - post your comments/suggestions!
JAN.15 - ALL STAR DOGS: Three Niagara IceDogs have been
named to the 2008 OHL All Star Eastern Conference team:
Stefan Legein, Alex Pietrangelo, and Luca Caputi.
JAN.15
- DAHM ARTICLE: From yesterday's Standard on the
front of the
sports section.
JAN.15 - IT'S PASTA TIME! Don't forget about the Icedogs
spaghetti diner (ok, that's not the title of it, but it's a fund
raiser in which members of the team will be attending).
Full info here.
JAN.13 - OHL TOWNS BLOG: Good
blog entry
about the OHL and it's towns.
JAN.13 - ICEDOGS ARTICLE from the team's site
on
last night's game.
JAN.13 - SUDBURY STAR ARTICLE on last night's
victory over the Wolves. Interesting to see how their
paper had a guy standing right next to coach Cicchillo last night,
which must have been the case since their paper made the statement "Cicchillo
tapped Scott Fletcher on the back and told him to go after a
Wolves player".
Talk about inside access.
JAN.12 - BATTLE OF THE CANINES: Tonight
it was Dogs vs. Wolves, and the IceDogs came out on top with a 5-2
victory over
Sudbury. Caputi led the way with 4 points in 2 goals and 2 assists.
Although the goals
were great, the highlight of the night probably came during and
after a fight. VanLaren (an IceDog himself up until a few days
ago) got into a fight with Niagara forward Andrew Agozzino. VanLaren
who is 6'2" 190lbs got Agozinno (5'7" 175lbs) down on the ice but
continued to throw punches at the smaller Agozzino, resulting in
opening him up with a nasty bloody cut. After this VanLaren
seemed to have words for coach Cicchillo as he skated to the box.
Fletcher came out and started yelling at VanLaren.
It looked like Fletcher was going to explode on VanLaren when they
got out of the box, but nothing resulted from it. Although
Fletcher did do a well in a scrap against Maggio later on in the
third. When all is said and done, it comes down to the fact
that VanLaren and Loverock are now the enemy. Ex-Wolve-Now-IceDog
goaltender Sebastian Dahm was named third star of the game, and came
out to center ice to salute his former fans in an extended skate
around the ice, while the Sudbury fans cheered back to him.
Talk about the game
here. Videos coming later.
JAN.12 - DAHM STEALS THE SHOW: Niagara's
new starting goalie, Sebastian Dahm, made instant friends with
IceDog fans as he chalked up a shutout last night against one of the
best teams in the league (Sault St. Marie). Dahm stopped all
21 shots on net giving the IceDogs a 1-0 victory over the Soo in
front of 4612 fans. Luca Caputi scored the lone goal of the
game, giving him a nice even 30 on the season (set up by Merritt and
Swift). In other news, the man we traded for Dahm, our former
starting goalie Andrew Loverock, had a very rough time in his first
game for Sudbury. He allowed 6 goals on 15 shots and was
pulled from the game (which Sudbury ended up losing 9-2).
Goods/bads from the game: BAD - Niagara only scored a single
goal. We can't rely on our new goalie's abilities that
much.. BAD - Niagara only had 18 shots on net.
GOOD - Niagara only allowed 21 shots on net. Hopefully the
firepower will be back tonight against our former goalie in Sudbury.
Article from IceDogs site here.
JAN.12 - LOVEROCK SAYS NIAGARA FANS WEREN'T VERY SUPPORTIVE:
!!??
His statement really came from left field. Especially
grouping Niagara in with Mississauga of all towns. Hard to
take after IceDogFans.com was very supportive of him throughout his
stay.
JAN.11 - BIG GAME ANTICIPATION: Tonight
the IceDogs are in Sudbury in a game that could see our new goalie,
Sebastian Dahm, between the pipes. Our new "Owner of the
Oblong Onionbag" as Joe Bowen might put it won't be seen on TV
tonight as the game is not being shown on TV outside of the Sudbury
area, but you can order the game and watch it online through the
OHL's website.
JAN.10 - LEGEIN ARTICLE: The Columbus
Bluejackets have an
article up about Legein on their site.
JAN.10 - PIETRANGELO TOP PROSPECT:
IceDog Alex Pietrangelo has bee named to the CHL Top Prospects game
roster.
Roster here.
JAN.10 - THANK YOU ANDREW LOVEROCK! On behalf of all the
fans who watched you play and the people who knew you, thank you for
your great effort here in Niagara. You sure were the workhorse
of the team this season. All the best of luck in Sudbury
(except when you play Niagara of course!)
JAN.10 - FANS SAY BROWN DID GOOD: IceDog fans are very
pleased with the goalie swap trade (Dahm/Loverock) recently made -
with an approval rate of over 86% !!
JAN.9 - TRADE
CONFIRMED: Andrew Loverock + Chris VanLaren + 3rd Round in '09
+ 6th Round in '10 to Sudbury, goaltender Sebastian Dahm to Niagara.
ARTICLE HERE.
As reported by
IceDogFans.com last night, this trade has been made official today
by the OHL.
Read & talk about this trade here!
Was this a good trade by GM Brown?
Vote here!
JAN.9 - DAHM VS. LOVEROCK: Just a reminder that Niagara plays
Sudbury this Saturday (in Sudbury). These two teams just
swapped their starting goaltenders, so it would make for a VERY
interesting game to watch if Loverock was in net for Sudbury and
Dahm in net for Niagara.
JAN.9 - LOBSINGER NEARLY READY: Yes, the young man that
has had his return date continually pushed back throughout the
season, is (again) almost ready to return to action. Of
course, the return itself has been severely changed the last 24
hours, as the IceDogs have added a new starting goalie to the roster
in Sebastian Dahm. But, it has been reported that Lobsinger
may make an appearance at home vs. the lowly Erie Otters Jan.24th.
JAN.9 - MID SEASON DRAFT RANKINGS:
Alex
Pietrangelo has dropped down to 5th.
More here.
JAN.9 - ICEDOGS ADD MICHAEL
MacISAAC:
More on this forward
here.
JAN.9 - TRADE UPDATE: IceDog defenceman
Chris VanLaren is rumored to be included in the deal, which so far,
looks like Andrew Loverock + Chris VanLaren to Sudbury in exchange
for goaltender Sebastian Dahm. Note: at this time it is not
official, and is only rumor.
More info here.
JAN.8 - ICEDOG GOALIE ANDREW LOVEROCK TRADED (RUMOR):
Rumor has it that IceDogs starting goalie Andrew Loverock has been
traded to the Sudbury Wolves, for their goalie, Sebastian Dahm.
More info here.
JAN.8 - STEFAN LEGEIN @ WORLDS ARTICLE: The Standard's
online edition has a
good interview with IceDog Stefan Legein who was part of the
gold medal winning Team Canada at the recent IIHF championships.
Apparently it doesn't look like he'll be healing as fast as his last
shoulder separation which occurred just before the holiday break, in
which he injured it on a Sunday and was back for the next game that
Thursday. It appears that he'll be out for a month at least.
Take your time and come back fully healed Stefan! And
congratulations again!
JAN.8 - BROCK PRESS
article on the IceDogs 8-2 pounding of Kingston last game.
JAN.7 - DOGS BITE FRONTENACS HARD: Good
online article on the IceDogs 8-2 victory over Kingston Sunday
afternoon on the
IceDogs site.
JAN.6 - WAY TO GO FANS OF THE ICEDOGS!!
Here's some interesting points: there have been only 13
sellouts in the OHL amongst all teams this year. Of those,
Niagara has had 3 of them (only London has had more, and London and
Niagara are the only teams with multiple sell outs). [info by WDF]
We all know how cramped the Jack can be with 3000+ in there, yet
that's not holding you (the fan) back from keeping our support up
there comparable with OHL heavyweight London! Way to go
people!
JAN.6 - HOCKEY TOWN INDEX UPDATE: The new
HTI rankings with OHL attendance figures are in! Much
thanks to Strohs for keeping track. Click the link to see
where Niagara fits in against the rest of the OHL.
JAN.6 - GAME DAY: Niagara hosts Kingston
this afternoon at Jack Gatecliff Arena. On Friday night, the
Frontenacs looked like they had the Dogs on a leash as they went up
3-0 on Niagara, only to have their hopes vanquished when the Icedogs
scored five straight goals and won the game 5-3. Rumor has it
people are expecting yet another big crowd today (this game follows
two consecutive sell outs). Rumor also has it that Fletcher
and Stevens have planned a more definitive scrap, as their last one
was a long one, but both had too good a grip on each other and ended
in each player holding the other at a distance. Look for
a big game from Swift this afternoon - his frustration was showing
last home game against Kingston. Hopefully more information
about Legein's injury will be released today.
JAN.5 - CANADA WINS GOLD! Congratulations to
Stefan Legein and all of Team Canada and staff for winning us the
gold
this afternoon versus Team Sweden! Canada went up 2-0 and all
looked good, until Sweden decided to make it a nailbiter and tied
things up 2-all. Canada stuff the puck into the net during a
scramble in overtime winning the championship. THANK YOU
GUYS!!! YOU MADE US PROUD AGAIN!
JAN.5 - UNDER 17'S BEAT USA! It's been a great couple days
to be a Canadian hockey fan, as the Team Ontario under 17 juniors
defeated the USA 3-0 in London yesterday. Congratulations!
Pictures here!
JAN.5 - FLETCHER & STEVENS BOX TALK: Nice clip added by
MisterDB of
Fletcher talking to Stevens in the penalty box after their tilt.
(a little ways down the page)
JAN.5 - LEGEIN INJURED: Stefan Legein was injured early in
the first period of the gold medal game versus Sweden today at the
IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. It's been said to be an
upper body injury (right shoulder).
J
AN.4 - NEVER SAY DIE: The IceDogs fell down
3-0 quickly to the Frontenacs tonight, and it looked like this truly
was a struggling team. But they never quit, coming back with
*5 straight goals* effectively killing the hopes of the Kingston
crowd, who don't see many wins by their team. The IceDogs
peppered Kingston with 17 + 18 shots on net in the 2nd/3rd periods.
Final score: 5-3. LONG scrap between Fletcher and Stevens
(will be online soon), and some VERY sweet goals, especially one by
Bergeron - Bergeron's goal one of the best so far this season!!
VIDEOS HERE.
JAN.4 - DOGS NEED 4 POINTS: These next 2
home-and-home games versus Kingston are much more important than
some people might believe. First, the IceDogs have lost 6 of
their last 9 and desperately need the points, but maybe even more
importantly, that recent loss to Sudbury was a morale killer, both
to the team and the fans - we need back to back wins against a
similar bottom-feeding team (Kingston) to prove that our loss to
Sudbury was just a fluke. This team has rode the highs and
lows a bit too hard all season: when they win, confidence is huge
and they continue to win, but after a loss, morale drops to the
ground which ends up in continued losses. Treat each game as a
brand new start towards the end of the season guys! Remember:
the Icedogs were ranked high in the entire CHL at the beginning of
the year, and you've got the talent to get back to that level!
Game talk here.
JAN.4 - MASON SENT TO RANGERS: Star goalie
formerly of London, now of Team Canada, and next-to-be the team that
is ranked 1st in Canada, the team that beat the IceDogs last night -
Kitchener Rangers. Yes, Mason is going to from London to
Kitchener. Official announcement should be made today.
More here.
JAN.3
- TOO LITTLE TOO LATE: The IceDogs came out strong - in the
3rd. After going down 4-0 the IceDogs looked like they were
going to make a game of it and came back 4-2, but Kitchener was just
too big, too fast, and just too darn good. Final score 5-3.
On a positive note, while being interviewed IceDog forward Chris
DeSousa made a comment their playing was like a joke, especially in
front of a full house at the Jack. It's comments like that
that at least show the team wants to do good for their fans!
So it wasn't for lack of will, the IceDogs wanted to give us a good
game and do us proud. Erase the first two periods from the
book and it was a great game. The 3rd was filled with emotion,
the guys starting completing their plays, and gave us hope.
One note of advice - don't wait for the perfect shot from 5 feet
away from the net! It can be seen so many times that a shot
is available but the player with puck possession wants to wait for a
better opportunity, which more often than not, results in a botched
opportunity. Take that shot quick! Jump on the rebound!
They don't have to all look pretty! Lets get those Frontenacs
on Sunday!
Pictures from
tonights game here.
Talk here.
JAN.2 - BLACK DOGS: The IceDogs (as well as
all other OHL teams) will be wearing their DARK jerseys for home
games for the rest of the season. Just a reminder so people
don't cheer on the wrong team on Thursday :)
JAN.1 - HAPPY NEW YEAR! THURSDAY NIGHT
ANTICIPATION: Rumor has it that tickets are already hard to come
by for Thursday night's matchup versus Kitchener. As of now,
there are still some tickets available for seating, after that it's
standing room only (which in our rink still provide a great vantage
point - better than some of the seats!) So get your tickets to
one of the biggest games of the year now if you want to catch the
action live!
DEC.30
- WOLVES STRONGER THAN DOGS: It wasn't as though the IceDogs
played poorly - Sudbury (who had only 8 wins coming into the game)
played an excellent game, and looked more like a well-oiled machine
instead of a basement team in the standings. Very entertaining
game: Marcel Dionne was there for the opening puck drop and
intermission contests on the ice, $1 hotdog+pop combo for charity,
that crazy trumpeteer was all over the arena and almost broke his
neck as he nearly fell off the top of the glass. Niagara
peppered over 40 shots at the Sudbury goaltender but he was strong
between the pipes and the team in front of him played as a team.
