SIJHL Showcase goes Wednesday, Thursday in Spooner, Wis.

Press Release

THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The Superior International Junior Hockey League’s annual Showcase event is set for Wednesday and Thursday at the Ice House in Spooner, Wis. with all six league-member clubs competing.

The event will feature three games daily with the results counting in the SIJHL’s overall standings.

Day 1 play Wednesday has the Minnesota Iron Rangers meeting Thunder Bay North Bay in the opener at 1 p.m. followed by the English River Miners and Fort Frances Lakers squaring off at 4:30 p.m. while the Wisconsin Wilderness take on the Dryden Ice Dogs in the finale at 8 p.m.

Thursday sees three more tilts on the slate as the Miners tangle with the Iron Rangers at 1 p.m., the Lakers and Ice Dogs going at it at 4:30 p.m. before wrapping things up with the Wilderness and North Stars at 8 p.m.

“By moving the schedule and having the Showcase games mid-week it allows the college and university programs a better opportunity to scout our players as there is less of a conflict with the schools who already play the majority of their games on weekends,” stated SIJHL President/Commissioner Ron Whitehead.

“Every year more and more SIJHL alumni are starting to make their mark at higher levels of the game and we at the league hope this continues with such events as the SIJHL Showcase where attending scouts have the opportunity to see all of our member clubs compete at one venue,” added Whitehead.

Among some of the more notable alumnus of the SIJHL are Carter Hutton (Nashville-NHL); Robert Bortuzzo (Pittsburgh-NHL); Ryan Faragher (St. Cloud State-NCHC); Jesse Wilkins (Bemidji State-WCHA); Drew Strandberg (Wisconsin-Superior-WIAC), Mitch Cain (Bemidji State-WCHA), Marcus Perrier (Bowling Green-WCHA), Trevor Gamache (Lakehead-OUA) and last season’s league Pizza Hut player of the year and playoff MVP Mike Dietrich (American International-Atlantic Hockey).

SIJHL SHOWCASE

All games at the Spooner Ice House

ADDRESS
Spooner Ice House
301 Walnut Street
Spooner, Wis. 
54801

GAME SCHEDULE

DAY 1
Wednesday, Jan. 22
Thunder Bay vs. Minnesota 1 p.m.
English River vs. Fort Frances 4:30 p.m.
Dryden vs. Wisconsin 8 p.m.

DAY 2
Thursday, Jan. 23
Minnesota vs. English River 1 p.m.
Fort Frances vs. Dryden 4:30 p.m.
Wisconsin vs. Thunder Bay 8 p.m.

GAME AWARDS: Following each contest at the SIJHL Showcase the top performer on each team will be recognized with Gongshow Gear player of the game awards courtesy of Gongshow Gear Inc. the official lifestyle hockey apparel partner of the SIJHL.

ONLINE ACTION: Each game at the SIJHL Showcase will be available online on a pay-per-view basis via FASTHockey, the official broadcast partner of the SIJHL.

Simply visit sijhl.fasthockey.com to tune in.

(Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)