Ice Dog, Kevin Burton, Collides with Northstars, Savard, as they battle for the puck

The Dryden Ice Dogs are on the road this morning, as they travel to Thunder Bay, Ontario in search of the Bill Salonen Cup!  The Ice Dogs will battle the Fort William Northstars in Game One of the S.I.J.H.L Finals.  Gametime tonight is 6:30PM (CST), CKDR will have the action LIVE! from Fort William Gardens starting at 6:15PM (CST).

The question of our recent poll was : ” What will be KeyFor The Ice Dogs To Become League Champions? “  There was a tie at 40% each, as most think that both Defense and Discipline is key for the Ice Dogs to become Champions.  Keep voting now as the poll will continue throughout the day.

click image to listen LIVE! from Thunder Bay. Starting at 6:15PM(CST)

With the puck dropping on the Final Series in less than 24 hours, here are some numbers from the Regular Season, and the post season so far :

In the Regular Season, the Northstars had the Ice Dogs number, defeating the Ice Dogs 9 out of the 12 meetings.  3 of those games were in Overtime, with the Ice Dogs winning 1 and the Northstars winning 2.  The Northstars also out scored the Ice Dogs 45 to 25, however with the sudden pressure from the Ice Dogs, the Northstars haven’t been able to Solve the Dogs in the last 3 meetings.

The tale of the goaltenders is as follows :

With only 22 games under his belt, Josh Baker shows his experience as he lead the league with a save percentage of .924, however Northstars Netminder Guillaume Piche leads with a GAA of 1.90.

When it comes to special teams, Dryden comes out on top during the regular season for powerplay, with a 24.77 powerplay percentage.  Meanwhile, the Northstars top the penalty killing with a 91.03 penalty kill percentage.  Where the numbers get tight is, in the high pressure moments, when you need that winning goal, as the Northstars have the league leader in winning goals during the regular season.  Jordan Davis has a total of 7 Game Winning Goals, however  Dryden’s Kyle Heck is only one behind with 6 Game Winning Goals.

Scoring is a key factor of each team, as all 10 players that finished the regular season on the Top 10 Scoring Leaders are members of either the Dryden Ice Dogs or Fort William Northstars.  The top 3 are members of the Northstars, with the fourth tied at 4th.  Dryden boosts 6 Players on the top 10, with 2 tied for 4th.  However, one of Dryden’s top 10 is Defenseman Jon Mitchell.  With 58 pts, Mitchell hits the list at #8, and is the only Defenseman on the Top 10.

The excitement starts Wednesday March 30, 2010 in Thunder Bay at 6:30PM (CST), CKDR will have the play by play starting at 6:15PM (CST).

The Dryden Ice Dogs took time out of their busy playoff schedule to have some fun with a local Dryden Minor Hockey Atom Hockey Team as a part of their Season Wind Up.  The Nitro’s and Members of the Dryden Ice Dogs ripped up the lanes at Timberlanes Bowling Alley this past Saturday Night.  See the photo’s below:

Members of the Dryden Ice Dogs with The Dryden Nitro's	Dryden Ice Dog Co-Captain, Kevin Burton	Dryden Ice Dog's, Kyle Heck and Bredan Wertanen
Dryden Ice Dog, Spencer Gyori	Dryden Ice Dog, Kevin Raine	Dryden Ice Dog, Andrew Hansen

Former Northstar, Carter Hutton.

Another plus for the league, as it was announced that former Fort William Northstars netminder, Carter Hutton, is now a member of the Philidelphia Flyers.  After leaving the Northstars, Hutton went on to UMass-Lowell (NCAA) and set numerous School Records.  Then continued to the AHL with the Adirondack Phantoms, and more recently was called up to the BIG CLUB.  It is expected that Hutton will be with the Flyers for the remainder of the season.  The Dryden Ice Dogs would like to congratulate Carter Hutton!

Current Ice Dog, Will Kinsman

Former Ice Dog, Paul Peterson

During the off season last summer, one current Ice Dog and one former Ice Dog took part in the filming of ” KEEP YOUR HEAD UP, KID : The Don Cherry Story “.  Will Kinsman and Paul Peterson were both on ice extra’s on set for the filming of the CBC Movie based on the life story of Don Cherry.  The movie was aired on CBC in a two part series this week.