Sellout crowd of 3,145 too!
Pictures here.
Videos here.
Talk about the game here.
DEC.30 - AGOZZINI HOT AT WORLD JUNIORS UNDER-17: IceDog
Andrew Agozzino had a great game for Team Canada in the Under-17
World Junior Championships -
read more here.
DEC.30 - PHOTOS FROM LAST NIGHT: Thanks to
WellandDogsFans for
these pictures
from last night's game in Guelph. He sure seems to be enjoying
his new camera! :)
DEC.29 - GAME VIDEOS: Are online in the
video section
including Caputi's 5-point effort, Foreman interview, and Fletcher
scrap.
DEC.29 - THE LUCA CAPUTI SHOW: IceDog Luca Caputi had a
hat-trick and two assists, getting in all of the first 5 goals
scored by the IceDogs in a game that turned out to be a nailbiter.
Niagara went up 3-0 quick on Guelph, who battled back 3-2.
Niagara added 2 more getting back the 3-goal lead but seemed to
forget there was still a period to go. Guelph took advantage
of them in the third and scored three straight goals evening the
score at 5. With only 1 second remaining on the clock in OT,
Jordan Foreman rifled a high shot into the net, sending the goalie's
water bottle shooting up into the air and winning the game. It
was great to see the offensive output of the Icedogs early in the
game, but was very hard to watch them loose interest in the game
during the 3rd. Fletcher got a decision in a scrap versus
Steckley of the Guelph Storm in the second period. The IceDogs
return home to play Sudbury tomorrow afternoon at the Jack Gatecliff
Arena in St. Catharines (2PM).
Game talk here.
DEC.29 - FANCAM: In-arena video of Swift's goal last night in
Kitchener -
see it here.
DEC.29 - PHOTOS FROM KITCHENER: WellandDogsFan got to try
out his brand spanking new camera in Kitchener last night -
photos here!
DEC.29 - VIDEO OF FOREMAN FIGHT: ..from last night is
online in the videos
section.
DEC.28 - RANGERS KEEP DOGS ON LEASH: The IceDogs lost
4-3 in a close game tonight in Kitchener. The Rangers went up
1-0 early in the first, Niagara scored 2 to make it 2-1, then
Kitchener scored two. Niagara scored tying it up at 3-all, but
Kitchener added one late in the 3rd and held on for a 4-3 win over
Niagara. On the last goal, the Rangers forward shot high, but Loverock dropped down low to try and stop it, and the puck went over
his arm into the net. Foreman got into a tilt with Duco, but
was manhandled by the Ranger tough-guy. Pietrangelo made two
BAD turnovers and didn't have his best game, but our forwards looked
solid and made some great sequences of tape-to-tape passing, and
skated hard. Loverock made some huge saves as well.
Talk about the game here.
DEC.28 - CHANGES FOR THE 2ND HALF: Good
article by Niagara This Week on what we can expect from the team
in the upcoming second half of the a season.
DEC.27 - WORLD JUNIORS BACK @ 9:30AM: Don't forget that
the next game of the World Junior Championship is today (Thurs) at
9:30am / TSN.
DEC.26 - WORLD JUNIORS: Just a reminder to all that you
can watch Stefan Legein and the rest of Team Canada at the World
Junior Hockey Championship held this year in the Czech Republic,
starting today at 2PM on TSN.
DEC.25 - MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
DEC.23 - PIETRANGELO ARTICLE: On the
upcoming draft. From London Free Press.
DEC.23 - FIGHT STATS: Niagara IceDogs
fight statistics can be viewed here.
DEC.23 - ICEDOGS GAMES ON HAMILTON TV: Cable 14 in
Hamilton will be showing live games of the Niagara Icedogs.
More here.
DEC.23 - LEGEIN ARTICLE:
Good article here.
DEC.23 - ICEDOGS RANK: Niagara ranked 5th in
this list.
DEC.21 - LEGEIN SCORES IN EXHIBITION: IceDog and Team
Canada member Stefan Legein scored in a 6-1 Team Canada exhibition
victory Thursday.
Read more here.
DEC.19 - NEXT GAME VS. SUDBURY - GET A HOTDOG & POP FOR A BUCK!
At the IceDogs next home game vs. the Sudbury wolves, the IceDogs
and local businessman Bob Gale will be offering a hotdog and a Pepsi
for a single dollar - with all proceeds going to Project SHARE.
More info here.
DEC.19 - WORLD JUNIORS PLAYERS NICKNAMES:
Nice
segment by TSN on the nicknames of the Team Canada players
including IceDog Stefan Legei.
DEC.19 - PIETRANGELO RANKED #2!: The ISS has ranked IceDog
defenceman 2nd overall on their scouting list from NHL-draft-eligible
players in the upcoming draft.
More here.
DEC.15 - ICEDOGS @ BELLEVILLE PHOTOS: Well, Belleville
had their way with us on Saturday night in their own rink.
Payback for the IceDogs defeating them here in Niagara one might
suppose. WellandDogsFan made the trip and brought back some
pictures of
their rink.
DEC.15
- ICEDOGS ATTACKED BY POLICE DOGS: Don't worry, it was
just for "fun".
See a video of
the team working with the Niagara Regional Police K9 Unit in the
videos section.
DEC.14
- ICEDOGS BEAT A DEAD HORSE: The Niagara IceDogs had a
great game tonight: a 5-2 win over division rival Barrie, they moved
up in the standings taking over Barries spot in the division and
conference (4th), our first ever teddy bear toss occurred after
Caputi scored a nice short-handed goal, OUR FIRST WAVE happened
tonight and lasted a surprisingly long time, Loverock was solid in
net, our captain Michael Swift got in a good scrap with their star Nikiforov, IceDog
Matthews Sisca got his 1st and 2nd OHL goals and was named 1st star
of the game, and there was a good -loud- crowd of 2832 in
attendance.
Pictures here.
DEC.14
-
2 videos from last
night added online (Jason Bergeron's OT game-winning goal, and
interview)
DEC.14
-
Stefan Legein named alternate captain to Team Canada! Yes,
our very own IceDog has shown his leadership abilities to the
coaching staff and has been rewarded with an "A" on his jersey for
the upcoming junior worlds.
DEC.14
-
Scott Fletcher attacked by police dogs. (So were other members
of the Niagara IceDogs)
Read/see more here.
DEC.14
-
Standard article on last night's game.
DEC.14 - Why the IceDogs won last night? A lot of thanks
have to go out to IceDogsFans member Quizzer83 for the victory.
Find out why here.
DEC.14 - Jordan Foreman left last night's game with an injury to
his hand. After being hit along the boards, he was slow to
pick up his glove and stick and get off the ice. Hopefully
it's nothing serious.
DEC.13
- ICEDOGS PUT DOWN BULLS: Niagara started quick with a
goal soon after initial puck drop, but that was it for a long
stretch. They kept the one goal lead late into the game until
Belleville tied it up, and the Bulls put on a lot of pressure in the
3rd, outshooting Niagara 18 to 1. The IceDogs managed to hang
on for O.T. and defeated the Bulls thanks to a Jason Bergeron goal.
One of the larger crowds of the year, which was surprising
considering the road conditions. Nevertheless, 2705 fans
enjoyed the game. See what happens when we stay out of the
penalty box?
Pictures here.
DEC.13
- BOOSTER CLUB SKATE WITH THE ICEDOGS PHOTOS: Thanks to
WellandDogsFan for his photos of yesterday's "Booster club skate
with the team" including shots of the dressing room. Next year
there'll be more that come out to it! Apparently IceDog Barry
Sanderson was great with the kids that came out. Fans were
very impressed with his enthusiasm.
DEC.13 - NEXT 3 GAMES ARTICLE: The Standard has an article
on the
upcoming 3 games.
DEC.13 - RINK SIZES: Quizzer83 posted a good message
showing all the
sizes
of the different rinks around the league.
DEC.13 - TOUGH OPPONENT? Tonight the Niagara
IceDogs go up against the best team (according to points) in the
conference, the Belleville Bulls. The Bulls top the conference
with 42 points and the IceDogs are tied with Ottawa for 6th.
Of course, the past month or more, the IceDogs have had many key
players out of their lineup due to injury or suspension. Now
there's no hiding, no excuses. The fans will finally get to
see what this team is made of and what we can expect for the rest of
the year. Yes, Legein is off to the Team Canada camp, but so
are the top players from many teams, so that won't give any one team
an advantage over the other. Fletcher has completed his 5 game
suspension for clean-hitting another player, so he'll provide some
much needed muscle out there. If we come out hitting hard the
way we started the last game against Mississauga, there's no
reason we can't get 2 points tonight if the guys 1: play together
(no more scrambling coming up across center ice) and 2: SHOOT THE
PUCK - we've been guilty of making FAR too many passes in the
opposition's end in recent games. If you're in past the faceoff dots, SHOOT! And keep a man in front of the net for
rebounds. They don't have to look pretty to count!
Anyway, the injuries are over, the suspensions have been served, the
flu has been dealt with. Now we finally get to see what this
team is made of. UPDATE: Friesen (injured in practice) and
Foreman (flu) will probably be out of the lineup tonight.
DEC.13 - LEGEIN ARTICLE:
Canadian Press clip on IceDog Stefan Legein at the Canada camp.
DEC.11 - STEFAN LEGEIN @ CAMP: Good TSN
video clip of Legein at the Team Canada camp.
DEC.10 - VIDEOS ONLINE: 2 videos from
yesterday's game are now online in the videos section.
DEC.10 - MICHAEL VICK: In other dog news,
the man responsible for the death of a number of dogs in a dog
fighting/gambling operation was just sentenced to 23 months in jail.

DEC.9
- DOGS FALL SHORT: The IceDogs started the game quick with
a goal only 36 seconds into the match by Michael Swift, but
Mississauga answered with 3 straight. Niagara added another in
the 2nd to make it close, and during part of the 3rd period the fans
were loud and excited as they cheered on the Icedogs hard.
Unfortunately Mississauga managed an empty-net goal when our goalie
was pulled, putting the game out of reach, ending in a 4-2 victory
for the Majors. To a pleasant surprise, the game started off
rough with lots of hitting. Definitely a game we could have
used Fletcher a lot in (his 5 game suspension is now finished as of
today). This was the first time Niagara has lost to
Mississauga.
Talk about the game.
DEC.9 - GAME DAY: Mississauga is visiting
our rink this afternoon in a game that will decide 4th place in the
division. Right now the Majors are 2 points behind the IceDogs,
and with one less game played for the Majors, a win would tie
Niagara in points, and because they have less games played, knock us
down into 4th position. Mississauga has been on a bit of a
tear as of late, but minus Friday's game in Brampton, so have the
IceDogs. It should be a great game to watch this afternoon!
Get down to the Jack Gatecliff Arena in St. Catharines and watch it
live!
Talk about the game here.
DEC.9 - SWIFT INTERVIEW: A
video of Michael Swift being interviewed during the 2nd
intermission of the game at Brampton on Friday can is now online.
DEC.8
- BATTALION SHOOT DOWN ICEDOGS: There was a group of
IceDog fans that made the quick trip to Brampton for this one.
We all managed to get seats in the same section together (big thanks
to ADogFan and Heidi for this!!!). Unfortunately the Dogs were
suffering badly from the flu and were flat throughout large parts of
the game. Brampton came out to a quick 3-0 lead but the
IceDogs held them to that score the remainder of the game.
They just couldn't get the offense going tonight. Brampton's
rink was very nice. The bowl itself was 'ok'. It didn't
have the cozy/passion atmosphere of the jack. Comfortable
(although ugly purple) seats with boxes around the top. Below
the seating the hallways were very nice - large spacious corridors,
snack stands spread throughout, very nice merchandise store, and
friendly staff. Parking was unbelievable. TONS of *free*
parking surrounding the rink! Pulling in to the arena off the
road and seeing that was like entering a dream. Leaving was a
mess - all those cars are bottlenecked onto a small 2-lane road
which has a traffic light right as you leave, so you're sitting
stuck for awhile before hitting moving traffic. The layout of
the arena was probably most impressive. Big arena feel to it,
with all the bells and whistles of a large rink. The Brampton
crowd however leaves a lot to be desired. The rink was about
half full, and their fans aren't close to being as loud and
passionate as Niagara fans. Friendly fans however, although
the Niagara fan section was getting on the nerves of many Bramptonians with their horns and chanting during the game.
All in all the only bad experience of the trip was the score on the
clock at the end of the game.
Talk about the game here.
DEC.7 - LEGEIN ARTICLE: Sportsnet did a nice
article on Stefan Legein.
DEC.6 - FORUM MESSAGES NOW 10,000 STRONG: The forum is
a rockin this holiday season, as you have all pushed the posted
messages above the 10,000 number. Way to go!
DEC.6 - JANUARY 27TH GAME TO BE SHOWN NATIONALLY ON SPORTSNET:
Niagara hosts Sarnia Sunday Jan.27 and Rogers Sportsnet will be at
our barn to show the game nationally. Get your tickets soon!
NOTE: This is a Sunday game with a *7PM* start time (not the 2pm
usually time) Much thanks go to IceDogs owner Bill Burke for
pushing for this to happen.
More here.
