half way from burke, brown, mario

[hockeyobserver]

saw these posted on the dogs facebook site:
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So far, so good
IceDogs owner Bill Burke is pleased with the welcome the team has gotten in Niagara, but halfway through the OHL's club's 'terribly exciting' first season based in St. Catharines, there's still work to be done, he says
Scott Rosts

Published on Dec 28, 2007
Niagara IceDogs owner Bill Burke says the region has welcomed the Ontario Hockey League franchise, but there is still work to be done.

Reflecting on the halfway point of the season, Burke says the first few months of the hockey season have gone well for the IceDogs.

"It's been terribly exciting. The fans are better than I ever could have expected. I've been around every OHL rink and we really have the best (fans) here," said Burke.

Attendance for most home games at Jack Gatecliff Arena averages between 2,000 to 2,500 fans. Burke would like to see that number grow as the team continues on in the season. One of the biggest markets that's missing for season's tickets, said Burke, is Niagara Falls.

"We'd like to see 3,000 per game, but we have to get the people in Niagara Falls excited about it. All the other regions have been tremendously supportive and we need to sell some season tickets out there. We sold over 800 season tickets in St. Catharines and less than 100 in Niagara Falls," said Burke.

Attempts are being made to embrace the Niagara Falls community, with the hopes of bringing season tickets sales up to 400 for the Falls. For example Burke is working with Bob Gale of Gales Fuels on a major promotion for this Sunday, Dec. 30. With the support of Gales, the IceDogs will offer hot dog and Pepsi combos for a $1 donation, with all proceeds from the event being donated to Project SHARE in Niagara Falls and Community Care in St. Catharines. Also, Gale has managed to secure Crazy Claude the Trumpeter for the game. Crazy Claude was a common fixture at Quebec Nordiques games but local fans may also remember him from some visits to Niagara Falls when the Thunder were in town.

Burke admits the organization may have overlooked marketing the team the way it should have in Niagara Falls.

"It was so quick getting going. The entire focus was really just try to get the hockey team going and you know, working on the interests in the area we were close to," he said.

He stresses, however, as he has from the start, that this is all of Niagara's team.

"This is Niagara's team. I want everyone to feel they are proud of that team no matter where they are from. It's not St. Catharines, not Niagara Falls - it's our team for all of Niagara," said Burke. "There's not going to be an OHL team in Niagara Falls. This is the one team for the area and I want everyone in the area to support it."

For those fans who do come out each night, Burke said they have adjusted to life at the Gatorade Garden City Complex.

"At the beginning it is easy to be negative - the building, the parking, the concessions. I think now, though, everyone has bought into the building and realizes this is a fun place to watch a game," said Burke. "The fans have come to really cheer and contribute. It's just great to be part of."

The Burkes have embraced the new surroundings and have felt welcomed by the community. They are planning to move from the Greater Toronto Area to a townhouse in Niagara by next summer.

"Everyone wants us to be successful and everyone wants us to stay," said Burke. "We want to be here and be part of the community."

That means being heavily involved in a variety of activities, from community appearances to promoting other Niagara businesses and products. One of the best examples has been the club serving wines during their home games in addition to beer.

"Having the beer and wine, a lot of teams' booster clubs come down for the Saturday wine experience and enjoy the casino and then on Sunday come to the games," said Burke. "We want to do our part to promote the community and region when hosting other teams and their fans."

The business support from across the region has been positive, he said, especially corporate advertising from the larger companies. He noted in the second half, however, he would like to get some of the smaller businesses with more local roots to come on board.

"There is 100,000 people coming into that rink over a year, so the people in the community and businesses in the community need to realize this is good and the potential of being part of that," said Burke.

As for the on-ice product, Burke says he and his wife Denise, who is team president, are thrilled.

"There is going to be some exciting hockey yet to play here in Niagara. We were hurt with injuries and suspensions the first half, but we're going to come back," said Burke. "Each and every one of those boys on the ice are great ambassadors of the team, great young guys. Denise said she now has 23 additional sons and we're proud to be part of it."

On the whole, Burke said it's been a learning experience but he has truly enjoyed every moment of it.

"In our own mind, we hoped it would work and it has. For us we've never done it, but Denise is pretty amazing at how she has pulled the business side together," he said. "Our hockey side was under contract, so thank goodness for that, but we also have great staff. We've settled in nicely and we are here for a very long, long time."

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[hockeyobserver]

from niagarathisweek.com
Roller-coaster season has given Dogs a taste of adversity: Brown
Scott Rosts

Published on Dec 28, 2007
Niagara IceDogs general manager Dave Brown is an optimist.

