Niagara IceDogs

The Niagara IceDogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The franchise was originally known as the Mississauga IceDogs and founded in 1996. The team was relocated to St. Catharines and played its inaugural season in the Niagara region during the 2007–08 OHL season after spending 9 seasons in Mississauga. The team is owned by Bill and Denise Burke.

Niagara IceDogs
CitySt. Catharines, Ontario
LeagueOntario Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionCentral
Founded1998 (1998)–99
Home arenaMeridian Centre
ColoursRed, black, white
              
General managerJoey Burke
Head coachBilly Burke
Affiliate(s)St. Catharines Falcons
Websitewww.niagaraicedogs.net
Franchise history
1998–2007Mississauga IceDogs
2007–presentNiagara IceDogs

History
Niagara IceDogs in action at home versus Barrie Colts.

Early years, 1998-2007

The Mississauga IceDogs inaugural season began in 1998-99, and the team struggled, winning only 4 of 68 games. In their first three seasons, the IceDogs won a total of 16 games, in 204 games played. The nine season tenure in Mississauga saw the IceDogs finish with a .301 win percentage in 612 regular season games and win one Central Division and Eastern Conference Championship.

Relocation

On July 12, 2006, Eugene Melnyk, who owned the Toronto St. Michael's Majors, bought the Mississauga IceDogs. After the 2006–07 season, Melnyk sold the IceDogs, and moved the Majors to the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. The team approached the City of St. Catharines about moving the team into Jack Gatecliff Arena. St. Catharines City Council voted on a leasing arrangement on April 23, 2007, which passed. The OHL Board of Governors approved the deal on June 5, 2007.[1]

Jack Gatecliff Arena era

The Niagara IceDogs spent their first seven seasons in St. Catharines in the Jack Gatecliff arena. In six of the seven years at the Jack Gatecliff arena, the IceDogs led the OHL as the best attended team based on capacity percentage. During this time, the IceDogs qualified for the playoffs in every year, making it to the Eastern Conference finals twice. The IceDogs most successful year was in 2011–12 when they won both the Emms Trophy and Bobby Orr Trophy as Central Division and Eastern Conference Champions. They would ultimately fall in the finals, however, to the London Knights in five games. While playing at the Jack Gatecliff arena, Niagara's line-ups featured a number of eventual high NHL draft picks and NHL alumni. First round draft picks included Alex Pietrangelo, Mark Visentin, Ryan Strome, Dougie Hamilton and Brendan Perlini. Other notable players to play for the IceDogs at the Jack Gatecliff are Stefan Legein, Luca Caputi, Andrew Agozzino, Brett Ritchie, Jamie Oleksiak, Freddie Hamilton and Andrew Shaw, who was the first Niagara IceDogs alumnus to win the Stanley Cup.

Meridian Centre era

The IceDogs entered a new era when they relocated to the brand new Meridian Centre in St. Catharines. On October 16, 2014, the IceDogs won their first game at the Meridian Centre by a score of 7–4 against the visiting Belleville Bulls. The first goal at the new Meridian Centre was scored by Mikkel Aagaard from Denmark. While the arena's initial season saw the IceDogs go down in five games in the second round to the eventual Memorial Cup champions Oshawa Generals, the organization went all in during the 2015–16 season. While adding key veteran acquisitions as the season went on, including star goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, a second round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, the IceDogs once again battled their way to the OHL Finals. Niagara went on to face the London Knights, a rematch of the 2012 OHL Finals, but once again came up short, losing the series in four games. With the organization facing a rebuild after a disappointing finish to the season, the IceDogs parted ways with head coach and general manager Marty Williamson, commencing a new era for the organization after six seasons that featured two conference championships, one division championship, and six consecutive years of playoffs.

Championships

Emms Trophy
Central Division Championship

  • 2011–12
  • 2018–19

Bobby Orr Trophy
Eastern Conference Championship

  • 2011–12
  • 2015–16

J. Ross Robertson Cup
Ontario Hockey League Championship

Coaches

Mario Cicchillo was promoted from assistant coach in 2006–07 for Mississauga and became the first coach of the Niagara IceDogs after it was announced that head coach Mike Kelly resigned to accept a senior advisory position with the team.[2] In August 2009, Cicchillo was fired and assistant coach Mike McCourt was named interim head coach. In early May 2010, the IceDogs announced that the team would not be renewing the contracts of McCourt and his assistants. Former Barrie Colts coach/general manager Marty Williamson was named coach and general manager of the IceDogs in late May 2010. With a rebuild about to begin, the IceDogs decided to part ways with Williamson in 2016 after six successful years and promoted assistant Dave Bell to head coach. In the summer of 2017, Bell left the organization after just one year as head coach to join the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League.