DEC.4 - BRING TEDDY BEARS DEC.14: The IceDogs are
having a teddy bear toss during our home game Dec.14 (vs. Barrie
Colts) for needy families. Please bring a teddy bear to the
game and get your bear onto the ice after the IceDogs score.
Happy holidays.
DEC.3 - WORLD JUNIOR CAMP ROSTER: The
roster for the world juniors camp has been posted.
DEC.2
- ICEDOGS PUT DOWN OTTAWA / CAPUTI NETS 3 / LEGEIN SEPARATES
SHOULDER:
[pictures here] The 67's won't have fond memories of their first visit to the Jack Gatecliff Arena as Niagara defeated Ottawa 5-2. The IceDogs
came out fast jumping to an early 3-0 lead in the first.
Ottawa didn't quit and put up 2 goals in the 2nd period, then
Niagara answered with another goal in the same period. The 2nd
was by far Ottawa's best effort drastically out-shooting Niagara
(who out-shot Ottawa 15-5 in the 1st). The 2nd and 3rd periods
got chippy with both teams throwing their weight around with some
nice hits. Luca Caputi continued his strong season netting a
hat-trick. Stefan Legein was seen during warmup and part of
the 1st period, but was not on the ice or the bench in the 2nd and
3rd periods IceDogFANS forum member RioBravo managed to have a
quick chat with him and apparently he suffered a separated shoulder.
Forum member IceDogsRule also talked to Stefan and apparently it
wasn't a bad separation and he's expecting to be back for the next
game. Next game:
we're in Brampton on Friday!
Game thread here.
DEC.2 - HOCKEY TOWN INDEX (HTI) UPDATED:
Want to see where Niagara lies in the standings compared to the rest
of OHL cities as far as our passion for hockey?
See here!
DEC.1 - NEW VIDEOS ADDED:
6 videos from the Nov.4th Niagara/Peterborough game are now
online - they were made the day after the game but somehow got
misplaced and forgotten about. These clips include highlights
of the 7 goals Niagara scored (shutting out the Petes 7-0) and an
interview with Alex Friesen who scored his first OHL goal this game!
Watch them
here!
NOV.29 - DOGS FEAST ON OTTERS: The IceDogs
offense came out strong tonight with a 6-3 win over Erie.
Volpe got his second start in net in a row, which became his 2nd
straight win as well.
Game photos
here.
Game thread here. News article
here.
NOV.28 - CORRENTE ARTICLE: Standard article
on Icedog defenceman
Matt Corrente. (thanks WDF)
NOV.28 - OSHAWA PHOTOS:
New pictures
are up from the Niagara @ Oshawa game (Nov.18th)
NOV.28 - ICEDOGS UPDATES: It looks like Bergeron (shoulder),
Van Laren (wrist), and Pietrangelo (elbow) are off injured and are
listed as "day-to-day". Although it seems the IceDogs'
day-to-day is more like "week-to-week" judging from how long
Pietrangelo was just out for previously. Goaltender Lobsinger
who was originally due back November, then beginning of December,
then mid-December, is now due back in January (at which time of
course, it will be pushed back to Februrary)...
NOV.26 - ADT PHOTOS: Set #3 of the ADT game
photos from Nov.22 are
now
online. Note: Game #4 of the series is tonight on Rogers
Sportsnet.
NOV.25 - ICEDOGS END LOOSING SKID
/ HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEFAN! :
(Videos /
Photos) Strong efforts by many
players made for a 4-2 victory over visiting Owen Sound this
afternoon. We were back to a full roster (almost - no Legein) and as a
surprise, backup goaltender Adrian Volpe was put in net to start the
game. Volpe played solid, was quick staying on the puck, and
very good at absorbing possible rebounds. Corrente played a
fiesty game throwing his weight around and getting into two scraps.
DeSousa netted two goals and had a strong game as well. It was
a real treat to have a full lineup on the ice - it's been a long
time! Hopefully we can start climbing back up the standings
again to where we belong. Next game: Thursday vs. Erie!
A big happy birthday goes out to Stefan Legein who turned 19
yesterday - NO MORE SNEEKING INTO BARS UNDERAGE! Aaah, those
were the days.
NOV.24 - THE LEAGUE IS TAKING HITTING OUT OF THE GAME! The
OHL seems to have secret plans on how to remove bodychecking from
the game. They're removing it bit by bit, making it more and
more illegal to bodycheck players during certain circumstances.
This will soon lead to players just deciding not to hit anymore!
Hockey is changing as we know it and it's happening so slowing it's
going unnoticed..
Read more here.
NOV.24 - ADT PHOTOS:
Part
2 of the ADT Canada/Russia game photos by Verbatim are online.
NOV.24 - VIDEOS ONLINE: Videos of last night's game are now
online including the CLEAN HIT by Fletcher on Lahey - Fletch was
tossed from the game for it.
Download them here.
NOV.24 - HOLIDAY PACKS AVAILABLE: The IceDogs are now
offering special holiday Flex Packs which include 6 tickets and lots
of merchandise!
Click here for more. (thanks: WDF for the info)
NOV.23 - FULL ROSTER! Almost. (Article
here) Fans will have to wait
to see if Fletcher is back in the lineup after being off with a
shoulder injury, but 4 of our top Dogs (Legein, Pietrangelo, Caputi,
Corrente) made their mark in the ADT Canada/Russia game last night
and looked to be in game form. Fans may be anticipating the
return of defenceman Matthew Corrente the most, as we've only seen
him play a handful of games so far this season (and only a couple of
them being at home) due to his injuries and suspensions. So if
you've been in a bit of a depression with the way things have been
going lately, we won't jinx our Dogs by saying the loosing streak is
over, but the future looks MUCH BRIGHTER. GO DOGS GO!
Talk about tonight's game
here.
NOV.22 - 4 ICEDOGS PLAYING IN CANADA/RUSSIA SERIES: Legein,
Pietrangelo, Caputi, and Corrente are all in the Team Canada lineup
tonight for Canada/Russian selects series. Legein and
Pietrangelo were out of the IceDogs lineup with injuries the last
couple weeks, but played regular shifts in tonight's exhibition. Should they have
played in the game? Should they have used the extra day to
heal more?
VOTE HERE (Please note: IceDogFans is NOT making a
statement here - just trying to get the public's consensus on
whether they rushed their recovery times by playing in this
exhibition)
NOV.22
- NIAGARA LIFE ARTICLE:
A good article in the magazine "Niagara Life" was published this
month on the IceDogs. Owners Bill and Denise Burke talk about
placing the team in Niagara, the players, on th team, and lots more.
Click each thumbnail to view the pages of it.
NOV.19 - THE DUST HAS SETTLED: Foreman broke his nose in a
fight, IceDogs lost 7-2, Loverock watched for the first time from
the bench. It was a close game up until the 3rd period last
night. Oshawa started off with a fluke goal after a Tavares
breakaway - Loverock made a great save on him, but lost the puck,
thinking it had deflected
up and to the right, when it had gone down
and to the left, leaving the net open for the rebound which was put
in. An IceDogFans forum member who attended the game said
Foreman broke his nose in the fight in the 3rd - it wasn't on TV as
the camera was showing something else at the time. Hopefully
wearing a full cage can keep him in the lineup while his nose sets.
Aaron Snow is reportedly gone from the roster as is shown
here, although he's still on the roster
here.
NOV.18 - GAME NIGHT: The IceDogs are in Oshawa tonight taking on
John Tavares and the Generals. Get all the game info and fan
comments in this
discussion thread. Unfortunately the IceDogs problems
continue as they lost 7-2 in Oshawa tonight. Game notes:
Loverock was PULLED! The first minute of IceDogs game
time in which Loverock was not in net happened tonight. Also,
Corrente is now officially done his suspension. Hopefully he
can stay in the lineup until next Sunday so we can see him play
live.
NOV.18
- OWEN SOUND PICTURES ONLINE: Thanks to WellandDogsFan for
making the trip to Owen Sound last night and submitting his
pictures from
the game.
NOV.18 - ARENA RATED: OHL Arena Guide has given our arena
a
right-up.
NOV.16 - ARTICLE:
Online article on last night's game from the Dogs site.
Article here by The Standard.
NOV.15 - ICEDOGS LOSE IN SHOOT-OUT: After coming back from
a 1 goal deficit all game and forcing overtime, the IceDogs couldn't
put the puck in the net in the shootout, giving Barrie extra point
that allows them to tie the IceDogs in the standings. The team
played relatively well, considering all the players we have out due to suspension or injury. Then again, we've had players out due
to suspension/injury all season long and have had games where we
played a lot better. Then again, one has to remember - this
isn't the NHL: everyone makes it into the playoffs in the OHL (well,
everyone except for the 4 worst teams). So whether we win-lose
will be much more important in the post season. Maybe it's
best that our best aren't in the lineup right now - save all the top
guys for the playoffs! (grin) Seriously though, does anyone
see a time in the future when we'll have a full, healthy,
non-suspended team? One could only imagine the
possibilities of such a team. Next up: Owen Sound.
NOV.15 - GAME NIGHT: The IceDogs are in Barrie tonight for
a battle that will determine 2nd place in the Central Division.
The pre-game standings have the IceDogs in 2nd with 24 points, 1
point ahead of Barrie - both teams have played 21 games. Talk
about the game here.
NOV.15 - AGOZZINO ON U17 TEAM:
Online article on IceDog Andrew Agozzino making the under-17
team Canada roster.
NOV.15 - SLIDESHOW: Rick Denham (IceDogs photographer) has
put together a nice slideshow of some of the shots from this season.
Check it out.
NOV.14 - 2 NEW VIDEOS ADDED: Thanks to FightClub87
(who's actually a London fan) for sending in the 2 clips of Niagara
vs. Saginaw on Oct.28 (Desousa vs. Comrie and the "Corrente
incident") Both are now online in the videos section.
NOV.11
- CAN'T HOLD THE LEAD: After spending the first two
periods tied at 1 each, the third period came alive. Both
teams showed more energy, as did the crowds (Windsor seemed to have
a good showing of fans at the Jack). The IceDogs managed to
get up 2-1 in the third which gave everyone hope, but that was
short-lived as Windsor tied the game at 2, then with only seconds
left and everyone believing the game was headed for OT, Windsor put
another one into the net, making it a 3-2 Windsor win. There
were a couple of half-decent fights, most notably VanLaren taking on
Baldwin at center ice. Later in the third, Windsor captain
Renaud dropped the gloves after the whistle, trying to get Swift to
go. Our captain obliged and surprisingly held his own for
awhile, but Renaud's much larger size allowed him to take over at
the end. Loverock was pretty solid in net again, making some
key saves. The IceDogs were without numerous key players,
including Legein, Pietrangelo, Corrente, and Fletcher.
Pictures online
here.
IceDogs article here.
NOV.9 - ICEDOGS LOSE 3X: Niagara lost to
Barrie 7-2 last night, but also lost Stefan Legein for probably a
week with a hip injury, reported by the St. Catharines Standard, as
well as Jordan Foreman who will be day-to-day with a wrist injury.
One game and two players lost in one night. We're already
without Pietrangelo, Corrente, Fletcher and DeSousa - all important
players - due to injury or suspensions. Add two more to that
mix, throw in Lobsinger as well and we're playing with about half a
team. No worries - look for Swift and Caputi to lead the
charge in upcoming games, and for the rest of the team to step their
game up. This is the perfect oppourtunity. Playing every
game may be catching up with Loverock, who let in 7 goals in 29
shots (yes, he really did shut out Peterborough the game before).
Coach Cicchillo said they'll be looking to call up players from the
St. Catharines Falcons Jr. B team to fill the void in the roster.
Talk about the game
here. Article
here. In completely un-related news, Eric Lindros
retired from the NHL yesterday, and the
Leafs
still suck this year.
NOV.8
- ICEDOGS MERCHANDISE @ CANADIAN TIRE: The two Canadian
Tire "superstores" in St. Catharines on Fourth Ave. and Welland Ave.
now have a nice selection of Niagara IceDogs merchandise for sale.
Mini-cowbells, foam hands, mini-sticks, hats, youth jerseys, car flags,
and noise maker pucks. IceDogFans webmaster just dropped $105
on stuff there!
NOV.7 - CORRENTE SUSPENDED: Well it's
official. IceDog defenceman Matt Corrente has been
suspended by the league for 8 games, and will be illegible to
return Nov.23.
NOV.6 - LEGEIN SIGNS WITH BLUEJACKETS:
Niagara IceDog forward Stefan Legein has
signed a 3
year contract with the NHL's Columbus Bluejackets.
Talk about it in this
discussion thread.
NOV.4
- PATHETIC PETES:
The IceDogs were all over the Petes this
afternoon both on the ice and on the scoreboard. Puck control
and scoring opportunities were dominated by Niagara, who came out
flying, scoring fast and furious, leaving a 7-0 trail of destruction
when all was said and done. A *rough* game with 8 fighting
majors and a match penalty handed out to Zack Kassian
who, after realizing their level of patheticness late in the game,
KO'd IceDog Chris DeSousa with a hit, leaving him unconscious on the
ice. But wow is DeSousa ever a tank - after being out cold for
about half a minute, he actually skated off the unassisted. They don't come any tougher than that. The fury of the
2,545 Hell Hounds in attendance was
everywhere throughout the 3rd period as Peterborough continued to
try and beat us with the gloves off. Lucky for Peterborough
that fury didn't materialize, but there were times when people next
to the Petes bench were almost ready to jump the glass at the
players. By far the meanest crowd we've had on hand this year
(and that's a good thing!) Great game by Loverock who stopped all 35
shots he faced. On another note, IceDogFans webmaster
AlphaDog got to meet and talk to Niagara tough-guy Scott Fletcher
during the 1st intermission, who was out of the lineup due to a
minor injury.
