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PRESS RELEASE

January 25, 2010

TUNDRAS miss Playoffs for 2nd Year in a Row

After last week’s 4-1 loss to third place Norwood Vipers, the Sunrise Toyota Coldwater/Orillia Tundra’s were on the verge of elimination of the OHA Major League Hockey Senior AAA hockey playoffs.

With seven games remaining and trailing the Vipers by 13 points, the Tundra’s needed to win all their remaining games to have a chance at post season play.

On the weekend, the Tundra’s had a home and away series with the Dundas Real McCoys starting Friday night in Dundas. The previous week, the McCoys hammered Norwood by the score of 10-1. The Real McCoys continued with the fire power in Friday’s game by scoring 5 goals in the first period on route to an 11-3 pummeling of the Tundra’s. Tundra’s’ goals that night were scored by Ryan Oliver, Jesse Cook and newcomer Jeff Blackburn. Both Cook and Blackburn had 2 pt nights with an added assist. Blackburn is a graduate of the junior ranks having played for the OJHL Newmarket Hurricanes last season.

The scoring spree continued on Saturday with 8 goals scored in the first period in the weekend rematch at the Coldwater and District Community Centre. The goals started early and it looked like it could be an ugly night for the Tundra’s when goalie Ron Bertrand cleared the puck straight to Dundas captain and ex NHLer Mike Kennedy who made no mistake to put the Real McCoys up 1-0 after 31 seconds in 1st period.

The Tundra’s got back in the game with 2 quick goals in the 4th minute of the period scored by team leading point getter, Dennis Dewar and Blackburn. The Real McCoys answered back with three goals in succession to go ahead 4-2 but the Tundra’s did not give up and fired 2 goals of their own before the 1 st period ended with markers from ex AHLer Matt Smith and Jesse Cook.

The defenses of both teams woke up in the second period with only 1 goal scored by Dundas’ Ryan Healey to put the Real McCoys up by one at the end of the second stanza.

Before the ten minute mark of the third period Dundas seemed to put the game out of the Tundra’s’ reach with goals by Justin Davis and Rob DeCiantis making the score 7-4. The Tundra’s tried to get back in the game and with under a minute left in the game Tundra defenseman Gavin Hodgeson scored his first of the year with a slap shot from the point making the final tally… Dundas 7 Tundras 5.

Referee Todd Lewis had a very uneventful night calling only 5 penalties, 3 on Dundas for 6 minutes and 2 for 4 minutes for the Tundra’s.

Although now officially eliminated from the playoffs, Tundra’s Team President, Tom Ruff said that although the wins have been few this season there were lots of positives to build on for next season. “We have 4 players who are in the Top 15 in scoring, with last season’s Team Rookie of the Year, Dennis Dewar in 4th, rookies Ryan Oliver (who is 2nd in the league with 13 goals) in 6th and Jesse Cook in 11th with hockey wars veteran and Tundra’s’ captain, John Vecchiarelli tied for 14th. Only Whitby and Dundas have more players in the Top 15.” “On defense, we had a real find in Craig Woods. ‘Woodsy’ is tied for the league lead with 4 power play goals. I shouldn’t forget about ‘Smitty’ either. Matt Smith adds tons of experience whether we have him on the point or filling a winger role,” Ruff continued. “Also last week’s signing of Jeff Blackburn has really paid dividends as he had 4 points this weekend, I can’t imagine how many points ‘Blackie’ will have next season when he has gotten use to his teammates.”

The Tundra’s’ next home game is this Saturday January 30th with a 6:30 puck drop. The opponents for that night are the Whitby Dunlops and the home squad is out to prove that the win in December was no fluke.

Press Release
January 11, 2010

Loss in Weekend makes Playoff hopes Dim

If the Sunrise Toyota Coldwater/Orillia Tundras do not get on a win streak, they can trade their hockey sticks for golf clubs. The Tundras are in fear of missing the Major League Hockey OHA Senior AAA loop playoffs for a second straight season after making the Eastern Ontario League finals in its first season.

Last Saturday, the Tundras went defeated by the reigning League Champion Dundas Real McCoys 6-3 at the Coldwater and District Community Centre. After a scoreless first period, the red lights were flashing in the second period with 6 goals scored. The visiting Real McCoys went into the dressing room after the second frame up 4-2. Dundas opened up with 3 goals before the Tundras’ Jesse Cook scored on the power play. Shawn Shewchuk gave the visitors a 4-1 lead but the Tundras closed the gap to two on a goal by the Team’s leading scorer, Dennis Dewar with 32 seconds left in the middle stanza.

