Taking to the Ice in Collingwood
Junior hockey makes an official return to Collingwood on Sunday at 2 p.m. when the Ice takes to the ice of Central Park Arena.
The Collingwood Ice will play host to the Milton Battle Arts Cobras as part of opening weekend in the new, Ontario-based, Canadian International Hockey League.
Collingwood has a lengthy junior hockey history including the erstwhile Blues, who operated for a number of years before ceasing operations.
The new team, which is owned and managed by area businessman Tim Dickieson and coached by Gord Brown, will play out of Central Park Arena in Collingwood until renovations are completed at the stately Eddie Bush Memorial Arena.
The Ice has signed 18 players to a roster that includes 11 Canadians, four Americans and three Europeans.
The new Collingwood entry has a number of players who have prior junior experience in others leagues including defencemen Austin Bissonnette and Matt Dickieson and forwards Sergey Erileev and Phil Koufis.
Then there are 1998 birth-year youngsters Derek Boudreault and Jack Stockdale and 1997 birth year Shawn Mabley.
Boudreault is a forward from Gatineau, Quebec while Stockdale and Mabley are Ontario-born goaltenders.
Ice marketing director Siobhan Llewellyn tells HockeyNewsNorth.com that ticket prices for Collingwood home games will be $8 for adults and $5 for students, children and senior citizens.
Sunday’s opponent, the Battle Arts Cobras of Milton, are coached by legendary National Hockey League goal-scorer Dennis Maruk.
The 58-year old Maruk once scored 66 goals in a single season for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League before going on to play in more than 900 NHL games. While in the NHL with the Washington Capitals, Maruk had seasons in which he scored 50 and 60 goals.
Im impressed with the many OHL/NHL Grads who choose to coach in the CIHL. When you have Denny Lambert, Tom McCarthy n Dennis Maruk that says a lot!
Anxious to check out the “Ice” and we will be at Central Park on Sunday Afternoon for the Home Opener.
A shout out to “Randy Russon” for all of the awesome Articles on the new League that includes the “Ice”.
Up here in this neck of the Wood’s we are hearing that the Russian boy Erileev is the reel deal!!! Any one out there no much about Erileev ? ? ?
I do beleive that he played in the Greater Metro Outlaw League last year.
Erileev is defanitly the “real deal”!!!!
Just a positive comment for all involved with Collingwood…I thought it was really impressive that when I arrived to watch the Ice play the Hawks last week that there were printed tickets and programs available. It looked very professional and added to the experience. (Hopefully we’ll be able to mount more of a challenge next time we meet!) Good luck with your season guys.
What was the score of the game?
3-2