Talk about the game here!
Pictures onilne
here.
NOV.3
- PHOTOS ONLINE:
38 photos
taken by WellandDogsFan of last night's game in Mississauga are now
online.
NOV.2 - ICEDOGS STILL OWN MISSISSAUGA RINK: It may
no longer be home ice but the IceDogs commandeered the arena and
took control early, beating the St. Michael's Majors 10-2.
Granted, Mississauga lost their starting goalie early in the game,
and only had a small inexperienced rookie to tend goal after that -
who was outshot 40 to 24. Hat-tricks by Traccitto and Legein,
5 fights as well. The Rogers guys calling the game said it was
the largest crowd in the Mississauga rink so far this year.
The one area the Majors did get the advantage in was the fisticuffs.
There were no solid wins, but the did however get the decision in
most, if not all, of the scraps. And what have the forum
members been saying all along? We WIN when we FIGHT (or at
least play tough). Lets see if the boys can carry that
toughness on into Sundays game versus the Petes. Post your
thoughts and comments about tonight's game
here.
NOV.2 - NEW MERCHANDISE! The IceDogs have a bunch
of new merchandise available -
more info here! Article from the Mississauga News on the
game
here.
NOV.2 - THE HONEYMOON'S OVER: After showcasing themselves
as a high-scoring powerhouse, our IceDogs have been shut-out in 3 of
their last 5 games, including last night's 4-0 loss to the visiting
Plymouth Whalers. Three fights last night, only one being a
good one when Sanderson took on Geldart - although Plymouth got the
decisions in all three of the fights. As the TV Cogeco
commentator mentioned, the leaders on the team have not stepped up
during this time. They need to lead during example - if not by
scoring goals, then at least showing every shift they're banging and
crashing every opportunity they get - to the point where it's just
*ridiculous*. Photos
here.
NOV.1 - GAME NIGHT: Plymouth is in our rink tonight to
take on the IceDogs!
NOV.1 - WHAT'S UP WITH THE RANGERS ANYWAY? Ever wonder why
the Kitchener Rangers are the only unoriginal team in the league?
(copy the NYR's name, colours, uniform).
Find out why here!
NOV.1 - VAN LAREN ARTICLE: St. Catharines Standard
article on Chris VanLaren
OCT.31 - CORRENTE SUSPENDED (AGAIN): Well you heard it
here first... that Match Penalty that IDF hinted might be a
suspension turned out to be true. The number of games is not
yet given, but Corrente's suspension is currently listed as
"indefinite". Latest updates on it, and discussion
are here.
OCT.31 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Some good
OHL history here.
OCT.29 - CORRENTE SUSPENDED AGAIN? Matt Corrente, one of
our star defencemen (in case you haven't seen him - he's only played
a couple games at home for us) may be facing yet another suspension
due to an incident last night @ Plymouth which he received a match
penalty for. He was away at the beginning of the season
because he was at New Jersey's camp for an extended stay, then came
back, got suspended, then got injured, came back last night, and may
be suspended again. ARG! Talk about it in
this thread.
OCT.29 - ARTICLE ON LAST GAME:
Standard article on Niagara vs. Saginaw.
OCT.28 - ICEDOGS WIN! ICEDOGS WIN! ICEDOGS WIN!
Yes, the IceDogs will be leaving their loosing streak in another
country with this afternoon's 5-3 win over Plymouth. There
were a couple of good scraps with Fletcher and DeSousa - from the
radio broadcast it sounded like our boys faired well in both.
IWS (IceDogs Withdrawal Syndrome) ends this Thursday as the team
plays back at home taking on Plymouth.
OCT.28 - UH OH: The IceDogs almost went -3 straight games-
without scoring a goal. It wasn't until mid-way through the
3rd last night they managed to put one between the pipes, and that
was coming against a team they should have walked all over.
Luckily for the IceDogs, last night's game wasn't televised so it
wasn't visible how poorly they played, but you could generate some
fairly horrible mental images listening to the radio broadcast.
The team is falling in the standings resulting from this slump
(they've lost 4 of their last 5 games), so
coach Cicchillo needs to diagnose and cure this
lethargic team's problems and get us back on track! To make it more
frustrating to the fans, IceDog Scott Fletcher got into a fight last
night, which sounded like a good one - we never see them fight at
home! It seems all the good scraps have been away from their
fans lately. We're in Saginaw for a game at 2PM today.
OCT.26 - LAST NIGHT'S GAME PHOTOS ONLINE:
Thanks to WellandDogsFan who made the trip down to Windsor for
last night's
game photos.
OCT.25 - WHAT'S GOING ON? Probably a popular
question being asked, as the last time the IceDogs scored a goal was
3 games ago. Niagara was in Windsor tonight and were shut-out
/ blasted-out 6-0. Post your comments on the game
here.
OCT.25 - JACK GATECLIFF ARENA REVIEW: The
OHL Arena Guide site has posted its
review of our rink.
OCT.25 - GAME DAY: It may seem like the
IceDogs have been off for weeks, but it has only been 4 days
surprisingly. Tonight the IceDogs are in Windsor to take on
the powerful Spitfires. This is the first time Niagara will be
playing a team with more points than them in the standings (although
they're in separate conferences so one can't base too much on points
alone). Windsor also has more goals fore and considerably less
goals against than Niagara, and is also near the top of the league
in penalty minutes (Niagara leads the league in PIMs). Tonight
is the first game of a 3 game road trip. Don't forget to
enter the chat room during the game!
OCT.24 - RETAIL STORE OPEN ON NON-GAME DAYS:
The merchandise store inside Jack Gatecliff arena will be open on
non-game days for the dates
specified here.
OCT.24 - ROAD TRIP ARTICLE: The St.
Catharines Standard has an
online article about the IceDogs upcoming road trip.
OCT.24 - CHL RANKINGS:
The Week 5 rankings for the top teams are now online. The
IceDogs have fallen one position from 8th to 9th, which is still
good.
OCT.23 - MAIONE UPDATE: It was reported to
IDF that Maione was out with a fractured shoulder, but IDF members
saw him on the road @ Barrie and at home, and he didn't seem to be
in any pain or discomfort, and was freely using both arms (which
would NOT suggest a fracture). Hopefully we can get an
official update soon, as we're already without VanLaren (should be
back on the 28th), and Corrente (who knows).
OCT.22 - MAIONE HURT? Rumor has it that
Matthew Maione is out with a shoulder injury.
OCT.21 - WANT TO GO TO WINDSOR? IceDogFans
has people heading down to Windsor to see the IceDogs take on the
Spitfires. There's still room for 2-3 more people. See
this thread and reply to WellandDogsFan for info.
OCT.21
- CP ARTICLE: Canadian
Press article on today's game.
OCT.21 - TRAVEL IN STYLE: Want to see the inside of the
IceDogs team bus?
Check it out!
OCT.21 - @ BARRIE PHOTOS: Thanks to WellandDogsFan and
slamr for their
photos of the game in Barrie.
OCT.21 - CKTB INTERVIEW: Chuck LaFleur (who does the
play-by-play broadcasting of all IceDog games, on CKTB610) saw
WellandDogs fan at the game in Barrie last night and asked if we'd
like to come on the show during 1st intermission of today's game.
Of course we jumped at the chance - I've never met him and he sounds
like a good guy on the airwaves so I wanted to put a face to the
voice. GREAT guy. Very friendly. You can
catch the interview here
(audio MP3 file).OCT.21 - SHUT OUT: Unfortunately the burst of goals that
occurred during the 2nd period last night didn't occur in any period
tonight. A single goal would have been great today, but it
wasn't meant to be. The IceDogs outshot Barrie throughout the
game but couldn't put one past the Colts netminder. The team
seemed unorganized and unable to get a play going, much of it
contributed by Barrie's excellent man-to-man coverage of the IceDogs.
Loverock was solid in net again, but he can't win the game from
between the pipes, he can only keep the team from loosing, and
without any offensive support, that's an impossible task. We
did however outshoot Barrie 35-16, but there weren't a lot of actual
scoring chances in those shots. This is the first time the
IceDogs have been held scoreless this season, but averaging almost 5
goals per game, that should be a rare occurrence this season.
The Dogs now start a 3 game road trip, and will be back home at the
Jack to face Plymouth Nov. 1st. Talk about the game in
this thread. Pictures
online here.
OCT.21 - PIETRANGELO ARTICLE: Nice
article on IceDogs defenceman Alex Pietrangelo about being an
NHL prospect.
OCT.21 - BIG WIN! (Pictures
here) The IceDogs made it
interesting by falling down 2-0 to Barrie early in the game, but a
period that in the past has been a curse for the Dogs, turned out to
be an explosion of offense as they scored *4* goals in the 2nd
period, and added another in the 3rd for good measure. Loverock was solid in net stopping 37 of 39 shots. Final score
5-2 Niagara win. Watching the game on TV, some of those modern
arenas might look great, and our Jack might be old, uncomfortable
and crowded, but it's got CHARACTER. Some of these new OHL
arenas resemble the mass-housing neighborhoods you see cramped next
to each other on the outskirts of Toronto (McMansions as we like to
call them). Nice to look at as long as you don't have to live
in them. Granted, you can't judge an arena from just seeing it
on TV, but that Barrie rink looked more like a museum then a place
where hockey memories were made. The IceDogs are back in
Niagara today to face off against the Colts in part 2 of the
home-and-home series.
OCT.20 - GAME DAY: The IceDogs are in Barrie
tonight for their first game against these division rivals, and
they'll be back in Niagara tomorrow play them again. Hopefully
it will be a rough and energetic game tonight, which could carry
over and make for a great game at the Jack on Sunday.
OCT.20 - LEGEIN RADIO INTERVIEW: The OHL radio show had
a segment were IceDog
Stefan Legein was interviewed.
OCT.19 - BELJO ARTICLE: A St. Catharines
Standard article interviewing ex-Dog Jadran Beljo. After
reading this article one can almost feel sorry for the kid, not even
knowing why he was being boo'ed. Well, popular belief is that
Beljo refused to show up to play in St. Catharines, that we were
"beneath" him. Other rumor has it that he missed curfew too
much during training camp, and yet another rumor has it that he
didn't want to play in all pre-season games and wanted to be able to
pick which ones he was in. But popular opinion is that he
didn't want to follow the team to Niagara once they moved from Missisissauga. This is what happens when official explanations
are not released!!!
OCT.18
- KNIGHTS SLAY DOGS: It was a pretty good game until the
3rd period. The IceDogs went up first but London came back,
and took hold of the game 5-3 in the third period, adding an empty
net goal for a 6-3 final. Loverock was solid in net as London
was firing twice as many shots on him as they were getting on the
London netminder. At one point shots were 32-16 for London.
With their lack of size on the blue line, Niagara seemed to be
having a hard time clearing out London forwards from in front of
Loverock, allowing the Knights to whack away at the puck once in
front of the net. The Dogs were also having a hard time
getting possession of the puck in their own zone, and were often
beat to the puck in the corners. 'Strong game by the Knights,
which could have had a 8-3 score if it wasn't for some strong
goaltending by Loverock. To add insult to injury, ex-IceDog
Jadran Beljo got the game winning goal. On a positive note,
the abundance of London Knight fans that made the trip down helped
us with our 2nd sellout crowd of the year.
Pictures here.
Video clips here.
OCT.18 - ARTICLE: Good
article on the OHL teams including a few good paragraphs on the
IceDogs [thanks: Dog Scout]
OCT.18 - ICEDOGS AQUIRE FORWARD:
Aaron Snow has arrived to the IceDogs roster from the Windsor
Spitfires.
OCT.17 - ICEDOGS RANKED IN TOP 10 IN ALL OF CHL:
See this
page for the rankings.
OCT.17 - CAPUTI ARTICLE: Good
online article on Luca Caputi.
OCT.16 - TRIP TO MICHIGAN: [the following
posted by Clark17] : Just a note to let you know about a great bus
trip to Plymouth & Saginaw Oct 27th, & Oct 28th. Take the bus, catch
the first game, stay overnight in Plymouth and on to the Saginaw
game on Sunday. Great Price!!!! If interested call Brenda at the Ice
Dogs office or sign up in the lobby at the Booster Club table
(50/50) at Thursday or Sunday's games. You don't have to be a member
but it would be $10.00 cheaper if you are. The Dogs need lots of
fans to cheer them on down there!!!!!
OCT.16 - SCOTT FLETHER LAYS DOWN THE LAW:
Some good
video clips of IceDogs tough guy Scott Fletcher. The thing
is - he's also a reliable defenceman!
OCT.16 - GUELPH TALKS ABOUT OUR BARN:
Article by someone from Guelph who attended the game here on
Sunday. And here from
Guelph's newspaper.
OCT.14 - ICEDOGS SERVE SUPPER MONDAY!
Don't forget that Boston Pizza on Ontario St. in St. Catharines is
having 8 of the IceDogs as guest servers. Show your support -
throw on your IceDogs jerseys and go down for a bite to eat!