At 4:05 of the final period the Tundras scored again to get within one of Dundas on a power play goal by Craig Woods to give him a MLH leading 4 power play goals for the year. But the Real McCoys shut the door with 2 goals by Justin Davis which gave him a hat trick on the night and the game’s first star.

With Saturday’s loss the Tundras now trail the 3rd place (and last playoff spot) Norwood Vipers by 11 points with 2 games in hand and 8 games left in the regular season. On Sunday, the Tundras travel to Norwood to face the Vipers in a MUST WIN situation. Tundras’ President, Tom Ruff commented, “If our guys want to make the post season, this Sunday’s game is one they have to win. We would be 9 points out with still 2 games in hand and 7 to go. A loss and we are all but eliminated being 13 points out.”

The Tundras return home to Coldwater on Saturday January 20th with a 6:30 puck drop with a chance to exact revenge on the Dundas Real McCoys.

January 10, 2010

Tundras announce the Release of 10 Players

The Sunrise Toyota Coldwater/Orillia Tundras announce the release of the following players for the January 10th cut-down deadline: G Dave DiGironimo, D Colin Anders, D Scott Peckford, D George Derry, D Logan Noble, F Daniel Calitri, F Jesse Chidwick, F Mike Thompson, F Adam Deleeuw and F Trevor Stapleton.

Team President, Tom Ruff said that these cut-downs were much more difficult than the previous 2 seasons of the Senior AAA Tundras. “ Releasing players such as DiGi (DiGironimo) and “The Professor” (Anders) was not easy especially since they had been with us since my initial involvement with the club in 2007. Senior Hockey is also about the relationships with players and that what made those 2 cuts especially difficult.”

The Tundras wish all of them the best in their future hockey endeavours.

Presidents Message

2009

From all of us at the Sunrise Toyota Coldwater/Orillia Tundras, we wish all of you best of the season and a prosperous New Year. I would also like to take this time and thank those behind the scenes people who are involved with us; arena staff, minor hockey liasons and those in all media who tell our fans about us. Without their support, it would be impossible to bring Senior AAA hockey to you the fans.

But most of all, I want to thank my wife, Yvonne. Without her support and help, the job of running the hockey club would be impossible. Not only does she wear the hat of Head Cheerleader, she greets all of you at the door when you purchase your tickets as well as keep the boys’ jerseys washed. Thanks Yvonne, we all appreciate your efforts.

With the season half over, the wins have been few but we have been competitive with 6 of our ten losses being 1 goal losses and a 7th game an empty net 2 goal loss. We also accomplished a franchise first by beating the Whitby Dunlops in their home rink. We had never done that before December 12, 2009 when we beat them 5-4.

The Tundras are also proud to announce that last year’s Team Rookie of the Year, Dennis Dewar was named Major League Hockey’s November 2009 Player of the Month. In the month of November, Dennis got 11 points in 5 games and kept that streak going in December with another 11 points in 4 more games including a 5 point performance in the win versus Whitby. This is the second time in his 2 years of playing in the MLH that Dewar has received the POM honour, the first time being February 2009.

As we enter the New Year, the Tundras will have to get on a long win streak to make up ground to get into the Top 3. The line of Dewar, Ryan Oliver and Jesse Cook will have to continue with their scoring punch as will C John Vecchiarelli and D Craig Woods and Matt Smith.

The Tundras start back the year on January 2nd in Whitby to show the Dunlops that Decmeber’s win at Iroquois Park was no fluke. The following weekend on January 9th the Tundras return home to Coldwater Arena to play the Dundas Real McCoys and avenge the 7-1 bombing in Dundas on December 18th.

Come out to any Senior AAA hockey game whether the Tundras are playing or not and see why Major league Hockey boosted that We are the best hockey the OHA has to offer.

See you at the rink.

Tom Ruff

Press Release
December 14, 2009

TUNDRAS- Win marred by Game ending Brawl

After last weekend’s emotional first win, The Sunrise Toyota

Coldwater/Orillia Tundras travelled on the road hoping to get a win streak going to get back in the hunt for the Major League Hockey OHA Senior AAA league playoffs.

