Mississauga IceDogs

The Mississauga IceDogs are a former junior ice hockey team in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Ontario Hockey League from 1998 to 2007. A sale relocated the team to St. Catharines, Ontario for the 2007–08 season and they are now called the Niagara IceDogs.
==History==
From 1998 to 2002, the IceDogs enjoyed little success, finishing last in the OHL's Central Division every year. During this building phase, the team had six head coaches within the span of 4 years, including the owner, Don Cherry. Mississauga drafted first overall each year, leading to two rookies of the year, including one of the highest touted NHL prospects in Jason Spezza.
In the 2002–03 season, the IceDogs finished fourth in the Central Division and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but lost in the first round in five games against the Ottawa 67's. 
2003–04 was the IceDogs' best season. The team finished second in the Central Division, two points behind the division champion Toronto St. Michael's Majors, and third overall in the Eastern Conference.
In the first round of the playoffs, the IceDogs defeated the Oshawa Generals in seven games, winning their first-ever playoff series. The IceDogs were down three games to two against the Barrie Colts in the second round but managed to come back and win the series in seven games. The surprise IceDogs then upset the St. Michael's Majors in the Eastern Conference Championship series in six games to win the Bobby Orr Trophy and earn their first-ever trip to the Ontario Hockey League finals. The dream ended there as they fell to the Guelph Storm in four straight games in the OHL final, losing the fourth game at the Hershey Centre.
The 2004–05 season was another record setting season for the IceDogs. They won their first ever Central Division title and finished first in the Eastern Conference with 81 points. Despite regular season success, the IceDogs were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the eighth-seeded St. Michael's Majors in five games. In 2005–06, the IceDogs started rebuilding and missed the playoffs again.
===Change in ownership===
On July 12, 2006, Eugene Melnyk, owner of the Toronto St. Michael's Majors and the NHL's Ottawa Senators, bought the Mississauga IceDogs. After the 2006–07 season, Melnyk sold the IceDogs, and moved the Majors to the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. On January 8, 2007, Toronto businessman Tom Bitove proposed to buy the team with plans to move to Niagara Falls, but city council declined the proposal to build a new arena. As an alternative, the team approached the City of St. Catharines about moving the team into Jack Gatecliff Arena in the downtown core. St. Catharines City Council voted on a leasing arrangement on April 23, 2007, which passed. Bill Burke bought the IceDogs and relocated the team to St. Catharines in time for the 2007–08 season, to be known as the Niagara IceDogs. The IceDogs played their final game in Mississauga on April 1, 2007, losing in game five of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at home to the Sudbury Wolves.
==Championships==
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Bobby Orr TrophyEastern Conference Champions
* 2004 playoffs
</TD><TD VALIGN=TOP>
Emms TrophyCentral Division Champions
* 2004–05 regular season
</TD></TR></TABLE>
==Coaches==
Former team owner and hockey commentator Donald S. Cherry stepped behind the bench to coach the IceDogs for the 2001–02 season, after going through five coaches in three years. The team had its best season to the date, but still failed to reach the playoffs. The IceDogs were one of the highest-selling road teams in the OHL that year, as many spectators attended games to see Don Cherry coach and seek autographs.
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* 1998–99 Peter Sturgeon & Jim Hulton
* 1999–00 J.Hulton, Geoff Ward & Steve Cherry
* 2000–01 Rick Vaive
* 2001–02 Don Cherry
</TD><TD VALIGN=TOP>
* 2002–03 Steve Ludzik
* 2003–06 Greg Gilbert (3 seasons)
* 2006–07 Mike Kelly
</TD></TR></TABLE>
==Players==
The Mississauga IceDogs had the first overall draft pick four years in a row, which produced two rookies of the year, and a total of ten alumni have played in the National Hockey League.
