It was a late one, but a good one as the Dryden Ice Dogs hosted the Fort William Northstars at the Dryden Memorial Arena Saturday night.  The puck didn’t drop until 8:45pm, however the Dogs were ready to battle.  It was Justin Lightfoot who got Dryden on the board first at 13:44 on the powerplay of the first, to make it 1-0 for Dryden.  Josh Baker and Kyle Heck were the helpers.   At the end of 20 Minutes, Dryden was up 1-0 on the Northstars, outshooting them 12-7.

As the 40 Minute Buzzer sounded, Dryden would still be holding onto the lead 1-0, as the shot total after 40 minutes would be, 23-18 in favour of the Ice Dogs.  With the 1 goal lead going into the 3rd period, Dryden would not want a repeat of Wednesday’s game….and the battle continued.  As the time ticked down on the 3rd period, and an Empty Northstars net at the other end of the rink, Chad Liley would get the security marker at 19:30 of the third, with the assists going to Kevin Burton and Tim Kavanaugh.  As the 60 minute buzzer sounded, Ice Dog’s netminder, Josh Baker would be the first to shutout the first place Fort William Northstars this season as Dryden would defeat the Northstars 2-0.  Baker would stop all 34 shots for the Win.

The sites are set now to win on Wednesday night at take the 3 game series against the Northstars in Thunder Bay.

Your Dryden Ice Dogs are preparing to play host to the Fort William Northstars Saturday night.  We are urging people to come out and support the Dogs even though its a later start than normal, as gametime Saturday night is 8:45PM (CST).  The Club would like to apologize for the late start, however, if the last matchup between the Stars and Dogs have any effect on Saturdays match up, you should expect to see PLAYOFF STYLE hockey.  Wednesday night in Thunder Bay had the two teams neck and neck for 60 minutes, with the Northstars taking the first of three games against the Dryden Ice Dogs.

Again, the puck drops on the “BATTLE OF THE TOP TWO” at 8:45PM (CST) at the Dryden Memorial Arena, Saturday Feb. 6, 2010.

Despite having a 2-1 lead after 40 Minutes of play, the Dryden Ice Dogs were defeated by the Fort William Northstars, 3-2, last night in Thunder Bay.  The Northstars would strike first on the powerplay at 12:12 of the first, to get out to a 1-0 lead, but was shortlived as BJ McClellan would get Dryden on the board at 13:56 with the assist going to brother Ben McClellan.

It wouldn’t be until the 16:14 mark of the second before another goal was scored, as BJ McClellan would get his second of the game with the helpers going to Kevin Burton and Jon Mitchell.  Dryden would find themselves dominating the play in the second, but was foiled by the Northstars netminder, as McClellan’s marker was the lone goal of the period.

Going into the third period up by one, the Dryden Ice Dogs would set their sites on defending the lead.  The Northstars would even things up early, as they scored at 6:50 of the third, making it 2-2.  Nearing the end of a 5-3 powerplay, the Ice Dog’s fear would become reality, as the Northstars would score shorthanded at 16:29 of the third, giving them the 3-2 lead.  Still with on the powerplay, the Dogs would try to pressure and work at getting that goal to even things up, however, would find themselves getting penalty of their own, which would end the powerplay.  The buzzer would sound at 60, giving the Northstars the 3-2 win over the Dryden Ice Dogs.

Dryden will now have the next few days to prepare to face the Northstars for the second time, as they play host to the Northstars on Saturday Feb. 6, 2010 at the Dryden Memorial Arena.  **PLEASE NOTE**, due to prior scheduling, this game will start at 8:45PM (CST).  We hope that everyone will come out and support the Ice Dogs, as it will be a BATTLE OF THE TOP TWO!  Lets ROCK THE POUND!

The Dryden Ice Dogs will be facing the Fort William Northstars tonight in Thunder Bay, Ontario.  Dryden is going into tonights game with a record of 5-0-0 in the last 5 games, while Northstars has had a rougher time, going 2-3-0 in their last 5 games.  Currently, Dryden is still the best in the league for powerplays with a 27.84 powerplay percentage, while Northstars are the best on the Penalty Kill with a 90.23 PK Percentage.  The last time these two teams met, was back on January 9, 2010 where the Northstars defeated the Ice Dogs despite an early 2-0 Ice Dog’s lead.  The final was 5-2.

Gametime tonight is 6:30PM (CST), CKDR will have the call starting at 6:15PM (CST).

click image to listen live starting at 6:15PM(CST)

Chris Pronger ( Phildalphia Flyers; NHL )

The Dryden Ice Dogs received a nice gift from Chris Pronger recently, in the way of a money donation.  When asked about the donation, Team President Ted Lake had this to say, ” On Behalf of the Dryden Ice Dogs Hockey Club, I would like to Thank Chris Pronger for the gracious donation of $5,000.00.  It comes at a time in the season when it is needed the most and will be used to keep Junior Hockey alive in Dryden.  Once again THANK YOU Chris for supporting our hometown team.  The organization would like to wish you luck with the rest of your season as well as we Believe you’ll bring home the gold in Vancouver.”