It would be a tough task as on Saturday the Tundras travelled to Whitby to face the league leading Dunlops. It was a history making day for the Tundras as they pulled out a 5-4 victory ending a Whitby 6 game win streak. The victory also marked the first time that the Tundras’ franchise had ever beaten Whitby at Iroquois Park, Whitby’s home rink.

Whitby started out of the blocks quickly with a goal by Jon Ross at only 1:15 of the first frame and Bob McQuat added a power play marker to put the Dunlops up 2-0.

The Tundras got back in the game tying the score before the end of the period on goals from Ryan Oliver and Jesse Cook.

In the second period the Tundras took the lead on 3 straight goals Jesse Cook, Dennis Dewar and again by Cook giving him a hat trick for the night. Whitby’s Frank Littlejohn cut the Tundra advantage to 2 before the end of the middle period.

The third period was filled with a lots of action but only a single goal, a shorthanded marker by Whitby captain, Peter MacKellar.

Although only a single goal there were lots of fireworks during the final stanza. At 4:37 Dunlop’s David Silverstone was ejected from the game for mugging Tundras goaltender Ron Bertrand who was frustrating the Dunlops all game. During that incident, Bertrand was assessed a Spearing Double minor.

However, the volcano exploded at game end with a bench clearing brawl in what looked to be initiated by Whitby’s Frank Littlejohn taking a shot at Tundras goalie Ron Bertrand after the final buzzer. At the end of it, referee Darryl Dawson assessed 18 penalties for the incident. Among the penalties assessed, Whitby’s Frank Littlejohn received a Match Penalty for Attempt to Injure, Sean Schoffner a Spearing Match penalty , back up netminder T.J. Rudnicki a Fighting Instigator penalty and Whitby’s Jay MCAuley and Tundras’ Gavin Hodgson were given 2nd fight penalties which will result in 2 game suspensions for both.

The game ending incident did mask the great performance by the Tundras line of Dennis Dewar (1G 4A), Ryan Oliver (1G 4A) and Jesse Cook (3G 2A) who all had 5 points on the night.

On Sunday, The Tundras travelled to Norwood but came out on the short end by losing 6-4.

Norwood scored first but the Tundras rallied on markers by Brandon Ingraham and captain John Vecchiarelli to go to the dressing room after one leading 2-1.

The Vipers (Norwood) got on fire in the second period scoring 4 unanswered goals to go up 5-2 at the end of 2 periods. In the third period Norwood scored first making it 6-2 but the Tundras rally late in the game fell short with 2 markers by Dennis Dewar and Ryan Oliver.

On the strength of this weekend’s performance, Tundras’ Dennis Dewar leads the Major League Hockey’s scoring race with 7 goals and 16 assists for a total of 23 points. In 4th place is Tundras’ Ryan Oliver with 20 points with ateam high of 9 goals.

The Tundras go on the road again this Friday making their first visit to Dundas to face the Robertson Cup champion Real McCoys.

Press Release
December 6, 2009

FINALLY!! Tundras win a single goal game

With 2 games this past weekend, the Sunrise Toyota Orillia-Coldwater Tundras hoped to get into the win column for the first time this season.

Friday night, the Tundras played host to the Whitby Dunlops at the Orillia Community Centre with the visitors coming out on top with the score of 5-3. That night the Dunlops started quickly with a goal by Colin Baker at 2:23 of the first period. Bob McQuat followed that up with another marker midway through the period. The first period ended with Whitby leading 2-0.

The Tundras got back into the game outscoring Whitby 3-2 in the second frame with goals from Jesse Cook, Dennis Dewar and a power play goal by Craig Woods with 36 seconds left in the period making the score 4-3 for Whitby.

In the third period neither team scored until Whitby’s Jay McAuley gave the visiting squad the insurance goal at 19:15 of the period with Tundras’ goalie Alessandro Lupo pulled for the extra attacker.

It was on Saturday that the Tundras’ luck finally turned defeating the Norwood Vipers 6-5 in a game played at the Coldwater and District Community Centre.

The Tundras opened the scoring on the power play at 7:52 of the first period on a goal by Craig Woods. The first period ended with the Tundras up 3-1 with goals from Mason Drew and Ryan Oliver.

Norwood got back into the game in the second period with 3 goals in the span of just over a minute. The period ended tied at 5 a piece with Tundras’ goals coming from Ryan Oliver (his second of the night) and an unassisted power play by Logan Noble with 49 ticks left on the clock.