OCT.14
- ICEDOGS WIN IN O.T.! : The game was a bit sloppy at
times, with quite a bunch of bunching up and play back and forth in
the center ice area, and not a whole lot of physical play, but the
climatic ending was great! Late in the 3rd, Maoine (who scored
his 1st OHL game this afternoon by the way!) put the puck over the
glass in his own end. Being a defencemen, that's a delay of
game penalty. The game was 5-4 for the IceDogs at that point.
Guelph managed to bank one in the net while on the power play,
evening up the scoring and putting the game into overtime.
Soon into OT, a Guelph defenceman made the same play and received
the delay of game penalty, making it a 4-on-3 for us, and during
that powerplay Guelph took another penalty (slashing) allowing the
IceDogs to bring out the 5th man for a 5-on3. It was obvious
it was just going to be a matter of time as the IceDogs had full
control of the puck and were just waiting for the opportunity, which
arose when Pietrangelo had the puck and fired it into the back of
the net, winning it for the IceDogs 6-5.
OCT.14 - HOCKEY TOWN INDEX: There are three
main opinions as to why Niagara is ranked 15th out of 20 in our
percentage of the city's population that come out to see the games,
and 17th out of 20 in attendance at the arena. One being, that
it's not the arena's fault and Niagara just isn't a hockey area -
which is nonsense. Look at the amount of NHL clothing you see
on people walking around town, stickers and license plates on cars,
etc. Another opinion is that there just hasn't been enough
time to make people aware of the IceDogs. Well, they've had
numerous front-page articles and a great amount of coverage in the
St. Catharines Standard sports section. Are the radio stations
doing well in promoting the team? The third reason being that
the Jack Gatecliff arena has had it's day, people have "been there
done that", put up with the lack of parking, the bench seating, the
lack of "modern arena atmosphere". Granted, we'll be able to
get a better judgement on whether or not promotion just needs to be
given more time, but it is this site's opinion that the arena is to
blame. NOTE: THIS IS NOT a knock on the Team management!
The organization has done a WONDERFUL job in bringing the team to
the region and putting a TREMENDOUS team on the ice. For the
price it's easily the most exciting form of hockey you'll ever see.
This is the main breeding ground of the NHL! Now before we
start to panic, lets keep some things in mind. Attendance
shouldn't drop off TOO much once the snow and ice plague our
sidewalks and streets, because the growing promotion of the team
will keep that in check. And even at 2,000 people per game,
that's still well over $35,000 the team brings in with ticket sales
per home game, plus merchandise and drinks/food. Is it enough
to pay for a new arena? Hell no, but it's enough to not be
loosing money. What we need is interest to be generated in the
schools. With the thousands of high school students in the
area, this would be a great way to spend a couple times a week,
watching some great hockey and socializing as well. The
majority of the crowds seem to be adults and children. The
high-school demographic seems to be missing. Many interviews
have stated that promotion is going well at the business level, but
if we want to pack the house every night, we've got to get the
average Joe and his friends coming out. If you do your morning
announcements at your high school, ask permission if you can mention IceDog home games that day. If you work with a lot of other
people on your job, try and generate interest there. If Sault
St. Marie with half our population is putting 4500+ in the seats
each night, there's no reason we can't pack the Jack. Yes, it
would be more fun to pack a modern arena with modern amenities and
ample parking instead of driving around side streets looking for a
spot, but what we have isn't impossible to put up with. And
once your in your seat, you've got two and a half hours of great
hockey to witness!
OCT.13 - ARTICLE ON SUDBURY GAME: Here's a
newspaper article on last night's 5-2 victory in Sudbury.
OCT.12 - MISSING A GOOD GAME! Listening to
the CKTB610 broadcast right now, Alex Pietrangelo just LEVELED Jared Staal with a huge hit, then a brawl broke out - Fletcher and Sudbury
heavyweight Tyler Arps went at it with Fletcher ending up on top
still pounding away, MacEachern was squaring off with someone, as
well as Friesen. Sounded like a great set of fights!
Penalties for the brawl: MacEachern, Friesen, Fletcher:
all 5 for fighting + game misconducts. Pietrangelo 2 for
interference and 5 for fighting. Poor Alex Friesen - it's his
first game getting to suit up and play with the IceDogs and he gets
kicked out soon after the game starts. :( Another fight
between Traccitto an
d Guimond in the 1st period. Caputi scores
on a penalty shot in the 3rd.
OCT.12 - MORE PHOTOS ADDED: Thanks to your
contributions,
54 more photos from last night's tilt with Brampton are now
online.
OCT.12 - EAT AT BOSTON PIZZA OCT.12TH, GET SERVED BY
AN ICEDOG! 8 players of the IceDogs will be helping serve
at Boston Pizza on Monday the 15th (this Monday). Head down
there, grab some 'za and meet some Dogs!
Article here.
OCT.12 - NEWS ARTICLE: An
article by The Standard on last night's game.
OCT.12
- CHRIS VANLAREN GETS 10 GAMES:
The OHL has finally handed
out the full suspension to IceDog Chris VanLaren for his shot to the
jaw of a Mississauga player, and ended up dealing out 10 games to
him. He'll be eligible to return Oct.28th.
OCT.11
- LOST THE GAME, WON THE FIGHT: Well, one could tell from
the first couple shifts that the IceDogs were in for a tough one.
Bad passing - some going straight to Brampton tape - not enough
hustle, playing out of position, and bad defensive coverage around
the net, all lead to a 4-2 loss (5-2 with the empty net goal - which
was also a screw up) tonight. Brampton is the only
team that's beat Niagara this season so far, and they've done it
twice (with a Niagara win over the Battalion in Brampton, making the
series 2-1 in favor of the green jerseys). Attendance was low
for a Thursday night game too (2,018). On the bright side,
former NHL great Dennis Hull was in attendance, and the first 1500
people to walk through the doors got a free IceDogs fridge magnet.
Talk about the game
in this thread.
Good shot of DeSousa's first goal since being back from
suspension [by forum member: Schtick]
OCT.11 - JADRAN BELJO GONE FROM ICEDOGS: Unofficially, 40+
goal scorer and 80+ point man Jadran Beljo who failed to show up to
the IceDogs training camp, has been traded to London for a 6th round
pick in the 2009 draft.
More here.
OCT.11 - LOVEROCK / DOGS ARTICLE:
Good article on goaltender Andrew Loverock and the IceDogs.
[thanks: WellandDogsFan]
OCT.11 - PHOTOS NEEDED!: As you may know, this site's camera
privileges have been cut off, so we *really* need your photos!
If you could take a few snapshots of your game experience and
send
them in to the site as email attachments, your photos will be
displayed online! (A copyright notice will be added to your
photo, giving you full credit for the photo as well)
OCT.11 - GAME DAY: The Battalion roll there
artillery into the Jack tonight and will try to avenge the 5-4 loss
handed to the in their own rink by the IceDogs Monday night.
OCT.10 - ICEDOGS IN NIAGARA SCHOOLS: There
was a good
newspaper article posted about IceDog Barry Sanderson and how
the team is coping with school, practice, travel, and the rest of
their busy schedules since relocating to Niagara.
OCT.10 - CAN'T GET AN ICEDOGS JERSEY? READ ON!
If you weren't able to get a jersey at the beginning of the year and
tried to buy one recently, you already know that the IceDogs have
sold out. Great news that the team is getting this kind of
support! Bad news if you don't have a jersey. BUT!
Front Row Sports in Thorold has said they have lots of jerseys in
stock, so try and grab one before our next home game! Front
Row Sports: 133 Front St. North - open 7 days a week.
OCT.9 - ROAD TRIP!! IceDog fans are making plans for a
road trip to Brampton, Dec.7th - GET IN ON IT! We plan on all
meeting our cars at the arena then driving in a convoy - HOPEFULLY
all sporting Niagara IceDogs flags from our windows/antennas (if we
can get flags made available before that date). All
information and discussion on this trip is
HERE!
OCT.9
- PICTURES OF OUR BUS! Thanks to WellandDogs fan for these
great pictures of our great
team bus!
OCT.9 - GREAT ARTICLE ON FOREMAN: One of IceDogFan's
favorite players, Jordan Foreman, was featured in this
St. Catharines Standard article.
OCT.9 - WE NEED YOUR PHOTOS! Unfortunately IceDogFans (and
other web sites) will not have camera privileges from now on for
home games, so we need all the photos you can get us! If you
bring a camera to the game, please feel free to send your photos in
to the site, and we'll get them online! You can email your
photos as file attachments
here.
Please enjoy the photos that we have online
while we were allowed to bring you some of the action, and we thank
the IceDogs office for that privilege for those games.
OCT.8 - BATTALION FALL TO ICEDOGS: (video
highlights here) (talk
about the game here) In a
reversal of roles, the Niagara IceDogs defeated the Brampton
Battalion 5-4 this afternoon. A couple weeks ago it was the
Battalion beating the Dogs 5-4. This win is a good morale
booster (not that it was needed) showing they can come back strong
against a team who beat them in the past. The IceDogs opened
the scoring but soon fell down 2-1, then came back hard with 4 quick
goals in about 7 minutes time. Brampton pressed at the end
with their net empty, but Loverock made some key saves allowing
Niagara to leave the bunker with the 2pts. Video highlights
coming soon.
OCT.8 - AWAY @ BRAMPTON: The IceDogs hit the
road this Thanksgiving Day playing the Battalion in their rink.
The Dogs are coming off a strong performance yesterday afternoon at
home vs. Saginaw, and hopefully that carries over to this game as
the Dogs try to make up for their only loss of the season which
Brampton handed them Sep.23 (by a close 5-4 game). VanLaren
and DeSousa remain out of the lineup due to suspensions. Watch
the game on TV (Cogeco ch. 10 and Super Sports Package) and listen
on the radio (CKTB610am and online). Don't forget to drop by
the
online chat to talk to other Hellhounds during the game!
OCT.7 - ON A ROLL: (talk about the game
here) (Saginaw news article on it
here) Saginaw made it close but
the IceDogs ended up on top with a 4-3 victory this afternoon.
The Spirit came out quick, keeping up with the IceDogs throughout
much of the 1st. Even though they only had 4 or 5 players
under 6' tall, and had many 6'4" to 6'6", they didn't throw their
weight around much and Niagara puck control early in the game helped
them jump to a 4-1 lead. Saginaw made it close, pulling their
goalie at the end and coming within a goal, but time was on our
side. Andrew Loverock was stellar in net, stopping 43 of 46
shots. Pictures online here.
OCT.6 - GAME VIDEOS ONLINE: Highlights of
the IceDogs/Majors game are now online.
Three videos here.
OCT.5 - GAME PHOTOS ONLINE:
Photos from last night's IceDogs/Majors game are now online.
OCT.5 - NEW ARENA DESIGN: Help us design the
new arena.
OCT.5 - ICEDOGS FANS: Watching the Erie@Kitchener game
tonight, the commentator made a remark that "even the fans" were
getting in on the national anthem while it was being sung.
IceDog fans sing it every home game!
OCT.5 - LEGEIN'S MOHAWK CATCHING ON? Apparently some of
the parents at last night's game have mentioned their kids have
asked if they could get a mohawk after seeing Legein sporting one.
3,000 fans at the arena all sporting mohawks in the future?
Why not!
OCT.5 - AFTER THE DUST SETTLED: Chris DeSousa and Chris
VanLaren both received suspensions for last night's 3rd period
tussle. DeSousa got 2 games (eligible to return Oct.11) and
VanLaren got a minimum of 3 games (eligibility to return to be
determined).
Suspensions here.
OCT.4 - WHAT A GAME!
Our first Thursday
night game was filled with action - the IceDogs led 5-0 after the
first period, although fell flat-footed after that as Mississauga
came back 5-3. Lots of penalties, an ejection, 2 Mississauga
players required the trainer's assistance, 1 left on a stretcher, a
Mississauga fan took a puck in the face. Their team and
fans probably couldn't see St. Catharines fade fast enough in their
rear-view mirrors as the drove down the QEW. Photos and
highlights on the way! The IceDogs are now up 2-0 in the
rivalry season series with the Majors. Legein sported a nice
new mohawk tonight. Talk about the game
in this thread. [Newspaper
article on the game thanks to WellandDogsFan]
Some photos from WellandDogsFan (LOTS more coming, probably up
Saturday)
OCT.4-
GAME DAY: Niagara vs. Mississauga tonight at the Jack.
Tonight will be the first time the IceDogs have played a regular
season Thursday night home game. The crowd should large, lets
make it LOUD! In the season opener the IceDogs defeated the
Majors 4-1. The Majors know what they're up against but will
the IceDogs underestimate their opponents tonight? Find out
tonight! Hell Hounds in attendance: 2,441
OCT.3 - COGECO GOES DIGITAL? If you've got a
digital box with Cogeco TV, you may have noticed channels 2 - 91 are
much more clear. It appears these channels are now digital,
and the analog versions of them have been moved to channels 9XX (ch.
2 is 902, ch.33 is 933, ch. 50 is 950, etc..) More info will
be posted here when it comes in from Cogeco to the webmaster.
OCT.1 - PIETRANGELO NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: [From
the OHL main site]: Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League
today announced that Niagara IceDogs defenceman
Alex Pietrangelo is the Boston
Pizza OHL Player of the Week for the week ending September 30, 2007.