===Award winners===
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CHL Rookie of the Year
* 2001–02 Patrick O'Sullivan
Emms Family AwardOHL Rookie of the Year
* 2001–02 Patrick O'Sullivan
* 2002–03 Rob Schremp
</TD><TD VALIGN=TOP>
Jack Ferguson AwardFirst Overall Draft Pick
* 1999 Jason Spezza
* 2000 Patrick Jarrett
* 2001 Patrick O'Sullivan
* 2002 Rob Schremp
</TD><TD VALIGN=TOP>
OHL Goaltender of the Year
* 2004–05 Michael Ouzas
</TD></TR></TABLE>
===NHL alumni===
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* Daniel Carcillo
* Greg Jacina
* Brian McGrattan
* Sean McMorrow
</TD><TD VALIGN=TOP>
* Patrick O'Sullivan
* Kyle Quincey
* Igor Radulov
</TD><TD VALIGN=TOP>
* Rob Schremp
* Jason Spezza
* Chad Wiseman
* Cody Bass
* Luca Caputi
* Dustin Jeffrey
* Alex Pietrangelo
</TD></TR></TABLE>
==Team records==
Team records for a single season	Team records for a single season	Team records for a single season
Statistic 	Total 	Season
Most points 	85 	2007–08
Most wins 	42 	2007–08
Most goals for 	270 	2007–08
Least goals for 	145 	1998–99
Least goals against 	172 	2004–05
Most goals against 	426 	1998–99
Individual player records for a single season	Individual player records for a single season	Individual player records for a single season	Individual player records for a single season
Statistic 	Player 	Total 	Season
Most goals 	Luca Caputi 	51 	2007–08
Most assists 	Michael Swift 	62 	2007–08
Most points 	Luca Caputi 	111 	2007–08
Best GAA (goalie) 	Michael Ouzas 	2.18 	2004–05
Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played 	Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played 	Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played 	Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played
==Season-by-season results==
===Regular season===
Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss 
Season 	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	SL	Points	Pct %	Goalsfor	Goalsagainst	Standing
1998–99	68 	4 	61 	3 	— 	— 	16 	0.118	145 	426 	5th Central
1999–00	68 	9 	56 	1 	2 	— 	21 	0.154	160 	346 	5th Central
2000–01	68 	3 	56 	7 	2 	— 	15 	0.110	157 	380 	5th Central
2001–02	68 	11 	47 	6 	4 	— 	32 	0.235	212 	327 	5th Central
2002–03	68 	23 	31 	11 	3 	— 	60 	0.441	212 	231 	4th Central
2003–04	68 	36 	21 	7 	4 	— 	83 	0.610	217 	199 	2nd Central
2004–05	68 	34 	21 	12 	1 	— 	81 	0.596	207 	172 	1st Central
2005–06	68 	21 	40 	— 	5 	2 	49 	0.360	192 	299 	5th Central
2006–07	68 	43 	21 	— 	0 	4 	90 	0.662	326 	251 	2nd Central
Total 	612 	184	354 	47 	21 	6 	- 	0.301	1828 	2631 	
===Playoffs===
*1998–99 Out of playoffs.
*1999–00 Out of playoffs.
*2000–01 Out of playoffs.
*2001–02 Out of playoffs.
*2002–03 Lost to Ottawa 67's 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
*2003–04 Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals. Defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 3 in conference semi-finals. Defeated St. Michael's Majors 4 games to 2 in conference finals. Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 0 in finals.
*2004–05 Lost to St. Michael's Majors 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
*2005–06 Out of playoffs.
*2006–07 Lost to Sudbury Wolves 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
==Uniforms and logos==
The IceDogs' colours are red, white, black and silver. The logo is styled after Don Cherry's pet bull terrier named Blue. It shows a snarling dog overtop of the IceDogs name with a maple leaf in the background. The original logo (inset right) looked like a roboticized dog with red eyes in front of a big letter "M" with a maple leaf in the corner. The logo was redesigned after their 5th season with the change in ownership.
==Arena==
The Mississauga IceDogs played their home games at the Hershey Centre in northeast Mississauga, near the junction of Highways 401, 403 and 410. The Hershey Centre hosted the OHL All-Star Game in 2000.
:Capacity = 5,420
:Ice Size = 200' x 85'
*Hershey Centre - The OHL Arena & Travel Guide
==External links==
*www.mississaugaicedogs.com Official web site
*Ontario Hockey League Official web site
*Canadian Hockey League Official web site
Category:Established in 1997
Category:Canadian ice hockey teams
Category:Ontario Hockey League team