THUNDER BAY – The Dryden GM Ice Dogs feel like they have finally shaken off the injury bug that has plagued them for most of the season.
Forward McLaren Paulsen is looking forward to having everybody available for the beginning of the Bill Salonen Cup playoffs.
“We had such an up and down year. I think we have had to overcome more suspensions and injuries than any other team in the league, and we have handled that adversity extremely well,” Paulsen said.
Home ice advantage in round one came down to the last weekend of regular season play between these teams. The Ice Dogs came from behind on March 15 to upend the North Stars 3-2 while the Miners fell to the Fighting Walleye 5-2; that meant the Ice Dogs would finish fourth and the Miners would settle for fifth place.
Paulsen pointed to the comeback as one that stands out to him.
“We were playing with an extremely short-handed lineup, and our head coach was suspended,” Paulsen recalled.
“We came in the room after the first period and had a message of chipping away at their lead and clawing our way back into the game. We were able to score three unanswered goals in the next two periods to win the game.”
“That effort showed the team that no matter what is going on, we can find a way to win a game and it was a huge character moment for us as a group.”
The Ice Dogs completed the regular season with a 31-16-1-1 record while the Miners were 29-18-2-0 over their 49 games played. The Ice Dogs and Miners last met in the 2022 Semifinal.
The Miners won three games in Dryden, capping off the series win with a 5-1 victory on April 17, 2022.
“The Miners are an extremely hard-working team. There are not many nights where they get outworked by the opposition,” Paulsen added. “They are defensively sound in their own end so we need to use our size and skill to dominate the play.”
“Their rink isn’t a regular sized ice surface so being able to adjust to play in their facility and win games there will help us.”
Paulsen stated quite simply that the Ice Dogs need to be consistent and be ready to play every night of the playoffs.
“When we play to our capabilities, I feel there isn’t a team in the league that can beat us,” Paulsen noted. “We have a great group of players with a lot of motivation after what happened last year in the playoffs. The team knows what’s on the line and will be ready come March 23."
The Bill Salonen Cup winner will represent the Superior International Junior Hockey League at the Centennial Cup in Oakville, Ontario.
Head to Head
Sept 30: Miners 0 @ Ice Dogs 2
Nov 24: Ice Dogs 4 @ Miners 5
Dec 12: Miners 2 @ Ice Dogs 1
Jan 5: Miners 5 @ Ice Dogs 2
Jan 6: Miners 0 @ Ice Dogs 1
Jan 27: Ice Dogs 3 @ Miners 2
The teams split the season series with the Miners outscoring the Ice Dogs 14-13
Series Schedule
Sat March 23: Miners @ Ice Dogs 7:30pm
Sun March 24: Miners @ Ice Dogs 3:30pm
Tues March 26: Ice Dogs @ Miners 7:05pm
Wed March 27: Ice Dogs @ Miners 7:05pm
Dougall Media also reached out to Red Lake Miners Captain Luke DeCorby for his perspective in this article.
