All posts by Randy Russon
Miller time in Vegas
There is a strong Sault Ste. Marie presence in the Stanley Cup final between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Washington Capitals. …[read more]
Bulldogs had a good run
They out-played and out-chanced the host Regina Pats in the semi-final match of the 2018 Memorial Cup championship tournament. And while the 2017-2018 season ended for the Hamilton Bulldogs with a 4-2 loss, it was a very good run for the Ontario Hockey League champions. …[read more]
Here’s to the Bulldogs
Being clearly provincial and partisan towards the Ontario Hockey League, I am rooting for the Hamilton Bulldogs to win the 100th rendition of the prestigious Memorial Cup championship tournament. …[read more]
Memorial Cup matchups
Three teams, including the Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs, remain in the quest for the 2018 Memorial Cup title. …[read more]
Timmins Majors discover…
Score two for the Timmins Majors of the Great North Midget Hockey League. The Timmins midgets have confirmed a pair of skills and fitness related partnerships ahead of the 2018-2019 season. …[read more]
Palmerio defines character
Heart. Soul. Character. Passion. They are just four of the many positive words than can be used relative to graduated Soo Eagles captain Jake Palmerio. …[read more]
Soo Eagles to Johnstown
Assistant coach Nick Perri is moving on from the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League for a similar position with the Johnstown Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Up and down Hounds
A first-place finish during the 2017-2018 regular season that included 116 points from a record of 55-7-6 did not lead to an Ontario Hockey League playoff championship for the Soo Greyhounds. …[read more]
Irish hockey in Detroit
Detroit Fighting Irish has expanded the duties of Steve Glover, general manager Dan Vasquez has confirmed to Hockey News North. …[read more]
Some of what was said
Plenty of words were spoken, flattering ones at that, after the Hamilton Bulldogs upended the regular-season champion Soo Greyhounds to win the Ontario Hockey League title series four games to two. …[read more]
Hail to the OHL champs
The team that deserved to win the Ontario Hockey League championship did just that. As good as the Soo Greyhounds were, the Hamilton Bulldogs were better. …[read more]
A hockey story a day …
For players, the hockey season can vary in length from about six to nine months, depending on the age group and level. …[read more]
Eyes on Hounds, Bulldogs
The best team in the Ontario Hockey League over the course of the 2017-2018 regular season faces elimination today. …[read more]
Hamilton has the hammer
The underdogs from Hamilton are a win away from taking the Ontario Hockey League championship from the top dogs of Sault Ste. Marie. …[read more]
Razzle dazzle playoff days
It began in the third week of March and has played on until the middle of May. Thrills, spills and chills of the 2018 Ontario Hockey League playoff race towards championship glory have been plentiful. …[read more]
Jumbo hot dog a la Cherry
I am on record as saying that I agreed with Don Cherry when the outspoken Hockey Night In Canada commentator referred to the Soo Greyhounds as “hot dogs” because of the way they seem to over-celebrate goals. …[read more]
First shift for Sault girls
Here’s to you, girls. Sault Female Hockey Association is poised to offer a cost-effective introduction to the sport for girls 6-10-years old, local president Elissa Plastino has confirmed. …[read more]
OHL history in Hamilton
The Ontario Hockey League officially returned to Hamilton in 2015 when the Bulldogs took the place of the relocated Belleville Bulls. That was then, this is now. …[read more]
No bad dogs here
Opportunistically speaking, if only Hamilton was the host city for this year’s Memorial Cup tournament, which will be held later this month in Regina, Saskatchewan. …[read more]
Soo Eagles hire new coach
Doug Laprade, who was part of National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams as both a player and assistant coach with the Lake Superior State Lakers, is the new head coach of the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Spring minor hockey scene
Spring has sprung and the minor hockey season in Sault Ste. Marie is on session break until the fall. Or maybe it isn’t. …[read more]
Bulldogs bite back
Hamilton Bulldogs have drawn first blood in their Ontario Hockey League championship series with the top ranked Soo Greyhounds. …[read more]
Dog days of May
This has the makings of a real dog fight. Soo Greyhounds and Hamilton Bulldogs are unleashed with their collars off and eager to mark their territory as champions of the Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
New coach in French River
French River Rapids of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have hired former Ontario Hockey League defenseman Shawn Frappier as their new head coach, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Cicchello has OHL invites
Defenseman Tristan Cicchello, fresh from an eye-catching rookie season with Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, will have ample opportunity to showcase himself at upcoming Ontario Hockey League tryout camps. …[read more]
