All posts by Randy Russon
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]
Two jobs for Kyle Brick
Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are showing added faith in highly-successful coach Kyle Brick. …[read more]
Soo packs, RBC plays on
And so it is written. For Soo Thunderbirds, the off-season begins. For Rayside Balfour Canadians, the games will continue. …[read more]
Hat trick for Trine
Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are moving yet another player to Trine University, a Division 3 National Collegiate Athletic Association school. …[read more]
NOJHL appeal process
If you happen to be one of those who is expressing outrage at Robert Mazzuca for the reduction in suspension to Rayside Balfour Canadians forward James White, don’t take your hostilities out on the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League commissioner. …[read more]
Soo Eagles to Trine X 2
Another member of the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has committed to Trine University, a Division 3 National Collegiate Athletic Association school. …[read more]
North Bay shows the way
The minor midget talent pool from North Bay out-splashed Sault Ste. Marie by several lengths at the 2018 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft. …[read more]
Mauro has an Erie feeling
Better late than never. Soo Thunderbirds minor midget forward Justin Mauro was picked by the Erie Otters in the 15th round of today’s Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft. …[read more]
Beavers to Wolves
Sudbury Wolves made a startling selection in the 10th round of today’s Ontario Hockey League draft. In a process that is designed for players born in 2002, the Wolves opted for 2000 birth year centre Owen Robinson from the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
David Campbell drafted
Sault Ste. Marie product David Campbell has become a prospect of the North Bay Battalion. The lanky forward, who starred for the North Bay Trappers of the Great North Midget Hockey League during the 2017-2018 season, was taken by the Battalion in the fourth round of today’s Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft. …[read more]
Hounds withstand Attack
Soo Greyhounds flirted with danger on Friday night. Oh yes they did. But the best team in the Ontario Hockey League was able to escape the danger zone and avoid a second straight Attack. …[read more]
Attack on the Hounds
Soo Greyhounds don’t have much time to lick their wounds after being soundly cuffed by the Owen Sound Attack on Thursday. …[read more]
T-Birds even the score
It has been reduced to a best-of-three series. Playing at home on Thursday, Soo Thunderbirds came through with a clutch 8-2 verdict over the Rayside Balfour Canadians to even their Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League playoff series at two games each. …[read more]