  • 2007–2009 Mario Cicchillo
  • 2009–2010 Mike McCourt (Interim)
  • 2010–2016 Marty Williamson
  • 2016–2017 Dave Bell
  • 2017–Present Billy Burke

Players

NHL alumni

NHL draft picks

Award winners

Ontario Hockey League

Canadian Hockey League

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss

SeasonGamesWonLostOTLSLPointsPct %Goals
For		Goals
Against		Standing
2007–0868422501850.6252722142nd Central
2008–0968263156630.4632132644th Central
2009–1068263426600.4411912334th Central
2010–1168451724960.7062731972nd Central
2011–1268471803970.7132911691st Central
2012–1368303422640.4712272504th Central
2013–1468243536570.4192232844th Central
2014–1568372722780.5742742373rd Central
2015–1668352643770.5662131983rd Central
2016–1768233564560.4122072743rd Central
2017–1868352373800.5882402352nd Central
2018–1968441770950.6993262091st Central
2019–2063183951420.3331943204th Central

Playoffs
Season1st round2nd round3rd roundFinals
2007–08W, 4–0, Mississauga MajorsL, 4–2, Oshawa Generals——
2008–09W, 4–3, Ottawa 67sL, 4–1, Belleville Bulls——
2009–10L, 4–1, Ottawa 67s———
2010–11W, 4–0, Brampton BattalionW, 4–1, Oshawa GeneralsL, 4–1, Mississauga Majors—
2011–12W, 4–2, Oshawa GeneralsW, 4–0, Brampton BattalionW, 4–1, Ottawa 67sL, 4–1, London Knights
2012–13L, 4–1, Oshawa Generals———
2013–14L, 4–3, North Bay Battalion———
2014–15W, 4–2, Ottawa 67'sL, 4–1, Oshawa Generals——
2015–16W, 4–1, Ottawa 67'sW, 4–0, Kingston FrontenacsW, 4–0, Barrie ColtsL, 4–0, London Knights
2016–17L, 4–0, Peterborough Petes———
2017–18W, 4–1, Oshawa GeneralsL, 4–1, Hamilton Bulldogs——
2018–19W, 4–1, North Bay BattalionL, 4–2, Oshawa Generals——
2019–20Playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America

Uniforms and logos

The IceDogs colours are red, black and white. The home jersey is black with red, black and white sleeves with two crossed dog bones on each shoulder. The away jersey is white with red, black and white sleeves with two crossed dog bones on each shoulder. The Niagara logo is a Bull Terrier (modelled after former team part-owner Don Cherry's famous dog, "Blue") playing hockey in hockey gear. The team wears red and black CCM gloves and CCM helmets (black or white, depending upon their jersey colour).

Arenas

Meridian Centre

The IceDogs moved into the Meridian Centre on October 16, 2014. Located at 1 Ice Dogs Way in St. Catharines, the Meridian Centre features a combination of 5,300 permanent and retractable seats.

Jack Gatecliff Arena

The Gatorade Garden City Complex, formerly known as the Garden City Arena and the Jack Gatecliff Arena, is a publicly owned and operated facility in St. Catharines. It is located at 8 Gale Crescent and features two ice surfaces (the Rex Stimers Arena and the Jack Gatecliff Arena). The IceDogs played in the Jack Gatecliff Arena of the complex for 7 seasons. The arena's capacity is 3,145 including standing room, making it smaller than most CHL arenas. With an ice surface of 190 x 85 feet, its dimensions are also smaller than the typical CHL ice surface. It is commonly referred to by fans as 'the Jack'.

The original arena was built in 1932 and became the oldest arena currently used in the CHL following the Windsor Spitfires move to the WFCU Centre in 2008–09. It was previously used by the St. Catharines Teepees, St. Catharines Black Hawks, St. Catharines Fincups and the St. Catharines Saints. Renovated in 1996, it was named after local sportswriter Jack Gatecliff.

Niagara Falls Memorial Arena

On March 1, 2009, the Niagara IceDogs hosted a home game at Niagara Falls Memorial Arena in nearby Niagara Falls, Ontario. The arena, slated to close in 2010, was the former home to both the Niagara Falls Flyers and the Niagara Falls Thunder. The game was billed as the last OHL game in the arena. The announced crowd of 3,167 was the largest home crowd in franchise history.

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See also

References
  1. "::The Official Mississauga St. Michael's Majors Website::". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
  2. Niagara IceDogs :: OHL Major Junior Hockey Team
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