Frantic night in Houndtown
All it would have taken was an overtime goal from the upset-minded visitors and the season would have come to a stunning conclusion for the no. 1 ranked team in Canada. …[read more]
Capy out as Eagles coach
Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have made a change at the head coach position, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Seven Up
There’s nothing quite like quenching a playoff thirst than with the refreshing taste of a Game 7. Mmmmm. Bring it on, baby. …[read more]
Home sweet home
Put the pressure on. Force the issue. Take advantage of home ice. Firing it up in that fashion on Friday, Soo Greyhounds pushed Kitchener Rangers to the embers of the grill with a 7-3 sizzler before close to 4,900 partisan fans. …[read more]
Hamilton hums into finals
Hamilton Bulldogs can take a break and await the winner of the Western Conference finals between the Soo Greyhounds and Kitchener Rangers. …[read more]
Series math: 2 + 2 = tie
Depending on what side of the equation you are on, there are a number of ways to study the Ontario Hockey League playoff series between Soo Greyhounds and Kitchener Rangers. …[read more]
Crunch time for Lenny
He adds a lot of colour to the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. He can be funny, frantic and furious all in one. He is a man of his word — and a man of many words. And in his fourth season with the Cochrane Crunch since bringing junior hockey to the northeastern Ontario town of about 5,000 residents, Ryan Leonard is an NOJHL champion. …[read more]
Scouts on Beaver dam
Good teams have good scouts. Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are a good team. And they have added more good scouts. …[read more]
Crunch a punch away
Cochrane Crunch is one click away from punching its ticket into the Dudley Hewitt Cup, Central Canada championships. …[read more]
Hounds, Bulldogs in the lead
Could this be the year of the dog in the Ontario Hockey League? To be sure, Soo Greyhounds and Hamilton Bulldogs are the pick of the litter thus far in the playoffs. …[read more]
Title tilt tied 2-2
As we catch up with the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, the Cochrane Crunch has caught up with the Rayside Balfour Canadians. …[read more]
McKenzie’s his own man
He is not nearly as well known in the hockey world as his famous dad. But very few are. Besides, Kitchener Rangers general manager Mike McKenzie is making a good name for himself on his own. …[read more]
Katchouk v. Culina
Two members of the 2014-2015 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League and Dudley Hewitt Cup champion Soo Thunderbirds will be on opposite sides of the Ontario Hockey League, Western Conference title series. …[read more]
Standing room only
I am not a press box guy. It has nothing to do with heights (well, maybe a little) or disliking someone who sits in media row. It’s just that I would rather stand among the fans to watch a Greyhound game, walk around the rink, take in the atmosphere and listen to the various comments of the passionate hockey souls of Sault Ste. Marie. …[read more]
Hounds fend off Attack
The hot dogs emerged as top dogs over the under dogs. A little mustard, a little ketchup, a little relish and the Soo Greyhounds finally downed the Owen Sound Attack. With a gulp. …[read more]
Seventh sojourn
Tonight’s the night. Whether it’s Rod Stewart singing it or not, tonight is the night for the Soo Greyhounds and Owen Sound Attack. …[read more]
Culina cool under fire
Overage goalie Mario Culina has back-stopped the Kitchener Rangers into the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2012. A Sault Ste. Marie product, Culina has won 21 games for Kitchener since the Rangers acquired him from the Sudbury Wolves at the January 9 trade deadline. …[read more]
Good coach, Todd Gill
Different coaches have different strengths. Different coaches implement different systems and different styles of play. …[read more]
Plenty of Spirit here
That’s the Spirit! Saginaw Spirit has moved quickly to sign its two second-round picks from the recent Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft. …[read more]
Hounds halt the Attack
Good coaches and good teams make adjustments in the wake of defeat. With a tweak or two to the master plan, Soo Greyhounds have won two straight matches to take a three games to two lead on the Owen Sound Attack in the second round, best-of-seven, Ontario Hockey League playoff series. …[read more]
Game 5 factors
They have momentum. They have restored home ice advantage. They are factors that could favour Soo Greyhounds over Owen Sound Attack as the teams meet tonight in a pivotal Game 5 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff series. …[read more]
Wolves add to net worth
Seeming intent on creating more competition between the pipes, Sudbury Wolves now have a pack of goalies to choose from ahead of the 2018-2019 season. …[read more]
Hockey moms for Humboldt
The deadly, horrific bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Jr. Hockey League has tugged at the heart strings of the nation, while somehow bringing it closer together. …[read more]