SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
SIJHL MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2015
SIJHL Bill Salonen Cup final preview: Fort Frances – Dryden
THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The Superior International Junior Hockey League’s Bill Salonen Cup championship series gets underway Thursday at Ice for Kids Arena in Fort Frances as the hometown Lakers host the Dryden GM Ice Dogs in Game 1 of the SIJHL final.
The following is a preview of the Bill Salonen Cup:
THE FINALS: Both organizations are no strangers to the Bill Salonen Cup league championship series.
This marks the fourth consecutive year the Lakers are vying for the title and enter the series as defending league champions.
The SIJHL’s inaugural season of 2001-02 saw Dryden sweep the Fort Frances-based Borderland Thunder in four straight to claim the first-ever Bill Salonen Cup crown.
Borderland bounced back to win it all the following campaign and also made an appearance in the 2005 finals where they fell to the Fort William North Stars.
As an original member of the SIJHL, Dryden is making their seventh appearance in the Bill Salonen Cup final in 14 years having won twice in 2002 and 2008 and finishing runner-up on four other occasions.
The following is the list of Bill Salonen Cup champions and league finalists is SIJHL history.
SEASON CHAMPION FINALIST
2001-02 Dryden Ice Dogs Borderland Thunder
2002-03 Borderland Thunder Thunder Bay Bulldogs
2003-04 Fort William North Stars Dryden Ice Dogs
2004-05 Fort William North Stars Borderland Thunder
2005-06 Fort William North Stars* Dryden Ice Dogs
2006-07 Schreiber Diesels Fort William North Stars
2007-08 Dryden Ice Dogs Fort William North Stars
2008-09 Fort William North Stars Thunder Bay Bearcats
2009-10 Fort William North Stars Dryden Ice Dogs
2010-11 Wisconsin Wilderness Dryden Ice Dogs
2011-12 Wisconsin Wilderness Fort Frances Lakers
2012-13 Minnesota Wilderness* Fort Frances Lakers
2013-14 Fort Frances Lakers Minnesota Iron Rangers
*-Denotes Dudley-Hewitt Cup champions
THE TROPHY: The SIJHL championship trophy is named after Mr. Bill Salonen.
This long-time hockey man is a life member of Hockey Northwestern Ontario and is also an honoured member of the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.
He hails from Dryden and also served as the town’s mayor previously.
Salonen is a widely respected individual who has volunteered countless years in sport and otherwise in the region for the benefit of those in Northwestern Ontario.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: As the Lakers and Ice Dogs meet for the SIJHL title, this marks the fifth time the two organizations will have met in the playoffs.
The two previous get togethers were in 2012 and 2013 in semifinal action with the Lakers coming out on top on both occasions.
In their first two playoff series, it was Dryden that came away victorious in 2010 and 2011.
When Fort Frances were known as the Jr. Sabres, the two sides never met in the postseason.
In the first four years of the SIJHL, Dryden and the then Fort Frances-based Borderland Thunder squared off each season with both clubs winning twice, including in the inaugural Salonen Cup final in 2002 where the Ice Dogs swept their way to the crown.
ALL-TIME DRYDEN/FORT FRANCES (BORDERLAND) PLAYOFF MATCH-UPS
YEAR ROUND SERIES RESULT
2013 Semifinals Fort Frances 4 Dryden 3
2012 Semifinals Fort Frances 4 Ice Dogs 0
2011 Semifinals Dryden 4 Fort Frances 2
2010 Semifinals Dryden 4 Fort Frances 2
2005 Semifinals Borderland 4 Dryden 0
2004 Semifinals Dryden 4 Borderland 3
2003 Semifinals Borderland 4 Dryden 0
2002 Final Dryden 4 Borderland 0
SEASON SERIES: During the course of regular season play the two teams met a total of 14 times with the Lakers winning nine and the Ice Dogs taking five.
Three of those contests went to extra time with Fort Frances prevailing two twice in a shootout and Dryden winning the other in overtime.
HOW THEY ADVANCED: Fort Frances earned their fourth straight trip to the SIJHL finals after disposing the Thunder Bay North Stars in five games in semifinal play.
As for Dryden then knocked off the Minnesota Iron Rangers in six games to win their semifinal series.
FORT FRANCES: The Lakers used a well-balanced attack in getting past Thunder Bay with eight different skaters picking up five points or more vs. the North Stars.
Leading the way was forward Wyatt Cota along with defencemen Cody Antonini and Nick Minerva ,who amassed seven points apiece to pace the club offensively.
Nolan Ross leads the Lakers in playoff goals with five.
Goaltender Nathan Park is 4-0 in the postseason so far with a 2.50 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.
Fort Frances was flying on the power play in semifinal action vs. Thunder Bay clicking at a success rate at 32%.
Their penalty kill suffered a bit however as they went 79.4% on the P.K.
DRYDEN: As he did in the regular season, SIJHL MVP Cole Golka tops the GM Ice Dogs in playoff scoring so far with 11 points on five tallies and six assists.
The majority of offensive production has come from Dryden’s big line of Golka, Jonathon Philley and Blake Berg.
Along with Golka’s 11 points, Philley has supplied nine of his own while Berg has seven to his credit.
Tate Sproxton played every minute in their series win over Minnesota registering a 2.17 average along with a .936 save mark.
The Ice Dogs power play went 16% in the semifinals while their penalty kill was a solid 92%.
NEXT UP: As Fort Frances is also the host team of the Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canada Jr. A championship later in the month, it means Dryden has earned an automatic berth in the four-team event as the SIJHL’s other representative.
They will be joined by the winners of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and the Ontario Junior Hockey League with a berth to the RBC Cup national Jr. A event in Portage la Prairie, Man., on the line.
The NOJHL Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy final gets underway Saturday in Sault Ste. Marie as the Soo Thunderbirds take on the Cochrane Crunch in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series.
Meanwhile the OJHL Buckland Cup championship features the defending league and Dudley-Hewitt Cup winning Toronto Patriots meeting the Kingston Voyageurs.
That best-of-seven affair also begins Saturday, in Toronto.
FASTHOCKEY: Each SIJHL playoff game will be available online via pay-per-view on FASTHockey, the official broadcast provider of the SIJHL and the Canadian Junior Hockey League.
Simply visit sijhl.fasthockey.com for all the action.
Live online scoring of all postseason contests will also be available through the league website at www.sijhlhockey.com.
SIJHL BILL SALONEN CUP FINAL
Schedule
No. 1 Fort Frances Lakers vs. No. 3 Dryden GM Ice Dogs
Best-of-seven series
Game 1: Thursday, April 9 @ Fort Frances 7:30 p.m. (Ice for Kids Arena)
Game 2: Friday, April 10 @ Fort Frances 6:30 p.m. (Ice for Kids)
Game 3: Tuesday, April 14 @ Dryden 7:30 p.m. (Memorial Arena)
Game 4: Wednesday, April 15 @ Dryden 7:30 p.m. (Memorial)
Game 5*: Friday, April 17 @ Fort Frances 7:30 p.m. (Ice for Kids)
Game 6*: Saturday, April 18 @ Dryden 7:30 p.m. (Memorial)
Game 7*: Tuesday, April 21 @ Fort Frances 7:30 p.m. (Ice for Kids)
*-if necessary