Dryden Ice Dogs

The Dryden Ice Dogs are a junior ice hockey team in the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) based in Dryden, Ontario. It is one of the charter teams of the SIJHL.

Dryden Ice Dogs
City	Dryden, Ontario
League	SIJHL
Founded	2001 (2001)
Home arena	Dryden Memorial Arena
Colours
General manager	Jake Gushue
Head coach	Jake Gushue
Media	sijhl.tv
Website	drydenicedogs.com

Arena

The team plays its home games at Dryden Memorial Arena, which was built in 1978–79.^[1][2] The building underwent major renovations between 2020 and 2023.^[3]

History

The Ice Dogs were one of the original five SIJHL teams and have the distinction of being the first club to win the championship Bill Salonen Cup in the inaugural season.^[4] They went on to win subsequent league championships in 2008, 2017, and 2018.^[5]

In 2023, the Ice Dogs hired an historian to curate the history of the club in a book that was expected to be completed during the 2023–24 season.^[6][7]

Regular season statistics

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts	Finish	Playoffs
2001–02	48	25	15	8	0	221	169	58	3rd SIJHL	Won League
2002–03	52	28	20	2	2	248	206	60	3rd SIJHL	Lost semifinals
2003–04	48	28	11	6	3	186	137	65	2nd SIJHL	Lost finals
2004–05	48	24	24	0	0	168	135	48	3rd SIJHL	Lost semifinals
2005–06	52	35	14	1	2	247	159	73	2nd SIJHL	Lost finals
2006–07	50	23	23	4	0	216	212	50	4th SIJHL	Lost semifinals
2007–08	50	36	11	1	2	240	149	75	1st SIJHL	Won League
2008–09	50	20	25	—	5	170	210	45	5th SIJHL	Lost quarterfinals
2009–10	52	38	9	—	5	235	148	81	2nd SIJHL	Lost finals
2010–11	56	34	20	—	2	184	152	70	3rd SIJHL	Lost finals
2011–12	56	25	24	—	7	212	200	57	4th SIJHL	Lost semifinals
2012–13	56	28	25	—	3	189	197	59	3rd SIJHL	Lost semifinals
2013–14	56	21	30	—	5	210	273	47	5th SIJHL	Lost quarterfinals, 2–4 Miners
2014–15	56	30	21	—	5	244	204	65	3rd SIJHL	Won semifinals, 4–2 Iron Rangers Lost League Finals, 2–4 (Lakers)[a]
2015–16	56	33	15	—	8	216	162	70	2nd of 5 SIJHL	Won semifinals, 4–2 (North Stars) Lost League Finals, 2–4 (Lakers)
2016–17	56	45	7	—	4	297	148	94	1st of 6 SIJHL	Won semifinals, 4–0 (Lakers) Won League Finals, 4–0 (Miners) SIJHL Champions
2017–18	56	40	8	—	8	272	148	88	1st of 6 SIJHL	Won semifinals, 4–1 (Lakers) Won League Finals, 4–2 (North Stars) SIJHL Champions
2018–19	56	29	20	—	7	265	195	65	4th of 6 SIJHL	Won quarterfinals, 3–0 (Lakers) Lost semifinals, 1–4 (North Stars)
2019–20	55	25	25	—	5	191	202	55	Season cancelled
2020–21	4	3	1	—	0	16	13	6	Season cancelled
2021–22	46	26	15	3	1	213	136	56	3rd of 7 SIJHL	Won quarterfinals, 3–0 (Lakers) Lost semifinals, 2–4 (Miners)
2022–23	54	37	15	1	0	229	149	76	2nd of 7 SIJHL	Won quarterfinals, 4-1 (Lakers) Lost semifinals, 3–4 (North Stars)
2023–24	49	31	16	1	1	186	147	64	4th of 8 SIJHL	Lost quarterfinals, 1-4 (Miners)
2024–25	50	33	9	2	2	224	136	70	1st of 8 SIJHL	Won Semifinals, 4-0 (Miners) Lost League Finals 2-4 (Fighting Walleye)