The third period saw Jesse Cook put the Tundras back ahead at 4:37 with the goal that appeared to be the winner. With 3 minutes left in regulation, Tundras Dennis Dewar was assessed an uncharacteristic roughing penalty by referee Josef Park and with 1:34 left, Norwood pulled goalie, Kevin Raney to give the Vipers a 6-4 skater advantage. The Tundras hung on for the victory with some big saves by goalkeeper Alessando Lupo, a grad of St. Francis Xavier, who was just signed this week.

The Tundras now play 3 games on the road before the league’s Christmas break and they return to play their next home game on January 9th versus the Dundas Real McCoys in Coldwater.

Press Release
November 29, 2009

TUNDRAS- lose 4th single goal game in a row

With their second visit of the season to the Orillia Community Centre, the final result was the same for the Sunrise Toyota Orillia Tundras, a single goal loss. On Friday night the Whitby Dunlops stayed in first place of the Major League Hockey loop with a 8-7 victory over the Tundras.

Tundras’ Jesse Cook, returning from an ankle injury, opened the scoring at the 1:16 mark of the first period, but Whitby finished the period with 3 goals leading 3-1.

The Tundras battled back in the second to tie the game at 3-3 with goals from Ryan Oliver and Matt Smith only to finish the period trailing Whitby 5-3.

Again, the Tundras rallied, tying the score 6 minutes into the third period with markers from new signing Ciro Naso and Craig Woods. Woods’ goal coming on the power play. Whitby replied with 3 quick goals but the Tundras dug deep to make the score 8-7 on goals from Steve Brasseur and Oliver’s 2nd of the night to go with 2 assists. With the net empty, the Tundras couldn’t find the equalizer.

Ryan Oliver was the game’s first star and Orillia’s Dennis Dewar was 2nd star with 4 helpers in the losing effort.

Press Release
November 22, 2009

TUNDRAS--- need WIN on FRIDAY

It has been a tough opening to the 2009-10 Major League Hockey season for the Sunrise Toyota Orillia Tundras as they search for their first win of the season.

In the last six games, the Tundras appear to be Maple Leaf jinxed. At the last game at the Orillia Community Centre, the Tundras lost in overtime on a penalty shot. Since then they have lost in a shoot-out and had 3 of the 4 other games decided by only a single goal.

In Saturday night’s game, The Norwood Vipers stole a victory by scoring with 40 seconds left in the game.

This Friday night, the Tundras return to the Orillia Community Centre against the perennial powerhouse Whitby Dunlops, puck drop at 8:00 pm.

“This team is so close,” said Team President Tom Ruff. Reggie (Coach Wayne Crawford) and Norm (McIlveen) have done a great job coaching especially with the majority of players being new to the Tundras this season”, commented Ruff further.

The Tundras hope for a big crowd to let the Whitby Dunlops know the Tundras are playing to win Friday. The Tundras want Orillia fans to turn out and ROCK THE OLD ARENA alive, stand proud and let not only the players, fans and Orillia know that Senior AAA hockey is here to stay.  

Tundras return to their roots
POSTED BY DAVE DAWSON, SPECIAL TO THE PACKET AND TIMES
Posted 10/26/09

For the first time since 1982, George Maconachie dug out his old royal blue Orillia Terriers jacket -- the word president still emblazoned on the well-worn right shoulder -- and took a trip back in time Friday night.

Like so many fun-filled Friday nights from his past, he and about 100 fans were back at the Orillia Community Centre to take in the return of senior hockey to Orillia -- at least for a night as the Orillia Sunrise Toyota Tundras sported throwback vintage Orillia Terriers jerseys and played their first home game at the old barn since 1982.

"It's certainly nice to see those old jerseys," said a nostalgic Maconachie, who was on the executive when the Terriers won the Allan Cup in 1972. He was team president from 1974-82 -- until the team folded. He hasn't been back at the community centre since.

While he quipped that his old familiar jacket had shrunk, the memories from those halcyon days have not faded.

"I could tell you hundreds of stories from those days," said Maconachie, his eyes lighting up with stories of senior hockey past.

He vividly remembers luring Eddie Shack to town to play a game for the Terriers in the mid 1970s -- at a cost of $1,000.

"I can still see that headline in The Packet: 'Clear the track, here comes Shack.' The fans were hanging from the rafters that night...they were just packed into this old barn."

He also fondly remembers when he brought a touring Russian team to town for the first time and joked that the bill from taking the visitors and their entourage to a steak dinner at the old Ponderosa was a little more than $100.

