Photo credits to Inasuga
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada’s Niagara IceDogs are a top junior ice hockey team that competes in the Ontario Hockey League. Since its establishment in 1996, the franchise has gone under the name Mississauga IceDogs.
Bill and Denise Burke, owners of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres as well as this franchise, are the current owners. After nine seasons in Mississauga, the team was moved to St. Catharines, where it played its first OHL season in the Niagara region in 2007–08.
Wayne Gretzky and Darren DeDobbelaer, the team’s majority and minority owners, respectively, purchased it in 2022. The club saw an increase in attendance and success on the ice as a result of the move, winning the OHL Championship in their first season in St. Catharines.
In 1998–1999, the IceDogs played their inaugural season. Out of 68 games that season, they only suffered 4 losses. They won a total of 16 games in just their first three seasons. They soon had a reputation for being among the worst hockey teams. We must be informed of the circumstances.
The club deserved to be considered one of the worst hockey teams ever. The team played in Mississauga for nine seasons. The win percentage for games during the regular season was 301. Compared to other teams, they performed horribly, winning only about 30% of their games. The group captured both the Eastern Conference title and the Central Division title.
On July 12, 2006, Eugene Melnyk made the IceDogs his own. But after that, he sold the IceDogs and transferred the Majors to the Hershey Center. There was a lot of uproar among team supporters because many of them disapproved of the choice. The squad is thinking about relocating to St. Catharines’ Jack Gatecliff Arena.
The City Council decided on a lease agreement on April 23, 2007. The Board of Governors gave its approval to the deal, which means the team might soon begin playing their games in a new stadium.
The Ice Dogs played their home game on March 1, 2009, close to the Falls. The Niagara Falls Thunder and Niagara Falls Fasth previously called the arena their home. It was anticipated that this would be the final game ever played in the venue. In reality, with a record 3,167 spectators present, it was believed to be the largest home crowd to ever enter the arena.