He is quick to admit the Ontario Hockey League team's season hasn't gone as well as they thought they would. After all, this was a team that won more than 40 games last season and is now just three games over .500 - 18-15-0-1 at the break.

The roller coaster start this season, however, has given the team a taste of what adversity is like, and that can go a long way, said Brown - preferably a long way into the playoffs.

"Last year we had a really good year in Mississauga, but we weren't faced with a lot of that adversity," said Brown. "When we were faced with adversity in playoff time we weren't really sure how to deal with it. Now we know what we have to do."

Even with a barrage of injuries and suspensions, said Brown, the coaching staff "have done a remarkable job with what they've been handed". Younger guys like Chris DeSousa, Matthew Maione, Chris VanLaren and Dylan MacEachern have stepped up and shown they can produce.

"I think our young guys have done really well. I think when you look down the list, we have a lot of younger guys who were forced into duty and doing jobs better than we could have imagined," said Brown.

Christmas may be over, but Brown has his own wish list for the club in the second half. One of those is to decrease the amount of penalty minutes the team collects.

"We have done as well as we have to at this point playing the type of style we are," said Brown. "But I think if we can tighten it up for the second half and through the playoffs we will do well."

He would also like to see some tighter defensive play, including reducing the number of shots against and having the IceDogs players "pay more attention to detail when they are in the defensive zone".

"If we tighten up those key areas we will be well on the way to where we want to be in April," said Brown.

Also on his wish list is a couple of forwards before the January 10 OHL trading deadline.

"Right now we're kind of in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference and faced with all kinds of different dilemmas," he said.

He said he is very pleased with the defence, but the calls coming in from other teams are leading to inquiries about some of those defensive players.

"By January 10 we will have to really decide where we stack up with teams," he said.

In a perfect world, however, he would look at adding a couple of character players to help up front.

"I would like a big grinder guy to grind for us and then another guy that can maybe help chip in but maintain his responsibilities defensively, too," said Brown.

On the bench, head coach Mario Cicchillo says he feels the season has gone pretty well. He says he would give the team a B grade for the first half of the season.

Goaltending wise, he has been pleased with Andrew Loverock, who has been a work horse.

"We would have liked to probably get Volpe into a few more games, but it's a tough league for a goalie to come out of Midget hockey and play," he said, referring to back-up goaltender Adrian Volpe.

A whole new element will come in the new year, as Luc Lobsinger is skating now and should return to become one of the regular goalies. That will mean that Volpe is the odd man out and will be sent down to the St. Catharines Falcons Jr. B team.

"That's only fair. He is only going to get better if he plays in games," said Cicchillo.

Cicchillo describes the defence as the team's "strong point". Anchoring the defence, he said, are guys like Alex Pietrangelo, projected to be selected in the top three of this year's National Hockey League draft, and Matt Corrente, a first-round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils. Corrente has played in less than half of the IceDogs' games, but Cicchillo says his presence has an impact on the lineup.

"All of the other guys on the back end look up to him. He is like a father figure," said Cicchillo.

Up front on forward, Luca Caputi leads the team in scoring with 23 goals and 23 assists. The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect has been a bit of a hidden gem for the IceDogs, slowly posting offensive totals while star forward Stefan Legein and captain Michael Swift usually shine in the spotlight.

"Caputi comes to play every single day. There is a guy, who I think can play in the National Hockey League. He just has to figure it out - he is that good. He has the work ethic, skills, skates well and competes every night," said Cicchillo.

Bright spots, he said, have been the play of youngsters Andrew Agozzino and Niagara-on-the-Lake native Alex Friesen.

"Friesen has played real well for us when he has been able to. He's key on some of the faceoffs," said Cicchillo, noting the young centreman has experienced a number of injuries in the first half of the season. "I think down the road Friesen is going to be a good player in this league for us."

While he would love to have a better record to this point in the season, Cicchillo said overall he is pleased with the Dogs' play.

"With all the injuries and sicknesses we've had, the first half the guys have competed. I am real proud they've given 100 per cent in practices and games even with all of the ups and downs," he said.

He says he can see the team improving in the second half if they stay healthy and stay out of the penalty box.

"With the amount of skilled guys we have, there is a lot of potential," said Cicchillo.

[groulxisright]

I've said this from before the season started, "With the state of today's economy in the Niagara Region you can not expect people to pay adult ticket prices for kids, it's just that simple.