Pietrangelo recorded three goals and four assists for seven points
in two games. On Friday, September 28th, Pietrangelo registered
three assists and scored the lone goal during the shootout for a 5-4
victory over the Ottawa 67’s. Two days later, Pietrangelo scored
three goals for his first career OHL hat trick and added an assist,
en route to a 7-4 victory over the visiting Sudbury Wolves.
Pietrangelo set an IceDogs record for the fastest opening goal in
franchise history after scoring 13 seconds into the opening frame.
Pietrangelo’s four point performance wasn’t overlooked as he was
named the games first star. Pietrangelo, a 17 year-old native of
King City, Ontario, is currently tied for fourth in OHL scoring with
three goals and seven assists for 10 points. Pietrangelo was
drafted by the IceDogs in the 1st round, 3rd overall, in the 2006
OHL Priority Selection and is eligible for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
OCT.1 - VIDEO ADDED: Highlights from
yesterdays games (goals, fights) are now online
in this video.
OCT.1 - INTERVIEW VIDEOS: Watch TV Cogeco interviews with
Stefan Legein,
Jordan Foreman, and
Lucas Lobsinger
OCT.1 - WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING: A Sudbury newspaper
had this to say about the IceDogs and yesterday's game against
the Wolves.
SEP.30 - DOG FIGHT AT THE JACK: It was Dogs vs.
Wolves in a game Sudbury hoped would end in their first win of the
season, but the IceDogs came out quick opening the scoring only 13
seconds after the game started. IceDogs defenceman Alex
Pietrangelo stole the show with 4 points, made from a hat-trick and
an assist. Matt Corrente also played his first game with the
Dogs after returning from an extended training camp with the New
Jersey Devils. This win puts the IceDogs back in 1st place in
the Central division. We even made a guy wearing a
Sudbury Wolves jersey take it off and wear an IceDogs jersey (he got
the jersey courtesy of the Dogs, and he just moved to St. Catharines,
so he was going to be an IceDogs fan anyway, whether he knew it or
not..) After the
game the IceDogs skated to center ice and put their sticks up
saluting the crowd. These Dogs have class! There were
just over 2300 Hell Hounds in attendance (+300 from last week) which
wasn't bad for a sunny Sunday afternoon.
142 photos online here.
SEP.30 - ARTICLE ON CORRENTE: The Standard had a
nice article on Matt Corrente recently. [thanks: WellandDogsFan]
SEP.30 - OUCH / INTERVIEW MISWORDING: During the Jordan
Foreman interview in the 2nd intermission of today's game the
interviewer stated was asking about the difference coming from
London to "here in Mississauga". DOH! This happened
numerous times during interviews in the pre-season, but it's time to
start getting it right! Maybe writing it down 100X on a
blackboard will help?
SEP.30 - GAME DAY: Niagara plays host to
Sudbury this afternoon @ 2PM. Hopefully the weather will be
terrible outside, as the sunny afternoon last Sunday was definitely
a reason for having only 2000 in attendance last Sunday.
Sudbury hasn't recorded a victory yet this season. In fact,
they've lost all 4 games. So they're either going to come out
shooting or come out punching, but either way it'll make for an
exciting game! Got your
ticket yet?
SEP.29 - INTERMISSION TALK ABOUT THE DOGS:
During another OHL game's 2nd intermission, a couple guys were
talking about the Niagara IceDogs, their move from Mississauga, the
rink, etc.
Watch video here.
SEP.29 - NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ABOUT LAST NIGHT'S WIN:
Links:
St. Catharines Standard,
Ottawa Citizen,
Ottawa Sun (thanks: WellandDogsFan)
SEP.28 - ICEDOGS PUT DOWN 67'S IN SHOOTOUT:
The IceDogs were up by 2 goals but Ottawa came back late,
tying it up. Loverock made some amazing saves in the last few
minutes when Ottawa was pressing. Overtime solved nothing. Loverock was solid in the shootout, and the IceDogs leave Ottawa
with their 2nd win of the season. Talk about tonight's game in
the forum.
SEP.28 - UPDATES WILL BE SLOW UNTIL OCTOBER 1ST: Apparently Cogeco's "unlimited" internet access is NOT unlimited.
My internet access was shut down by Cogeco today due to over-usage -
there was recently had a hard drive crash here at home so I had to
pull ALL my web site files from all sites back to my home computer
(over 90GB of data). This put me over their 60GB limit.
So now I'm only allowed 1GB of usage for the rest of the month, or
they will shut down access again (time for Sympatico eh!?
Sympatico specifically told me about a year ago that they do NOT
apply usage limits to the internet access). So for the next
couple days media updates (photos, videos) will be at a minimum.
Sorry about all this - you can imagine how frustrating it is.
To top my day off, someone rear-ended me at an intersection this
afternoon (nobody was hurt thankfully). The good news of the
day? The Canadian dollar is now worth more than the American
dollar.
SEP.28 - GAME DAY: The IceDogs are on the
road for the first time this season, playing in Ottawa tonight.
Be sure to hang out in the
online chat during the game!
SEP.25 - LOCAL SPORTS BAR STAFF HAS NO
IDEA WHO THE ICEDOGS ARE:
A member of IceDogFans forums called up Wrigley's Field,
a St. Catharines sports bar/eatery, to inquire about whether or
not they would be showing IceDog games on their big screens.
Basically a bunch of people in the forum were looking to set up
an IceDogs fans "headquarters" where we could all hang out and
watch away games together. To his suprise, the
establishment (or at least the person who represented it on the
phone) had no idea who the Niagara IceDogs were. The
following is the message posted by the person who made the call
to Wrigley's Field: "I called wriglies...and it was like
speaking to a two by four...first i had to explain who the ice
dogs where... then i had to explain where they were from.... oh
sir..and what sport is it?.... this is when I smashed my head
off the wall...so i continued to give a OHL history lesson... oh
are those the ice dogs from mississauaga... oh boy... yes they
are... what are they doing down here... if they play here then
just go and watch the game at the arena....at this point i was
at me end..." Now
how can a place which is frequented all day/evening long by
sports fans, not know who the Niagara IceDogs are? Even if
they weren't sports fans themselves, have they never seen a
newspaper in the last 3 months? Granted, maybe they're not
big fans of reading either, but you would think they'd overhear
their own customers. It's amazing how one of the best known
local sports eateries can be so ignorant of the largest sports
news to hit their own city in over 20 years. Now, we
can't be angry at places like this. It's not like they
deliberately choose not to know about it. Heck, there's
people in the United States that can't find Canada on a map.
So there's always going to be people that don't know about
what's going on in their own backyard. It's just
surprising to hear about it sometimes. [thread
here]
UPDATE: The parent company of Wrigley's Field is one
of the founding sponsors of the IceDogs, and the owner of that
company is a apparently a knowledgeable fan when it comes to
local sports (and was owner of the Stompers - the Blue Jays farm
club). So it should be kept in mind that the knowledge of
the bar/wait staff of a certain establishment does not reflect
the knowledge of management/ownership of that place.
SEP.25 - DESOUSA IN THE NEWS: Good St.
Catharines Standard
article on IceDog Chris DeSousa
SEP.25 - ALL SEASON TICKET HOLDERS - 2009 WORLD JUNIORS OFFER:
The Ottawa Senators have an offer to all CHL season ticket holders
for the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championships from Dec. 26 2008 –
Jan. 5 2009.
Read more here.
SEP.25 - ICEDOGS TV BROADCAST CHANGES/UPDATES: Niagara vs.
Ottawa this Friday will be delayed locally on Cogeco ch.10 due to
election debates BUT will be shown live on the Super Sports Package
(usually ch.438). Also, Sunday's game vs. Sudbury will only be
shown locally (not Sports Pack) live at 2pm and again at 9pm.
SEP.24
- PHOTOS ADDED:
165 photos from yesterday's game have been posted.
SEP.23 - DOGS LOSE BATTLE TO BATTALION: The
IceDogs opened the scoring early but lost their stride soon after,
going down 5-3 by the third period. The most exciting time of
the game was the last 10mins. of the 3rd where they battled back
5-4, although they had many opportunities due to long 5-on-3's but
couldn't get organized. Game Pros: the LOUDEST "GO DOGS GO!"
chants in that arena to date, a good sized group of Bramptonians
made the trip to our barn to cheer on their team. Game Cons:
sloppy play, lack of energy, sloppy plays, Legein needs to show more
discipline and stop taking retaliation penalties. Anyway, now
that the 'Dogs have their 1 loss of the season out of the way, lets
hope for a great 66 upcoming games! Unfortunately, there was
only just over 2,000 people in attendance. Maybe it was too
nice a day to spend indoors. Pictures coming soon.
SEP.23 - GAME DAY: The IceDogs take on the
Battalion today at the Jack. It will be interesting to see if
the Hell Hounds can pack the arena yet again.
SEP.22 - VIDEOS ONLINE! A handful of
video clips highlighting our season
opener / franchise opener have been added.
SEP.22 - NEWSPAPER ARTICLES: The St.
Catharines Standard had two good articles on last night's game:
article 1,
article 2
SEP.22 - PHOTOS ADDED: 3 more
photos of Bones - the 'Dogs mascot - have been added by
WellandDogsFan
SEP.22 - PHOTOS ADDED:
250 photos
from last night's game have been added, along with
17 photos from WellandDogsFan. Lots more to come
throughout Saturday on last nights game. WellandDogsFan has
added
his photos of the new "Gatorade Garden City Complex" sign that
was unveiled before yesterday's home opener. Video clips
highlighting all the goals/hits/fights from our home opener will be
online sometime Saturday. Keep checking back!
SEP.21 - DOGS HAVE A MAJOR HOME OPENER!
What a game! 3,145 in attendance (SELL OUT!) A
4-1 WIN, and 2 FIGHTS. Stefan Legein enters the lineup and has
a great game, Chris DeSousa looks to have broken a Majors
player's nose in a fight, Dogs show appreciation to the crowd at the
end. LOTS of pictures on the way!
SEP.21 - DAY 1: The OHL's return to the
Niagara Region begins tonight. The actual OHL season began on
Wednesday, but the majority of teams are starting tonight.
Niagara of course is hosting Mississauga in what has been billed to
be our biggest rivalry this year. Also, this is the first look
the fans will get at Niagara's new jerseys. The fans have had
replicas of them on sale for a while now, but tonight is the first
time the team will be suite up in them! Remember to return
here tonight and tomorrow to see the game photos! GAME TIME: 7:30PM
SEP.21 - LEAVE EARLY! Geneva St. in St. Catharines is
down to one lane each way between Linwell and Scott creating bad
delays. What would usually take 5 minutes took 20.
Queenston St. at St. Paul is also still under construction.
There was a lineup outside of the arena at 5:30pm, St. Michaels bus
(nice looking!) was already parked out front. PARKING:
The lot across from the arena entrance on the corner is now
designated for "Founders Club" only, so that lot is now off limits
making the already scarce parking, more so.
SEP.21 - GO DOGS GO!: Be sure to help out in our GO
DOGS GO chant during the warmup tonight, and before the first puck
drop!!
SEP.21 - TAILGATE PARTY BEFORE SUNDAY'S GAME: News is out
that 97.7FM will be hosting a tailgate party starting at 12noon
before Sundays game vs. Brampton. Music, food, drinks will
[reportedly] be available. So get to Sunday's game early!
SEP.21 - TV COVERAGE: Cogeco has supplied a
quick reply to the game's coverage tonight (see "TV BROADCAST
QUESTIONS" below for more on this). Tonight's game vs.
Mississauga will be shown on both ch.10 (local cable) *and* the
Super Sports Package (subscription required) on ch. 438. Both
are live broadcasts.
SEP.21 - EXTRA COGECO BROADCAST ADDED TO SCHEDULE: Cogeco
will be showing the Sep.28 game vs. Ottawa @ 9pm that night (delayed
due to a provincial debate). This is not in most online
listings, so write this down!
SEP.21 - TV BROADCAST QUESTIONS: Yes, your local Cogeco
channel 10 probably displays "To be announced" all through Friday.
And for those of you who have purchased the OHL Action Pak (part of
the Super Sports Package), there's no listing for the
Niagara/Mississauga game. We're waiting for a reply back from
Cogeco on this matter and will post the information here as soon as
it arrives. Check back!
SEP.20 - OHL ACTION PAK STARTS TONIGHT: For those
of you who have subscribed to the Super Sports Package, of which the
OHL Action Pak is a component of, this is a reminder that OHL game
broadcasts begin tonight, with 2 games on schedule - Sudbury @
Peterborough (7pm), and Ottawa @ Barrie (7:30pm)
SEP.20 - NEWSPAPER ARTICLE: A good
article was posted in the Standard about IceDogs GM Dave Brown
and his thoughts on the team and upcoming season.
SEP.19 - THE SEASON BEGINS! The 2007-2008
OHL season began tonight with Sault St. Marie defeating Saginaw 7-5.
There are two games tomorrow night (Thurs.) which is also the night
the OHL Action Pak begins broadcasting games. The IceDogs of
course begin their season Friday night hosting what people believe
will be their largest rivals - the Mississauga St. Michaels Majors
(now that's a mouthful).
SEP.19 - FUTURE OF THE ICEDOGS: A great thread has
been started by a London Knights fan on our current IceDogs and their
future. Check
it out.
SEP.18 - ONE-ON-ONE WITH ANDREW AGOZZINO: Get to know some personal
info on IceDog forward Andrew
Agozzino!