"But it was right in the contract.... we had to provide a steak dinner." And there was almost an international incident when the visitors demanded certain beverages during their stay at the Knights Inn "but we were able to get it all worked out."

In those days, Maconachie got a lot of details worked out and still thinks of players like Clyde Harris, Ron Clarke, Jim Sherritt, Rob Street and Bruce Carrick. And he is still thankful for the legion of volunteers who made the team tick back then. And he said fans supported the team -- to the tune of 900 to 1,000-strong each Friday night.

And that was necessary to run a good team, he said, noting volunteers also organized beer fests and other fundraisers to support the team."We were playing the better players $100 a game; I had a payroll of $2,800 a week," Maconachie said.

In fact, near the end, Maconachie found himself $50,000 in debt with a new team -- the Orillia Travelways in the Tier II Junior A hockey league -- starting to siphon off fans. It soon became clear that this town was only big enough for one hockey team.

Travelways owners Bill Smith and Barney Clarke, who had deep pockets and big plans for their team, agreed to pay off the debt and Maconachie agreed to fold the team.

"I remember saying back then that I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was 11 but I started believing again when Bill Smith and Barney Clarke bailed us out," he said.

On the ice Friday night, this reincarnation of senior hockey -- the Tundras now play in the Major Hockey League and play most of their homes games out of the Coldwater & District Community Centre -- looked a lot like those strong old squads of days past.

The Tundras opened the scoring in the first period, built a 2-0 lead and then allowed the visiting Norwood Vipers to knot the contest early in the third period.

It looked like it would be a triumphant return for the Tundras when Scott Goheen scored a powerplay goal off a rebound with just 57 seconds left. But the Vipers pulled their goalie and evened the score in the dying seconds to send the game into overtime.

Just 90 seconds into the extra period, during a wild scramble, a Tundras defenceman closed his hand over a puck in the crease. That gave Norwood a penalty shot and Adrian Wilson made a nice deke on Tundras goalie Ron Bertrand, who had a great game between the pipes, and Norwood escaped with a win.

Despite the narrow loss, it was a strong effort from the home team and a well-played game that featured some end-to-end rushes, some great saves, some big hits and lots of intensity.

"Would I like to see more fans? Yes, but it's good to see the guys play well," said Tundras owner and president Tom Ruff.

"I told the guys at practice on Thursday that the pre-season was over and that this game was important to me...and the difference from our last game (a 7-1 loss to Whitby) is like night and day."

The Tundras next see action Saturday in Norwood and will return to the community centre one more time next month, when they host Whitby on Friday, Nov. 27.

Senior hockey back at CC
Posted By DAVE DAWSON, SPECIAL TO THE PACKET AND TIMES
Posted 10/19/09

In the early 1970s, the Orillia Terriers were one of the top teams in the ultra-competitive Ontario Senior A league.

Tom Ruff can remember sitting among jam-packed crowds at the old barn on Penetang Street, watching star players like Grant Moore, Gerry McNamara, Claire Alexander and Jim Keon, the brother of then-Leaf captain Dave Keon.

"There were some great teams back then," Ruff recalled of those halcyon days that were highlighted when the Terriers won the Allan Cup in 1973 at the Community Centre, becoming the best team in Canada. "Those were great times."

More than three decades later, Ruff has almost single-handedly revived senior hockey in this area, and is now the owner and president of the Orillia Sunrise Toyota Tundras that have called the Coldwater and District Community Centre home since starting two winters ago.

Now, Ruff is bringing senior hockey back to Orillia -- and back to the Community Centre -- for the first time since the Terriers folded in 1982.

"We're very excited to bring senior hockey back to Orillia," said Ruff, who said the Tundras have secured two home dates at the Community Centre: Friday, Oct. 23 versus Norwood and Friday, Nov. 27 against Whitby.

To mark the homecoming, the Tundras have developed a third jersey that they will unveil Oct. 23.

"We're bringing back the original blue and white Terriers jersey and we'll wear that third jersey for the first time for that first game back in Orillia," Ruff said. "It's pretty nostalgic for me and I hope it will be for others that used to follow those great teams back in the early '70s."

Ruff is the first to admit many fans have not made the trek to Coldwater to watch the reincarnation of the Terriers. And last year's dismal record did not help.

"Hey, I'm under no illusions ... we did not have a good year last year," conceded Ruff. "But we'll be better this year."

