Familiar faces to compete for Dudley-Hewitt Cup

DUDLEY-HEWITT CUP

DHC MEDIA UPDATE

Release Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Familiar faces to compete for Dudley-Hewitt Cup

FORT FRANCES, Ont. – The field for the Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canada Jr. A Championship at Ice for Kids Arena in Fort Frances has now been finalized.

Rounding out the four-team event will be the defending Dudley-Hewitt Cup champion Toronto Patriots, who punched their ticket to Fort Frances with a 6-1 victory over the Kingston Voyageurs Wednesday in Game 7 of the Ontario Junior Hockey League Buckland Cup final Wednesday evening.

Toronto will head to the Borderland looking to repeat as Dudley-Hewitt Cup winners after capturing the crown last year in Wellington, Ont.

Looking to wrestle the title away from the Patriots will be the DHC host Fort Frances Lakers as well as the Dryden GM Ice Dogs and the Soo Thunderbirds.

The Lakers are the two-time defending Bill Salonen Cup champions of the Superior International Junior Hockey League while the GM Ice Dogs were SIJHL finalists.

Toronto defeated Fort Frances in semifinal action at last season’s DHC en route to the title and a berth to the RBC Cup Canadian Jr. A Championship.

As for Sault Ste. Marie, they are the winners of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, and like the other clubs are no strangers to the DHC.

Each of the four competing clubs have battled for the Dudley-Hewitt Cup on multiple occasions.

While the Patriots and Lakers are back in the DHC for a second straight year, Dryden will be making their fourth appearance in the event in their 14-year history.

The Thunderbirds can top all three of their rivals as they have been a NOJHL representative at five of the past seven Central Canada Jr. A Championships.

They hosted the 2010 event and were also one of two league reps in North Bay back in 2013.

Ironically this also marks the third straight occasion that the Thunderbirds will play in DHC when the SIJHL has served as host of the four-team tourney.

They finished fourth in 2009 in Schreiber, Ont., before rebounding to win it all in 2012 as they captured their first Dudley-Hewitt Cup crown in Thunder Bay.

The 2015 version of the DHC begins Tuesday with the initial two round robin games.

Dryden and the Soo kicks thing off at 2 p.m. CT while Fort Frances tangles with Toronto in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m. CT.

FASTHOCKEY: Each Dudley-Hewitt Cup contest will be available online via pay-per-view at fasthockey.com.

DUDLEY-HEWITT CUP WEBSITE: More information on the 2015 Dudley-Hewitt Cup, including ticket packages, can be found on the official event website at www.centralcanadianchampionship.com.

Additional news, statistics, schedules and other relevant material is also posted on the website with other relevant information being added leading up to the event.

RBC CUP: The Dudley-Hewitt Cup winner will advance to represent the central region at the 2015 RBC Cup Canadian Jr. A Championship, May 9-17, in Portage la Prairie, Man.

Serving as host will be the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

Joining the Terriers and Dudley-Hewitt title holders will be the champion and finalist of Crescent Energy Western Canadian Championship as well as the winner of the Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian Championship.

More information on the RBC Cup can be found at www.hockeycanada.ca/rbccup.

Dudley-Hewitt Cup
April 28 – May 2
Ice for Kids Arena
Fort Frances, Ont.

Competing teams
HOST: Fort Frances Lakers (Bill Salonen Cup champion)
SIJHL: Dryden GM Ice Dogs (Bill Salonen Cup finalist)
NOJHL: Soo Thunderbirds (Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy champion)
OJHL: Toronto Patriots (Buckland Cup champion)

Schedule (All start times Central Standard Time)
Tuesday, April 28
Soo vs. Dryden 2 p.m.  
Toronto vs. Fort Frances 7:30 p.m.  
Wednesday, April 29
Toronto vs. Dryden 2 p.m.
Fort Frances vs. Soo 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 30
Soo vs. Toronto 2 p.m.
Dryden vs. Fort Frances 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 1
Semifinal: 2nd Round Robin vs. 3rd Round Robin 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 2
Final: 1st Round Robin vs. Semifinal Winner 7:30 p.m.

DHC champion advances to RBC Cup May 11-19 in Portage la Prairie, Man.