SEP.17 - LOVEROCK RETURNS: Our #1 goalie has reportedly returned
to the IceDogs from the Montreal Canadiens training camp.
SEP.17 - ONE-ON-ONE WITH CHRIS DESOUSA: 'Want to know IceDogs
centerman Chris DeSousa a bit better? Chris has filled out our "BioCard"
questionnaire letting you get to know some general things about him
you might not otherwise have known. SEP.16 - ICEDOG DOING WELL
IN SABRES CAMP: Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff had
this to say about Niagara IceDog Drew Schiestel who is currently at
the Buffalo training camp: "He singled out the line of Connolly
between wingers Thomas Vanek and Mark Mancari, and praised the work
by young defenseman Andrej Sekera and Drew Schiestel, a 2007 draft
pick attending his first NHL camp. " [from the Buffalo News]
SEP.16 - THE DUST HAS SETTLED: With the pre-season now behind
us, we can take a look at the upcoming season and what to expect.
Or can we? With many key players off to NHL camps for most of the
pre-season, the core of the team hasn't even yet been seen by the
fans. Sure, from the high-scoring visitors who scored 28 goals against
us in 6 games we could say the goaltending needed some beefing up
at times, or we could hold the entire team accountable for a lack
of defensive play. A 4.7 GAA would be terrible - if we weren't scoring
5.5 goals per game. Now THAT's exciting hockey. And before one jumps
on the goaltenders, you have to remember: goals against average is
NOT a goaltending statistic - it's a stat that shows how well the
entire TEAM plays defensively. The only statistic that truely shows
a goaltenders ability to stop the puck is save percentage. You throw
a great goalie on a weak defensive team and he'll have a high GAA,
you through a mediocre goalie on an all-offense no-defense team and
he'll have a high GAA, and visa versa. How many shots a goalie stops
compared to how many he faced is the only statistic that goalies should
keep in mind. So if the team is going to take away from their defence
to add to their offence, and have a higher goals for than goals against,
it will only lead to much more enjoyable hockey to watch. Playing
a strong defensive game at the cost of offence is the -last- thing
we want. 'Ever watched a NJ Devils game? If these high-scoring games
we've seen in the pre-season are a glimpse of what's to come in the
regular season, the Hell Hounds in attendance at the Jack are in for
a great year.
SEP.15 - GAME DAY: The IceDogs are back down in Erie tonight
with their last game of the pre-season. Hopefully the confidence
and bonding as a team that was gained against Plymouth will show in
this 3rd attempt at a win versus the Otters. Please join the
live chat tonight and listen to the game on 610AM!
SEP.15 - PEPSI NAMES OUR ARENA COMPLEX:
Well, apparently the "complex" that is the Jack Gatecliff
Arena and the Rex Stimer's Arena, is now going to be officially referred
to as the Gatorade Garden City Complex. Of course, since as
fans we are only concerned with where the Dogs play and where we sit/stand
to watch them, Jack Gatecliff Arena will still be used as the title..
The corporate sponsorship name is most likely to be used on TV/radio
broadcasts. So if you were worried that you might have to learn
a new name after you finally switched to calling it Jack Gatecliff
instead of the Garden City Arena, don't worry.
SEP.13 - DOGS HAVE A WHALE OF A TIME: Huge brawl,
a 10-1 victory, Foreman's back!, visiting team coach kicked out of
game, Michael Swift with a hat-trick, 2016 Hell Hounds in attendance!
184 pictures here! The IceDogs opened the scoring early
in the game, which as been a rarity at home this preseason (hadn't
happened yet actually). Then the goals kept coming, and coming. Plymouth
eventually showed it's frustration with the massive amount of
early penalties they took, but having their GOON (anyone who watched
the guy could see he had only one purpose for being in the roster)
#30, 6'7" 222lb Mike Yovanic after our star defenceman Alex Peitrangelo.
This is when all hell broke loose. Players squared off throwing punches,
the 2000+ in attendance were on their feet going wild, then jumps
in to join the action (got ejected for it though, but it's great to
see him jump right back into the action after coming back from the
Oilers camp). Another IceDog jumped off the bench and entered the
fray (not sure who). When the dust settled a bunch of players
were ejected from the game, and the player benches were MUCH more
roomy. Eventually the IceDogs pummeling of the Whalers got to their
coach, who was also ejected from the game for his antics, much to
the joy of the home crowd. The IceDogs ended up with a 10-1 win, the
only bad point of the game being the Plymouth goal late in the 3rd
period, erasing our hope for a shutout. Mississauga is supposedly
our rival this year, but after tonight, mark the Plymouth games on
your calendars! (the first meeting being Oct.27th). Newspaper
article regarding the fight [St. Catharines Standard]: "There
was also a spirited fight involving 10 players - six from Niagara.
When the dust settled, Alex Pietrangelo, Foreman, Vladimir Bessenov
and St. Catharines Falcons rearguard Jeff Amadio were gone with game
misconducts. Paul Gismondi was also assessed a game misconduct for
coming off the bench and Caputi was hit with a 10-minute misconduct.
Mike Yovanic, who started the fight with Pietrangelo, Jozef Sladok
and Emyle Morgan all were assessed fighting majors and game misconducts
for their part.
There most certainly will be suspensions arising from the fight. "
(Read
the full article)
SEP.13 - GAME DAY: The IceDogs last
try for a home win (or any win for that matter) is tonight at Jack
Gatecliff. With a 4-3 loss last night in Owen Sound, the IceDogs
are still winless this pre-season. Hopefully it will come tonight
versus Plymouth.
SEP.13 - JOSH DAY ARTICLE: Thanks to WellandDogsFan for
posting a good article on
Josh Day.
SEP.11 - NO LEGEIN FOR THE LEGION: Our growing legion of
fans will still have to wait to catch a glimpse of Stefan Legein,
who just returned from the Super Series - helping Canada to a 7-0-1
destruction of Russia - but has headed back out to the Columbus Bluejackets
training camp. It's still up in the air which of our players
will be available to the IceDogs, as the NHL camps continue.
SEP.10 - 5 NEW VIDEOS ADDED: Highlights from yesterday's
game, interviews with GM Dave Brown and Michael Swift, and of course
the two fights, have been added to the video section.
SEP.09
- NO DECISION (129
game photos here): No, Michael Vick wasn't in attendance
but there was a dog fight going on this afternoon at the Jack.
Unfortunately for Niagara who are still in search of their first pre-season
win, it just wasn't meant to be. After going down 2-0 (a start
much like the previous game) the IceDogs managed to come back and
gained a sizable 6-3 lead, but couldn't manage to hold on to it.
The game ended in a 6-6 draw. The guys looked to be playing
better together, making some great offensive passing plays, but some
soft goals let in by the goaltenders on both sides were a major reason
for the 12-goal game. The IceDogs showed their grit throwing
some big hits and getting into a couple of good scraps. For
those of you that couldn't get to the game (and again, as the goalie
in "Slaphot" said about penalties - you should feel shame
<grin> ) you can catch the game tonight on Cogeco ch.10 at 9PM.
If you haven't seen what the jerseys which are now for sale to the
public look like, here's a picture
of a jersey. I talked to owner Bill Burke at the game (both
times I've talked with him he's been very nice and informative - great
guy), and they *will* be selling home (ie: dark) jerseys soon.
So if you want a home jersey and can wait, they'll be available in
the future. Or of course, buy both! :-)

SEP.09 - ATTACK-DOGS: The Owen Sound Attack are here in
Niagara today to take on the IceDogs. The Dogs are still in
search of their first pre-season victory and will hopefully be able
to do it in front of the home crowd this afternoon. Game time:
2PM @ Jack GateCliff Arena. Get your tickets! If you can't
make it to the game you can tune in to 610AM and listen to the broadcast
(or listen online from their streaming audio site - link is at top
of this page)
SEP.08 - MEET THE ICEDOGS TODAY! The IceDogs will be at
The Brick at 275 Fourth Ave. (new store in the west-end) in St. Catharines
today from 2pm-4pm. Be sure to tell 'em IceDogFans.com told
yah about it! If you manage to get down there it would be great
if you could snap a couple photos and
send 'em in!
SEP.08 - 4 NEW VIDEOS ADDED: Videos including highlights of the
goals and hits from Thursday night's game, an interview with Alex
Friesen during the second intermission, two Erie Otters skating face-first
into one another, and training camp interviews with Pietrangelo and
VanLaren. Download them in the videos section.
SEP.07 - NEW VIDEO ADDED: TSN did a segment on their top
OHL players, listing IceDogs' Alex Pietrangelo as #3. Clip is
in the videos section.
SEP.07 - ICEDOG JERSEYS AVAILABLE SUNDAY: Replica Niagara
IceDog jerseys will be on sale at Sunday's game. Price is $120.
SEP.07 - REGULAR SEASON GAME TICKETS AVAILABLE: Individual
tickets for games of the regular season are now available at the IceDogs
office.
SEP.07 - NEW PHOTOS ADDED: Another gallery
of photos submitted by slamr and RioBravo from last night's game
has been added.
SEP.07 - LAST NIGHT'S GAME ON TV TONIGHT: In case you couldn't
get to last night's game (shame shame...) it will be on local Cogeco
cable tonight (ch.10) @ 8PM.
SEP.06 - NIAGARA VS. ERIE: (Game
photos here) Not a bad game! Niagara went down
2 men short right off the bat (which Erie scored on), then we went
down 5-3 again later on (which they scored on). Lots of hitting, or
ATTEMPTED hitting. If some of those connected there would have been
players going to hospital. There was one particularly hard hit
but involving no IceDogs - 2 Otters skated with both heads turned
away and slammed face first into each other. Both dropped to
the ice but got back up. You could hear their face shields crack into
each other throughout the rink. Good turnout for a pre-season
game. Estimate: maybe 1500-1800. 6 IceDogs were out of the roster
because they're at NHL camps right now. Watch this game be on
Cogeco ch.10 Friday night @ 8pm. The final score was 6-4 for
Erie (was 4-4 going late into the 3rd then Erie scored twice quickly towards the
end). Now bring on Owen Sound!
SEP.06 - CHAT DURING THE GAME: If you can't make it to the
game tonight be sure to tune in to CKTB 610AM (link above on this
page) and join the
online chat during the game to follow along with other IceDog
fans!
SEP.06 - GAME DAY: The Niagara IceDogs 1st home game is
tonight! The Erie Otters will be in our house tonight, coming
from a 5-5 draw against the IceDogs in Jamestown
last Thursday night.
Pick up your tickets today at the IceDogs office (35 Queen St., downtown
St. Kitts) Tickets are only 5 bucks (free admission for season ticket
holders).
For those of you that can't make it to the game, you can listen in
on CKTB 610 AM and chat with other IceDog fans in the online chat
(link will be displayed on this page during the game).
Go Dogs Go! Are you going to the game? If so please
write a review of the game (even just your game experience - how you
enjoyed it) in the forum.
If you brought a camera and took any pictures, please
send us your pictures - we'll put them online!
SEP.06 - Regular game tickets - individual game tickets are reportedly
going on sale Saturday.
SEP.05 - Super Series tonight : Just a reminder that the
Team Canada juniors goes for their 6th straight win against Russia
in the Super Series tonight. 8PM/TSN.
SEP.05 - IceDogs @ NHL camps: Members of the Niagara IceDogs who
will be participating in NHL training camps over the next week or
so is as follows: Foreman (Edmonton), Loverock (Montreal),
Corrente (NJ), Schiestel (Buffalo), Caputi (Pittsburgh), Legein (Columbus),
Lobsinger (Colorado - note: injured)
SEP.05 - Thursdays game on TV: A quick note to all - Thursdays
pre-season home game vs. Erie will be broadcast by Cogeco on channel
10 Friday night @ 8pm.
SEP.04 - DAYS OF ETERNITY: Since Saturday night's game vs.
Erie, the anticipation of the first home game has caused the days
between Sunday and Thursday to seem like weeks. It was a strange
beginning to the pre-season schedule, which sees most other games
with only one or two days between. And the five days we've been
forced to wait actually are almost a week, so it's understandable.
Remember that pre-season tickets are only 5 bucks. You can
pick them up at the IceDogs office at 35 Queen St. in downtown St.
Kitts.
SEP.01: Chat log of tonight's live
game chat is online. Thanks to everyone who stopped in.
The chat program ran very smooth and we'll definitely be doing this
for all the away games that we can't see in person. The CKTB
broadcast was surprisingly smooth as well considering they're rushing
to get into season-form just as the organization is. We look
forward to all their game broadcasts this upcoming season.
SEP.01: AlphaDog (the webmaster) will be up north until
Monday evening (possibly Tuesday). All emails will be answered
then.
SEP.01: GAME NIGHT / 1ST ONLINE DOGFAN CHAT MEETING - The IceDogs
are in Erie tonight to play their first pre-season game and show us
(and themselves) what kind of team we can expect this year.
You can listen to the game online using the links provided above,
and DogFans are encouraged to get into the online chat - even if just
to hang out with other Fans during the broadcast. VIDEOS ADDED:
A
video of the fight from nat123 at the end of Thursday night's
game between Reggie Traccitto (25 Black) and Alex Friesen (28 White)
has been added. Another video from nat123 of the
last few minutes of the game Thursday night has also been added.
VOTE TOPIC ADDED: Should the fans be chanting "Go Dogs
Go!" this season or "Let's go IceDogs lets go!" ??