The Tundras opened the season last Saturday night with an 8-2 loss against powerful Whitby. "The score did not really reflect the play," Ruff said. "We have a lot of new players who have not played together much and our goaltenders did not play great. It will take some time to gel."

But Ruff is hopeful that the team performs well when it returns to Orillia. "That's a big game for us because it's our return and that's exciting but also because Norwood is the team we have to beat to make the playoffs," Ruff said of the rival Vipers. "We are certainly looking forward to that game."

The Tundras did play one playoff game two years ago in Orillia -- but that game was played at the Brian Orser Arena.
 

Message From The President
September, 2009

It seems with the weather we have had the last 2 weeks, I find myself looking at the calendar and reminding myself it is now September. September means that I have to start getting in serious hockey mode.

After last season’s disappointing season by missing the play-offs, Yvonne and I have re-committed ourselves to making the Tundras an exciting and competitive team for you, the fans.

In the off-season, we were busy behind the scenes. Our Golf tournament in July hosted over 100 players and enjoyed the story telling of both ex NHL referee , Ron Hoggarth and Hall of Fame Play-by-Play Voice Ken “Jiggs” McDonald. Many of the golfers said that this will be a MUST PLAY event next season. If we have the increase in players like we had this season, it is sure to be a sell-out.

To make our games more fan friendly, we have 2 major announcements.

First, all our HOME games will be played SATURDAYS with a 6:30 pm puck drop. Yes, you read this right, SIX THIRTY. What better way to spend a Saturday night …watch the TUNDRAS and then catch some NHL action.

Secondly, we all have felt that the economy has slowed and wallets have to tighten. We have instituted our own ECONOMIC STIMULUS package by dropping some prices. Adult tickets will now be only $9 instead of $10 and SEASON TICKETS will be only $90. That’s less than $8 per game. Seniors although individual tickets will remain at $7 a SEASON TICKET package will only be $70. That’s less than $6 per game.

We are still looking for volunteers. 50/50 and ticket sales, equipment manager(travelling to AWAY games required) pointstreak statisican (must be computer literate). Remember high school students …these qualify for volunteer hours. Just e mail me at tom@tundrashockey.ca

See you at the rink.

Tom Ruff
President of the TUNDRAS

Player Personnel Assistant Appointed

Although his Senior AAA playing career ended last season, MLH 2nd team all star Roy Mundy will still be involved with the Sunrise Toyota Coldwater/Orillia Tundras this upcoming season.

Club president Tom Ruff announced today the appointment of Roy Mundy to the position of Player Personnel Assistant. Roy’s role will include player recruitment and other personnel issues.

“We are delighted that Roy has joined us in an office role this season. His commitment to our team as a player proves he will be an excellent addition to our staff,” said Ruff.

MLH Media Release Aug 26,2009
Major League Hockey facing changes
Four Teams for 2009/2010

CAMBRIDGE ONTARIO--Since 1891 Ontario Senior Hockey teams have played for championships ranging from the Stanley Cup to the Allan Cup, and this season will be no exception to the others.

The 2009-10 season will witness Major League Hockey icing four teams all packed with a steep history in senior hockey and storied championship communities.

From former World Championship community Whitby (Dunlops) to the upstart Orillia/Coldwater Tundra’s which will return for their third season. Also featured in the loop will be the Norwood Vipers and 2008-09 League champion Dundas Real McCoys.

Collectively the Ontario Hockey Association has had nine representatives in the National Allan Cup Tournament in the past nine seasons, and the tradition continues.

The MLH boasts many former professional players including former National Hockey Leaguers, which makes the entertainment value second to none.

“Senior Hockey has always seen its ups and downs, but we are confident that the League will prosper this season, and find strength from this year’s members and continue to be competitive at the National level,” said OHA President Brent Ladds.

“The League members and the OHA are committed to working toward a growth pattern and adding more strong members. The strength and commitment from this year’s clubs speaks volumes of the stability of the present organizations. “

“We have full confidence that the member teams will stay committed to building this League, and I’m proud of the effort they will make this season to ensure this League and the OHA are able to continue to work in our communities to bring this level of hockey to the fans,” said Don Robertson, Chairman of the MLH Board.

“It takes great people to make a league great, and our base is very impressive with respect to our owner/operators. They will ensure there is a strong future for our League as we move forward.”

This year, the clubs will play a 24-game schedule with the top three teams entering the playoffs. This year, the Allan Cup Tournament will be played at Fort St John, BC during the third week of April 2010.