Hockey Notes: Hounds Announce Affiliation

The Soo Greyhounds announced on Tuesday that the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League will be the team’s main affiliate team for the upcoming season.

The affiliation means that some of the Greyhounds top prospects will be able to develop locally and help prepare themselves for the grind of the OHL.

In a release from the Greyhounds, Hounds General Manager Dave Torrie said he was pleased that an agreement could be reached between the two clubs and the Hounds are excited to be able to work with the Thunderbirds.

“We are excited about the opportunity of working with the Soo Thunderbirds,” Torrie said. “We will be able to closely monitor our top prospects.”

Thunderbirds Director of Hockey Operations Al Jones added that the affiliation will be a benefit to both clubs and hopes that the affiliation will also help both clubs be successful.

“The affiliation will benefit both teams,” Jones said in the release. “We will work together to help both clubs be successful.”

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TRAINING CAMPS SET TO OPEN The Soo Greyhounds 2004 training camp will kick off on September 1st. Expecting 50 players to be attending camp, the Greyhounds will open up with registration and fitness testing on the first day before taking to the ice on day two.

On September 2, scrimmages will be held at 9 a.m. and then at 4:30 p.m. September 3 will see two scrimmages as well, the first being again at 9 a.m. while the second, a scrimmage between the 1987 and 1988 birthdates in camp, will be held at 3:30. Saturday, September 4, the Hounds will only have one scrimmage, scheduled for 3 p.m.

Sunday September 5 will see the Greyhounds host their annual Red-White game at Memorial Gardens. Game time is 7 p.m.

All scrimmages will be open to the public.

The exhibition season will open up on September 10th when the Greyhounds host the Sudbury Wolves.

Prior to the Greyhounds opening up training camp, the Soo Thunderbirds have scheduled their training camp for next weekend. The Thunderbirds will open up their training camp on August 28 when the take the ice at 6:30 p.m. On August 29 the Thunderbirds will be on the ice twice, first at 9:30 a.m., then again at 6:30 p.m. All of the Thunderbirds on ice workouts will be held at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

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NEW PRO LEAGUE COMING TO SAULT, MICHIGAN?

After last winter’s announcement that the International Independent Hockey League, a lower-tier professional league, was going to have a team operating out of Sault, Michigan, another professional league is going to try their hand at having a professional team in the Michigan Sault again.

The IIHL, which was home to the Soo City Mavericks, saw the local entry in the league kicked out for what the league called “various defaults in agreements.”

The International Hockey Association, a league that is led by Commissioner Alain Lemieux, brother of NHL superstar Mario, will begin their 2004-05 season with a team in Sault Michigan. Little information is available about the league aside from what is posted on the league’s official website at www.internationalhockeyassociation.com.

The announcement was made by Lemieux in a press release although little information about the ownership was passed along.

“The return of professional hockey to Northern Michigan is key to our long term growth,” Lemieux said in the release. “We will be traveling to the Sault within the next two weeks to introduce the owners and address the community. At this point all I can say is that we are very excited to have a franchise in the Sault and the fans can look forward to an exciting, caliber level of play.”

The IHA includes five other teams along with the Sault, Michigan entry. Teams will also play out of Troy, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; as well as Jamestown, New York. The league also has intentions on expanding to St. Catharines, Ontario and New York City for the 2005-06 season.

The local entry in the IHA will be named the Sault Mariners and the team will play out of the Pullar Center. The team will be coached by Jason Rapcewicz, who is the same man that owned the Mavericks before the team left the IIHL.