Cast your
vote here. WRITERS WANTED: If you have experience
writing and wish to put forth your comments about the IceDogs, this
is the place! IceDogFans would like to start up a section right
here on the main page to hold your comments/views as the season progresses.
All your current articles will be displayed on the main page, with
links going to your previous articles that have been archived.
You'll be free to come up with your own section title as well ("The
Dog's Bone" or "Jimmy's Jive" or whatever...)
If you think this is something you'd be good at, and enjoy doing,
please
email AlphaDog.
SEP.01: SITE IS SMOKIN! Thanks to YOU for getting this
site up on it's feet! IceDogFans started off getting only a
few visits a day, that quickly went up to 40-50 visits a day, and
now we're getting HUNDREDS of unique visitors each day! As the
site continues to grow we're going to need some more people helping
out with maintaining it. Right now IceDogFans needs writers,
media contributors (photo/videos), forum moderators, and Net relations
people. Please leave feedback if you can help out.
AUG.31: 4 new
hockey fight videos
put online from the 2006/07 season.
AUG.31:
Pre-season tickets are now on sale - visit the IceDogs office in St.
Catharines to pick yours up. You know
what
happens if you have no ticket!
AUG.31:
ONLINE CHAT DURING SATURDAY'S PRE-SEASON GAME! IceDogFans
is inviting everyone to get into the
Online Chat for the IceDogs first pre-season game Saturday night
at 7pm vs. Erie. You can listen to the CKTB broadcast of the
game (linked above on this page) and chat with other IceDog fans while
the game is on! NOTE: you need a forum account to get
into Chat - if you're not a member you can register
here (it's free and quick and relatively painless)
AUG.30: Stefan Legein of the Niagara IceDogs -
video of his 2nd goal at the Super Series.
AUG.30: 167 photos from tonight's
Black & White game are online. IceDogFans managed to
get shots of the Dogs' first fight, *and* Jordan Foreman's first penalty
<grin>
AUG.30: Pre-season tickets now on sale. According to a news
release on the IceDogs' site, tickets are now available for the 3
pre-season home games (5 bucks each)
AUG.30: Game night tonight! Get down to the arena and watch
the Black & White game @ 7PM!
AUG.30: The IceDogs will be holding small games (open to the public)
today @ 9am, 10:10am, and 11:20am then the team will be split in two
and will be playing a full game tonight at 7pm. The 7pm
game tonight is also open to the public and is FREE. All
games throughout the day today are being held at Jack Gatecliff arena
(formerly Garden City Arena). Go get a look at your new OHL
team!
AUG.29: Training camp video
and 94
pictures added.
AUG.29: The IceDogs hit the ice today! If you get down to
the rink and manage to snap some photos, please send in your photos
here!
AUG.29: A note regarding IceDogFans.com photos (someone asked) :
ALL original photos taken by IceDogFans.com staff are copyright protected.
You MAY re-distribute photos located on this website as well as forums.icedogfans.com
ONLY if the original photo remains *completely* unedited and full
*visibile* credit is given to IceDogFans.com. This means, (but
is not limited to) that photos may not be cropped, resampled, have
watermarks/logos/text added or removed. IceDogFans will enforce
these rules to strictly, and if need be, legally. Any photo
submitted to IceDogFans.com from you or anyone else for that matter,
is also protected by these rules. Canadian copyright laws protect
this media automatically - a copyright notice is *NOT* required.
We're all here to support the team - lets not start ripping material
from one site and posting somewhere else without giving credit where
credit is due. GO DOGS GO! [more info on the
Canadian Copyright Branch]
AUG.28: Video added - Stefan Legein
scoring
the 1st goal for Team Canada at the Super Series yesterday.Aug:27: The IceDogs have added another home game to
their pre-season schedule - Sep.13 vs. Plymoth
Aug.26: NEW FEATURE - ICEDOG BIOS! Quick bio
cards on your Niagara IceDogs are being put
online here!
Aug.26: The ice is in - logos are painted on! Looks
great! (see photo at bottom right of this page - photo
credit: Ref )
Aug.25: Latest Poll: Where do you live?
Vote here!
Aug.25: WANTED - Someone who can make a graphic of a map of
Ontario showing the locations of all the OHL teams.
Preferably with highways and numbers next to the city names and
a legend on the side showing what numbers are what teams.
(including the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and NY for
those teams as well). If you can do this just click the
Feedback button and send it as an attachment.
Aug.25: The IceDogs Booster Club is still looking for
people!
More here. Please help if you can donate some free
time!
Aug.25: There will be hanging screens in the stands this
year to show replays, highlights, etc. Tickets will be printed soon.
More here.
Aug.23: Nice page on the
history of the OHL. Looks like St. Catharines was one
of the original cities to have a junior team.
Aug.23: Jordan Foreman is sure to be a fan favorite with his
style of play. Check out some
videos of him.
Aug.23: Picture update of the Jack Gatecliff - they're
putting in the ice! (view
images)
Aug.23: Niagara IceDogs have traded Nathan Martine for
Jordan Foreman!! He's a small but feisty player who loves to fight - 439
PIMs in the last 3 seasons - can't wait to see him in action!!
Read more here.
Aug.23: An information update that was sent out to season
ticket holders can be read
here.
Aug.22: Pre-season tickets will be $5 each, general
admission seating. The 2 pre-season home games are Sep.6 @ 7:30pm vs.
Erie, and Sep.9 @ 2pm vs. Owen Sound.
Aug.22: The 2007-2008 home game schedule is available
for printout in the pictures
section.
Aug.22: Ticket prices for the 2007-2008 Ice Dogs home
games are available in the
pictures section.
Aug.22: TV broadcasting information - AlphaDog (myself)
got to talk to Niagara IceDogs owner Bill Burke today at the Ice
Dogs office regarding
the TV schedule of the upcoming 2007-2008 OHL season regarding
the IceDogs. More information
in the forums here.
Aug.21: Ticket packages now on sale! Strangely,
there doesn't seem to be any discount from the prices originally
quoted for single-game tickets ($14 and $15). IceDogFans
will get more info on this oddity soon. [Aug.22 update: tickets
will be $17 for middle arena seats, $16 for the ends]
Aug.21: Niagara Ice Dogs putting
finishing touches in preparation for the season.
Aug.21: Beer and wine will be served at home games
this year.
Aug.18: The Niagara IceDogs are pleased to announce
their schedule for the opening week of the 2007-08 training
camp. Beginning on August 28th, all players will be in town for
medical and fitness testing. On-ice practicing will begin on the
29th with intrasquad games scheduled for 2pm, 4pm, and 6pm. The
players will then be back on the ice for Thursday, August 30th
with three more intrasquad games scheduled for 9am, 10:10am, and
11:20 am. To wrap up the week, the IceDogs will be playing their
first annual Black and White game on the night of the 30th
starting at 7pm. The game will consist of three 20 minute
periods and will provide local fans with their first opportunity
to see the players in action. All training camp events will take
place at Jack Gatecliff arena in St. Catharines and any on-ice
activities will be open to the general public.
Aug.13: The IceDogs are now hiring help for
their home games. If you're looking for a part-time job,
click here.
Aug.08:
ONLINE CHAT NOW AVAILABLE !
FlashChat has been integrated with the forums so you can chat
with other IceDog fans online! If you're already a member
of the forums, it will pass on your username automatically into
the chat rooms.
Aug.07: We're going to be planning bus trips to
IceDogs away games! More on this in the
forums.
Aug.06: Niagara @ Erie
pre-season tickets on sale! (game date: Sept.1, Jamestown
NY)
Aug.01:
Videos section now online!
Aug.01: Booster
club volunteers are now being called for!
Jul.31:
Training camp starts in 3 weeks! IceDogFans will have
all your photo updates!
Jul.22: IceDogs general manager Dave Brown
video interview on CHCH-TV
Jul.21:
Niagara
IceDogs wallpaper now available. Courtesy of Dalton
Fitzpatrick.
Jul.20: More
Icedogs news has been added (see latest threads)
Jul.14.: WE NEED YOUR LINKS! If
you run a hockey site, sports site, blog, (or pretty much any
site!) we would very much appreciate a link to IceDogFans.com
on your site. The more traffic we get coming here, the
more pictures, news, and gossip we can make available to you and
everyone else. If you would like
to swap links, please contact the
webmaster.
Jul.07:
ICEDOG PRE-TRAINING CAMP PHOTOS! Pictures from their first scrimmage game played today
at the 4-pad arena are now online! The 'Dogs were split
into two ams:
Team Teepees (red) and Team Blackhawks (white) The Teepees
won the game in overtime.
270
pictures from the scrimmage are now line. Also go here for
the thumbnail
picture gallery.
Jun.24: The
2007
schedule is now posted.
Jun.22: The
FAN FORUMS are now open!
Please join (it's free - just enter your email and a password!) and you'll
be ready to post message for other Niagara Ice Dogs fans to read and reply to!
Jun.20: The site is now
running on the new domain name:
www.ICEDOGFANS.com Unlike other IceDog sites, this site focuses on
YOU (the fan). The forum will be up soon, and will provide a space for
you to post your photos, videos, messages, and anything else you have to
share.
Jun.10: This site will soon
be moving to it's own domain name, and will soon be sporting a
professional-grade forum, where you can post your comments, photos, etc.
New images posted.
Jun.08: Niagara Ice Dogs season tickets are now available. Call 905-687-DOG1 for
information.
(JUL, 2007)
ST. CATHARINES—The Niagara IceDogs are pleased to
announce the appointment of Mike McCourt as the new
assistant coach of the Ontario Hockey League team.
McCourt, who served as an assistant coach last season
with Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, has agreed
to a three-year contract and will join the IceDogs on
Aug. 1.
“We’re excited about Mike joining us,” said Dave Brown,
general manager of the IceDogs. “He fits in well with
the direction our organization is looking to take.”
"It was just one of those things, an opportunity came up
and they made a very attractive offer to us," McCourt
said from his home in Pittsburgh. "I'm looking forward
to the challenge. There's a lot of buzz in the city.
They had some top picks taken in the NHL draft and some
others projected for next year. To work with that
calibre of kids is exciting. For a coach, it's an
opportunity you relish and can only dream of."
McCourt has connections with the IceDogs through his
one-time ownership of the Brockville Braves of the
Central Junior A Hockey League. He has close ties with
Brockville native Scott Halpenny, who now is the
director of scouting for the IceDogs.
McCourt played with the Braves and then spent four years
at St. Lawrence University on a hockey scholarship. He
also played and coached in the minor leagues in Europe
and the United States before taking a coaching job with
Clarkson University. He bought the Braves in 2002 but
then sold the team to take the job last season at Robert
Morris.
McCourt, his wife Julie and son Riley are currently
looking for a house in the St. Catharines area and hope
to move in before their young son begins the school
year.
For further information, please contact:
Gary McCarthy
Media Relations
Niagara IceDogs
e-mail: g.mccarthy@niagaraicedogs.net
(Jul.30, 2007) Cicchillo and Brown
lead new look IceDogs
[from OHL main site]
By Brad Young
Mario Cicchillo, known as “Cheech” to nearly everyone in
the hockey industry, will be the new bench boss for the
Niagara IceDogs when junior hockey makes its return to
the Niagara region for the start of the 2007-08 OHL
season.
Cicchillo is no stranger to the OHL having served as an
assistant coach to the Mississauga IceDogs (now known as
the Niagara IceDogs) for the past three seasons.
Cicchillo will be joined by many of the hockey
operations staff from Mississauga, most notably general
manger Dave Brown.
Cicchillo and Brown have a long and storied past
together, which dates back to their days with the Tier
II Junior “A” Brampton Capitals. Both Cicchillo and
Brown enjoyed success in Brampton as the pair captured
two Provincial Championships during their four year
tenure. Cicchillo and Brown made a stop in Milton for
one year before the tandem made the jump to the ranks of
the OHL with the Mississauga IceDogs, where they have
spent the last three seasons.
Brown commented on Cicchillo’s head coaching
appointment. “He put in his time, he worked diligently
to understand the league at an assistant coach’s level
and he’s seen what works and what doesn’t work and how
the kids respond,” said Brown from his office in St.
Catherines.
Brown is excited about making the move to St.
Catherine’s where the Niagara IceDogs will be playing
their home games out of the Jack Gatecliff Arena.
“There’s a deep tradition of junior hockey in the
Niagara market,” spoke Brown. “The Jack Gatecliff Arena
has a tremendous amount of character and history behind
it and there are a lot of guys that have played here
that still live in the area.” The St. Catherine Teepees
once played out of the Jack Gatecliff Arena, which
captured two Memorial Cups in 1954 and 1960 and won two
consecutive Hamilton Spectator Trophies from 1957-59.
Brown and the entire IceDogs coaching staff have high
expectations for the upcoming season. “We expect to do
well and compete for the top spot all year,” stated
Brown. “We’re going to make sure the guys work hard
night in and night out and the overall bi-product will
be team success.”
The IceDogs are expected to have recent NHL draft picks
Stefan Legein, Drew Schiestel and Gianluca Caputi in
camp this fall. Legein was selected by the Columbus Blue
Jackets at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in the 2nd round,
37th overall. Legein will be representing Team Canada at
the Canada/Russia Super Series next month. Schiestel was
selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2nd round, 59th
overall while Caputi was selected by the Pittsburgh
Penguins in the 4th round, 111th overall.
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