We got an email a couple of weeks ago from our friend and fellow road tripper Kevin Jordan from London, Ontario. Kevin is a junior hockey enthusiast and hosts a site called the OHL Arena Guide which is an awesome online resource to all the venues in the Ontario Hockey League. And now he is expanding the site into the QMJHL.

Kevin notified us that he and his buddy Chris were going to see the Niagara Ice Dogs, the newest team in the OHL, and would we like to meet up with him. So why not! We circled the date on the calendar and made plans.

So here’s the poop on the Niagara Ice Dogs - the team was based in Mississauga until the Toronto St. Mike’s Majors decided to relocate out of Toronto and into the Hershey Centre in Missisauga. This left the Ice Dogs without a home venue and an owner, until the Burke family stepped in to buy the team and bring it to the Niagara Region. The team has taken up residence at the Gatorade Garden City Complex, more commonly known as Jack Gatecliff Arena.

With all the gleaming and spectacular arenas going up around the OHL, a visit to this arena is definitely an old school experience. They can shoe horn a bit over 3100 fans into the place, wood bench seating, a very narrow concourse above the seating bowl and a low roof makes this the most intimate of places. Most concessions and a nice team store are located surrounding the main lobby and staircase at one end zone. And keep in mind that the arena shares space with a junior B team and a second practice arena.

We spoke a bit with Denise Burke, the team President and she spoke very proudly of the organizational accomplishments. “We got a franchise moved, a venue set up and an organization established in a roughly three month period. So we like to pat ourselves on the back.” We got mixed answers from her on the team’s plans for a new arena, except an acknowledgement that something will have to be done evenutally.

Last night it was a packed house, and we mean packed… 3145 attendance, and the building was rocking, but the streaking Ice Dogs fell apart in the third period, succumbing to the London Knights 6-3.

Props to Jon Kursikowski of the Ice Dogs for arranging for the interview and the press creds. We will have a more thorough story on the team in a future Puck Stop column.

And all the best to Kevin and Chris…after this game they were heading up to Val D’or and Rouyn-Noranda in Quebec, about a 600 mile drive straight north then east, to catch a pair of games this weekend in the Q. We bid them farewell with a twinge of envy. Val D’or… Rouyn-Noranda… now that would be a “WTF are we doing here?” moment!

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