1. Advanced to Dudley Hewitt as league runner-up as Fort Francis qualified as host.

Playoffs

Goalie Graeme Harrington relaxes during a game (2007)

• 2002 Won League, lost Dudley Hewitt Cup

Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Nipigon Featherman Hawks 4-games-to-none

Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Fort Frances Borderland Thunder 4-games-to-none SIJHL Champions

Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (NOJHL) defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 2-games-to-none

• 2003 Lost semi-final

Fort Frances Borderland Thunder defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 4-games-to-none

• 2004 Lost final

Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Fort Frances Borderland Thunder 4-games-to-3

Fort William North Stars defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 4-games-to-1

• 2005 Lost semi-final

Fort Frances Borderland Thunder defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 4-games-to-none

• 2006 Lost final, lost Dudley Hewitt Cup semi-final

Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Schreiber Diesels 4-games-to-none

Fort William North Stars defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 4-games-to-none

Third in Dudley Hewitt Cup round robin (1-2)

Sudbury Jr. Wolves (NOJHL) defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 5-4 in semi-final

• 2007 Lost semi-final

Fort William North Stars defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 4-games-to-1

• 2008 Won League, lost Dudley Hewitt Cup semi-final

Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Schreiber Diesels 4-games-to-3

Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Fort William North Stars 4-games-to-1 SIJHL CHAMPIONS

Third in Dudley Hewitt Cup round robin (1-2)

Newmarket Hurricanes (OPJHL) defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 2-1 OT in semi-final

• 2009 Lost quarter-final

Schreiber Diesels defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 3-games-to-none

• 2010 Lost final

First in round robin (4-0) vs. Fort William North Stars and Sioux Lookout Flyers

Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Fort Frances Lakers 4-games-to-2

Fort William North Stars defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 4-games-to-1

• 2011 Lost final

Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Duluth Clydesdales 4-games-to-none

Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Fort Frances Lakers 4-games-to-2

Wisconsin Wilderness defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 4-games-to-none

• 2012 Lost semi-final

Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Sioux Lookout Flyers 4-games-to-1

Fort Frances Lakers defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 4-games-to-none

• 2013 Lost semi-final

Fort Frances Lakers defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 4-games-to-3

Dudley Hewitt Cup

Main article: Dudley Hewitt Cup

The Dudley Hewitt Cup (also known as the Dudley Hewitt Memorial Trophy) was awarded annually from 1971–2019 to the championship Junior 'A' ice hockey team for the Central/East region of Canada.^[8] That region initially extended east from Ontario to The Maritimes.^[8] Later, the field of competition was limited to the championship teams from the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL), and a preselected host team.^[8] The tournament format began with a round-robin to determine seeding, followed by a semifinal elimination round played between the second and third seeds, followed by a final best-of-3 elimination round played between the first-place team and the winner of the semifinal.^[9] The winners of the Dudley Hewitt Cup went on to compete for the national championship Centennial Cup.^[9]

The Dudley Hewitt Cup was named after George Dudley and W. A. Hewitt, who served as administrators for the Ontario Hockey Association and are inductees of the Hockey Hall of Fame.^[10]

Year	Champion	Finalist	Series	Scores
2002	Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats	Dryden Ice Dogs	2–0 (Best of 3)	4–3 (2OT), 7–3
Year	Round-robin	Record	Standing	Semifinal	Championship
2015	L, Soo Thunderbirds 1–8 L, Toronto Patriots 0–6 L, Fort Frances Lakers 3–5	0–3–0	4th of 4	Did not advance
2017	OTW, Georgetown Raiders 5–4 L, Powassan Voodoos 3–4 L, Trenton Golden Hawks 4–10	1–2–0	4th of 4	Did not advance
2018 host	W, Wellington Dukes 4–1 W, Cochrane Crunch 3–0 L, Thunder Bay North Stars 1–2	2–1–0	1st of 4	—	L, Wellington 4–7